Who was the best ever Best Actress Oscar winner, by decade? 1950s edition

1930's poll

1940's poll

Joan still winning the 40s

Oof. A lot of fine actresses in a lot of mediocre movies.

Vivien winning again!

Gloria Swanson.

Was Simone any good in her role?

Susan was a camp classic?

Should have been Bette in All About Eve in 1950.

Should have been Judy in A Star Is Born in 1954

Moar

Wow poor Grace is coming in last with nil votes

Judy should have won the Oscar but Hollywood was tired of her shit.

No love for Ingrid? Was this her pity Oscar?

Grace Kelly was a waste of an Oscar

Yes, she was, R4. A sensuous, heartbreaking performance. Size wise, it could be described as borderline supporting, since the film is about Laurence Harvey's character, but the impression she makes elevates the film (and her co star rather wooden presence) enormously.

^ That was meant as a response to R7.

R14 this was her comeback after the Rossellini fiasco. I didn't like her in that role. The movie as a whole was meh and the oscar should've went to poor Deborah Kerr. I wish she would've won for autumn sonata instead, which imo is her greatest role alongside Notorious.

R18 I agree, I love Ingrid in Autumn Sonata and as good as Jane Fonda can be, she does not need 2 Oscars..

Vivien will be our only actress to win two decades..

Not much love for Audrey

More voting needed

To (R9) it should have been Bette for All About Eve, but you know what happened! Three way split with 3 great performances(Anne Baxter, Bette and Gloria Swanson). Anne Baxter was "understated Evil" and Gloria was " bat-shit crazy controlling but sad". Judy Holiday was brilliant in Born Yesterday, and she won the Oscar.

1950 had one of the strongest BA line ups ever

See DL, I didn't know that Eleanor Parker was nominated 3 times in the 1950's for Best Actress I would LOVE to see the votes for the Best Actress for 1950...Eleanor Parker for Caged, I bet the voting was really close on all 5 nominees.

I thought Simone was wonderful in her role, surprised she isn't getting more votes.

I voted for Simone. It's a mesmerizing, delicate, devastating performance.

Signoret

Didn't she win in the same year Marilyn cheated with her peculiar-looking husband, 1960?

Grace Kelly was never Oscars material. She won and was only famous because she got on her knees so much.

Any more thoughts?

Definitely Viv. I love Grace Kelly, but only in her Hitchcock films. She didn’t have depth as a dramatic actress. She was beautiful and sexy, though. Her Oscar win is still dumbfounding. But Judy Garland stepped on so many toes with her erratic behavior. No one would give it to her. And IMO, ASIB was a wildly uneven piece.

How did Grace Kelly get nominated for [italic]The Country Girl[/italic] and not [italic]Rear Window [/italic]? For Judy Garland to lose an Academy Award to a performance in an Alfred Hitchcock movie would have been one thing.

And I don’t get Judy Holliday winning either. She played herself in every role.

Vivien delivered perhaps the greatest, most poignant performance in cinema history. It's not even a contest.

[quote]For Judy Garland to lose an Academy Award to a performance in an Alfred Hitchcock movie would have been one thing.

I am trying to think if there were any acting Oscars in any of Hitchcock's films. Notorious was one of Bergman's best roles and it was during a time when she was practically a perennial nominee, but that was the year she was not nominated during that stretch.

R36, the only Oscar winning performance in a Hitchcock film is Joan Fontaine in Suspicion (1941).

Vivien Leigh, followed by Anna Magnani

I couldn’t believe Bette Davis or Gloria Swanson lost the Best Actress Oscar in 1950, but then I actually watched Born Yesterday. The Gin Rummy scene alone would’ve gotten my vote for Judy Holliday.

Vivien. no one else has gotten close, within the decade or after.