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Ann-Margret's Best Performance

Always had a soft spot for A-M as she worked hard and became a very good actress, unlike other 60s sex kittens (e.g. Raquel Welch, Pamela Tiffin).

What do DLers think is A-M's best performance?

by Anonymousreply 73November 13, 2021 11:16 PM

Is this the gayest thread ever?

by Anonymousreply 1August 14, 2021 3:42 PM

Oh and I vote for Bye Bye Birdie.

by Anonymousreply 2August 14, 2021 3:45 PM

She gives a lovely, touching performance in Return Of The Soldier, holding her own with Glenda Jackson, Julie Christie, and Alan Bates. It's a pity she didn't do more projects along that line. Yes, I know she did Joseph Andrews earlier, but that's an awful movie.

Still I voted for Streetcar, which is still her best IMO.

by Anonymousreply 3August 14, 2021 4:04 PM

She's fun in Tommy, but it was not worthy of an Oscar nom. Plus it was really a supporting role, but I guess the pickings were slim that year.

I've seen some of her other 60s films like The Swinger and The Pleasure Seekers, and she's pretty bad, but the films themselves are even worse. Was her husband advising her on scripts?

Fun fact: she was being repped by Sue Mengers when she landed the role in Carnal Knowledge.

by Anonymousreply 4August 14, 2021 4:10 PM

My favorite is “Ann Margaret Tries to Throw Away a Wad of Paper into a Trashcan.”

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by Anonymousreply 5August 14, 2021 4:38 PM

LOL R5.

by Anonymousreply 6August 14, 2021 4:50 PM

Excuse me bitch? Where is 52 Pickup?

by Anonymousreply 7August 14, 2021 4:54 PM

Nothing.

She's just not a good actress.

by Anonymousreply 8August 14, 2021 4:55 PM

Fuck off R8.

by Anonymousreply 9August 14, 2021 5:06 PM

Truth hurts, R9.

by Anonymousreply 10August 14, 2021 5:20 PM

Only when it's offered up, R8. You don't like A-M? Fine. But it's your opinion. Nothing more.

by Anonymousreply 11August 14, 2021 5:25 PM

Just yoooour opinion -- but FUCK OFF anyway.

lol.

Well, let's just watch this thread peter out -- like AM's career

by Anonymousreply 12August 14, 2021 5:27 PM

I suppose Streetcar or Carnal Knowledge is her best, but my favorite of her's is Two Mrs. Grenvilles.

by Anonymousreply 13August 14, 2021 5:30 PM

It's not the best but my favorite is Viva Las Vegas

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by Anonymousreply 14August 14, 2021 5:31 PM

Along with Barbara Stanwyck, she was one of the few Elvis Presley co-stars who could give him a run for his money.

by Anonymousreply 15August 14, 2021 5:34 PM

She’s excellent in Magic with Anthony Hopkins. The final scene is heartbreaking due in part to A-M’s performance.

by Anonymousreply 16August 14, 2021 5:35 PM

Who Will Love My Children

by Anonymousreply 17August 14, 2021 5:38 PM

The touching and unforgettable [italic]Who Will Love My Implants?

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by Anonymousreply 18August 14, 2021 5:50 PM

Those are all hers, hon.

by Anonymousreply 19August 14, 2021 5:54 PM

Of course! Why, she says so HERSELF!

by Anonymousreply 20August 14, 2021 5:56 PM

In some respects I like her Blanche better than Vivien Leigh's, but Treat Williams was no Brando.

by Anonymousreply 21August 14, 2021 5:57 PM

She said at the time that she took birth control pills to make them bigger for the movie, r20. Whatever she did, they weren't that big afterwards...

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by Anonymousreply 22August 14, 2021 6:02 PM

Kitten with a Whip is a Tour de France, and I loved her hooker with a heart of gold in Newsies. I’ve always wanted to see the number she performed in the giant hand.. I have no interest in the tragic accident, however.

by Anonymousreply 23August 14, 2021 6:08 PM

Viva Las Vegas

by Anonymousreply 24August 14, 2021 6:14 PM

52 Pickup is a great, obscure movie.

Her best performances are in Grumpy & Grumpier Old Men, she is made for that role of Ariel Truax and comes across very authentic.

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by Anonymousreply 25August 14, 2021 6:19 PM

Betty was luckier, r23...

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by Anonymousreply 26August 14, 2021 6:20 PM

Another fan of her performances in Magic, then Carnal Knowledge, Streetcar, and Who Will Love My Children?. With very few breaks in over sixty years in film and TV, she's outlasted nearly all of her contemporaries. Hard to believe she's 80.

Only on DL would there be some sour A-M troll try to derail every thread about Ann-Margret.

by Anonymousreply 27August 14, 2021 7:32 PM

She should have been Barbarella.

by Anonymousreply 28August 14, 2021 8:19 PM

Kitten With a Whip

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by Anonymousreply 29August 14, 2021 8:26 PM

When I saw there was a movie version of streetcar with AM, I thought, great this is gonna be even worse than the Lange version, let's have a good laugh. Within 5 minutes I wasn't even smirking anymore. I knew her from the horrible Elvis movies, she earned my total respect right there. Then I saw return of the soldier, and I thought "fuck, when you're better that glenda Jackson and julie Christie you know you've achieved something". i was just sorry I never had a chance to discuss it with Alan Bates, who was a very good friend of mine. Shame about the bad wig though, but that's a minor detail. So another vote for return of the soldier

by Anonymousreply 30August 14, 2021 8:43 PM

[quote]She's just not a good actress.

Barbara Stanwyck disagrees with you.

How many actresses got this kind of a shout out on stage?

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by Anonymousreply 31August 14, 2021 8:59 PM

I was infatuated with Ann-Margret when I saw Bye-Bye Birdie during the film’s original run as a kid (but I was also attracted to Jesse Pearson and Dick Van Dyke, so the handwriting was all over the walls of that movie theater).

Then my parents took me to a double-feature in which Kitten With A Whip was the secondary feature (in disappointing black and white). I think I had a bit of a trauma seeing Ann-Margret scratch John Forsyth’s back with her nails, because after that I never actively sought out any of her movies.

Hey, maybe that was all it took to push me the rest of the way to a Kinsey 6!

by Anonymousreply 32August 14, 2021 9:03 PM

So young, so talented, and a stunning beauty.

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by Anonymousreply 33August 14, 2021 9:06 PM

You don't like her in black & white, R32?

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by Anonymousreply 34August 14, 2021 9:07 PM

She was so...animated.

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by Anonymousreply 35August 14, 2021 9:08 PM

The ONLY THING she is remembered for today is her appearance on "the Flintstones"

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by Anonymousreply 36August 14, 2021 9:08 PM

With Tina Turner.

I had never seen this before.

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by Anonymousreply 37August 14, 2021 9:10 PM

R34 Wow, that screen test and the other on that YouTube channel in which she sings “Mack the Knife” foreshadow the opening and closing of Bye Bye Birdie. And here I thought George Sidney came up with it because he had the hots for Ann-Margret. Or maybe he got the hots for Ann-Margret from seeing the screen tests.

My disappointment at Kitten With A Whip being in black and white didn’t influence my reaction to Ann-Margret. I was a demanding bitch even way back then and wanted a color movie.

by Anonymousreply 38August 14, 2021 9:40 PM

It's time for everyone to sing!

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by Anonymousreply 39August 14, 2021 10:02 PM

I didn't know she had a new movie out:

[quote]While her house undergoes repairs, fiercely independent senior Helen (Academy Award® winner Ellen Burstyn) moves into a nearby retirement community ― just temporarily. Once behind the doors of Pine Grove Senior Community, she encounters lusty widows, cutthroat bridge tournaments and a hotbed of bullying “mean girls” the likes of which she hasn’t encountered since high school, all of which leaves her yearning for the solitude of home. But somewhere between flower arranging and water aerobics Helen discovers that it’s never too late to make new friends and perhaps even find a new love.

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by Anonymousreply 40August 14, 2021 11:55 PM

but the reviews aren't great

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by Anonymousreply 41August 14, 2021 11:57 PM

I absolutely adore Viva Las Vegas. It’s so fun and she’s so sexy in it. The camera just adores her

by Anonymousreply 42August 15, 2021 12:18 AM

Like someone alluded to before, she was the only one of Elvis' co-stars to match him in charisma...Viva Las Vegas!

by Anonymousreply 43August 15, 2021 12:30 AM

Elvis and A-M were a fantastic screen couple. So suited to each other. They had an affair offscreen, too. He cut it off to marry Pricilla, supposedly on the orders of his horrible manager Tom Parker. who decided it was time for Elvis to get married and he'd been living with Pricilla, so she was the logical choice for a wife. One of Elvis's Memphis Mafia happened to run into A-M and said to her, referring to her and Elvis "I thought you two were in love." She said she thought so too. He then asked what happened. She said "Ask your boss. I have idea." Oh well, it never would have worked anyway. A-M was a star in her own right; Elvis would never have wanted a wife equal to him.

by Anonymousreply 44August 15, 2021 12:34 AM

Elvis supposedly said he fucked all of his movie co-stars, except two.

by Anonymousreply 45August 15, 2021 12:36 AM

I think Carnal Knowledge and I’ve always been intrigued by her work in Tommy and how the hell she got a Best Actress nomination for it.

by Anonymousreply 46August 15, 2021 12:36 AM

Viva Las Vegas, no question.

by Anonymousreply 47August 15, 2021 12:53 AM

Do you want to...

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by Anonymousreply 48August 15, 2021 1:00 AM

She was great in Grumpy Old Men.

by Anonymousreply 49August 15, 2021 1:41 AM

She had a cameo in “Ray Donovan” and killed it. She still managed to smolder.

by Anonymousreply 50August 15, 2021 1:44 AM

She's always been a better actress than she was given credit for. I think her "sex kitten" roles made people tend to not take her seriously.

by Anonymousreply 51August 15, 2021 1:47 AM

Tommy is massively underrated today even though it was a huge hit when it came out. Love her, and I do think her performance merited the Oscar nod.

by Anonymousreply 52August 15, 2021 1:50 AM

She didn’t act in Bye Bye Birdie. She just got a lot of screen time because Joseph Biroc was obsessed with her.

by Anonymousreply 53August 15, 2021 2:09 AM

She and Queen Bee Burstyn were also in "Twice in a Lifetime" together in 1985. Ellen's husband (Gene Hackman) leaves her for Ann. Not a great movie by any means, but Ann is very likable and works well with Hackman.

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by Anonymousreply 54August 15, 2021 3:24 AM

I've told this story here before.

Ann-Margret and the company of BLWIT stayed at the hotel where I worked. They spent two weeks in my city rehearsing/performing the show at the local college theatre. I was a waiter and I got picked (or rather, I demanded) to take care of her and her husband with any room service requests from them. Roger Smith would call when they got back to the hotel each evening and I would bring it to their suite. At first, she would be in the other room because I wouldn't see her. But she must have hard me telling Roger how much I loved her and her work, and had since I was a child. After a couple of days, she would come out when I brought their orders up and we'd talk for a few minutes each time. She signed a copy of her book for me, gave me a signed poster from the show, and tipped very well.

I had tickets to the show and she invited me (and my niece and cousin) to come backstage after the performance. We did, and she couldn't have been more gracious to my niece and cousin. We took lots of photos and she gave us a tour of the stage and sets. The next night was their last night and when I brought their room service, she remarked on how lovely it was that we came to the show and how nice it was to meet my family. As I walked away, she called my name and when I turned around, she blew me a kiss. That was the only time in my life my knees buckled.

During this entire time, she was absolutely lovely. She was kind, humble, and and had impeccable manners. My cousin still talks about how she treated us as though we were in her family. I still get a Christmas card from her.

by Anonymousreply 55August 15, 2021 4:12 AM

Beautiful story, thank you for sharing, R55.

by Anonymousreply 56August 15, 2021 4:15 AM

R54, Ann-Margret and Burstyn were also in The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond together.

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by Anonymousreply 57August 15, 2021 4:30 AM

[quote]r43 Like someone alluded to before, she was the only one of Elvis' co-stars to match him in charisma.

Look, I may not have shook my tits around like some stripper on Spanish Fly, but Mr. Presley had no complaints.

And Annie wasn’t offered “Bonnie & Clyde”.

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by Anonymousreply 58August 15, 2021 4:39 AM

Why is her name hyphenated?

by Anonymousreply 59August 15, 2021 4:40 AM

I went to see her in a religious picture, Cardinal Knowledge.

by Anonymousreply 60August 15, 2021 4:53 AM

R55 fabulous story

by Anonymousreply 61August 15, 2021 6:54 AM

The only real answer is Flintstones!

by Anonymousreply 62August 15, 2021 8:11 AM

You're kidding, right?

She had a good performance?

When?

by Anonymousreply 63August 15, 2021 8:28 AM

The last time you R63 took a dump was your finest work.

Yesterday.

I'm not kidding.

by Anonymousreply 64August 16, 2021 6:57 AM

Ann-Margret kicks ass, bitches.

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by Anonymousreply 65August 16, 2021 8:52 PM

R48 Not only was she a bad actor, but she also proves here she was a bad dancer.

by Anonymousreply 66August 16, 2021 9:15 PM

R64 Thanks, I'm always up for a good dump.

You're so cranky I'd bet you haven't taken a dump in quite a while.

by Anonymousreply 67August 16, 2021 9:21 PM

[quote]She and Queen Bee Burstyn were also in "Twice in a Lifetime" together in 1985. Ellen's husband (Gene Hackman) leaves her for Ann. Not a great movie by any means, but Ann is very likable and works well with Hackman.

She was terrific in it but she wasn't likable, she was a husband stealing whoah.

Considering I have the limited edition Blu-Ray edition of "Bye Bye Birdie" and the British Special Edition "Tommy" signed by her I choose those. I agree she's as sweet and you think she would be.

by Anonymousreply 68August 16, 2021 9:43 PM

Ann Margret's best performance was in an episode of Law & Order SVU, entitled: Bedtime.

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by Anonymousreply 69August 17, 2021 2:27 AM

She won an Emmy for that. I congratulated on the win and she said how much fun it was to play her and she was "cuckoo". She worked again with Meloni on his show "Happy".

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by Anonymousreply 70August 17, 2021 9:13 AM

Bump. Inspired by some thread on here, I've just started watching 52 Pickup, which I missed in the 80s. I'm excited, it looks good. Right away in this role I can see how Annie might have played Beth Jarrett.

by Anonymousreply 71November 13, 2021 10:54 PM

Streetcar probably bit that's not saying much. Not a fan of what she did with the character in the last part of the play..........

by Anonymousreply 72November 13, 2021 11:09 PM

I remember that I really liked her attempt to bring back the big western primetime soap, with Four Corners, created by Dallas and Knots Landing creator David Jacobs. Sadly, it only aired 3 episodes.

She was also the one person in the miniseries Scarlett where they got the casting exactly correct, she was perfect as Belle Watling.

by Anonymousreply 73November 13, 2021 11:16 PM
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