Elizabeth Taylor was beautiful. Because the picture above is in black and white, it doesn’t do justice to the allure of her distinctive , violet eyes. The world fell in love with her in 1944, at the age of 12, with her star turn in the Oscar nominated movie, National Velvet. Over the next dozen years, moviegoers watched her grow into a stunning beauty and a bona fide international star. The Oscar decade from 1957 to 1966 perfectly fits the peak of her acting career. In 1957, at age 25, she appeared in her first Oscar nominated role in Raintree County. Nine years later, in 1966, she appeared in her fifth nominated film of the decade, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, for which she won her second Best Leading Actress award. It also marked the last nomination she would ever receive from the Academy of Motion Pictures.
For the lead in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Elizabeth Taylor intentionally gained 30 pounds to play the past her prime Martha. The picture below is from the film. She sacrificed much of her beauty for the role.
Compare this to her picture from her first Oscar win in the 1960 film Butterfield 8.
It’s hard to believe that only six years separate the women in the two pictures.
Elizabeth Taylor was an excellent actress. But, she became a star because she was beautiful. Was this a case of the Hollywood double standard when it comes to women? Do many actresses have a shelf life that doesn’t outlast their beauty? A shelf life that doesn’t seem to apply, as much, to their male counterparts. This is a topic I’ll explore in greater depth in the future. But, for now, consider in the list below how dominant Elizabeth Taylor was in a decade filled with very strong competition. And after that she wasn’t dominant. She wasn’t even close.
Top Actresses of the Decade | ||||||
1957 to 1966 | ||||||
Actress | Year of 1st Movie in the Decade | Lead Actress Nominations | Lead Actress Wins | Supporting Actress Nominations | Supporting Actress Wins | Total Academy Award Points |
Elizabeth Taylor | 1957 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
Deborah Kerr | 1957 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
Shirley MacLaine | 1957 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
Simone Signoret | 1957 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
Sophia Loren | 1957 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
Anne Bancroft | 1957 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
Julie Andrews | 1964 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
It was a decade when many actresses who were already active in the business broke through to become stars. With the exception of Deborah Kerr, all of the actresses on this list earned their first Oscar nomination within the decade. Only Julie Andrews had her movie debut within the decade. But even in her case, she had begun her career on Broadway before the decade began. It was a decade for actresses who weren’t household names, in most cases, to finally become stars.
On the Best Actor side, there was a similar story but not as pronounced.
Top Actors of the Decade | ||||||
1957 to 1966 | ||||||
Actor | Year of 1st Movie in the Decade | Lead Actor Nominations | Lead Actor Wins | Supporting Actor Nominations | Supporting Actor Wins | Total Academy Award Points |
Spencer Tracy | 1957 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
Richard Burton | 1957 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
Paul Newman | 1957 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
Jack Lemmon | 1957 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
Burt Lancaster | 1957 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
Sidney Poitier | 1957 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
Rex Harrison | 1957 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
The decade produced a seven way tie for most Academy Award points. All of the actors made their film debuts prior to the decade, but only Spencer Tracy was an established star. Three of the actors (Newman, Poitier, and Harrison) were nominated for the first time during the decade. From this list of excellent actors, who is the Actor of the Decade? You may be surprised, but the winner of the tie breakers is Jack Lemmon.
Tie Breakers for Top Actor of the Decade | ||||||
Avg IMDB & Rotten Tomatoes Ratings for Nominated Movies | ||||||
Released from 1957 to 1966 | ||||||
Actor | IMDB Avg Rating | # of Votes | Rotten Tomatoes % Fresh | How Fresh? | # of Critics Reviews | |
Jack Lemmon | 8.3 | 299,677 | 95% | Certified Fresh | 116 | |
Paul Newman | 8.0 | 113,496 | 94% | Certified Fresh | 100 | |
Spencer Tracy | 8.2 | 72,424 | 90% | Fresh | 50 | |
Richard Burton | 8.0 | 79,113 | 87% | Fresh | 78 | |
Burt Lancaster | 7.8 | 20,515 | 91% | Fresh | 45 | |
Rex Harrison | 7.7 | 90,039 | 77% | Certified Fresh | 81 | |
Sidney Poitier | 7.7 | 16,476 | 90% | Fresh | 30 |
In a relatively close contest with Paul Newman and Spencer Tracy, Jack Lemmon wins on the strength of his leading roles in two movies just outside the IMDB Top 100 Movies of all time, The Apartment (105) and Some Like It Hot (116). His third nominated movie, Days of Wine and Roses is no slouch either. These movies generated more interest from today’s viewers and critics, as well.While just outside this decade, it should be noted that Lemmon also won Best Supporting Actor for his 1955 performance in Mr. Roberts. Of Newman and Tracy’s six nominated roles in the decade, only Tracy’s Judgment at Nuremberg (149) cracks the IMDB Top 250.
Next month I’ll look at the two decades between 1967 and 1986. I suspect we’ll be talking some more about some of the names on this decade’s list. Can you guess who the new stars will be?