Best Actress 1974
Winner: Ellen Burstyn, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
Nominees: Diahann Carroll, Claudine
Faye Dunaway, Chinatown
Valerie Perrine, Lenny
Gena Rowlands, A Woman under the Influence

The Field: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
The best there ever was: the performances are all exquisite, the roles and styles of acting range widely, and the films, on the whole, are wonderful. (I'm less than moved by Lenny, even though it looks great on the surface.) Plus, the Academy stretched way beyond its usual bounds to accommodate Carroll and Rowlands. Anyone could have won; it's surprising in a way that Perrine's manager didn't bump her down to Supporting, since she certainly would have won in such a paltry field. Then again, agents and actors used to do right by the integrity of Oscar categories (well, sorta), and it's a peach to have this field to remember exactly as it is.

Ranking Oscar's Ballot
 
 My Pick:
Gena Rowlands, A Woman under the Influence ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

From There:
Diahann Carroll, Claudine ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Ellen Burstyn, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Faye Dunaway, Chinatown ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Valerie Perrine, Lenny ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Who gets your vote in this field, and on my dream ballot below? VOTE HERE!


My Favorites from 1974:

My Pick: Gena Rowlands, A Woman under the Influence
Nominees: Ellen Burstyn, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
Nominees: Diahann Carroll, Claudine
Nominees: Faye Dunaway, Chinatown
Nominees: Brigitte Mira, Ali: Fear Eats the Soul

Honorable Mentions: Valerine Perrine, Lenny; Marilyn Burns, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre


Gourmet Prospects: Aurore Clément, Lacombe, Lucien; Blythe Danner, Lovin' Molly; Shelley Duvall, Thieves Like Us; Pam Grier, Foxy Brown; Goldie Hawn, The Sugarland Express; Mariangela Melato, Love and Anarchy; Mariangela Melato, The Seduction of Mimi; Liv Ullmann, Scenes from a Marriage

Further Research: Julie Andrews, The Tamarind Seed; Christina Lindberg, Thriller: They Call Her One Eye; Pamela Sue Martin, Our Time; Madhabi Mukherjee, Charulata; Joan Plowright, The Three Sisters; Louise Purnell, The Three Sisters; Ann Prentiss, California Split; Charlotte Rampling, Zardoz; Barbra Streisand, For Pete's Sake; Jessica Tandy, Butley; Jeanne Watts, The Three Sisters; Raquel Welch, The Three Musketeers

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