Greer Garson

[Trinity]

http://framisdave.com/garson.jpg

I never see anyone talk about her. I don't know why that is exactly, but she seems to largely forgotten these days. When one thinks she had SEVEN Best Actress nomination (only Bette, Katharine and Meryl have more), I'd expect her to be a legend along the same ranks as Bergman, Davis etc. But she isn't. Maybe the reason for this is she didn't have as long a career as some of the major legends (her prime were really only the WWII years). Or maybe it's the type of characters she played, the heroic, inspiring wife characters, which aren't really in high demand these days. But back in those days they were gold, bringing Greer a record five consecutive BA noms, from 1941 to 1945 (a record she shares with Bette Davis). As Greer said herself: "If you're gonna be typecast, there are much worse things you could be typecast as."

From what I've seen (not too much so far, but I plan on expanding on that), it seems to me Greer wasn't one of those scene-stealing or technically flawless performers, but she brought such amazing integrity and honesty to her roles as I've never seen from any other actress. Blossoms in the Dust, Goodbye Mr. Chips, Mrs. Miniver - all very powerful performances, that have quickly made me big fan of Miss Garson.

What are everyone else's thoughts on her?

P.S. Anyone know anything specific about her Oscar acceptance speech which, legend has it, was the longest in Oscar history? Some sources say a full hour (!!!), some only five minutes - that's quite a difference there, I'd love to know the real story.

[Trinity]

Just a tiny bump, cause I really wanna hear some opinions here.

[Trinity]

And another one, since the first one didn't register.

[Tagia_Romero]

YAY. Very lovely, quite talented. One of my goddesses.

[Indiana Sev]

A tiny yay since I've only seen Mrs. Miniver and Julius Caesar from her films and that was some time ago. I'll have to see more to make a better call.

I can't deny that she chose her roles well, thus the yay.

[Hannibal21]

YAY!

Absolutely magnificent actress who chooses great roles, great movies and never ceases to amaze me in them. My favorite performances from this talented lady include Mrs. Miniver, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Blossoms in the Dust and Madame Curie. She can do no wrong, I tell ya!

YAY!!! All the way!!!

[Hannibal21]

Btw, Trinity, yes. Greer Garson's Oscar acceptance speech to this day remains the longest in history. It's bulls*it that some sources say only an hour, some say even over an hour, but it's really only seven minutes long. Guess it must've felt much longer, lol.

[Trinity]

Hey, thanks. I've actually tried googling for the actual speech or at least some more info on the matter (being the Oscar nut that I am) and this is what I got:


It may have been the last time the Oscars were handed out at a dinner banquet, but the 1943 show is instead remembered as the night of the longest acceptance speech in Academy Awards history.

The culprit was actress Greer Garson, who took the stage after midnight to deliver a monologue some recall as lasting nearly an hour.

More reliable reports indicate her speech probably clocked in at about five and a half minutes but seemed longer due to the late hour and her odd topic--the arbitrariness of awards.

"I think the reason people remembered it," Garson said later, "is because I somewhat fractured a longstanding rule, which was that a winner should simply say thank you' and then dissolve into a flood of tears and sit down."


So that one says five and a half. This next one says seven.

"The record for the longest Oscar acceptance speech is still held by Greer Garson, accepting the Best Actress award for "Mrs. Miniver" in 1943. It was after 1 a.m., the last award to be handed out that night. She cleared her throat.

"I'm practically unprepared," Garson began. And she went on. And on. She murmured something about the arbitrary nature of awards. Presenter Joan Fontaine took a seat. Still Garson went on. The speech clocked in at seven minutes, according to Patrick Stockstill, historian at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

Garson never won an Oscar again."

LOL, I guess everyone was half asleep by that point! I wish I could read what she actually said. :)

[Boba Joe]

Classic. :) Yay.