Cont’d from March 14th, 2008

Mrs. Robinson, you’re trying to seduce me.  Aren’t you?

Another great year for outstanding female film performances was 1967 when the following ladies were all vying for the award of Best Actress:

Anne Bancroft as the seductive Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate

Faye Dunaway as Bonnie Parker, Clyde’s partner-in-crime, in Bonnie & Clyde

Edith Evans as Mrs. Maggie Ross, a senile old woman, in The Whisperers

Audrey Hepburn as Susy Hendrix, a blind, terrorized woman, in Wait Until Dark

Katharine Hepburn as Christina Drayton, a liberal mother and wife, in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?

And who won the Oscar?  Another surprise this year—at least in my opinion—as Katharine Hepburn took home the coveted prize.  Of course, her performance is good (as always), but I think other factors may have helped her get the award. Dinner, a huge box office hit, was the first mainstream film to deal with the socially relevant subject matter of interracial marriage, Hepburn’s co-star—and the love of her life—Spencer Tracy died shortly after filming ended, and she hadn’t won an Oscar since 1933.  The following year, Ms. Hepburn also won for Best Actress (a tie with Funny Girl’s Barbra Streisand) for her role as Eleanor of Aquitaine in The Lion in Winter.  Now there’s a memorable performance in a great film, worthy of an Oscar.  Personally, I don’t consider Ms. Hepburn’s Dinner role as one of her best—especially when you consider the outstanding dramatic work by Anne Bancroft, Faye Dunaway and Audrey Hepburn—all of whom I would’ve given the award to instead.

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?, which won two Oscars (Best Actress and Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen), is available on a 2-Disc 40th Anniversary Edition DVD, which includes “A Special Kind of Love” featurette about Hepburn and Tracy, a tribute to director Stanley Kramer and introductions by Tom Brokaw, Quincy Jones and Steven Spielberg.

The Graduate, which won an Oscar for Best Director (Mike Nichols), has an impressive 40th Anniversary Collector’s Edition DVD, which includes two commentaries—one with stars Dustin Hoffman and Katharine Ross, the other with Nichols and Steven Soderbergh, a documentary featuring interviews with writer Buck Henry and film critic Richard Roeper, and a CD of four Simon & Garfunkel songs from the movie.  An interesting piece of trivia is that the shapely leg featured in the film’s poster doesn’t belong to Ms. Bancroft.  It’s actually Linda Gray’s leg—the future star of TV’s Dallas who was just an unknown model back then.

Bonnie & Clyde, which won two Oscars (Best Supporting Actress for Estelle Parsons and Best Cinematography), is finally receiving the DVD release it deserves on March 25 when both a 2-Disc Special Edition and a 2-Disc Ultimate Collector’s Edition will hit the stores.  Both will feature a three-part making-of documentary and two newly discovered deleted scenes.  The Collector’s Edition will also have a 36-page hardcover book of rare, behind-the-scenes photos and a 24-page reproduction of the original 1967 press book.

Wait Until Dark’s DVD has a short featurette called “A Look In The Dark” with interviews from co-star Alan Arkin and producer Mel Ferrer.  There are also two vintage theatrical trailers.

The Whisperers is not available on DVD.

And in the overlooked category that year is Audrey Hepburn’s lovely performance in Two for the Road.  As much as I like her in Wait Until Dark, her role as Joanna Wallace in Road is the one I believe was worthier of a Best Actress nomination.

1950 and 1967 were both great years for some amazing Best Actress performances, so I urge you to check them all out on DVD.  Enjoy!

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