DESERVING OF MORE.

by Hunter Jon

Today I’m going to highlight a bunch of actresses who share something in common: they’re deserving of more attention. Who knows why some’s careers lack the praise they’ve earned? Who knows why some don’t break as big as they ought to? Who knows why some are more or less forgotten in Hollywood’s history books? I sure don’t. And I’m not going to attempt to solve any mysteries here. I’m simply going to put these women in the spotlight that they deserve.

She won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress and has a huge, essential role in “All About Eve”, one of the more famous movies ever made. So you’d think her name would be big and bold in the history books. But, for whatever reason, it’s hidden in the fine print.

She was great at flawlessly adjusting herself to the tone of any project (the only person who did this better than her was Barbara Stanwyck). Just watch her in “The Snake Pit” and then “Come to the Stable” (directed by another person deserving of more attention - the great Henry Koster). She’s perfect in both. And those are very different movies.

She also did this kind of awesome thing: she acted like acting was silly. That’s the best way I can describe it. She had, or at least acted like she had, an irreverence for the craft of acting and gave off this “isn’t-this-make-believe-stuff-absurd?” energy in most scenes she was in. There was always the slightest glint in her eye that said, “Don’t take any of this too seriously, folks”. And when sharing a scene with someone who was taking it super seriously and acting up a storm, she almost looks like she’s holding back laughter. You can’t tell if it’s her character or her herself doing so. And then when she had her own big dramatic scene, it was as if she was slyly mocking the other drama queens of the era. This resulted in her coming across like the smartest character, and performer, in the room. She knew the importance of being a “supporting” actress, which, funnily enough, is to lend support to the lead and their scene. She just did so in a cheeky way. It remains crazy refreshing and I love her for it.

“Hey, yo Dito - you rock the disco!” I was sitting in a Canada Square theatre when I first saw and heard her deliver that line. And it wasn’t even in a movie - it was in the trailer for “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints”. She delivers the line right to camera, two gal friends on each arm, the one on her right sharing the sentiment. I must’ve seen that trailer a dozen times and would get excited when it came on in anticipation of her flirty, playful delivery of that line. When I eventually saw the movie, I thought it was just fine - but she was a revelation! Then came “Itty Bitty Titty Committee”, and with it another revelation: her versatility.

Perhaps my favourite thing about her is that, despite certain roles seeming extremely similar on paper, she’s never given the same performance twice. A lesser actress would have more or less reprised her “Be Kind Rewind” role in “Hamlet 2”. Not Diaz.

Not that Oscars mean anything in the end, but it would have been nice to see her nominated Best Supporting for “Fruitvale Station”.

She’s a lead in the “Charmed” reboot, which I have mixed feelings about. I’m almost tempted to watch an episode just for her. Almost.

Also known as Elizabeth Daily.

Sure, she’s never out of voice work. If you watch cartoons at all you’ve heard (and probably enjoyed) her wide-ranging talent. But, unless you’re watching a Rob Zombie movie, you rarely see her on camera these days. Which is such a shame, because she was on a roll in the 80s with great bit parts, stealing scenes (and sometimes the whole show) in movies like “One Dark Night”, “Valley Girl” and “Dogfight” - to name only a few. But of course she’s best known for melting our quirky hearts in “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure”. She’s wonderful beyond words as Dottie. Her trying to get Pee-Wee to listen and take her seriously as she asks him out on a date is one of my favourite pieces of acting ever.

All this, and yet when she appeared as a contestant on “The Voice”, no one seemed to have any idea who she was. This saddened me and, quite frankly, kinda pissed me off. Love you, E.G.!

I often refer to her as the best actress you’re (probably) not watching. She’s been doing amazing work for decades, but really realized her full potential when she started collaborating with director Christian Petzold. They’ve made six movies together and her performance in their most recent, “Phoenix”, is one of the greatest I’ve ever seen.

A lot of actors/actresses these days like to transform themselves physically for a role. They use wardrobe, hair/wigs and make-up (even prosthetics) until they’re unrecognizable. Hoss is able to disappear into her characters entirely while maintaining the same look in all her films. With the exception of one performance I’ve seen, she always just looks like Nina… yet her body language, gestures, the emotion she exudes, the ticks and tacks of her facial expressions, even her eyes, change, ever so subtly, from character to character. This is quite a feat.

She’s a huge star in Germany, and I had this outlandish fantasy that Nolan would cast her as Selina Kyle in “… Rises.”

I highly recommend any of her movies. I won’t bother listing them all here (IMDb her), but I will point out that she’s about to star alongside Kristin Scott Thomas and Daisy Ridley in a movie called “Women in the Castle”. Keep an eye out for it.

Few performers have the longevity that Sidney had. From “Sabotage”, an early Hitchcock picture, to “Beetlejuice” (and "Mars Attacks”). Even fewer were just as good in their twenties at they were in their eighties. I find a wide-eyed optimism in her earlier roles and a droll, heavy eyelided cynicism in her later ones; a satisfying summation of a long life.

You can find my favourite performance of hers in “Merrily We Go to Hell”, directed by the great Dorothy Arzner. You can find my second in “Fury”, directed by Fritz Lang. She managed to work sincerity and tenderness into every character she ever played, regardless of what was there on the page.

She was a big, headlining star in her heyday, her name often bigger than the movie’s title on posters. Yet she’s so rarely celebrated these days. (I actually just looked to see if a book had ever been written about her, expecting to find none. But alas! “Sylvia Sidney - Paid by the Tear” by Scott O’Brien, published in 2016 and available on Amazon. Yay.)

This woman was born to be a star. How she end up being a character actress, I’ll never know. But I always appreciate when she pops up in big movies (thanks, Rodriguez & Snyder), and make sure to seek her out in smaller ones (thanks, Sebastian Gutierrez [aka her husband]).

When she’s playing someone warm, there’s that trustworthy sparkle in her eye. When she plays someone cold, it’s replaced with a soulful sadness, one that I don’t believe is entirely acting. Let’s pray she’s drawing from her past and not the present.

Her work with Mike Flanagan has gotten her a lot of attention lately, but still not enough for my liking. I mean, c’mon - this woman was Pauly Shore’s greatest leading lady. That means something, people.

Has anyone else seen either “Red Hot” or “Every Day”? Boy, is she wonderful in those.

All you have to watch is the one and only season of “Honey West” and a movie called “Girl of the Night” to realize what kind of legacy she should have.

The industry was still a puppy when she entered it, and those two particular characters broke a lot of new ground. She didn’t have the luxury of looking back and doing what those who came before her did. Honey West was a ass-kicking female private eye. There wasn’t much precedent for that, certainly not on television. Bobbie Williams was a takes-no-shit prostitute. There wasn’t much precedent there, either - even on the big screen. So she truly had to build these characters from the ground up and in doing so helped established essential archetypes in each medium.

All that serious business aside - she was such a fun actress, never forgetting, even in dramatic roles, that she was ultimately there to entertain.

Most people just remember her as the maid from “Clue”. Which is nice, because it means she nailed that performance. But also a shame, because she has nailed every performance she’s ever given. Sure, these performances have mostly been in B-movies and episodes of TV, and she was never a leading lady or anything. But she did something more actresses/actors need to do - give 110% regardless of the size or nature of the project and/or role. Hell, no one would have blamed her for phoning in “Ebony, Ivy and Jade” and “The Swinging Cheerleaders” - but she gives it her all in both.

If you think Coppola cast her in “Apocalypse Now” because of her body, you don’t understand Coppola.

And her comic chops and timing are up there with the best of them.

If you’re at all familiar with this blog, you’ve probably deduced that I’m a huge fan.

She may have been the biggest movie star to never carry an A-picture. That, combined with he fact that she retired at 27 years old, is, I believe, largely responsible for people's amnesia regarding her stardom. I can’t stress enough what a massive star she was. There were Deanna Durbin china dolls. Paper dolls. Sheet music. Endless magazine covers and albums. My Papa ate Deanna Durbin chicken (whatever that is). At one point either her movies made more than Bette Davis’ or she was earning more than Bette Davis or something about her one upping Bette Davis. Yet, when she died in 2013 you had to go hunting for the headlines.

Anyway, she was a brilliant “movie star”, which is a different kind of acting and way harder than people think. In my opinion no other actress accomplished what she did until Julia Roberts came along.

Do yourself a favour and watch (or rewatch) “The Amazing Mrs. Holliday” and just bask in Durbin at peak power. It’s literally overwhelming how good at her job she was. Truly peerless.

I first saw her in “Downfall” and naturally assumed Hollywood would be breaking down her door. Maybe they did and she boarded it up. I don’t know. She certainly caught Francis Ford Coppola’s eye, though - he cast her as the lead alongside Tim Roth in “Youth Without Youth”. Since then she’s popped up in Spike Lee’s “Miracle at St. Anna”, the Oscar-winning “The Reader” and “Rush” directed by Ron Howard. She was also brilliant in “Control”.

She’s perfected playing naive, frail characters who are forced to build up walls to protect themselves - the emotional equivalent of glass incased in iron. Yet she’s also effortlessly slipped into the occasional femme fatale role. That’s some impressive range.

Despite building up quite a resume in Germany, she still isn’t quite the leading lady I’d like her to be. She often plays “the girl” opposite some leading male character(s). Although I highly recommend “Sealed Lips” - maybe her meatiest performance - and a leading one! Woo-hoo.

I love Stella Stevens. There, I said it. Both for her immense talent and how she handled being objectified for her looks (in her infamous Playboy centrefold, she’s sticking out her tongue and crossing her eyes).

I suppose most people remember her best from “The Nutty Professor” or “The Poseidon Adventure”… and she’s great in those. Really, really great. But she’s also great in “Girls! Girls! Girls!” with Elvis. And she’s great in “Too Late Blues”. And she’s great in “How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life”. And she’s great in “Where Angels Go Trouble Follows”. And she’s great in “Rage”. And she’s great in “Slaughter”. And she’s great in “The Ballad of Cable Hogue”.

… getting the picture?

Gone too soon. Seemingly forgotten even quicker.

The only time I hear her referenced these days is when “The Last of Sheila” is discussed, which is rarely to begin with. Do you remember that her character is a recovering alcoholic in that movie? I do. Because at one point when asked what she wants to drink on the titular vessel, she says ginger ale. And she gets one. I know this is scripted, obviously, and not her doing. But it’s the way she asks for the ginger ale, the way she receives it, and the way she holds and sips it throughout the scene that tells you literally everything about this character, her recovery, and how close to a relapse she is. If you’re an aspiring actor, study her. In this scene and all scenes.

She starred in a lot of made-for-TV movies, which can be hard to find. But her best performance, in my opinion, is in “The Group”, directed with vigour by Sydney Lumet. That’s another thing for actors to study - her generosity as an ensemble performer. It doesn’t have to be all about her. She stands out when she should, and blends in when she should.

She was an incredibly skilled actress and I miss her.

Most remembered as The Baroness in “The Sound of Music”, a part she perhaps played too well; we all hate her in that movie. But, if you haven’t already, please check her out in other stuff. Like “Caged” and especially “The Naked Jungle”. She goes toe to toe with Charlton Heston in the latter and comes out on top - perhaps the only woman to ever do so (he plays a virgin and she plays a widow - it’s fucking great).

She was a very intense and impressive actress who deserves more recognition. If I were a person who made stuff on Etsy, I’d make “Eleanor Parker Fan Club” buttons and t-shirts, just to get the ball rolling.

Personally, I think she’s the actress of her generation (alongside Jessica Chastain).

I noticed she shot up the IMDb Starmeter recently because of her role on “Clickbait”, which I was thrilled about.

Every performance she gives is a little treasure to me. I cherish all of them. From “Revolutionary Road” to “Happythankyoumoreplease” to “Meek’s Cutoff” and literally every single one in between.

I’m giddy when she lands a juicy starring role. I don’t care what the quality of the movie is - she’ll raises it through the roof. See: “The Monster”. And how great is everything about “The Exploding Girl”?

She’s simply the best. I don’t know how to praise her properly. Just insert every compliment you could ever give an actress here.

Yep. Morticia Addams. One could suggest that the worst thing she did for her career was play that role as brilliantly as she did.

Prior to being the best sitcom actress of her time she was one of the best, well, for lack of a better description, “bit players” the industry had to offer. She could make the most out of any role, no matter how seemingly insignificant. In “The Seven Year Itch” she’s on screen all of seventeen seconds, yet whenever someone mentions that movie I hear myself say, “Y’know Carolyn Jones is in that, eh?”… and that movie stars Marilyn Monroe. What does that tell you?

For the best you’ll ever see her you have to watch “The Bachelor Party”, written by Paddy Chayefsky. At one point, she’s alone with one of the leads. They’re kissing and we know where it’s headed. Her character says something like, “Tell me you love me. You don’t have to mean it. I just want to hear you say it.” That kind of heartbreakingly relatable insecurity and longing would be a gem now, let alone in 1957.

She was such a vulnerable, fragile actress. She brought all she was struggling with to every role at a John Cazale level. She was also a master of body language without ever overacting. There’s a moment in “The Tender Trap” - Frank Sinatra and Debbie Reynolds are sharing a smooch and Jones, playing Reynolds’ friend, is standing to the side, waiting for them to finish. She’s not staring. She’s not moving. She doesn’t speak. She’s just standing there, looking dead ahead at nothing. There is so much pain in everything about her, yet she’s doing literally nothing. You could crop out Frank and Debbie and you’d still be able to tell that that’s a lonely person.

I must share my favourite Morticia moment, for good measure: in the Christmas episode, she’s decorating the tree on a step ladder and accidentally speaks French. Gomez goes nuts like he does, kissing her arm. She nearly loses her balance, and takes a moment to compose herself, placing a hand on her stomach. It’s a small choice - but a damn good one. One that sums up her character beautifully.

It’s also worth pointing out that this woman doesn’t get the credit she deserves for how influential she was and is; a forgotten icon of fashion, style and grace (a little help from Edith Head never hurts, either).

For whatever it’s worth, she was by far Elvis Presley’s most worthy costar.

As for that role in “The Bachelor Party”, for which she’s simply credited as ‘The Existentialist’… she was nominated Best Supporting Actress.

Carolyn motherfuckin’ Jones.

If I could go back in time (y’know, responsibly - without changing history in any way) the first thing I would do is see the original Mike Nichols directed production of “Barefoot in the Park”. The second thing I would do is see Arlene Francis on stage - in anything. She was quite the star of the stage in her day. She started as a player in Orson Welles’ Mercury Theatre. He had a tough call to make when it came to which leading lady to take with him to Hollywood - Agnes Moorehead or Arlene Francis? He chose Moorehead, as you know (Francis got the last laugh, though - decades later a washed-up Welles was a guest panelist on a certain guessing game show; passing through Arlene’s high-paying domain).

Here’s the thing about Arlene Francis. She wanted to be a so-called “serious” actress. She wanted to play Lady Macbeth and be revered. But how much joy would she have brought to the world if that had been the case? A little. Maybe. But it wouldn’t even begin to compare to the joy she brought to the world on “What’s My Line?”. People form profound bonds with those they welcome into their home each week via the toybox. Robin Williams said time and time again that no matter how many movies he made the thing people yelled out most on the street was “MORK!”.

The joy Francis generously gave away also spilled over into movies, such as “The Thrill of it All” and “One Two Three”. Tom Hanks once said he did “A League of Their Own” because he wanted what Jack Nicholson had in “Terms of Endearment”: he just wanted the audience to be happy he was there. Anytime Arlene pops up in anything, I’m beyond happy she’s there.

Let me explain to you what a ‘free Bujold’ is.

At TIFF’s Lightbox theatre, they’ll sometimes show Canadian movies for free. Once, they showed a series of Canadian movies starring Geneviève, whom is Canadian, for free. They started as they should, with a screening of “Amanita Pestilens”. It’s her first movie. And it’s about vengeful mushrooms. She’s better in it than any 21 year old should be in any movie. Then came “Isabel”, directed by her then husband, Paul Almond. It's proof that sometimes you can find a phenomenal performance in a nothing movie.

I have to admit I was disappointed that they didn’t screen “Kamouraska”, which is one of my favourites of hers. She’s spectacular in everything - but in that instance the movie itself is spectacular, as well (although I prefer the Director’s Cut, which is nearly an hour longer).

Eventually they got around to “Dead Ringers” (point Deirdre Bowen). Not surprisingly, this was the most well attended screening in the series. It was there that I overheard an exchange that warmed my movie buff heart. Just as the lights went down, a guy raced in and scanned the theatre. He found who he was looking for and made his way to the seat his buddy was saving for him. It happened to be directly behind mine. As the movie started, I heard the guy mutter, “Sorry I’m late, man.” His friend whispered, without a hint of humour, “I was worried you were gonna miss another free Bujold.” I think that says it all.