Barbara Walters always managed to say something asinine. My favorite moment was when she asked Katharine Hepburn if she ever wore skirts, and Hepburn said, "I have one and I'll wear it to your funeral."
There’s no excuse for being obnoxious in an interview. And it doesn’t surprise me that Hepburn made that statement to Barbara Walters. Hepburn never thought of anyone else but herself. She never gave back to the industry that gave her a career, a vocation, an artistic outlet, and a job for over 40 years. It’s more than a disgrace, it’s an insult that Hepburn never attended the Oscars. And her one attendance was just to present the humanitarian Oscar. That doesn’t count. Because she chose the event that she wanted to attend. You may dislike Barbara Walters and her interview techniques, but she was one of the first female journalist and interviewers and she always gave back to her industry.
the twitter discourse section was the greatest piece of comedy i’ve seen this year. “liza minelli has outlived several versions of shirley maclane” broke me 😭
Now that you referenced Charlize Theron's transformation in Monster, I would LOVE to see your analysis on her win. Her career is certainly interesting before AND after her performance in that film.
Right there with you. She has more than proven she is the realest of real deals. Looking like that is the biggest strike against her. She’s still so statuesque and other-worldly so people are still sleeping on Ms Theron. She’ll win another before it is all said and done, probably when she’s in her 60’s or 70’s. Her work in Monster will forever be unassailable in the top ten greatest acting transformations of any gender. Even Ebert saw as much and if anybody was qualified to say so…
@@collinmichaelkahn3918 I watched all the Eileen Wuornos documentaries and even served on the board of a performing arts non-profit that commissioned an opera about her. Theron nailed Wuornos.
Shirley is such a dream. Also: it would such a neat experience to hear your thoughts on child actresses who win/get nominated for Oscars. Anna Paquin, Tatum O’Neal, Quvenzhané Wallis. What goes into a child getting nominated for an Oscar? How much is it the studio vs the critical/audience reception? I’m just saying it would be really cool to hear you talk about it
What a great suggestion! In that theme, I would love for BKR to include something about about Kirsten Dunst (who I think should have at least been nominated for "Interview with the vampire").
Shirley MacLaine is so phenomenally talented, and I don't think she's really gotten the credit that she deserves. She's that old school triple threat (singer, dancer and actor), and her comedic timing and physicality are so good. Thank you for a wonderful episode.
She's been in a gazillion movies and won the ultimate award an actor can have, a leading Oscar. What other credit do you think deserves? A Nobel Peace Prize?
@@TimeIdle An Oscar is a regional acting award. She's not recognized enough for her body of work. Also, the awards at Cannes are far more important than Oscars IMO, as are film festivals with far less campaigning. Heck, even Redford, who invented Sundance, goes to festivals in North Dakota to see revolutionary breakthrough films to find *raw talent*, and to get away from the funded and campaigned to death and big-name people gunning for awards at Sundance.
Shirley MacLaine roaming around the world as an intrepid and independent photojournalist in a TV Show. I think it’s a cool idea. It’s sad that no one had the vision to carry it.
Too bad Shirley was a couple of generations too early. But then again, Maclaine was part and parcel with the feminist reform in Hollywood. Without actresses like her, women would still be shackled to gender roles from the 19th century.
@@mel3687 Actually, there are dozens of women journalists from many countries and from the 18th century forward. Women journalists covered action in WWII and Vietnam. As a teen-ager in the 1950s, I was well-acquainted with the name Marguerite Higgins and I briefly met Charlotte Ebener Weller, a lesser-known reporter who started her career as a foreign correspondent for the Chicago Daily News. She won a Pulitzer Prize and also published a memoir entitled "No Facilities for Women." The title came about when she was reporting from Asian countries, and heard of an area or island inhabited primarily by women. She petitioned the government for permission to visit the area but her request was denied, ostensibly because there were no facilities for women there.
@@kathleenmckenzie6261 The original poster and I were referring to the segment of the video discussing MacLaines short-lived tv show “Shirley’s world” in which Hollywood was described around the 4:35 mark not have an appreciation for serious female protagonists. Shirley, in many ways, helped paved the road for future generations at a time when feminism was a charming though frivolous perspective to the patriarchal Hollywood society of that time. But thanks for the comment. It’s a lovely historical insight. Cheers
Only Shirley MacLaine could go toe to toe with Dame Maggie Smith. The barbs between the two of them were epic! My favorite part of the show will forever be Martha (Shirley).singing "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" to Violet (Maggie) too cute!
Shirley is brilliant in the Apartment. I'm just blown away every time I watch it . That and Post Cards From The Edge are my favorite performances of hers.
all 3 leads were excellent in the film but it's probably not discussed because of its somewhat dated take on homosexuality. even Shirley was baffled by her character's suicide over coming to terms with her sexuality.
@@haintedhouse2990 It's a 1930s plot that wasn't updated at all for its 1960s time period, although the "kill your gays" trope" was pretty consistent during that latter decade. It's still a great piece of cinema, and MacLaine's extended interview in "the Celluloid Closet" DVD extras provides even more details on how gun shy everyone was about making her character explicitly lesbian until the end of the film. Also, Hepburn gives one of the greatest performances without dialogue in the ending (both in Martha's room & as she walks by James Garner and out into the unknown at the end).
@@haintedhouse2990 i actually think most people i’ve talked about it with think it holds up remarkably well! her suicide, while arguably falling into problematic tropes of gay characters (esp lesbians) dying, felt necessary to the point. it’s like jack in brokeback in that way. and the coming out scene is some of the most powerful drama i’ve ever seen, absolutely visceral and gut wrenching 💔
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting her a few times, and she was absolutely wonderful. A beautiful example of poise and authenticity, she is a true master of her craft!
I fell in love with Shirley when my parents packed us all into our station wagon, drove us to the local Drive-In, and we sat there and watched The Apartment and listened to it through the very tinny sounding speakers. Shirley's beautiful face, pixie hair cut, and charm captivated me. She's very special and always has been.
I saw “Terms of Endearment” in the theater, when I was in high school. I remember her appearances on Donohue and other talk shows; where she discussed her spiritual beliefs. I even read “Out On A Limb” and saw the TV movie of the same name where she played herself. At the time it was interesting. It was at the beginning of the suburban New Age movement. She’s incredibly talented. Too get an idea of how good she was in her cabaret performances; you can see ‘Shirley MacClaine at the Lido’ here on UA-cam. She’s incredibly dynamic.
Her career is among the most unique in Hollywood history and you expertly highlight the minutia of what made it so. Excellent work on this and every video you’ve produced so far.
Yaaas! This video! Together with 'All About Eve' and 'The Lion in Winter, 'Terms of Endearment' has my favorite screenplay of all time. The dialogues are so wit! ♥️
I love you. This was exactly how I needed to wake up this morning. ♥️ Your channel is so rich and nourishing that the experience for this 54 year old queen is as exciting as sitting alone in that little chair at the end of a stack for hours in the public library at 13, 14 and 15 reading Pauline Kael books cover to cover.
The Apartment is my all-time favorite of her performances. So understated but you can really feel her pain without her having to be over the top to convey it. She definitely leaves me with misty eyes at certain points in the film and she's probably why I never much cared for Fred MacMurray.
MacLaine’s performance in Some Came Running deserves more attention here, as does the film itself. Watched now, her performance feels like the template for other actresses’ entire careers, including Melanie Griffith and Renee Zellwegger. The Apartment refines the qualities that were first defined in Some Came Running. It’s a fantastic performance. Debra Winger was never going to win the Oscar over Shirley MacLaine but I think she was very definitely seen as a worthy contender. A big part of MacLaine’s momentum as well was her 4 previous nominations. At the mention of her nearly 6 year absence from filmmaking in the ‘70s, I was reminded that MacLaine’s much admired body of work was ever present on tv. As a child of the ‘70s, I was well aware of who Shirley MacLaine was; she always seemed a part of the popular culture. As for Out On A Limb, of course she was jeered at and made fun of but I think, as noted, it was very much located in the Californian, New Age trends of the time - I mean, Dianetics had been a best seller for decades and the boomer generation had already been primed on Chariots of the Gods. If anything, it made her seem like an actress flake but I don’t think it ever threatened to cancel her. There were plenty before her. Lastly, we need a video on Glenda Jackson. :)
Shirley MacLaine has always been one of my favourites! Sweet Charity is one of my fave musicals of all time and so undeniably Sixties and she is the most charming, adorable, hilarious character. Everyone should watch it.
I have such a fondness for Ms. MacLaine. She's like a pixie who decided to become human one day. She really was great in The Children's Hour. She did the best she could within the constraints of the stupid-ass code and the proto-bury-your-gays ending. I'm an Audrey Hepburn fan first and foremost, but she was frankly out-shined by SM. While I've always found her past life stuff bizarre, fundies scoffing at other people's religious/spiritual beliefs will never not be amusing/bemusing to me. Believe what you'd like, but talk about throwing stones in a glass house.
I have no clue how I didn’t know about Shirley’s new age beliefs until today but honestly it kinda makes me love her. And the “Twitter discourse” bit is peak comic writing in every single detail from the usernames to the text. Brava!
I love, love, love Shirley! Thank you for this video in Honor of this Movie Legend. May she stay healthy a little longer. And "Only murders .." is fabulous and should not be missed
It's an absolute sin not to mention What A Way To Go. She's hysterical in it. I feel like it also says a lot about her "type." She's been very glamorous, but in very campy way, and she's clearly in on the joke. (Basically the joke being that she wasn't Marilyn or Elizabeth Taylor.) She wasn't so much de-glamming, because even when she played parts with more glamorous wardrobes, she was always a "regular girl" who somehow ended up in glamorous clothes, but usually of questionable taste. (see also: Sweet Charity, and Irma La Douce.)
Another great contextualization of a great actress and fantastic film! I’ve always loved Shirley McClaine and felt she was a little oddly underrated. This also reminded me to watch the new season of OMITB!
I'm kicking myself for not realizing that's Shirley Maclaine in Only Murders. She's one of my faves in Steel Magnolias (honestly maybe my fave after Sally Field). Additionally, this video told me that Shirley Maclaine is someone I need to watch to complete a lot of pre-2000s movies I've heard great things about for ages, like The Turning Point, Sweet Charity, Defending Your Life, and, of course, Terms of Endearment. Basically all that I come to this channel for wrapped into one! Great Twitter discourse jokes, realizing "omg wait she's her?!", and leaving with a list of amazing movies to catch up on. Great work as always!
If you haven't seen "Defending Your Life", great comedy with Albert Brooks and Meryl Streep, there's an AMAZING gag about Shirley's reincarnation beliefs. It's a great movie, but I like that her scene in the film shows she can poke fun at herself (and has a sense of humor), she seems like a cool lady. Edit: my bad for not watching the very end of the video, her cameo from “defending your life” is there :) good stuff!!!
yes. I also like when she pokes fun at herself through her character in Postcards From the Edge when she's singing at the surprise party for Suzanne (Meryl Streep) and she sings "I'm feeling transcendental, am I here?"
I can’t believe I watched the whole thing and not ONCE did you mention Two Mules for Sister Sarah!!! 😂😂😂 thank you for doing such a great piece on her, I love it!
After knocking around Hollywood for nearly 30 years, MacLaine had cemented herself within the ranks of the film industry and represented the irresistible and inevitable, much like force majeure: simply, it was her time and her year to win. Save for Vivien Leigh's taking the Oscar for Gone with the Wind, I doubt there are few Oscar wins more certain than MacLaine's.
Your Dolly Parton video got me to watch Steel Magnolias and I wasnt prepared for that emotional journey haha. This video makes me want to watch Terms of Endearment but I'm scared.
YAAAAS! I've been WAITING for you to do a video on this. I just recently saw Terms of Endearment for the first time and immediately came to your channel to see if you had a video on it, Shirley MacLaine or Debra Winger. Was shocked when I couldn't find any videos on any of them. Thank you for this! LOVE your content. Be well!
Shirley MacLaine is just amazing in everything she does. She has such range and versatility. I think she is a living legend and I do feel that Oscar was a longtime coming. I feel like she got as the Academy was saying: "We get it. Here Shirley, here it is, we hope it is not too late." Hopefully they extend that to Glenn Close soon.
YESSSSSSSS. As someone introduced to maclaine via parodies of her persona (namely the animaniacs theme song) its been an incredible lifelong journey discovering that yes she was an icon for her talent first. Her performance in the apartment imo is lightyears ahead of its time-its almost hard to believe its in black and white. i also think its interesting this opened with only murders in the building. I feel like that show is very classic in its set up-ive been saying it could be an early 60s movie w/ hope and crosby reuniting and gomez channeling the kind of archetype maclaine or audrey hepburn could have played.
I grew up in the 1990's-2000's, seeing her on TV and regularly in movies; and watching her earlier movies on TCM. In short, Shirley Maclaine can do no wrong.
Facts. We ended up watching The Evening Star more than Terms of Endearment (because it was on HBO) Even though it's not as talked about, I thought she was great in that movie.
I love Shirley MacLaine, and I really enjoyed this exploration of her. As usual, your editing and writing is excellent. Also, holy shit, can you imagine having the audacity to fart in Shirley MacLaine’s face?! Wow.
The "Liza Minelli has outlived" account cracks me up all the time and even tho this was satire, you managed to make satire of satire just so scrumptous! The "meta" of it all!!! Shout out to the "i'm tired ya'll" trope of everyone who gatekeeps everything being exhausted constantly LOL. Welp, maybe stop gatekeeping!
Finally, a video about her! She's not talked about enough, some people did not even praise her (as far as I know) in the Children's Hour. My favorite from both her and Audrey Hepburn.
I remember the talk about how she and Debra Winger didn't get along on the set, and as you note it totally works for their characters' dynamics, but it's also interesting because they spend much of the movie apart after the daughter moves to Nebraska, which also probably helped their chemistry when they did appear in scenes together. I also remember HATING Jeff Daniels as Emma's no good husband, although he's a good enough actor to bring depth to a character that is almost irredeemably horrible. Thank you also for the brief on-screen glimpse of one of MacLaine's not-so-good movies, the deeply flawed "Change of Seasons," with Anthony Hopkins and Bo Derek. The college scenes in that film were shot on my campus, so I got to see it every year while at school, and we would just jeer through it, especially when they shot locations in a way that was physically impossible (at one point Derek rounds a corner and goes from one end of campus to the other).
I also like a good nun movie and I also don't know why exactly. Maybe b/c I didn't grow up with real nuns. Black Narcissus is a gem! The Trouble with Angels also unexpectedly good. The Nun's Story is great.
The path for MacLaine’s best selling spiritual book was paved by the Beatles trip to India, as well as inner exploration off shoots of the hippie movement, the drug revolution, feminism and the Oscar winning movie “Gandhi”, with its Hindu protagonist, which came out in 1982. - Do a UA-cam search for videos for meditation or yoga & multiple titles will be listed. - BKR is right that Shirley, like Jane Fonda, had found a self improvement business opportunity and they both successfully ran with it. - As for the jokes, what very famous celebrity doesn’t receive ridicule. I can’t think of one. * As usual BKR does a top notch job with the research about Shirley and her well deserved win.
Another fantastic dive into a Hollywood legends. Love your videos...ebery single one! Guilty of watching all of them multiple times...discovering things I missed. Thanks for keeping Hollywood history alive, and to reflect on its past and future.
Such a cool deep-dive. I recently gave Irma La Douce a shot after years of curiosity and was surprised by how much I actually liked it. The musical it's sorta/sorta-not based on has a wonderful score and as a super fan of Piaf, I was enchanted by the Marguerite Monnot of it all, and for whatever reason I find the story really fun and silly and entertaining. Shirley MacLaine's take was special, and I'm sad the reception has been spotty since, even by her own account. Her work in The Children's Hour and Sweet Charity are also very special, I concur. For Oscars '83, I'd have thrown a vote to Jane Alexander who I found riveting in one of the more bleak and gripping films on the theme that came about during that era (only Threads and When the Wind Blows come close I think). But I digress. As always, your work is incredible and I remain a mega-fan. Keep it up! x
Jennifer Lawrence reminds me a lot of a young 50's/60's era Shirley MacLaine. The difference now is that Hollywood can't seem to craft movies around actors like like they did with MacLaine and Jack Lemmon back then. Or the way they did later with Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock. But if they did now Jennifer Lawrence would be a bonafide boxoffice movie star.
*Jennifer Lawrence* _was_ a bona fide movie star in the early 2010s! *Quigley Publishing,* which kept track of an actor's bankability, used to release an annual list of the *Top 10 Money Making Stars* from 1912 until 2013, the last year they stopped keeping tabs. That year, *Lawrence* topped the list, making her one of very few women to do so: - *Mary Pickford* (1921, 1922) - *Norma Talmadge* (1924) - *Colleen Moore* (1926) - *Clara Bow* (1928, 1929) - *Joan Crawford* (1930) - *Janet Gaynor* (1931) - *Marie Dressler* (1932, 1933) - *Shirley Temple* (1935, 1936, 1937, 1938) - *Betty Grable* (1943) - *Doris Day* (1960, 1962, 1963, 1964) - *Elizabeth Taylor* (1961) - *Julie Andrews* (1966, 1967) - *Julia Roberts* (1999) - *Sandra Bullock* (2009) - *Jennifer Lawrence* (2013) (Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Ten_Money_Making_Stars_Poll) Anyway, up to that point, her accomplishments were *_Winter's Bone_* (2010), *_X-Men: First Class_* (2011), *_The Hunger Games_* (2012), and *_Silver Linings Playbook_* (2012). All were commercial/critical hits. She was Oscar-nominated for *_WB_* and won for *_SLP._* And she was only 22. By the end of 2013, she turned 23 and had *_The Hunger Games: Catching Fire_* and *_American Hustle._* Both were big hits, too, and she scored a consecutive, third Oscar nod for the latter. Afterward, she continued to have great success with *_X-Men: Days of Future Past_* (2014) and *_The Hunger Games: Mockingjay -- Parts 1 & 2_* (2014, 2015). She also received a fourth Oscar nomination for *_Joy_* (2015). Those were her peak years. Her box office status dimmed later in the decade.
I remember watching this film visiting family in Escondido Ca. The audience was geriatric and everyone was sobbing. I then knew “she’s going to win the Oscar” and she did😄👍🏼
I saw terms of endearment and as it finished and the lights came up I realized it's the first time I'd seen an entire cinema with red eyes and mascara running down faces and no one cared because they all looked the same..but the queue for the toilet mirrors to repair mascara were huge 😉
Walters was a very deserving nomination indeed. It was a crowded year for actresses in 1983 another expected nomination was Bonnie Bedelia in "Heart Like a Wheel" the story of real life racecar driver Shirley Muldowny an amazing performance! Also, Oscar winner Anne Bancroft in "To Be Or Not To Be" a dynamic comedic performance! No other actress nominated or not could touch Maclaine that year! It was 100% her Oscar! P.S. Actress Jennifer Jones (Oscar winner "Song of Bernadette") owned the movie rights since the book's publication and intended to play Aurora herself but director James L. Brooks felt she wasn't right for a number of reasons mostly because she couldn't convincingly play the new mother Aurora in the beginning of the movie. A polite way of saying she was too old!
One of her best performances is in Being There. She really brings a lot to that movie. I love What A Way To Go too, so I'm glad to see that included here. Great work. Thanks.
I agree with you. But you are right: they are great and deserve their flowers. Not their fault the production code made spelling out lesbianism impossible. Nobody ever mentions this film when they tout Audrey. Like never. It just gets glossed over and written off as archaic and a failed tableau of the intended subject matter. Things are still inherently valuable if they show progress and steps in the right direction. To pretend it never happened or has no value because the specifics don’t match up is foolish. It’s still a great study in what intolerance and busy-body gossip can beget. Plus I adore the Easter egg before there was such a thing of Miriam Hopkins being cast to create a sense of parallel circuitousness to the original (and also not same-sex taboo centered) “These Three.” (Not to mention how badass her doing so *twice* is if one is to believe the conjecture about her own intimate proclivities).
Steel Magnolias, Terms of Endearment, Postcards From The Edge, The Turning Point, The Apartment and Sweet Charity are some of my favorite Shirley MacLaine movies. Especially The Turning Point because Anne Bancroft was also in it 😍
I loved that film as a kid (how did my parents know I was gay?) and it introduced the wider world to Mikhail Baryshnikov. Casting Leslie Browne, an actual ballerina, as the daughter also gives it an authenticity (and yes, I did just check out Wikipedia and learned the film is based on her real-life family). It's also my favorite "what if" scenario, as Audrey Hepburn was originally in consideration for Bancroft's role, and that would have changed the dynamics so much. In the existing film, you can read Bancroft's dancer as the villain in a very anti-feminist way, the childless career woman contrasted with the "good" wife & mother of MacLaine's character (although I don't think that's the point of the film). There's no way an Audrey Hepburn performance would have fed that same dynamic.
@@CPTDoom I personally don't view her as the "antagonist." Like, I did when I first watched it until we got to know her more and you realize, she is trying to help Emilia in her own ballet journey and she almost opened up emotionally to DeeDee in the scene where they come back to Adelaide's home. Plus, she is still trying to maintain her career in a business where young ingenues are the norm and mid-40s is seen as "old." To me, DeeDee is the real antagonist because she never got over the fact that Emma had the career and not her. She never handled it well and became very emotionally immature. Especially when Emma became Emilia's mentor. Like, I understand she regrets her choice, but there's no reason to constantly bring up old drama with your "friend." I'm an Emma Jacqueline STAN as you can see 😆
@@rebeccassweetmusic4632 I think you've hit on the actual point of their dynamic - that both women had to make sacrifices to have the lives they've led, and of course that means regrets. In the time it was released through, when I was a kid and adults would still describe a woman as being "divorced" sotto voce, like it was a disease, I'm not sure the culture was ready for that discussion. May be why the film, like "Thelma & Louise" didn't garner any awards for its leads. I also love the dynamic between MacLaine & Tom Skerritt, who would play her adversary in "Steel Magnolias," as a couple, especially when he admits he encouraged her to keep her first pregnancy in part so he could prove he was straight.
@@CPTDoom That is the whole point of the story. I've been trying to make out what Emma meant when she opened up to DeeDee about constantly feeling like she has to perform. Hence why she says "DeeDee, what I'm doing backstage is waiting to get back on" and she starts crying. Could it be constant anxiety and pressure to be perfect? I thought it could be something worse and darker. Also, seeing Tom and Shirley play a married couple was so weird because I'm so used to them budding heads in Steel Magnolias 😅
Thank you for another intelligent and funny and insightful presentation! I do think “the apartment” is a most brilliant work of art. It certainly treads that line between comedy and tragedy, another work of genius from Billy Wilder. But it would not have been possible without Shirley McClain. She and Jack Lemmon give performances that should be in contention for “Best Actor Ever” award. I remember when “out on a limb” first came out. My mom and my sister were both interested in some of that same exploration and I think the bottom line of that whole part of her life/career/persona is that she was just being honest in exploring something and, forgive me, going out on a limb. While there are some rather unintentionally humorous bits of that story, I do think it’s her innate honesty that came through in all her roles. Her capacity as an actress is breathtaking and I think a lot of what happens to any of us, but especially an actor, has to do with luck, or maybe Fortune is a better word. And I think if you combine great talent and good fortune, you could explain the career of an unforgettable actress like Shirley MacLaine. Thank you! ps OMG about the nuns! Nice Jewish boy will go out on a limb and say that in a past life or three, he absolutely was a nun. How else does one explain Instant identification with “The Nuns Story” (if anyone ever wants to challenge Audrey Hepburn’s skill as an actress, just direct them there because clearly they’ve never seen it) “Bells of Saint Marys“ “Black Narcissus”, and I will add “Conspiracy of Hearts“ which I’m afraid to watch again because I don’t want to be disillusioned if it doesn’t hold up (Lili Palmer, 1960).
Whenever I see a CBS Sunday Morning fluff piece about looking back at a star or an era, I think about how disappointing and empty those segments feel compared to thoughtful, informative, well-researched pieces like this. I wish they had segment producers like you! Thanks for all the quality videos!
i can't believe that you uploaded this when you did because shirl has seemed to be popping up everywhere in my life right now! 1) i found (and bought) one of her books at a thrift store with my fiance. my fiance said "who is shirley maclaine? what's the apartment?" and that should have been a sign that they don't pay attention to my interests. 2) i found another book of hers at the library about a month after i finished the one i bought. mere hours after checking out at the library, i received a text from said fiance breaking up with me. that book turned out to be exactly what i needed to read because it just so happened to deal a lot with regaining control and the demise of her relationships. 3) when i went back to return said book, the library had a book sale. one of the books was... you guessed it... a shirl book. and 4) now this video! i thought it was pretty cosmic that it a string of happenings like that would happen with ms. maclaine
I grew up in the 1960s and enjoyed Maclaine's charming performances in "What A Way To Go", "Sweet Charity", and especially "Gambit". I watched her television show faithfully for the brief period in which it aired, and returned several times to witness her and Anne Bancroft batting each other around in "The Turning Point". Unfortunately, after "Terms of Endearment", she fell victim to playing variations of Aurora Greenway for the remainder of her career. Did others typecast her, or did she make this choice on her own? I can empathize with a performer if she takes what is offered, but the crotchety old lady meant to be charming routine became tiresome. Still, there is a great deal to enjoy overall from Shirley Maclaine.
I love What a Way to Go. It was a funny movie, but I did feel bad for her character because all she wanted was a simple life, and life kept throwing her curveballs.
25:50 Ah I love this film and Julie Walters's performance. Remember that sad pub scene when everybody's singing and she's just sinking? I really need to re-watch this.
Brilliant, as always, Izzy! But I thought that Bonnie Bedelia was also a strong contender for a nomination that year for Heart Like a Wheel. And I truly enjoy seeing the tension between MacLaine and Winger play out on screen, as it really did work for those characters. Any chance of a deep dive on Winger's career at some point?
shirley maclane is in the small SMALL group of artists that make average or bad films good as long as she is on the screen. still find her bits in rumor has it as the best
I've been watching Shirley by entire life but only recently watched Terms of Endearment. Of course, thankfully, this brilliant video came out after. Her talents weren't used to her full potential in Being There but it's another great film in her career.
I was today old when I realized silkwood, yentl and terms of endearment came out the same year but the part about Meryl becoming a victim of her own exceptional talent is so true Meryl was a private person and didn’t present her persona through her movies the same way other Hollywood movie stars did she was technically bringing something new
@@monmothma3358 right it’s unfortunate it effected Meryl bc low key she should’ve surpassed Katharine Hepburn record for the most Oscar wins for a actor/actress a long time
I have waited this for so long... And now it's here. And it's my birthday in two hours... I'm so happy before even seeing this. Because the quality will overwhelm me... As always.
Thank you! One of my favourite actors. The Apartment is in my top 10. Love her soooo much. couldn't give a sh*t about her kooky beliefs. She is a bona fide triple threat, old school, new age STAR!!!
I-I genuinely did not know what I expected at the end of that behind-the-scenes anecdote, but it was not a fart in the face. And the constant backhanded remarks actresses have to deal with the second they reach a day past 40…just wild in the worst way. And byeeeee the Twitter discourse section was perfect. I adore so much from these videos (like always coming away with a deeper understanding and/or appreciation for actresses I may or not have have seen) and there’s always these smaller awards and film history details I get from these videos too (e.g. like not only the story above, Streisand’s snubbing being a retaliation). Anyways, anyways, thanks again for another upload!
I wasn't expecting that either. A fart in the face?! I'm surprised Shirley wasn't like "So you chosen how you want to end this life. Maybe you'll have better manners next time around."
she mentioned too in "my lucky stars" that debra hid beneath the covers of the bed and LICKED HER LEG when she was shooting a scene with jack nicholson.. i was sitting mouth agape while reading it at work 😭
Out on a limb was so “ out on a limb” that a lot of people climbed out there too just to see what she may be saying. I remember it being relatively respectfully successful. Aside from the late night talk show jabs. It felt more like she was sharing something important to her.
The only role I can recall where I didn't recognize Shirley MacLaine as Shirley MacLaine acting was in "The Children's Hour." An underrated Wyler classic I've referenced before. That character was as complex as Shirley is in real life, and in that respect, it did her justice. I don't know if I find her all that "likeable" as an actress, but as the old saying goes, if she hadn't existed, it would have been necessary to invent her. She's truly one of a kind. Great video! BTW, what's the status of your short film?
MacLaine's Oscar acceptance speech is one of my favorites as well! But I'm writing this comment mostly to give you kudos for the twitter reaction segment of this video... freaking brilliant and hilarious :)
Yasssss queen! She’s the best. Do more of these kinds of videos!!! Do Helen Hunt or Hillary Swank (Boys Don’t Cry) or Julia or Susan or Reese or Marion or Emma Stone!!! (Sorry but I’m obsessed with your channel, I love it)
After Winona Ryder and Louise Brooks, I think Mrs. MacLaine on The Apartment is the most beautiful woman witn short hair I've seen on the screen... Another great talent recovered!! Great as usual!! Thanx, BKR!!
I love her in Bernie! I don't know if you've read the article by Skip Hollisworth in Texas Monthly called "Lights! Camera! Carthage!" about the move but there are some great anecdotes about her in there 😁👍🏽
honestly, i find so bizarre that she hasn't been nominated for a single Oscar after winning, it's been almost 40 years, which makes me wonder how many times she has been close to get one. Maybe Postcards from the edge and Madame Sousatzka?
Forgive me for being a bit off topic, but I'd love a video about Silkwood if there is enough there to cover. I was 2 when it was released and my parents watched a ton of movies so I think i saw it at 3 years old in 1984. The end of that movie haunted me until my late teens when I remembered Streep had done that movie and I re-watched it. It's just one of those films that speak to me for MANY reasons. Too many to list.
That ending is indeed haunting the ambiguity of rather it was a accident or if something more sinister truly happened always haunted and that ending of her wrecked car passing by Cher who’s crying … ugh just breaks my heart for a longtime I always tried passed watching the ending bc of how heartbreaking it is
Barbara Walters always managed to say something asinine. My favorite moment was when she asked Katharine Hepburn if she ever wore skirts, and Hepburn said, "I have one and I'll wear it to your funeral."
😂😂
that’s literally my favorite interview quote!
@@strangerxmarvel I just laughed out loud when I read that comment!!!
BArbara Walters is absolutely awful. It seems that she has always being like that, proud to make people cry and feel sad
There’s no excuse for being obnoxious in an interview. And it doesn’t surprise me that Hepburn made that statement to Barbara Walters.
Hepburn never thought of anyone else but herself. She never gave back to the industry that gave her a career, a vocation, an artistic outlet, and a job for over 40 years. It’s more than a disgrace, it’s an insult that Hepburn never attended the Oscars. And her one attendance was just to present the humanitarian Oscar. That doesn’t count. Because she chose the event that she wanted to attend.
You may dislike Barbara Walters and her interview techniques, but she was one of the first female journalist and interviewers and she always gave back to her industry.
the twitter discourse section was the greatest piece of comedy i’ve seen this year. “liza minelli has outlived several versions of shirley maclane” broke me 😭
Same🤣
lmaoooo
Totally agree!
Nicely done 👏🏻
The usernames for each “tweet” were amazing. Just perfect writing
Now that you referenced Charlize Theron's transformation in Monster, I would LOVE to see your analysis on her win. Her career is certainly interesting before AND after her performance in that film.
Right there with you. She has more than proven she is the realest of real deals. Looking like that is the biggest strike against her. She’s still so statuesque and other-worldly so people are still sleeping on Ms Theron. She’ll win another before it is all said and done, probably when she’s in her 60’s or 70’s.
Her work in Monster will forever be unassailable in the top ten greatest acting transformations of any gender. Even Ebert saw as much and if anybody was qualified to say so…
@@collinmichaelkahn3918 I watched all the Eileen Wuornos documentaries and even served on the board of a performing arts non-profit that commissioned an opera about her. Theron nailed Wuornos.
Charlize Theron is an acting powerhouse. Watch her in 2019 movie Bombshell. She plays Megyn Kelly and absolutely nails it.
Shirley is such a dream. Also: it would such a neat experience to hear your thoughts on child actresses who win/get nominated for Oscars. Anna Paquin, Tatum O’Neal, Quvenzhané Wallis. What goes into a child getting nominated for an Oscar? How much is it the studio vs the critical/audience reception? I’m just saying it would be really cool to hear you talk about it
I can already picture how @bekindrewind would address this topic! I hope she does 😁
This is a significant series of videos I think Be Kind Reward would do spectacularly.
What a great suggestion! In that theme, I would love for BKR to include something about about Kirsten Dunst (who I think should have at least been nominated for "Interview with the vampire").
@@user-jk6yv1oy4n AGREED
Don’t forget Jodie Foster (Taxi Driver), Linda Blair (The Exorcist), and Shirley Temple’s Achievement Award in 1935.
Your parody tweets are so spot on that I refuse to believe you didn't actually retrieve them from an alternate timeline
Indeed.
wonderful video in which you recall letterman's top 10 list which with all due respect to shirley was funny then as well as now.
Shirley MacLaine is so phenomenally talented, and I don't think she's really gotten the credit that she deserves. She's that old school triple threat (singer, dancer and actor), and her comedic timing and physicality are so good. Thank you for a wonderful episode.
She's been in a gazillion movies and won the ultimate award an actor can have, a leading Oscar. What other credit do you think deserves? A Nobel Peace Prize?
@@TimeIdle An Oscar is a regional acting award. She's not recognized enough for her body of work. Also, the awards at Cannes are far more important than Oscars IMO, as are film festivals with far less campaigning. Heck, even Redford, who invented Sundance, goes to festivals in North Dakota to see revolutionary breakthrough films to find *raw talent*, and to get away from the funded and campaigned to death and big-name people gunning for awards at Sundance.
@@ImnotassweetasIusedtobe Regional? Lol. An award that is followed globally?
You nailed it about her.
The Apartment is one of my favorite films and Shirley MacLaine is amazing in it
"That's the way it crumbles, cookie-wise"
That movie is canonical and beloved yet still, somehow, underrated
Shirley MacLaine roaming around the world as an intrepid and independent photojournalist in a TV Show. I think it’s a cool idea. It’s sad that no one had the vision to carry it.
i always saw your comments in The Take, nice to see you here with your clever comments! :)
@@cindymora6714 Omg thank you!
Too bad Shirley was a couple of generations too early. But then again, Maclaine was part and parcel with the feminist reform in Hollywood. Without actresses like her, women would still be shackled to gender roles from the 19th century.
@@mel3687 Actually, there are dozens of women journalists from many countries and from the 18th century forward. Women journalists covered action in WWII and Vietnam. As a teen-ager in the 1950s, I was well-acquainted with the name Marguerite Higgins and I briefly met Charlotte Ebener Weller, a lesser-known reporter who started her career as a foreign correspondent for the Chicago Daily News. She won a Pulitzer Prize and also published a memoir entitled "No Facilities for Women." The title came about when she was reporting from Asian countries, and heard of an area or island inhabited primarily by women. She petitioned the government for permission to visit the area but her request was denied, ostensibly because there were no facilities for women there.
@@kathleenmckenzie6261 The original poster and I were referring to the segment of the video discussing MacLaines short-lived tv show “Shirley’s world” in which Hollywood was described around the 4:35 mark not have an appreciation for serious female protagonists. Shirley, in many ways, helped paved the road for future generations at a time when feminism was a charming though frivolous perspective to the patriarchal Hollywood society of that time. But thanks for the comment. It’s a lovely historical insight. Cheers
I remember being surprised to see her in ‘Downton Abbey’ and I think she was brilliant as Martha Levinson. A reminder that she’s a comedic genius.
Not just that. That role required a real American. Not just someone acting like an American.
Only Shirley MacLaine could go toe to toe with Dame Maggie Smith. The barbs between the two of them were epic! My favorite part of the show will forever be Martha (Shirley).singing "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" to Violet (Maggie) too cute!
That was the moment I knew her for the first time and I have been enamoured with her since
Shirley Mcclane never gets the respect that she deserves!
@@kerriethompson2073 I loved that too!
Shirley is brilliant in the Apartment. I'm just blown away every time I watch it . That and Post Cards From The Edge are my favorite performances of hers.
“It just TWIRLED UP!!!”
maclane was so phenomenal in the childrens hour, i wish that movie was talked about more. it’s incredible
That is such a good film! Audry Hepburn is also good in the film as well.
all 3 leads were excellent in the film but it's probably not discussed because of its somewhat dated take on homosexuality. even Shirley was baffled by her character's suicide over coming to terms with her sexuality.
@@haintedhouse2990 It's a 1930s plot that wasn't updated at all for its 1960s time period, although the "kill your gays" trope" was pretty consistent during that latter decade. It's still a great piece of cinema, and MacLaine's extended interview in "the Celluloid Closet" DVD extras provides even more details on how gun shy everyone was about making her character explicitly lesbian until the end of the film. Also, Hepburn gives one of the greatest performances without dialogue in the ending (both in Martha's room & as she walks by James Garner and out into the unknown at the end).
@@CPTDoom yes the excellent acting from Hepburn, MacLaine and Garner won me over despite the 30's plot.
@@haintedhouse2990 i actually think most people i’ve talked about it with think it holds up remarkably well! her suicide, while arguably falling into problematic tropes of gay characters (esp lesbians) dying, felt necessary to the point. it’s like jack in brokeback in that way. and the coming out scene is some of the most powerful drama i’ve ever seen, absolutely visceral and gut wrenching 💔
The amount of serotonin that attacks my brain when I see there’s a new BKR video is insane. I fucking love these so much
"liza minelli has outlived several versions of shirley maclaine" has KILLED me (so i guess liza minelli has outlived me too)
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting her a few times, and she was absolutely wonderful. A beautiful example of poise and authenticity, she is a true master of her craft!
Wow! Where did you meet her?
Happy for you
Her daughter might beg to differ.:(
I'm gonna cry because I have been waiting this episode as long as her career 😃😃
Crazy how Meryl is already seen as a perennial contender in 1983, just 5 years after her first nomination. They don’t know what’s coming LOL
I fell in love with Shirley when my parents packed us all into our station wagon, drove us to the local Drive-In, and we sat there and watched The Apartment and listened to it through the very tinny sounding speakers. Shirley's beautiful face, pixie hair cut, and charm captivated me. She's very special and always has been.
There’s a moment in the 1992 Oscars when Liza Minnelli and Shirley MacLaine walk on stage and I love repeating it because it’s simply fabulous!
I am obsessed with the way Liza says “Educating Rita” as she read out the nominees.
@@kevinivers wasn’t that 84 not 92?
I saw “Terms of Endearment” in the theater, when I was in high school. I remember her appearances on Donohue and other talk shows; where she discussed her spiritual beliefs. I even read “Out On A Limb” and saw the TV movie of the same name where she played herself. At the time it was interesting. It was at the beginning of the suburban New Age movement. She’s incredibly talented. Too get an idea of how good she was in her cabaret performances; you can see ‘Shirley MacClaine at the Lido’ here on UA-cam. She’s incredibly dynamic.
I see it now: From ‘The Apartment’ to ‘Only Murders in the Building’, it’s like she’s come full circle.
Her career is among the most unique in Hollywood history and you expertly highlight the minutia of what made it so. Excellent work on this and every video you’ve produced so far.
"You'll never believe this but... I don't think I looked awful." GET HER, JADE 🤣
Yaaas! This video! Together with 'All About Eve' and 'The Lion in Winter, 'Terms of Endearment' has my favorite screenplay of all time. The dialogues are so wit! ♥️
I love you. This was exactly how I needed to wake up this morning. ♥️ Your channel is so rich and nourishing that the experience for this 54 year old queen is as exciting as sitting alone in that little chair at the end of a stack for hours in the public library at 13, 14 and 15 reading Pauline Kael books cover to cover.
Ugh. What a beautiful visual. My people have always been around. The cinephiles and film geeks. Love this forty year old visual. Cheers.
The Apartment is my all-time favorite of her performances. So understated but you can really feel her pain without her having to be over the top to convey it. She definitely leaves me with misty eyes at certain points in the film and she's probably why I never much cared for Fred MacMurray.
MacLaine’s performance in Some Came Running deserves more attention here, as does the film itself. Watched now, her performance feels like the template for other actresses’ entire careers, including Melanie Griffith and Renee Zellwegger. The Apartment refines the qualities that were first defined in Some Came Running. It’s a fantastic performance.
Debra Winger was never going to win the Oscar over Shirley MacLaine but I think she was very definitely seen as a worthy contender. A big part of MacLaine’s momentum as well was her 4 previous nominations. At the mention of her nearly 6 year absence from filmmaking in the ‘70s, I was reminded that MacLaine’s much admired body of work was ever present on tv. As a child of the ‘70s, I was well aware of who Shirley MacLaine was; she always seemed a part of the popular culture. As for Out On A Limb, of course she was jeered at and made fun of but I think, as noted, it was very much located in the Californian, New Age trends of the time - I mean, Dianetics had been a best seller for decades and the boomer generation had already been primed on Chariots of the Gods. If anything, it made her seem like an actress flake but I don’t think it ever threatened to cancel her. There were plenty before her.
Lastly, we need a video on Glenda Jackson. :)
I ALWAYS forget her and Warren Beatty are siblings. I know it. Have known for years. Yet when it’s brought up I have a moment of “wait, what?”
Shirley MacLaine has always been one of my favourites! Sweet Charity is one of my fave musicals of all time and so undeniably Sixties and she is the most charming, adorable, hilarious character. Everyone should watch it.
I have such a fondness for Ms. MacLaine. She's like a pixie who decided to become human one day. She really was great in The Children's Hour. She did the best she could within the constraints of the stupid-ass code and the proto-bury-your-gays ending. I'm an Audrey Hepburn fan first and foremost, but she was frankly out-shined by SM.
While I've always found her past life stuff bizarre, fundies scoffing at other people's religious/spiritual beliefs will never not be amusing/bemusing to me. Believe what you'd like, but talk about throwing stones in a glass house.
your fake twitter reads were scarily on point and i loved learning about a new actor. another great video!
I have no clue how I didn’t know about Shirley’s new age beliefs until today but honestly it kinda makes me love her. And the “Twitter discourse” bit is peak comic writing in every single detail from the usernames to the text. Brava!
I love, love, love Shirley! Thank you for this video in Honor of this Movie Legend. May she stay healthy a little longer.
And "Only murders .." is fabulous and should not be missed
It's an absolute sin not to mention What A Way To Go. She's hysterical in it. I feel like it also says a lot about her "type." She's been very glamorous, but in very campy way, and she's clearly in on the joke. (Basically the joke being that she wasn't Marilyn or Elizabeth Taylor.) She wasn't so much de-glamming, because even when she played parts with more glamorous wardrobes, she was always a "regular girl" who somehow ended up in glamorous clothes, but usually of questionable taste. (see also: Sweet Charity, and Irma La Douce.)
Another great contextualization of a great actress and fantastic film! I’ve always loved Shirley McClaine and felt she was a little oddly underrated. This also reminded me to watch the new season of OMITB!
I think she was ahead of her time.
I'm kicking myself for not realizing that's Shirley Maclaine in Only Murders. She's one of my faves in Steel Magnolias (honestly maybe my fave after Sally Field).
Additionally, this video told me that Shirley Maclaine is someone I need to watch to complete a lot of pre-2000s movies I've heard great things about for ages, like The Turning Point, Sweet Charity, Defending Your Life, and, of course, Terms of Endearment.
Basically all that I come to this channel for wrapped into one! Great Twitter discourse jokes, realizing "omg wait she's her?!", and leaving with a list of amazing movies to catch up on. Great work as always!
If you haven't seen "Defending Your Life", great comedy with Albert Brooks and Meryl Streep, there's an AMAZING gag about Shirley's reincarnation beliefs. It's a great movie, but I like that her scene in the film shows she can poke fun at herself (and has a sense of humor), she seems like a cool lady.
Edit: my bad for not watching the very end of the video, her cameo from “defending your life” is there :) good stuff!!!
Thank you for making this point/observation. I couldn’t second this more. Glad Criterion gave it some lurve.
yes. I also like when she pokes fun at herself through her character in Postcards From the Edge when she's singing at the surprise party for Suzanne (Meryl Streep) and she sings "I'm feeling transcendental, am I here?"
Isn't that the clip at the end of the video?
@@itsybitsy999 it is! I've always loved that scene.
@@itsybitsy999 oh sweet!! Bad on me for not watching the very end :)
I can’t believe I watched the whole thing and not ONCE did you mention Two Mules for Sister Sarah!!! 😂😂😂 thank you for doing such a great piece on her, I love it!
After knocking around Hollywood for nearly 30 years, MacLaine had cemented herself within the ranks of the film industry and represented the irresistible and inevitable, much like force majeure: simply, it was her time and her year to win. Save for Vivien Leigh's taking the Oscar for Gone with the Wind, I doubt there are few Oscar wins more certain than MacLaine's.
How about Meryl Streep in "Sophie's Choice"? That was a total lock
Your Dolly Parton video got me to watch Steel Magnolias and I wasnt prepared for that emotional journey haha. This video makes me want to watch Terms of Endearment but I'm scared.
YAAAAS! I've been WAITING for you to do a video on this. I just recently saw Terms of Endearment for the first time and immediately came to your channel to see if you had a video on it, Shirley MacLaine or Debra Winger. Was shocked when I couldn't find any videos on any of them. Thank you for this! LOVE your content. Be well!
It’s a Sunday and BKR releases a new video. It’s indeed a treat! 👏🏽
I would legit watch six seasons & a movie of _Shirley Logan._
Shirley MacLaine is just amazing in everything she does. She has such range and versatility. I think she is a living legend and I do feel that Oscar was a longtime coming. I feel like she got as the Academy was saying: "We get it. Here Shirley, here it is, we hope it is not too late." Hopefully they extend that to Glenn Close soon.
i spent TWO HOURS trying to find your channel. So glad I was able to find it again
YESSSSSSSS. As someone introduced to maclaine via parodies of her persona (namely the animaniacs theme song) its been an incredible lifelong journey discovering that yes she was an icon for her talent first. Her performance in the apartment imo is lightyears ahead of its time-its almost hard to believe its in black and white.
i also think its interesting this opened with only murders in the building. I feel like that show is very classic in its set up-ive been saying it could be an early 60s movie w/ hope and crosby reuniting and gomez channeling the kind of archetype maclaine or audrey hepburn could have played.
Did you ever watch Tiny Toon Adventures? Shirly D Loon was based on her.
I grew up in the 1990's-2000's, seeing her on TV and regularly in movies; and watching her earlier movies on TCM. In short, Shirley Maclaine can do no wrong.
Facts. We ended up watching The Evening Star more than Terms of Endearment (because it was on HBO)
Even though it's not as talked about, I thought she was great in that movie.
Did you ever watch Mrs. Winterbourne?
"The Apartment" is my all time favorite Christmas movie. The chemistry is off the charts.
I love Shirley MacLaine, and I really enjoyed this exploration of her. As usual, your editing and writing is excellent.
Also, holy shit, can you imagine having the audacity to fart in Shirley MacLaine’s face?! Wow.
The "Liza Minelli has outlived" account cracks me up all the time and even tho this was satire, you managed to make satire of satire just so scrumptous! The "meta" of it all!!! Shout out to the "i'm tired ya'll" trope of everyone who gatekeeps everything being exhausted constantly LOL. Welp, maybe stop gatekeeping!
Finally, a video about her! She's not talked about enough, some people did not even praise her (as far as I know) in the Children's Hour. My favorite from both her and Audrey Hepburn.
I love Shirley SO MUCH and I’m beyond excited that she’s gaining a whole new audience and is finally being appreciated
I always wait with anticipation for your videos. Your video essays on actresses are like candy for cinema junkies like myself. Thank you 🙏
I remember the talk about how she and Debra Winger didn't get along on the set, and as you note it totally works for their characters' dynamics, but it's also interesting because they spend much of the movie apart after the daughter moves to Nebraska, which also probably helped their chemistry when they did appear in scenes together. I also remember HATING Jeff Daniels as Emma's no good husband, although he's a good enough actor to bring depth to a character that is almost irredeemably horrible. Thank you also for the brief on-screen glimpse of one of MacLaine's not-so-good movies, the deeply flawed "Change of Seasons," with Anthony Hopkins and Bo Derek. The college scenes in that film were shot on my campus, so I got to see it every year while at school, and we would just jeer through it, especially when they shot locations in a way that was physically impossible (at one point Derek rounds a corner and goes from one end of campus to the other).
I have that dvd. I love the hot tub scene at the beginning of the film.
Can I tell thee how much I absolutely adore your videos. It’s long overdue, but thank you 🙏 💗
Thank you so, so much for this wonderful video essay on Shirley. One of the greatest living stars and Terms of Endearment is a masterpiece.
I also like a good nun movie and I also don't know why exactly. Maybe b/c I didn't grow up with real nuns. Black Narcissus is a gem! The Trouble with Angels also unexpectedly good. The Nun's Story is great.
The path for MacLaine’s best selling spiritual book was paved by the Beatles trip to India, as well as inner exploration off shoots of the hippie movement, the drug revolution, feminism and the Oscar winning movie “Gandhi”, with its Hindu protagonist, which came out in 1982.
- Do a UA-cam search for videos for meditation or yoga & multiple titles will be listed.
- BKR is right that Shirley, like Jane Fonda, had found a self improvement business opportunity and they both successfully ran with it.
- As for the jokes, what very famous celebrity doesn’t receive ridicule. I can’t think of one.
* As usual BKR does a top notch job with the research about Shirley and her well deserved win.
Another fantastic dive into a Hollywood legends. Love your videos...ebery single one! Guilty of watching all of them multiple times...discovering things I missed. Thanks for keeping Hollywood history alive, and to reflect on its past and future.
Such a cool deep-dive. I recently gave Irma La Douce a shot after years of curiosity and was surprised by how much I actually liked it. The musical it's sorta/sorta-not based on has a wonderful score and as a super fan of Piaf, I was enchanted by the Marguerite Monnot of it all, and for whatever reason I find the story really fun and silly and entertaining. Shirley MacLaine's take was special, and I'm sad the reception has been spotty since, even by her own account. Her work in The Children's Hour and Sweet Charity are also very special, I concur. For Oscars '83, I'd have thrown a vote to Jane Alexander who I found riveting in one of the more bleak and gripping films on the theme that came about during that era (only Threads and When the Wind Blows come close I think). But I digress. As always, your work is incredible and I remain a mega-fan. Keep it up! x
Jennifer Lawrence reminds me a lot of a young 50's/60's era Shirley MacLaine. The difference now is that Hollywood can't seem to craft movies around actors like like they did with MacLaine and Jack Lemmon back then. Or the way they did later with Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock. But if they did now Jennifer Lawrence would be a bonafide boxoffice movie star.
Jennifer Lawrence wishes.
*Jennifer Lawrence* _was_ a bona fide movie star in the early 2010s!
*Quigley Publishing,* which kept track of an actor's bankability, used to release an annual list of the *Top 10 Money Making Stars* from 1912 until 2013, the last year they stopped keeping tabs. That year, *Lawrence* topped the list, making her one of very few women to do so:
- *Mary Pickford* (1921, 1922)
- *Norma Talmadge* (1924)
- *Colleen Moore* (1926)
- *Clara Bow* (1928, 1929)
- *Joan Crawford* (1930)
- *Janet Gaynor* (1931)
- *Marie Dressler* (1932, 1933)
- *Shirley Temple* (1935, 1936, 1937, 1938)
- *Betty Grable* (1943)
- *Doris Day* (1960, 1962, 1963, 1964)
- *Elizabeth Taylor* (1961)
- *Julie Andrews* (1966, 1967)
- *Julia Roberts* (1999)
- *Sandra Bullock* (2009)
- *Jennifer Lawrence* (2013)
(Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Ten_Money_Making_Stars_Poll)
Anyway, up to that point, her accomplishments were *_Winter's Bone_* (2010), *_X-Men: First Class_* (2011), *_The Hunger Games_* (2012), and *_Silver Linings Playbook_* (2012). All were commercial/critical hits. She was Oscar-nominated for *_WB_* and won for *_SLP._* And she was only 22.
By the end of 2013, she turned 23 and had *_The Hunger Games: Catching Fire_* and *_American Hustle._* Both were big hits, too, and she scored a consecutive, third Oscar nod for the latter. Afterward, she continued to have great success with *_X-Men: Days of Future Past_* (2014) and *_The Hunger Games: Mockingjay -- Parts 1 & 2_* (2014, 2015). She also received a fourth Oscar nomination for *_Joy_* (2015).
Those were her peak years. Her box office status dimmed later in the decade.
When Be Kind Rewind uploads: you know it’s gonna be a good day! ☺️
I'm obsessed with the thumbnail for this and Miyoshi Umeki's videos, with the other nominees in the different numbers of the year
so awesome BKR! admire and enjoy your entire canon. PLEASE please keep these coming! 💋
I remember watching this film visiting family in Escondido Ca. The audience was geriatric and everyone was sobbing. I then knew “she’s going to win the Oscar” and she did😄👍🏼
lol 😎☺️❤️
I saw terms of endearment and as it finished and the lights came up I realized it's the first time I'd seen an entire cinema with red eyes and mascara running down faces and no one cared because they all looked the same..but the queue for the toilet mirrors to repair mascara were huge 😉
Honestly your twitter posts are both spot on and hilarious!
Walters was a very deserving nomination indeed. It was a crowded year for actresses in 1983 another expected nomination was Bonnie Bedelia in "Heart Like a Wheel" the story of real life racecar driver Shirley Muldowny an amazing performance! Also, Oscar winner Anne Bancroft in "To Be Or Not To Be" a dynamic comedic performance! No other actress nominated or not could touch Maclaine that year! It was 100% her Oscar! P.S. Actress Jennifer Jones (Oscar winner "Song of Bernadette") owned the movie rights since the book's publication and intended to play Aurora herself but director James L. Brooks felt she wasn't right for a number of reasons mostly because she couldn't convincingly play the new mother Aurora in the beginning of the movie. A polite way of saying she was too old!
One of her best performances is in Being There. She really brings a lot to that movie. I love What A Way To Go too, so I'm glad to see that included here. Great work. Thanks.
I’m glad to see the children’s hour getting some love. It’s highly problematic for various reasons but Shirley and Audrey are great.
I agree with you. But you are right: they are great and deserve their flowers. Not their fault the production code made spelling out lesbianism impossible. Nobody ever mentions this film when they tout Audrey. Like never. It just gets glossed over and written off as archaic and a failed tableau of the intended subject matter.
Things are still inherently valuable if they show progress and steps in the right direction. To pretend it never happened or has no value because the specifics don’t match up is foolish. It’s still a great study in what intolerance and busy-body gossip can beget.
Plus I adore the Easter egg before there was such a thing of Miriam Hopkins being cast to create a sense of parallel circuitousness to the original (and also not same-sex taboo centered) “These Three.”
(Not to mention how badass her doing so *twice* is if one is to believe the conjecture about her own intimate proclivities).
Can't believe I'm on UA-cam at exactly the right time for once! Gonna watch this right away!
i was literally thinking yesterday how i've been wanting more shirley maclaine and then you post this! perfect timing! i love your videos!
Steel Magnolias, Terms of Endearment, Postcards From The Edge, The Turning Point, The Apartment and Sweet Charity are some of my favorite Shirley MacLaine movies. Especially The Turning Point because Anne Bancroft was also in it 😍
I loved that film as a kid (how did my parents know I was gay?) and it introduced the wider world to Mikhail Baryshnikov. Casting Leslie Browne, an actual ballerina, as the daughter also gives it an authenticity (and yes, I did just check out Wikipedia and learned the film is based on her real-life family). It's also my favorite "what if" scenario, as Audrey Hepburn was originally in consideration for Bancroft's role, and that would have changed the dynamics so much. In the existing film, you can read Bancroft's dancer as the villain in a very anti-feminist way, the childless career woman contrasted with the "good" wife & mother of MacLaine's character (although I don't think that's the point of the film). There's no way an Audrey Hepburn performance would have fed that same dynamic.
@@CPTDoom I personally don't view her as the "antagonist." Like, I did when I first watched it until we got to know her more and you realize, she is trying to help Emilia in her own ballet journey and she almost opened up emotionally to DeeDee in the scene where they come back to Adelaide's home. Plus, she is still trying to maintain her career in a business where young ingenues are the norm and mid-40s is seen as "old." To me, DeeDee is the real antagonist because she never got over the fact that Emma had the career and not her. She never handled it well and became very emotionally immature. Especially when Emma became Emilia's mentor. Like, I understand she regrets her choice, but there's no reason to constantly bring up old drama with your "friend." I'm an Emma Jacqueline STAN as you can see 😆
@@rebeccassweetmusic4632 I think you've hit on the actual point of their dynamic - that both women had to make sacrifices to have the lives they've led, and of course that means regrets. In the time it was released through, when I was a kid and adults would still describe a woman as being "divorced" sotto voce, like it was a disease, I'm not sure the culture was ready for that discussion. May be why the film, like "Thelma & Louise" didn't garner any awards for its leads. I also love the dynamic between MacLaine & Tom Skerritt, who would play her adversary in "Steel Magnolias," as a couple, especially when he admits he encouraged her to keep her first pregnancy in part so he could prove he was straight.
@@CPTDoom That is the whole point of the story. I've been trying to make out what Emma meant when she opened up to DeeDee about constantly feeling like she has to perform. Hence why she says "DeeDee, what I'm doing backstage is waiting to get back on" and she starts crying. Could it be constant anxiety and pressure to be perfect? I thought it could be something worse and darker. Also, seeing Tom and Shirley play a married couple was so weird because I'm so used to them budding heads in Steel Magnolias 😅
Thank you for another intelligent and funny and insightful presentation! I do think “the apartment” is a most brilliant work of art. It certainly treads that line between comedy and tragedy, another work of genius from Billy Wilder. But it would not have been possible without Shirley McClain. She and Jack Lemmon give performances that should be in contention for “Best Actor Ever” award.
I remember when “out on a limb” first came out. My mom and my sister were both interested in some of that same exploration and I think the bottom line of that whole part of her life/career/persona is that she was just being honest in exploring something and, forgive me, going out on a limb. While there are some rather unintentionally humorous bits of that story, I do think it’s her innate honesty that came through in all her roles. Her capacity as an actress is breathtaking and I think a lot of what happens to any of us, but especially an actor, has to do with luck, or maybe Fortune is a better word. And I think if you combine great talent and good fortune, you could explain the career of an unforgettable actress like Shirley MacLaine.
Thank you!
ps OMG about the nuns! Nice Jewish boy will go out on a limb and say that in a past life or three, he absolutely was a nun. How else does one explain Instant identification with “The Nuns Story” (if anyone ever wants to challenge Audrey Hepburn’s skill as an actress, just direct them there because clearly they’ve never seen it) “Bells of Saint Marys“ “Black Narcissus”, and I will add “Conspiracy of Hearts“ which I’m afraid to watch again because I don’t want to be disillusioned if it doesn’t hold up (Lili Palmer, 1960).
So happy you snuck in her "Defending Your Life" cameo at the end. That scene cracks me up to this day.
Whenever I see a CBS Sunday Morning fluff piece about looking back at a star or an era, I think about how disappointing and empty those segments feel compared to thoughtful, informative, well-researched pieces like this. I wish they had segment producers like you! Thanks for all the quality videos!
i can't believe that you uploaded this when you did because shirl has seemed to be popping up everywhere in my life right now! 1) i found (and bought) one of her books at a thrift store with my fiance. my fiance said "who is shirley maclaine? what's the apartment?" and that should have been a sign that they don't pay attention to my interests. 2) i found another book of hers at the library about a month after i finished the one i bought. mere hours after checking out at the library, i received a text from said fiance breaking up with me. that book turned out to be exactly what i needed to read because it just so happened to deal a lot with regaining control and the demise of her relationships. 3) when i went back to return said book, the library had a book sale. one of the books was... you guessed it... a shirl book. and 4) now this video! i thought it was pretty cosmic that it a string of happenings like that would happen with ms. maclaine
I grew up in the 1960s and enjoyed Maclaine's charming performances in "What A Way To Go", "Sweet Charity", and especially "Gambit". I watched her television show faithfully for the brief period in which it aired, and returned several times to witness her and Anne Bancroft batting each other around in "The Turning Point". Unfortunately, after "Terms of Endearment", she fell victim to playing variations of Aurora Greenway for the remainder of her career. Did others typecast her, or did she make this choice on her own? I can empathize with a performer if she takes what is offered, but the crotchety old lady meant to be charming routine became tiresome. Still, there is a great deal to enjoy overall from Shirley Maclaine.
I love What a Way to Go. It was a funny movie, but I did feel bad for her character because all she wanted was a simple life, and life kept throwing her curveballs.
25:50 Ah I love this film and Julie Walters's performance. Remember that sad pub scene when everybody's singing and she's just sinking? I really need to re-watch this.
"There must be better songs to sing than this." I'll also have to watch it again.
@@paulsuchy6210 That's the one!
Since no one mentioned about The Children's Hour. That's such a wonderful film to watch. Highly recommended
Brilliant, as always, Izzy! But I thought that Bonnie Bedelia was also a strong contender for a nomination that year for Heart Like a Wheel. And I truly enjoy seeing the tension between MacLaine and Winger play out on screen, as it really did work for those characters. Any chance of a deep dive on Winger's career at some point?
shirley maclane is in the small SMALL group of artists that make average or bad films good as long as she is on the screen. still find her bits in rumor has it as the best
I've been watching Shirley by entire life but only recently watched Terms of Endearment. Of course, thankfully, this brilliant video came out after. Her talents weren't used to her full potential in Being There but it's another great film in her career.
No one else can make me enjoy a video about subjects that I don't really care about like you can.
I was today old when I realized silkwood, yentl and terms of endearment came out the same year but the part about Meryl becoming a victim of her own exceptional talent is so true Meryl was a private person and didn’t present her persona through her movies the same way other Hollywood movie stars did she was technically bringing something new
Yeah, she is more of a chameleon than MacLaine, who's strong personality shines through
@@monmothma3358 right it’s unfortunate it effected Meryl bc low key she should’ve surpassed Katharine Hepburn record for the most Oscar wins for a actor/actress a long time
I have waited this for so long...
And now it's here. And it's my birthday in two hours...
I'm so happy before even seeing this.
Because the quality will overwhelm me... As always.
Your channel is a treasure and you are a rock star 🙏🏼
Thank you! One of my favourite actors. The Apartment is in my top 10. Love her soooo much. couldn't give a sh*t about her kooky beliefs. She is a bona fide triple threat, old school, new age STAR!!!
I-I genuinely did not know what I expected at the end of that behind-the-scenes anecdote, but it was not a fart in the face. And the constant backhanded remarks actresses have to deal with the second they reach a day past 40…just wild in the worst way. And byeeeee the Twitter discourse section was perfect.
I adore so much from these videos (like always coming away with a deeper understanding and/or appreciation for actresses I may or not have have seen) and there’s always these smaller awards and film history details I get from these videos too (e.g. like not only the story above, Streisand’s snubbing being a retaliation). Anyways, anyways, thanks again for another upload!
I wasn't expecting that either. A fart in the face?! I'm surprised Shirley wasn't like "So you chosen how you want to end this life. Maybe you'll have better manners next time around."
she mentioned too in "my lucky stars" that debra hid beneath the covers of the bed and LICKED HER LEG when she was shooting a scene with jack nicholson.. i was sitting mouth agape while reading it at work 😭
Out on a limb was so “ out on a limb” that a lot of people climbed out there too just to see what she may be saying.
I remember it being relatively respectfully successful.
Aside from the late night talk show jabs.
It felt more like she was sharing something important to her.
Such a gem. Some Came Running is my fave.
And that scene in Oceans Elevon elevates that movie immensely.
I love your videos, they’re so well researched and interesting, thank you.
Great piece! I’ve always loved Shirley MacLaine!
And I loved Out on a Limb!
The only role I can recall where I didn't recognize Shirley MacLaine as Shirley MacLaine acting was in "The Children's Hour." An underrated Wyler classic I've referenced before. That character was as complex as Shirley is in real life, and in that respect, it did her justice. I don't know if I find her all that "likeable" as an actress, but as the old saying goes, if she hadn't existed, it would have been necessary to invent her. She's truly one of a kind. Great video! BTW, what's the status of your short film?
MacLaine's Oscar acceptance speech is one of my favorites as well! But I'm writing this comment mostly to give you kudos for the twitter reaction segment of this video... freaking brilliant and hilarious :)
god her voice, could listen to her for days. I remember she killed it in the children's hour and what a way to go is iconic
Yasssss queen! She’s the best. Do more of these kinds of videos!!! Do Helen Hunt or Hillary Swank (Boys Don’t Cry) or Julia or Susan or Reese or Marion or Emma Stone!!! (Sorry but I’m obsessed with your channel, I love it)
After Winona Ryder and Louise Brooks, I think Mrs. MacLaine on The Apartment is the most beautiful woman witn short hair I've seen on the screen...
Another great talent recovered!! Great as usual!! Thanx, BKR!!
I bought and read Out on a Limb when it came out and it was my very first introduction to esoteric things, and started my journey.
I love her in Bernie! I don't know if you've read the article by Skip Hollisworth in Texas Monthly called "Lights! Camera! Carthage!" about the move but there are some great anecdotes about her in there 😁👍🏽
honestly, i find so bizarre that she hasn't been nominated for a single Oscar after winning, it's been almost 40 years, which makes me wonder how many times she has been close to get one. Maybe Postcards from the edge and Madame Sousatzka?
Forgive me for being a bit off topic, but I'd love a video about Silkwood if there is enough there to cover. I was 2 when it was released and my parents watched a ton of movies so I think i saw it at 3 years old in 1984. The end of that movie haunted me until my late teens when I remembered Streep had done that movie and I re-watched it. It's just one of those films that speak to me for MANY reasons. Too many to list.
That ending is indeed haunting the ambiguity of rather it was a accident or if something more sinister truly happened always haunted and that ending of her wrecked car passing by Cher who’s crying … ugh just breaks my heart for a longtime I always tried passed watching the ending bc of how heartbreaking it is
The Apartment was the film that made me fall in love with old time cinema.