Best Actress 1962, Part 2: Geraldine Page and "Sweet Bird of Youth"

This is a review of Geraldine Page's Oscar-nominated performance in "Sweet Bird of Youth".
Chapters
0:00 Introduction
01:36 The Actor's Studio and Tennessee Williams
05:20 Geraldine Page and Tennessee Williams
10:35 Geraldien Page and "Sweet Bird of Youth" on Broadway
20:20 Critical reactions to "Sweet Bird of Youth" and Geraldine Page
24:00 The movie version of "Sweet Bird of Youth"
27:45 My Review
33:54 Final Thoughts
You can find the reviews of the other Best Actress nominees of 1962 here: • Review 1962
Ressources:
"Tennessee Williams: Memoirs"
"Tennessee Williams" by John Lahr
"Tennessee Williams" by Caroline Fehl
"Tennessee Williams and Company" by John DiLeo
"Tough as Nails: The Life and Films of Richard Brooks" by Douglass K. Daniel
"The Selected Letters of Elia Kazan"
#LeeRemick #BetteDavis #katharinehepburn #GeraldinePage #AnneBancroft #BestActress #Oscar #paulnewman #sweetbirdofyouth #tennesseewilliams

[@VTMCompany]

I love her laugh and wig in this film, and Newman's lack of a shirt. She won the Golden Globe for this performance, having also won the year prior for "Summer and Smoke."

[@FritzandtheOscars]

Her laugh is amazing and yes, Newman is quite the eye-candy

[@darylchin53]

Excellent, and you show your wonderful research in the beginning of this episode, when you delve into the early days of Geraldine Page's career, and how the revival of SUMMER AND SMOKE was an important event in American theater, as it brought a real light to off-Broadway productions, and established Geraldine Page as a significant American actress. I should add that Tennessee Williams could often misjudge events surrounding his plays, never more so than the original Broadway production of A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE. When Irene Mayer Selznick decided to produce the play, she went about lining up the cast. (Selznick's decision to produce the play came after her divorce from David O. Selznick, as he would eventually marry Jennifer Jones.) Initially, she sought John Garfield as Stanley, and Margaret Sullavan as Blanche. But Elia Kazan (contracted to direct) thought that a newcomer named Marlon Brando should be given the chance to play Stanley. (Garfield was in the midst of trying to establish himself as an independent producer in Hollywood, and he was in the middle of the films BODY AND SOUL and FORCE OF EVIL and didn't want to commit himself to the run of a play.) There's the whole story of Brando eventually going to visit Williams, and Williams agreeing to Kazan's plan. But when they had the first read-through of the play (with Brando, Sullavan as Blanche, Kim Stanley as Stella, and Karl Malden as Mitch), Brando held back. He was not as volatile as he could be, and as Williams and Kazan knew he could be. Williams guessed (correctly) that the problem was with the presence of Sullavan, and he asked her to leave the production. Sullavan (at that time, going through a lot of problems) didn't want to fight, and simply agreed to withdraw. But people who were there at the reading (and i knew some people) have said it was the most brilliant reading of Blanche that they ever saw: they couldn't believe how much Sullavan (in real life, a Southern belle) brought to the part. So what was the problem? This was the first time that Brando had ever worked with someone who knew him as a child! In 1930, Margaret Sullavan married Henry Fonda; Henry Fonda took his bride home to Omaha, Nebraska to visit his family, and, very importantly, his mentor, the woman who had introduced him to the theater, the woman who helped run the Omaha Neighborhood Playhouse, Dorothy Brando, whose three children were Lisa, Jocelyn, and Marlon Jr. (who would drop the "Jr" when he started acting). Marlon Brando knew Margaret Sullavan since he was five years old! That unnerved him, and Williams decided that Brando was more important than Margaret Sullavan, so she had to go. So (very graciously, i should add) she did. They tried to get other actresses, and Jessica Tandy was the acceptable compromise. But by the 1980s, Williams started to "misremember" the situation, and he didn't remember that he insisted that Margaret Sullavan leave the production.

[@FritzandtheOscars]

Thanks so much for your answer, that's a very fascinating story!

[@edwardnashen5960]

Such a brilliant actress. No one like her! An American treasure! Her performances stand the test of time. She is one of my very top favorite actresses! I love her work!

[@Kimllg88]

Thank you so much for this most wonderful discussion of the magical Geraldine Page. Love her performance in "Sweet Bird".

[@FritzandtheOscars]

Thanks so much for watching and commenting!

[@Les445]

Love her!!!!!

[@pageribe2399]

She has been one of my favorite actresses since I was young. I don't even recall what late night rerun I might have seen her in. I just thought she was cool!

[@JosephAddeo]

What a great episode. Your research and review of Geraldine Page and Tennessee Williams is exceptional!!

[@FritzandtheOscars]

Thank you so much for this positive feedback!

[@jiananlee5482]

Absolutely love all your videos, this is my third time watching this episode. You really done a great job with the in depth research into the behind the scene story and Geraldine Page’s career at that point. Keep them coming ❤

[@FritzandtheOscars]

Thank you so much! I try my best! :)

[@Polo-po]

Yes. Excellent and fantastic piece of work. Insightful and detailed notes on a wide take of topics on this film and its subjects. I shall be scouting form more and other commentaries. Thanks so much.

[@slc2466]

Agree an out-there Page is a lot of fun to watch in "Sweet Bird," specifically in pulling off both high drama and comedy during that climatic phone call.

[@FritzandtheOscars]

she runs the gamut of emotions

[@mattcohen405]

Brilliant video and all the info on Tennessee Williams was fascinating.

[@FritzandtheOscars]

Thank you very much, I'm glad you liked it!

[@tiffanywitherspoon8722]

You make such great videos. Phenomenal videos.

[@FritzandtheOscars]

Oh, thank you so much, that's very lovely to hear and very encouraging!

[@machovoce6826]

Excellent presentation.

[@paulvoorhies8821]

I love Page. Doesn’t it feel like she was born “older” though? Interiors is my favorite. I actually find her fun in Whatever Happened To Aunt Alice?

[@FritzandtheOscars]

She does have that aura - I was pretty surprised that she was actually the same age as Newman

[@ikurrinegartzia5487]

Great choices.

[@MissPerriwinkle]

ur commentary is brilliant. thank u.

[@FritzandtheOscars]

Thanks so much for your nice words!

[@calebcostigan2561]

I cannot wait for you to cover the 1985 best actress race! Thanks Fritz 💙

[@FritzandtheOscars]

Thanks for watching!

[@paulvoorhies8821]

Yes!! Please do 85.

[@FritzandtheOscars]

@@paulvoorhies8821 will see :) I always decide spontaneously

[@voyaristika5673]

Thank you for another informative and enjoyable video. It's fun learning about people who are basically just names to me, and in the context of their times.

[@FritzandtheOscars]

Thanks for taking the time and watching! :)

[@kellie-nd1yp]

I love that she let the unkind remarks roll off her back.She wasn't the one with the problem .

[@ikurrinegartzia5487]

Delicious ❤❤❤ .My choice in a superb year for actresses.

[@FritzandtheOscars]

she is wonderful

[@jeffbassin630]

Geraldine Page gave a brilliant performance in this film. She should have won an Oscar for it!

[@Bailey2006a]

A truly brilliant actor...amongst the best of her generation. Her performance in The Trip to Bountiful still has the power to break one's heart. Like Glenda Jackson, her talent gave her the kind of beauty that was just as powerful as any of that of the great beauties of the day.

[@FritzandtheOscars]

I adore her. Her work in The Trip to Bountiful is all-time great

[@craigbrush5784]

Such an excellent video I have now subscribed!

[@FritzandtheOscars]

Thanks a lot!

[@thomasalbert6687]

When you see a famous actor in person it can be shock. Some are so tiny you can hardly believe it---Bette Midler, Dolly Parton, Sean Penn. Others are so larger than life in body, they seem super-human---Harrison Ford, Clint Eastwood (honorable mention, Geena Davis). An actress imposing on screen can be the opposite if you pass them on the street, namely the small size of average---Faye Dunaway, Barbra Streisand. Then there was Geraldine Page. I literally did a double take when I realized who it was. The clothes should have been on a college girl. She was 57 (I researched this thoroughly, in true "Fritz syle"). Her brown hair was long and unkempt and flopped as she clonked in platform sandals, which had been in style perhaps 15 years prior. How do I describe her demeanor? It was equal parts lost-in-her-own-world and little-lost-lamb. I knew where she was headed. It was late afternoon and she on her way to the theater for "Agnes of God," in which she played a Mother Superior. So "eccentric?" Yes, I would say so. P.S. When she won her oscar for her marvelous portrayal in "Trip to Bountiful" the dress she wore to the Academy Awards was one of the costumes from a play I had also seen. In that one she played a Baroness.

[@andreiiliepopescu6393]

Amazing! Thank you for this curious story.😊

[@FritzandtheOscars]

Thank you for this wonderful story!

[@jr499]

I've always thought that Keri Russell has more than just a passing resemblance to Lee Remick. Both absolutely beautiful and talented actors.

[@labratamber]

Williams and Page were very good friends. He is even the Goddather of her twin sons

[@normanduke8855]

She was never more beautiful, thanks in no small part to the artistry of Syndney Guilaroff.

[@leightonbate7516]

I seem to enjoy Page more in her unnominated Oscar turns Toys in the Attic,The Beguiled & Trilogy,though she is stellar in Interiors I don't have a devotion to her like I do with other actresses,Bring on Bette.

[@FritzandtheOscars]

I think she is constantly great but yes, she lacks that certain something extra like big movie stars such as Davis, Hepburn, Kelly etc; I highly respect her and enjoy a lot of her work but I, too, am not devoted to her

[@joevasquez3434]

Williams wanted actress for his plays that would spill generously the tragedy of their own private lives onto the stage. In this was his total gayness; being a ridiculous and over the top fan of the female stars. Like most gay movie goers of the time, and sadly today.

[@Marcel_Audubon]

That's not how you pronounce Inge ... or Leighton

[@FritzandtheOscars]

you're right, I somehow thought it was but they are pronounced differently - my bad

[@Marcel_Audubon]

@@FritzandtheOscars a good post on an interesting lady!

[@FritzandtheOscars]

@@Marcel_Audubon thank you!

[@nazarisreyes6037]

Love Geraldine but wish she had a better come up than Summer and smoke, you cannot breath without tripping with some tired stereotype and Alma grows tiring quickly

[@montyduskin4610]

I LOVE HER !! BUT SHE SHOULD HAVE WON FOR INTERIORS !!

[@kevinhebner6773]

She did. She won the BAFTA for Supporting Actress.

[@paulvoorhies8821]

@@kevinhebner6773. She probably would have won had she been in supporting.

[@kevinhebner6773]

@@paulvoorhies8821 totally agree. As great as Maggie Smith was, she’d already won before and that was Page’s sixth nomination.