HORSE RACE

"In a horse race like the Oscars, bloodlines count, and Liza's got the bloodlines."

-- Rock Hudson before announcing Liza Minnelli as winner of the Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 1972 Oscar ceremony.

Hudson's cringe-inducing banter was in reference to that years so-called Horse Race between Best Actress nominees Liza Minnelli for Caberet and Diana Ross for Lady Sings The Blues. For whatever reason, the Best Actress category is often referred to as a Horse Race. It is rather offensive if you think about it, but so be it.

My personal favorite Horse Race for Best Actress is the one that took place in 1950. The list for that year was particularly good:

Bette Davis for All About Eve

Anne Baxter for All About Eve

Gloria Swanson for Sunset Boulevard

Judy Holliday for Born Yesterday

Eleanor Parker for Caged

This is a pretty amazing list of actresses to choose from but in my humble opinion, the only Horse Race that year was between Judy Holiday and Gloria Swanson, and here's why: 

Eleanor Parker never stood a chance. Caged is a campy romp about women in prison. Although it's pretty laughable today, the film was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress (Hope Emerson).

Go figure.

All About Eve is probably one of the best written film scripts ever! Bette Davis desperately wanted to be the first actress to win three Oscars for Best Actress and felt that Anne Baxter should have been submitted in the Best Supporting Actress category. Anne Baxter disagreed, correctly reminding everyone that she was the title character, although with the appearance of both actresses in the same category, they sort of canceled each other out.

Gloria Swanson's appearance in Sunset Boulevard was a major comeback. A superstar from the silent era, Swanson hadn't been seen on the big screen in years, and anyone who has seen Sunset Boulevard would agree that her mesmerizing performance is absolutely Oscar-worthy.

Last up, Judy Holliday for Born Yesterday. To win an award, you only need a minimum of 21% of the vote and I really think that's how Holliday was able to take home the Oscar for Best Actress.

Although she was openly disappointed she didn't win, Davis was quoted as saying "Oh good, a new comer" when Holliday was announced the winner. When Baxter later said that maybe she should have agreed to have been submitted for the Best Supporting Actress category, Davis is reported to have replied:

"Yes, you should have."