The 1940's were good to Olivia de
Havilland, at least as far as quality work went. After her win for
Best Actress in 1946, Olivia found herself on a roll, hitting pay dirt
again a couple of years later with a message movie about life in a
sanitarium. While dated by today's standards (it promotes the use of
electric shock therapy as a cure-all), the film was an excellent
opportunity for Olivia to chew up the scenery.
The film earned Olivia her fourth
Best Actress nomination. Her competition included Ingrid Bergman,
Barbara Stanwyk and Irene Dunne. They were all beat, however, by
Jane Wyman, for her portrayal of a deaf mute, in Johnny Belinda.
Critics point out the sentimental factor in Wyman's win. Not to say
that she wasn't deserving (she was very good), but she was undergoing
several tragedies at the time, including a recent miscarriage, and a
divorce from her husband, Ronald Regan.
Olivia, on the other hand, saw
things differently, finding fault in her sister, Joan, who aggressively
campaigned, but failed to get a nomination, for a film that she
co-produced, Letter from an Unknown Woman.
1949 proved to be a better year
for Olivia, as she was nominated for, and won, her second Oscar for The
Heiress. It would be her last Oscar, and her last
nomination.
Throughout the 50's and 60's, the feud
between Olivia and Joan would become legendary, as gossip columns and
biographies continued to write about it. The Oscar's would rekindle
memories of the feud in 1965, when for the second time, two sisters would
be nominated in the Best Actress category. Lynn and Vanessa Redgrave
would not win that year, and there was no public feud to fuel the race
between the two.
For
the 1987 awards - and to mark the sixtieth anniversary, both Joan and
Olivia were invited to attend. Olivia was even asked to present the
award for Best Editing.
A major faux pas was committed when the two
found themselves booked in adjacent rooms at the Four Seasons Hotel.
Joan immediately had her room switched.
Limo gridlock marred that years
ceremony, with cars backed up for blocks trying to get to the Dorothy
Chandler Pavilion. Some stars, including Olivia, were spotted
getting out of their limos, blocks away from the Shrine, and
walking. Fontaine, who was also forced to walk, said, "This is
the last Oscar show for me! From now on they can muck it up for
themselves."
