Hermione Baddeley received her only Oscar nomination for her performance as Elspeth in Room at the Top.
Room at the Top is an excellent movie about an ambitious, working class man who seduces a young, rich woman in order to obtain a high reputation and position in life, but falls in love with an older, married woman in the proceeding. It's a very smart and intelligent movie that benefits from a brilliant writing (very deserving of its Oscar), a rather strong cast and a stunning cinematography, that along with Jack Clayton's direction creates an alluring and captivating atmosphere.
Hermione Baddeley's nominated performance has the honor of being the shortest performance ever nominated for an Oscar: as Simone Signoret's best friend Elspeth, she is on-screen for about 2 minutes and 32 seconds. I personally don't think that the greatness of a performance is determined by its screen-time, but I also think that little more than two minutes is hardly enough time to create anything that remarkable to begin with. Elspeth isn't even one of those characters that are constantly mentioned throughout the movie and then appears in the end after a huge build-up - under those circumstances, I can see that a great performance might have been possible. But the problem is that Hermione Baddeley's performance consists of four extremely small scenes that all last around 30 seconds, and really I don't think that anyone could have really made anything of note out of that part. I have no problems with Baddeley's acting which is completely fine, but in all honesty I don't think I would have even paid that much attention to her performance if she hadn't been nominated.
Baddeley's first scene comes midway through the movie and it takes place at Elspeth's apartment that she lends to Alice and Joe for their meetings. Baddeley is fine in this scene - she has a fine screen-presence that exudes warmth and tenderness and she does a good job at portraying Elspeth's loyalty and sincere affection towards Alice. The moment in which she makes Joe promise he is not going to hurt her feelings is actually a rather poignant one that foreshadows the movie's tragic outcome - but it's extremely brief as well, and, when you have Laurence Harvey carefully portraying an extremely complex character and Simone Signoret delivering a masterclass of subtlety, Baddeley's first scene isn't exactly something that lingers in your mind afterwards. A later moment in which Elspeth tries to cheer up Alice isn't very noteworthy either, and even if Baddeley tries her best she never really gets the occasion to explore her character in depth and her friendship with Alice, while completely believable and occasionally moving, is not quite as great as it should have been since the two actresses don't have enough time to truly build it..
Elspeth doesn't appear again until much later, after Joe finds out about Spoiler! Alice's death Spoiler Off!. Hermione Baddeley's outburst at Laurence Harvey is actually a pretty great and haunting moment: in her voice you can really feel Elspeth's grief and she does some rather outstanding facial acting - but, again, it's a very small moment that is over in a matter of seconds. Also, it kind of bothers me how both the movie and the actress seems to want to portray Elspeth as the moral center of the movie - how can she be the film's conscience when she is barely a character to begin with? Why should I care about her desperation when I never got to know much about her? Her disappointed face in the final scene is actually very well done but, again, I find the focus and importance given to the character in this scene rather puzzling.
I don't think that the movie ever suffers from her performance - but the point is that except for her small outburst nothing could have gone wrong, given the simplicity and one-dimensionality of the role and, as I said before, I doubt I would have even noticed her if she hadn't been nominated. Her performance is actually completely fine and it's not even remotely bad but her screen-time really works against her and portrayal within those two minutes never feels like something that should be rewarded with an Oscar nomination.
2.5/5
1. Moore
RispondiElimina2. Kohner
3. Winters
4. Ritter
5. Baddeley
Not a fan of either this film, or this performance. In fact, outside of Signoret's performance I don't find all that much to praise. Laurence Harvey is okay as the Angry Young Man, but I've always thought his greatest moment was easily in The Manchurian Candidate, where his cold and methodical approach yet deeply emotional work was far more impactful on me than his decent but compared to the likes of Tom Courtenay, Albert Finney and Alan Bates, less compelling portrayal of a troubled young man.
RispondiEliminaI actually like the movie a lot and I appreciate Laurence Harvey's performance much more than you do.
EliminaIt's interesting that I've been not too crazy about so much of Clayton's work as a director (this film, The Pumpkin Eater, The Great Gatsby) and yet his most director-heavy film, The Innocents, is possibly my favourite horror film of all-time.
RispondiElimina(sorry for spamming your comments section again Giuseppe!!)
I agree that Clayton's The Great Gatsby is not very good (outside of Karen Black's performance, I sort of hate it) and I also agree about The Innocents being a masterpiece! And by the way, you can comment as much as you like!
EliminaI think she's fine and very credible. I'd go higher.
RispondiEliminaI'm glad you liked her performance more but in my opinion she doesn't really do anything. There were so many better performances that year than hers.
EliminaI have to say I love this performance. When Hermione is on the screen, she just cannot be denied. The funny thing is I remembered everything about her performance the first time I saw the movie but always assumed that the Supporting nomination was for the girl whom Joe gets pregnant. When I learned that it was actually Hermione, I was super-happy! :)
RispondiEliminaWell she's definitely better than Heather Sears whom I thought was rather annoying and I'm glad she was nominated over her, but at the same time I really don't think Hermione is anything that special. I'll admit that her outburst at Harvey is impressive and all but ultimately it's just too little to truly impress me.
EliminaI'm a massive fan of this movie. It's my runner-up for the year behind Anatomy of a Murder, and just above North by Northwest, and Harvey and Signoret are both spectacular. That being said. Baddeley, while never bad, is just not given enough time to do anything. In other words, I completely agree with your assessment.
RispondiEliminaI'm glad we agree about Baddeley's performance. And I love the movie as well - it has this incredibly captivating atmosphere that is just unique and unforgettable and I too appreciate the performances very much (by the way, I think that Signoret is supporting). We also agree on our Best Picture winner, Anatomy of a Murder is such a compelling masterpiece.
EliminaShe had the same problem like Ritter that year. The performance is way too short. I must say that for me her last scene , or the last scene where they show her was a bit haunting, but still while its mostly impressive little performance this shouldnt be anywhere near nominations. I guess if she had another 10 min or so she could maybe be a contender for the win. Also another fact that she is overshadowed by lead actors(lead actor is almost overshadowed by Signoret), who both have very subtle roles. Btw Simone Signoret is one of the best winners in best actress category in my opinion, and 1959 is one of the strongest best actress years.
RispondiEliminai forgot, 3.5(almost 4) from me, i know its a bit high maybe but i think she did the most and perhaps the best she could with those 2 min, and i really like when actors do that. Again this should be nowhere near awards(at all).
EliminaIt seems like our ratings system are quite different as for me a 3.5/4 is a rather positive rating. Anyway I agree she did the best she could with the role but I just thought she was rather forgettable. About Signoret, she's indeed a worthy winner even if she is supporting for me.
Elimina