Lana Turner. Because movie stars need love, too.

We've been celebrating 1957 these past few weeks. Please welcome our new contributor Baby Clyde...

Lana turner in "Peyton Place" and the closest she came to Oscar - presenting Red Buttons with his that same year

After nearly two decades as a topflight Hollywood star Lana Turner finally grabbed Oscar’s attention for her performance as the uptight mother Constance Mackenzie in the smash hit 1957 soap opera Peyton Place. It was to be their only serious encounter. Nobody argues that Lana was a great actress but by god was she a great Movie Star. Maybe the greatest of all in my estimation. There is no one in film history who ticks so many boxes or encapsulates so many Hollywood tropes and clichés. 

Young Judy Turner went to Hollywood High School before literally being discovered at a soda counter by the editor of the Hollywood Reporter at age 16 (See how many times I’ve used the word ‘Hollywood’ already).  Now named ‘Lana’ she made one of the most iconic debuts in movie history as the ill-fated murder victim in They Won’t Forget (1937) and was dubbed "The Sweater Girl" for the way her ample charms filled out said item of clothing...

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Loretta vs. Roz: A Surprise Best Actress Win

Please welcome first time contributor Baby Clyde, weighing in on 1947, the year we're celebrating this week... 

Rosalind & Loretta, friends and Best Actress rivalsSuch a forgone conclusion was the result of the final award at the 20th Academy Awards, that the audience at the back of the Shrine Auditorium had already started filing out as Frederic March rose to announce the Best Actress winner. They soon stopped in their tracks as a huge gasp swept around the room. No one was more surprised than the previous year’s Best Actor champ who is said to have started reading the name of the expected winner, Rosalind Russell for Mourning Becomes Electra, before stopping and declaring that the awards was, in fact, going to rank outsider Loretta Young for the comedic trifle The Farmers Daughter. The next day noted gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, sitting directly behind her, reported that Russell had already started rising from her seat when Young’s name was called, but styled it out beautifully to lead a standing ovation for her good friend...

Loretta swept up to the stage with all the poise and elegance for which she was famous, wearing a voluminous green gown that would still cause a sensation on any red carpet today...

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