1937: Lucille La Verne in "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"
Thursday, September 23, 2021 at 6:00PM The 1937 smackdown arrives on Sunday October 3rd. Before each Smackdown Nick Taylor suggests alternates to Oscar's Supporting Actress ballot.
by Nick Taylor
The Evil Queen of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is the first character in any animated feature to speak on screen. Her voice is provided by Lucille La Verne, a storied theatre actress who’d gone on to have a wildly successful career in silent cinema, and who would ultimately give her final performance for this film. It’s about as iconic a farewell as one could hope for. Her rendering of the Queen is one of the many achievements that would make Snow White an instant classic, and Walt Disney Animation into a medium-defining juggernaut. With so much of The Queen’s impact derived from Snow White’s groundbreaking visual elements, there’s a degree to which the character would shine even without such a commanding voice. Yet, by the same token, La Verne’s contribution would flourish even in a less auspicious version of this tale, endowing her Evil Queen with a ruthless, unrepentant menace and villainous glee. Her look is immortal, but where would she be without her laugh?
It’s almost beside the point to offer any kind of plot summary on Snow White, but allow me a brief retelling...