best film: The answer is Shane but Frank Capra’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is not far behind. This category, overall, is a weakness for Arthur, but there is depth here as Howard Hawks Only Angels Have Wings is not a terrible number three (if you blink you’ll miss her in Buster Keaton’s Seven Chances so it is hard to really count that).
best performance: Her accomplishment in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is closer to Jimmy Stewart’s than she often gets credit for. Her Saunders character is wise to the world and the driving force of the narrative. She goes toe to toe with Stewart (both Capra alums even at this point in 1939) and even steals her share of scenes. Her scenes with the scenery-chewing master Thomas Mitchell are some of the strongest in the entire film.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington here with Arthur opposite Stewart. At her best, Arthur could trade barbs with a prime Jimmy Stewart and peak Cary Grant. Mr. Smith was one of three Capra films for Arthur in the late 1930s.
stylistic innovations/traits: Arthur was a fast-talking comedic talent who is indispensable in two of Hollywood’s Golden Years’ best films: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Only Angles Have Wings. She had three great collaborations with Frank Capra and worked with Wilder and Hawks, too- playing one of the greatest of Hawks’ legendary women of strength. She retired with Shane in 1953 (having only made two total films since the end of World War II) and went out on top.
Jean Arthur in Howard Hawks’ 1939 film Only Angels Have Wings. This was Hollywood’s big year as well as Arthur’s big year with both this film and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.
directors worked with: Frank Capra (3), George Stevens (2), Buster Keaton (1), Billy Wilder (1) and Howard Hawks (1). Arthur collaborated with some of the great comedic minds in cinema working during her era.
top five performances:
- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
- Only Angels Have Wings
- Shane
- Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
- You Can’t Take It with You
archiveable films
| 1925- Seven Chances |
| 1936-Mr. Deeds Goes to Town |
| 1938- You Can’t Take It with You |
| 1939- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington |
| 1939- Only Angels Have Wings |
| 1942- The Talk of the Town |
| 1948- A Foreign Affair |
| 1953- Shane |
Rosalind Russell was great but what do you think of Jean Arthur in His Girl Friday?After working with Hawks and Grant the previous year, it would seem a natural fit.
@James Trapp- I think Arthur would kill it here- I mean hard to argue with the results from RR. Most of the strong Hawksian women were one and done- the big exception I can think of would be Bacall but I’d have to think that had at least a little about reteaming her with her husband Bogart.
Grace Kelly can’t be far away now.
Have enjoyed the entire list so far, but I wanted to ask, will there be any more actresses on the list who aren’t white (besides, of course, the amazing bunch of asian actresses included so far)?
@Ywens – Thank you- happy to hear you’ve enjoyed the list. Good question- so I am not going to reveal the list until I reveal the list- but you’re right to point out the lack of women of color. Many countries are represented on the list- but certainly not enough women of color. It is unfortunate- I try not to use that as a criteria of course when putting together the rankings but I would love to see more women of color on the list. You have to take each actor on a case by case basis of course, too. Was there actor you were thinking of specifically?
I was hoping personally for the likes of Cicely Tyson (Sounder, 1972) Pam Grier (Jackie Brown, 1997) or even some recent entries like Lupita Nyong’o/Viola Davis. But yes, you are correct and I prefer a list that’s more focused in other criterias. Thanks for your reply.
@Ywens Good work here- So on a case by case here- I think Tyson and Grier sort of lack the resume (well they all sort of do)- but I think Lupita and Viola are closer- I think one performance away.
In regards to an African American actress , Angela Bassett ?
@marco – a talented actor- but the resume includes eight films in the archives without a year where she gives one of the best performances of the year. We’re talking about a medium/artform with a 100+ year history.
Just wondering, what sort of system do you have that you can pull a number of archived films so easily for virtually any actor or actress, even those outside the top 100? Do you deliberately keep track of every actor, or is it simpler than that?
@DeclanG- I’ve had these massive spreadsheets for 15 years or so- started farther back than that in big notebooks. But after 2-3 films in the archives I started to keep track of most actors or directors.
Drake, the 1989 page is not working. (For me atleast, it could be an error on my part)
@Matthew- so I am able to find it when I search “1989” on the site- but yes, not when I google search. Thanks for the heads up- working on it
I hope Irene Jacob shows up soon. She does not have a deep filmography but nearly no other actress can match her top 2.
The Double Life of Veronique
Three Colors: Red