Taking Sides: Joan Fontaine vs. Olivia de Havilland

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

I discovered today that they're both still alive.

― Melissa W (Melissa W), Friday, 30 August 2002 22:01 (twenty-four years ago)

I wonder if they ever made up.

― Melissa W (Melissa W), Friday, 30 August 2002 23:35 (twenty-four years ago)

i choose myrna loy!!!!! she is not alive anymore tho sadly

anyway, carry on

― geeta (geeta), Friday, 30 August 2002 23:44 (twenty-four years ago)

haha i once started to write a novel where one of the characters said "myrna loy!!" just like geeta did

it was the only memorable bit, in the sense that it is the only bit i can remember: i have no idea what made her do this (my character i mean, not geeta) (i mean i don't necessarily know why geeta said it either, but i refuse to be held responsible for her) (geeta i mean, not my character) (bed i think)

― mark s (mark s), Friday, 30 August 2002 23:59 (twenty-four years ago)

I'm going with Joan Fontaine - she's so gorgeous and trembling in Rebecca, Toland made her glow.

― James Blount, Saturday, 31 August 2002 00:23 (twenty-four years ago)

My answer is Carmen Miranda - any woman who can dance and sing with fruit on her head is tops in my book.

― gazza, Saturday, 31 August 2002 00:35 (twenty-four years ago)

Agreed with J. Blount -- nobody does deer-in-the-headlights better than Joan Fontaine (Julia Roberts, eat your heart out). She was also terrific in Letter from an Unknown Woman

Olivia de Havilland always throws me off because I expect her to be olive-complected but no! She gets major points for GWTW, but Joan got much better roles.

― felicity (felicity), Saturday, 31 August 2002 00:39 (twenty-four years ago)

Fontaine looks so vulneradorable in Rebecca, too bad the rest of the cast disliked her. de Hav ultimately gets the edge, though; foxy and the better actress.

― Joe (Joe), Saturday, 31 August 2002 00:44 (twenty-four years ago)

(They were sisters, you know)

― Melissa W (Melissa W), Saturday, 31 August 2002 01:02 (twenty-four years ago)

Olivia for me - Joan always looked puzzled and about to cry, which I never liked.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Saturday, 31 August 2002 08:50 (twenty-four years ago)

I am disappointed in the lack of responses to this thread.

― Melissa W (Melissa W), Monday, 2 September 2002 15:31 (twenty-four years ago)

Well don't blame me.

― felicity (felicity), Monday, 2 September 2002 17:57 (twenty-four years ago)

OdH was in Gone With the Wind, the third- or fourth-most overrated movie ever, while Joan was in two '40s Hitchcock classics, so she wins.

― Justyn Dillingham (Justyn Dillingham), Monday, 2 September 2002 18:11 (twenty-four years ago)

I'm gonna go with Joan because because i have a thing for her, despite her slightly annoying demeanor, and she sounds like a real old croney during an interview on my Rebecca dvd. She would have been great for the Shelley Duvall role in The Shining.

And wasn't Havilland in some Hitchcock too? And whats this talk about them making up? Were they fighting? What's the deal? Tell me!

― ryan, Monday, 2 September 2002 19:27 (twenty-four years ago)

But OdH was also in The Snake Pit and The Heiress (and of course, Adventures of Robin Hood)...

― Joe (Joe), Monday, 2 September 2002 19:36 (twenty-four years ago)

And wasn't Havilland in some Hitchcock too? And whats this talk about them making up? Were they fighting? What's the deal? Tell me!

1) I don't think OdH was in any Hitchcock.

2) According to the imdb.com:

"Relations between de Havilland and actress/sister Joan Fontaine were never all that strong. But in 1941, both sisters were nominated for 'best actress' Oscar awards. Intense feelings of jealousy escalated into a all-out feud after younger sister Fontaine won for "Suspicion." Despite the fact de Havilland would go on and win two Academy Awards of her own, they remained estranged to the bitter end." [Kind of odd wording, since they're both still alive]

― Joe (Joe), Monday, 2 September 2002 19:43 (twenty-four years ago)

perhaps it means the end of their estrangement? viz "they remained estranged until they made up chiz chiz" (it's transferred epiphet, ie "bitter" actually describes the feelings of the writer abt their having made up, cz he liked that they were estranged)

― mark s (mark s), Monday, 2 September 2002 21:39 (twenty-four years ago)

Joan was so fabulous in Rebecca and Suspicion, but Olivia made a grebt mentalist in the Snakepit. It's too hard to decide!

― Nicole (Nicole), Monday, 2 September 2002 22:35 (twenty-four years ago)

four months pass...

Joan's hella attraktive in Rebekka tho Martin's observation is korrekte.

― naked as sin (naked as sin), Friday, 10 January 2003 00:58 (twenty-three years ago)

two months pass...

I go with Joan anyday. She is a fantastic actress and played all types of roles. Olivia is too melodramatic for my tastes.

― Wonder woman, Friday, 28 March 2003 01:42 (twenty-three years ago)

I just found this thread and had to put in my two cents worth. I much prefer Joan Fontaine over Olivia de Havilland. Joan was truly beautiful is a very natural way. She could act rings around Olivia. Why? Because her real persona is totally different than the types of characters she played. Olivia's acting, on the other hand, is much more like her real persona. So the edge goes to Joan.

― Carmelluv, Friday, 28 March 2003 15:54 (twenty-three years ago)

Olivia was at the Oscars this year, amongst all the previous best actor/actress award-winners. I think.

It's a toss up: Joan for Letter from an Unknown Woman or Olivia for The Strawberry Blonde?

― Amateurist (amateurist), Friday, 28 March 2003 16:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Olivia just cuz I love the Snake Pit and Hush,Hush,Sweet Charlotte so much and cuz I was in love with her as a kid cuz she played maid marion in the adventures of Robin Hood.

― Scott Seward, Friday, 28 March 2003 19:44 (twenty-three years ago)

I fell madly in love with Joan Fontaine when I saw "This Above All". I thought she was the epitome of the type of girlfriend I would like to have -- beautiful, sexy, loyal, loving, caring. To this day, I adore Joan for all the great pictures she was in. So, it is not hard to see that Joan is my favorite of the two sisters.

― Rob-in-town, Saturday, 29 March 2003 15:35 (twenty-three years ago)

I like Joan Fontaine the best. She has a softness and vulnerability about her screen presence that endears her to me. She could play all types of roles and did them magnificently.

Sally

― Sally Rousell, Wednesday, 9 April 2003 00:16 (twenty-three years ago)

I think this gets my vote for Most Unlikely Yet Gloriously Repeatedly Revived Thread on ILE.

― Joe (Joe), Wednesday, 9 April 2003 00:54 (twenty-three years ago)

Of the two, Joan is my preference. I love her motion pictures, think she is a great actress. For me JOAN FONTAINE rules!

― Lisa Hamilton, Saturday, 19 April 2003 22:41 (twenty-three years ago)

I am going with Joan Fontaine because I think she is the more beautiful of the two sisters and was a determined individual despite many set backs.

― Billy, Friday, 2 May 2003 20:39 (twenty-three years ago)

two weeks pass...

Hey, this is quite a contest. I like them both but I like Joan Fontaine the very best so she is my choice. She is an enchantress on the screen.

― Benson Robbins, Saturday, 17 May 2003 00:05 (twenty-three years ago)

two months pass...

My choice between the two is Joan Fontaine. :0) She's the one who was in my favorite of all time movies Rebecca.

― Andrea Watkins, Tuesday, 22 July 2003 14:54 (twenty-three years ago)

You thought I loved Rebecca? You thought that? I hated it!

― felicity (felicity), Tuesday, 22 July 2003 15:23 (twenty-three years ago)

Rebecca falls apart at the end thanks to the limits imposed on it by the Production Code. Although I've heard plenty of arguments to the contrary.

― amateurist (amateurist), Tuesday, 22 July 2003 15:29 (twenty-three years ago)

Something in me loves Olivia, more: she had a sense of wide-eyed innocence part of me warmed to, but couldn't resist giggling at.

― Nichole Graham (Nichole Graham), Tuesday, 22 July 2003 21:35 (twenty-three years ago)

what's wrong with the end of Rebecca? I haven't read the book or anything so I may be missing something.

― Justyn Dillingham (Justyn Dillingham), Wednesday, 23 July 2003 12:20 (twenty-three years ago)

Nothing is wrong with the end of Rebecca! The book is still better though, since Daphne du Maurier's words describing Rebecca's dead-yet-still-very-much-alive character outdo even Hitchcock's images which focus more on the wholly-living as expected. It's still a great adaptation, and the score was ethereally appealing enough for my imagination to fill in the rest, as was the construction of Manderly, which is of course a character unto itself even though some people have problemz w/ Olivier's Max. The real star of the picture though, as everyone knows but never acknowledges, is Judith Anderson as the grebt Mrs. Danvers since it's so obvious she has a sick crush on not only Rebecca but possibly also Joan AND WE CAN PICTURE THEM ALL LEZZING UP etc.

I think Olivia is being underrated here! Where are her props? Didn't she score some major independent-woman points for striking out on her own and breaking studio contacts and such -> stuff that changed the industry forever, stuff that if Katherine Hepburn would have done, she might've actualy lived upto the strong-as-nails reputation she was lauded for ? What was the feud w/ Joan over again? Though I haven't seen The Heiress, I'm voting for Olivia for that Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte flick alone...a camp classic in which she drove Bette into fearful madness, who else could claim THAT??

― Vic (Vic), Wednesday, 23 July 2003 12:56 (twenty-three years ago)

Olivia, purely for the Mosquito

/Dave Moore

― chris (chris), Wednesday, 23 July 2003 13:07 (twenty-three years ago)

*spoilers*

In the book, De Winter kills his first wife. But since the Production Code wouldn't allow someone to commit murder and get away with it (and since De Winter's getting away with it is the entire point of the story), in the film Rebecca dies in an accident (for which De Winter feels responsible, but it's not the same thing). Which undercuts the whole moral conundrum at the center of the book, and so the denouement of the film isn't as wrenching as it should've been. Not to mention that what had been a sublimely atmospheric and leisurely-paced film suddenly jumps into overdrive complete with a few too many unlikely plot elements and the unfortunate hilarity of every main character bouncing around from scene to scene with the policemen, trying to unravel the mystery. I always that the screenwriters' means of condensing the novel was sort of graceless, and Hitchcock couldn't ever quite get around the central problem the Code set for him.

Hitchcock didn't really hit his stride until Shadow of a Doubt, in 1943, which is the delightfully sordid film Rebecca sadly wasn't.

― amateurist (amateurist), Wednesday, 23 July 2003 15:44 (twenty-three years ago)

Incidentally I discovered a pre-Revolutionary Chinese translation of DuMaurier's Rebecca a few months ago. The cover art seemed inspired by the film.

― amateurist (amateurist), Wednesday, 23 July 2003 15:46 (twenty-three years ago)

My vote goes to Joan. She is the best of two sisters. Has anyone seen her in This Above All?

― Polly Allen, Friday, 1 August 2003 23:55 (twenty-three years ago)

oh God, that's the one with the cringe-making euology which begins "if anyone asks me what England is ...", isn't it? oh, and Tyrone Power as a Yorkshireman.

― robin carmody (robin carmody), Saturday, 2 August 2003 14:26 (twenty-three years ago)

THIS ABOVE ALL? That is one damn good movie! Joan is my choice of the two sisters.

― starryeyedpup, Tuesday, 5 August 2003 19:14 (twenty-three years ago)

sorry, I can't get past that Fontaine euology to "Englishness". Makes "Mrs Miniver" look like a realistic portrayal of the Home Front ...

― robin carmody (robin carmody), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 20:08 (twenty-three years ago)

two weeks pass...

Joan is my favorite actress of all time so I have to say JOAN FONTAINE. Talented and beautiful and versatile. I like Olivia but I love Joan.

― cinemaaddict, Monday, 25 August 2003 13:39 (twenty-three years ago)

I really like this thread and how many times it's been woken up.

― s1utsky (slutsky), Tuesday, 26 August 2003 02:19 (twenty-three years ago)

Saw Letter From an Unknown Woman on a big outdoor screen last week. Man, was it ever fantastic (especially the DATE!). Yay for JF.

― s1utsky (slutsky), Sunday, 7 September 2003 16:48 (twenty-three years ago)

that's like the best movie ever.

― amateurist (amateurist), Sunday, 7 September 2003 17:09 (twenty-three years ago)

the train scene! my god

― s1utsky (slutsky), Sunday, 7 September 2003 17:18 (twenty-three years ago)

I mean the train scene in the prater

― s1utsky (slutsky), Sunday, 7 September 2003 17:18 (twenty-three years ago)

I LOVE "Letter From An Unknown Woman" ...best tragicly romantic movie ever. Joan was awesome as Lisa. She has been my fave ever since I saw her in that movie. *sigh*

― cinemaaddict, Saturday, 13 September 2003 03:07 (twenty-three years ago)

All the train scenes are great. They echo one another: date train, farewell train, mystery train. It's a movie full of echoes. The date train is so sweet, but it's funny too, the camera track back to the man rolling the screens. One man's romance is another man's job. It's like the perpetually dancing lovers in Madame de...; finally the dance band has had enough, and goes home.

― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Saturday, 13 September 2003 04:20 (twenty-three years ago)

Skipping 136 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

It remains my favorite thread.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Monday, 26 February 2007 00:14 (nineteen years ago)

seven months pass...

Joan is 90!

http://daily.greencine.com/archives/004774.html

― Dr Morbius, Tuesday, 23 October 2007 13:59 (nineteen years ago)

Happy Birthday Joanie!

― Tom D., Tuesday, 23 October 2007 14:01 (nineteen years ago)

Do you think neither one wants to die before the other?

― Melissa W, Tuesday, 23 October 2007 21:07 (nineteen years ago)

three months pass...

Joan, questioned:

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

Virginity.

http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2008/03/proust_fontaine200803

― Dr Morbius, Friday, 22 February 2008 16:48 (eighteen years ago)

two months pass...

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-and-tv/features/sibling-rivalry-hollywoods-oldest-feud-828301.html

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Thursday, 15 May 2008 20:08 (eighteen years ago)

six months pass...

One sister just received a National Medal of Arts from the NEA.

― Ruudside Picnic (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 24 November 2008 03:27 (seventeen years ago)

I love how folks were marvelling at the longevity and resilience of this thread back when it had existed for nearly a full two years...and now it's SIX years old!

Gotta go with Olivia for The Heiress and, yeah, Gone With The Wind.

― Myonga Vön Bontee, Monday, 24 November 2008 06:24 (seventeen years ago)

seven months pass...

i've watched rebecca, suspicion, unknown woman, and jane eyre. what films should i watch next to satisfy this thirst of joan fontaine?

― dan138zig (Durrr Durrr Durrrrrr), Tuesday, 7 July 2009 02:28 (seventeen years ago)

You've mentioned her only worthwhile films.

― My name is Kenny! (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 7 July 2009 02:30 (seventeen years ago)

Joan Fontaine is a woman of loose morals and questionable character.

― scott seward, Tuesday, 7 July 2009 02:31 (seventeen years ago)

this above all is worth a look

― velko, Tuesday, 7 July 2009 02:59 (seventeen years ago)

Joan Fontaine is a woman of loose morals and questionable character.

― scott seward, Tuesday, July 7, 2009 2:31 AM (37 minutes ago) Bookmark

huh?? care to elaborate?

― dan138zig (Durrr Durrr Durrrrrr), Tuesday, 7 July 2009 03:10 (seventeen years ago)

you obviously haven't read this thread.

― scott seward, Tuesday, 7 July 2009 03:14 (seventeen years ago)

http://tbn0.google.com/hosted/images/c?q=9e5d50aff0977b4c_large

― velko, Tuesday, 7 July 2009 03:16 (seventeen years ago)

http://tbn0.google.com/hosted/images/c?q=47143ad5feb1ed48_large

― velko, Tuesday, 7 July 2009 03:17 (seventeen years ago)

http://tbn0.google.com/hosted/images/c?q=3addc9dee048f555_large

― velko, Tuesday, 7 July 2009 03:19 (seventeen years ago)

http://tbn0.google.com/hosted/images/c?q=8e360d4fb9ada3cf_large

― velko, Tuesday, 7 July 2009 03:20 (seventeen years ago)

one year passes...

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/golden-girl-the-divine-olivia-de-havilland-1744807.html

Both still alive and kicking, both nursing grudges. Since Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic.

Olivia seems very graceful... but I just Googled the part of her forbidding Joan to use De Havilland name.

So maybe Joan was so good at playing tremulous victims because she kind of was one.

― bondirotta, Friday, 3 September 2010 19:28 (sixteen years ago)

three months pass...

so fucking cool!

http://www.westernexhibitions.com/westernXeditions/artists/blair/in_the_glory_days.html

http://www.westernexhibitions.com/westernXeditions/artists/blair/in_glory_days.jpg

― scott seward, Friday, 17 December 2010 03:19 (fifteen years ago)

edition of 3
SOLD OUT

you do not get to say sold out lady this is america

probably an olivia fan

― tremendoid, Friday, 17 December 2010 08:07 (fifteen years ago)

five years pass...

Olivia turns 100 in 3 weeks

http://selfstyledsiren.blogspot.com/2016/06/steel-and-silk-100th-birthday-tribute.html

― we can be heroes just for about 3.6 seconds (Dr Morbius), Friday, 10 June 2016 19:11 (ten years ago)

Upcoming Local Retrospective: http://www.mfah.org/films/series/72/

Only seen Midsummer... & GWTW out of this batch. Any other recs?

― Now I Know How Joan of Arcadia Felt (C. Grisso/McCain), Friday, 10 June 2016 19:29 (ten years ago)

R Hood, Heiress, Snake Pit, but a bunch there i haven't seen

― we can be heroes just for about 3.6 seconds (Dr Morbius), Friday, 10 June 2016 19:31 (ten years ago)

two weeks pass...

one day to go, Olivia!

― helpless before THRILLARY (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 30 June 2016 03:51 (ten years ago)

Scott Seward...at least the Joan Fontaine fans don't psychoanalyze the fans of Olivia de Havilland! Personally, I resent being deemed "possibly unstable" and "may or may not be insane" just for expressing my opinion.
― Whitney, Sunday, April 16, 2006 1:47 AM (10 years ago)

― scott seward, Thursday, 30 June 2016 15:29 (ten years ago)

how the heck does a gal make films with Errol Flynn and Monty Clift, yet have a torrid affair with a monkeyface like John Huston?

― helpless before THRILLARY (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 30 June 2016 19:30 (ten years ago)

BREAKING NEWS!!!!!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/celebrities/ap-interview-de-havilland-breaks-silence-on-sibling-feud/2016/07/01/007ee0f6-3f96-11e6-9e16-4cf01a41decb_story.html

― scott seward, Friday, 1 July 2016 15:39 (ten years ago)

ohboy, 'Dragon Lady'

― helpless before THRILLARY (Dr Morbius), Friday, 1 July 2016 15:42 (ten years ago)

also: happy birthday.

― scott seward, Friday, 1 July 2016 15:43 (ten years ago)

link roundup

https://www.fandor.com/keyframe/daily-olivia-de-havilland-100

― helpless before THRILLARY (Dr Morbius), Friday, 1 July 2016 16:11 (ten years ago)

Happy birthday, Olivia!!!!!

― They could have been Stackridge. (Tom D.), Friday, 1 July 2016 16:34 (ten years ago)

she uses email!

― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 1 July 2016 16:35 (ten years ago)

I wonder what her Tinder profile is.

― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 1 July 2016 16:35 (ten years ago)

Was trying to think of any other stars who made it to 100, and could only come up with George Burns.

― rhymes with "blondie blast" (cryptosicko), Friday, 1 July 2016 16:37 (ten years ago)

Bob Hope, Luise Rainer. Not many other actual "movie stars."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_centenarians_(actors,_filmmakers_and_entertainers)

― helpless before THRILLARY (Dr Morbius), Friday, 1 July 2016 16:56 (ten years ago)

most of the old-timers smoked like fish. never gonna hit triple digits.

― scott seward, Friday, 1 July 2016 17:12 (ten years ago)

eleven months pass...

That's Dame Olivia De Havilland, to you.

― Heavy Doors (jed_), Friday, 16 June 2017 22:55 (nine years ago)

two weeks pass...

FUCK FX! FREE OLIVIA!

http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/olivia-de-havilland-feud-lawsuit-fx-ryan-murphy-1202484973/

― scott seward, Saturday, 1 July 2017 15:52 (nine years ago)

If, as stated in the article, FX never even consulted her about any aspect of a movie about her, then yeah she has a damn good case.

― A is for (Aimless), Saturday, 1 July 2017 16:44 (nine years ago)

one month passes...

moving fwd

http://www.vulture.com/2017/07/olivia-de-havilland-is-wasting-no-time-suing-ryan-murphy.html

― ice cream social justice (Dr Morbius), Monday, 7 August 2017 15:57 (nine years ago)

ten months pass...

belated birthday wishes to Olivia, she turned 102 yesterday.

― omar little, Tuesday, 3 July 2018 07:16 (eight years ago)

one year passes...

104 today

― Josefa, Wednesday, 1 July 2020 14:33 (six years ago)

In six months or so, she'll also have outlived Luise Rainer.

― Get the point? Good, let's dance with nunchaku. (Eric H.), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 16:34 (six years ago)

three weeks pass...

^CURSES

RIP

Here's Olivia De Havilland testifying in the court case that would change Hollywood and bring a permanent end to the studio contract system. (1/2). pic.twitter.com/aU5NBkFWhm
— Peter Labuza (@labuzamovies) July 26, 2020

― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Sunday, 26 July 2020 17:52 (six years ago)

http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/1229013/Robert-Osborne-on-Olivia-de-Havilland-Movie-Promo-Star-Of-The-Month-July-2016.html

― A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Sunday, 26 July 2020 18:43 (six years ago)

7 Feb 72 By the time we got to NY Cukor had either been fired or had withdrawn and my leading lady was Olivia de Haviland who had just won two Oscars in three years and was in the language of Hollywood 'hot, hot, hot.' (My Cousin Rachel) pic.twitter.com/euZuL48JzX
— Richard Burton (@BurtonDiaries) July 26, 2020

― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Sunday, 26 July 2020 22:19 (six years ago)

Winner of one of the more deserved Best Actress trophies for The Heiress the best cinematic adaptation of Henry James after THE INNOCENTS. She holds her own against Montgomery Clift and a magnificent Ralph Richardson. The movie is way subtler than expected: there's a closeup in the last 10 mins in which de Havilland must weigh buried love and self-righteousness; the last half hour is like a horror film. William Wyler surpassed himself.

― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 26 July 2020 22:45 (six years ago)

Just gave it a rewatch today and it’s even better than I’d remembered. Also, I would’ve gladly given Monty Clift $30K a year for the rest of my life just for the pleasure of seeing his waist in those high-cut jackets.

― Get the point? Good, let's dance with nunchaku. (Eric H.), Sunday, 26 July 2020 23:52 (six years ago)

Was this posted anywhere?

My forever vibe is Olivia de Havilland cursing her way through a blooper reel. pic.twitter.com/8P5ApTAQy4
— Caitlin Rose (@TheCaitlinRose) July 26, 2020

― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 27 July 2020 21:29 (six years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.