[ For full episode catalogue please subscribe to our Patreon at Patreon.com/BestActress ] The year is 1970 and the nominees are: 1. Maggie Smith - The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie 2. Genevieve Bujold - Anne of the Thousand Days 3. Jane Fonda - They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? 4. Liza Minnelli - The Sterile Cuckoo 5. Jean Simmons - The Happy Ending - In 1970 Maggie Smith won her first of two Oscars for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Smith plays an eccentric schoolteacher in a conservative school during the 1930’s in Edinburgh, Scotland. She had won the BAFTA for Best Lead Actress but odds on favourite at the Oscars was Jane Fonda in They Shoot Horses, Don’t They. Many speculated she (Fonda) lost this Oscar due to an arrest on Fort Hood military reservation as well as rumours of drug use and adultery had cost her the award. Remember! It was the late 1960’s/70’s. However Smith delivers an amazing performance in TPOMJB. Liza Minnelli became a first time nominee in The Sterile Cuckoo. A role Judy Garland urged her not to play worried it would make her seem unattractive. I don’t agree! Pookie (the character Minnelli plays) is obnoxiously charming! Genevieve Bujold plays Anne Boleyn in Anne of the Thousand Days. A fantastic performance and I would recommend if you enjoy period pieces. Finally, Jean Simmons was nominated for The Happy Ending - a hilarious camp film about a woman who walks out on her family (inexplicably) and struggles with drug and alcohol addiction. Join host Kyle Brownrigg with guest host Luke McFarlane as they discuss.