Shirley MacLaine: five best moments

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/may/01/shirley-maclaine-five-best-moments

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In career that’s now spanned seven decades, Shirley MacLaine has amassed one Oscar, five Oscar nominations, one Emmy, an American Film Institute lifetime achievement award, 14 books, an uncredited role as Tipsy Girl in the original Ocean’s Eleven, a previous life where she was the brother of a 35,000-year-old spirit called Ramtha and now, the lead in a deeply underwhelming romantic comedy opposite Christopher Plummer.

But while her latest film Elsa & Fred, out this weekend, is worth forgetting, her career is filled with performances that will be fondly remembered. Here are her finest:

Some Came Running

After a set of roles in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Trouble with Harry, Around the World in 80 Days and romantic comedy The Matchmaker, it took this adaptation of a James Jones novel to truly launch MacLaine in Hollywood. She received her first of many Oscar nominations for playing the unrefined and sympathetic Ginnie, who is continually mistreated by the apathetic ex-soldier Dave, played by a sullen Frank Sinatra. In this scene, we see their dynamic play out rather horribly.

The Apartment

In Billy Wilder’s comedy, MacLaine played one of the first, and most defining, iterations of the manic pixie dream girl. Alternating between cute quirk and quirky cuteness, it’s a testament to MacLaine’s innate charm that she makes the character so engaging and easy to fall for and Jack Lemmon’s predicament incredibly easy to empathise with. She deservedly picked up another Oscar nomination for her performance.

The Children’s Hour AKA The Loudest Whisper

An adaptation of the 1934 play of the same name (which was most recently performed with Keira Knightley and Elisabeth Moss in London), this underrated drama has MacLaine star alongside Audrey Hepburn as friends who run a boarding school for girls. The pair are accused of a lesbian relationship and in this brilliantly performed scene, MacLaine breaks down and confesses her true feelings for Hepburn.

Irma la Douce

Showcasing her refusal to be typecast, MacLaine took on the role of a Parisian prostitute, without an accent, in this farcical, and often perverse, romantic comedy. Reuniting with Billy Wilder and Jack Lemmon, who plays a policeman who becomes her pimp who also dresses up as a British lord, it brought MacLaine yet another Oscar nomination. In this scene, we see her cope with Lemmon’s bizarre disguise.

Postcards from the Edge

In 1990, MacLaine starred as Meryl Streep’s mother in this biting adaptation of Carrie Fisher’s semi-autobiographical novel. Loosely based on Fisher’s mother Debbie Reynolds, MacLaine had to compete against Reynolds herself for the role. In this scene, we see MacLaine’s singing prowess as she provides one of her overbearing character’s less obnoxious moments in the film.