Splendid Speech: Vivian Leigh

In the spirit of the upcoming Oscars, I thought it was time to drudge up (is that a word?) this old segment of ours called Splendid Speeches. It includes speeches given by characters in films, but also a few great speeches from actors, usually accepting some type of honour.

Here we have some classic Hollywood goodness. Vivian Leigh accepts her Best Actress Oscar for Gone With The Wind, in a graceful and yet very un-excited way. She's grateful and all, but this win doesn't have the same oomph as current winners who squeal and cry and thank a million people and get serenaded the hell off stage. It goes to show how much hype has been created around these awards, and how much importance the industry places on them, when in the olden days it was more like "cool, thanks, bye."

Ever the Lady, Leigh keeps it short, classy, and eloquent, eg "Please forgive me if my words are inadequate."

In case you didn't know, Ms. Leigh died young at age 53 of tuberculosis, but not before scoring a second Best Actress Oscar for A Streetcar Named Desire (1951).