ACTRESS OSCAR SNUBS: VOL ONE

1) DEBORAH WINTERS (THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR)

Not many young actresses could steal a movie away from dramatic heavyweights like Eli Wallach and Julie Harris… But Deborah Winters’ portrayal of Maxie, a troubled suburban girl finding solace in drugs and experiencing a really bad acid trip, is one for the books: she has the intensity of youth and a power of manipulating adults… In this underrated counterculture classic, it’s her world we're living...

2) AMY ROBINSON (MEAN STREETS)

The epitome of a complicated relationship, Amy Robinson’s Teresa is Harvey Keitel’s lover and Robert De Niro’s cousin, and De Niro’s like a brother to Keitel, whose uncle’s a mobster that De Niro wants protection from… And Amy finds herself caught in-between this maze: but what really stands out is one particular scene as she suffers an epileptic seizure while the boys brawl it out…

3) KAREN BLACK (FIVE EASY PIECES)

“It’d be hard to explain her state of consciousness. She’s very open. She’s very receptive. She does not think. She’s completely not critical,” Karen Black explained a Cult Film Freak interview when asked about her character Rayette… And there’s a lot going on in that seemingly empty head, as Jack Nicholson’s waitress girlfriend steals every scene she’s part of…

4) LINDA MANZ (OUT OF THE BLUE)

A young girl who worships Elvis Presley and Johnny Rotten – but with rotten parents played by Dennis Hopper and Sharon Farrell, you’ll completely understand her situation – brought to life by the amazing DAYS OF HEAVEN child/teen starlet…

5) SANDRA BERNHARD (THE KING OF COMEDY)

While it’s a Robert De Niro vehicle directed by collaborator Martin Scorsese and co-starring Jerry Lewis in one of his best, or at least most downplayed, roles – no one can deny the movie belongs to Sandra’s crazy Masha, who delivers her own hilariously creepy routines when she finally gets her conquest (Lewis) alone…

6) VIRGINIA MAYO (WHITE HEAT)

The expressions of James Cagney’s temperamental, incredibly gorgeous two-timing gun moll Verna really stands out: a mix of complete fear (for her husband) and fearless contempt (for her husband)…

7) PAM GRIER (JACKIE BROWN)

A motion picture has never been so gift-wrapped by a director (Blaxploitation fanatic Quentin Tarantino) for an actress/icon as this modern classic, and Pam Grier controls the screen as the title character, conning the bad guy (Sam Jackson), the cop (Michael Keaton), and the nice guy bail bondsman (Robert Forster) into an eventually hopeful payday for a working class stewardess to retire on…

8) MARGOT KIDDER (SISTERS)

Two roles for the price of one, Margot, a few years shy of becoming Superman’s leading lady, played newly-separated Siamese twins in this underrated Brian De Palma suspense flick… She’s vulnerable and she’s a killer… A vulnerable killer and damn scary too…

9) SHAILENE WOODLEY (THE DESCENDANTS)

Be prepared, Nostalgia Buffs, for your retro tour guide to get modern… Woodley’s turn as George Clooney’s world-weary college-aged daughter is dynamic and sets the mood for all the characters, and moves the story, about life and loss, right along… And she hasn't been this good since...

10) SUSAN BLAKELY (REPORT TO THE COMMISSIONER)

Susan’s turn as New York City undercover cop “Chicklet,” holing up with an abusive drug dealer while another cop butts in to save her – not knowing she’s a cop – is both intense and involving…

ACTRESS OSCAR SNUBS VOL ONE BY JAMES M. TATE