Shut up and deal: Shirley MacLaine’s AFI glory

Jack Lemmon is in love. He runs to his apartment to declare his feelings to the one lady who means everything to him. And there she is, sitting on his couch, getting ready to play their card game. He says: “I absolutely adore you.” How sweet... but her response? “Shut up and deal.” And with those four words, Shirley MacLaine puts an end to the perfect little Oscar-winning romantic-comedy offering from Billy Wilder. It was a line that was thought of last minute by the writers on-set. If this were any other film, the two would have kissed and embraced. But with MacLaine’s sassy Fran Kubelik, The Apartment finds a sweet and amusing end, bringing with it one of the most memorable quotes and scenes of cinema history. That was back in 1960; more than 50 years on, MacLaine is still a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood; a much respected, highly celebrated name. This is why on 7 June 2012, the American Film Institute (AFI) bestowed her its highest honour, the Life Achievement Award, and they could not have picked a more deserving winner for the award. The ceremony itself carried with it a touch of cringing, cheesy drama, with MacLaine’s co-stars and friends getting on stage to unload lavish praises and compliments towards the actress, but in the end it’s the incredible title that counts, something no-one can take away from the accomplished star. She is the 40th (and 7th female) recipient of this award, with past winners including Bette Davis, Lillian Gish, Barbara Stanwyck, Elizabeth Taylor, Barbra Streisand and Meryl Streep. And in celebrating this magnificent feat, Felix Film looks over the past few decades of MacLaine’s wonderfully diverse career.

1950s

Named after the famous child actress Shirley Temple, MacLaine’s film career began in 1955 with her starring role in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Trouble with Harry. Even in her debut performance, she won rave reviews as well as a handful of awards, including a BAFTA nomination and a Golden Globe win. 1956 saw her cast in the epically long (186 minutes), sumptuous ensemble epic Around the World in 80 Days, and by 1959, she had already received her first Academy Award nomination for Some Came Running.

1960s

The 60s got off to a fantastic start thanks to The Apartment (1960), the Best Picture winning rom-com which paired her with Hollywood’s legendary leading man Jack Lemmon as well as its top director, Billy Wilder. She received her second Academy Award nomination for this role, and was the hot favourite to win Best Actress in 1961. But she lost out to Elizabeth Taylor who had recently undergone surgery. MacLaine famously quipped “I thought I would win for The Apartment, but then Elizabeth Taylor had a tracheotomy.” Nevertheless she kept busy with high-quality work such as The Children’s Hour (1961) with Audrey Hepburn, and scored her third Oscar nomination wth Irma La Douce (1963). The 60s also made way for her to dive into more comedic and musical roles, participating in successful projects such as What a Way to Go! (1964), Gambit (1966), Woman Times Seven (1967), and Sweet Charity (1969).

1970s

During the filming of Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970), co-star Clint Eastwood described MacLaine as being “too unfeminine” having “too much balls” and “very, very hard.” MacLaine wasn’t exactly known as the conventional, beautiful leading lady type, but was more loved because of the strong, independent types of women she played. Her fourth Academy Award nomination however, came from an unexpected source, a documentary, directed and narrated by the actress, looking at mainland Chinese life. Desperate Characters (1971) won her the Best Actress Silver Bear gong at the Berlin Film Festival, with another Oscar nomination being added to her growing resume with her ballet drama The Turning Point (1977). In 1978 she was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Awards, for her “endurance and excellence of [her] work, that have helped expand the role of women within the entertainment industry.”

1980s

The 80s included a highlight moment the actress had been waiting for. She finally won that Oscar. Almost 30 years after her first nomination, she finally got to get up on that stage and a make teary speech. Of course, the role she deservedly won for was Terms of Endearment (1983). Her career continued to grow, avoiding a post-Oscar slump, something many actors do often experience. She triumphed at the 1988 Venice Film Festival with Madame Sousatzka, winning the Best Actress Volpi Cup. She rounded off the 80s with her supporting gig in Steel Magnolias (1989), or better known as “that film that gave Julia Roberts the big push in Hollywood.”

1990s

In 1990, she was paired up with Meryl Streep, playing her mother in Postcards from the Edge which proved to be a minor financial success. The 90s in general wasn’t a financially lucrative period for MacLaine’s films, nor did they receive much critical attention. She starred in many large ensemble dramas such as Used People (1992) with Kathy Bates, Marcia Gay Harden and Marcello Mastroianni, Wrestling with Hemingway (1993) with Robert Duvall, Richard Harris, Piper Laurie and Sandra Bullock, Guarding Tess (1994) with Nicolas Cage, and The Evening Star (1996) with Bill Paxton, Juliette Lewis and Miranda Richardson.

2000s

After her directorial feature film debut in 2000 (Bruno), MacLaine was mostly sought after for the funny, straight-shooting, heavy-drinking, hot-tempered grandmother roles. Not at all complex and they do not exactly attract a lot of awards, but she brought a touch of class and unique energy to all of them, no matter how seemingly easy or trivial. Among her personal highlights (the films themselves are all distinctly average), there are: Carolina (2003), Rumour Has It (2005), Bewitched (2005), In Her Shoes (2005) and Closing the Ring (2007).

2010s

MacLaine, at almost 80 years old, continues to keep active in an industry that is more than forunate to have had her over many, many years. She has had recent roles in films including Garry Marshall’s over-stuffed mass-ensemble rom-com Valentine’s Day (2010), and Bernie (2011), a hysterical black comedy that is yet to be released in the UK.

Best MacLaine Performances

The Children’s Hour (1961) Martha (Shirley MacLaine) likes Karen (Audrey Hepburn). They are teachers in a school, and they’re the best of friends. But are they too close for the 60s? After a bitter, resentful student starts an unfounded yet highly damaging rumour about the relationship the two of them share, their worlds come crashing down, more so for Karen who has a fiancé. It’s a heartbreaking tale of forbidden love and conservative ideas, played with warm sincerity and heart by the two charming leads. It’s MacLaine who has the more challenging role given her character’s more ambiguous emotions, and her carefully restrained performance makes the bold ending all the more tragic.

The Turning Point (1977)

MacLaine started off her showbiz career as a dancer before turning to acting, and so the cut-throat, ruthless ballet world would not have been a strange world to dive into. In this story of love, jealousy, ambition and unfulfilled dreams, a mixture which can lead to disastrous, explosive consequences, MacLaine plays the talented dancer who gave it all up for having a family. It so happens her daughter is now being trained by one of her ex-rivals, Anne Bancroft. A bitter feud ensues, in which bottled up feelings and resentment from the past resurface, leading to intense confrontations, and at one point, a physical fist-fight. MacLaine is heart-breakingly effective as someone who could have had it all.

Terms of Endearment (1983)

This film itself is an overlong soap opera full of forced tears and heavily nostalgic moments, and it’s true it should not have won the Best Picture Oscar in 1984. But MacLaine herself gives the performance of her career, as an over-bearing, protective, often suffocating mother whose only real crime is looking out for her daughter. They argue, they fight, she doesn’t like her son-in-law, she’s judgemental, passive-aggressive, all in the name of wanting what is best for her daughter. Then cancer enters the picture for the daughter, and the weepy fest goes even crazier with clichés and long, sad speeches. It’s a real downer this one, saved only by MacLaine’s presence.

Postcards from the Edge (1990)

Here we get the chance to see the lighter, more musical, funnier side of MacLaine: an actress so wonderfully gifted that she can pull off just about anything. She sings, she dances, she screams, she gets drunk, she crashes her daughter’s (Meryl Streep) car, but ultimately, she makes us laugh. As a has-been, washed-up star of the 50s and 60s, MacLaine is given the role of taking care of her recovering addict actress daughter. Never quite knowing how to adjust to a less glamorous and glitzy life of a faded Hollywood star, she spends her days criticising her daughter, drinking, hosting shambolic parties, and oh yes, even more drinking.

Bernie (2011)

This excellent dark comedy debuted at the BFI London Film Festival but is yet to be given a proper, full release. The format of the film, a semi-documentary dramedy set in the southern parts of America, must make this a tough sell, but with Jack Black’s faultless, highly enjoyable performance, Matthew McConaughey’s laid-back, sleazy legal prosecutor, and a frighteningly convincing performance as a lonely, possessive old lady who no-one likes by MacLaine, Bernie is an unexpectedly hysterical and touching dramedy about a funeral director with a heart of gold, with a murder thrown in for excitement. Curious? You should be, and if/when this film is released, be amazed by Black on career-best form.