Why Myrna Loy Never Got an Oscar Nomination | Always Second Best Actress 

Shoutout to Myrna Loy for calling out the racism in the movies when she was working in the early 20th Century. The Self-Awareness is (chef’s kiss)

Gene Tierney, Myrna Loy and Deborah Kerr will always be the trifecta of best actresses without Oscars for me. (honorable mention to Irene Dunne!) I hope you will give Gene and Irene their moment in the sun for this series!

1. That eyeroll at 0:40 was immaculate. 2. I've read her autobiography and I highly recommend it as well. 3. One of my favorite quotes by her was something along the lines of "Why does every black actor have to play a servant? Why not show one walking up the steps of a courthouse holding a briefcase?"

Myrna Loy is one of the most gorgeous actresses to ever step in front of a camera I love Bekind rewind videos so much specially this new series

The Thin Man was one of the first movies my husband and I watched together. It was a funny perfect date movie. We where Nick and Nora for Halloween that year, and we still watch those movies on date nights after the kids go to bed, and they still make us laugh. Myrna Loy is just perfect. She’s one of my favorites, and watching this just made me smile. :)

This is why I love BKR because I learn about actresses who I would have never heard about! It still interesting how Hollywood still haven’t changed much.

okay her hatred of Reagan just cemented her as glorious in my eyes now.

One of my earliest memories as a young child is of an argument between my (probably drunk) Grandfather and (sweet, angelic) Grandmother. I guess he LOVED Myrna Loy and I remember walking into the kitchen and my grandmother walking out yelling "I am so sick of hearing about Myrna Loy this, Myrna Loy that. Will you please just leave me and go find Myrna Loy and bother her now." When I was older I would tease my grandmother many times whispering to her "I am so sick of hearing about Myrna Loy".

within the space of 37 minutes I've gone from knowing very little about Myrna Loy to being absolutely desperate to watch every movie of hers I can possibly find. and that is why I love this channel. 🥰

WE'RE WINNING! Barbara Stanwyck next please

Irene Dunne should be next in this series. The most unsung actress ever.

She delivered her lines with such heart and honesty in "Best Years of Our Lives" that the first time I watched it with my Grandmother (...also of that greatest generation and a war wife herself) she wept during her scenes. My Grandma was such a stoic and strong figure in my life and upbringing that I'll never forget that moment.

I think it would be interesting to talk about Pam Grier. I recently watched Jackie Brown and Im shocked she didn’t get a nomination for what was easily one of the best films of 97’

The thin man and libeled lady have been everything for me for the last 15 years. Watch them both

Izzie, as a Gen Z movie oldie I love your videos! These are a gem of learning about the history of Hollywood! Please do more deeper cuts/obscure gems!

Criterion needs to get off their ass and give us a complete Myrna Loy/William Powell box set. She's not wildly well known today, but she's *beloved* by the right people. I like to think of Myrna Loy almost like a pleasant Katharine Hepburn. (No disrespect. Katharine Hepburn is my all time favorite.) The Thin Man movies are ridiculously funny and have aged incredibly well. The later ones are also surprisingly good, because movies with that many sequels aren't. They're literally the exception that proves the rule. The single exception. (Yes, that's a dig at a lot of franchises, and I meant what I said. LOL.)

Immediately after this I watched The Thin Man. It was so fun! One of the few old Hollywood movies to actually make me laugh. William and Myrna really did have great chemistry.

Reminds me of Amy Adams. One of the most universally well-liked dependable critically acclaimed and versatile actresses in the world but for some reason HASNT WON A SINGLE OSCAR? The Myrna Loy's and the Amy Adams of this world may get shortchanged by the "established tastemakers" of their day - but time gets the last laugh! Also, your channel is spectacular. AMAZING resource, great analysis. SO glad this exists. Instant subscribe. Cheers! - Soren

A more worth star of the Golden Era would be hard to find, and I thank you for your comprehensive and insightful approach to the career of the great Myrna Loy. She made all her co-stars look better on film, what a gift, and made herself look pretty great, too with her cool clear eyes of a seeker of wisdom and truth. Her autobiography, which she signed for me, is a wonderful book and I am glad that she lived long enough to received the accolades which escaped her during her heyday.

Didn't think it would be possible for me to love Myrna Loy more than I already did, but it has now increased by several 100%.

BKR YOU HAVE SAVED THE DAY! Myrna is my favorite actress and she is so criminally overlooked these days. I am SO happy you covered this! Thank you thank you thank you!

MYRNA FINAL 2 rules as a title imo, kinda hope it stays like that! xx

What the hell is right! Myrna Loy is an icon & the Academy were morons for not recognizing that.

If Myrna Loy had a career today, she’d start her career in problematic Hallmark-adjacent movies but then would go on to do great work.

I'm glad Myrna Loy had common sense. I was wary of her from your Anna May Wong video and it's good to see her at least acknowledge how racist her roles were when modern day white actresses still don't (see: Scarlett Johansson).

the perfect wife concept really reminds me of the "cool girl" gone girl monologue. it's always the same but the execution can vary so much depending on the man you're working with

I can't wait for Barbara Stanwyck's turn in this category..it's absurd she never won

Oooh do Gene Tierney!! I just finished her autobiography and she was a fascinating woman - a remarkable beauty AND talent, and surprisingly honest in her assessment of her life and career, which wasn’t all roses to be sure (she suffered from manic depressive episodes + contracted rubella from a FAN, leading to her daughter being born with severe disabilities). Not to mention, the movies! Laura is a classic, and Leave Her to Heaven is one of my favorite femme fatale films of all time, in glorious technicolor. Much like Myrna, Gene never received an Oscar and seems to be largely forgotten today, despite being one of Hollywood’s best and brightest. Love you and keep up the amazing work!

Myrna is THE fashion icon of 1930s cinema, those thin man dresses 💀❤

I just realized she is the mom on Cheaper by the Dozen. She is great in that role.

As per always; these are more fascinating then I ever could have imagined, in that you really let the viewer not just get to know these golden age stories but get to be fans of these golden age actresses. I had maybe heard of Myrna Loy before watching this- I’m a huge fan now. By realizing her acting career was more of a job than a defining part of her identity, she if anything held a healthier attitude to being a celebrity, in that she could see the artifice of it. Kudos for knowing when to push back for a raise.

I have just finished her memoir and OMG you did not mention how strong of a mom energy she has, lol. She seemed to be such a great friend ♥️♥️♥️

I adore Myrna Loy. So ahead of her time. I love that she dragged Reagan in her book. Adding to my list! ❤

Myrna's iconic entrance in The Thin Man is legend.

One of The most underrated actresses ever. Shes my absolute favorite.

Loved Myrna, understated and underrated - reminds me of what happened to Joan with her Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? snub except more egregious because it happened throughout her entire career. Dame Angela Lansbury would be a wonderful entry into this series - her performance in Manchurian Candidate easily could've and should've got her a win

Some actors and actresses are just so damned good that they make everything just look too easy. Sometimes, when you actually see actors acting, it looks like much more difficult work than when an actor does it effortlessly. Another more recent case was Viola Davis in The Help (which she did so beautifully and effortlessly) vs. Meryl Streep's Margaret Thatcher, which was just a stunt.

The Best Years of Our Lives is a tremendous film and Myrna Loy’s performance as Millie is exquisite.

And a quite lovely person in her private life, from what my mother's family tells me. One of my great grandmothers was a dress and costume maker in St. Louis, and Ms. Loy was one of her regular clients. (I suspect they met when she was traveling so much by train in the mid 30s.). My mother told me it was not unusual to walk into her family's living room to find Myrna Loy standing on a chair while my great grandmother was pinning a seam or hem in place. Ms. Loy even encouraged my great grandmother to relocate her business to California; however, my great grandmother (who was born in the 1880s) did not want to begin her business all over again.

My girl!!! Myrna!!! Blandings or Best Years should have been Oscar worthy. She was SO right about Reagan!!!!

She was brilliant in the Thin Man films, her chemistry with William Powell is unmatched in any film before or since. (In real life they loved working together.)

Just wanted to point out that in one of Loy’s first (problematic) films 13 Women she costars with Peg Entewhistle. An actress known for one, having given a stage performance so powerful it convinced young Bette Davis to become an actress and two, jumping off the Hollywood sign after (but not exclusively because of) being mostly cut out of 13 Women.

Myrna is my favorite actress of all time, really. She was so fancy and her acting was moderate and certain, she knew how to make the public laugh with details.

I was 8 yrs old the first time I ever saw a Nick and Nora movie on a rainy Sunday afternoon. I was hooked. Some 40 plus yrs later. If I see Myrna or William Powell I will watch it every time.

I'm a Myrna Loy fan, too, and never knew that she was not ever nominated for an Oscar. Another favorite of mine who was never nominated was Joseph Cotton. Both of them gave excellent performances in classic movies but were totally overlooked by the Academy. Good reason not to take awards like that too seriously.

Watching your videos over the years feels like I'm in a helicoptor that you're piloting over the landscape of women in film. Sometimes flying in for a closer look, sometimes flying up high for a birds eye view (where I can see the various careers and the interplay), always interesting. Thanks for another winner!

So excited to watch this! If you’re interested in requests, I’d love to see your take on Ava Gardner’s 1954 Oscar nomination and the making of Mogambo. Her husband, Frank Sinatra, was nominated that year too and her tumultuous relationship with him was all the talk. Her performance is considered one of the best in her career. ♥️♥️♥️

Myrna Loy is one of my favorite actor and it saddens me that she is not widely recognized nowadays.

*sigh* Oh, Myrna. She was something. 💖 Thanks for such an in-depth, sympathetic look at her career. Her modern, unaffected style of acting should be very appreciated by today's audience, should they only be introduced to her. She needs to be rediscovered more broadly.

Another outstanding video! I keep asking myself "Who are you!?" I mean that as a high compliment and not asking for a response. I recently retired from the film industry and only now that I have more time have really delved in to classic Hollywood fare. Your videos are just such a wonderful, smart, thoughtful accompaniment to this magical era. Kudos times ten!!!

Dear Myrna Loy, YOU will always remain an iconic legend! My favored actress!from the great Golden Age! Bless you!!

Myrna Loy's facial planes, esp from the side or 45° angle, are exactly like India's Aishwarya Rai, esp eyes and cheekbones. Just goes to show that certain face shapes & bone structures are ideal for lighting, camera, and film - and that doesn't change across geographic boundaries.

re-watched the best years of our lives yesterday and tangentially thought, surely bkr has myrna lined up for her 'always second best actress' series one of these days. lo and behold!!!!!

I really love the amount of research and the references to contemporary sources. It makes such an alive portrait of your subjects. Your videos are always a pleasure to watch.

Always fabulous commentary on this channel and I love the way actresses from the past especially are highlighted. The amount of research involved must be incredible

These videos are amazing--such wonderful work! Thank you for creating.

I adore Myrna Loy and was so excited to see your coverage on her. Love love love the Thin Man Movies and their relationship - shake up that martini for me baby!

Thank you for this. The Thin Man films are a regular watch when a smile is needed and it's so good to see Myrna Loy get some much deserved attention.

This was so thoroughly researched and so well made that it's far above the usual online offerings and the best thing I've seen on Myrna Loy. I've seen most of her films after the exotic period, read "Being and Becoming" and agree with the assessment here of why she was never nominated - but they weren't always so bright.

this is the best channel on youtube by far. i love old hollywood so dearly, i just love learning so much in these thoughtful, well researched videos

Myrna Loy is one of my favorite actors! So glad you graced her with a video. Fun fact, she was in the original Cheaper by the Dozen.

I cannot praise your thorough and professional documentaries enough. They are superb and put TV versions to shame. Your intelligent commentary, excellently chosen stills and clips all betray an enormous amount of hard work and research. I've enjoyed every single one of your videos I've watched, without exception. Thank you so much! I've also always liked Myrna Loy, both as an actor and as a person. She was a good egg, as we say in Britain.

I've been waiting for Myrna to get her profile on your channel; knew you wouldn't let me down. Thanks for making my night 😊

SO excited for this!! Myrna Loy is so incredibly talented in all of her movies and deserves so much more recognition!! Would also love to see an introspective on Lauren Bacall some day - who also deserved so much better :)

Thoroughly enjoyed Being and Becoming - and it was this channel that made me aware of it. Thanks again.

BKR, thank you so much for this beautiful, professional documentary on Myrna! I learned so much about this wonderful soul an eternal icon and universal legend! Happy New Year! Keep up the fab documentaries, you gifted talent! God bless you!

I always learn so much from Be Kind Rewind! I love that we hear about all the factors other than acting that affect the Oscars!

There was a certain level of show business familiarity which is not conducive to award recognition. Myrna Loy belonged to a class of actress in the industry during the 1930s who had been around for a while (a decade or so) and finally received star billing. Two others in this category would be Jean Arthur and Carole Lombard. And you will notice that they were usually passed over for award recognition. The runaway success of MY MAN GODFREY gave Lombard her shot at award recognition, and, yes, she was nominated. And Jean Arthur finally got her Oscar recognition with THE MORE THE MERRIER (which was a huge box office hit, and she had top billing). With Loy, she had many big hits, but she was not being pushed for award consideration because her studio, MGM, had other fish to fry (as you point on in your video, Norma Shearer and Luise Rainer were being pushed; even Joan Crawford, one of their biggest stars during the 1930s, received no support for award consideration). And what movie would she have been pushed for, among her MGM offerings? Her biggest chance would have been THE THIN MAN (which resulted in a nomination for William Powell) but 1934 was a contentious year, and MGM really hadn't considered her as award-worthy. And Myrna Loy would rarely be the top-billed star, she was usually the co-star with Powell, Spencer Tracy, Clark Gable. She never quite had that one big hit which was considered HER hit. So in a sense she was taken for granted and that continued.

One summer when I was a kid my dad for some reason bought the entire Thin Man series and we watched them all as a family. I think they might have been on VHS, I have no idea what happened to them or what inspired him to buy them but they were very enjoyable.

If you've never seen the "Thin Man" movies with Myrna, you really should. Fantastic stuff.

Love this video! Thank you for shining the light on this wonderful phenom that was Myrna Loy.

A person can tell an actor is very good when you never let go of the memories they brought to you when watching them perform.Myrna Loy is one of many.

Because of this video, my wife and I have just watched The Thin Man. It was brilliant! Thank you. Now I might be able to watch the rest of your presentation.

IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOR AGESSSSS Thank You❤️

She has a couple of scenes in Best Years that send chills up my spine. One of those scenes: When March comes home, she is doing the dishes, her back to the camera; she hears her 2 grown kids answer the door, March motions to the kids to not say anything, this is a surprise return; she calls out to them Who was at the door? Silence. She is stationery at the sink. Within seconds, it dawns on her: her husband has come home from the war. With her back to the camera, you feel all the pent-up emotion, tension, release, joy. Loy is a marvel. Edward G Robinson is another who was never even nominated! When you think of all the shmoes who have won, it boggles the mind. Politics. Do a piece on Stanwyck when you have a chance.

Gosh this was so well done!

Wow. Your insights & detail are spot on. Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to delve into these topics of research with such fervor and commitment. It’s refreshing to hear such about our old favorites with new eyes and perspective. Again thank you and I look forward to seeing what else that will be coming from you.

I subscribed today. It was after a back-to-back viewing of "Mank" (the section on Marion Davies was wonderful) and this loving tribute to Myrna Loy (all of these years I just assumed Myrna won one of the boatload of Oscars they gave out for "TBYoOL" --i'm so mad right now). But back to you and this channel, I am really happy to have discovered it! It is rare to find anything about Hollywood, especially Hollywood prior to the 21st century, that isn't ancient gossip covered in slime & untrue innuendo; that's even discussing people who we don't already know from the 101 articles written about them 20 years ago. Thank you so much for providing links to books and source information we can use to learn more.

Thanks so much for this--I am delighted to see my favorite actress get the attention she deserves (I literally named my first cat at after her!). You really articulate her appeal well!

Wonderful video as always. Myrna was an incredible talent and The Best Years of Our Lives is an incredible movie, sadly not as well known now as it should be for the many poignant issues it delves into and the characters it portrays.

Wow! You really did justice to one of my favs! Thanks, and thanks for the links!

i am ashamed to confess I had never heard of Myrna Loy before your video and you made me want to watch her filmography. Your essays are so well written and informative, thank you ♥️ Very well researched on a scholarly standpoint and yet your love and passion for your subject are very palpable, I love it.

Your videos continue to be enjoyable to watch, brilliantly edited and pay so much respect to the person you are talking about.

ugh absolutely love her and love u for making this

Where do I even begin to say how much I freakin' love this episode... it may be your best one. Myrna Loy is amazing on screen, and your episode is such a celebration of this. But offscreen, she's also INCREDIBLE, which your video also celebrates. So well done. Off to find her autobiography...

When I remember that The Thin Man is from 1934 (!!) and think about how modern, effortless, and sophisticated her performance is, I'm blown away. Even other great comedians of the era (Lombard/Russell/etc) feel somewhat theatrical and over the top compared to what Loy does in that film. Definitely someone who I would recommend to people turned off the "older" style of acting in Golden Age Hollywood (more prominent in dramas than comedies but Loy stands out even by that standard)

I can’t say it enough, your assessment is always on point.

I am with you, “what the hell!” I love her work! My favorite Christmas movie is ‘The Thin Man,’ and I have never seen a movie of her’s I didn’t like; although I have never seen her any of yellow/brown face. I have seen and loved 4 of the Thin Man movies and they are epic! She was incredible and deserves more recognition!! This is a well done video and I really enjoyed it! I really need to read her book! Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Thank you So very much for doing these! I am not a film scholar but I am an enthusiast..raised in the 80’s, I know far more about the works of the last forty years than the fifty before it, yet I have generally had great respect for the earlier periods….I knew of Myrna Loy, as I do of a LOT of your subjects, only casually…Thank you for deepening my understanding of this woman’s Sparkling career!

I enjoyed this presentation very much! Great work!

Myrna Loy is one of my favorite actresses, and, to the point of her subtle, non-flashy brilliance, I thought for a while how Sandra Bullock reminded me of her to a degree. She did her work, she was always great, people like her, and she made another movie. While I am glad she won an Honorary Oscar for her work, and tbh, Maureen O'Hara was only the second classic movie actress to win one for not being nominated (and there is a story of the John Ford sabotage to look into for The Quiet Man if that is of interest) for an Oscar before but should've. I would have said that she was more than just William Powell's perfect wife in The Great Ziegfeld, but of course, there was no equal room given to Luise Rainer's Anna Held, whose range was showcased in the film wanting more from the audience, even if her impact in film was as an artifact for the studio system who underserved her talent, but after courting, fell into that too. I think her anti-racist work is amazing though, and I wish it wasn't hard for her to produce a film with those beliefs in action. Anyway, this is perennially wonderful as all your videos/documentary shorts are.

Thanks Izzy, I love your channel, William Powell and Myrna Loy. So it was a perfect ending to my Saturday evening!

Another absolutely excellent video. Thank you.

Your videos are sooooo good. Also, after watching almost all of them, I have come to think about how the Oscars are not really a good judge of talent; yes, there have been incredibly talented people who’ve won but one could say there are even more that have never even been considered, because of politics, lack of opportunities (ie a lot of women of color); more and more it feels like a meaningless award, not a true measurement of how talented an actor is

I love all your videos and have been watching "golden hollywood era" movies thanks to you!!

We have a theater and a wing at my local college named after her! What a fascinating women. Thank you BKR I’m off to watch all the thin man movies. 🥰

Thank you for the profile. I knew the tears would flow; Myrna Loy and my late mother shared many qualities. I'm glad I summoned the courage to watch. Now, pardon me while I clean some residual grieving from my face.

Love your content and always look forward to these.

Ms. Loy did not need an Oscar. Her long illustrious career was Oscar enough. It spoke for itself. As for You, Ms. BKR, you are a true talent. I love your smoothie-speak. How ironic that I’ve always pictured you looking like Ms. Loy. May your videos last for many, many years. You’re unique.

Effervescent is a great word to describe Myrna, she's always such a joy to watch.