Best performance by a child in a film

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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Badham
Mary Badham (born October 7, 1952) is an American actress, known for her portrayal of Jean Louise ā€œScoutā€ Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962),** for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. At the time, Badham (aged 10) was the youngest actress ever nominated in this category.**
Well, the Academy’s actors weren’t going to give the award to a ten year old girl, were they? 😦
But the fact she was even nominated shows she did an outstanding performance.

Her performance was great because she didn’t act. She spoke and emoted exactly like a nine year old girl would in the situations she played. No overdoing it like most actors, even adult actors, do all the time ( which some people think is ā€œactingā€ :bigyikes: ). She held back and made you believe her. That’s what I call a great performance.

https://sp2.yimg.com/ib/th?id=HN.608026786454569574&pid=15.1&P=0
 
Although I believe his role in true grit is the only role out of all the movies he made to earn him an oscar.
 
Actually I believe the child actress Patty Duke won the oscar in 1962 fot her role as Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker oppositr anne bancroft as miss sullivan, her teacher.

An excellent movie.
 
Actually I believe the child actress Patty Duke won the oscar in 1962 fot her role as Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker oppositr anne bancroft as miss sullivan, her teacher.
Almost any child actor would have been given the Oscar for that role. It was the politically correct thing for the Academy actors to do.

Dustin Hoffman was given Best Actor for his role of the autistic man in The Rainman. :bigyikes: It must have driven all the Academy actors crazy to have to do that for political correctness.
 
My pick would be Margaret O’Brien in just about anything. She cries in a way that feels so real that I can’t help crying myself. I saw her in a movie last month on TCM that I never saw before or heard of and noticed how she even ran her hand over one eye, closing it as she did. It was so authentic.
 
Almost any child actor would have been given the Oscar for that role. It was the politically correct thing for the Academy actors to do.
.
Patty Duke very much deserved that award.
 
My pick would be Margaret O’Brien in just about anything. She cries in a way that feels so real that I can’t help crying myself. I saw her in a movie last month on TCM that I never saw before or heard of and noticed how she even ran her hand over one eye, closing it as she did. It was so authentic.
Was she in Meet Me in St. Louis with Judy Garland?
I believe the little girl’s name was Tootie?
I love the scene on halloween night.
 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Badham

Well, the Academy’s actors weren’t going to give the award to a ten year old girl, were they?
Tatum O’Neal received the Best Supporting Actress Award from the Academy at 10 years of age for her performance in Paper Moon.

Anna Paquin received the Best Supporting Actress Award from the Academy at 11 years of age for her performance in The Piano.
 
Was she in Meet Me in St. Louis with Judy Garland?
I believe the little girl’s name was Tootie?
I love the scene on halloween night.
Yes, just after Judy sings Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas to her she runs out of the house upset about moving and smashes the snow people they had built. Then she starts crying and sobbing and I lose it every time. Even when I try hard not to. And I have seen the movie dozens of times. It is a favorite for generations of our family.

She was also in Little Women as Beth, Jane Eye, The Cantebury Ghost, and many, many more movies. I figured out the name of the one I recently saw - Tenth Avenue Angel. It is basically about faith and the power of prayer.
 
Yes, just after Judy sings Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas to her she runs out of the house upset about moving and smashes the snow people they had built. Then she starts crying and I loss it every time. Even when I try hard not to. And I have seen the movie dozens of times. It is a favorite for generations of our family.

She was also in Little Women as Beth, Jane Eye, The Cantebury Ghost, and many, many more movies. I figured out the name of the one I recently saw - Tenth Avenue Angel. It is basically about faith and the power of prayer.
Yes I remember the scene where she smashes the snow people.
That is one of my favorite judy garland movies too.

I do remember her in little women but I don’t remember her in
jane eyre. Which version was that?
 
Originally Posted by empther
Almost any child actor would have been given the Oscar for that role. It was the politically correct thing for the Academy actors to do.
.
Patty Duke very much deserved that award.

It would be interesting to see what Tatum O’Neal, Drew Barrymore, or Mary Badham would have done with the role,
a role that was a no-lose opportunity for the lucky actress who got it.

Sort of like the Scarlett O’Hara role. Many actresses screen tested for the role, most of them older actresses. ( I think even Betty Grable tested for it, can you imagine? :eek: She gets back to Tara and says, ā€œWhat a dump!ā€ :rotfl: ) The director wisely saw it had to be an actress who could look like a teenager. Vivien Leigh was 22.
There were plenty of other young actresses around. But the role was a no-loser.
 
I believe patty duke and anne bancroft both were in these roles on broadway.

Did you mean betty davis instead of betty grable?

At least betty davis got to be the southern belle in Jezebel.
 
He’s not considered a great actor; he mostly appeared in Westerns and military movies, neither of which are associated with serious drama. I do think he turned in a genuinely frightening performance opposite Montgomery Clift in ā€œRed River.ā€
 
The other night I re-watched (after many years) the classic Italian film, ā€œLadri di Bicicletteā€ or In English, The Bicycle Thief.

I was really moved by the performance of the young son. Here is a clip (it features the end scene, so if you haven’t seen the film, feel free to skip it) It’s narrated by Martin Scorsese.

youtube.com/watch?v=ho4nBIX0_PI

So, which films do you think featured great acting by a child?
I re-watched some of this film recently with a view toward showing it to my 8-year-old son, but in the end I found it a bit too heartbreaking even for me to finish watching it.

Child actors? How about Jean-Pierrel Leaud from Truffaut’s ā€œThe 400 Blowsā€ ( ā€œLes Quatre Cents Coupsā€)?
 
He’s not considered a great actor; he mostly appeared in Westerns and military movies, neither of which are associated with serious drama. I do think he turned in a genuinely frightening performance opposite Montgomery Clift in ā€œRed River.ā€
I agree! I thought there were some scenes in The Searchers that also showed frightening aspects of the character he was portraying.
 
I agree! I thought there were some scenes in The Searchers that also showed frightening aspects of the character he was portraying.
Yes. When he says he’s going to kill the Natalie Wood character, there’s no doubt in my mind that he means business.
 
Yes. When he says he’s going to kill the Natalie Wood character, there’s no doubt in my mind that he means business.
Yes. It is one of my favorite movies. I have not read the book.
I don’t know if they could do a remake of this movie today. It was a realistic portrayal of life in the old west for those brave settlers and the native americans who were seeing a strange people moving into their territories.
 
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