After getting Oscars/nominations for playing over-bearing or genuinely nasty women, it was nice to see Shelley get one for playing a truly caring, loving person. The fact that she is one of the victims is very emotional for everyone there. I can't remember if her death happens before or after Stella Stevens, but if not, even Stella's character must have been horrified, because Shelley never went out of her way to be mean back after Stella made her nasty comments about going first. When Gene starts ranting about "No, not her", I can just imagine an entire theater of people balling their eyes out. The fact that she plays such a kind person really defuses the Jewish mother/grandmother stereotype and makes that sequence twice as heartbreaking.
"Great theater makes you smile. Outstanding theater may make you weep."
reply
share