...film versions of their Broadway roles. Third, the Academy sometimes likes to reward up-and-comers with an Oscar. Bette Davis already won twice by then and was well established. Swanson hadn't won, but was likely perceived to be at the end of her career and less in need of a win professionally...

...and Swanson, to some people, was largely playing herself. A great performance, but perhaps not as much of a stretch as either Davis or Holliday. Anyhoo, my personal opinion (if you care) is that any of the three of them was deserving and the problem is a winner-take-all model approach to...