Bette hits the mat with The Letter. From the opening scene in which she unloads her blazing handgun into her errant and impudent lover, she demanded our attention. And she got it. One of her best. 1940 also saw her in All This and Heaven Too, Joan appearing in Strange Cargo and Susan and God, and Barbara in the excellent Remember the Night. But the win for 1940 goes to ...

While Joan appeared in the excellent A Woman's Face and When Ladies Meet, Bette returned in The Great Lie and this comedy with James Cagney. Following Bride, she turned in one of the best performances of her career and a strong contender for the 1941 bout ...

Stanwyck's entries in 1941 were Frank Capra's Meet John Doe and her co-starring turn with Henry Fonda in You Belong to Me. She also starred in ...

The Lady Eve - a perfect combination of comedy, romance and great storytelling helmed by Preston Sturges. By a hair, we give the round to Stanwyck over Davis in Foxes. Up next, 1942 ...

1942 saw Bette in this fun, fast-paced comedy as well as In This Our Life. But it was the following release in 1942 that seals the win for Davis this year ...

Following her star-turn in Voyager, Bette co-starred in Old Acquaintance with Miriam Hopkins (someone she loathed in real life). She also starred in Watch on the Rhine and appeared as herself in Thank Your Lucky Stars. Hepburn was silent in '43, Crawford appeared in Above Suspicion, and Stanwyck made Flesh and Fantasy. But it is the next film which wins this bout for Stanwyck ...

1944 saw Bette appear in Mr. Skeffington, again playing selfish in this interesting period drama. Hepburn went oriental for The Dragon Seed, and Davis, Crawford and Stanwyck all appeared as themselves in Hollywood Canteen. But the performance to beat in '44 (and perhaps the decade itself) was Stanwyck's in ...

1945 saw Stanwyck return to comedy in this holiday favorite. Davis appeared in The Corn is Green and Hepburn starred in Without Love. But '45 belonged to only one of our actresses; a year in which she starred in a career-defining role. The winner of this match goes to ...

1946 saw Bette in A Stolen Life and Deception, and Hepburn in Undercurrent. Joan returned strong in Humoresque. Failure in romance was crucial to Crawford's complex "marked-for-unhappiness" mystique, and as a wealthy socialite falling for John Garfield, she never looked more glamorous (or suffered more!).

The 1947 win easily goes to Crawford. In this Oscar-nominated performance, Joan proved to any doubters left that she was an actress as well as a star. This film is one of her best. Bette was silent in '47, Joan also starred in Daisy Kenyon, Stanwyck appeared in The Two Mrs. Carrolls, The Other Love, and Cry Wolf. Hepburn made two films, The Sea of Grass and The Song of Love.

Stanwyck, in Sorry, Wrong Number. Appearing in almost every scene, she dominates as a bedridden, hypochondraic who slowly learns that she is the target for murder. As her fear and terror builds to near hysteria, Stanwyck couldn't have been better in the part (for which she received her fourth Oscar nomination).

1949 and Crawford returned to form as a woman who crawls her way to the top, discarding her past (and her men) as she goes. Vintage Crawford! She also starred in Columbia's Harriet Craig. Stanywyck made four films this year, Thelma Jordan, No Man of Her Own, The Furies, and To Please a Lady. But the winner was beyond question ...

1951 clearly belongs to Hepburn. As the spinster finding love in the wilds of Africa, she broke our heart with her longing and determination. One of her most memorable performances. Davis made Payment on Demand in '51, Crawford appeared in the light comedy, Goodbye, My Fancy, and Stanwyck appeared in the period piece, Man With A Cloak. The year was Hepburn's.

Stanwyck appeared in the excellent melodrama, Clash by Night ...

Sudden Fear. In her Oscar-nominated performance, Crawford (like Stanwyck in Wrong Number) slowly learns that the man she loves is plotting to kill her. Moving from starry-eyed love to terrible disillusionment, fear, hatred, and finally hysteria, Crawford proved she was more than up for the job. '52 also saw her complete her contract with Warner's with This Woman is Dangerous.

Following her two other releases in '54, Witness to Murder and Executive Suite, Stanwyck returned to the Western with Cattle Queen. But it was Crawford's turn in Nick Ray's seminal noir Western, Johnny Guitar, that wins this bout. Davis and Hepburn were again quiet in 1954.

Queen Bee, classic Joan, and a film for which one critic wrote "When she is killed in the end, as she should be, it is a genuine pleasure and relief". While a strong contender for this bout, the round will have to go to ...

With great roles no longer coming their way, in '56, we saw Hepburn appear with Burt Lancaster in The Rainmaker, Davis appear in The Catered Affair and Storm Center, Crawford star in Autumn Leaves, and Stanwyck make three films, Douglas Sirk's There's Always Tomorrow, The Maverick Queen, and These Wilder Years. We'll give the win again this year to Kate.

1957 also saw Stanwyck appear in two movies, Crime of Passion (with the ever dependable Sterling Hayden) and Trooper Hook. However, it was her third film from that year that we give the bout ...

1958 saw all four of our stars off the screen. In '59, Stanwyck remained silent, Davis starred in two films, John Paul Jones and The Scapegoat, and Crawford co-starred in The Best of Everthing, proving once again that she could rivet you to the screen. Surrounded by a group of much younger actors, she seems to be saying, "watch this and learn".