The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1936
Like me some 1936. But I don’t love it. This would be the fuck on the “Fuck, Marry, Kill” list. Fuck 1936, Marry 1939, Kill 1937.
The Great Ziegfeld wins Best Picture for 1936, and it’s a fantastic decision. It’s a quintessential Oscar film, and a really great film at that. Everything a film from 1936 that won Best Picture should have. Best Director this year was Frank Capra for Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (talked about here). I like that the film got recognized, but I don’t like the decision. Leonard should have won for Ziegfeld or Van Dyke should have won for San Francisco and that great recreation of the earthquake they have there.
Best Actor this year was Paul Muni for The Story of Louis Pasteur, which is a fine decision, although I say William Powell should have won for his Ziegfeld performance and his My Man Godfrey performance. Muni was better served winning the year after this for The Life of Emile Zola, which would have added a bit more legitimacy to that film winning Best Picture. Best Supporting Actor (the first in the category’s history) was Walter Brennan for Come and Get It, which makes sense. He is the quintessential supporting actor. Best Supporting Actress was Gale Sondergaard for Anthony Adverse (talked about here), which I don’t get at all. To me, Alice Brady was a much better choice.
And then this category — I don’t get it at all. Not at all. She was a supporting character in the film, for one, and they seem to be basing the award on one scene. Plus she won the year after this — I don’t like this decision at all.
BEST ACTRESS – 1936
And the nominees were…
Irene Dunne, Theodora Goes Wild
Gladys George, Valiant is the Word for Carrie
Carol Lombard, My Man Godfrey
Luise Rainer, The Great Ziegfeld
Norma Shearer, Romeo and Juliet (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1965
As I said the last time I covered 1965, it’s a year I feel like I should feel stronger about. But for some reason I don’t. To me, it’s just there. The Sound of Music was a great choice for Best Picture, and it makes perfect sense that it won. Doctor Zhivago wasn’t quite the masterpiece that Lawrence of Arabia and Bridge on the River Kwai were, and, as much as I love Darling, it probably shouldn’t have beaten The Sound of Music. Robert Wise winning Best Director for the film is a fine decision, and made the most sense.
Best Actor this year was Lee Marvin for Cat Ballou, and, as I said here, I really don’t like that at all. I love Lee Marvin, but Richard Burton really should have won for The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (and maybe Rod Steiger for The Pawnbroker too). Best Actress was Julie Christie for Darling, which I love, despite how stacked that category was (Elizabeth Hartman and Samantha Eggar were fantastic as well. Plus — Julie Andrews). And Best Supporting Actor was Martin Balsam for A Thousand Clowns. That category was one of the weakest of all time, and I love Martin Balsam and A Thousand Clowns, so, while I don’t love the performance as an Oscar-winner, I like the decision.
Which brings us to this category. Honestly, despite the fact that she won already, this is a really easy decision. Shelley Winters was fucking amazing here.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1965
And the nominees were…
Ruth Gordon, Inside Daisy Clover
Joyce Redman, Othello
Maggie Smith, Othello
Shelley Winters, A Patch of Blue
Peggy Wood, The Sound of Music (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Director – 1994
1994. Shawshank, Pulp Fiction, Forrest Gump. Everyone has their opinion. I won’t give mine. They’re all great films, one of them had to win. To each his own, which they’d vote for.
Forrest Gump wins Best Picture and Best Actor for Tom Hanks (talked about here). This is the one of the two Hanks Oscars I agree with. Best Actress was Jessica Lange for Blue Sky (talked about here), which was more of a career Oscar than anything. She didn’t give the best performance in the category — that was Jodie Foster — but Foster had two Oscars already within the past seven years, and they weren’t about to giver her a third. Plus she went full retard. So the decision makes sense. Best Supporting Actor was Martin Landau for Ed Wood, which is a terrific performance by him. I personally feel bad about Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction, but Landau was a good decision. And Best Supporting Actress was Dianne Wiest for Bullets over Broadway (talked about here), which I don’t like too much at all.
Which brings us to this category. You can’t be upset with it. Whatever won Best Picture was gonna win Best Director. That’s just how it works.
BEST DIRECTOR – 1994
And the nominees were…
Woody Allen, Bullets over Broadway
Krzysztof Kieślowski, Three Colors: Red
Robert Redford, Quiz Show
Quentin Tarantino, Pulp Fiction
Robert Zemeckis, Forrest Gump (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1940
I like 1940 a lot, but I can’t help but feel they made the wrong choice. Rebecca is a fine film, and it winning Best Picture normally would be okay. But The Grapes of Wrath is an American classic. I’m not particularly sure why it didn’t win. Especially when John Ford won Best Director for the film. But, since I love both films, I don’t mind it so much.
Jane Darwell also won Best Supporting Actress for The Grapes of Wrath, which, as I said here, is a very acceptable decision, even if I think Judith Anderson gave a better performance than she did. Best Actor this year was Jimmy Stewart for The Philadelphia Story (talked about here), which is the most blatant makeup Oscar in the history of the Academy. Based on performance alone, it was a terrible decision (Henry Fonda and Charlie Chaplin were much better choices), but, in terms of Jimmy Stewart having an Oscar, it’s totally acceptable. And Best Actress this year was Ginger Rogers for Kitty Foyle, which I really like as a decision, since it was really her only chance to win one, and Joan Fontaine would get her Oscar the year after this for Suspicion. So it all worked out.
As for this category — this is actually the one of the three Walter Brennan Supporting Actor Oscars that I think is the strongest performance. And it’s the last one, so it’s the one where I’m most looking for someone else to vote for. So that should tell you something abut the category, when Brennan is a clear-cut winner.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1940
And the nominees were…
Albert Bassermann, Foreign Correspondent
Walter Brennan, The Westerner
William Gargan, They Knew What They Wanted
Jack Oakie, The Great Dictator
James Stephensen, The Letter (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1976
I love 1976. It’s one of the strongest Best Picture fields of all time, my favorite film of the bunch — Rocky wins Best Picture, and almost all the decisions they made are either acceptable or great.
John G. Avildsen wins Best Director for Rocky (talked about here), which goes with the territory. Whichever won Best Picture was also gonna win Best Director. Peter Finch won Best Actor for Network (talked about here), which is wholly acceptable, since all the other deserving nominees had won or would later win Oscars. Beatrice Straight also won Best Supporting Actress for the film (talked about here), which is acceptable, despite the fact that she was only on screen for five minutes. And Best Supporting Actor was Jason Robards for All the President’s Men (talked about here). I wouldn’t have voted for him, but I understand and can accept the decision.
Which brings us to this category. I’m not gonna lie — I’m not voting for her here. I have a strong personal preference that overrides everything .But, after all the incredible performances she gave, she totally deserved this, and was gonna win anyway, so I’m glad she did.
BEST ACTRESS – 1976
And the nominees were…
Marie-Christine Barrault, Cousin, cousine
Faye Dunaway, Network
Talia Shire, Rocky
Sissy Spacek, Carrie
Liv Ullmann, Face to Face (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1951
I should dislike 1951 more than I do. The big decisions were terrible. An American in Paris is a film that should not have won Best Picture at all. It’s a good film, but, A Streetcar Named Desire is better. You can tell An American in Paris was a cop out decision because it didn’t win Best Director (and when a Best Picture is directed by Vincente Minnelli and doesn’t win Best Director, there’s a problem).
George Stevens won Best Director for A Place in the Sun (talked about here), which is just a terrible, horrible decision. And I love George Stevens. But it was terrible. Best Actor was Humphrey Bogart for The African Queen (talked about here), which, while the performance wasn’t particularly outstanding (especially next to Brando in Streetcar), Bogie deserved an Oscar (and Brando won two of his own, so it works out).
And the rest of the awards for this year rightfully went to A Streetcar Named Desire. Vivien Leigh wins Best Actress for the film, Karl Malden wins Best Supporting Actor for the film (talked about here), and then there’s this category. All three were perfect decisions.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1951
And the nominees were…
Joan Blondell, The Blue Veil
Mildred Dunnock, Death of a Salesman
Lee Grant, Detective Story
Kim Hunter, A Streetcar Named Desire
Thelma Ritter, The Mating Season (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1945
1945 is another year I don’t like too much. It’s like 1947. I don’t dislike the choice, I dislike the weakness of the nominees. The Lost Weekend is actually a really great film, and one of the better films ever made about alcoholism. It was a strong choice, considering the nominees. They were a really, really weak set. Billy Wilder also won Best Director for the film, which is a good choice, since not only did he direct the Best Picture nominee, it was a good way to also make up for not giving him the Oscar the year before for Double Indemnity. It was like Fred Zinnemann in 1953. It worked out.
Best Actress was Joan Crawford for Mildred Pierce, which was a fine decision. Crawford should have won one of these, and this was the perfect year for her to do it (though, I might be partial to Gene Tierney’s performance in Leave Her to Heaven. I’ll have to watch them both again before I write up the category). Best Supporting Actor was James Dunn for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, which was a terrific decision. He was absolutely phenomenal in the film (and the film is amazing too). And Best Supporting Actress was Anne Revere for National Velvet, which is also a terrific decision, since both she and the film are incredible. I actually like the Supporting categories best this year.
Then, with this category — it’s really cut and dry. There was no one else, and Milland gave a terrific performance.
BEST ACTOR – 1945
And the nominees were…
Bing Crosby, The Bells of St. Mary’s
Gene Kelly, Anchors Aweigh
Ray Milland, The Lost Weekend
Gregory Peck, The Keys to the Kingdom
Cornell Wilde, A Song to Remember (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1963
I hate 1963. It’s such a weak year. Perhaps the weakest set of Best Picture nominees of all time. Tom Jones wins Best Picture, and honestly, I can’t criticize it all that much because — does it really matter what won here? Tony Richardson wins Best Director for the film (talked about here), which is pretty terrible, since he beat Federico Fellini for 8 1/2. Which one of those films sounds like it should have won?
Best Actor this year was Sidney Poitier for Lilies of the Field (talked about here). This was a big decision, historically, him being the first black actor to win Best Actor and all, and I’m totally okay with it. But I can’t help but feel weird about it since he gave much better performances over his career, and the performance was a ‘magical negro’ performance, which makes it feel like a back-handed compliment by the Academy. Best Actress was Patricia Neal for Hud (talked about here), which I really hate as a decision, and Melvyn Douglas also won Best Supporting Actor for the film, which is actually a really good decision.
So, in all, 1963 has about one good decision, plus a really good historical one, which actually works, since the year as a whole sucked, and it was actually a good year to do it in. As for this category — does it really matter what happened?
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1963
And the nominees are…
Diane Cilento, Tom Jones
Edith Evans, Tom Jones
Joyce Redman, Tom Jones
Margaret Rutherford, The V.I.P.s
Lilia Skala, Lilies of the Field (more…)
Pic of the Day: “Shouldn’t you be monitoring the weather or something?” “This is L.A. What weather?”
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1947
1947 is a year I constantly criticize for being weak because almost none of the Best Picture nominees were really strong enough to win. So while Gentleman’s Agreement is a great film and a good Best Picture choice, I always feel like it’s a bit of a let down, because, what if the category were stronger?
Elia Kazan won Best Director for the film (talked about here), which makes perfect sense and is a good decision, and Celeste Holm also won Best Supporting Actress for the film (talked about here), which makes sense but is the result of a shitty category. Best Actor was Ronald Colman for A Double Life, which I guess I can live with, him being respected and all (even though Gregory Peck gave the best performance and Colman being a bit — emotive). And Best Supporting Actor was Edmund Gwenn for Miracle on 34th Street (talked about here). He played Santa Claus. End of story.
So now we have this category, which we’ll just save time and leave it at — this is the biggest Best Actress upset of all time and is one of the worst Best Actress decisions of all time (as high as #2). It was horrible.
BEST ACTRESS – 1947
And the nominees were…
Joan Crawford, Possessed
Susan Hayward, Smash-Up: The Story of aWoman
Dorothy McGuire, Gentleman’s Agreement
Rosalind Russell, Mourning Becomes Electra
Loretta Young, The Farmer’s Daughter (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1988
Love me some 1988, don’t love me this category.
I love 1988, mostly because it was the year I was born. Plus I love Rain Man, and while that film isn’t a strong film historically for Best Picture, it was probably the best (or at least my favorite) choice among the nominees. Barry Levinson won Best Director for the film (talked about here), which I understand, but don’t particularly like, since — what did he do? And Martin Scorsese, also nominated, hadn’t won yet! And Dustin Hoffman won Best Actor for the film, which — ’nuff said.
Best Actress for this year was Jodie Foster for The Accused (talked about here), which is an amazingly great decision. She was so great in that film. And Best Supporting Actress was Geena Davis for The Accidental Tourist, which — I guess is fine. The category wasn’t that good. Though, personally, actress to actress, I’d have given it to Michelle Pfeiffer.
And then this category — I hate it. One of the weakest Best Supporting Actor categories of all time. That’s not to say they didn’t make the best decision (they totally did), it’s just — how bad is the rest of the category? Wow.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1988
And the nominees were…
Alec Guinness, Little Dorrit
Kevin Kline, A Fish Called Wanda
Martin Landau, Tucker: The Man and His Dream
River Phoenix, Running on Empty
Dean Stockwell, Married to the Mob (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Director – 1942
1942, to me, is a lot of bridesmaids without a bride. I understand why Mrs. Miniver won Best Picture — it’s a solid film, a wartime story, and it’s about family, and that’s what they needed during WW II — but to me, there could have been a better choice. And yet, of the rest of the choices, the only films I could see possibly voting for over it were, 49th Parallel, The Magnificent Ambersons, The Pride of the Yankees, and Yankee Doodle Dandy. But of those, 49th Parallel isn’t a good choice, Ambersons was so creatively compromised, Dandy shouldn’t have won, and Pride of the Yankees, while my favorite film nominated, feels like a lesser choice, historically, than Mrs. Miniver.
Teresa Wright also won Best Supporting Actress for Mrs. Miniver, which is a great decision, since she probably should have won Best Actress this year (in this man’s opinion), but Greer Garson (who also won for Miniver) really needed to win because she was passed over the year before this so they could give Joan Fontaine her makeup Oscar. So what ended up happening was, Fontaine wins, bumps Garson to here, and Garson bumps Wright to Supporting, so everything worked out. Then Best Actor this year was James Cagney for Yankee Doodle Dandy, a decision I’m sure everyone loves (to me, Gary Cooper was better in Pride of the Yankees, but he won the year before this, so it all worked out). And Best Supporting Actor was Van Heflin in Johnny Eager, which, I don’t like, but, in a category that weak, it’s not like it matters at all.
And this category — pretty simple. Comes with the territory. Sure, based on the fact that he won three times, you could say, “Give it to someone else here,” but, honestly, I don’t see anyone else with an effort that deserves to beat it.
BEST DIRECTOR – 1942
And the nominees were…
Michael Curtiz, Yankee Doodle Dandy
John Farrow, Wake Island
Meryn LeRoy, Random Harvest
Sam Wood, Kings Row
William Wyler, Mrs. Miniver (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1965
It’s weird that I think of 1965 as a blank year. Yet, one of Hollywood’s landmark films won that year, The Sound of Music. For some reason, I was never over the moon about the choice of that as Best Picture. I love the film, and I don’t think any of the other nominated films could (or should) have beaten it (even my personal favorite film on the list, Darling), so I’m not sure why my reaction is the way it is. I guess it’s because I’m strange. Robert Wise also won Best Director for the film, which — obviously.
Best Actress this year was Julie Christie for Darling, which I love as a decision. Julie Andrews would have won, but she won the year before this for Mary Poppins. Christie gave a tremendous performance in a category that was pretty stacked. I can’t wait to get to that one. Best Supporting Actor was Martin Balsam for A Thousand Clowns, which was an okay decision. The category was really, really bad, and Martin Balsam is awesome, so I support the decision. And Best Supporting Actress was Shelley Winters for A Patch of Blue, which is a great decision. She was terrific in the film, and didn’t really have any competition.
As for this category — this is one of the toughest Best Actor categories I’ve ever seen. Not so much strongest, but the toughest. Both Rod Steiger and Richard Burton were terrific in their respective roles, and then you get the big monkey wrench of Lee Marvin, who, while he didn’t give a performance that rivals those of the other two, is still Lee Marvin. So a tough decision must be made.
BEST ACTOR – 1965
And the nominees were…
Richard Burton, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
Lee Marvin, Cat Ballou
Laurence Olivier, Othello
Rod Steiger, The Pawnbroker
Oskar Werner, Ship of Fools (more…)
