The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1982
I love 1982, more for the films that were nominated more than the decisions that were made. Because, Gandhi wins a bunch of awards, and, while I don’t think it needed Best Picture (or was the best film in the category), you can’t really say it was that bad a decision. Ben Kingsley wins Best Actor for it (which I talked about here), which is the most acceptable of the Gandhi awards (despite being in as tough a category as he was in), and Richard Attenborough wins Best Director for it, which (as I said here) I have to like, because it’s Gandhi and I love Richard Attenborough, but, there was a better choice there. Then Meryl Streep wins Best Actress for Sophie’s Choice — case closed — and Jessica Lange wins Best Supporting Actress for Tootsie.
Now, this category in particular is kind of tough. All the nominees are good, but not great. They’re all 2s and 3s for most years with no 1. It’s strange. But the voting aspect is something we’ll deal with later. First, let me fill you in on a bit of trivia with this category. the 1982 and 1983 Best Supporting Actor categories are the only two times two very respected actors were nominated for Oscars. Those actors are John Lithgow and Charles Durning. Both legends in their own right. And the only two times those two were nominated for Oscars, they happened to do so in the same category as each other. How weird is that?
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1982
And the nominees were…
Charles Durning, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
Lou Gossett Jr., An Officer and a Gentleman
John Lithgow, The World According to Garp
James Mason, The Verdict
Robert Preston, Victor/Victoria (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1981
I hate 1981 as an Oscar year. I love it as a year for great films and performances. All of it stems from the Academy selecting Chariots of Fire as Best Picture, which is the single worst picture in terms of quality to win Best Picture. Nothing comes close. This film is not good.
Then, Warren Beatty wins Best Director for Reds (talked about here) and Maureen Stapleton wins Best Supporting Actress for it, both of which are pretty acceptable decisions. Then Best Actor (talked about here) and Best Actress (talked about here) were Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn for On Golden Pond. Fonda’s Oscar had to happen, and there was no other alternative. It’s a great decision by default. Then Hepburn’s Oscar is acceptable, even though I’d have gone another way. So that’s 1981. Pretty solid, except for the terrible, awful, soul-crushing decision for Best Picture.
Which beings us to this category. I love it. Jack Nicholson always brings class to a category. Then you have Ian Holm, great actor. James Coco, who was fantastic in the role and was also in one of my favorite movies of all time, Murder by Death. And then there’s Howard Rollins, which, it’s nice to see a black guy get in there. And then John Gielgud. A living legend. Not to mention — Arthur is legit one of my top 20 favorite films of all time. It’s so fucking funny. I love this decision so much.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1981
And the nominees were…
James Coco, Only When I Laugh
John Gielgud, Arthur
Ian Holm, Chariots of Fire
Jack Nicholson, Reds
Howard Rollins Jr., Ragtime (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1978
I love 1978. Few years make me happier. I love The Deer Hunter so, so much. I think it’s an amazing film. My favorite Vietnam film, probably. This and Apocalypse Now are like a joint one and two. Anyway, it wins Best Picture, Best Director for Michael Cimino (which I talked about here), and this award, which I’m about to talk about (obviously).
Then, the rest of the year had Jon Voight winning Best Actor for Coming Home, which I don’t think I’d have voted for, but am very okay with, since Jon Voight definitely deserved an Oscar, and De Niro would get his two years after this. Jane Fonda also won Best Actress for Coming Home, which I don’t like at all (as much as I love Jane Fonda), just because I think Jill Clayburgh really should have won for An Unmarried Woman. But I’m not too broken up about it. I think it was a poor choice, but I don’t want to riot or anything (this isn’t 1970). And then Best Supporting Actress was Maggie Smith for California Suite (which I talked about here). That’s a decision where, while I personally would have voted for Meryl in Deer Hunter, I totally get why Maggie Smith won, and her winning ended up working out for the best anyway, since Meryl won Best Supporting Actress the year after this (for a better performance).
So, in all, I really like four of the six decisions this year, and the other two I’m okay with, even though one of them I’m bordering on disliking. In all, though, a strong year. And this category — wow, look at how strong it is. I have three legit people to vote for here.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1978
And the nominees were…
Bruce Dern, Coming Home
Richard Farnsworth, Comes a Horseman
John Hurt, Midnight Express
Christopher Walken, The Deer Hunter
Jack Warden, Heaven Can Wait (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1970
1970 is a painful year for me. Patton wins Best Picture, in a standard “Academy” decision, one that’s understandable but not particularly interesting. Franklin J. Schaffner wins Best Director, which makes perfect sense. George C. Scott winning Best Actor for it is actually one of the best decisions of all time in that category. These decisions aren’t what makes this year so painful for me, nor is Best Supporting Actress, which Helen Hayes won for Airport (which I talked about here).
What makes this year painful to me are the other two decisions. First, Glenda Jackson wins Best Actress for Women in Love, which is the single worst decision in the history of that category, and the history of the Academy Awards. Ali MacGraw not winning for Love Story is seriously the biggest travesty of the Academy Awards. Then the other terrible decision was this category, where there are two great performances, and the Academy went with what they did is really just an awful reality. And since only one of the other four decisions up there is legitimately good and interesting (the rest are either ho-hum or good, but ultimately pretty generic). They provide no solace whatsoever. And that’s why I hate this year.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1970
And the nominees were…
Richard Castellano, Lovers and Other Strangers
Chief Dan George, Little Big Man
Gene Hackman, I Never Sang for My Father
John Marley, Love Story
John Mills, Ryan’s Daughter (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1961
Love this year. Love this category. Strong year all around, despite a questionable decision here and there. West Side Story wins Best Picture, Best Director for Robert Wise & Jerome Robbins, Best Supporting Actress for Rita Moreno (talked about here), and this category. I don’t have a problem with any of them, even though I’d have gone another way on all of them. Matter of personal preference. I just love The Hustler.
Best Actor was Maximilian Schell for Judgment at Nuremberg, which I consider one of the worst Best Actor decisions of all time (Paul Newman really should have won for The Hustler. So much so that the Academy, when they gave him his Oscar (twenty-five years too late), they gave it to him for the same role!), and Best Actress was Sophia Loren for Two Women, a decision I don’t really like (which I talked about here).
Then we have this category, which might be the strongest Best Supporting Actor category of all time. Look at these five: Bernardo, Montgomery Clift (in a really strong performance), Peter Falk, and two greats: George C. Scott and Jackie Gleason. Amazing. Who do you vote for here? I know who I vote for. What about you?
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1961
And the nominees were…
George Chakiris, West Side Story
Mongtomery Clift, Judgment at Nuremberg
Peter Falk, Pocketful of Miracles
Jackie Gleason, The Hustler
George C. Scott, The Hustler (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1952
This year and this category are both pretty bad. This will not be fun.
The Greatest Show on Earth wins Best Picture over High Noon. It’s generally listed among the worst Best Picture decisions of all time. It’s not a bad film, but it is a bad decision. You can tell it was a cop out decision because they didn’t even give it Best Director. That went to John Ford (his fourth) for The Quiet Man. Probably the second best possible decision, but it wasn’t for High Noon, as it should have been. Then, making things even more complicated, Gary Cooper wins Best Actor for High Noon a film they decided they didn’t want to vote for because it was too controversial (I talked about it here). It’s very confusing. Then Best Actress was Shirley Booth for Come Back, Little Sheba (which I talked about here), and Best Supporting Actress was Gloria Grahame for The Bad and the Beautiful (which I talked about here).
Which brings us to this category. It’s not good. It’s not strong at all. I don’t like three of these nominees. Which means — oh that’s right, you guessed it — it’s time to look for alternatives. Is this a bad category or a bad year? Let’s see: no, it’s a pretty bad year. The only other possibility I can think of are either Walter Pidgeon or Barry Sullivan for The Bad and the Beautiful. It would have made me feel better, at least. Definitely wouldn’t have added to the category, though. So I guess it was just a weak year for supporting actor roles.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1952
And the nominees were…
Richard Burton, My Cousin Rachel
Arthur Hunnicutt, The Big Sky
Victor McLaglen, The Quiet Man
Jack Palance, Sudden Fear
Anthony Quinn, Viva Zapata! (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1941
I think we can get this out of the way quickly by saying that 1941 is a travesty. Citizen Kane clearly should have won Best Picture, and didn’t because, well, William Randolph Hearst had a lot of influence. How Green Was My Valley wins Best Picture in a cop out decision. John Ford wins Best Director for it too (which goes with the territory).
Gary Cooper wins Best Actor for Sergeant York (talked about here), which I don’t like, but can’t really argue with. Then Best Actress was Joan Fontaine for Suspicion, which is kind of a makeup Oscar for the year before, and also a kind of best case scenario. Though I’d personally have gone with Greer Garson here. And Best Supporting Actress was Mary Astor for The Great Lie. Not a very memorable film or performance, but, she also played Brigid O’Shaugnessy in The Maltese Falcon, so I’m very okay with the decision.
And then we have this category. I’m not sure what I think about this. On the one hand, Donald Crisp gave a solid performance, but on the other hand, I have a clear personal favorite, and there’s also another “year” candidate (that is, one person had such a strong year, I can’t see how they didn’t get it based on that). I don’t know. I just don’t really like this decision.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1941
And the nominees were…
Walter Brennan, Sergeant York
Charles Coburn, The Devil and Miss Jones
Donald Crisp, How Green Was My Valley
James Gleason, Here Comes Mr. Jordan
Sydney Greenstreet, The Maltese Falcon (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1987
1987 is one of the more forgotten years of the Academy. Just because — while The Last Emperor is a great film and I can see why it won Best Picture and Best Director for Bernardo Bertolucci (talked about here), it’s just not a very interesting film. A film like this is a film like Gandhi — sure it’s good and all, but, Academy-wise, it’s just not an interesting choice. Broadcast News or Hope and Glory — those would have been interesting choices (more so the latter). This — just standard business. Which is why most people forget about it.
As for the rest of the year, both Cher and Olympia Dukakis win Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, respectively, for Moonstruck (Best Actress was talked about here), which, I consider weak decisions. I think there were better decisions to be made in both categories. Then, Sean Connery wins Best Supporting Actor for The Untouchables, which, I don’t think anyone can really disagree with that. Even if they don’t like the film and don’t like the performance — which, how many people does that leave? — I don’t think anyone can really call giving Sean Connery a career Oscar a bad thing (regardless of how great Morgan Freeman was in Street Smart). That’s the Chicago way.
And then there’s this category. No one can call this a bad decision. No one. First — it’s Gordon fucking Gekko. Right there — done. But even if you don’t think the performance was that great — look at the rest of the category. Who the hell else was gonna win? This was a great decision, through and through.
BEST ACTOR – 1987
And the nominees were…
Michael Douglas, Wall Street
William Hurt, Broadcast News
Marcello Mastroianni, Dark Eyes
Jack Nicholson, Ironweed (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1970
There are few categories in Academy history as cut and dry as this one. I, for one, like that, because you don’t have to spend time explaining it. George C. Scott’s Patton is one of the most iconic performances ever put to screen. Of course it won. As for the rest of the year, Patton also won Best Picture, which makes sense, even though I’d have gone another way (Love Story is one of my favorite films of all time), and Best Director for Franklin J. Schaffner, which, actually is a fantastic decision.
Then, Best Actress this year is THE WORST BEST ACTRESS DECISION OF ALL TIME. The amount of a snub this is, is honestly the biggest snub in Academy history. This is the one everyone points to as THE worst. Glenda Jackson wins Best Actress for Women in Love, beating Ali MacGraw who gave the performance of a lifetime in Love Story. Sickening. Then Best Supporting Actor was John Mills for Ryan’s Daughter, which I also consider one of the worst single decisions of all time, because he beat both John Marley for Love Story, who was incredible, and he also beat Chief Dan George for Little Big Man. Unacceptable. Then Best Supporting Actress was Helen Hayes for Airport (which I talked about here), which was a fantastic decision. So, in all, a tough year for me. But at least this category is quick and easy. That’s great.
BEST ACTOR – 1970
And the nominees were…
Melvyn Douglas, I Never Sang for My Father
James Earl Jones, The Great White Hope
Jack Nicholson, Five Easy Pieces
Ryan O’Neal, Love Story
George C. Scott, Patton (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1960
I love 1960. To me, it’s one of the best years in Academy history. Maybe that’s because one of my favorite films of all time won Best Picture. Might have something to do with it. The Apartment is a film I love dearly. I love that it won. It’s perfect. Billy Wilder winning Best Director? I like it, but, as I said here, it probably wasn’t the best of the decisions that could have been made. (Juuusst a bit outside.)
Then, Best Actress was Elizabeth Taylor for BUtterfield 8, which I talked about here, so I won’t get into it too much, but, the gist of it is, Shirley MacLaine should have won. Read the article to get the full scoop. Then Best Supporting Actor was Peter Ustinov for Spartacus, and Best Supporting Actress was Shirley Jones for Elmer Gantry. All in all, pretty much every decision here was solid. And then there’s this category, which, while I do have a sentimental favorite, is a well-deserved Oscar to a much-deserved actor for a fantastic performance.
BEST ACTOR – 1960
And the nominees were…
Trevor Howard, Sons and Lovers
Burt Lancaster, Elmer Gantry
Jack Lemmon, The Apartment
Laurence Olivier, The Entertainer
Spencer Tracy, Inherit the Wind (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1998
1998 is a year that will live in Academy infamy. Shakespeare in Love, Saving Private Ryan. Still, people argue over this. I, personally, don’t have a problem with the choice. Sure, I’d have chosen differently, but, who cares? The Best Director split, with Steven Spielberg winning for Ryan really let you know that it didn’t matter. (Which is why I feel 2010 will go down as being a worse decision. There was no split.)
Then, Best Actor this year — whoa boy — was Roberto Benigni for Life is Beautiful, which is one of the worst single decisions of all time in the Best Actor category (probably the worst, though I have weird issues with things and would probably (incorrectly) put it second. Still, it’s bad). Best Supporting Actor was James Coburn for Affliction, which, was a bad choice, but it was a veteran Oscar and James Coburn is awesome, so we can’t really gripe too much. Then Best Supporting Actress was Judi Dench for Shakespeare in Love, mostly because she was clearly the most likable performance in the category (and probably because she lost Best Actress the year before this). She was awesome.
And then, there was this category, which people are still talking about. I’ll admit — based on the actresses, yeah, Cate Blanchett probably should have won over Gwyneth. But, honestly, this probably comes down to the same thing 1997 came down to — there was one likable (albeit light) performance against one ho hum, boring, period piece. And when there are so many period pieces getting nominated, people are gonna be like, “Jesus, stop making me eat the fucking asparagus. I want some goddamn cookies.” And cookies are something I can get behind.
BEST ACTRESS – 1998
And the nominees were…
Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth
Fernanda Montenegro, Central Station
Gwyneth Paltrow, Shakespeare in Love
Meryl Streep, One True Thing
Emily Watson, Hilary and Jackie (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1997
1997 is so simple to recap. Titanic. ‘Nuff said. Whether you agree with the decision or not, you can understand why it won. And why James Cameron won Best Director for it (talked about here). Then Jack Nicholson winning Best Actor for As Good as It Gets, makes sense based on his category. Plus, he was so goddamn enjoyable in the role. Then Best Supporting Actor (talked about here) was Robin Williams for Good Will Hunting, and Best Supporting Actress (talked about here) was Kim Basinger for L.A. Confidential. In all, a solid (and diverse) set of choices.
As for this category, it’s one of those ones that is looked at negatively, after the fact. Not that Helen Hunt wasn’t charming and all, it’s just — she beat Judi Dench. Other people would say Helena Bonham Carter, but most people say Judi. It’s a tough call, the category’s not that strong, and there isn’t really a #1 performance. Although, the current result does help perpetuate a nice bit of trivia, which is — all three times Jack Nicholson has won an Oscar (1975, 1983 and here), his female co-star in the film also won Best Actress for the film. And that coincidence might be worth the result. Maybe. I don’t know. I consider this mostly a blank. Does it really matter so much what happened here?
BEST ACTRESS – 1997
And the nominees were…
Helena Bonham Carter, The Wings of the Dove
Julie Christie, Afterglow
Judi Dench, Mrs. Brown
Helen Hunt, As Good As It Gets
Kate Winslet, Titanic (more…)
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