The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1983
1983 is one of the not dull spots of the 80s. It’s not particularly bright, but it’s — cheap fluorescent. I’ll take that.
Terms of Endearment wins Best Picture, which is not a terrible choice (though I loved The Right Stuff so much more), considering the weak set of nominees, but it is a weak Best Picture choice, considering many of the films that won the award. It also won Best Director for James L. Brooks (talked about here), which makes sense, since Phillip Kaufman inexplicably wasn’t nominated, Best Actress for Shirley MacLaine (talked about here), which was 23 years overdue, and Best Supporting Actor for Jack Nicholson (talked about here), which I don’t understand past, “It’s Jack, we have to vote for him.” I go Sam Shepard all the way there.
The other non-Endearment winner this year, besides this category was Best Supporting Actress, which went to Linda Hunt for The Year of Living Dangerously (talked about here). In case you don’t know or haven’t seen the film — she plays a man! And nobody notices!
Okay, that brings us to this category. It had to happen. I don’t love the performance (much the way I didn’t love Jeff Bridges’ country singer Oscar winner performance (you know you loved those rhymes)), but (more so than the Bridges one) this had to happen because — Duvall’s snub in 1979 was so bad, so horrible, that he should have won for any performance he gave this year, whatever it was. (Sorry Michael Caine, but, blame the Academy. Though he got two awards later on, so he came out all right.)
BEST ACTOR – 1983
And the nominees were…
Michael Caine, Educating Rita
Tom Conti, Reuben, Reuben
Tom Courtenay, The Dresser
Robert Duvall, Tender Mercies
Albert Finney, The Dresser (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1958
I hate talking about 1958. It’s so — middling. All the nominees for Best Picture feel weak. And the winner is just — fluff. Gigi is a fine film and all, but it shouldn’t have won Best Picture. None of the nominees really should have. The Defiant Ones was probably the best choice among the bunch.
Vincente Minnelli won Best Director for Gigi (talked about here), which actually was a good decision. The dude was owed two by this point. David Niven wins Best Actor for Separate Tables (talked about here) and Wendy Hiller wins Best Supporting Actor for the film as well (talked about here). Both were veteran Oscars and are acceptable to varying degrees. And Best Actress was Susan Hayward for I Want to Live! (talked about here), which she’d earned by this point. I just wish she’d won earlier and someone else could have won here (especially since Deborah Kerr and Rosalind Russell never won Oscars, and if Elizabeth Taylor won here she wouldn’t have had to win in 1960).
And then this category. I fucking love this category. So much. I’d have wanted to vote for Burl Ives without having seen the performance. But having seen it, and the other performance he gave this year that he wasn’t nominated for — oh man, does he win this in a landslide. What a great decision for all time.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1958
And the nominees were…
Theodore Bikel, The Defiant Ones
Lee J. Cobb, The Brothers Karamazov
Burl Ives, The Big Country
Arthur Kennedy, Some Came Running
Gig Young, Teacher’s Pet (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1961
1961 is one of those years that’s so good that you can afford to get upset with it. I sometimes go off about how much I think I don’t like it, and then I realize, “Shit, I’m arguing between two or even three great films.”
West Side Story wins Best Picture, Best Director for Robert Wise & Jerome Robbins (talked about here), Best Supporting Actor for George Chakiris (talked about here) and Best Supporting Actress for Rita Moreno (talked about here). All would be perfect decisions in almost any year but this one. This one, however, has at least two other strong nominees in all the categories, which leads to situations where you think the winners weren’t good decisions.
Best Actress this year was Sophia Loren for Two Women (talked about here). I won’t get into it too much, but — I just don’t like it. I don’t.
And this category — the other one I really don’t like. This, to me, is one of the top five worst Best Actor decisions of all time. It’s horrible. Sure, they sort of made up for it, but the snub in and of itself is Unforgivable.
BEST ACTOR – 1961
And the nominees were…
Charles Boyer, Fanny
Paul Newman, The Hustler
Maximilian Schell, Judgment at Nuremberg
Spencer Tracy, Judgment at Nuremberg
Stuart Whitman, The Mark (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1930-1931
1930-1931 is one of the early years. Different set of rules.
Cimarron wins Best Picture. The first Western to win, and, honestly, a decent choice. I’d have probably went another way, but it’s a matter of personal preference. Cimarron is an epic western, takes place over a number of years, is based on a best-selling book — it’s a good choice. Best Actor was Lionel Barrymore for A Free Soul (talked about here). He was a respected actor, and was a good choice for a year that was about legitimizing the awards. I wouldn’t have voted for it, but it makes sense. And Norman Taurog wins Best Director for Skippy (talked about here), which is a terrific, terrific decision, and one of my favorites of all time.
Okay, now we’re at this one. Tough call. Like I said — different set of rules. The rules dictate that the most respected/popular actors of the day win, in order to legitimize the award. You have Janet Gaynor, Mary Pickford, Norma Shearer winning — and here, Marie Dressler, the most popular star in Hollywood (at age 60, to boot), is nominated. Of course she’s going to win. But does that mean it was the right decision? I don’t know.
BEST ACTRESS – 1930-1931
And the nominees were…
Marlene Dietrich, Morocco
Marie Dressler, Min and Bill
Irene Dunne, Cimarron
Ann Harding, Holiday
Norma Shearer, A Free Soul (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1975
1975 is a pretty basic Academy year. No need to get complicated with it.
One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest wins Best Picture, Best Actor for Jack Nicholson (talked about here), Best Actress for Louise Fletcher (talked about here), and Best Director for Milos Forman (talked about here). All are great in their own way, though I didn’t think Best Director was absolutely necessary, even though it makes sense. And Best Supporting Actor was George Burns for The Sunshine Boys (talked about here). Great veteran Oscar.
So that leaves this category. Whoa, is it weak. Really weak. Fortunately, they made the best decision, so it worked out.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1975
And the nominees were…
Ronee Blakley, Nashville
Lee Grant, Shampoo
Sylvia Miles, Farewell, My Lovely
Lily Tomlin, Nashville
Brenda Vaccaro, Jacqueline Susann’s Once Is Not Enough (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1998
I deliberately held back on this one. This is a major category that a lot of people have strong opinions on. So of course I was gonna hold back on it. Anticipation is key.
As for 1998 — Shakespeare in Love wins Best Picture, Best Actress for Gwyneth Paltrow (talked about here) and Best Supporting Actress for Judi Dench (talked about here). Steven Spielberg wins Best Director for Saving Private Ryan (talked about here), and James Coburn wins Best Supporting Actor for Affliction (talked about here). I think everyone knows these categories pretty well. No need to editorialize in this intro.
Now this one. Obviously a sore spot for many people. I think we all understand that Roberto Benigni was one of the worst choices ever in this category. That’s not really the part people argue over. The part people argue over is who should have won instead. Some people say Edward Norton, some say Ian McKellen. Which do I take? You’ll have to keep reading to find out…
Look at me, mysterious fucker.
BEST ACTOR – 1998
And the nominees were…
Roberto Benigni, Life is Beautiful
Tom Hanks, Saving Private Ryan
Ian McKellen, Gods and Monsters
Nick Nolte, Affliction
Edward Norton, American History X (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Director – 1986
1986. One of the lone brights spots in the black hole that is the 1980s. God, I fucking hate this decade.
Platoon wins Best Picture and this category. Paul Newman (finally!) wins Best Actor for The Color of Money (talked about here). Marlee Matlin wins Best Actress for Children of a Lesser God (talked about here). Michael Caine and Dianne Wiest win Best Supporting Actor (talked about here) and Best Supporting Actress (talked about here), respectively, for Hannah and Her Sisters. I like all the decisions except the Supporting ones. But even those I’m somewhat okay with.
As for this category — really obvious. Best decision in the category. I understand a David Lynch vote, but all things considered, the simple result in itself is very acceptable. And that’s what counts, really.
BEST DIRECTOR – 1986
And the nominees were…
Woody Allen, Hannah and Her Sisters
James Ivory, A Room with a View
Roland Joffé, The Mission
David Lynch, Blue Velvet
Oliver Stone, Platoon (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1967
I love 1967, but I don’t necessarily love all the choices they made, Oscar-wise. At least in the sense of what people see. And what do people see when they look at 1967? In the Heat of the Night wins Best Picture. Which I feel is a bad choice, among a field of nominees that includes Bonnie and Clyde, The Graduate and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.
Fortunately, though, the rest of the year is spread out pretty well. Katharine Hepburn wins Best Actress for Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (talked about here), George Kennedy wins Best Supporting Actor for Cool Hand Luke (talked about here), Estelle Parsons wins Best Supporting Actress for Bonnie and Clyde (talked about here), and Mike Nichols wins Best Director for The Graduate (talked about here). Nice way of spreading the wealth. Still, though, I’m not sure it makes up for the fact that the figurehead decision for the year is weak.
And then this category — a lot of people might have problems with it. And I understand that. But actually this is a very solid decision, and one that’s backed up by history (a bit). It also helps to lessen (slightly) the blow of the film winning Best Picture. So I’m actually okay with it (which I didn’t think would be the case).
BEST ACTOR – 1967
And the nominees were…
Warren Beatty, Bonnie and Clyde
Dustin Hoffman, The Graduate
Paul Newman, Cool Hand Luke
Rod Steiger, In the Heat of the Night
Spencer Tracy, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1941
Oh boy — 1941 again. Let’s just cover it like this. Citizen Kane lost. That covers all the editorializing that needs to be done.
How Green Was My Valley wins Best Picture, Best Director for John Ford (talked about here), and Best Supporting Actor for Donald Crisp (talked about here). Best Actor was Gary Cooper for Sergeant York (talked about here), and Best Actress was Joan Fontaine for Suspicion (talked about here). Those are what they are.
And we end with this one, which — while it’s not for the right film at all, is a really great decision.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1941
And the nominees were…
Sara Allgood, How Green Was My Valley
Mary Astor, The Great Lie
Patricia Collinge, The Little Foxes
Teresa Wright, The Little Foxes
Margaret Wychery, Sergeant York (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1971
Love 1971. Here’s a real 70s year. Best Picture was The French Connection, and William Friedkin won Best Director for it (talked about here), and Gene Hackman won Best Actor for it (talked about here). All perfect decisions.
Then Ben Johnson and Cloris Leachman won Best Supporting Actor (talked about here) and Best Supporting Actress (talked about here), respectively, for The Last Picture Show.
Whether I like the decisions or not (and I largely like them), this is a very 70s year. And that’s awesome.
And this category is no different. Great 70s decision, and a great award for a great actress.
BEST ACTRESS – 1971
And the nominees were…
Julie Christie, McCabe & Mrs. Miller
Jane Fonda, Klute
Glenda Jackson, Sunday Bloody Sunday
Vanessa Redgrave, Mary, Queen of Scots
Janet Suzman, Nicholas and Alexandra (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1942
I call 1942 an “of course” year. Because of course a film like Mrs. Miniver would win Best Picture in a year like this. Middle of the war — film about a family dealing with war — of course it would win.
William Wyler won Best Director for the film (talked about here), Greer Garson won Best Actress for it (talked about here), and Teresa Wright won Best Supporting Actress for it (talked about here). And James Cagney won Best Actor for Yankee Doodle Dandy (talked about here). All decisions ranging from good to great.
But this category — holy shit is it bad. One of the single weakest — if not the weakest — Best Supporting Actor categories of all time. It’s really, really awful. And it’s so bad, that — honestly it didn’t matter who won. It’s that bad. I skip over this one constantly. It’s like that one family member everyone forgets to invite to stuff. You know — what’s his name. Who sucks.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1942
And the nominees were…
William Bendix, Wake Island
Van Heflin, Johnny Eager
Walter Huston, Yankee Doodle Dandy
Frank Morgan, Tortilla Flat
Henry Travers, Mrs. Miniver (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1980
God, I hate 1980. And that hate can be summed up in two words: Ordinary People. Or, more appropriately, “Fucking Academy…”
Ordinary People wins Best Picture and Best Director for Robert Redford (talked about here) over Raging Bull. Yeah…
Timothy Hutton also won Best Supporting Actor for the film (talked about here), which is actually a good decision, all thing’s considered. Sissy Spacek wins Best Actress for Coal Miner’s Daughter (talked about here), which I’m all for. And Mary Steenburgen wins Best Supporting Actress for Melvin and Howard (talked about here), which I guess is acceptable, even though I have my reservations.
And then there’s this category. Do I even need to say anything?
BEST ACTOR – 1980
And the nominees were…
Robert De Niro, Raging Bull
Robert Duvall, The Great Santini
John Hurt, The Elephant Man
Jack Lemmon, Tribute
Peter O’Toole, The Stunt Man (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1955
1955 is a year that seems to get lost in the shuffle among Oscar years. It’s wedged between the behemoth that is On the Waterfront, and the disaster (sort of) that is Around the World in 80 Days. Not to mentionFrom Here to Eternity and The Bridge on the River Kwai being on either side of those movies. So it makes sense that a small film about a lonely butcher finding love would get overlooked.
Marty wins Best Picture, Best Director for Delbert Mann (talked about here), and Best Actor for Ernest Borgnine (talked about here). I love the film. I think it’s perfect, and I think it was the best choice among the nominees. Sure, the set of nominees was weak, but best choice is the best choice. Anna Magnani wins Best Actress for The Rose Tattoo (talked about here). I don’t like it. I think Susan Hayward should have won for I’ll Cry Tomorrow, leaving the Hayward 1958 win open for one of several actresses who could have won (some of whom never won an Oscar). And Best Supporting Actor was Jack Lemmon for Mister Roberts, which I like very much, because Jack Lemmon is awesome (and the category really sucked).
And that brings us to this category, which is tough for me. Well, not really. It’s tough because I know I’m not gonna do the logical thing.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1955
And the nominees were…
Betsy Blair, Marty
Peggy Lee, Pete Kelly’s Blues
Marisa Pavan, The Rose Tattoo
Jo Van Fleet, East of Eden
Natalie Wood, Rebel Without a Cause (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Director – 1945
The last of the 1945. We’ll dispense with all the bells and whistles and just recap.
The Lost Weekend wins Best Picture, Best Actor for Ray Milland (talked about here), and this category. Joan Crawford wins Best Actress for Mildred Pierce (talked about here). Best Supporting Actor was James Dunn for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (talked about here), and Best Supporting Actress was Anne Revere for National Velvet (talked about here). All of them were great decisions.
And then this category is self-explanatory. Wilder should have won the year before this, and directed the Best Picture winner this year, so this is cut and dry.
BEST DIRECTOR – 1945
And the nominees were…
Clarence Brown, National Velvet
Alfred Hitchcock, Spellbound
Leo McCarey, The Bells of St. Mary’s
Jean Renoir, The Southerner
Billy Wilder, The Lost Weekend (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1972
1972 is so easy to recap. Two films won most of the awards.
The Godfather wins Best Picture and Best Actor for Marlon Brando (talked about here). Cabaret wins Best Director for Bob Fosse (talked about here) and Best Supporting Actor for Joel Grey (talked about here). I’m of the opinion that The Godfather should have just won everything.
The only non-Godfather/Cabaret winner was Best Supporting Actress, which went to Eileen Heckart for Butterflies are Free (talked about here). That was one of the weakest Best Supporting Actress categories of all time.
And then this category. This is one of the weakest categories I’ve ever seen. Just glancing at it, you can pick out an easy winner. I mean — it’s not even close. Like, at all. Not even a little bit.
BEST ACTRESS – 1972
And the nominees were…
Liza Minnelli, Cabaret
Diana Ross, Lady Sings the Blues
Maggie Smith, Travels with My Aunt
Cicely Tyson, Sounder
Liv Ullmann, The Emigrants (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1989
Everyone knows 1989. We all have opinions. No need to talk about it. We’ll let the individual articles do the talking.
Driving Miss Daisy wins Best Picture and Best Actress for Jessica Tandy (talked about here). Veteran Oscar. Best Actor was Daniel Day-Lewis for My Left Foot (talked about here), and Brenda Fricker also won Best Supporting Actress for the film (talked about here). And Oliver Stone won Best Director for Born on the Fourth of July (talked about here).
And then there’s this category. I don’t really know what to do with it. It’s — I don’t know. Smells like a makeup Oscar to me. (Which isn’t a surprise, considering the Academy’s treatment of Denzel and their blatant racism throughout history.)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1989
And the nominees are…
Danny Aiello, Do the Right Thing
Dan Aykroyd, Driving Miss Daisy
Marlon Brando, A Dry White Season
Martin Landau, Crimes and Misdemeanors
Denzel Washington, Glory (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1957
I love 1957. It begins and ends with The Bridge on the River Kwai. It’s a Lean year.
The film wins Best Picture, Best Director for David Lean (talked about here), and this category. Terrific all around. And you have 12 Angry Men also up for Picture and Director to keep it interesting (and honest). I like that.
Best Actress was Joanne Woodward for The Three Faces of Eve (talked about here). Probably a top ten decision of all time in that category. Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress were Red Buttons (talked about here) and Miyoshi Umeki (talked about here) for Sayonara. I am on the record about despising both decisions.
And then we’re left with this category, which to me is an open and shut case. Go Alec!
BEST ACTOR – 1957
And the nominees were…
Marlon Brando, Sayonara
Anthony Franciosa, A Hatful of Rain
Alec Guinness, The Bridge on the River Kwai
Charles Laughton, Witness for the Prosecution
Anthony Quinn, Wild is the Wind (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1935
1935 is a weak year for me. I don’t like it very much. Mutiny on the Bounty is a great film and a classic film, but it’s not my favorite film from 1935 (that would be The Informer. And Top Hat, but that wasn’t winning). It’s the only Best Picture winner to not win any other award (and be nominated for them. Not like Grand Hotel, which was only nominated for Best Picture).
Victor McLaglen wins Best Actor for The Informer, which was a terrific decision. He was fantastic. And John Ford also wins Best Director for the film (talked about here). Hmm…maybe that’s a sign that the film was actually better than the film that won, don’t you think?
And this category — what the hell? Bette Davis wins by default. Don’t think she didn’t. There was such an outcry that she wasn’t nominated for Of Human Bondage the year before this (which she should not have won for at all) that, after a write-in campaign that almost got her the win, they pretty much were willing to give her this one for just about anything she put up on screen. And I didn’t think she was that good.
BEST ACTRESS – 1935
And the nominees were…
Elisabeth Bergner, Escape Me Never
Claudette Colbert, Private Worlds
Bette Davis, Dangerous
Katharine Hepburn, Alice Adams
Miriam Hopkins, Becky Sharp
Merle Oberon, The Dark Angel (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1971
I love 1971 because a real 70s film won. There are few films that perfectly encapsulate the 70s more than The French Connection. What a great film. All due respect to A Clockwork Orange and The Last Picture Show (and even Nicholas and Alexandra and Fiddler on the Roof… strong year), but The French Connection should have won.
Gene Hackman won Best Actor for the film (talked about here), which I love, and William Friedkin won Best Director for it (talked about here), which he deserved (between this and The Exorcist, he deserved a statue).
Best Actress this year was Jane Fonda for Klute, which was also a very 70s decision. I like it. And Best Supporting Actress was Cloris Leachman for The Last Picture Show (talked about here), which I’m okay with, even though I’d have gone another way.
And then there’s this category. I don’t like it. Not even a little bit. I just don’t see it at all. I don’t see it in the performance or the actor. Add to that one of my favorite actors in a great film, and I just can’t abide this one.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1971
And the nominees were…
Jeff Bridges, The Last Picture Show
Leonard Frey, Fiddler on the Roof
Richard Jaeckel, Sometimes a Great Notion
Ben Johnson, The Last Picture Show
Roy Scheider, The French Connection (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1962
Love 1962. Lawrence of Arabia, To Kill a Mockingbird — what more do you need?
Lawrence of Arabia wins Best Picture and Best Director for David Lean (talked about here). Gregory Peck wins Best Actor for To Kill a Mockingbird (talked about here). Anne Bancroft wins Best Actress for The Miracle Worker (talked about here). All perfect. Then, Best Supporting Actor was Ed Begley for Sweet Bird of Youth (talked about here). I don’t like that one so much. But it’s not that bad, so it’s just unfortunate rather than terrible.
And then this category — holy shit. Scout Finch and Helen Keller. The two performances that were achieved here — by children, no less. Wow. Just wow.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1962
And the nominees were…
Mary Badham, To Kill a Mockingbird
Patty Duke, The Miracle Worker
Angela Lansbury, The Manchurian Candidate
Shirley Knight, Sweet Bird of Youth
Thelma Ritter, Birdman of Alcatraz (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1928-1929
1928-1929. The second year of the Oscars. This is the only year that didn’t have any official nominees. That is, people were just given ballots and voted, and whoever won, won. And I think the nominees that were listed were based off of who got the most votes. There are also a couple of issues to deal with for this year, but let’s recap first before we get into that. There were no Supporting categories, so it’ll be quick.
The Broadway Melody wins Best Picture. The first talkie to win, and the first musical to win. Of the nominated films, it was the one that did the most. That is, it used sound to its full effect, and, the industry being in the state that it was, that’s all it took to win. Obviously it wasn’t a particularly strong winner, but it makes sense. They needed to have a sound film win. Best Actress this year was Mary Pickford for Coquette, which — she’s Mary Pickford. She was the biggest female star in the business. Of course they’d give her an Oscar. So that’s fine. And Best Director was Frank Lloyd for The Divine Lady, which seems like a weak choice.
Okay, so now we’re at this category. The problem that gets posed with this one is — The Patriot is a lost film. All we have are some clips from a trailer and stuff that survived. So we have to go in blind on that. That makes it slightly tougher, since — none of the nominees seemed particularly Best Actor-worthy. So, this is one of those where concessions need to be made.
BEST ACTOR – 1928-1929
And the nominees were…
George Bancroft, Thunderbolt
Warner Baxter, In Old Arizona
Chester Morris, Alibi
Paul Muni, The Valiant
Lewis Stone, The Patriot (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1945
1945 is a solid, if not very memorable Academy year. The Lost Weekend is a strong film and a good Best Picture choice (based on the nominees), but in the whole of the Best Picture history, it’s not one of the more memorable winners. The other categories are strong too, but again, not particularly memorable unless you know them well.
Billy Wilder won Best Director for the film, which was a great decision, since it was the Best Picture winner, and because he probably should have won for Double Indemnity the year before this. Ray Milland also won Best Actor for the film (talked about here), which was a terrific decision all around. Best Supporting Actor this year was James Dunn for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (talked about here), which was just phenomenal, and Best Supporting Actress was Anne Revere for National Velvet (talked about here), which was also terrific.
And then this category — I was torn for the longest time on who to vote for. I’m still not entirely certain of who I’ll vote for. Either way though, Joan Crawford having an Oscar is a good thing, so however I vote, this worked out.
BEST ACTRESS – 1945
And the nominees were…
Ingrid Bergman, The Bells of St. Mary’s
Joan Crawford, Mildred Pierce
Greer Garson, The Valley of Decision
Jennifer Jones, Love Letters
Gene Tierney, Leave Her to Heaven (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Director – 1965
I love 1965. It’s such a strong year. And the decisions were largely great. In fact, almost all great.
The Sound of Music wins Best Picture. That’s pretty clear cut. Best Actor was Lee Marvin for Cat Ballou (talked about here), which, as I say, is a good decision because Lee Marvin is awesome, but a terrible one because Richard Burton and Rod Steiger gave much better performances. Best Actress was Julie Christie for Darling (talked about here), which is a top ten Best Actress decision for all time. Best Supporting Actor was Martin Balsam for A Thousand Clowns (talked about here), which was a good decision in what was one of the weakest Best Supporting Actor categories of all time. And Best Supporting Actress was Shelley Winters for A Patch of Blue (talked about here), which was a terrific decision. She was awesome in the film.
And, that leaves us with this category, which — what did you think was gonna happen?
BEST DIRECTOR – 1965
And the nominees were…
David Lean, Doctor Zhivago
John Schlesinger, Darling
Hiroshi Teshigahara, Woman in the Dunes
Robert Wise, The Sound of Music
William Wyler, The Collector (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1950
Ah, 1950. Everyone has an opinion on 1950. So I won’t editorialize too much. I’ll just recap.
All About Eve wins Best Picture, Best Director for Joseph L. Mankiewicz (talked about here), and this category. It beat Sunset Boulevard for Best Picture and Sunset Boulevard and The Third Man for Best Director.
José Ferrer wins Best Actor for Cyrano de Bergerac (talked about here), beating Jimmy Stewart for Harvey. Judy Holliday wins Best Actress for Born Yesterday (talked about here), beating Anne Baxter and Bette Davis for All About Eve and Gloria Swanson for Sunset Boulevard. And Josephine Hull wins Best Supporting Actress for Harvey (talked about here). That category was pretty strong too.
As you can see — lots of people have opinions on this year.
Then we have this category, which is actually pretty clear cut. So that’s nice.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1950
And the nominees were…
Jeff Chandler, Broken Arrow
Edmund Gwenn, Mister 880
Sam Jaffe, The Asphalt Jungle
George Sanders, All About Eve
Erich von Stroheim, Sunset Boulevard (more…)
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