The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1942
1942 is a year that — kind of like a lesser 1946, no one could really do anything about. World War II was in full swing, and the Academy was obviously gonna go with a film that pushed forward the war effort. That, mixed with the fact that it was a relatively weak set of Best Picture nominees — it makes sense.
Mrs. Miniver wins Best Picture, Best Actress for Greer Garson, Best Supporting Actress for Teresa Wright (talked about here), and Best Director for William Wyler (talked about here). All were actually great decisions.
The non-Miniver decisions for the year were Van Heflin as Best Supporting Actor for Johnny Eager, which might have been the weakest Best Supporting Actor category of all time, and this category.
This category is actually a great one, because it was a perfect opportunity to award James Cagney. If Gary Cooper didn’t win this category the year before this, chances are Cagney wouldn’t have won here. But Cooper did win, so Cagney was able to get his well-deserved Oscar. And that’s good.
BEST ACTOR – 1942
And the nominees were…
James Cagney, Yankee Doodle Dandy
Gary Cooper, The Pride of the Yankees
Ronald Colman, Random Harvest
Walter Pidgeon, Mrs. Miniver
Monty Woolley, The Pied Piper (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1982
1982 is very ho-hum for me. Such good potential — such an obvious result. This is one of those years where you’re like, “Come on, Academy! Take a chance!” Gandhi wins Best Picture, which, is an easy decision. Because you also have Tootsie, The Verdict and E.T. nominated. See what I mean by easy?
Richard Attenborough wins Best Director for the film, which, I can’t really complain about too much, because I love Richard Attenborough, but, as I said here, there was a much better effort in that category that should have won instead. Ben Kingsley wins Best Actor for the film (which I talked about here), which is acceptable, because, one, it’s Gandhi, and two, it’s Ben Kingsley. Even though Paul Newman delivered yet another iconic performance in The Verdict, I understand that it’s Gandhi. Though, Peter O’Toole and Dustin Hoffman also delivered iconic performances here, but, it’s Gandhi, what are you gonna do? Best Actress this year was Meryl Streep for Sophie’s Choice (which I talked about here). ‘Nuff said. And Best Supporting Actor was Lou Gossett Jr. for An Officer and a Gentleman, which is just weird to me. I talked about it here.
As for this category — tough call. Could fall one of two ways, depending on your opinion. Either way, tough.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1982
And the nominees were…
Glen Close, The World According to Garp
Teri Garr, Tootsie
Jessica Lange, Tootsie
Kim Stanley, Frances
Lesley Ann Warren, Victor Victoria (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Director – 1964
Love 1964. My Fair Lady and Dr. Strangelove (and Mary Poppins!) are up for Best Picture. Obviously My Fair Lady is gonna win. My Fair Lady is always gonna win. It wins Best Picture, this category, and Best Actor for Rex Harrison (talked about here). Great decisions, since you know they were never gonna give Strangelove any love (they’re not that cool).
Best Actress was Julie Andrews for Mary Poppins. Self-explanatory. Best Supporting Actor was Peter Ustinov for Topkapi (talked about here). Blank, but not bad. And Best Supporting Actress was Lila Kedrova for Zorba the Greek, which, as I said here, is okay. The category was weak and she was an okay choice (though, really, Academy. No Agnes Moorehead?)
And this one — whether you love Strangelove or not — George Cukor had this earned twenty years before this.
BEST DIRECTOR – 1964
And the nominees were…
George Cukor, My Fair Lady
Michael Cacoyannis, Zorba the Greek
Peter Glenville, Becket
Stanley Kubrick, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Robert Stevenson, Mary Poppins (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1958
I don’t love 1958 as a year, but some of its categories (like this one) are really strong. The reason the year isn’t that strong is because the set of Best Picture nominees is pretty weak.
Gigi wins Best Picture. Not a bad film, but a bad Best Picture choice. Vincente Minnelli won Best Director for the film (talked about here), which actually needed to happen. That man was crazy overdue by this point. Best Actress was Susan Hayward for I Want to Live!, which, as I said here, was a long time coming, and was a good decision, even if I think she should have won three years earlier and someone else should have won here. Best Supporting Actor was Burl Ives for The Big Country, which was a great decision, since he was great in both that and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof this year. And Best Supporting Actress was Wendy Hiller for Separate Tables, which she had coming to her for a while before this.
And then we have this category. This is really tough for me. It’s the only time Tony Curtis was nominated, this was Sidney Poitier’s best nominated performance, Paul Newman was amazing, and David Niven is David Niven. What do you do here?
BEST ACTOR – 1958
And the nominees were…
Tony Curtis, The Defiant Ones
Paul Newman, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
David Niven, Separate Tables
Sidney Poitier, The Defiant Ones
Spencer Tracy, The Old Man and the Sea (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1965
Oh, 1965. This year is a rock to me. It’s just — there. You don’t question a rock, it just, is. The Sound of Music wins Best Picture, and instinctively we all just understand that. It also won Best Director for Robert Wise, which, comes with the territory.
Then, Best Actor was Lee Marvin for Cat Ballou. Rather than explain, you can read my opinions on that here. Best Supporting Actor was Martin Balsam for A Thousand Clowns, which I guess works. I don’t really like the category, so whatever. And Best Supporting Actress was Shelley Winters for A Patch of Blue, which, as I said here, was a great decision.
So that’s 1965. And this category — whoa man, this is a top ten decision of all time. Julie Christie is incredible here. And also, despite that, this category is stacked. There are four legit winners here. Four!
BEST ACTRESS – 1965
And the nominees are…
Julie Andrews, The Sound of Music
Julie Christie, Darling
Samantha Eggar, The Collector
Elizabeth Hartman, A Patch of Blue
Simone Signoret, Ship of Fools (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1954
This is the Oscar category. The quintessential category. The one everyone argues over. Grace Kelly or Judy Garland? Before we get into that, let’s recap 1954.
On the Waterfront wins Best Picture, Best Actor for Marlon Brando, Best Supporting Actress for Eva Marie Saint (talked about here), and Best Director for Elia Kazan (talked about here). All of them were perfect decisions. Then Edmond O’Brien wins Best Supporting Actor for The Barefoot Contessa (talked about here), which is historically a good decision, even though he didn’t give the best performance in the category.
Okay, back to the good part. This category may be the single strongest Best Actress category of all time. Most people look at Garland and Kelly, but look at the other three nominees — Dandridge, Hepburn, Wyman — there’s really great stuff there, too. But we all know this category comes down to Judy and Grace. So I’ll kill the suspense now and tell you flat out — Grace deserved this. Nothing against Judy, but when you weigh the two performances against one another, and then factor in the year Grace had on top of it — she’s actually an easy winner here. I know Groucho Marx called this “the biggest robbery since Brinks,” but it really wasn’t. Not when you factor in everything.
BEST ACTRESS – 1954
And the nominees were…
Dorothy Dandridge, Carmen Jones
Judy Garland, A Star is Born
Audrey Hepburn, Sabrina
Grace Kelly, The Country Girl
Jane Wyman, Magnificent Obsession (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1939
1939 is the best year for American movies. The Golden Year, as they call it. And it really was. And the best thing about a year that’s this strong is when it has a definitive Best Picture winner, like this one does.
Gone With the Wind wins Best Picture, Best Director for Victor Fleming (talked about here) and Best Supporting Actress for Hattie McDaniel (talked about here). Best Actor this year went to Robert Donat for Goodbye, Mr. Chips, which, as I said here, is an award that should have went to Jimmy Stewart for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and the Academy realized it so much that they gave him an Oscar the year after this for an unworthy performance. And Best Supporting Actor was Thomas Mitchell for Stagecoach, which, as I said here, is a brilliant decision (with my deepest condolences to Claude Rains).
And then there’s this category, which — it’s Gone With the Wind. It’s Scarlett O’Hara. Come on now.
BEST ACTRESS – 1939
And the nominees were…
Bette Davis, Dark Victory
Irene Dunne, Love Affair
Greta Garbo, Ninotchka
Greer Garson, Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Vivien Leigh, Gone With the Wind (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1946
Love me some 1946. I’m always a fan of years that have definitive winners, yet other nominees that are strong enough to make people vehemently argue that those films should have won instead, and yet not be wrong to argue for them. 1939 is one. 1957. 1997, 1994, 1991 — there are lots of them. Here, The Best Years of Our Lives wins Best Picture, as it should have (historically this is a big film for Hollywood), and It’s a Wonderful Life is the film everyone argues for. And no one is wrong. I love that.
The Best Years of Our Lives also won Best Director for William Wyler, which was gonna happen, and Best Supporting Actor for Harold Russell, which, as I said here, I actually really, really hate. Best Actress was Olivia de Havilland for To Each His Own, which, as I said here, I love and support fully. And Best Supporting Actress was Anne Baxter for The Razor’s Edge, which I liked very much, actually.
So, in all, 1946 is a strong, strong year, with only one slip up that’s actually understandable (though still bad). And this category — looking at it objectively — as much as we all love Jimmy Stewart — this was a good decision.
BEST ACTOR – 1946
And the nominees were…
Frederic March, The Best Years of Our Lives
Laurence Olivier, Henry V
Larry Parks, The Jolson Story
Gregory Peck, The Yearling
James Stewart, It’s A Wonderful Life (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1957
Love 1957. 4 out of 6 really strong decisions. The Bridge on the River Kwai wins half the major awards (rightfully so), winning Best Picture, Best Director for David Lean (talked about here) and Best Actor for Alec Guinness. All perfect decisions. And Best Actress was Joanne Woodward for The Three Faces of Eve (talked about here), which was also a perfect decision.
Okay, that takes care of almost everything. Now we’re at the two Supporting categories. First was Red Buttons, winning Best Supporting Actor for Sayonara, which, as I said here, I hate very much as a decision. And the second was here, which I also hate very strongly and consider one of the worst decisions ever made in the history of the Best Supporting Actress category.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1957
And the nominees were..
Carolyn Jones, The Bachelor Party
Elsa Lanchester, Witness for the Prosecution
Hope Lange, Peyton Place
Miyoshi Umeki, Sayonara
Diane Varsi, Peyton Place (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1979
1979 is a year I can say a lot about. I’ll try not to here. At least, not at once. The main thing here is that Kramer vs. Kramer wins Best Picture, beating out Apocalypse Now and All That Jazz. It also beat Norma Rae and Breaking Away, but the first two are the real important ones. It’s not a question of whether or not it’s a good film, it’s just — is it really better to have won over those two? Did history really hold up on that one? I consider this one of those — the Academy being the Academy. And the Academy being wrong — decisions.
Also this year, Robert Benton wins Best Director for Kramer vs. Kramer (talked about here), because, I guess, Francis Ford Coppola and Bob Fosse didn’t produce the two best individual efforts of their careers. Dustin Hoffman won Best Actor for the film as well (talked about here), and this I agree with. He was amazing here, and due. Meryl Streep also won Best Supporting Actress for the film (talked about here). She was also amazing, and totally deserved it. And Best Actress this year was Sally Field for Norma Rae (talked about here), which is also a good decision. So, this year, on the whole, had some great decisions in it. Three, in fact. The problem here is the other three. Especially this one.
This category is the worst Best Supporting Actor decision of all time. If there ever was a year where “veteran Oscar” was what happened, this is it. I’m not even going to hide my opinion here or mask who I’m voting for. Robert Duvall delivered one of the most iconic performances of all time. Even if you haven’t seen Apocalypse Now, I bet you can quote that napalm speech. This is a character so strong, it’s possible you remember him even more than Marlon Brando in this movie. Or Dennis Hopper. That’s how fucking strong he is. Literally, the first half of this movie is his. That’s how good he is. And Melvyn Douglas wins because he’s old and dying. That’s just terrible. (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Director – 1958
1958 is a troublesome year for me. I feel like all the Best Picture nominees are strong number twos with no real #1 to vote for. I mean, there is, but nothing here really feels like an adequate Best Picture winner. Gigi won Best Picture, but that feels a bit like a cop out. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, albeit very theatrical, was a better choice. And so was The Defiant Ones, which probably would have been the best choice for the year. (Auntie Mame and Separate Tables were way too theatrical to vote for.)
Best Actor was David Niven for Separate Tables, which, was one of those in-house decisions. He was a very respected actor and probably would have won one of these someday anyway. Though he was very much a supporting character in his film (15 minutes of screen time), and the performance wasn’t really that great. So I think someone else (namely Paul Newman, Tony Curtis or Sidney Poitier) should have won. Wendy Hiller also won Best Supporting Actress for the film, which is a good decision, since she was a veteran and deserved an Oscar (and the category sucked). Best Actress was Susan Hayward for I Want to Live! (talked about here). I understand this decision, because Hayward was gonna win an Oscar eventually, but I don’t like it. Hayward should have won in 1958 and someone more deserving should have won here, like Deborah Kerr or Elizabeth Taylor. Best Supporting Actor was Burl Ives for The Big Country, which is a great decision, since he was also in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and would have won for that performance too.
Which brings us to this category. As much as I don’t like Gigi as a Best Picture winner, I love this decision. Since Vincente Minnelli is one of the great directors of all time. He’d earned this three times over by this point.
BEST DIRECTOR – 1958
An the nominees were…
Richard Brooks, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Stanley Kramer, The Defiant Ones
Vincente Minnelli, Gigi
Mark Robson, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness
Robert Wise, I Want to Live! (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1967
What a let down 1967 is. Here’s a year where Hollywood made a break from tradition. The films were modern, realistic, gritty, violent, sexual — all the things classical Hollywood wasn’t. And then they chose In the Heat of the Night as Best Picture, which is like — music people will think up more examples of this than I can — when a new style of music is up and coming, like grunge or punk or something, and there are all those underground bands that really drive the movement forward, and are the backbone of it, and then the most corporate, watered down version of that movement becomes huge and has all the hits and is labeled as having started it. That’s what this is like to me. Here’s a category with three different films that perfectly capture what 1967 was about. And In the Heat of the Night wins Best Picture. Why not just fucking pick Doctor Dolittle and be done with it? Seriously. Fortunately, the other three choices did well elsewhere.
Best Actor this year was Rod Steiger for In the Heat of the Night, which I understand. Wouldn’t vote for it, but I understand. He was due. Totally cool with that. Best Supporting Actor was George Kennedy for Cool Hand Luke (talked about here), which I love. Best Supporting Actress was Estelle Parsons for Bonnie and Clyde, which I also love. And Best Director was Mike Nichols for The Graduate (talked about here). So essentially you have Hollywood spreading the wealth, but giving the top prize to the most controlled entity of the bunch. Terrible.
And then there’s this category. Most people would agree that the best choice was not made. However, on the other hand, you can’t really be too upset at the decision, because all of the principals contending for a vote all had (or later won) Oscars. So, while we’d all vote differently, it’s not that bad. And that’s good. One less thing.
BEST ACTRESS – 1967
And the nominees were…
Anne Bancroft, The Graduate
Faye Dunaway, Bonnie and Clyde
Edith Evans, The Whisperers
Audrey Hepburn, Wait Until Dark
Katharine Hepburn, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1997
1997 is like having a stupid relative. You can’t do anything about it no matter how much you want to. Because there’s no way Titanic wasn’t winning Best Picture this year. Or Best Director for James Cameron (talked about here). It was inevitable. No matter how much we all think L.A. Confidential should have won instead.
Then Robin Williams won Best Supporting Actor for Good Will Hunting, talked about here, and Kim Basinger won Best Supporting Actress for L.A. Confidential, talked about here. I didn’t vote for either decision, but I am okay with both of them. Read the articles to find out why.
Then Best Actress was Helen Hunt for As Good as It Gets (talked about here). I mention her last because there’s an interesting piece of trivia in regards to that. Every time Jack Nicholson has won an Oscar — three times. First for One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest in 1975, second for Terms of Endearment in 1983 (Supporting), and then here — his leading lady in the film won Best Actress for the film. Not Supporting — Best Actress. That’s crazy, right? Here’s a dude that not only delivers the goods, but helps you deliver the goods.
BEST ACTOR – 1997
And the nominees were…
Matt Damon, Good Will Hunting
Robert Duvall, The Apostle
Peter Fonda, Ulee’s Gold
Dustin Hoffman, Wag the Dog
Jack Nicholson, As Good As It Gets (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1962
You know why I love 1962? Because you can say either Lawrence of Arabia or To Kill a Mockingbird should have won Best Picture — and you’d be right either way. They’re both perfect films. Lawrence of Arabia wins Best Picture, but that was always gonna happen. It also won Best Director for David Lean (talked about here), which was gonna happen no matter what and was the better decision there.
Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress this year were Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke for The Miracle Worker. If you’ve seen the film, you know how perfect those decisions were.
The lone poor decision made this year was Best Supporting Actor, which went to Ed Begley for Sweet Bird of Youth (talked about here). There’s a category where you have Omar Sharif, Telly Savalas and Terence Stamp, any of whom would have been much better decisions. But for a year with five out of six really strong categories (like, Top Ten or Top Five of all time strong), that’s still really good.
As for this category, you can pretty much take care of it with two words: Atticus Finch.
No one will ever be able to argue against this decision, ever. Not ever.
BEST ACTOR – 1962
And the nominees were…
Burt Lancaster, Birdman of Alcatraz
Jack Lemmon, Days of Wine and Roses
Marcello Mastroianni, Divorce, Italian Style
Peter O’Toole, Lawrence of Arabia
Gregory Peck, To Kill a Mockingbird (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1945
1945 is a quiet, but solid year. The Lost Weekend is a strong film based on the nominees, but not very flashy in the history of Best Picture. Solid choice though, I feel. Billy Wilder wins Best Director for the film, which was a great decision, since not only did he direct the Best Picture winner, but he was clearly overdue for Double Indemnity, which he should have won for the year before this. Ray Milland also won Best Actor for the film (talked about here), which was a great decision, again based on the category.
Best Actress this year was Joan Crawford for Mildred Pierce. I haven’t totally made up my mind on that category, but the result is acceptable, whether I end up voting for her or not. And Best Supporting Actor this year was James Dunn for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, which was a terrific, terrific, and well-deserved decision.
So that only leaves this category, which — oh man, do I love this one. Like, a lot a lot. This has a lot to do with why I consider this a quietly strong year. The Supporting categories are really, really strong.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1945
And the nominees were…
Eve Arden, Mildred Pierce
Ann Blyth, Mildred Pierce
Angela Lansbury, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Joan Lorring, The Corn is Green
Anne Revere, National Velvet (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Director – 1975
Ever see the video of Steven Spielberg watching the nominees be announced this year? It’s great. He’s like, “I got beaten out by Fellini!” Even he can’t believe he wasn’t nominated. That about describes this category. How the hell are you not gonna nominate Jaws? But I digress. Let’s recap.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest pretty much sweeps all the awards, winning Best Picture, Best Actor for Jack Nicholson (talked about here), Best Actress for Louise Fletcher (talked about here), and this category. The awards it didn’t win were Best Supporting Actor, which went to George Burns for The Sunshine Boys (talked about here), and Best Supporting Actress, which went to Lee Grant for Shampoo. Both were strong decisions. Pretty much this entire year was really strong.
The only category I really have a problem with this year is this category. I know the Picture/Director link-up is nice and all, but — it didn’t need to happen here. Cuckoo’s Nest is a very stagy film. I think they could easily have split Picture and Director, and the two acting wins would have stopped anyone from thinking twice about it. Especially if they gave this to one of the two people they should have. It wouldn’t have mattered at all. (But seriously — no Jaws — that’s laughable.)
BEST DIRECTOR – 1975
And the nominees were…
Robert Altman, Nashville
Federico Fellini, Amarcord
Milos Forman, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Stanley Kubrick, Barry Lyndon
Sidney Lumet, Dog Day Afternoon (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1969
I call 1969 the year that 1967 took effect. This was the kind of film that Hollywood transitioned to after they broke away from tradition. This is what the 70s were all about, films like Midnight Cowboy, which won Best Picture and Best Director for John Schlesinger (talked about here). Personally, I’d have went with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, but I understand the choice of Midnight Cowboy, which is why I don’t have a problem with it.
Best Actress this year was Maggie Smith for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. This was a sticky category for me, so rather than try to explain it, I’ll just say you can read about it here. Best Supporting Actor was Gig Young for They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? which, as I said here, was a good decision in a weak category. And Best Supporting Actress was Goldie Hawn for Cactus Flower, which I’ve yet to make up my mind on. I’ll probably be okay with it, though. It’s really just a matter of me voting for her or another nominee.
And then there’s this category. I have to tell you — thank god there’s an easy winner here, because otherwise this could have been tough. I say easy because — there are only a handful of actors in the course of Hollywood who have developed circumstances where, if they were nominated for an Oscar, any time after they’ve reached this status — they’re an automatic win every time. And those people were Humphrey Bogart, post-1950 (won 1951), Henry Fonda post-1960 (won 1981), and John Wayne. I’m sure there are more, but, these people — no matter what they win for, their stature is so strong that they, themselves transcend their performances. That’s why this was a great decision.
BEST ACTOR – 1969
And the nominees were…
Richard Burton, Anne of the Thousand Days
Dustin Hoffman, Midnight Cowboy
Peter O’Toole, Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Jon Voight, Midnight Cowboy
John Wayne, True Grit (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1940
I like 1940. Rebecca is a fine Best Picture choice, and while The Grapes of Wrath really should have beaten it (just because it’s stood up over time as the better film), it won Best Director for John Ford (talked about here), so that kind of made up for it.
Best Actor this year was Jimmy Stewart for The Philadelphia Story (talked about here), which is the most blatant makeup Oscar in Academy history. Good that he has an Oscar, but the performance was not even close to win-worthy. Best Supporting Actor was Walter Brennan for The Westerner (talked about here), which I actually like, because the category was so weak, and because Brennan was fantastic, despite it being his third Oscar. And Best Supporting Actress was Jane Darwell for The Grapes of Wrath (talked about here). Ain’t nobody gonna argue with “Ma.”
And then we have this category, which I’ve said many times is one where it was the only time they could really award an actress of this stature, and that, plus the performance itself, make this a perfect decision.
BEST ACTRESS – 1940
And the nominees were…
Bette Davis, The Letter
Joan Fontaine, Rebecca
Katharine Hepburn, The Philadelphia Story
Ginger Rogers, Kitty Foyle
Martha Scott, Our Town (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1957
The great thing about 1957 is that, despite a perfect Best Picture choice in The Bridge on the River Kwai, people still have the opportunity to complain about it, since 12 Angry Men was also up for Best Picture that year. I think the Academy made the right choice, but it’s great that the debate exists. It’s the mark of a good year.
Alec Guinness also won Best Actor for the film and David Lean won Best Director for it (talked about here). Both were perfect decisions. Then Joanne Woodward won Best Actress for The Three Faces of Eve, which, as I said here, was also a perfect decision. She was incredible.
Now, that brings me to the Supporting categories…Best Supporting Actress was Miyoshi Umeki for Sayonara, and you can see Best Supporting Actor right down there. I honestly don’t know what the hell happened with these two categories. First off, for Umeki — she doesn’t do anything! She sits there demurely and speaks her native language the entire time! And for those saying, “Well, she’s Japanese, and it was a major thing for a Japanese person to win an Oscar.” And I’m like, “Yeah! Sessue Hayakawa, motherfucker! He’s right here!” I don’t get it. I don’t get it at all.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1957
And the nominees were…
Red Buttons, Sayonara
Vittorio De Sica, A Farewell to Arms
Sessue Hayakawa, The Bridge on the River Kwai
Arthur Kennedy, Peyton Place
Russ Tamblyn, Peyton Place (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1989
Let’s try not to editorialize too much. The facts do it for us. Driving Miss Daisy wins Best Picture for 1989, beating Born on the Fourth of July, Dead Poet’s Society, Field of Dreams and My Left Foot. Uh huh.
Best Actor this year was Daniel Day-Lewis for My Left Foot (talked about here), which we should all recognize as one of the best Best Actor decisions of all time. Brenda Fricker also won Best Supporting Actress for the film (talked about here), which is a tremendous decision. She was fantastic. Best Supporting Actor was Denzel Washington for Glory, which I’ve yet to fully make my decision on (as in, what I’m voting for), but I think it’s a solid choice. And Best Director was Oliver Stone for Born on the Fourth of July (talked about here), which — I guess makes sense based on the category.
BEST ACTRESS – 1989
And the nominees were…
Isabelle Adjani, Camille Claudel
Pauline Collins, Shirley Valentine
Jessica Lange, Music Box
Michelle Pfeiffer, The Fabulous Baker Boys
Jessica Tandy, Driving Miss Daisy (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1962
I love 1962. Because you get the great Lawrence of Arabia winning Best Picture and Best Director for David Lean (taked about here), which is one of the most perfect pieces of cinema ever created, but you also get To Kill a Mockingbird, which is one of the most beautiful films ever made. And then you have these other films, like The Miracle Worker, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Manchurian Candidate, Cape Fear, Days of Wine and Roses, Dr. No, Lolita, Birdman of Alcatraz, David and Lisa, Requiem for a Heavyweight, The L-Shaped Room, Lonely are the Brave — I get goosebumps just thinking about it. So many good movies this year, it makes me happy to just be able to watch them all.
Then you have Gregory Peck winning Best Actor for To Kill a Mockingbird, and Anne Bancroft winning Best Actress and Patty Duke winning Best Supporting Actress for The Miracle Worker, and they’re all perfect decisions. There were no better decisions in those categories. So you have a year that’s fantastic movie-wise that’s also wonderful Oscar-wise as well. It’s rare that you get them both to link up like that.
And of all the six major categories of this year, the only one I don’t agree with is this one. Which is amazing, to have such a relatively minor category be the one you don’t like. And even then, it’s not like it’s egregious. It’s just — there were better decisions. But still, 1962 is a great year for movies. And that’s something to be happy about.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1962
And the nominees were…
Ed Begley, Sweet Bird of Youth
Victor Buono, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Telly Savalas, Birdman of Alcatraz
Omar Sharif, Lawrence of Arabia
Terrence Stamp, Billy Budd (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1948
I consider 1948 to be the single worst Best Picture choice in the history of the Academy. Simply because the category was so stacked, and they went with the worst possible choice. Of a category that included The Red Shoes, Johnny Belinda, The Snake Pit and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Hollywood, an industry based in southern California in America, chose Hamlet, a British production, as their Best Picture. Fortunately, they did not make the same mistake with Best Director, which went to John Huston for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (talked about here).
Best Actress this year was Jane Wyman for Johnny Belinda (talked about here), which I consider a top five Best Actress decision for all time. Best Supporting Actor was Walter Huston for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (talked about here), which was about 12 years coming for the man, and is a decision I love very much. And Best Supporting Actress was Claire Trevor for Key Largo, which I don’t like very much at all.
And then there’s this category, which — I do actually like a lot. I mean, Bogie wasn’t nominated, but outside of that, they made the best choice within the category. Olivier is a legend.
BEST ACTOR – 1948
And the nominees were…
Lew Ayres, Johnny Belinda
Montgomery Clift, The Search
Dan Dailey, When My Baby Smiles at Me
Laurence Olivier, Hamlet
Clifton Webb, Sitting Pretty (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Director – 1970
I have to be okay with 1970, because you just can’t argue with it. Patton is a film that’s gonna win Best Picture almost every time. It just is. And George C. Scott winning Best Actor for it (talked about here) is one of the greatest Best Actor decisions of all time (sorry, James Earl Jones. you were incredible too).
As for the rest of this year, Glenda Jackson winning Best Actress for Women in Love ranks as the single worst Academy decision of all time. You can feel my pain here. Best Supporting Actor was John Mills for Ryan’s Daughter, which I hate, as I said here. And Best Supporting Actress was Helen Hayes for Airport (talked about here), which is one of the few decisions from this year I actually like.
My problem with this year is — I love Love Story. It’s one of my favorite films of all time. And the fact that Patton was gonna win no matter what (much like 1997 with Titanic and L.A. Confidential) is quite disappointing. But fortunately, this category, Patton or not, was a good decision.
BEST DIRECTOR – 1970
And the nominees were…
Robert Altman, MASH
Federico Fellini, Satyricon
Arthur Hiller, Love Story
Ken Russell, Women in Love
Franklin J. Schaffner, Patton (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1994
All opinions aside… 1994 is a great year. Between Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption and Forrest Gump, we were treated with a great year for American movies. Let’s focus on that rather than what we think should have won.
Forrest Gump wins Best Picture, Best Director for Robert Zemeckis (talked about here) and Best Actor for Tom Hanks (talked about here). I understand the first two and like the second one (despite the fact that Hanks won the year before this, a decision I hate). Jessica Lange wins Best Actress for Blue Sky (talked about here), which was gonna happen at some point, and it worked out because they used her as an excuse to not give Jodie Foster her third statue in seven years. And Best Supporting Actress was Dianne Wiest for Bullets over Broadway (talked about here), which I don’t love, but understand.
And that leaves us with this, arguably the strongest category of 1994 (including Best Picture). I love all of these performances (well, the fifth one…), and picking a winner is really tough. But don’t worry, I totally did it.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1994
And the nominees were…
Samuel L. Jackson, Pulp Fiction
Martin Landau, Ed Wood
Chazz Palminteri, Bullets over Broadway
Paul Scofield, Quiz Show
Gary Sinise, Forrest Gump (more…)
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