The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1942
Like 1942 but don’t love it. A lot of that has to do with the fact that the Best Picture choice feels too easy. It’s a good film, but not a definitive winner to me. And the year doesn’t seem to have that definitive winner (though, historically, they did make a good choice. I’m all about how the Oscars tie into history).
Mrs. Miniver wins Best Picture, Best Director for William Wyler (talked about here), Best Actress for Greer Garson, and this category. I love all of these decisions. (Though as an addendum to that, I’d have voted for Teresa Wright in Best Actress, because I voted for Greer Garson the year before this in Blossoms in the Dust because I think that performance was better, so me voting for Garson there and Wright this year meant that I voted for someone else in this category. Ya follow?)
The non-Miniver Oscars went to James Cagney, as Best Actor for Yankee Doodle Dandy (a fantastic decision) and Best Supporting Actor was Van Heflin for Johnny Eager, which is the biggest blank in the history of that category.
So let’s get into this one, which, as I already said, I love the decision, but through my bookkeeping, I’m voting for something else. Don’t worry, I’ll explain everything.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1942
And the nominees were…
Gladys Cooper, Now Voyager
Agnes Moorehead, The Magnificent Ambersons
Susan Peters, Random Harvest
Dame May Whitty, Mrs. Miniver
Teresa Wright, Mrs. Miniver (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1977
Oh, 1977. Annie Hall beats Star Wars. Isn’t that cute?
I really have no opinion on this year. I hate Woody Allen films and I hate what Star Wars has become. I mean, it clearly should have won Best Picture over Annie Hall, because it’s just superior in every way (except neurotic Jewish people. But — C-3PO…almost). Woody Allen should not have won Best Director over George Lucas (talked about here), either. Diane Keaton should have won Best Actress, though (talked about here), only she should have won it for Looking for Mr. Goodbar instead.
Best Supporting Actor this year was Jason Robards for Julia, which I don’t really care about, as I said here. And Best Supporting Actress was Vanessa Redgrave, also for Julia, which, as I said here, I don’t really care about either.
Which brings us to this category. Well — at least Woody didn’t win. And good thing Richard Dreyfuss did.
BEST ACTOR – 1977
And the nominees were…
Woody Allen, Annie Hall
Richard Burton, Equus
Richard Dreyfuss, The Goodbye Girl
Marcello Mastroianni, A Special Day
John Travolta, Saturday Night Fever (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1939
1939 was the greatest year in the history of movies. Bar none. There has never been so many great movies released in the same year outside of this one. It’s incredible. And the best thing about such a great year is, despite all the great movies, there was a definitive Best Picture winner: Gone With the Wind.
Gone With the Wind wins Best Picture, Best Director for Victor Fleming (talked about here), Best Actress for Vivien Leigh, and here. All perfect decisions. The only awards the film didn’t win were Best Actor, which 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 knew it because they blatantly gave him an Oscar the year after this), and Best Supporting Actor, which went to Thomas Mitchell for Stagecoach, which, as I said here, I love (despite also loving Claude Rains).
And that brings us to this historic category, which features the first black actress (or black anyone) to win an Academy Award. This one needed to happen, and I approve.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1939
And the nominee were…
Olivia de Havilland, Gone With the Wind
Geraldine Fitzgerald, Wuthering Heights
Hattie McDaniel, Gone With the Wind
Edna May Oliver, Drums Along the Mohawk
Maria Ouspenskaya, Love Affair (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1967
1967 is a landmark year made corporate, in my mind. In a year with Bonnie and Clyde and The Graduate, and even Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, truly landmark films that mark the big break from classical Hollywood tradition, they go with In the Heat of the Night for Best Picture, which feels like the Hollywood version of one of those films. That’s just my own personal opinion on the matter.
Rod Steiger also won Best Actor for the film, which is cool. I wouldn’t necessarily vote for him, but he was good enough to win for The Pawnbroker, and this I look at as kind of a makeup Oscar. Best Actress was Katharine Hepburn for Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, which is fine. I don’t think she beat anyone else who needed to win. Sure, I’d have voted differently, but it’s not that bad, because her competition also won Oscars. Best Supporting Actress was Estelle Parsons for Bonnie and Clyde, which was a fantastic decision. She was incredible. And Best Director (talked about here) was Mike Nichols for The Graduate. Fantastic decision.
The Best Picture decision does actually feel softened by the fact that the wealth was spread around very well, but still, that’s the one that gets remembered. And then there’s this category, which silently adds another great and classic film to the shared wealth. And I fucking love that.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1967
And the nominees were…
John Cassavetes, The Dirty Dozen
Gene Hackman, Bonnie and Clyde
Cecil Kellaway, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
George Kennedy, Cool Hand Luke
Michael J. Pollard, Bonnie and Clyde (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1943
1943. Great year. Hard to argue when your Best Picture is Casablanca and Michael Curtiz also wins Best Director for it (talked about here). But you know what? Complaints can be made here. Complaints that Casablanca didn’t win more.
Best Actress this year was Jennifer Jones for The Song of Bernadette (talked about here). I’m sort of okay with this, because Ingrid Bergman was nominated for the wrong film. Best Supporting Actor was Charles Coburn for The More the Merrier (talked about here), which was a fine decision, and a great performance, but I personally think Claude Rains should have won for Casablanca. And Best Supporting Actress was Katina Paxinou for For Whom the Bell Tolls, which was in one of the weakest Best Supporting Actress categories of all time (and there was no Casablanca nomination there), so it was okay.
And then there’s this category. One of the top five worst Best Actor decisions of all time. One of the bottom three worst Best Actor-winning performances of all time. This is just a shitty decision all around. I actually went back to watch this film again to double check that it was so bad. It was.
BEST ACTOR – 1943
And the nominees were…
Humphrey Bogart, Casablanca
Gary Cooper, For Whom the Bell Tolls
Paul Lukas, Watch on the Rhine
Walter Pidgeon, Madame Curie
Mickey Rooney, The Human Comedy (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Director – 1940
1940 is a year that I always say is good, but possibly not as good as it could have been (yet, it still ranks as a solid year). Rebecca wins Best Picture, beating The Grapes of Wrath. Maybe not the best decision, historically, but it’s still a solid film. Plus, there was this category to even it out. So it actually kind of works.
Jimmy Stewart won Best Actor for The Philadelphia Story (talked about here), which is the most blatant makeup Oscar of all time. They were clearly giving it to him for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington the year before. Henry Fonda or Charlie Chaplin really should have won that one. Best Actress was Ginger Rogers for Kitty Foyle, which I love, since it was the only time they could really reward her, and Joan Fontaine, who probably should have won, won the year after this, so it worked out. Best Supporting Actor was Walter Brennan for The Westerner (talked about here), which, despite it being his third, I feel actually was a good decision. And Best Supporting Actress was Jane Darwell for The Grapes of Wrath (talked about here), which makes perfect sense, because she’s “Ma.”
And then there’s this category, which, aside from the fact that Hitchcock never won an Oscar (not this category’s fault, really), is a fantastic decision.
BEST DIRECTOR – 1940
And the nominees were…
George Cukor, The Philadelphia Story
John Ford, The Grapes of Wrath
Alfred Hitchcock, Rebecca
Sam Wood, Kitty Foyle
William Wyler, The Letter (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1964
1964 is a year that you can’t do anything about, so it’s better to just enjoy it. My Fair Lady wins Best Picture, and as much as people love Dr. Strangelove, it was never gonna beat My Fair Lady. It just wasn’t. George Cukor finally wins his well-deserved Best Director statue for the film, and Rex Harrison also wins Best Actor for it (talked about here). I’m cool with the Cukor win, and the Harrison one too, just because I know that Strangelove never really had a shot at anything.
Best Actress this year was Julie Andrews for Mary Poppins, which is cool. The category didn’t really have a definitive winner, and Julie Andrews was gonna win one at some point anyway. Worked out just fine here. And Best Supporting Actor was Peter Ustinov for Topkapi (talked about here). I’m cool with it. The category was really bad. So it’s fine that he won.
And that’s pretty much 1964. Overall, good, as long as you realize what was and wasn’t possible. And then this category, which — meh, it sucked. I don’t really care what happened here. To an extent. I still have an opinion, though.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1964
And the nominees were…
Gladys Cooper, My Fair Lady
Edith Evans, The Chalk Garden
Grayson Hall, The Night of the Iguana
Lila Kedrova, Zorba the Greek
Agnes Moorehead, Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1938
I don’t much like 1938 as an Oscar year. It feels like a series of cop outs and weak choices. Almost like them saying, “We don’t know what we should do, so let’s do what we did before. That worked.”
Example 1: You Can’t Take It With You wins Best Picture out of a relatively weak set of nominees. It seems like the Academy, when faced with a French (Grand Illusion) and British (Pygmalion) film as potential winners (those two were clearly just as good, if not better, choices), they got nervous and said, “Well, It Happened One Night was a good choice, let’s do it again!” They also gave Frank Capra Best Director (talked about here), which makes sense, considering the Best Picture choice.
Example 2: Best Actor was Spencer Tracy for Boys Town (talked about here). It seems, faced with giving this to James Cagney for a performance in a gangster film (or Leslie Howard for Pygmalion), they balked and said, “Well, we gave it to Spencer Tracy last year, let’s do it again!” (This is the single worst Best Actor-winning performance of all time.)
Example 3: Best Actress was Bette Davis for Jezebel (talked about here). It seems, when faced with giving Wendy Hiller an Oscar (or Norma Shearer a second one), they decided, “We gave one to Bette Davis. That worked. Let’s do it again!”
And then Best Supporting Actress was Fay Bainter, also for Jezebel, and this was actually a good decision. Bainter was nominated for Best Actress as well, and was a well-respected actress. That one worked. And then there’s this category, which, again, feels like them not knowing what to do, and going, “Well, we gave it to Walter Brennan once before. That worked. Let’s do it again!”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1938
And the nominees were…
Walter Brennan, Kentucky
John Garfield, Four Daughters
Gene Lockhart, Algiers
Robert Morley, Marie Antoinette
Basil Rathbone, If I Were King (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1983
I like 1983. I don’t necessarily agree with the Best Picture choice, but it’s not terrible. Terms of Endearment wins Best Picture, and, while I’d have gone with The Right Stuff, I’m cool with it winning. Either way, it’s a pretty weak year for Best Picture (though, admittedly, amongst the other winners of the 80s, this is actually one of the better ones). James L. Brooks wins Best Director for the film, which is very acceptable, since for some reason Philip Kaufman wasn’t nominated for The Right Stuff. Jack Nicholson also won Best Supporting Actor for the film, which, as I said here, I don’t particularly like, since, Jack didn’t need it, and Sam Shepard was badass as Chuck Yeager.
Best Actor this year was Robert Duvall for Tender Mercies. I don’t particularly love the performance, but Duvall was terribly overdue by this point, and the category wasn’t that strong. So he was a good decision. And Best Supporting Actress was Linda Hunt for The Year of Living Dangerously (talked about here), which is a great decision, especially since she played a man in her film! And nobody noticed!
So in all, not a terrible year, 1983. In fact, really strong, in context. And this category — this is a stacked year for Best Actress. All five of these performances are really fucking good. It’s rare to have a year where all five performances were good enough to be at worst a #3 for most years.
BEST ACTRESS – 1983
And the nominees were…
Jane Alexander, Testament
Shirley MacLaine, Terms of Endearment
Meryl Streep, Silkwood
Julie Walters, Educating Rita
Debra Winger, Terms of Endearment (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1988
I like 1988 a lot. Rain Man was the strongest (or at least my favorite) among the Best Picture nominees, and I like that it won. Barry Levinson probably shouldn’t have won Best Director for it (talked about here), but I can’t criticize it too much. When Picture and Director link up, it’s always a little acceptable. And Dustin Hoffman winning Best Actor for it — great decision. He was terrific in the film.
Best Actress this year was Jodie Foster for The Accused (talked about here). And to that I say, holy shit was she good. She deserved that so much. And Best Supporting Actor was Kevin Kline for A Fish Called Wanda (talked about here), which I love, since he was definitely the best performance in what may be the weakest Best Supporting Actor category of all time.
So, in all, 1988 is a good year. I don’t like Best Director so much, but it’s not terrible. I only don’t like it because Scorsese was so fucked over by that point, I think he should have won every time he was nominated. So I actually even like that category too. The only category I have a slight problem with is this one. And even this one — I don’t care about it enough to say I don’t like it. I just think another choice would have worked better historically.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1988
And the nominees are…
Joan Cusack, Working Girl
Geena Davis, The Accidental Tourist
Frances McDormand, Mississippi Burning
Michelle Pfeiffer, Dangerous Liaisons
Sigourney Weaver, Working Girl (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Director – 1937
I don’t like 1937. I think we’ve established this by now on the blog. I think The Life of Emile Zola is one of the weakest Best Picture choices of all time, and I think the Academy didn’t know what to do here and gave it to that film as a cop out decision. You can tell it probably was that because it didn’t also win this category. Joseph Schildkraut won Best Supporting Actor for the film, which, as I said here, I don’t really care about, even though I didn’t think the performance was anything to write home (or anywhere) about.
Best Actor this year was Spencer Tracy for Captains Courageous (talked about here). I don’t particularly like it as a Best Actor-winning performance, but I can live with it (it’s really his 1938 win that I can’t live with). Best Actress was Luise Rainer for The Good Earth, which, as I said here, I think is a horrible, horrible decision. And Best Supporting Actress was Alice Brady for In Old Chicago. You can read my problems with that decision here.
And this category, I’ve talked about it in the intros of the other articles I’ve written about this year, I think it’s a great decision, but I think it was for the wrong film. So I intend to talk about both the film he won for and the film he should have won for. But either way, this was a great decision.
BEST DIRECTOR – 1937
And the nominees were…
William Dieterle, The Life of Emile Zola
Sidney Franklin, The Good Earth
Gregory La Cava, Stage Door
Leo McCarey, The Awful Truth
William A. Wellman, A Star is Born (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1972
Well — this’ll be quick.
1972. The Godfather wins Best Picture. Bob Fosse wins Best Director (talked about here) for Cabaret, Liza Minnelli also wins Best Actress and Joel Grey wins Best Supporting Actor (talked about here) for it. Eileen Heckart wins Best Supporting Actress for Butterflies are Free (talked about here). In all, a successful year. The only category I disagree with is Best Supporting Actor (and maybe Supporting Actress, but the category was terrible). And Best Director, but, that all basically worked out in the end.
Do we even need to waste the breath with this one?
BEST ACTOR – 1972
And the nominees were…
Marlon Brando, The Godfather
Michael Caine, Sleuth
Laurence Olivier, Sleuth
Peter O’Toole, The Ruling Class
Paul Winfield, Sounder (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1946
Love me some 1946. Two great films atop the Best Picture nominees list, The Best Years of Our Lives and It’s a Wonderful Life. I know everyone gets up in arms about It’s a Wonderful Life not winning, but The Best Years of Our Lives was a fitting Best Picture choice, given the year (and the subject matter).
William Wyler also won Best Director for the film, which makes sense, and Frederic March wins Best Actor for it as well. Personally, I love all of the decisions, and think March was incredible in the film, and deserved the Oscar. Best Actress this year was Olivia de Havilland for To Each His Own (talked about here), which she was owed in spades by this point, and she was definitely good enough to win (even though I really liked Celia Johnson in Brief Encounter). And Best Supporting Actress was Anne Baxter for The Razor’s Edge, which was a great decision. She was fantastic there.
Which leaves us with this category. This is one of those categories where, while I understand how they made the decision they made, it still baffles me.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1946
And the nominees were…
Charles Coburn, The Green Years
William Demarest, The Jolson Story
Claude Rains, Notorious
Harold Russell, The Best Years of Our Lives
Clifton Webb, The Razor’s Edge (more…)
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…)
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…)
B+ Movie Blog 