The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1965
It’s weird that I think of 1965 as a blank year. Yet, one of Hollywood’s landmark films won that year, The Sound of Music. For some reason, I was never over the moon about the choice of that as Best Picture. I love the film, and I don’t think any of the other nominated films could (or should) have beaten it (even my personal favorite film on the list, Darling), so I’m not sure why my reaction is the way it is. I guess it’s because I’m strange. Robert Wise also won Best Director for the film, which — obviously.
Best Actress this year was Julie Christie for Darling, which I love as a decision. Julie Andrews would have won, but she won the year before this for Mary Poppins. Christie gave a tremendous performance in a category that was pretty stacked. I can’t wait to get to that one. Best Supporting Actor was Martin Balsam for A Thousand Clowns, which was an okay decision. The category was really, really bad, and Martin Balsam is awesome, so I support the decision. And Best Supporting Actress was Shelley Winters for A Patch of Blue, which is a great decision. She was terrific in the film, and didn’t really have any competition.
As for this category — this is one of the toughest Best Actor categories I’ve ever seen. Not so much strongest, but the toughest. Both Rod Steiger and Richard Burton were terrific in their respective roles, and then you get the big monkey wrench of Lee Marvin, who, while he didn’t give a performance that rivals those of the other two, is still Lee Marvin. So a tough decision must be made.
BEST ACTOR – 1965
And the nominees were…
Richard Burton, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
Lee Marvin, Cat Ballou
Laurence Olivier, Othello
Rod Steiger, The Pawnbroker
Oskar Werner, Ship of Fools (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1940
I’m not quite sure what to do with 1940. On one hand, Rebecca, which won Best Picture, is a fine film. A really fine film. The thing is, though, The Grapes of Wrath is a better film. And that didn’t win Best Picture. It did, however, win Best Director for John Ford, so I guess that makes everything okay (though Hitchcock fans might be pissed about that, considering this was probably the closest he ever got to winning).
Best Actor this year was Jimmy Stewart for The Philadelphia Story (talked about here), which is the most blatant makeup Oscar as has ever happened, and is a terrible decision in every way except the “Jimmy Stewart has an Oscar” way. Henry Fonda and Charlie Chaplin were much better decisions there. Best Actress was Ginger Rogers for Kitty Foyle, which some people don’t like because they feel Joan Fontaine should have won for Rebecca. I agree that Joan Fontaine was incredible in Rebecca, but I also love Ginger Rogers, and think she is one of the great actresses for all time, and I think her Kitty Foyle performance is strong enough where it was okay to reward her for all the great work she did over her career. Her winning there is no different from people like Reese Witherspoon or Sandra Bullock winning Oscars (except Ginger is better than they are). So I’m cool with it. (Plus Fontaine would get an Oscar, and things would mostly work themselves out smoothly. So everything worked out fine.) Then Best Supporting Actor was Walter Brennan for The Westerner, his third, which, I’m cool with, because the category sucked, and Brennan’s performance there was actually the best of all the three performances he won for.
And then there’s this category, which is just so goddamn strong. And no matter what anyone’s opinion on who should have won is (including mine) — it’s Ma. You can’t be upset that Ma won.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1940
And the nominees were…
Judith Anderson, Rebecca
Jane Darwell, The Grapes of Wrath
Ruth Hussey, The Philadelphia Story
Barbara O’Neil, All This, and Heaven Too
Marjorie Rambeau, Primrose Path (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1973
I love 1973 so much. Sandwiched between the two Godfathers, I consider this a year that’s that as strong as those two. The Sting wins Best Picture, which I think is a perfect choice (even though, I know, some people like The Exorcist and American Graffiti). George Roy Hill wins Best Director for the film as well, which, as I said here, needed to happen, since, between The Sting and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, he earned an Oscar.
Best Actress this year was Glenda Jackson for A Touch of Class (talked about here), which I don’t like, but only because Jackson won in 1970 in what I consider the worst Oscar decision of all time. So the spite from her winning there, along with the fact that, if Ellen Burstyn had won here for The Exorcist, it would have taken her out of the running the year after this and Gena Rowlands could have won for her brilliant performance in A Woman Under the Influence, overshadows what is actually a good performance by Glenda Jackson. Then Best Supporting Actor was John Houseman for The Paper Chase (talked about here), which I understand, even though I’d have voted for Jason Miller (or Vincent Gardenia) there. And Best Supporting Actress was Tatum O’Neal for Paper Moon (talked about here), which I’m over the — well, I love it very much. I think she was perfect in that film.
And then, this category — it had to happen. I know it’s one of (if not the) the strongest Best Actor categories of all time, but, this result had to be the one that happened here. The consolation is that the rest of the actors in the category all won Oscars (7, in fact, bringing the total number of Oscars won by the men in this category to 9. Which is pretty amazing).
BEST ACTOR – 1973
And the nominees were…
Marlon Brando, Last Tango in Paris
Jack Lemmon, Save the Tiger
Jack Nicholson, The Last Detail
Al Pacino, Serpico
Robert Redford, The Sting (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1980
Oh, 1980. A prime example of how badly the Academy can fuck up because of their — preoccupations.
Ordinary People wins Best Picture and Best Director (for Robert Redford, talked about here) over Raging Bull. What can you do except shake your head? What terrible decisions.
Timothy Hutton also won Best Supporting Actor for Ordinary People, which, as I said here, is actually a good decision. Robert De Niro won Best Actor for Raging Bull, which, at least they didn’t fuck up there, and gave a deserving performance its due. And Sissy Spacek won Best Actress for Coal Miner’s Daughter, which — the category was between her and Mary Tyler Moore for Ordinary People, and either one would have been acceptable. Some may have their own personal opinion on the matter, but both were good choices.
Which brings us to this category. I don’t like it. But on the other hand, I don’t give a shit. So, there’s that.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1980
And the nominees were…
Eileen Brennan, Private Benjamin
Eve Le Gallienne, Resurrection
Cathy Moriarty, Raging Bull
Diana Scarwid, Inside Moves
Mary Steenburgen, Melvin and Howard (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1948
I am very on the record about despising 1948 and calling it the single worst Best Picture choice in the history of the Academy. I have, and will always, stand by that statement (even against Chariots of Fire). Out of a list that includes: The Snake Pit, Johnny Belinda, The Red Shoes and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, the Academy chose, as its Best Picture of the year for 1948 — Hamlet. Fucking Hamlet!
Best Picture choice aside, the rest of 1948 isn’t bad at all. I might go so far as to say Best Picture is really the only mistake they made. Almost. Best Actor was Laurence Olivier for Hamlet, which makes perfect sense, since Olivier deserved a statue, was known as a Shakespearean actor, gave a terrific performance, and the category sucked (no Bogie. Don’t ask me why). So that worked out. Best Actress was Jane Wyman for Johnny Belinda (talked about here), which I feel is one of the top five Best Actress decisions of all time. Best Supporting Actress was Claire Trevor for Key Largo, which is the other decision I don’t like. While Trevor is an actress who should have an Oscar, Agnes Moorehead should have won one more so. And she was terrific in Johnny Belinda. Trevor’s performance was just okay. And Best Director this year was John Huston for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, which (as I said here), of course I love, because I feel the film should have won Best Picture.
This category, though — this one was one of those where, finally a deserving actor got his recognition. Walter Huston, to me, was worth voting for every other time he was nominated for an Oscar. Every other time. Dodsworth — I voted for him. The Devil and Daniel Webster — I’d have voted for him over Gary Cooper, who won that year (even though Orson Welles ultimately was the vote there). Yankee Doodle Dandy — he was probably the best actor in the bunch to vote for. So, to me, finally, he gets his due here. And that makes me happy.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1948
And the nominees were…
Charles Bickford, Johnny Belinda
José Ferrer, Joan of Arc
Oskar Homolka, I Remember Mama
Walter Huston, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Cecil Kellaway, The Luck of the Irish (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Director – 1961
I love 1961. Mostly due to the strength of the year. I also love the Best Picture decision, but, I have a sentimental favorite that didn’t win, and I’m not really sure which I’d vote for, so in a way, it’s tough to think about, because I don’t know what to do, but in another way, I know the decision stands on its own as a strong one, so it’s nice.
West Side Story wins Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor for George Chakiris (talked about here) and Best Supporting Actress for Rita Moreno (talked about here). I love all of the decisions, even though I might not necessarily have voted for all of them. Best Actor was Maximilian Schell for Judgment at Nuremberg, which I hate, hate, hate as a decision (gee, you think he hates it?). Paul Newman really should have won for The Hustler here, and even the Academy knew it, because when they finally gave him his Oscar in 1986, they gave it to him for the sequel to The Hustler. And Best Actress was Sophia Loren for Two Women (talked about here), which I’m very open about hating as a decision.
So that leaves only this category, which is pretty cut and dry and makes perfect sense.
BEST DIRECTOR – 1961
And the nominees were…
Federico Fellini, La Dolce Vita
Stanley Kramer, Judgment at Nuremberg
Robert Rossen, The Hustler
J. Lee Thompson, The Guns of Navarone
Robert Wise & Jerome Robbins, West Side Story (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1946
I love 1946. Because not only does it have a slam dunk Best Picture winner, but it also has the sentimental favorite (kind of like 1939, with Gone With the Wind and The Wizard of Oz. Only 1939 has several more sentimental favorites). The Best Years of Our Lives is, given the year it was made, an absolute no-brainer perfect decision for Best Picture. William Wyler wins Best Director for the film as well, which makes perfect sense. Frederic March also wins Best Actor for the film, which was also a great choice.
Now, Harold Russell winning Best Supporting Actor for the film, however, was not a great choice. At least by my standards. I know he was an actual veteran who actually lost his hands during the war, but it doesn’t change the fact that the performance just isn’t very good. At least, as compared to Charles Coburn in the Green Years and Claude Rains in Notorious. Coburn gave my favorite performance in the category, but given that he beat Rains for it in 1943, I don’t see how they don’t immediately give the award to Claude Rains I know there’s the sweep thing, but — it’s Claude Rains. The whole affair just baffles me.
The other awards that didn’t go to The Best Years of Our Lives were Best Supporting Actress, which went to Anne Baxter for The Razor’s Edge, which not only was a great decision in the category, but also a great one historically, since Baxter earned an Oscar for her performance in All About Eve alone, and then this award, which was several years in the making.
BEST ACTRESS – 1946
And the nominees were…
Olivia de Havilland, To Each His Own
Celia Johnson, Brief Encounter
Jennifer Jones, Duel in the Sun
Rosalind Russell, Sister Kenny
Jane Wyman, The Yearling (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1984
Okay, let’s quickly recap 1984. I got some stuff to talk about.
First, Amadeus wins Best Picture, Best Director for Milos Forman (taked about here) and Best Actor for F. Murray Abraham (talked about here). All perfect decisions, and, on a side note, the fact that it won Best Picture, for me, is one of the very few bright spots the 80s have. Which I am grateful for. Best Actress this year was Sally Field for Places in the Heart (talked about here), which, to put it simply, I understand. And Best Supporting Actor was Haing S. Ngor for The Killing Fields (talked about here), which, while I wouldn’t have voted for it, I also understand. Fortunately, I’ve covered all these categories, so we can mercifully be done with this year after this category. Which —
This might be the single worst Best Supporting Actress category of all time. Might be — I know it is. You know why? Because none of these performances would rate higher than 4th for a vote in any other year. That’s how weak it is. It’s really, really bad. As for alternate nominees — I don’t really see anyone. I was mostly looking for someone who I could vote for. I don’t have anyone I can vote for. God, I hate this category.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1984
And the nominees were…
Peggy Ashcroft, A Passage to India
Glenn Close, The Natural
Lindsay Crouse, Places in the Heart
Christine Lahti, Swing Shift
Geraldine Page, The Pope of Greenwich Village (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1956
I don’t know what to do with 1956. I don’t hate it, but I don’t really like it either. I just end up shaking my head, going, “What can you do?”
Around the World in 80 Days wins Best Picture, and, again — what can you do? I understand that it’s big and expansive and a greatly entertaining film. But did it need to win Best Picture just because it was the biggest thing out there? (Note: This same argument would be had with Titanic.) Best Actress was Ingrid Bergman for Anastasia (talked about here), which I consider one of the worst single Best Actress decisions ever made, just because she had one already, and all of the other nominees gave much better performances than she did. Best Supporting Actor was Anthony Quinn for Lust for Life, which I’m not the biggest fan of, but he’s Anthony Quinn, so, meh. Best Supporting Actress was Dorothy Malone for Written on the Wind (talked about here), which I love as a decision. And Best Director was George Stevens for Giant (talked about here), which — thank god they didn’t fuck that one up. That’s one of the best directorial efforts ever put to film.
Which brings us to this category. I don’t like this. I love Yul Brynner, but I don’t like this decision.
BEST ACTOR – 1956
And the nominees were…
Yul Brynner, The King and I
James Dean, Giant
Kirk Douglas, Lust for Life
Rocky Hudson, Giant
Laurence Olivier, Richard III (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1937
What happened with 1937? It’s just a train wreck. Not a single good decision. Well, one good decision, but even that was for the wrong film.
The Life of Emile Zola wins Best Picture, and it’s one of the weakest Best Picture winners of all time. Definitely one of the ten worst. Joseph Schildkraut also won Best Supporting Actor for the film (talked about here), which, while it is a weak choice and he shouldn’t have won because he’s barely in the film, you can’t really call it unacceptable because the category was so bad. Picking it was just like, “I guess…”
Best Actor was Spencer Tracy for Captains Courageous (talked about here), which, while I don’t like the performance as a Best Actor-winner, I do like the fact that he won here, since it was a perfect year for him to win, and lord knows he was goinna win. (It’s his 1938 win I despise.) Best Supporting Actress this year was Alice Brady for In Old Chicago (talked about here), which I don’t much understand. It seems like a makeup Oscar for them not giving it to her the year prior. Andrea Leeds totally should have won there. She definitely gave the best performance. And Best Director this year was Leo McCarey for The Awful Truth, which, while I love the film and love that he won (because he totally should have won), the film he should have won for was Make Way for Tomorrow, which he himself said as he accepted his Oscar. Which is really just the bow on this messed up year that was 1937.
Which brings us to this category, which — given the talent that’s in this category, how — how — can they give it to the actress that won this the year before?! For a performance that was a supporting part! It’s mind-boggling how they could fuck this up. You could say — I’m not, but one could — that this single category is the reason that Irene Dunne, Greta Garbo and Barbara Stanwyck don’t have Oscars. That’s fucked up.
BEST ACTRESS – 1937
And the nominees were…
Irene Dunne, The Awful Truth
Janet Gaynor, A Star is Born
Greta Garbo, Camille
Luise Rainer, The Good Earth
Barbara Stanwyck, Stella Dallas (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1986
1986 is like a buoy to me. It’s what keeps me afloat in the vast sea of shit that is the Academy Awards in the 80s. Almost all the Best Picture choices from the decade were either bad (Ordinary People, Chariots of Fire, Out of Africa, Driving Miss Daisy), boring (Gandhi, The Last Emperor), or good, but a little on the weak side as Best Picture choices (Terms of Endearment, Rain Man). Only Amadeus and Platoon (which won Best Picture this year), are the lone strong choices of the 80s. And I’m glad, because they’re what keep me from disowning the decade completely.
Platoon also won Best Director for Oliver Stone, which — of course that was gonna happen. Talk about Blue Velvet all you want, but, you know why that didn’t win. There is no way you can’t understand the Academy going the way they did there. Paul Newman finally wins his 25-years overdue (though, for my money, 28 years) Best Actor Oscar for The Color of Money, which, as I said here, is a perfect decision and oddly fitting as well, given that he should have won it the first time he played that character. Best Actress was Marlee Matlin for Children of a Lesser God (talked about here), which I love as a decision, since I really can’t buy into Sigourney Weaver winning for Aliens.
Best Supporting Actor was Michael Caine for Hannah and Her Sisters (talked about here), and that, along with this category, are really the only two weak links I find for 1986. And since they’re the least of the major categories, it’s really not that bad.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1986
And the nominees were…
Tess Harper, Crimes of the Heart
Piper Laurie, Children of a Lesser God
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, The Color of Money
Maggie Smith, A Room with a View
Diane Wiest, Hannah and Her Sisters (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Director – 1947
1947 is a pretty weak year, I feel. Gentleman’s Agreement was the obvious choice for Best Picture, but the nominees felt really weak. The Bishop’s Wife is weak, Crossfire is a B movie, and, in a stronger year, it would be more awesome that it got nominated. Here, it brings the rest of the nominees down. Great Expectations also doesn’t help make the nominees any stronger, even though it’s a great film. And Miracle on 34th Street also doesn’t help make things stronger. So, while they made the right choice, I can’t help but feel the year is a blank in history. The other categories don’t help matters much.
Ronald Colman wins Best Actor for A Double Life, which is a career achievement award. The category was really weak. Gregory Peck gave the best performance, but he won one later, so the Colman win works. Though, again, it doesn’t help this year seem stronger. Best Actress went to Loretta Young for The Farmer’s Daughter, which is considered by many (but not me. You know my preoccupation with 1970) to be the worst Best Actress decision of all time. Rosalind Russell really should have won that for Mourning Becomes Electra. Then Best Supporting Actor was Edmund Gwenn for Miracle on 34th Street (talked about here), which makes perfect sense, since he played Santa Claus. The lone strong decision of this this year (outside of this category). And Best Supporting Actress was Celeste Holm for Gentleman’s Agreement (talked about here), which is a good decision, but the category was really shitty. It doesn’t help the year any.
And the year is capped off by this decision, which — what the hell did you think they were gonna do?
BEST DIRECTOR – 1947
And the nominees are…
George Cukor, A Double Life
Edward Dmytryk, Crossfire
Elia Kazan, Gentleman’s Agreement
Henry Koster, The Bishop’s Wife
David Lean, Great Expectations (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1979
Oh, this is tough. This may be my favorite Best Actor category of all time. They’re all really good in this category. They all either gave awards-worthy performances or were terribly overdue. And also gave awards-worthy performances. Just — wow. Before we get into it, let’s recap.
I’m not a fan of the the overall 1979 at all. Kramer vs. Kramer wins Best Picture over Apocalypse Now, All That Jazz, Norma Rae and Breaking Away. Those last two, I can abide. The first two, I cannot. Same goes for Best Director. Robert Benton (for Kramer) beats Francis Ford Coppola and Bob Fosse (talked about here). That’s the worst offense of all. The direction didn’t carry that film, writing did. That’s what makes me unable to abide the Best Picture decision. The weak, “Here you go,” of giving it Best Director too. Meryl Streep also won Best Supporting Actress for the film, which, as I said here, is a perfect decision. When Meryl wins a category, she really wins a category.
Sally Field as Best Actress for Norma Rae, which, as I said here, is a great decision. And Best Supporting Actor was the biggest offense of them all. The worst decision in the history of the that category. Melvyn Douglas wins for Being There, beating Robert Duvall for Apocalypse Now. Even Dustin Hoffman, upon accepting his award for Best Actor, after saying he refused to believe he beat “Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino, Peter Sellers,” said, “I refuse to believe Robert Duvall lost.” That’s how bad it was.
Which brings us into this category — it’s a great one.
BEST ACTOR – 1979
And the nominees are…
Dustin Hoffman, Kramer vs. Kramer
Jack Lemmon, The China Syndrome
Al Pacino, …And Justice for All
Roy Scheider, All That Jazz
Peter Sellers, Being There (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1954
1954. On the Waterfront. Case closed. It wins Best Picture, Best Director for Elia Kazan (talked about here), Best Actor for Marlon Brando and Best Supporting Actress for Eva Marie Saint (talked about here). All four perfect decisions for all time.
The other decision that wasn’t this category was Grace Kelly for Best Actress for The Country Girl. This is perhaps the single most contested decision in Academy history, as a lot of people feel Judy Garland should have won for A Star is Born. I, personally feel the category is too close to call, and the fact that Grace Kelly also made Dial M for Murder, Rear Window, Green Fire and The Bridges at Tokyo-Ri, decidedly tips the scale solely in her favor. That’s just an incredible list there for a single calendar year.
Which brings us to this category. Also, look how short this synopsis was. That’s called restraint. It doesn’t happen often with me. Anyway, this category — the Waterfront log jam led to Edmond O’Brien winning, which, I’m glad happened. Because Edmond O’Brien is the fucking man.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1954
And the nominees were…
Lee J. Cobb, On the Waterfront
Karl Malden, On the Waterfront
Edmund O’Brien, The Barefoot Contessa
Rod Steiger, On the Waterfront
Tom Tully, The Caine Mutiny (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1941
The great thing about the 1940-1945 years is that you could always count on the same actresses being in almost every category. Put it this way: of the 30 nominees for Best Actress between 1940 and 1945, the nominees in just this category account for 15 of them. And add Katharine Hepburn, Jennifer Jones and Ingrid Bergman to that list, and 22 of the 30 nominees are accounted for. That’s pretty insane.
As for 1941 — we all know how bad it was. How Green Was My Valley beats Citizen Kane for Best Picture and John Ford beats Orson Welles for Best Director (talked about here). ’nuff said there. Donald Crisp won Best Supporting Actor for the film, which does actually make sense, though, as I said here, I’d totally have given it to Sydney Greenstreet for The Maltese Falcon. That man is awesome. Then Gary Cooper wins Best Actor for Sergeant York (talked about here), which I don’t like, but understand (you really think they were gonna give it to Orson?). And Best Supporting Actress was Mary Astor for The Great Lie, which is a fine decision, since she was also in The Maltese Falcon this year. So even though it’s for the more forgotten of the two films, it’s cool that she won.
Now for this category. This is pretty cut and dry. It’s a make up Oscar. Everyone understands this, and it’s totally acceptable. Just know, I wouldn’t (and won’t) vote for it. I thought there was a better performance. But since all the principals (for the most part) won Oscars, this is a fine decision.
BEST ACTRESS – 1941
And the nominees are…
Bette Davis, The Little Foxes
Olivia de Havilland, Hold Back the Dawn
Joan Fontaine, Suspicion
Greer Garson, Blossoms in the Dust
Barbara Stanwyck, Ball of Fire (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1950
I’m very on the record about not liking 1950. Let me explain:
All About Eve wins Best Picture. I’m okay with this as a singular decision. I’d have chosen Sunset Boulevard, but this is an acceptable choice. However — with the amount of bad decisions they made in the rest of the categories, this goes from being okay to, “Well, I don’t really like it.” Joseph Mankiewicz won Best Director for the film, which, as I said here, I consider to be the single worst Best Director decision of all time. I know it’s the Best Picture winner and all, but — have you seen The Third Man? Some efforts need to win no matter what.
Best Actor was José Ferrer for Cyrano de Bergerac, which as I said here, I really don’t like as a decision. I accept it because all the principals involved had, or later won, Oscars, but I don’t like it at all. Best Actress was Judy Holliday for Born Yesterday, which, as I said here, is one of the most hotly contested decisions of all time. I think it’s somewhat acceptable, even though I’d have voted for Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard. Oh, and George Sanders won Best Supporting Actor for All About Eve. A great decision for all time, there.
Now, this category. The shit of the shit. Best Supporting Actress is usually the weakest category. Also, I swear this wasn’t on purpose, all these double nominees. That must be like the tenth one this month.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1950
And the nominees were…
Hope Emerson, Caged
Celeste Holm, All About Eve
Josephine Hull, Harvey
Nancy Olson, Sunset Boulevard
Thelma Ritter, All About Eve (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1937
I don’t like 1937 at all. I consider it one of the weakest years in Academy history. The Life of Emile Zola wins Best Picture in a real weak decision. It’s the first year the Academy seemed to have not known what to do, and said, “Well, what’s the safe, “Academy” decision?” and went with that. It’s a weak winner. Strong film, but a weak winner. The fact that it didn’t win Best Director tells you it wasn’t an overwhelmingly popular choice. Joseph Schildkraut also won Best Supporting Actor for the film (talked about here), which makes sense, even though it’s pretty weak and the category really sucked.
Best Director this year went to Leo McCarey for The Awful Truth (which didn’t win Best Picture because it’s a comedy), which, is a good decision, only they made it for the wrong film. McCarey also directed Make Way for Tomorrow this year, which everyone (including him. He said it when he won the award) feels is the film he should have won for. Best Actress this year was Luise Rainer for The Good Earth, which I don’t like at all. Here, they had the opportunity to give an Oscar to Barabara Stanwyck, Irene Dunne and Greta Garbo, and they give it to Luise Rainer (who won the year before this) for a performance that’s just okay. It makes no sense. And Best Supporting Actress was Alice Brady for In Old Chicago, which, as I said here, I understand from a legitimization perspective, but not a category one. Andrea Leeds definitely should have won that.
So that’s why I don’t like 1937. I don’t like any of the decisions. Not one of them. And then there’s this one. I understand it, but I don’t like it.
BEST ACTOR – 1937
And the nominees were…
Charles Boyer, Conquest
Frederic March, A Star is Born
Robert Montgomery, Night Must Fall
Paul Muni, The Life of Emile Zola
Spencer Tracy, Captains Courageous (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Director – 1968
Where to begin here… I guess let’s do the recap first.
Oliver! wins Best Picture for 1968. It was the best choice among the nominees, though it was admittedly a very weak set (one of the weakest of all time). Cliff Robertson wins Best Actor for Charly (talked about here), which I feel is a bad decision, and think Peter O’Toole should have won his well-deserved Oscar instead. Best Actress was a tie between Katharine Hepburn for The Lion in Winter and Barbra Streisand for Funny Girl (talked about here). The two were the best in the category, so it works. Best Supporting Actor was Jack Albertson for The Subject Was Roses (talked about here), which is cool, though I can’t help but wish that Gene Wilder won for The Producers. And Best Supporting Actress was Ruth Gordon for Rosemary’s Baby (talked about here), which, even though I’d have gone another way, is a good decision.
I’ll get this out of the way now, which will save me time when I talk about all the nominees: this is, indeed, one of the worst decisions of all time. Stanley Kubrick should have won this in a landslide. However, this is a completely acceptable scenario, because — not only did Carol Reed win for directing the Best Picture of the year, but him not winning Best Director for The Third Man in 1950 is the single worst decision of all time in that category. So it’s only fitting that he should win his Oscar in the second worst decision of all time in the category. Sure they fucked up, but at least they remedied one of them. (Plus Kubrick got a Special Effects Oscar, so it’s not like he went totally empty-handed. And, I like the fact that he never won, because it makes me think he was above the Academy, which is something I think we’d all like to believe.)
BEST DIRECTOR – 1968
And the nominees were…
Anthony Harvey, The Lion in Winter
Stanley Kubrick, 2001: A Space Odyssey
Gillo Pontecorvo, The Battle of Algiers
Carol Reed, Oliver!
Franco Zeffirelli, Romeo and Juliet (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1985
I hate 1985. Perhaps the nadir of the 80s, this year signifies all that’s wrong with the Academy. From top to bottom, almost all the decisions they made were wrong. Out of Africa wins Best Picture, beating the far superior in every way The Color Purple, which speaks to the Academy’s preoccupation with two things: big, epic Oscar bait films, and racism. They really don’t like black people in the Academy.
Sydney Pollack wins Best Director for Out of Africa (talked about here), which may actually be an okay decision based on the category (it sucked), but the real shame here is the fact that THEY DIDN’T EVEN NOMINATE STEVEN SPIELBERG! Steven Spielberg won the DGA Award for The Color Purple, and the racist ass Academy didn’t even nominate him! How fucked up is that?
Speaking of racism, we’re not done yet. Best Actress this year went to Geraldine Page for The Trip to Bountiful (talked about here). She beat the far superior Whoopi Goldberg, in, you guessed it, The Color Purple. Three — count it — three racist decisions. Add to that Anjelica Huston winning Best Supporting Actress for Prizzi’s Honor (talked about here), which may have been racism (Oprah was certainly better than Huston was), but I’m not going to declare it as such, just because I personally thought Meg Tilly gave the best performance in the category. Oh, and William Hurt won Best Actor for Kiss of the Spider Woman (talked about here), which is the lone good decision in this shitty year.
Oh, but now there’s this category, which would be okay in most years, but here it serves to remind us of the other terrible trend in Academy voting: veteran Oscars for people who give mediocre performances and are getting statues because of their stature.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1985
And the nominees were…
Don Ameche, Cocoon
Klaus Maria Brandauer, Out of Africa
William Hickey, Prizzi’s Honor
Robert Loggia, Jagged Edge
Eric Roberts, Runaway Train (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1981
1981 is considered the worst year in Academy history. It’s not. In fact, the only part about it that’s so bad was Best Picture. Chariots of Fire is a terrible film. In fact, it’s the only bad film to ever win Best Picture (it should have even been nominated). Every other film that has won Best Picture were (taking into consideration their era) was of a certain quality. (Though, maybe Cavalcade is the other film that could be considered on the level of Chariots of Fire.) Otherwise, all the other choices were films that were good films overall — they just might have been bad choices for Best Picture. This was a film that shouldn’t have even been nominated. That’s why people consider this year so bad.
The rest of the year is actually pretty solid. Henry Fonda (finally!) wins Best Actor for On Golden Pond (talked about here). It had to happen, and was a great decision. Katharine Hepburn also wins Best Actress for the film (talked about here), which, while I’d have gone another way, is a fine decision. The category wasn’t that strong. John Gielgud wins Best Supporting Actor for Arthur (talked about here), which I absolutely love. Everything about that decision appeals to me (it’s one of my favorite films of all time, Gielgud was such a respected actor, and he was awesome in the role). And Best Director was Warren Beatty for Reds (talked about here), which is a fine decision, since Chariots of Fire could have won that too. I personally would have went with Spielberg (Raiders is awesome), but he won two later and Beatty is great.
Which brings us to this category. Supporting Actress is typically the weakest category in a given year, and this is no exception. There really isn’t a choice here, so the veteran win actually works out.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1981
And the nominees were…
Melinda Dillon, Absence of Malice
Jane Fonda, On Golden Pond
Joan Hackett, Only When I Laugh
Elizabeth McGovern, Ragtime
Maureen Stapleton, Reds (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1943
Love me some 1943. Casablanca is such a perfect choice for Best Picture, I’m amazed it won. I really am. It also won Best Director for Michael Curtiz (talked about here), which he had coming to him for a while before this, so it was nice that it worked out the way it did. Now, Best Actor this year is a decision I hate very much. In fact, I think it’s a decision most people hate very much. Because Paul Lukas, who won for Watch on the Rhine, didn’t give that great of a performance. And he beat Humphrey Bogart for Casablanca. What the fuck happened?
Best Supporting Actor this year was Charles Coburn for The More the Merrier (talked about here). And, as I said in the article, while I love the performance, Claude Rains really should have won there. But I’m okay with it (because Claude Rains should have won in 1946 if he didn’t win here. So either way, it’s the Academy’s fault). And Best Supporting Actress was Katina Paxinou for For Whom the Bell Tolls, which, is pretty much a blank, since the category is really weak. I’d have gone another way, but, it’s not that major a decision where it’s good or bad.
Which brings us to this category. The big problem here is that Ingrid Bergman wasn’t nominated for Casablanca. That’s the performance that probably should have won here. Even so, it’s possible that she still could have won based solely on the strength of her year. I don’t think so, since they gave her three Oscars after this, but it’s possible that if she won here, maybe Barbara Stanwyck could have won her well-deserved Oscar the year after this. The world may never know.
BEST ACTRESS – 1943
And the nominees were…
Jean Arthur, The More the Merrier
Ingrid Bergman, For Whom the Bell Tolls
Joan Fontaine, The Constant Nymph
Greer Garson, Madame Curie
Jennifer Jones, The Song of Bernadette (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1975
1975 is a really strong year. One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest wins Best Picture over Jaws, Barry Lyndon, Dog Day Afternoon and Nashville. All (though I’m not the biggest fan of Nashville) would have been acceptable decisions for most people. Cuckoo’s Nest also wins Best Director for Milos Forman and Best Actress for Louise Fletcher (talked about here). I love the Best Actress decision, and, while I accept the Best Director decision, I don’t particularly like it, since Sidney Lumet, Stanley Kubrick and (an un-nominated) Steven Spielberg gave better efforts than Forman did. Forman’s effort was pretty theatrical. Plus Kubrick and Lumet were already overdue by this point.
Best Supporting Actor this year was George Burns for The Sunshine Boys (talked about here), which I like as a decision. Nice way to reward a veteran who gave a great performance. And Best Supporting Actress was Lee Grant for Shampoo, which I also like, since — the category sucked. She was gonna win one at some point, and this was the logical category for her to do it.
Which brings us to this category. A very strong one, performance-wise. And the decision had to happen, however one may feel about it (but I can’t imagine anyone would actually be against it), since Nicholson was way overdue by this point and gave one of the defining performances of his career.
BEST ACTOR – 1975
And the nominees were…
Walter Matthau, The Sunshine Boys
Jack Nicholson, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Al Pacino, Dog Day Afternoon
Maximilian Schell, The Man in the Glass Booth
James Whitmore, Give ’em Hell, Harry! (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1987
Thank God we’re almost done with 1987. I hate this year. It’s not that they made bad decisions, it’s just — it’s so boring. The Last Emperor is just a boring Best Picture choice. It’s a great film, but does anybody care that it won? Bernardo Bertolucci winning Best Director for it (talked about here) is a good decision, I’ll give them that. But the film is just so boring as a Best Picture winner.
Michael Douglas won Best Actor for Wall Street (talked about here), which is a wonderful decision, and one people can’t complain about because the category is so weak. Best Actress was Cher for Moonstruck, which, as I said here, I hate as a decision. Really hate. Holly Hunter and Glenn Close were such better choices. And Best Supporting Actor was Sean Connery for The Untouchables (talked about here), which — it’s Sean Connery. Of course it’s great.
Which brings us to this category. Oh yeah, we’re looking for alternatives here. I definitely disagree with two of these nominees. And since most of the other three are so weak, I’ll sacrifice any one of those three as a third nominee. Let’s see if there were any other performances worth nominating instead — nothing. At least at first glance. Wow, this year sucked. Every decade has one, it seems.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1987
And the nominees were…
Norma Aleandro, Gaby: A True Story
Anne Archer, Fatal Attraction
Olympia Dukakis, Moonstruck
Anne Ramsey, Throw Momma from the Train
Ann Sothern, The Whales of August (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1939
1939 is the best year in the history of movies. That’s not an embellishment. 9 of the 10 Best Picture nominees are legit classic (and amazing) films (Dark Victory is just okay). Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Love Affair (later remade as An Affair to Remember), Ninotchka, Of Mice and Men, Wuthering Heights. All pretty strong, right? Yeah? Now listen to this half of the Best Picture nominees. Stagecoach. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. The Wizard of Oz. Oh, and a little film called Gone With the Wind. Yeah. It’s pretty famous.
Gone With the Wind rightfully wins Best Picture, Best Director for Victor Fleming (talked about here), Best Actress for Vivien Leigh and Best Supporting Actress for Hattie McDaniel. Automatically these are top three decisions of all time in their respective categories. (Well, maybe not Best Supporting Actress. That’s definitely a top ten, though, since she was the first black actor to win an Oscar.) This is a perfect film and deserved every award it won (and even more). Best Actor this year was Robert Donat for Goodbye, Mr. Chips, which, as I said here, is a pretty bad decision. Jimmy Stewart really should have won for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. It was so bad they blatantly gave him a makeup Oscar the year after this for a performance that should never have won an Oscar in a hundred years.
So that’s 1939. A brilliant year all around. And then we have this category, which is amazingly strong.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1939
And the nominees were…
Brian Ahene, Juarez
Harry Carey, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Brian Donlevy, Beau Geste
Thomas Mitchell, Stagecoach
Claude Rains, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (more…)
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