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The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1947

1947 is so boring. There’s nothing interesting about it. The nominees were just so weak. Sure, Gentleman’s Agreement was a solid Best Picture choice, but the field was so weak. Elia Kazan won Best Director for the film (talked about here) and Celeste Holm won Best Supporting Actress for it (talked about here), both of which were great decisions.

Best Actress this year was Loretta Young for The Farmer’s Daughter (talked about here), which is one of the worst Best Actress decisions of all time. Rosalind Russell was so horribly snubbed here it’s ridiculous. Awful, awful decision. And Best Supporting Actor was Edmund Gwenn for Miracle on 34th Street (talked about here), which — he played Santa Claus. End of story.

And then we have this category, which is career achievement Oscar, and one that actually works out, because the category wasn’t that strong, and the performance reads very well (as one that would win an Oscar) even though the actual performance is a bit overdone. So it’s actually not that bad.

BEST ACTOR – 1947

And the nominees were…

Ronald Colman, A Double Life

John Garfield, Body and Soul

Gregory Peck, Gentleman’s Agreement

William Powell, Life with Father

Michael Redgrave, Mourning Becomes Electra Read the rest of this page »

The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1969

Love 1969. Because, as I always say, it’s the year 1967 took effect. Finally, we get a down and dirty film winning Best Picture. Midnight Cowboy is that film. And although I’d have gone with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid for Best Picture (it’s a favorite), Midnight Cowboy was a great choice. John Schlesinger also won a well-deserved Best Director statue for the film (talked about here).

Best Actor this year was John Wayne for True Grit (talked about here). I can sum this up by saying: It’s John Wayne. Best Actress was Maggie Smith for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. This is complicated for me, so you can just read my thoughts on it here. And Best Supporting Actor was Gig Young for They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (talked about here), which was a good decision.

So, strong year, and we get this category, which — have I got a performance here I can’t wait for you to see.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1969

And the nominees were…

Catherine Burns, Last Summer

Dyan Cannon, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice

Goldie Hawn, Cactus Flower

Sylvia Miles, Midnight Cowboy

Susannah York, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Read the rest of this page »