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

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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 Read the rest of this page »