The Oscar Quest: Best Director – 1927-1928 (Comedy & Dramatic)
(Note: THIS CATEGORY IS NOT FINISHED. I still need to watch one of the nominees. I still have not been able to find Sorrell and Son in any cheap/acceptable format. If anyone has it or knows where it can be procured, let me know, so this category can be finished.)
The very first Best Director category. It’s split up into two. So we’ll deal with one then go into the other one afterward. First let’s recap the year.
Best Picture was also split into two categories. The “Outstanding Production” of the year was Wings, while the “Unique or Artistic Production” went to Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans. Then Best Actor was Emil Jannings for The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh (talked about here). And Best Actress was Janet Gaynor for Seventh Heaven, Street Angel and Sunrise (talked about here). All of them are good decisions.
And these categories — based on what was nominated (for the first one), or simply based on the effort (the second one), they were both good choices (the second being really good).
BEST DIRECTOR – 1927-1928 (Comedy)
And the nominees were…
Lewis Milestone, Two Arabian Knights
Ted Wilde, Speedy (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Director – 1928-1929
(Note: THIS CATEGORY IS NOT FINISHED. I still need to watch one of the nominees. I still have not been able to find Drag in any cheap/acceptable format. If anyone has it or knows where it can be procured, let me know, so this category can be finished.)
1928-1929 is the second year of the Oscars, one where there were no official nominees. They just mailed out ballots and whoever got the most votes won, and the unofficial nominees were the people who got the most votes. These were them for the Best Director category.
As for the rest of the year — The Broadway Melody wins Best Picture, because it was the film to best utilize the wonderful new technology called sound, Warner Baxter wins Best Actor for In Old Arizona (talked about here), quite possibly the least interesting or cared about category ever, and Mary Pickford wins Best Actress for Coquette (talked about here), which is a great historical decision that helped to legitimize the category. That’s it, really.
Remember, we’re working on a different set of rules for these categories than we would for contemporary ones. Though, even with the different set of rules, I really can’t understand this one. Not even a little bit. You just invented sound — why wouldn’t you give Best Director to a sound film? Or even if not, why would you give it to that film? (Though, admittedly, he was nominated three times, so maybe that had something to do with it.)
BEST DIRECTOR – 1928-1929
And the nominees were…
Lionel Barrymore, Madame X
Harry Beaumont, The Broadway Melody
Irving Cummings, In Old Arizona
Frank Lloyd, The Divine Lady & Drag & Weary River
Ernst Lubitsch, The Patriot (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1955
1955 is a bit of a forgotten year in Academy history. Mostly because it’s small. A small film won the big awards, and the rest of the awards aren’t particularly memorable. So most people tend to overlook it.
Marty wins Best Picture, Best Director for Delbert Mann (talked about here), and Best Actor for Ernest Borgnine (talked about here). I love all the decisions, mostly because I love Marty, and because the year was very weak, and I think it was the best film in the bunch. (Could have done without Best Director, but whatever. James L. Brooks won for his film, so it’s not like it hasn’t happened.)
Best Actress was Anna Magnani for The Rose Tattoo (talked about here), which I don’t like because she’s not really an actress who needs an Academy Award, plus I felt Susan Hayward was much better in I’ll Cry Tomorrow, and if she’d won here, she wouldn’t have had to win in 1958 and then either Deborah Kerr or Rosalind Russell or Elizabeth Taylor could have won. (Kerr and Russell never won Oscars, and if Taylor won that year, she wouldn’t have had to win in 1960, and then Shirley MacLaine, the fifth nominee in 1958, could have won. Amazing what one decision can do, huh?) Oh, and Jo Van Fleet won Best Supporting Actress for East of Eden (talked about here). I understand it, but I went another way.
And then this category — meh. Pretty weak. But, Jack Lemmon is awesome. So he makes this feel a bit better.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1955
And the nominees were…
Arthur Kennedy, Trial
Jack Lemmon, Mister Roberts
Joe Mantell, Marty
Sal Mineo, Rebel Without a Cause
Arthur O’Connell, Picnic (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1956
I don’t really like 1956. I hate almost all the decisions. Save two.
Around the World in 80 Days wins Best Picture. Mostly people don’t like this one. It’s definitely not the weakest ever, because I can at least understand why they’d vote for it, but, Giant is such a better film. On so many levels. So I don’t like that one. And I don’t like Best Actor, which went to Yul Brynner for The King and I (talked about here). I like Yul Brynner, and I like that he has an Oscar, but, for a variety of reasons explained in the article, I don’t think he should have won. I also despise the Best Actress choice for the year, which was Ingrid Bergman for Anastasia. You can read all the reasons I hate that decision here.
The two decisions I do like from 1956 were Best Supporting Actress, which went to Dorothy Malone for Written on the Wind (talked about here), which I really like (even though the category was tough to call), and Best Director, which went to George Stevens for Giant (talked about here), which is seriously one of the most gorgeously shot films of all time.
Now, this category — I don’t like. And it has nothing (really) to do with who won. It’s just — I felt the category was weak, the performance was barely worth an Oscar, plus, he had one already. Add to that a film and an actor I really like not winning, and it adds up to me just not liking this one.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1956
And the nominees were…
Don Murray, Bus Stop
Anthony Perkins, Friendly Persuasion
Anthony Quinn, Lust for Life
Mickey Rooney, The Bold and the Brave
Robert Stack, Written on the Wind (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1963
I really don’t like 1963. In fact, I might go so far as to call it the single weakest year in the history of the Academy Awards. It has a weak Best Picture winner — Tom Jones — among a weak set of nominees, a weak Best Director winner — Tony Richardson for Tom Jones (talked about here) — a weak Best Actor winner — Sidney Poitier for Lilies of the Field (talked about here), which is a decision that is great historically, but I feel is weak because it’s basically like the mostly white Academy giving a black actor an Oscar on their own terms. Poitier played so many great roles, many of which were worth Oscars, yet they gave him an Oscar for playing a magical negro.
The year also features a weak Best Actress winner — Patricia Neal for Hud (talked about here), which I hate as a decision for many reasons, as talked about in the article — and a weak Best Supporting Actress winner — Margaret Rutherford for The V.I.P.s (talked about here), which is actually an okay decision, but the category was weak as hell and was crippled by three Tom Jones nominations.
The lone good decision from 1963 comes from this category (and even this one is slightly, ever so, but still, tainted by the terrible second win by Douglas in 1979). When your only good decision comes from the Best Supporting Actor category, you’re one shitty Oscar year.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1963
And the nominees were…
Nick Adams, Twilight of Honor
Bobby Darin, Captain Newman, M.D.
Melvyn Douglas, Hud
Hugh Griffith, Tom Jones
John Huston, The Cardinal (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1929-1930
1929-1930 is the first great Best Picture winner. Sure, Wings and Sunrise are great, but they were the first ones, and the fact that they were separate kind of detracts from them. But All Quiet on the Western Front is really the first great Best Picture winner. It also won Best Director for Lewis Milestone. You can read my way too in depth analysis of why it’s an amazing decision here.
Best Actress for this year was Norma Shearer for The Divorcee (talked about here). It seems to have been the best decision in the category. Most people think Garbo should have won, her being the bigger star, but I think Shearer was the more respected actress. Honestly, I just accept that Shearer won and leave it at that.
Since there are no Supporting categories in the early years, they’re mainly judged by their Best Picture choices. This is a particularly great one. As for this category — this is actually a good choice. Sure, we all love Maurice Chevalier, but the biopic performance has been a standard Oscar winner for years and years. It’s nice to see one in the early years.
BEST ACTOR – 1929-1930
And the nominees were…
George Arliss, Disraeli & The Green Goddess
Wallace Beery, The Big House
Maurice Chevalier, The Big Pond & The Love Parade
Ronald Colman, Bulldog Drummond & Condemned
Lawrence Tibbett, The Rogue Song (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1928-1929
(Note: THIS CATEGORY IS NOT FINISHED. I still need to watch one of the nominees. I still have not been able to find The Barker in any cheap/acceptable format. If anyone has it or knows where it can be procured, let me know, so this category can be finished.)
1928-1929 is a unique year in Oscar history. It’s the only year without any official Oscar nominees. Which means (I guess), everyone was sent a ballot, and just voted. And whoever won, won. Interesting way to do it. Then again, it is the second one. I guess they were seeing what worked.
The Broadway Melody wins Best Picture, mostly because it was the only film among the “nominees” (which is basically the set of films that got the most votes, I guess) that used sound the best. Frank Lloyd won Best Director for The Divine Lady, which I don’t much understand. Why they’d give a non-sound film Best Director is beyond me. And Best Actor was Warner Baxter for In Old Arizona (talked about here). The transition to sound made it tough to gauge performances, so we pretty much just ignore this decision. (Though, Baxter did do some good work in the 30s, so it actually kind of worked out.)
This category — pretty much a blank except — Mary Pickford was the biggest star in Hollywood from like, 1915 through this point. Her and Douglas Fairbanks were basically considered ambassadors from Hollywood to the world. So it makes perfect sense that they’d go and give her an Oscar. Again — you have to treat these categories differently from how things normally work nowadays, because here, it’s all about legitimizing the awards. They’re just getting started, and they want to award what they think is best. And who better to award than your biggest star?
BEST ACTRESS – 1928-1929
And the nominees were…
Ruth Chatterton, Madame X
Betty Compson, The Barker
Jeanne Eagels, The Letter
Corinne Griffith, The Divine Lady
Bessie Love, The Broadway Melody
Mary Pickford, Coquette (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1927-1928
(Note: THIS CATEGORY IS NOT FINISHED. I still need to watch one of the nominees. I still have not been able to find The Noose in any cheap/acceptable format. If anyone has it or knows where it can be procured, let me know, so this category can be finished.)
Ah, the very first Best Actor category. Talk about a completely different set of rules than normal. These were the first Oscars ever. The winners were announced in advance and the awards were given at a small dinner event. And there were only like three nominees in each category! Two here! It’s crazy.
Anyway, the Best Picture for this year was — well, there were two. The “Outstanding Picture, Production” award, went to Wings, and the “Unique and Artistic Production” award went to Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (I love using that subtitle). Most people call Wings the first Best Picture winner, mostly because — between art and business, Hollywood always chooses business.
Best Director this year was split into two categories as well. First was for Comedy, which went to Lewis Milestone for Two Arabian Knights, and the other was for Dramatic, which went to Frank Borzage, for Seventh Heaven. And then Best Actress went to Janet Gaynor, for Seventh Heaven, Street Angel, and Sunrise (talked about here). I rank that decision a top ten decision for all time.
So then we have this one. This was a no-brainer, because Emil Jannings was considered the best silent film actor working (remember, actor and comedian are two different things in 1928). Of course he was gonna get the first Best Actor Oscar. It’s like if they created a “Most Universally Liked” actor award today, and your top finishers would be Johnny Depp, Robert Downey Jr. and George Clooney. What a surprise.
BEST ACTOR – 1927-1928
And the nominees were…
Richard Barthelmess, The Noose & The Patent Leather Kid
Emil Jannings, The Last Command & The Way of All Flesh (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1929-1930
I call 1929-1930 the year with the first real (or is it great? Either way, really…) Best Picture winner. There aren’t any real definitive Best Picture winners for the first decade, really. I mean, Wings, but there you have the confusion of two winners. But here — All Quiet on the Western Front. A definitive winner. And something you can point to as an “Oscar” film, too. We wouldn’t get another one of these until The Great Ziegfeld, and then Gone With the Wind. (Though, It Happened One Night is also a real Best Picture winner.) The rest just feel like decisions. You know?
Lewis Milestone also won Best Director for All Quiet on the Western Front (talked about here), which is a top ten decision for all time. And George Arliss won Best Actor for Disraeli, which is actually a strong decision, historically, based on all it represents.
And then this category — I don’t really know what to do with it. I really don’t like any of the nominees. So it’s pretty much a crap shoot. (Note the pun.)
BEST ACTRESS – 1929-1930
And the nominees were…
Nancy Carroll. The Devil’s Holiday
Ruth Chatterton, Sarah and Son
Greta Garbo, Anna Christie & Romance
Norma Shearer, The Divorcée & Their Own Desire
Gloria Swanson, The Trespasser (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1951
Love me some 1951. Some of the decisions are a bit — not great — but honestly, the way I’d have voted it, I’d have given everything to one film. And I mean everything.
An American in Paris wins Best Picture. Not the worst choice, but not a particularly great one, either. I, personally, would have gone with A Streetcar Named Desire, which won this category, Best Supporting Actor for Karl Malden (talked about here) and Best Supporting Actress for Kim Hunter (talked about here). Best Actor was Humphrey Bogart for The African Queen (talked about here), beating Brando for Streetcar, and somehow being okay in the process. And Best Director was George Stevens for A Place in the Sun (talked about here), a decision I really just don’t like at all. Not even a little bit.
And this category — Vivien Leigh is like Daniel Day-Lewis. When she’s on — there’s no other choice. Wow.
BEST ACTRESS – 1951
And the nominees were…
Katharine Hepburn, The African Queen
Vivien Leigh, A Streetcar Named Desire
Eleanor Parker, Detective Story
Shelley Winters, A Place in the Sun
Jane Wyman, The Blue Veil (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1935
I’m not the biggest fan of 1935. It’s strange to me how the Academy could choose a film for so many awards and not give it Best Picture. The Informer wins Best Director for John Ford (talked about here), Band this category (and even Best Screenplay), and yet, Mutiny on the Bounty wins Best Picture. It’s the only film to only win Best Picture and nothing else despite being nominated for other awards. That’s what makes it so strange.
The other award — remember, no Supporting categories yet. That’s the year after this — was Best Actress, which went to Bette Davis for Dangerous (talked about here). That’s largely a blatant makeup Oscar of Jimmy Stewart proportions. It’s acceptable, because it didn’t interrupt all that much, but I hate the decision. It’s far too blatant and short-sighted.
Which brings us to this category. I love it. I love it so much. Thank god Laughton had an Oscar already, because otherwise this might not have happened. And it deserved to happen. McLaglen was amazing.
BEST ACTOR – 1935
And the nominees were…
Clark Gable, Mutiny on the Bounty
Charles Laughton, Mutiny on the Bounty
Victor McLaglen, The Informer
Paul Muni, Black Fury
Franchot Tone, Mutiny on the Bounty (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1938
I don’t like 1938. As I’ve said on a number of occasions, it feels like a year where the Academy said, “We don’t know what to do…well, what worked for us before?” and went with that.
You Can’t Take It with You wins Best Picture and Best Director for Frank Capra (talked about here). It feels like they were trying to recapture that 1934 magic. It feels weak and insincere. Best Actor was Spencer Tracy for Boys Town (talked about here), which I consider the single weakest Best Actor-winning performance of all time. Not the worst decision of all time, just performance that won. Best Actress was Bette Davis for Jezebel (talked about here), which I also don’t like but can sort of accept. And Best Supporting Actor was Walter Brennan for Kentucky (talked about here), which is pretty weak and feels like them saying, “What do we do? Well, we like Brennan, let’s vote for him.”
And this category — this one I actually like. Mostly because it’s weak, and because Fay Bainter was also nominated for Best Actress this year, and I feel the two performances easily add up to one award. And this one was the right one, I felt.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1938
And the nominees were…
Fay Bainter, Jezebel
Beulah Bondi, Of Human Hearts
Billie Burke, Merrily We Live
Spring Byington, You Can’t Take It With You
Miliza Korjus, The Great Waltz (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1983
1983 is one of the not dull spots of the 80s. It’s not particularly bright, but it’s — cheap fluorescent. I’ll take that.
Terms of Endearment wins Best Picture, which is not a terrible choice (though I loved The Right Stuff so much more), considering the weak set of nominees, but it is a weak Best Picture choice, considering many of the films that won the award. It also won Best Director for James L. Brooks (talked about here), which makes sense, since Phillip Kaufman inexplicably wasn’t nominated, Best Actress for Shirley MacLaine (talked about here), which was 23 years overdue, and Best Supporting Actor for Jack Nicholson (talked about here), which I don’t understand past, “It’s Jack, we have to vote for him.” I go Sam Shepard all the way there.
The other non-Endearment winner this year, besides this category was Best Supporting Actress, which went to Linda Hunt for The Year of Living Dangerously (talked about here). In case you don’t know or haven’t seen the film — she plays a man! And nobody notices!
Okay, that brings us to this category. It had to happen. I don’t love the performance (much the way I didn’t love Jeff Bridges’ country singer Oscar winner performance (you know you loved those rhymes)), but (more so than the Bridges one) this had to happen because — Duvall’s snub in 1979 was so bad, so horrible, that he should have won for any performance he gave this year, whatever it was. (Sorry Michael Caine, but, blame the Academy. Though he got two awards later on, so he came out all right.)
BEST ACTOR – 1983
And the nominees were…
Michael Caine, Educating Rita
Tom Conti, Reuben, Reuben
Tom Courtenay, The Dresser
Robert Duvall, Tender Mercies
Albert Finney, The Dresser (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1958
I hate talking about 1958. It’s so — middling. All the nominees for Best Picture feel weak. And the winner is just — fluff. Gigi is a fine film and all, but it shouldn’t have won Best Picture. None of the nominees really should have. The Defiant Ones was probably the best choice among the bunch.
Vincente Minnelli won Best Director for Gigi (talked about here), which actually was a good decision. The dude was owed two by this point. David Niven wins Best Actor for Separate Tables (talked about here) and Wendy Hiller wins Best Supporting Actor for the film as well (talked about here). Both were veteran Oscars and are acceptable to varying degrees. And Best Actress was Susan Hayward for I Want to Live! (talked about here), which she’d earned by this point. I just wish she’d won earlier and someone else could have won here (especially since Deborah Kerr and Rosalind Russell never won Oscars, and if Elizabeth Taylor won here she wouldn’t have had to win in 1960).
And then this category. I fucking love this category. So much. I’d have wanted to vote for Burl Ives without having seen the performance. But having seen it, and the other performance he gave this year that he wasn’t nominated for — oh man, does he win this in a landslide. What a great decision for all time.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1958
And the nominees were…
Theodore Bikel, The Defiant Ones
Lee J. Cobb, The Brothers Karamazov
Burl Ives, The Big Country
Arthur Kennedy, Some Came Running
Gig Young, Teacher’s Pet (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1961
1961 is one of those years that’s so good that you can afford to get upset with it. I sometimes go off about how much I think I don’t like it, and then I realize, “Shit, I’m arguing between two or even three great films.”
West Side Story wins Best Picture, Best Director for Robert Wise & Jerome Robbins (talked about here), Best Supporting Actor for George Chakiris (talked about here) and Best Supporting Actress for Rita Moreno (talked about here). All would be perfect decisions in almost any year but this one. This one, however, has at least two other strong nominees in all the categories, which leads to situations where you think the winners weren’t good decisions.
Best Actress this year was Sophia Loren for Two Women (talked about here). I won’t get into it too much, but — I just don’t like it. I don’t.
And this category — the other one I really don’t like. This, to me, is one of the top five worst Best Actor decisions of all time. It’s horrible. Sure, they sort of made up for it, but the snub in and of itself is Unforgivable.
BEST ACTOR – 1961
And the nominees were…
Charles Boyer, Fanny
Paul Newman, The Hustler
Maximilian Schell, Judgment at Nuremberg
Spencer Tracy, Judgment at Nuremberg
Stuart Whitman, The Mark (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1930-1931
1930-1931 is one of the early years. Different set of rules.
Cimarron wins Best Picture. The first Western to win, and, honestly, a decent choice. I’d have probably went another way, but it’s a matter of personal preference. Cimarron is an epic western, takes place over a number of years, is based on a best-selling book — it’s a good choice. Best Actor was Lionel Barrymore for A Free Soul (talked about here). He was a respected actor, and was a good choice for a year that was about legitimizing the awards. I wouldn’t have voted for it, but it makes sense. And Norman Taurog wins Best Director for Skippy (talked about here), which is a terrific, terrific decision, and one of my favorites of all time.
Okay, now we’re at this one. Tough call. Like I said — different set of rules. The rules dictate that the most respected/popular actors of the day win, in order to legitimize the award. You have Janet Gaynor, Mary Pickford, Norma Shearer winning — and here, Marie Dressler, the most popular star in Hollywood (at age 60, to boot), is nominated. Of course she’s going to win. But does that mean it was the right decision? I don’t know.
BEST ACTRESS – 1930-1931
And the nominees were…
Marlene Dietrich, Morocco
Marie Dressler, Min and Bill
Irene Dunne, Cimarron
Ann Harding, Holiday
Norma Shearer, A Free Soul (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1975
1975 is a pretty basic Academy year. No need to get complicated with it.
One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest wins Best Picture, Best Actor for Jack Nicholson (talked about here), Best Actress for Louise Fletcher (talked about here), and Best Director for Milos Forman (talked about here). All are great in their own way, though I didn’t think Best Director was absolutely necessary, even though it makes sense. And Best Supporting Actor was George Burns for The Sunshine Boys (talked about here). Great veteran Oscar.
So that leaves this category. Whoa, is it weak. Really weak. Fortunately, they made the best decision, so it worked out.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1975
And the nominees were…
Ronee Blakley, Nashville
Lee Grant, Shampoo
Sylvia Miles, Farewell, My Lovely
Lily Tomlin, Nashville
Brenda Vaccaro, Jacqueline Susann’s Once Is Not Enough (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1998
I deliberately held back on this one. This is a major category that a lot of people have strong opinions on. So of course I was gonna hold back on it. Anticipation is key.
As for 1998 — Shakespeare in Love wins Best Picture, Best Actress for Gwyneth Paltrow (talked about here) and Best Supporting Actress for Judi Dench (talked about here). Steven Spielberg wins Best Director for Saving Private Ryan (talked about here), and James Coburn wins Best Supporting Actor for Affliction (talked about here). I think everyone knows these categories pretty well. No need to editorialize in this intro.
Now this one. Obviously a sore spot for many people. I think we all understand that Roberto Benigni was one of the worst choices ever in this category. That’s not really the part people argue over. The part people argue over is who should have won instead. Some people say Edward Norton, some say Ian McKellen. Which do I take? You’ll have to keep reading to find out…
Look at me, mysterious fucker.
BEST ACTOR – 1998
And the nominees were…
Roberto Benigni, Life is Beautiful
Tom Hanks, Saving Private Ryan
Ian McKellen, Gods and Monsters
Nick Nolte, Affliction
Edward Norton, American History X (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Director – 1986
1986. One of the lone brights spots in the black hole that is the 1980s. God, I fucking hate this decade.
Platoon wins Best Picture and this category. Paul Newman (finally!) wins Best Actor for The Color of Money (talked about here). Marlee Matlin wins Best Actress for Children of a Lesser God (talked about here). Michael Caine and Dianne Wiest win Best Supporting Actor (talked about here) and Best Supporting Actress (talked about here), respectively, for Hannah and Her Sisters. I like all the decisions except the Supporting ones. But even those I’m somewhat okay with.
As for this category — really obvious. Best decision in the category. I understand a David Lynch vote, but all things considered, the simple result in itself is very acceptable. And that’s what counts, really.
BEST DIRECTOR – 1986
And the nominees were…
Woody Allen, Hannah and Her Sisters
James Ivory, A Room with a View
Roland Joffé, The Mission
David Lynch, Blue Velvet
Oliver Stone, Platoon (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1967
I love 1967, but I don’t necessarily love all the choices they made, Oscar-wise. At least in the sense of what people see. And what do people see when they look at 1967? In the Heat of the Night wins Best Picture. Which I feel is a bad choice, among a field of nominees that includes Bonnie and Clyde, The Graduate and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.
Fortunately, though, the rest of the year is spread out pretty well. Katharine Hepburn wins Best Actress for Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (talked about here), George Kennedy wins Best Supporting Actor for Cool Hand Luke (talked about here), Estelle Parsons wins Best Supporting Actress for Bonnie and Clyde (talked about here), and Mike Nichols wins Best Director for The Graduate (talked about here). Nice way of spreading the wealth. Still, though, I’m not sure it makes up for the fact that the figurehead decision for the year is weak.
And then this category — a lot of people might have problems with it. And I understand that. But actually this is a very solid decision, and one that’s backed up by history (a bit). It also helps to lessen (slightly) the blow of the film winning Best Picture. So I’m actually okay with it (which I didn’t think would be the case).
BEST ACTOR – 1967
And the nominees were…
Warren Beatty, Bonnie and Clyde
Dustin Hoffman, The Graduate
Paul Newman, Cool Hand Luke
Rod Steiger, In the Heat of the Night
Spencer Tracy, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1941
Oh boy — 1941 again. Let’s just cover it like this. Citizen Kane lost. That covers all the editorializing that needs to be done.
How Green Was My Valley wins Best Picture, Best Director for John Ford (talked about here), and Best Supporting Actor for Donald Crisp (talked about here). Best Actor was Gary Cooper for Sergeant York (talked about here), and Best Actress was Joan Fontaine for Suspicion (talked about here). Those are what they are.
And we end with this one, which — while it’s not for the right film at all, is a really great decision.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1941
And the nominees were…
Sara Allgood, How Green Was My Valley
Mary Astor, The Great Lie
Patricia Collinge, The Little Foxes
Teresa Wright, The Little Foxes
Margaret Wychery, Sergeant York (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1971
Love 1971. Here’s a real 70s year. Best Picture was The French Connection, and William Friedkin won Best Director for it (talked about here), and Gene Hackman won Best Actor for it (talked about here). All perfect decisions.
Then Ben Johnson and Cloris Leachman won Best Supporting Actor (talked about here) and Best Supporting Actress (talked about here), respectively, for The Last Picture Show.
Whether I like the decisions or not (and I largely like them), this is a very 70s year. And that’s awesome.
And this category is no different. Great 70s decision, and a great award for a great actress.
BEST ACTRESS – 1971
And the nominees were…
Julie Christie, McCabe & Mrs. Miller
Jane Fonda, Klute
Glenda Jackson, Sunday Bloody Sunday
Vanessa Redgrave, Mary, Queen of Scots
Janet Suzman, Nicholas and Alexandra (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1942
I call 1942 an “of course” year. Because of course a film like Mrs. Miniver would win Best Picture in a year like this. Middle of the war — film about a family dealing with war — of course it would win.
William Wyler won Best Director for the film (talked about here), Greer Garson won Best Actress for it (talked about here), and Teresa Wright won Best Supporting Actress for it (talked about here). And James Cagney won Best Actor for Yankee Doodle Dandy (talked about here). All decisions ranging from good to great.
But this category — holy shit is it bad. One of the single weakest — if not the weakest — Best Supporting Actor categories of all time. It’s really, really awful. And it’s so bad, that — honestly it didn’t matter who won. It’s that bad. I skip over this one constantly. It’s like that one family member everyone forgets to invite to stuff. You know — what’s his name. Who sucks.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1942
And the nominees were…
William Bendix, Wake Island
Van Heflin, Johnny Eager
Walter Huston, Yankee Doodle Dandy
Frank Morgan, Tortilla Flat
Henry Travers, Mrs. Miniver (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1980
God, I hate 1980. And that hate can be summed up in two words: Ordinary People. Or, more appropriately, “Fucking Academy…”
Ordinary People wins Best Picture and Best Director for Robert Redford (talked about here) over Raging Bull. Yeah…
Timothy Hutton also won Best Supporting Actor for the film (talked about here), which is actually a good decision, all thing’s considered. Sissy Spacek wins Best Actress for Coal Miner’s Daughter (talked about here), which I’m all for. And Mary Steenburgen wins Best Supporting Actress for Melvin and Howard (talked about here), which I guess is acceptable, even though I have my reservations.
And then there’s this category. Do I even need to say anything?
BEST ACTOR – 1980
And the nominees were…
Robert De Niro, Raging Bull
Robert Duvall, The Great Santini
John Hurt, The Elephant Man
Jack Lemmon, Tribute
Peter O’Toole, The Stunt Man (more…)
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