The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1960
I love 1960. To me, it’s one of the best years in Academy history. Maybe that’s because one of my favorite films of all time won Best Picture. Might have something to do with it. The Apartment is a film I love dearly. I love that it won. It’s perfect. Billy Wilder winning Best Director? I like it, but, as I said here, it probably wasn’t the best of the decisions that could have been made. (Juuusst a bit outside.)
Then, Best Actress was Elizabeth Taylor for BUtterfield 8, which I talked about here, so I won’t get into it too much, but, the gist of it is, Shirley MacLaine should have won. Read the article to get the full scoop. Then Best Supporting Actor was Peter Ustinov for Spartacus, and Best Supporting Actress was Shirley Jones for Elmer Gantry. All in all, pretty much every decision here was solid. And then there’s this category, which, while I do have a sentimental favorite, is a well-deserved Oscar to a much-deserved actor for a fantastic performance.
BEST ACTOR – 1960
And the nominees were…
Trevor Howard, Sons and Lovers
Burt Lancaster, Elmer Gantry
Jack Lemmon, The Apartment
Laurence Olivier, The Entertainer
Spencer Tracy, Inherit the Wind (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1998
1998 is a year that will live in Academy infamy. Shakespeare in Love, Saving Private Ryan. Still, people argue over this. I, personally, don’t have a problem with the choice. Sure, I’d have chosen differently, but, who cares? The Best Director split, with Steven Spielberg winning for Ryan really let you know that it didn’t matter. (Which is why I feel 2010 will go down as being a worse decision. There was no split.)
Then, Best Actor this year — whoa boy — was Roberto Benigni for Life is Beautiful, which is one of the worst single decisions of all time in the Best Actor category (probably the worst, though I have weird issues with things and would probably (incorrectly) put it second. Still, it’s bad). Best Supporting Actor was James Coburn for Affliction, which, was a bad choice, but it was a veteran Oscar and James Coburn is awesome, so we can’t really gripe too much. Then Best Supporting Actress was Judi Dench for Shakespeare in Love, mostly because she was clearly the most likable performance in the category (and probably because she lost Best Actress the year before this). She was awesome.
And then, there was this category, which people are still talking about. I’ll admit — based on the actresses, yeah, Cate Blanchett probably should have won over Gwyneth. But, honestly, this probably comes down to the same thing 1997 came down to — there was one likable (albeit light) performance against one ho hum, boring, period piece. And when there are so many period pieces getting nominated, people are gonna be like, “Jesus, stop making me eat the fucking asparagus. I want some goddamn cookies.” And cookies are something I can get behind.
BEST ACTRESS – 1998
And the nominees were…
Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth
Fernanda Montenegro, Central Station
Gwyneth Paltrow, Shakespeare in Love
Meryl Streep, One True Thing
Emily Watson, Hilary and Jackie (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1997
1997 is so simple to recap. Titanic. ‘Nuff said. Whether you agree with the decision or not, you can understand why it won. And why James Cameron won Best Director for it (talked about here). Then Jack Nicholson winning Best Actor for As Good as It Gets, makes sense based on his category. Plus, he was so goddamn enjoyable in the role. Then Best Supporting Actor (talked about here) was Robin Williams for Good Will Hunting, and Best Supporting Actress (talked about here) was Kim Basinger for L.A. Confidential. In all, a solid (and diverse) set of choices.
As for this category, it’s one of those ones that is looked at negatively, after the fact. Not that Helen Hunt wasn’t charming and all, it’s just — she beat Judi Dench. Other people would say Helena Bonham Carter, but most people say Judi. It’s a tough call, the category’s not that strong, and there isn’t really a #1 performance. Although, the current result does help perpetuate a nice bit of trivia, which is — all three times Jack Nicholson has won an Oscar (1975, 1983 and here), his female co-star in the film also won Best Actress for the film. And that coincidence might be worth the result. Maybe. I don’t know. I consider this mostly a blank. Does it really matter so much what happened here?
BEST ACTRESS – 1997
And the nominees were…
Helena Bonham Carter, The Wings of the Dove
Julie Christie, Afterglow
Judi Dench, Mrs. Brown
Helen Hunt, As Good As It Gets
Kate Winslet, Titanic (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1996
I’m well on the record about how much I hate 1996. I mean, The English Patient beats Fargo for Best Picture. And it’s not even a good movie. Anthony Minghella wins Best Director for it (talked about here), and Juliette Binoche wins Best Supporting Actress for it. That’s really the only one of its awards I agree with. Otherwise — seriously, what the fuck, Academy?
Then, Geoffrey Rush wins Best Actor for Shine, in what I consider one of the worst Best Actor decisions of all time (explained here) and Cuba Gooding Jr. wins Best Supporting Actor for Jerry Maguire. Which, funny thing about that (and that article, which is here) — I’m currently in the situation that a lot of Academy voters are probably in now. When I wrote the article, I was like, “I know Bill Macy should really win this, I know he was the better choice, he’s had the better career, he should have the Oscar — gaah, I’m going with Cuba Gooding. He’s just so charming in the role!” And now, I’m like, “Fuck, I totally should have taken Bill Macy.” It’s kind of fitting, actually.
And then, we have this category, which, for me, is one of the toughest things in the world. Because, you have three amazing performances. All for different reasons. And the one that won, while it was great, and it was my favorite, isn’t really the best performance of the bunch. And yet — it’s Marge. It’s, “dont’cha know” and “oh yah, you betcha.” It’s so difficult, because, I love the performance and I know that there were better choices. This category is tearing me apart! (Note: That counts as both a Room reference and a Rebel Without a Cause reference.)
BEST ACTRESS – 1996
And the nominees were…
Brenda Blethyn, Secrets & Lies
Diane Keaton, Marvin’s Room
Frances McDormand, Fargo
Kristin Scott Thomas, The English Patient
Emily Watson, Breaking the Waves (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1995
I get in a lot of trouble with 1995. It’s one of those things where — whenever I disagree with the majority, and don’t like something everyone loves, I keep my mouth shut. It’s a no-win situation. If they find out you don’t like something, they start attacking you, because why don’t you like it? And why do you like that other piece of shit instead? And it get malicious. And who needs that? So I just keep quiet. But here is kind of where a few of those things I don’t like come to light. There are two films in particular here that people seem to love that I just don’t.
Braveheart wins Best Picture, which, I don’t really think was a great decision. Braveheart is a great film, but, I think Apollo 13 was a better film (based on the nominees). Just because, each has its problems, and I find Apollo 13 to be the more watchable film and the one that holds up better. Braveheart‘s a little too romanticized for me. And people love that film, which is why I hate to speak ill of it. But, it really shouldn’t have won. And Mel shouldn’t really have won Best Director for it. But since Ron Howard wasn’t nominated (which I talked about here), it was a good decision. Then, Best Actor was Nicolas Cage for Leaving Las Vegas, which I think was a great (albeit tough) decision (which I talked about here). Best Supporting Actor was Kevin Spacey for The Usual Suspects, which speaks for itself. And Best Supporting Actress was Mira Sorvino for Mighty Aphrodite, which I’m over the moon about (as I said here). So that’s 1995. In all, a very good year.
Now, my main dissension that shows with this year is in thinking Braveheart shouldn’t have won Best Picture, and here. I just don’t like Dead Man Walking. People just love saying that Sean Penn should have won Best Actor for it, and think Sarandon winning was a great decision. And I just don’t get it. I mean, the film was fine, but, I don’t think it should have won anything it won. And that’s where most people get upset. But, I’m gonna be honest with you, I just don’t see what the appeal with the film and that performance is.
BEST ACTRESS – 1995
And the nominees were…
Susan Sarandon, Dead Man Walking
Elisabeth Shue, Leaving Las Vegas
Sharon Stone, Casino
Meryl Streep, The Bridges of Madison County
Emma Thompson, Sense and Sensibility (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1994
Well, this is definitely one of the more contentious years in recent memory. I guess that’s standard when three of your Best Picture nominees are Forrest Gump, Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption. Everyone’s gonna have an opinion on that. I won’t get into it here, past, Forrest Gump wins Best Picture and Best Director for Robert Zemeckis. Tom Hanks also wins Best Actor for the film. Whatever your opinions are about the film and Zemeckis winning, you can’t really deny that Hanks did a great job with the role.
Then, Best Supporting Actor was Martin Landau for Ed Wood, which was a good decision, but also a tough one, since his category was so tough (it also included Gary Sinise as Lieutenant Dan and Samuel L. Jackson as Jules Winnfield). Best Supporting Actress was Diane Wiest for Bullets over Broadway, which I don’t like (as I said here). That’s pretty much 1994. My attempts to not discuss my opinions on the major awards outside of the article I write for it is keeping this intro bit really short.
As for this category — it’s pretty weak. That’s not to say there aren’t good films or good performances on it. It’s just — the person who really should have won the category had just won two Oscars within six years of this. Were they really gonna give her a third? Plus, this was a good chance to award Jessica Lange, who was kind of overdue by this point. So that’s kind of where we are with this one. What were they gonna do?
BEST ACTRESS – 1994
And the nominees were…
Jodie Foster, Nell
Jessica Lange, Blue Sky
Miranda Richardson, Tom & iVv
Winona Ryder, Little Women
Susan Sarandon, The Client (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1985
Bullshit alert. 1985 is one of the worst years ever for the Academy Awards. If you ever wanted to get a first hand look at just how racist the Academy was/is, just look at this year. (And also, this year. But that’s a story for another day.) The Color Purple is clearly the best film up for Best Picture. It’s not even a question. The film sweeps the Golden Globes and most other awards. Then, for the Oscars, Steven Spielberg isn’t even nominated for Best Director (despite winning the DGA award), and the film is shut out from 11 Oscars in favor of Out of Africa, a film that’s basically about Meryl Streep having an extra-marital affair with Robert Redford and also having a farm in Africa.
As for the rest of the year, Sydney Pollack wins Best Director for Africa, which is sort of okay since he’s a great director, but, Akira Kurosawa was nominated too. Out of those two, which would you pick? And then Best Actor was William Hurt for Kiss of the Spider Woman, which was actually a great decision. Best Supporting Actor was Don Ameche for Cocoon, which was cool. Nice veteran Oscar. And Best Supporting Actress was Anjelica Huston for Prizzi’s Honor, which, all respect for her aside, was a terrible decision. There were two better choices there.
And then there’s this category, which is just so fucking terrible it’s beyond words. Whoopi Goldberg so clearly deserved this award it’s sickening. And they give the Oscar to Geraldine Page for a film that’s basically Baby’s Day Out, but if the baby were an old woman. I’m exaggerating, but I’m not that far off. What the fuck, Academy? Does your racism know no bounds? (Actually, don’t answer that. I don’t want to know.)
BEST ACTRESS – 1985
And the nominees were…
Anne Bancroft, Agnes of God
Whoopi Goldberg, The Color Purple
Jessica Lange, Sweet Dreams
Geraldine Page, The Trip to Bountiful
Meryl Streep, Out of Africa (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1984
I hate 1984. It’s just so boring. And so weak. Not that they didn’t make a good decision. Amadeus was clearly the best film of the year and should have won Best Picture. Milos Forman also winning Best Director (talked about here) was the only good choice they could have made, and F. Murray Abraham totally deserved Best Actor for the film (as did Tom Hulce. Too bad they didn’t tie. That would have been awesome).
But outside of those awards, Best Supporting Actor going to Haing S. Ngor for The Killing Fields I don’t like (explained why here), and Best Supporting Actress going to Peggy Ashcroft for A Passage to India makes a little sense, but it’s just boring. The film and the decision. And then there’s this category. I don’t know what it is about this year, but they really liked “strong woman helps keep farm afloat” stories. Three of them got nominated in this category. Three. And the one that won had the woman doing it without a husband. She had a black man and a blind man instead. Technically I guess that does make it a “stronger” performance.
But, wow, do I disagree with three nominees here. At least three. Possibly even all five. But I can accept two. I can accept the Sally Field and Judy Davis nominations. The others just felt like filler. Stature noms. “Who are we going to nominate?” “Well, we like Sissy Spacek and Jessica Lange. Let’s go with them.” (Don’t even get me started on the Redgrave nomination.) So, let’s see if we can find any alternatives.
I’d say the actress who played Mozart’s wife in Amadeus, but that’s supporting at best. Would the Academy nominate Frances McDormand for Blood Simple? I doubt it. I liked Micki + Maude a lot, but that’s a comedy. Most people would say The Terminator, but I know the Academy. That would never happen. Uhh — Apollonia in Purple Rain? Wow, what the fuck, 1984? You sucked for good female performances.
BEST ACTRESS – 1984
And the nominees were…
Judy Davis, A Passage to India
Sally Field, Places in the Heart
Jessica Lange, Country
Vanessa Redgrave, The Bostonians
Sissy Spacek, The River (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1979
I love 1979 and hate 1979 at the same time. One of the greatest films ever made, Apocalypse Now, is nominated for Best Picture, as is one of my five favorite films of all time, All That Jazz. And neither wins Best Picture. Now, Kramer vs. Kramer — I think it’s a good film. I think it’s a great film, even. But I do not think this film should have won Best Picture at all. I think that was a terrible decision. And I might have been able to live with it had they not also given Best Director to Robert Benton. Did they see the directorial efforts of those other two films?
And then, Best Actor this year was Dustin Hoffman for Kramer, which is absolutely perfect. He was way overdue by this point, and gave the best performance of his career. It’s a shame he beat Roy Scheider and Peter Sellers, but it’s fine. Then Meryl Streep wins Best Supporting Actress as the other Kramer, which is one of the best decisions ever made in that category (whenever Meryl wins an Oscar, it’s pretty much automatically one of the best decisions in that category). Then, Best Supporting Actor was Melvyn Douglas for Being There, which, if you didn’t know, was the WORST DECISION OF ALL TIME IN THAT CATEGORY. Worst. Ever. Know why? He beat Robert Duvall for Apocalypse Now. I’ll ask you, dear reader — which performance do you remember? Charlie don’t surf, but it seems he votes in the Academy.
So that’s 1979. I love it, because great films are involved, and because, while I know they made the wrong decision, Kramer vs. Kramer is a better film than a lot of other films that have won Best Picture (looking at you, Ordinary People). And yet — I really only agree with three of the six decisions this year, and two of them I consider to be two of the worst all time. So this year is a big sore spot for me.
BEST ACTRESS – 1979
And the nominees were…
Jill Clayburgh, Starting Over
Sally Field, Norma Rae
Jane Fonda, The China Syndrome
Marsha Mason, Chapter Two
Bette Midler, The Rose (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1968
History was made here. You hear that? History, I tellz ya! But before we get into that, let’s recap the year.
Oliver! wins Best Picture, the best choice among a weak set of films. Almost all of them are good films, but none is really a “Best Picture.” Carol Reed won Best Director for the film, which, is a good decision based on the fact that him not winning for The Third Man is the worst Best Director snub of all time, according to me. Which, humorously enough, makes this the second biggest Best Director snub. Reed winning his well-deserved Oscar deprived Stanley Kubrick of his well-deserved Oscar for 2001: A Space Odyssey. It’s oddly poetic.
Cliff Robertson wins Best Actor for Charly, which is a good film and a decent performance, but not one that should have won, especially with Peter O’Toole never having won an Oscar (for amazing work in Lawrence of Arabia and Becket before this) and being so fucking great in The Lion in Winter. The choice is baffling. Then Best Supporting Actor was Jack Albertson for The Subject was Roses (which I talked about here), and Best Supporting Actress (which I talked about here) was Ruth Gordon for Rosemary’s Baby.
As for this category, it’s the only exact tie in Academy history. (The other acting tie was within 3 votes.) And since the two that tied were the #1 and #2 in the category, the only side effect was an extra Best Actress winner and Katharine Hepburn eventually having four Oscars. Which, as I’ve discovered, isn’t so bad. None of her wins is egregious. Even here, she managed to tie with the person who should have won.
BEST ACTRESS – 1968
And the nominees were…
Katharine Hepburn, The Lion in Winter
Patricia Neal, The Subject Was Roses
Vanessa Redgrave, Isadora
Barbra Streisand, Funny Girl
Joanne Woodward, Rachel, Rachel (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1960
This is one of the more infamous categories in Academy history. It’s widely regarded that the only reason Elizabeth Taylor won here was because she was going through a serious health scare at the time (not uncommon for her, sadly) and had a tracheotomy done. And the Academy, fearing that she’d die, gave this to her as sort of a tribute in case she’d never have the chance to win one again. It’s possible she’d have won anyway, but when even Shirley MacLaine publicly talks shit about the decision (everyone else does too), I think we can safely say that’s why she won. I felt we needed to get that out of the way now. It’s pretty open and shut, how this category should have gone.
As for the rest of the year, The Apartment wins Best Picture, a decision I love, Billy Wilder wins Best Director, a decision I like because I love the film, but don’t like based on who he beat (Hitchcock for Psycho. I talked about it here). Burt Lancaster wins his well-deserved Best Actor award for Elmer Gantry, and Shirley Jones also wins Best Supporting Actress for the film (which, is kind of okay, but, I’d have went with Janet Leigh here. But that’s just me). And Peter Ustinov wins Best Supporting Actor for Spartacus, which, considering he’s one of the premier character actors of all time (and was also in The Sundowners this year), this was without a doubt a great decision.
As for this category, it was always going to come down to Shirley MacLaine and Elizabeth Taylor. They were clearly the two best. Liz’s performance may have been a bit — much — maybe, for a win, but, she was good, so her winning isn’t that terrible a decision. And since Shirley MacLaine eventually got her Oscar, this isn’t as bad a decision as it could have been. So, ultimately, things worked out. But I think we can all agree that Shirley MacLaine should have won here. But, still, isn’t Liz just gorgeous in her movie?
BEST ACTRESS – 1960
And the nominees were…
Greer Garson, Sunrise at Campobello
Deborah Kerr, The Sundowners
Shirley MacLaine, The Apartment
Melina Mercouri, Never on Sunday
Elizabeth Taylor, BUtterfield 8 (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1955
I actually really like 1955 as a year, even though most people would probably see this as a blank year for the Academy. The five Best Picture choices were a pretty weak set overall (at least two of the choices probably shouldn’t have even been nominated), and, while I think they made the best decision, their decision was not really one that would stand out among the other films that have won in the category.
Marty wins Best Picture, which I think was the best decision based on the nominees. It’s a film I love a lot. But I’m under no illusions that this film would ever win outside of a year like this. Not that I care. Delbert Mann winning Best Director for the film (which I talked about here), is a decision I don’t think was totally necessary, but I understand it. So I guess that’s okay. Ernest Borgnine winning Best Actor this year (which I talked about here) is also a decision that I like, but only because my first choice, Frank Sinatra, already had an Oscar, So it kind of worked out in the end. Best Supporting Actor was Jack Lemmon for Mister Roberts, which I think is a great decision, and Best Supporting Actress was Jo Van Fleet for East of Eden, which, I haven’t fully made up my mind yet (but I’m about 95% sure I’m gonna go another way).
And then we have this category. This category was really only between two people, and, while I can understand why Anna Magnani won here — when you watch the performance, you can see why she would win — I still don’t get why they wouldn’t give it to Susan Hayward here. She’s been nominated a bunch of times by now, hasn’t won, is someone they’re clearly looking to give an Oscar, and she’s playing a type of character she excels at — the pitiful drunk. That’s her character. Plus, this is the first time she’s really nailed it and is really worth voting for. And you don’t give it to her? I don’t get it.
BEST ACTRESS – 1955
And the nominees were…
Susan Hayward, I’ll Cry Tomorrow
Katharine Hepburn, Summertime
Jennifer Jones, Love is a Many-Splendored Thing
Anna Magnani, The Rose Tattoo
Eleanor Parker, I’ll Cry Tomorrow (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1949
1949 is a pretty solid year. Good, not great. I think I’ve covered that in the categories I’ve done before. All the King’s Men wins Best Picture (probably the Best Choice of the bunch, but, for me, it was four of five 4-star films and no real 5-star film. There were three legit choices here), Best Actor for Broderick Crawford (which I talked about here) and Best Supporting Actress for Mercedes McCambridge. I understand the Best Picture, and completely agree with both of the acting decisions. Those were great decisions.
Then Best Director was Joseph L. Mankiewicz for A Letter to Three Wives, a decision that just baffles the shit out of me, which I talked about here. Then Best Supporting Actor was Dean Jagger for Twelve O’Clock High, which I just don’t get. At all. Ralph Richardson was clearly the vote there. So, in all, the year is pretty average. I agree with three of the six decisions, and can be swayed to liking a fourth. The other two make no sense to me, but, three of six leaning to four makes for a solid year. So that’s good.
Then there’s this category. What a weak category this is. I need to look for — actually, I kind of don’t. It’s really only two terrible nominees. And I’d gladly take one of the other two off if it meant a stronger set of nominees. Sacrifice one for the good of the many. But, just glancing at this year, I can see there weren’t any other performances, so it’s just the product of a weak year. I should feel lucky they managed three decent nominees. Regardless though — this one’s just a runaway. It’s not even close as to who deserved to win this.
BEST ACTRESS – 1949
And the nominees were…
Jeanne Crain, Pinky
Olivia de Havilland, The Heiress
Susan Hayward, My Foolish Heart
Deborah Kerr, Edward, My Son
Loretta Young, Come to the Stable (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1938
1938 is a year I will always consider weak, just because the Academy had an opportunity to grow past what they’d established already, and instead chose the safe route and give Best Picture to a film that too easy a choice. You Can’t Take It With You wins, which is an enjoyable film, but really not a step forward for the Academy. It’s not 1934 anymore. Frank Capra also won Best Director for it (talked about here).
The Best Pictures until this point were: two war epics, two musicals, a western, an ensemble prestige picture, a romantic comedy and three dramas (family, high seas/historical, and historical/biographical). They took a step in the right direction with It Happened One Night in 1934. Mutiny on the Bounty in ’35 wasn’t a bad choice. (I’d have gone for The Informer, but that’s me.) The Great Ziegfeld in ’36 is an easy winner. It’s big, cinematic, and everything that a Best Picture should be. After that, it seemed like they didn’t know what to do. The Life of Emile Zola was a weak choice, and seemed like them trying to continue the trend of historical dramas. And here, again it seems they didn’t know what to do, so they went back and tried to repeat what worked earlier. A lot of the decisions before the war ended seem that way. Apart from the easy choice films like Gone With the Wind, The Best Years of Our Lives — even Mrs. Miniver, they really don’t seem to know what to do, so they go back to earlier choices. So that’s why I don’t really like this year as a whole. Because a year starts with its Best Picture.
As for the rest of the year, Spencer Tracy wins his second consecutive Best Actor for Boys Town (which I talked about here), a performance I consider to be the single worst in the history of the Best Actor category, as well as the second or third worst decision all time in the category. It’s pretty horrendous. Then Best Supporting Actor was — you guessed it — Walter Brennan, for Kentucky, winning his second of three in five years. And Best Supporting Actress was Fay Bainter, for Jezebel, which is by default a good decision because she was nominated for Best Actress this year, and was really good there as well. So, in all, I probably only like two of the six decisions. And this category, I just disagree with completely. The only thing that I like about it is that this basically means that Scarlett O’Hara won two Oscars. That’s pretty cool.
BEST ACTRESS – 1938
And the nominees were…
Fay Bainter, White Banners
Bette Davis, Jezebel
Wendy Hiller, Pygmalion
Norma Shearer, Marie Antoinette
Margaret Sullavan, Three Comrades (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1934
1934. Wonderful year. This goes twofold for me, since my favorite film of all time was made this year. Every time I talk about this year, I make sure to note that there’s no way I can be subjective when my favorite film is involved. I just can’t. That’s the one place I refuse to do it. Fortunately, The Thin Man isn’t nominated here, so it won’t affect this category at all. Recapping the year is easy. It Happened One Night won everything. Picture, Director (talked about here), Actor (here), and, yes, Actress (writing too. First big five winner in history). But of all the categories of 1934, this one is the most interesting. For several reasons. The first is that this is one of the few categories for which the Academy announced the order of finish. Claudette Colbert won, Norma Shearer finished 2nd, and Bette Davis finished 3rd (QED, Grace Moore was last). The most important part about all this, though, is the Bette Davis nomination. Let me explain.
Bette Davis begged out of her Warner Bros. contract to make this film. They agreed because they assumed she was going to fail. But the film actually ended up being her breakthrough. And come Oscar time, when she got nomination buzz, Warners spitefully told people not to vote for her. And since the voting system wasn’t as, shall we say, objective, as it is now (votes were tabulated by the heads of the Academy. Warners was one. No bias at all, I’m sure), she wasn’t nominated. And her supporters, outraged, petitioned the Academy for a write-in vote. The outcry was large enough (probably because at that time the Oscars were small enough) that it actually worked. The Academy caved (kind of like when they caved in 2008 and started the 10 nominees), and this became one of only two years to ever feature a write-in vote (that counted).
It didn’t work out for Bette Davis (3rd), but the year after this, Hal Mohr actually won Best Cinematography for A Midsummer Night’s Dream without being nominated (which is great. He was the best there). But, this decision was strong enough to get several things to happen. First, it got the write-in ballot for two years. Then it got the Academy to change its voting practices. They handed over the entire voting and counting process to PriceWaterhouse (who still does it). And it also created that Oscar groundswell we know so well, especially when it comes to Best Actress, that got Bette Davis to win a slam dunk Oscar (considered a makeup Oscar) the year after this, for Dangerous. I’ll talk about that when I get to it, but for now, can you see how important 1934 is (even without The Thin Man)?
BEST ACTRESS – 1934
And the nominees were…
Claudette Colbert, It Happened One Night
Bette Davis, Of Human Bondage (write-in)
Grace Moore, One Night of Love
Norma Shearer, The Barretts of Wimpole Street (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1927-1928
1927-1928. The first Best Actress category ever. I’m excited.
The rest of this year is very — broad, shall we say. The Academy hadn’t honed their categories yet. For example, Best Picture was split into two separate categories. The first was “Outstanding Picture, Production,” which went to Wings, and the second was for “Unique or Artistic Production,” which went to Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans. Generally, Wings is regarded as the first Best Picture winner, which, seems strange. It should really be both films. However, the fact that they went with Wings over Sunrise is very telling. The went with “outstanding” production over “artistic” production. Perfect for explaining many of the decisions made over the years.
Similarly, Best Director was split into two separate categories, one for “Dramatic,” which went to Frank Borzage, for Seventh Heaven, and one for “Comedy,” which went to Lewis Milestone for Two Arabian Knights. And then, Best Actor went to Emil Jannings, considered the best dramatic silent film actor, for The Last Command as well as The Way of All Flesh, which is a lost film.
So that’s the first year of the Academy Awards. In all honesty, I think, in every category, the best possible decision was made. Especially this one. They did the right thing by nominating Janet Gaynor for all three of the films she made this year. Because, just by watching one of them, you can see why she won this. She was just incredible. You’re in for a real treat with her films.
BEST ACTRESS – 1927-1928
And the nominees were…
Louise Dresser, A Ship Comes In
Janet Gaynor, Seventh Heaven, Street Angel & Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
Gloria Swanson, Sadie Thompson (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1968
1968 is a weak year. In all. Mostly because none of the Best Picture choices were particularly strong. Oliver! was the best choice they had there. Even if they’d have nominated 2001: A Space Odyssey like I wanted them to, I know they’d have never voted for it. The Academy isn’t cool like that. They don’t like weird shit.
Carol Reed wins Best Director for Olliver!, a good decision on its own (he got so royally fucked for The Third Man), but, Kubrick was really the one who should have won there. Best Actor was Cliff Robertson for Charly, which was a bad decision, because he beat Peter O’Toole, who really should have won that category and got the Oscar he so richly deserves. Then Best Actress was a tie between Katharine Hepburn for The Lion in Winter and Barbra Streisand for Funny Girl. Streisand should have won there, so even though there’s a tie, it’s a good decision. Best Supporting Actress was Ruth Gordon for Rosemary’s Baby, which is a good decision, even though I’d have gone another way.
So that’s 1968. Pretty ho hum in general. Nothing particularly great. And then there’s this category, which also seems by the numbers. It doesn’t help to make this year any interesting.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1968
And the nominees were…
Jack Albertson, The Subject Was Roses
Seymour Cassel, Faces
Daniel Massey, Star!
Jack Wild, Oliver!
Gene Wilder, The Producers (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Director – 1948
How the fuck were Powell and Pressburger not nominated here? We won’t dwell on that, because that’s now what this Quest is about. But the question bears repeating — seriously, how?
As for the rest of 1948, I love most of it, and despise their Best Picture choice. Hamlet a good film, but a boring choice for Best Picture, beats The Snake Pit, a great film about mental illness, Johnny Belinda, a wonderful film I love dearly about a mute girl, The Red Shoes, which is one of the most beautiful films ever made, and, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. ’nuff said. Fortunately, though, aside from that category, they went mostly right everywhere else.
Best Actor was Laurence Olivier for Hamlet, which was well-deserved. Based on who was nominated, he was by far the best choice. Best Actress was Jane Wyman for Johnny Belinda, which I talked about here, which is seriously one of the top five best decisions in that category of all time. Best Supporting Actor was Walter Huston for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, which was a well-deserved Oscar that he earned three times over by that point. And Best Supporting Actress was Claire Trevor, for Key Largo, which is the only other poor decision from this year, in my opinion. 4 out of 6 decisions were great though, this year, especially this one. This decision is just glorious.
BEST DIRECTOR – 1948
And the nominees were…
John Huston, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Anatole Litvak, The Snake Pit
Jean Negulesco, Johnny Belinda
Laurence Olivier, Hamlet
Fred Zinnemann, The Search (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1952
Let’s briefly recap 1952. I’ve talked about this a lot. Most of it is contained in the other articles. But, 1952. The Greatest Show on Earth beats High Noon for Best Picture. The Academy takes innocuous over the controversial. Generally regarded as a terrible decision. John Ford wins his fourth Best Director for The Quiet Man (talked about here), a decision that doesn’t make sense and only serves to make it seem like the Academy was openly telling people that, rather than voting for The Greatest Show on Earth, they were voting against High Noon. Like the schoolyard boy who pushes a girl rather than saying he likes her.
Gary Cooper wins Best Actor for High Noon (talked about here), which is what’s strange to me. If they don’t like the film, why give it anything at all? Best Actress was Shirley Booth for Come Back, Little Sheba (talked about here), and Best Supporting Actor was Anthony Quinn for Viva Zapata!. Both okay decisions, pretty ho-hum though. That’s what this year is. A big fucking mess, just because they had all the controversy. And then there’s this category…
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1952
And the nominees were…
Gloria Grahame, The Bad and the Beautiful
Jean Hagen, Singin’ in the Rain
Collette Marchand, Moulin Rouge
Terry Moore, Come Back, Little Sheba
Thelma Ritter, With a Song in My Heart (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1987
1987 bores me. It bores most people, I’d imagine. It’s just a boring year. The Last Emperor wins Best Picture. It’s an appropriate film, just, not all that exciting. Bernardo Bertolucci wins Best Director (talked about here), which is also a fine decision and pretty by the numbers.
Best Actor this year was Michael Douglas for Wall Street, which is one of the more interesting decisions made this year, but not the most interesting. That distinction goes to Best Supporting Actor, which Sean Connery won for The Untouchables. Those two awards are clearly the only two worth talking about here. The other two were also pretty ho-hum. Best Supporting Actress was Olympia Dukakis for Moonstruck. I don’t really care about the decision, though I’d have gone another way. And then there’s this category, which I just don’t understand at all. The Academy’s boner for Cher is just — weird.
So that’s 1987. The men they got right. The women, either no or who cares. And Picture/Director, acceptable, just not interesting.
BEST ACTRESS – 1987
And the nominees were…
Cher, Moonstruck
Glenn Close, Fatal Attraction
Holly Hunter, Broadcast News
Sally Kirkland, Anna
Meryl Streep, Ironweed (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1950
1950, as I’ve talked about, is a year I do not like. I mean, it’s fine in and of itself, but, in context — don’t like it at all. All About Eve, which is a tremendous film, wins Best Picture. This is a decision I’m not totally against. I’d just have gone with Sunset Boulevard instead. Still, that decision is fine. As is George Sanders winning Best Supporting Actor for the film. Joseph Mankiewicz winning Best Director for the film, though, is really what I have the problem with. I won’t go into detail (I did that here), but, Carol Reed really should have won for The Third Man.
Best Actress this year was Judy Holliday for Born Yesterday, which, is historically regarded as a poor decision. Having seen the performance, at first I liked the decision, but, after the fact, I do kind of feel it was a bit weak. I mean, she was good, but, Anne Baxter and especially Gloria Swanson felt like they were better choices. And then, Best Supporting Actress this year was Josephine Hull for Harvey, which is good.
So really, my problem with this year has to do with a probable weak Best Actress decision and what I consider the biggest Best Director snub in the history of the category. Other than that, we just have some choices I’d have went the other way on, and this category, which is just weak as all hell. So I’m not very high on this year as a whole. It’s very sad.
BEST ACTOR – 1950
And the nominees were…
Louis Calhern, The Magnificent Yankee
José Ferrer, Cyrano de Bergerac
William Holden, Sunset Boulevard
James Stewart, Harvey
Spencer Tracy, Father of the Bride (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1931-1932
1931-1932 is kind of the first year where a real “Academy” film took the top prize. Grand Hotel is about as Oscar as you can get. It makes sense they went with it. It’s also funny that it wasn’t nominated for anything except Best Picture. They really didn’t know what they were doing yet. It’s so funny.
Also this year, Best Director was Frank Borzage for Bad Girl, his second, which I talked about here, and Best Actor was a tie between Frederic March for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Wallace Beery for The Champ, which I talked about here. Which, is actually, all the other categories for this year. This is the last one. That’s weird.
As for this category — it’s a pretty cut and dry one. There’s really only one choice, and, the Academy made the right one. I like when categories go smoothly like this one.
BEST ACTRESS – 1931-1932
And the nominees were…
Marie Dressler, Emma
Helen Hayes, The Sin of Madelon Claudet
Lynn Fontanne, The Guardsman (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1972
This is the weakest Best Supporting Actress category I think I’ve ever seen. Seriously, it’s awful. There’s no one to vote for! But before we start looking for alternatives, let’s get the recap out of the way first.
The Godfather wins Best Picture, in a decision no one can deny. Marlon Brando wins Best Actor, which — of course. Bob Fosse wins Best Director for Cabaret (talked about here), which I don’t understand at all. Nor do I understand (though, I kinda do, sort of) Joel Grey winning Best Supporting Actor for the film (talked about here). I do, however, understand Liza Minnelli winning Best Actress for the film. She was by far the best decision in what was an incredibly weak category (1972 must have been a real bad year for female roles). So that’s 1972. 5 out of the 6 awards went to two films. And then there’s this category.
This is just awful. And, looking for alternatives, you can’t help but start with Talia Shire. How did she not get nominated for The Godfather? I think they nominated her for Part II as a way of making up for the snub here. Her being nominated would have really helped this category. That’s really the only glaring one I saw. Female roles seemed really weak this year. So I guess we’ll just deal with the piece of shit category.
EST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1972
And the nominees are…
Jeannie Berlin, The Heartbreak Kid
Eileen Heckart, Butterflies are Free
Geraldine Page, Pete ‘n’ Tillie
Susan Tyrrell, Fat City
Shelley Winters, The Poseidon Adventure (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1937
I hate 1937. It feels like such a waste. The Life of Emile Zola is just a weak, weak Best Picture choice. Good film, yes, but just a weak choice. I know a lot of people would say The Awful Truth was the best film this year, but, it’s a comedy, and that wasn’t gonna win. Really, the film that should have won was A Star is Born. It’s such an iconic story, how could they not give it to that? But I digress.
Best Director this year was Leo McCarey for The Awful Truth. This is regarded as a good decision, but for the wrong film. Even McCarey said that when he won. You see, he also directed a film called Make Way for Tomorrow this year, which is basically a film about old people, and how the young ignore them, and it’s kind of an “old people matter too!” film. It’s really great. Anyway, he won for the wrong film. Best Actor this year was Spencer Tracy for Captains Courageous, which, isn’t a great decision, but I can go with it, I guess. Best Actress was Luise Rainer for The Good Earth, which I haven’t fully made up my mind on yet. Soon though. I’ll let you know soon. And Best Supporting Actress was Alice Brady for In Old Chicago, which, as I said here, is an acceptable decision historically, but not a good one based on the category.
So that’s 1937. Weak Best Picture choice, the Best Director choice was for the wrong film, Best Actor is just a strange choice, Best Actress is fine, I guess, Best Supporting Actress is sort of fine, but also a bit weak, and this category is — well, let’s talk about it.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1937
And the nominees were…
Ralph Bellamy, The Awful Truth
Thomas Mitchell, The Hurricane
Joseph Schildkraut, The Life of Emile Zola
H.B. Warner, Lost Horizon
Roland Young, Topper (more…)
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