Friday 11 February 2011

Best Supporting Actor 1940: Results

5. William Gargan in They Knew What They Wanted- Gargan is okay at the beginning of the film, but as the film present a large challenge for him, he really is not up to it.
4. Jack Oakie in The Great Dictator- Oakie's parody of Mussolini is amusing enough, but most of the humor from his scenes come from Charlie Chaplin's direction more than from his performance.
3. James Stephenson in The Letter- An incredibly forgettable performance, that is the antithesis of a flashy role. I still think he did a fine job anyways, and properly portrayed his character.
2. Albert Bassermann in Foreign Correspondent- A simple dignified performance, that even keeps his dignity when he is all drugged out in the film. This is not a great performance or even the third best supporting performance in the film, but it serves its purpose.
1. Walter Brennan in The Westerner- This seems to happen in this category a lot, which is my number one is also the only choice I needed to consider. Brennan becoming my first two time supporting winner seemed almost unchallenged. I really enjoy Brennan's performance which manages to be an enjoyable charming performance, in an otherwise dull film, and an effective villainous performance that manages to be likable nonetheless.
Deserving Performances:
George Sanders in Rebecca
George Sanders in Foreign Correspondent
Herbert Marshall in Foreign Correspondent

3 comments:

dinasztie said...

Well, yeah. It could not have gone any different way. Could you do 2010 Best Supporting Actors or you have something planned?

Anonymous said...

Not surprising :)

I need to work on They Knew What They Wanted, since I have no clue what or who he is.

Louis Morgan said...

Dinasztie: It will be soon but I have a few other years planned first.

Sage: In this category it is pretty hard too be surprising.