Saturday 23 April 2011

Best Actor 1940: Results

5. James Stewart in The Philadelphia Story- Although I usually like Stewart a whole lot, here his performance always seemed to lack the right comfort and joy to work for this romantic comedy.
4. Raymond Massey in Abe Lincoln in Illinois- Massey is not always completely believable as Abe Lincoln such as in his early scenes, but he always gives a nice charming, and passionate performance as Lincoln.
3. Henry Fonda in The Grapes of Wrath- Fonda gives a very strong performance showing Tom Joad as a normal man, who slowly grows a strong passion and realization to fight against the injustices brought against his family and other struggling people.
2. Charlie Chaplin in The Great Dictator- I will not say Chaplin is entirely consistent, but almost always enjoyable. His comedic timing as both the Barber, and the Dictator are spot on with his direction. Also his final speech although out of character, has tremendous power due to his passionate delivery.
1. Laurence Olivier in Rebecca- Olivier once again was an easy choice for me. Olivier simply does wonders with his role as Maxim de Winter. In the somewhat sparse time he is given early in the film, he creates a wonderful interesting character, with the mysterious haunted quality, and when he finally can reveal the whole truth of his character it simply leads to an outstanding performance by Olivier.
Deserving Performances:
Cary Grant in His Girl Friday

13 comments:

joe burns said...

How many wins has he gotten?


You should do 2008 or 1995 next.

Deiner said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
dshultz said...

Olivier has 5 wins now, 4 for Best Actor, and 1 for Best Supporting Actor.



By the way, 2007 next?

Fritz said...

Another one for Larry! :-)

I think I prefer Henry. I just watched The Philadelphia Story because I also want to get a little more inside into the Best Actor category and was surprised how much I actually enjoyed James Stewart here.

Louis Morgan said...

Joe: I will keep years in mind for a little later.

Deiner: I'm glad we agree.

dshultz: I will promise you it will definitely be after just two more years. I would hoped to do it sooner, but one of the films of the next two years I can't really hold off watching.

Fritz: I think Stewart probably benefits if you like the film more on a whole, which unfortunately I don't that much.

Anonymous said...

Can you do 2008 or 2010 soon?

dinasztie said...

OMG. 5 wins for Olivier I might agree. I saw Fonda and Chaplin long ago but I loved them then. I'll still probably stick to Chaplin but Olivier is brilliant anyhow.

I can't wait for 1948 and 1978. Could you do 1978 next or very soon?

dinasztie said...

Oh wait, I take it back. I already requested 1959. That's better :D.

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous: 2008 and 2010 are two years I am not all that enthusiastic about doing just yet but certianly not that far in the future.

Dinasztie: Yes I will admit I am excited to see review Olivier in his last two nominations but I think I will hold out on those two for a little while, particularly 1948. Oh and I think you'll like the next year.

Anonymous said...

Love your reviews of the performances. Can you do 1992 Best Actor please? =)

Louis Morgan said...

Thanks, and that year probably will be fairly soon.

Michael Patison said...

Have you seen Stewart in The Shop Around the Corner from this year? I liked him better in that than in Philadelphia.

Louis Morgan said...

I saw part of the film and from what I saw he was better than he was in his winning performance. I will probably give him the alternate treatment when I do 40.