Thursday 22 September 2011

Best Supporting Actor 1938: Results

5. Basil Rathbone in If I Were King-Rathbone sometimes just gives a rather dull villainous performance, but other times he gives a needlessly strange performance as if the King was a crazy old man.
4. John Garfield in Four Daughters- Yes it is true Garfield has an intense on screen presence, but unfortunately in this case he does not serve it to really create a character. Instead he only ever scratches the surface with his performance, and unfortuantely at the end of his performance he overacts a great deal.
3. Gene Lockhart in Algiers- Lockhart is able to be pathetic enough as Regis the informer, but unfortuantely he always seems miscast in the role. This is because he never seems like a truly convincing slimy rat he should be.
2. Robert Morley in Marie Antoinette- Morley gives a good humorous performance in his first half, and than an effectively sad performance in his second half. It never is quite a great performance, and he is forgotten for a good deal of the picture, but it remains a good one.
1. Walter Brennan in Kentucky- Yes Walter Brennan is one actor the academy got absolutely right, every time he won, he deserved to win. Brennan gives an effective performance as an old man with a grudge, as well as love. Brennan who transforms himself to almost double his age seamlessly also manages to show the grudge as something the old man simply cannot shake since it has been something with him for so long, as well as his love for horses as something just as deep as the hatred, even deeper, since Brennan carefully shows it overcome his feelings of hatred.
Deserving Performances:
Pat O'Brien in Angels With Dirty Faces
Edward Arnold in You Can't Take it With You

11 comments:

RatedRStar said...

Brennans always great =D, shame not too many people speak of his name nowadays, what about 55 or 65 next? =D

dshultz said...

No surprise here. Could you do 2007 or 2004 next?

JJJ said...

Would Walter Brennan still be your 3-time winner if the Academy had nominated the perfs you actually liked in 36/38/40 (Pat O'Brien, Edward Arnold, etc.)?

Louis Morgan said...

RatedRStar: For me he is the only one of the four over two acting winners who deserved all his wins. I will be getting to one of those soon.

dshultz: I will be doing one those two when I return to 00's which will be soon.

JJJ: Brennan would most certainly keep 1940 despite the stiff competition from George Sanders in Rebecca, as well as 38 despite the stiff competition from O'Brien. He might keep it for 36 I would have to rewatch Secret Agent to be sure though.

Anonymous said...

Can't wait to see what's next (hopefully 2008 :))

JJJ said...

Oh I'm glad you liked Sanders in Rebecca *that* much. I think if he'd been nominated, that could very well be my favorite supporting actress + supporting actor nominated pair ever.

Michael Patison said...

I agree that Rathbone wasn't spectacular in If I Were King, but how would you rank him in The Adventures of Robin Hood?

Michael Patison said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Louis Morgan said...

I have not seen The Adventures of Robin Hood in a long while but from what I recall Rathbone was a good villain and certainly was more deserving of a nomination for that film than If I were King.

Anonymous said...

What about Stroheim in The Grand Illusion?

Gustavo said...

Lionel Barrymore, YCTIWY.