Monday 6 October 2014

Alternate Best Actor 1953: Results

5. Montgomery Clift in I Confess- Clift gives a solid performance that always remains true to his character even if I wish it was a little less overshadowed by the plot.

Best Scene: Father Logan confronts the murderer.
4. Marlon Brando in The Wild One- Brando's performance is mostly repetitive but fitting for his character, and the few moments where he breaks the mold are quite effective.

Best Scene: Johnny runs from the mob.
3. Glenn Ford in The Big Heat- Ford might not reach the heights that the role seems to offer, but he still gives a fairly striking subversion of his usual decent average man type of character.

Best Scene: Bannion confronts the murderer.
2. Masayuki Mori in Ugetsu- Mori's performance is somewhat limited but good in portraying every moment of his character's rather odd journey.

Best Scene: Genjuro reunites with his "wife".
1. James Mason in Julius Caesar- Good predictions Luke, JackiBoyz, and Kevin. Mason gives a powerful performance bringing such poignancy to his depiction of a man who stands by his convictions no matter how dark of a place they bring him to.

Best Scene: Brutus stabs Caesar.
Overall Rank:
  1. William Holden in Stalag 17
  2. Montgomery Clift in From Here to Eternity
  3. James Mason in Julius Caesar
  4. James Mason in Charade
  5. James Stewart in The Naked Spur
  6. Masayuki Mori in Ugetsu
  7. Clifton Webb in Titanic 
  8. Charles Vanel in The Wages of Fear
  9. Glenn Ford in The Big Heat
  10. Yves Montand in The Wages of Fear 
  11. Marlon Brando in The Wild One
  12. Montgomery Clift in I Confess
  13. Alan Ladd in Shane
  14. Richard Widmark in Pickup on South Street
  15. David Niven in The Moon is Blue
  16. Burt Lancaster in From Here to Eternity 
  17. Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday 
  18. Eitaro Ozawa in Ugetsu
  19. Van Heflin in Shane
  20. Jack Palance in Man in the Attic
  21. John Wayne in Hondo
  22. Richard Burton in The Desert Rats
  23. William Holden in The Moon is Blue
  24. Spencer Tracy in The Actress
  25. Bobby Driscoll in Peter Pan
  26. Clark Gable in Mogambo
  27. Bud Abbott in A & C meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
  28. Lou Costello in A & C meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
  29. Richard Burton in The Robe
  30. Mel Ferrer in Lili
  31. Stewart Granger in Salome
  32. Ed Wood in Glen or Glenda
  33. John Brown in Robot Monster
  34. George Nader in Robot Monster
  35. John Mylong in Robot Monster
Next Year: 1953 Supporting

18 comments:

GM said...

Roland Lesaffre - The Adultress
David Niven - The Moon is Blue
Charles Vanel - The Wages of Fear
Ernest Borgnine - From Here to Eternity
Robert Ryan - The Naked Spur

GM said...

Louis, Can I have your ratings for Jean Simmons performances you've seen so far.

Luke Higham said...

Fuck me, I thought I lost it there.
My request is a bonus review for '06 Lead - Cillian Murphy for The Wind That Shakes the Barley.

53 Supporting
Ernest Borgnine in From Here to Eternity
Jay Robinson in The Robe
John Gielgud in Julius Caesar
Otto Preminger in Stalag 17
James Mason in The Desert Rats

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Your thoughts on Mason in Charade.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: You've placed Mori #4 on your my nominations page instead of #5.

Michael Patison said...

Wow! I never expected you to change your mind and give Holden the win.

For 1953 Supporting (I'd love it if you did 1957 Supporting immediately following it, but I know that's a long-shot):
Ernest Borgnine in From Here to Eternity
John Gielgud in Julius Caesar
Karl Malden in I Confess
Lee Marvin in The Big Heat
Otto Preminger in Stalag 17
Jay Robinson in The Robe
Charles Vanel in The Wages of Fear

GetDonaldSutherlandAnOscar said...

Firstly, not even mad I didn't win the predictions but YES HOLDEN YES HOLDEN YES HOLDEN YES HOLDEN YES HOLDEN YES HOLDEN YES HOLDEN YES HOLDEN YES HOLDEN YES HOLDEN YES HOLDEN YES HOLDEN YES HOLDEN YES

Anyway, what compelled you to make the switch, Louis? I know it was probably a very tough choice to make, Clift is amazing yes but IMO Holden is better, did you like the film even more on re-watch?

The only recommendations I have for Best Supporting Actor are Otto Preminger, Peter Graves and Sig Ruman for Stalag 17, I guess you can just say I love the film haha.

Also, thoughts and ratings on:
Alan Ladd in Shane
David Niven in The Moon is Blue

Robert MacFarlane said...

Lee Marvin in The Big Heat
Otto Preminger in Stalag 17
Jay Robinson in The Robe
Ernest Borgnine in From Here to Eternity
John Gielgud in Julius Caesar

Michael McCarthy said...

Holden over Clift? Hmmm a rewatch is in order...

Otto Preminger-Stalag 17
Ernest Borgnine-From Here to Eternity
John Gielgud-Julius Caesar
Jay Robinson-The Robe
Lee Marvin-The Wild Ones (Reminds me of Harry Dean Stanton in Straight Time in how he needlessly steals every scene he's in.)

Anonymous said...

Thoughts/ratings on the Best Actress nominees of that year? (I think you gave your thoughts on Hepburn already, Leslie Caron in Lili, Ava Gardner in Mogambo, Deborah Kerr in From Here to Eternity, and Maggie McNamara in The Moon is Blue)

Psifonian said...

Borgnine, Borgnine, Borgnine, Borgnine and . . . Borgnine.

Psifonian said...

On a serious note:

Borgnine, From Here to Eternity
Jay Robinson, The Robe
Charles Laughton, Salome

Louis Morgan said...

GM:

Great Expectations - 3
Black Narcissus - 2.5
Hamlet - 4.5
Angel Face - 2
The Robe - 3
The Actress - 3.5
The Big Country - 2.5
Elmer Gantry - 5
Spartacus - 4.5

Luke:

THANK YOU for that request.

Mason - 4.5(Charade is a strange film where James Mason and his wife talk about various projects he should produce and then it proceeds to show them as short films. It's a showcase for Mason though as he gets to play three rather different roles in short succession. The first being a sensitive serial killer which Mason naturally plays with a suave chill. The second he plays a soldier who gets into a duel despite his wife's protests. Mason's work is quite a powerful portrayal of a man's honor and is especially moving in the scene where he faces death in the face. The third he plays an accountant who eventually goes on an odd journey. This particular role is just based on pure charm which Mason has plenty of)

GetDonaldSutherlandAnOscar:

Well when I originally did 53 lead I actually said Holden was my favorite. I still believe they are equally good in their very different roles, but I have to say I do like Holden a little more.

There was nowhere to go on re-watch for the film itself since I loved it the first time I saw it.

Anonymous:

53 is a weird year for Best Actress but like 1984 it is technically one of the easiest to compare while aside from Kerr.

Kerr - 3.5(She's really more of supporting than lead and I do think it's the role is a tad thin. She mostly needs to be bitter which she does well, with just a dash of sultriness which Kerr also provides rather nicely. I wish there had been a little more to her role than that, and that romance (despite having one of the most iconic scenes in the film) always felt like one of the weaker aspects of the film)

The other four can easily be compared as the roles very much are wholly based on the charm of the actress as the roles don't ask for much past that as all the characters are fairly static. Truthfully this one really is a popularity contest and I have to give the win to Hepburn for being the most charming out of the four.

McNamara - 3.5(It's a shame she never had a career as she certainly has an Audrey Hepburn like charm, maybe that was the problem. She's likable though even if her performance is just staying on that charm of acting naive while saying things that clearly are not naive)

Gardner - 3.5(She's certainly has an appeal, and maybe if Gable was a bit more involved they could have made something special out of it. Still charming work)

Caron - 3(She's okay but I definitely find her the least charming of the four)

Louis Morgan said...

GetDonaldSutherlandAnOscar:

I forgot:

Ladd - 4(Ladd, from what I have seen from him, is a good actor who is somewhat lacking in charisma. He's good in portraying the sharper edge of Shane the side of the gunfighter, I particularly love how much is said between him and Palance simply through glances. Overall though, like this Gun for Hire, there is certain odd blandness even though he's technically not bland)

Niven - 4(Niven does much better than Holden who is overshadowed by both Niven and McNamara. Niven is hurt the least out of the material that is never written quite as well as it thinks it is. Even when the dialogue is overly cute Niven delivers it well giving a certain spark to the film that it needs)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your replies, Louis. That is a pretty interesting observation about the Best Actress lineup of that year. Speaking of which, your thoughts/ratings on the 1984 Best Actress lineup (aka farm movies)?

Louis Morgan said...

I've actually only seen Field out the saving the farm ladies.

BRAZINTERMA said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
BRAZINTERMA said...

IN THE LEAD ACTOR REVIEW:
Charles Boyer - The Earrings of Madame de...
Vittorio Gassman - The Glass Wall
Trevor Howard - The Heart of the Matter
Chishū Ryū - Tokyo Story
Kazuo Hasegawa - Gate of Hell

Bonus: James Stewart - The Naked Spur