Best Actor 1934: Results

3. Frank Morgan in The Affairs of Cellini- Frank Morgan plays a Duke in this film who is always worried and nervous. Morgan tries to be funny and he is a little bit at the very beginning of the film, but then his nervous act gets old fast.

2. William Powell in The Thin Man- Powell is in top form as Nick Charles. He is a perfect Sleuth to follow because of his perfect charm and wit, and his perfect chemistry with Myrna Loy.

1. Clark Gable in It Happened One Night- This is an interesting year because all three lead performances are comedy performances, I wonder is this is the only year where all the nominees are trying to be funny. Gable wins partially because he is the funniest as Peter Warne. Every scene he is in he is incredibly charming and his comedic timing could not be better. Also his chemistry with Claudette Colbert is astounding, so a well deserved win for "The King"

Deserving Performances:
Stan Laurel in Babes in Toyland
Oliver Hardy in Babes in Toyland
Henry Brandon in Babes in Toyland

Best Actor 1934: William Powell in The Thin Man

William Powell received his first Oscar nomination for portraying sleuth Nick Charles in The Thin Man.

The Thin Man is an enjoyable mystery film, mainly due to the character of Nick and Nora Charles and the actors portraying them Powell and Myrna Loy.

William Powell  is an actor who has a certain style which I enjoy very much. He uses his that style here with his very casual manner and sardonic humor. This works very well as Nick Charles the detective who must solve the murder featured in the film. His detective is integral to the film since he is solving in the case but that is actually his only involvement. He is not really all that tied to it nor is his wife unlike almost all of the supporting characters. Instead he acts as a guide really for the audience through the case, someone the audience can trust since almost everyone else could be the killer.

Powell is the perfect man to follow through the plot because he is such an enjoyable presence in the film. His perfect casual style of going through the case is perfectly handled. I like how he always keeps his sardonic wit throughout the film even when his life is threatened. He is the perfect guide through the plot and is always enjoyable to watch. His best scene involves the standard all the suspects in the same room scene.  He handles this scene helping build the suspense to the reveal, and also keeping his usual wit and humor throughout. Nick never loses his cool or gets emotional, but he does not have to sense he is always knows the situation. This could technically be boring but sense Powell makes him so witty and charming just seeing him sleuth is entertaining.

Powell and Myrna Loy work terrifically together and it is no wonder that they made so many film together several of them playing these same characters.  They just work wonderfully together making a very effective and very amusing dynamic. Their romantic scenes are very well done since they do not seem forced, and their comedic scenes are perfect. Both know exactly how to play each other and seeing Nick and Nora together and just talking is wonderful simply due to these two great actors. Powell here does not have his greatest challenge and largely is doing his Powell thing. But I really like Powell thing and this is when he is at top form doing his thing with Loy who is also similarly in top form. Like Gable from this year he does not have the big dramatic scenes but I do not care because he is charming and very funny which is precisely what he needs to be.

Best Actor 1934: Clark Gable in It Happened One Night

Clark Gable won an Oscar from his first nomination for portraying Peter Warne in It Happened One Night.

It Happened One Night is an extremely enjoyable romantic comedy. I just love every minute of it and I am not a fan of romantic comedy.

Clark Gable here does not give a performance that bares his soul, it is not one that requires him to bare his darkest deepest emotions, no that is not what is required. But who cares he gives a great performance from something entirely different, his comedic timing and charm. Clark Gable is just brilliant here, he is just wonderful in the film from beginning to end. Every single moment he has he is always and utterly entertaining. The only thing that really requires dramatic work involves his change from only wanting to benefit from getting a story from a runaway socialite Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert) to falling in loving with her. This part of the character Gable handles well,   making it very natural, but that is hardly what makes this performance so strong.

The rest of his performance is Gable himself who is as charming as possible as Warne. He is simply magnetic in the role, and infuses great comedic energy in every scene. His comedic timing is always spot on in every scene but I have some particular scenes that I enjoy the most. One I really like is when he gets rid of someone trying to tell on Ellie by pretending he is a gangster who kidnapped Ellie. He is hilarious with the voice he uses and pretends to act tough. Another scene that I like a lot is when he tells Ellie of his various methods of hitch hiking. His faces he makes and the way he tells about is one is just perfect, and very funny. I find that all his comedic work is just great every second of it. His charm is just strong, every scene he has is wonderful, Gable is usually a charming presence anyways but here I feel he really does out do himself. Something as simple as undressing is made into cinematic magic simply by the way Gable does it.

As for his chemistry with Claudette Colbert I would be hard pressed to name a better film couple. Again they are just perfect together in every type of scene. Their initial disdain for each other is well handled without being too much to make it so their love still makes sense. Their comedic scenes together are handled so each one lets each other be funny and the other reacts in the right way. Also when their being funny at the same time it is great such as when they pretend to be a feuding married couple to fool detectives looking for Ellie. Their romantic scenes are equally effective. Together they are absolutely right and true, their romance never seems wrong but only ever seems right. These two characters disliking each other than coming together is made seamless because of these two actors who work marvelously together. Gable does not have any scenes typical of an Oscar nominee or an Oscar winner but that does prevent this being a great performance that is just wonderful to watch, and truly deserving winner of a different style.

Best Actor 1934: Frank Morgan in The Affairs of Cellini

Frank Morgan received his first Oscar nomination for portraying the Duke of Florence in The Affairs of Cellini.

The Affairs of Cellini is one odd movie that I do not know exactly to make of. It is a comedy of sorts but it is one weird comedy.

Frank Morgan is one of the two actors that does not play it straight, the other is Frederic March who plays Cellini. Morgan does his Wizard of Oz routine in this film as the man who seems always a little nervous, and tries very poorly to be competent. This routine works better for his far briefer role as the Wizard of Oz. Here his routine which is all that he does for the entire film starts to get on my nerves. It is funny for a little bit of the time, and some of the things he says with his nervousness is funny such as saying to execute people, but overall he quickly becomes tiresome. I could see if it was part of his performance but it is the whole thing. He does not diversify his performance at all. Now it is a comedy and he is trying to be funny but it just does not work well enough for the whole time.

He technically is not wrong for the part, the duke is suppose to be incompetent, and nervous, but I think he is trying to be really funny but he just is not all that funny. Now I would say more about his performance but there is nothing more to say. He only does the same thing over and over again. He is not bad at this, but his routine is overused. It is fine for one scene, in fact it can be very good for one scene like in the Wizard of Oz, but here they overuse him. If he was only in say the first scene I probably would have liked him better because his routine works for short bursts, but here it is too much.

Best Actor 1934

And the Nominees Were:

William Powell in The Thin Man

Clark Gable in It Happened One  Night

Frank Morgan in The Affairs of Cellini

Who do you Pick? Which of the Mustached Men will win?