Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1969: Results

5. Helmut Berger in The Damned - Berger is creepy enough in his role but his presence is oddly muted considering the nature of his role.

Best Scene: His musical number...I guess. 

4. Laurence Olivier in Oh! What a Lovely War - Olivier gives an enjoyable performance as a General who may be just a little too English.

Best Scene: Discussing French generals. 

3. Gene Hackman in Downhill Racer - Hackman manages to steal the film by realizing depth in a character who easily could have been a non-entity.

Best Scene: Eugene chews out David.

2. Robert Ryan in The Wild Bunch - Robert Ryan gives a very effective performance as he creates sympathy for the traitor.

Best Scene: The end scene.

1. Ernest Borgnine in The Wild Bunch - Good predictions Luke, GetDonaldSutherlandAnOscar, RatedRStar, and JackiBoyz. Ernest Borgnine gives a great performance that is almost made through silent reactions. Everything he does adds at least a little something to the film and his chemistry with William Holden is absolutely incredible.

Best Scene: Pike and Dutch at the campfire.

Overall Rank:

1. Ernest Borgnine in The Wild Bunch
2. Gig Young in They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
3. Robert Ryan in The Wild Bunch
4. Jack Nicholson in Easy Rider
5. Gene Hackman in Downhill Racer
6. Laurence Olivier in Oh! What a Lovely War
7. Robert Duvall in True Grit
8. Jackson Beck in Take the Money and Run
9. Noel Coward in The Italian Job
10. Marcel Bozzuffi in Z
11. Red Buttons in They Shoot Horses Don't They?
12. Joe Melia in Oh! What a Lovely War
13. Walter Brennan in Support Your Local Sheriff!
14. Edmond O'Brien in The Wild Bunch
15. Yves Montand in Z
16. Hardy Kruger in The Red Tent
17. Bruce Dern in Support Your Local Sheriff! 
18. Rupert Crosse in The Reivers
19. Michael Redgrave in Oh! What a Lovely War
20. Sean Connery in The Red Tent
21. Jacques Perrin in Z
22. Telly Savalas in On Her Majesty's Secret Service
23. Helmut Griem in The Damned
24. Philippe Noiret in The Assassination Bureau
25. Dennis Hopper in True Grit
26. Jean-Pierre Cassel in Army of Shadows
27. Telly Savalas in The Assassination Bureau
28. Bruce Dern in They Shoot Horses Don't They?
29. Burgess Meredith in The Reivers 
30. Ted Cassidy in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
31. Harry Morgan in Support Your Local Sheriff!
32. Paul Meurisse in Army of Shadows
33. Ben Johnson in The Wild Bunch 
34. Warren Oates in The Wild Bunch
35. Benny Hill in The Italian Job 
36. Al Lewis in They Shoot Horses Don't They?
37. Christian Barbier in Army of Shadows
38. Jack MacGowran in Age of Consent
39. Bob Balaban in Midnight Cowboy
40. Marcel Hillaire in Take the Money and Run
41. Desmon Llewelyn in On Her Majesty's Secret Service
42. Jeff Corey in True Grit 
43. Robert Stephens in The Prime if Miss Jean Brodie 
44. Jack Weston in Cactus Flower
45. John McGiver in Midnight Cowboy
46. Bernard Lee in On Her Majesty's Secret Service
47. Ray Walston in Paint Your Wagon 
48. Anthony Quayle in Anne of the Thousand Days 
49. Alan Hewitt  in The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes
50. Umberto Orsini in The Damned
51. Jack Elam in Support Your Local Sheriff!
52. William Squire in Anne of the Thousand Days
53. Helmut Berger in The Damned
54. Michael Constantine in The Reivers
55. John Colicos in Anne of the Thousand Days 
56. Harve Presnell in Paint Your Wagon
57. George Baker in On Her Majesty's Secret Service
58. William Schallert in The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes
59. Michael Hordern in Anne of the Thousand Days
60. Michael Redgrave in Goodbye, Mr. Chips
61. John Fiedler in True Grit
62. Donald F. Muhich  Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
63. Gordon Jackson in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
64. Michael Bryant in Goodbye, Mr. Chips
65. Ernesto Gonzalez in Last Summer 
66. Arnold Stang in Hercules in New York
67. Tim McIntire in The Sterile Cuckoo 
68. Clifton James in The Reivers
69. Rick Lenz in Cactus Flower
70. Glen Campbell in True Grit
71. Ernest Graves in Hercules in New York

Next Year: 1941 Lead

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1969: Helmut Berger in The Damned

Helmut Berger did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Martin Von Essenbeck in The Damned.

The Damned is about the power struggle in a wealthy industrialist family during the rise of the third Reich. For all its Nazi massacres, orgies, cross-dressing, and naturally incest it just is not terribly interesting.

Helmut Berger plays Martin Von Essenbeck one of the potential heirs to the family's fortune and power. One of his earliest scenes set the tone for his character which does not change from there on. This being his appearance in drag as he sings a cabaret song and really his performance here reminded very much of Joel Grey's performance as the master of ceremonies in Cabaret which covered the same time period as the Damned. Berger even has that similarly gremlin like voice that Grey used. I can't say he's even close to being as good as Grey on this point, although the intentions of his character are a bit different technically speaking in that Martin does more than perform on stage. Although off-stage really is not too different to be sure as Berger gives a very flamboyant performance and technically speaking he seems to represent the same sort of debauched decadence during the rise of Nazis that Grey did in that later film.

Berger after that routine appears around in the dark corners of the frame as a depraved creature who spends some his time molesting children. Berger's performance is all about being creepy and I guess he is, but it's not as though there is anything special about his creepiness so to speak. He gives the glares he walks about in a slimy way, and speaks in his peculiar way. He does not do this in a way that's actively bad, as I suppose this performance really could have gone, but I just never found anything he was doing particularly compelling. Martin's place in the story is that he is at first being used as a pawn to act as basically a puppet ruler for others as he acts disinterested in anything other than his personal vices. When things become more complicated later on due to circumstances he gets pushed around a bit by his mother and a few of the other players in the game.Berger essentially shows him to be just as creepy when he's crying as when he's being devious, and you don't really get much more of the character from these scenes either.

Eventually Martin takes the next step as his debauching becomes one with taking power for himself as he has sex with his mother, and joins the S.S. Now this kinda just happens really and I suppose it shows the inadequacy of Berger's performance. There's something oddly straight forward about it as it just happens and even him gaining a sort of strength also just kinda happens. Berger keeps his same creepy manner no matter what is happening and there is nothing remarkable about the transition that he depicts. This almost seems an odd case because I would not describe him as obviously bad because he's not really truly bad, he's just oddly does not make the sort of visceral impact one would expect from a character like this. Everything so devious about him is there for us to see but Berger does not give the character the presence the character needs. He's creepy enough though not in the pervasive way he needs to be. His work I'd say can be used frankly to show why the performances of the aforementioned Grey and for another example Robert Blake in Lost Highway should be praised. The simple truth is by the end of the film I thought Martin ended up being kinda forgettable which is a problem given all that he does throughout the film.

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1969: Laurence Olivier in Oh! What A Lovely War

Laurence Olivier did not receive an Oscar nomination, despite winning BAFTA, for portraying Field Marshall Sir John French in Oh! What A Lovely War.

Oh! What a Lovely War is an interesting sprawling musical depicting World War I though as is usually the case for a Richard Attenborough directed film it never achieves the greatness it seems to be striving for. It has some great moments but never quite forms a cohesive whole with Attenborough once again attempting  to rely on famous stars to make up for the film's constantly wandering focus. That worked much more effectively in A Bridge Too Far.

Laurence Olivier is one of these stars although he is given two scenes at his disposal to portray the head of the British forces during the early part of the war. Olivier delivers the best star cameo here, although I suppose it does not quite count since he has two scenes. Anyway though Olivier takes the right approach, given the style of the film which in no way tries to find the humanity in any character, gives an absurdest caricature. Where some of the other cameos are pretty easy to forget as they just do their thing, make no real impact then leave, Olivier actually makes the right choice being a tad overt in his performance. He takes the approach of making John French as extremely British as he possibly can be. With his excessively British accent as well as just the way he almost seems to be a solid plank of a man in the way he so stiffly moves. In fact he  even makes sitting seem like a slightly odd thing to do because he must do it in a such a proper way. Olivier even takes the choice to seem as though he is almost always perhaps constipated because of just  how rigid of a man he must be at all times.

What Olivier does here might have been a bit much in different circumstances but I've usually found that he's an actor who knows when it's the right time to go big. Well this film is definitely the right time and I feel Olivier's performance best knows how to capture the spirit of the style it seems Attenborough was going for. That being all the historical figures making decisions were to be over the top and out of control, and I would assume then the family torn apart by the war would be shown in a realistic light, well at least that's probably how the film should have been. Well Olivier is at least one actor who seemed to understand this and he gives the best performance in the film because of it. It's also important that Olivier is quite entertaining in his portrayal of the oh so proper British General. He's particularly funny in the moment where he seems as though he's almost going to throw up at the prospect of speaking to the French Generals, or also how it seems to unnerve him to his very core when his eventually successor refers to him casually as Johnny. It's a fun performance, and frankly the film should have had more of him. He's a hoot for his two scenes though even though I do have to admit the best thing to come out of Olivier's association with the film is the speech he gave when accepting his Bafta win.

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1969: Gene Hackman in Downhill Racer

Gene Hackman did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Eugene Claire in Downhill Racer.

Downhill  Racer is a somewhat interesting film, although one where it seems they were unable to decide what type of film they wanted to make and there is some really sloppy editing at times, about the world of competitive downhill ski racer through the story of a up and coming hot shot David Chappellet (Robert Redford).

Gene Hackman in 1969 was still in his role as basically a known character actor since he was Oscar nominated for Bonnie and Clyde, but he did not become a star until his Oscar winning role for The French Connection. His status seemed set particularly clear since he was nominated for I Never Sang For My Father for best supporting actor even though he was obviously lead. Anyway Hackman technically is in his reduced role so to speak as Eugene Claire who is the head coach of the American team. Hackman does not have a great deal of screen time, even though he is sprinkled throughout the film. Hackman is great in his first scenes as he does not play Eugene as the traditional sort of inspirational, not even in a slightly atypical way like he would later do in Hoosiers, because he's not even necessarily all the inspirational so to speak. In his first scene Hackman presents Eugene as very much a coach with a mission to find the best. Hackman is terrific in the way he coneys the way in his manner that Eugene is watching for talent as he observes them, he is looking for the best rather simply wanting all of those under him to succeed necessarily.

 Hackman's great in realizing essentially the very down to earth nature of this coach and he feels particularly genuine as he hands at the starting numbers to the team members. Hackman is good as he shows the no nonsense approach of Eugene as gives them out. He offers moments of comfort of sorts though Hackman plays these well as more of him trying to set the record straight in that they must earn their position, rather than actually apologizing to them. Hackman's especially effective in his early confrontation with Redford's David who's upset that he had a low placement but ended up doing rather well. Hackman conveys well the complexity of the task of the coach as he does suggest the earnestness of his support as he says he'll fight for David to have a higher place, though carries a certain coldness as he also bluntly attempts to take down David's ego. Hackman is remarkable here because without only a few scenes early on he makes a considerable impact, and manages to portray the method of Eugene's coaching in an incredibly efficient way.

Hackman does not let a moment pass by to simply coast by with the character as he always attempts just to make the character frankly a bit more lived in. Hackman does particularly well in the scenes where Eugene is being interviewed. Hackman's, in obviously he more important interviews, projects an expected although understated enthusiasm as he creates the sense that Eugene is selling his team as he should. When the interviewer holds less importance though Hackman's good in portraying the reduced enthusiasm of the man, with a certain whole exasperation suggesting that Eugene probably has had to do a few too many interviews in his time. Hackman importantly portrays the greatest determination, almost that of a pitchman, as he puts all the passion behind basically the backers of the team, as he is clearly putting it in his all to ensure he is able to get the funds needed to compete the way he wants. Hackman brings the depth into the part with all these different sides that always are so naturally transitioned by him. He's great in one scene where he calmly chews out David again, and Hackman is tremendous in the incisiveness he brings as he calls David out on his reckless behavior. Of course then at the end of the film he does support him and Hackman makes this feel just as genuine particularly his jubilation when it seems he's won the race. What I love is how he contradicts himself yet never feels false or even hypocritical in the role. He is absolutely convincing in every side of the character showing what it takes to be an Olympic coach. It's amazing just how compelling Hackman is here. This work is a great testament to his talent as he effortlessly realizes his character, I'd say considerably better than Redford's does for his despite having much more material at his disposal, in the margins of the film.

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1969: Ernest Borgnine in The Wild Bunch

Ernest Borgnine did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Dutch Engstrom in The Wild Bunch.

Ernest Borgnine plays Dutch Engstrom who is the second in command of the wild bunch and the right hand man of William Holden's Pike bishop. Borgnine's performance here is an interesting one in that he really does not have a lot of lines in the film even though he does have a considerable amount of screen time since he's rarely not in a scene with Holden's leading performance, and does even have a few moments without Holden. Borgnine has a challenge as these sort of roles often can be limit the actor by the nature of the role, but that never feels like the case for Ernest Borgnine's performance. He always has a strong presence in any scene in which he appears even when he might not even have more than a few words to say, sometimes no words to say. It's a particularly remarkable achievement by Borgnine since there is nothing obvious about why he stands out, he certainly does not try to showboat here through a lot of over the top reactions, yet he makes an impact in every scene in which he appears for even a moment. It's quite something and worth examining just what makes this performance work.

Borgnine work here is supporting in the most traditional of senses in that what makes his performance so well is the way he supports William Holden's lead performance. This is can be sensed in his earliest scene where he rides into town to rob a bank alongside the rest of the bunch. Borgnine brings that understated determination and is particularly good in portraying the process of the robbery through simply through some slight facial indicators during the heist. After the heist there is one particularly strong moment for Borgnine, even though it is only short one, where Pike asks if they should bury one of their dead members to which two of there members suggest they should. Dutch disagrees though as Borgnine delivers intensely Dutch sarcastic remarks about suggesting hymns for the funeral which get the men to decide again. Although Borgnine certainly does that well what makes it so notable though are the glances he trades with Holden. Borgnine brilliantly realizes Dutch's role as he supports Pike. It's not just Dutch shutting down their idea, it's also Pike allowing himself to look more democratic even though he's completely in line with Dutch who acts as the harsh truth.

Borgnine and Holden both establish this certain connection that Pike and Dutch have incredibly well. Borgnine and Holden are marvelous together as they make you really feel the history the two have had with one another. They capture the certain wavelength between the two so beautifully as they are able to show how each man is able to say a whole lot to one another just through a slight gesture. There is also of course a more verbal moment in this regard which is when they speak to one another at the fireside after finding out that there latest heist only brought them a bag of washers. There is a certain sadness about this as both actors reflect the losses along the way as well as the fact that they are no longer the age they once were, and that society itself is changing around them. In addition though there is striking undercurrent of warmth that Borgnine brings in his interactions as he is so honestly supportive in these scenes as Dutch is a man who will have Pike's back no matter what comes. There friendship is not something that the film exactly constantly dwells on yet both actors are absolutely convincing in creating the powerful camaraderie between the two men.

The one scene where there is an antagonism between the two comes up when Pike defends the technically traitorous former member Thornton (Robert Ryan), but Dutch has no such sympathies for the man. Again the two are exceptional as they both passionately realize how the codes technically are almost the same though how they differ leave the one major disagreement between the two of them. Where Pike is clearly held back by past mistakes, Borgnine is terrific in showing that Dutch is not burdened by this therefore he can't make an exception for Thornton in his mind. Borgnine's work here is outstanding because he does not waste a second of his screen time, especially since he really can't given the technically limits of his part. There are so many slight reactions though that add so much such as when he has to go from a false callousness to a genuine concern when Dutch is forced to give up a member of the bunch who made a mistake, or just his perfect chuckle near the end of the film when it seems like they might make it out of a tense situation. My favorite single moment is his last line which is just yelling out "Pike" one last time. The anguish that Borgnine brings is incredibly moving as he calls back to their friendship in the final moments. This is great work by Borgnine as he makes something special out a role, that in lesser hands, could have been nothing. 

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1969: Robert Ryan in The Wild Bunch

Robert Ryan did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Deke Thornton in The Wild Bunch.

Robert Ryan technically speaking seems to fulfill his often played role, particularly in westerns, that of the villain who's bent on undermining our heroes. Well our heroes The Wild Bunch aren't particularly heroic and Ryan's Thornton is not exactly villainous. We first meet Thornton in the opening scene along with The Wild Bunch as they march into town disguised as soldiers in order to rob a bank. Thornton is not with them rather he is with a group of armed men hiding on the top of a building which overlooks the bank. Ryan establishes Thornton's nature quite effectively in this initial scene as he does not express the determination presented in William Holden's performance as Pike the leader of the bunch, or the obvious blood lust found on the other men in the roof with Thornton. Ryan rather exudes a certain disdain Thornton has as he watches the men ride into to town, clearly in no way relishing what is about to take place, as well as clearly has no love for any of the present company he shares.

When the massacre of a shootout occurs Ryan is excellent in the one moments where Thornton clearly has a good shot on Pike but hesitates to take it. Ryan's reaction is perfection as you see in his eyes an understanding towards Pike and he effectively gives a window into his past with Pike. The reason they have a past though is because Thornton was a former member of the bunch before he was captured mainly due to Pike's own carelessness. Ryan does not show ill will towards Pike being the cause of going along with a railroad man's attempt to take down the gang. This rather comes from his desire never again to return to prison where in a quick flashback we see he was flogged. Ryan is very good in the brief moment where Thornton expresses this desire as in the words he realizes the obvious pain and horrible treatment he received in prison. Although we only see one thing he suffered from in the prison Ryan manages to suggest far more. Ryan does well in the moment as he honestly makes Thornton particularly sympathetic, and honestly his motivation is technically far more noble than the bunch who really just want money.

Ryan's very good in portraying Thornton though as essentially the only competent person who is on the trail of the bunch since the men he has to work with seem a bit too focused on their prize. Ryan's does well to express the exasperation in Thornton whether it's directly to the railroad man, or just in his silent distaste in the men's attitude. Ryan again elicits the right sort of sympathy as his passionate hate reflects just how uncouth and incompetent the posse he is given are, but as well exudes that frustration of a man forced to do something he has no desire to do. What Ryan also does particularly well though is create the competence in Thornton with his performance. Thornton constantly saying the men with him essentially are scum, sometimes right in their general vicinity, could make just seem like the foolish villain himself. Ryan though creates the intelligence in Thornton particularly well in the scenes where he attempts to stop the bunch. Ryan's short moments before the start or during the action are superb as he shows Ryan makes it so Thornton's superiority over his men is a well earned given.

The best part of Ryan's performance though is the way he keeps Thornton's relationship with the bunch as a constant even though there is only a single scene where he directly speaks with a member, and past that even the only flashback is only a very short one where he barely interacts with Pike. Ryan though effortlessly finds the connection between Thornton and the men in every instance. When he sees them succeed and ride off in any instance Ryan is excellent in exuding that nostalgia in the men. What I find the most interesting though is that Ryan does not exactly play it as though Thornton wants to be doing exactly what they're doing per se. Rather what Ryan seems to realize though is a longing to be free in Thornton above else, and to be able to be the man he once was. A great moment of his performance is at the end of the film after the bunch takes on about a hundred men too many. Ryan does play the scene as an overt sadness in Thornton but is very moving by playing it as though Thornton accepting that they finally faced the inevitable on their own terms. This is very strong work  from the underrated Ryan and his final reaction is a great sendoff essentially for the bunch as he seems to exhibit one last reminder of the camaraderie they once had.

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1969

And the Nominees Were Not:

Gene Hackman in Downhill Racer

Helmut Berger in The Damned

Laurence Olivier in Oh! What a Lovely War

Ernest Borgnine in The Wild Bunch

Robert Ryan in The Wild Bunch