Best Supporting Actor 1954: Edmond O'Brien in The Barefoot Contessa

Edmond O'Brien won an Oscar from his first nomination for portraying Oscar Muldoon in The Barefoot Contessa.

The Barefoot Contessa is a bare and unpleasant film that tells the story of a Spanish dancer, that does not result in very much interest for me. 

Edmond O'Brien plays Oscar Muldoon who is a sweaty, yes man and promoter. O'Brien's character is not exactly one of extreme depth or really all that interesting. He just has to do these little things where he shows he is spineless to his rich boss, and to show a sort of charisma when he is trying to convince someone of something or do his promoting. O'Brien is fine at this but he never really seems that convincing, but that is not exactly all his fault.

He probably should have been a little more charismatic with the sweaty slimey nature of the character hidden. Instead he tries to do both at once resulting in a performance that does not quite work. But it is not his fault since the film describes him as slimey therefore the film really was not purposeful not being subtle in showing his character. His performance though is technically fine again it is a supporting nominee who accomplishes everything really required for him to do, but in the end it does not seem to be all that much. The film never helps him since his character really is not very well done or interesting, and O'Brien merely tries his best with what he has. He never is great, and perhaps someone could have done something more with the character, but O'Brien does what he can with his character.