Monday 2 June 2014

Alternate Best Actor 1958

And the Nominees Were Not:

Alec Guinness in The Horse's Mouth

Christopher Lee in Horror of Dracula

James Stewart in Vertigo

Toshiro Mifune in The Hidden Fortress

Zbigniew Cybulski in Ashes and Diamonds

35 comments:

Robert MacFarlane said...

1. Stewart
2. Mifune
3. Cybulski
4. Guinness
5. Lee

Maciej said...

Glad to see performance from Poland!

1.Guinness
2.Mifune
3.Stewart
4.Cybulski
5.Lee

RatedRStar said...

1. Stewart
2. Guinness
3. Mifune
4. Cybulski
5. Lee

About darn time that part time actor and part time heavy metal singer Christopher Lee got some recognition =D.

Michael Patison said...

1. James Stewart
2. Toshio Mifune
3. Alec Guinness
4. Zbigniew Cybulski
5. Christopher Lee

Luke Higham said...

1. James Stewart in Vertigo (5)
2, Toshiro Mifune in The Hidden Fortress (5)
3. Alec Guinness in The Horse's Mouth (5)
4. Zbigniew Cybulski in Ashes and Diamonds (5)
5. Christopher Lee in Dracula (4.5)

RatedRStar: I Wholeheartedly agree on Lee. This alongside his performance in The Wicker Man, are the best of his career. Stewart should win this, while 2nd & 3rd are extremely close to call.

RatedRStar said...

Ive never seen Ashes and Diamonds, but I've heard quite great stuff about it, so my predictions are probably going to be wrong but ill stick with this for now.

Michael Patison said...

Louis: Rating and thoughts on Deborah Kerr in The Innocents as well as your thoughts on her in general

mcofra7 said...

I honestly have no idea.
1. Stewart
2. Cybulski
3. Guinness
4. Lee
5. Mifune

Anonymous said...

Louis, please could you give your thoughts and ratings on:

Stephen Dillane in The Hours

Leo McKern in A Man for All Seasons

Burt Lancaster and Lee Marvin in The Professionals

Anonymous said...

1.) Stewart
2.) Guinness
3.) Mifune
4.) Cybulski
5.) Lee

JackiBoyz said...

1. Stewart
2. Cybulski
3. Guinness
4. Mifune
5. Lee

I am kind of a novice for the classic years of films like the 50s, and wouldn't really know where to start lol, so I hope you dont mind me asking people on this blog what their top 10 films of 1958 would be, if there are 10 lol.

RatedRStar said...

@JackiBoyz: I havent seen Ashes and Diamonds or The Hidden Fortress so it is incomplete, but as it currently stands -

1.Vertigo
2.A Night To Remember
3.The Defiant Ones
4.Touch Of Evil
5.The Horses Mouth
6.Cat On A Hot Tin Roof
7.Dunkirk
8.Horror Of Dracula
9.The Fly
10.The Young Lions

Michael Patison said...

I don't even think I've seen 5 from 1958, but I'd definitely check out Vertigo and Touch of Evil. Classics that everyone should see. Elevator to the Gallows is also really good. Gigi, the year's Best Picture winner, is okay. It's not bad, but it's nothing more than just fine.

RatedRStar said...

I thought Gigi was just meh, and as for Louis Jourdan, I think he showed more personality and talent in his appearance on Whats My Line than he ever did in any of his films.

RatedRStar said...

One of my favorite ever movies is Polish, a depressing and raw film called Suicide Room lol

Louis Morgan said...

Michael: Kerr in The Innocents - 5(Easily the best that I have seen from her, as she makes the horror of story come to life all the stronger because of her believable performance. Kerr also is especially compelling by carefully treading the line between an understandable paranoia to full hysteria. It's great work from her)

Kerr most of the time I like well enough in that I do think she has a certain charm and a definite presence. I do feel sometimes she goes a little too much for the obvious emotions leaving some of her performances not especially memorable, but I've never seen a performance from her yet where I thought she was truly bad.

Anonymous:

Stephen Dillane in The Hours - 3.5(A very good performance as with the little time he has he does give us the sense of his difficult relationship with his wife, and he would have been far more deserving than Harris for the Oscar nomination. I actually wish the film delved more into his character, because he did very well with what he did have)

Leo McKern in A Man for All Seasons - 4(I usually like McKern anyway and he's good at playing the smug manipulator. He has the right command for the position of the character, along with the right deviousness)

Lancaster and Marvin - 4(Both technically have somewhat limited roles in their fairly fast-paced western. They both move along with it well creating their character honestly along the way. They both are great at being a bad-ass and actually creating some fairly powerful moments when given the chance)

JackiBoyz: To add to those films mentioned I'd add Teacher's Pet which was a pretty enjoyable romantic comedy, as well as The Blob because why not.

Michael McCarthy said...

Wow...on rewatch, Lee isn't even REMOTELY lead in Dracula

1. James Stewart
2. Alec Guinness
3. Toshiro Mifune
4. Zbigniew Cybulski (I feel like Louis might not go for all his James Dean-isms)
5. Christopher Lee

My top 10 for '58

1. Vertigo
2. Touch of Evil
3. Ashes and Diamonds
4. Gigi (Many disagree but I find it charming)
5. The Defiant Ones
6. Mon oncle
7. A Night to Remember
8. Cat On a Hot Tin Roof
9. Horror of Dracula
10. Ivan the Terrible, Part Two

And question for Louis, what are your ratings and thoughts for Will Patton in No Way Out, as well as ratings for the casts of The Princess Bride and Matewan?

Louis Morgan said...

Patton - 4.5(Easily the best part of a film with one of the dumbest twists I've ever seen. Patton's performance is quite remarkable and his Capote's like mannerisms only add to the character as they feel completely natural to him. Patton makes the whole intense devotion of his character's to Hackman's both believable and incredibly compelling. I wish the rest of the film had been on his level)

The Princess Bride:

Elwes - 4
Wright - 3
Guest - 4
Sarandon - 4
Shawn - 4
Crystal - 4
Smith - 3.5
Falk - 3.5
Savage - 2

Matewan:

Strathairn - 4
Jones - 4
Cooper - 4
Gunton - 4
Oldham - 2
McDonnell - 3

JamDenTel said...

1. Guinness
2. Stewart
3. Cybulski
4. Mifune
5. Lee

So what rating DO you give Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany's? I'm guessing pretty bad.

Mark said...

1. Mifune
2. Stewart
3. Guinness
4. Lee
5. Cybulski

Lezlie said...

1. Toshiro Mifune
2. Alec Guinness
3. James Stewart
4. Zbigniew Cybulski
5. Christopher Lee

Luke Higham said...

JamDelTel: It's a 1.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Your rating & thoughts on Charlton Heston, in Touch of Evil.

Anonymous said...

1. Stewart
2. Mifune
3. Guinness
4. Cybulski
5. Lee

Stewart's role here is one of the biggest snubs in oscar history.

John Smith said...

Louis i would like your rating and thoughts on Kristen Stewart as an actress, i just saw Adventure Land and was surprised over how good she was.

Luke Higham said...

John Smith: She has the Charisma of a Vacuum, Therefore, she get's a -5 from me.

Robert MacFarlane said...

She's supposedly really good in a new film that premiered at Cannes. Hell, RPatz got great reviews for Cannes too. Twilight was basically a black hole that sucked the life out of its actors.

Louis Morgan said...

Luke:

Heston - 3.5(I suppose I am a bit of a Heston defender, as you can say what you want, but the man's got screen presence. He also should not be blamed for playing a Mexican as that was Welles's idea after Heston was already involved. Plus Heston actually thankfully does not try to throw on any cheesy accent, rather he is just given a makeup job. Heston's performance is completely solid as he brings the passion as the hero who simply wants to see justice done)

John Smith: Honestly I haven't seen much of her work so I can't really form an opinion on her abilities as an actress overall.

Maciej said...

RatedRStar: Glad to hear it, Suicide Room is a really great movie, so I'm glad to see it get recognition internationally!

RatedRStar said...

@Maciej: I felt like the story was about me since I look and dress like that lol so I connected with it immediately, I may request it eventually because Louis might find it an interesting film lol.

bondfan said...

1. Mifune
2. Stewart
3. Cybulski
4. Guinness
5. Lee

Michael McCarthy said...

What are your ratings and thoughts for Clint Eastwood in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Magnum Force, and In the Line of Fire?

Louis Morgan said...

Michael:

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly - 4.5(Once again the stalwart leading man in the trilogy. He once again balances his portrayal with the right menace, cool, and even some heart like as in his scene with the dying soldier. Most importantly he is a great deadpan counterpart to Wallach's great performance)

Magnum Force - 4(Eastwood is solid in all the Dirty Harry sequels, besides The Deadpool, as he brings all the great surface qualities to the part again. Those films though don't allow him really to explore the character as he did in the original film)

In the Line of Fire - 4.5(One of the most leading man, style leading man performances from him. He does it well though bringing some charm and humor nicely to the part, as well as some actual weight in the portrayal of his character's uncertainty)

Unknown said...

Wat wud u say r the top ten best acting performances of the 1950s

Louis Morgan said...

1. Toshiro Mifune - Rashomon
2. Alec Guinness - The Bridge on the River Kwai
3. James Stewart - Vertigo
4. Takashi Shimura - Ikiru
5. Alistair Sim - Scrooge
6. Marlon Brando - On the Waterfront
7. Robert Mitchum - Night of the Hunter
8. Sessue Hayakawa - The Bridge on the River Kwai
9. Orson Welles - Touch of Evil
10. Barry Fitzgerald - The Quiet Man