Alternate Best Actor 1946: Results

5. Sydney Greenstreet in The Verdict - Greenstreet is innately an interesting performer but even that struggles under the often repetitive role he has here. 

 

Best Scene: Summary.  

4. Michel Simon in Panique - Simon gives a convincing performance as an eccentric but mostly innocent man being played as the fool.

 

Best Scene:  Finale.

3. Franco Interlenghi in Shoeshine - Interlenghi gives a moving and convincing portrayal of a boy's friendship but also his hardened state slowly being worn away by a cruel system.

 

Best Scene: Interrogation.  

2. Michael Redgrave in The Captive Heart - Redgrave gives a moving portrayal of the quiet tension but also determination of a man living under constant threat yet still trying to maintain his humanity. 

 

Best Scene: Explaining his story. 

1. Charles Boyer in Cluny Brown - Good prediction Robert. Boyer is at his most charming here in delivering on the wonderful wit of his character where he manages to be the smartest man in the room so effortlessly and delightfully.  

 

Best Scene:  Final talk with Cluny.

Updated Overall 

 

Next: A few supporting reviews for 46. 

Alternate Best Actor 1946: Charles Boyer in Cluny Brown

Charles Boyer did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Adam Belinski in Cluny Brown.

Cluny Brown is a wonderful romantic satire of a European professor and the niece of a plumber who together don’t quite fit into the rigid expectations of English society. 

We return to Charles Boyer quite swiftly after his long absence to another un-nominated turn of his. Boyer in this instance plays the atypical lead as a European professor and writer escaping from the Nazi’s for his expressly anti-Nazi views. Although that may sound very dramatic, we actually begin with Adam Belinski just arriving to some random party in England early and in fact being mistaken for a plumber. Boyer is really taking upon two challenges of this role that I would necessarily have pegged him as being ideal for before watching this film yet he absolutely is. The first challenge really is the dialogue itself which is fairly rapid fire for Belinski specifically as he talks circles around everyone, and while Boyer frequently has a more deliberate delivery in most films, in this film he thrives with the far greater tempo. Boyer has an ease with his dialogue and it really just so naturally flows throughout where Boyer through this exudes the intelligence of his Belinski with such considerable ease. There’s the next challenge though is that all this superior intelligence could easily come off as pompous, but Boyer is damn charming here. Boyer’s magnificent in the way he’s able to articulate the nature of Belinski who is smarter than everyone, knows this fact, yet I think he manages to find the tricky high wire of owning but still making Belinski so likable. I think Boyer knows how to emphasize the fun of it all and only brings a more admonishing quality in his quick asides when Belinski is being more corrective against societal foolishness. We even have the opening meeting where he basically gets the host to let him sleep somewhere through this word juggling that Boyer makes so easy to in a way talking down to the man’s manner yet doing so in a way in which he seems the most gracious of teachers. 

The party though leads to two different meetings, one is meeting a young man of wealthy family Andrew (Peter Lawford) who is currently struggling to confirm his romantic relationship Betty Cream (Helen Walker) who is purposefully playing a love triangle between him and another man. Andrew knows of Belinski and offers him a place to stay at his parent’s mansion. I love Boyer’s reactions to the young man’s earnest but also political posturing, where he so naturally manages to bring a graciousness while wholly sarcastically appreciating the young man’s act of writing letters to a newspaper as his great act. Regardless Belinski takes up the offer, and I think what Boyer manages to do though is create in even his sarcasm this genuine glint of appreciation of any passion for his cause even if perhaps the safest. The even more important meeting though comes from the titular Cluny Brown (Jennifer Jones) who acts on her uncle’s behalf, though not with his knowledge, to fix the man’s plumbing issues. Cluny, who loves to plumb, is a ball of fire of enthusiasm though too she ignores the expectations of society though more so in being exactly who she is than coming at Belinski’s intellectual superiority. Either way Boyer’s great in being as impressed with the young woman’s candor, as frankly we the audience are. Boyer’s wonderful in presenting this utter fascination towards Cluny as someone far above and beyond the norm, while offering even this minor self-depication as a non-romantic pact to support each other in their ill-fitting ways. 

Belinski becomes a guest at the house of Andrew’s family which by chance, at the same time Cluny is hired as their new maid, in an attempt by her uncle to set her on the "right path". Although she is almost immediately fired for speaking freely at meals by earnestly suggesting the best food, only saved by Belinski’s intercession pointing out that the host indeed took the piece she suggested. Boyer’s great in just his work of his eyes of admiration but also kind of taking in each scene with the sense of criticism being prepared before he says them, though delivered again in that fantastic way of confronting without confrontation that Boyer makes feel so natural each time. Belinski’s indirect methods get the best of him when he learns Cluny is seeing a local chemist as a romantic partner just as he realizes his own interest in her as such. Something I think Boyer again thrives in his way of cultivating the sense of true admiration that goes beyond just enjoying her rejection of norms but loving everything she does. Boyer’s fantastic in showing this as even something that knocks Belinski back in the moments where he gives his hand away particularly in the almost childlike enthusiasm he brings as Belinski questions Betty if the talkative Cluny ever mentions him. Meanwhile Belinski is still plying his methods beyond that such as directly trying to resolve the Betty, Arthur issue by simply asking her what’s the deal. Where I do love Boyer is just playing the directness of it so well but with his natural humorous touches. Even the moment of commenting on the need to press on in his Anti-Nazi effort, Boyer I think beautifully hits that passionate note with a quiet conviction that reveals the real heart of Belinski. Speaking of my favorite moment of his performance actually isn’t the wit, as much as I’ve enjoyed that, it is a moment of certain earnestness. That is when he’s leaving, thinking Cluny will be married off, she rushes to meet him before he leaves. Where we do get the key chemistry between Jones, where it is less of lusty eyes but rather the combination of Cluny getting to be herself while Boyer projecting nothing but the purest appreciation where both honestly glow as one. I love the pivotal moment where Boyer shows Belinski taking his usual appreciation of Cluny’s one of a kind qualities, until she notes that she was coldly dismissed by the chemist, his mother and other guests for daring to do some needed plumbing. There’s a surprising power in the humor completely lifting from Boyer’s face and there being nothing but deep concern for this horrible treatment of Cluny. Boyer unlocks the key of the moment so naturally in seeing as much as he adores the idiosyncrasy of her, he also hates the rejection of her. A relatively swift wrap up to the film, however honestly it wholly worked for me greatly because I feel both Boyer and Jones deliver the moment so honestly you can’t help but feel they should be together. 

Alternate Best Actor 1946

 And the Nominees Were Not:

 

Michel Simon in Panique

 

Michael Redgrave in The Captive Heart

 

Charles Boyer in Cluny Brown

 

Franco Interlenghi in Shoeshine

 

Sydney Greenstreet in The Verdict  

Alternate Best Actor 1953: Results

5. Kazou Hasegawa in Gate of Hell - Hasegawa is able to hit the extreme notes called upon him as a character with limited substance but is very much overshadowed by his co-stars who express a bit more nuance in their roles. 

 

Best Scene:  Ending

 

4. Jack Hawkins in The Cruel Sea - Hawkins gives a reliably good performance however his fully lead performance here suggests the possible limitations of his ability as a leading man as a opposed to a character actor. 

 

Best Scene: After the choosing to ignore the men in the sea. 

3. Charles Boyer in The Earrings of Madame de…. - Boyer gives an effective performance in very much playing into his imperious presence in an effective way as essentially presenting his character as above typical human interaction.

 

Best Scene: Requesting the duel. 

2. James Stewart in The Naked Spur - Stewart gives an effectively raw portrayal of a damaged man and successfully downplays his typical charm and heroic presence. 

 

Best Scene: Making the final choice. 

1. Chishū Ryū in Tokyo Story - Good prediction Calvin. Ryū gives a low key but powerful portrayal of the different quiet shades of a father and finding the joy but also painful truths of this man. 

 

Best Scene: Tragedy strikes 

Updated Overall 

 

Next: 1953 Supporting Reviews (Not a lineup) 

Alternate Best Actor 1953: Charles Boyer in The Earrings of Madame de...

Charles Boyer did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying General André de... in The Earrings of Madame de….

The Earrings of Madame de… follows the possession of the titular earrings of a well to do wife of a General and how their ownership changes the dynamics of her and her husband’s life. 

It’s been quite some time since I’ve covered a Charles Boyer performance, and the only time I’ve covered a Charles Boyer performance where he was speaking in his native French. An actor I’ve always thought had presence but his standout role for me has always been Gaslight because his cold imperious demeanor seemed to fit the manipulative horrible husband of that character. Boyer once again plays a manipulative husband although the situation is quite a bit different here as we follow his relationship with the fairly shallow Madame de… first name Louise (Danielle Darrieux). The opening act follows Louise as she sells her earrings to support her lifestyle while putting on an elaborate act of “losing” them at the theater to convince her husband of such. Honestly throughout this sequence I found Boyer to be the most charming I’ve seen him in anything, not because he presents any sort of great loving husband or anything of that ilk, rather it is the way he presents the General as a man so very much in comfort both with himself and his wife’s approach to life as obviously imperfect as it is. Boyer’s quite a bit of fun as he goes along with the act with the sense that the General has some doubts to begin with and is just having fun playing along with it. One moment particularly worthy of note is a tradeoff with a servant of a man who accuses the General of having stared at his wife. Boyer’s playful delivery of deflecting while also completely admitting to the notion via a compliment of the beauty of the man’s wife before talking with pride of his own is just a wonderful bit of work, and genuinely charming in that very specific ownership of the situation. 

An approach by Boyer that only continues as he learns from their jeweler of his wife’s deceit. Boyer’s reaction though isn’t of any negativity whatsoever, in fact his reaction presents a certain enjoyment of the whole situation. I will admit particular affection for his reaction to his wife bemoaning the loss after he fully knows and Boyer’s exuding this particular joy of someone just loving the game more than anything. An aspect that only continues when the General chooses to give the earrings off to his own departing mistress as a gift. Boyer in that scene brings a playful energy as a man making the gift a bit of a trick of his own. The film then switches its focus more so on the romance between Louise and Baron Fabrizio Donati (Vittorio De Sica). Where the General is just occasionally checked into. Boyer supposedly had arguments with writer/director Max Ophüls over the motivation of the General, and understandably so as the character becomes a bit more enigmatic. Boyer apparently responded by choosing to play his scenes as omnipotent and taking that info manages to make some sense of the General’s switch from being amused by his wife’s actions to becoming a imperious judge against them. Boyer I think does maintain the thread though presenting the General essentially as this force for the social order and less so on a specific personal level. The scene of him pleading for her to maintain the arrangement is less of a desperate or even jealous husband, and more of an authoritarian ruler making quite clear the specific laws of his nation. An idea only extended upon later in the film where he challenges Donati to a duel. Again a scene where Boyer actually doesn’t play it all emotional, and I found his approach even slightly comical as the General speaks around the true infraction in a way. Boyer delivers the scene so rapidly and as a matter-of-fact, as again more so this is a requirement of the society that he make the duel challenge more than this is an emotional man trying to keep his wife. Boyer I think finds an internal logic within the film and his own performance. As much as I think Max Ophüls is the true star of the film, Boyer I think manages to stay present beyond the vision even when working in the vision by finding some genuine entertainment within presenting the General in consistently more satirical terms. 

Alternate Best Actor 1953

And the Nominees Were Not:

Chishū Ryū in Tokyo Story

Charles Boyer in The Earrings of Madame de...

Jack Hawkins in The Cruel Sea

James Stewart in The Naked Spur

Kazuo Hasegawa in Gate of Hell

Best Actor 1944: Results

5. Cary Grant in None But the Lonely Heart- Grant is not able to rise above, or even compensate for his miscasting in this role. Grant should have been nominated many more times than he was but this is not one of them.

4. Bing Crosby in Going My Way- Crosby role is not much of a challenge, it requires him to sing, and to be  charming, which he is, but he really does not do anything in his role that needed to be rewarded.

3. Alexander Knox in Wilson- Knox gives a strong passionate performance as Woodrow Wilson. He makes Wilson a likable and interesting character well keeping with the film's just about portrayal of Wilson as  just about perfect.

2. Barry Fitzgerald in Going My Way- Barry Fitzgerald's performance is indeed a supporting performance, but a great supporting performance. His performance, is an honest deeply effective piece of work. I do not mind not giving him the award here since he has his own proper category to win.

1. Charles Boyer in Gaslight- Charles Boyer gives an effectively mysterious performance in Gaslight. Boyer reveals carefully about his character, and his brutal control in the film is brilliantly done by Boyer, as is his terrific final scene where the tables finally turn on his character.

Deserving Performances:
Fred MacMurray in Double Indemnity

Best Actor 1944: Charles Boyer in Gaslight

Charles Boyer received his third Oscar nomination for portraying Gregory Anton in Gaslight.

Gaslight is a quite effective film about a woman who is does not know if she is going, or if there really is something nefarious going on around her.

Like most films which are thrillers like this film, spoilers must be mentioned to be able to really speak of the details of Charles Boyer's performance in this film. Charles Boyer's performance is in the line of the many mysterious man roles, which not that much is known of the past, but he is certainly is hiding something. This type of role honestly can make cause an actor to turn out some great performances example including my personal winner of 37 Robert Montgomery in Night Must Fall, as well as the unnominated Joseph Cotton in Shadow of a Doubt.

Charles Boyer was cast apparently cast against his usual type which is interesting because Boyer, always has a certain coldness to all his performances even his romantic ones. His coldness comes well into play in this film, that is most certian. The film begins though as Gregory Anton is the mysterious suitor of Ingrid Bergman's Paula. Boyer in these earliest of scenes just suggest the more usual Boyer performance, of the commanding , and not all the lovey French romantic.Boyer as usual though is fully believable in his romantic prowess as he had also been in Algiers.

There is more to be revealed of Gregory though when he marries Paula and they move into her old home where her famous Aunt had been murdered. It is here that Gregory shows a much darker side to himself. I think Boyer is properly effective in just these earliest of the scenes, by suggesting that Gregory certainly is hiding something, but still keeps a good enough of his romantic facade so that Paula does not possibly catch on to his true motives.

I think one key moment Boyer has is one of the few scenes after he and Paula get married where they actually go out which is to the tower of London. Boyer again is good in always showing how Gregory always is hiding something, and has the proper anxiousness when he slips up. Also important is when he looks at the crown jewels, and he shows a true lust in his body over the special jewelry, this is an important character trait to the story that Boyer establishes quite well and with believability, without bringing two much attention to it.

Soon though more of Gregory comes out as he starts controlling Paula in rather brutal, and extremely cold fashions. He never allows her to go out of there home, and constantly tells here that she is losing her mind. Boyer is quite chilling in these scenes, and I think it is not only what he does to her but how he does it. Boyer always is perfect here because he makes Gregory always act like what he is doing for her own good, and tries to act like he still is being warm to her, even though he is in fact being terribly cruel to her.

These scenes are rather difficult to watch because of his terrible cruelty he has to her, but they as well strangely fascinating because Boyer shows that he has almost absolute sway over her due to his constant manipulations of her. Boyer holds so much power over her it certainly is striking to watch. His very best scene though probably comes with Ingrid Bergman's best scene at the very end of the film where their roles are reversed. It is amazing to see Boyer completely lose his grasp on the situation, and finally reveal the cowardly pathetic man behind his cruel exterior. Boyer whole performance is strong effective layered performance, that works exceedingly well with Ingrid Bergman's performance.

Best Actor 1944

And the Nominees Were:

Alexander Knox in Wilson

Charles Boyer in Gaslight

Bing Crosby in Going My Way

Barry Fitzgerald in Going My Way

Cary Grant in None But the Lonely Heart

Best Actor 1938: Results

5. Spencer Tracy in Boys Town- Spencer Tracy's performance is not really bad, but he is not required to do anything more than be nice.

4. Charles Boyer in Algiers- Although I liked what Boyer did with what he had. Boyer was properly smooth, but the character just did not have enough to it to create a really interesting performance.

3. Leslie Howard in Pygmalion- Leslie Howard is quite effective as Henry Higgins, not only in creating an entertaining portrait of the pompous professor, but also a more in-depth complex portrait of a cold man as well.

2. Robert Donat in The Citadel- Donat brings an effectiveness and believability of every single phase of his character. Donat's performance is powerful, charming, and very effective. 

1. James Cagney in Angels With Dirty Faces- Cagney does his usual gangster performance for part of the performance which is good, but the best part of the performance is showing the soft side of the gangster as he tried to help his old friend who is priest. Also his last scene is amazing.

Deserving Performances:

Best Actor 1938: Charles Boyer in Algiers

Charles Boyer received his second Oscar nomination for portraying Pepe le Moko in Algiers.

Algiers tells of the police trying to catch jewel thief Pepe, Algiers begins interesting, but it slowly turns to very little.

Charles Boyer is Pepe Le Moko a theif who hides from the police by staying a complex section of the city called the Casbah. Boyer actually despite the film being entirely about him, strangely is not in the film as much as you may think he would be since much of the film is about how others try to catch him, or how they react to him.

Boyer though when he is on screen certianly instantly reflects exactly the type of character Pepe should be. He shows a complete understanding of his surroundings, and naturally has an entirely complete control of his situation. Boyer's whole manner is perfectly fitting of his intelligent and suave thief.

Boyer also has the right manner throughout his performance, and I find his romances in the film interesting, because he is not particularly warm with the women in the film. He shows this as a different kind of more commanding and control of them instead, that fits well for Pepe le Moko, much better than if he was overly lovey in his performance. 

Although I felt Boyer was technically with what he did, I felt there was something lacking about his entire character. Not because of Boyer's performance, but rather because there was simply lacking in Pepe as written. You just do not see enough of who Pepe le Moko is rather than being just a smooth criminal, and a smooth romantic. Boyer is indeed good at being quite smooth, and gets probably the most out of what he has, but I needed a little more.

Best Actor 1938

And the Nominees Were:

Robert Donat in The Citadel

Leslie Howard in Pygmalion

Spencer Tracy in Boys Town

James Cagney in Angels With Dirty Faces

Charles Boyer in Algiers

Best Actor 1961: Results

5. Charles Boyer in Fanny- Boyer is fine enough but his role is too small and simple for him to accomplish all that much.

4. Spencer Tracy in Judgment At Nuremberg- Tracy gives a quietly affecting portrayal of a man quietly coming to grips with a terrible situation. 

3. Maximilian Schell in Judgment At Nuremberg- Schell's performance is a triumph of so powerfully presenting on the wrong side of an issue.

2. Paul Newman in The Hustler- An absolutely terrific performance, where Newman really creates a fascinating original character in Fast Eddie Felson. Newman never goes the easy way with his character, always going for instead a complex and creative character.

1. Stuart Whitman in The Mark- This one was extremely close for me, and much harder to choose than I expected it to be, before I watched the Mark. Whitman though completely threw me off with his extremely powerful complex performance of a deeply troubled man trying to change his life. I will say I do not think Whitman is better Newman, they are both equally great, but the nature of the award is choosing one, and for the moment I will choose Whitman. This is a year though where I am sure my choice could easily go back forth, because both create such memorable and powerful portraits of two incredibly unique characters.

Deserving Performances:
Open to Suggestions.

Best Actor 1961: Charles Boyer in Fanny

Charles Boyer received his fourth and final Oscar nomination for portraying Cesar in Fanny.

Fanny is an odd one, because it seems like it should be a musical but it isn't. I mean colorful locale, a rather simple story with various colorful characters, and Maurice Chevalier, one would think that would equal to a musical, but it is not, even though apparently it was on stage.

I guess the Academy did not value many lead performances from this year since Maximilian Schell was really supporting, as is Charles Boyer in Fanny, especially in the first half of the film. Cesar is the father of the young man Marius (Horst Buchholz) who impregnates Fanny (Leslie Caron), but hops on a ship to get adventure in his life. Fanny to not be disgraced marries another older man Panisse (Maurice Chevalier).

Boyer's Cesar is one of the colorful characters, a nice bar owner, who loves his son, even though he does get very much disappointed by some of his decisions. Boyer is nice and colorful, enough, and is good at portraying an over the top character without being too over the top. Boyer early on is likable enough, but I really do not think he would stick out all that well, if not for the fact that I was always looking for him.

Boyer really does not do all that much, but show love for his son I guess, and and act happy or surprised I guess, and occasionally saddened as the situation involving his son changes. Cesar always wants to do the right thing, always even if that means stopping his son from breaking up the marriage between Panisse and Fanny. I suppose he is properly strict, and saddened by his son, but still it never is anything all that special, or anything that really needs to be noted.

Overall Boyer's performance really fulfills his role as well as it probably could be filled, but the role just demands far too little from him. He needs to be nice, somewhat charming, and also a good figure in the film, and he does all of these well enough, but the film gives him no time to do anything more than this. Boyer is perfectly fine throughout his performance I do believe that, but even for a supporting performance it is a very limited character.

Best Actor 1961

And the Nominees Were:

Paul Newman in The Hustler

Stuart Whitman in The Mark

Maximilian Schell in Judgment At Nuremberg

Spencer Tracy in Judgment At Nuremberg

Charles Boyer in Fanny

 Well here it is the most requested year. I frankly do not know how almost everyone was so interested in this year exactly, but I guess I'll see how it is.

Best Actor 1937: Results

5. Spencer Tracy in Captain Courageous- Tracy I just think is completely unbelievable in this role, I never was convinced by his accent or his performance.

4. Paul Muni in The Life of Emile Zola- Muni does do some overacting in some scenes, and Zola is portrayed rather simply in the film itself. Still though he handles the speeches of Zola pretty well, and his changes as Zola ages are very well done.

3. Charles Boyer in Conquest- Boyer is perfectly cast as Napoleon, but unfortunately napoleon is portrayed incredibly inconsistently. Still Boyer does have some strong moments, and shows if the film had been better than he probably could have been great.

2. Fredric March in A Star is Born- Like Boyer I do feel March is hurt a little by the film, but he still gives a very charming performance as Norman Maine. Then as Norman's stardom falls he gives a pretty effective portrait of a man who continues to drift downward, despite the fact the film rushes this far too much.

1. Robert Montgomery in Night Must Fall- Montgomery is absolutely brilliant in his performance here. He is both charming and incredibly chilling. His performance is truly great, giving the right hints of the true nature of the character throughout, and mixes his charm with his psychotic nature incredibly well. And his final look at himself in the mirror that is just a truly outstanding scene.

Deserving Performances:
Cary Grant in The Awful Truth
Stan Laurel in Way Out West
Oliver Hardy in Way Out West