Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1956: Results

5. Elisha Cook, Jr in The Killing -  Cook plays his usual role of the weak willed criminal, but this is particularly good example of it.

 Best Scene: George returns home after the shootout.

4. Ward Bond in The Searchers - Bond does some very fine work here delivery the best comic moments of the film as well as being one of the few supporting players who can stand their ground with John Wayne's searing performance.

Best Scene: Ethan finishes the job.

3. Edward G. Robinson in The Ten Commandments - Robinson gives an entertaining and appropriately devious portrayal of every phase of his character's ever changing form of villainy.

Best Scene: Dathan gives the deliverer to Rameses.

2. Yul Brynner in The Ten Commandments - Brynner gives a very effective performance by bringing both the needed command and ego fitting for a villain such as Rameses.

Best Scene: "Moses Moses Moses"

1. Eli Wallach in Baby Doll - Good Predictions Luke, mcofra7, Michael Patison, and RatedRStar. Eli Wallach gives a wonderful performance creating striking up some truly fiery chemistry with his female co-star, as well as being impeccable delivering both the dramatic and comedic moments in the material. It is my favorite of these five performances, but this really is a leading performance.

Best Scene: Silva and Baby Doll on the swing.

Overall Rank:

1. Ed Wynn in The Great Man
2. Yul Brynner in The Ten Commandments
3. Anthony Quinn in Lust For Life
4. James Dean in Giant
5. Edward G. Robinson in The Ten Commandments
6. Ward Bond in The Searchers
7. Lee Marvin in Attack
8. Everett Sloane in Patterns 
9. Elisha Cook, Jr. in The Killing
10. Ed Begley in Patterns
11. Stephen Boyd in The Man Who Never Was
12. James Donald in Lust for Life 
13. Dennis Hopper in Giant
14. James Mason in Forever, Darling 
15. Walter Brennan in Good-Bye, My Lady
16. Anthony Perkins in Friendly Persuasion
17. Vincent Price in The Ten Commandments 
18. Timothy Carey in The Killing
19. Henry Jones in The Girl Can't Help It
20. Rod Steiger in The Harder They Fall
21. Keenan Wynn in The Great Man
22. Leo Genn in Moby Dick
23. Cedric Hardwicke in The Ten Commandments
24. Edmond O'Brien in The Girl Can't Help It
25. Henry Jones in The Bad Seed
26. Anthony Quayle in The Wrong Man
27. Walter Matthau in Bigger Than Life
28. Terry-Thomas in The Green Man
29. Fredric March in The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit
30. Sidney Poitier in Good-bye, My Lady
31. Robert Strauss in Attack
32. Ted de Corsia in The Killing
33. Richard Basehart in Moby Dick
34. Bernard Miles in The Man Who Knew Too Much
35. Jay C. Flippen in The Killing
36. Arthur O'Connell in Bus Stop
37. Orson Welles in Moby Dick
38. Lee J. Cobb in The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit
39. Louis Calhern in Forever, Darling
40. Cameron Prud'Homme in The Rainmaker
41. Keenan Wynn in The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit
42. Richard Jaeckel in Attack
43. Russ Morgan in The Great Man
44. Henry Brandon in The Searchers
45. Sal Mineo in Somebody Up There Likes Me
46. Minoru Chiaki in Samurai III: Duel At Ganryu Island
47. Leo McKern in X: The Unknown
48. Mickey Rooney in The Bold and the Brave
49. Dean Jagger in The Great Man
50. Joseph Sweeney in The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit
51. Robert Stack in Written on the Wind
52. James Edwards in The Killing
53. Everett Sloan in Somebody Up There Likes Me
54. John Carradine in The Ten Commandments
55. Robert Bray in Bus Stop
56. HB Warner The Ten Commandments
57. Robert Newton in Around the World in 80 Days
58. Louis Calhern in High Society
59. Trevor Howard in Around the World in 80 Days  
60. Raymond Huntley in The Green Man
61. Arthur O'Connell in The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit
62. Wendell Corey in The Rainmaker
63. Takashi Shimura in Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island
64. Akim Tamiroff in Anastasia
65. Louis Armstrong in High Society
66. Lloyd Bridges in The Rainmaker
67. Eddie Albert in Attack
68. Vince Edwards in The Killing
69. John Qualen in The Searchers
70. Felix Aylmer in Anastasia
71. John Derek in The Ten Commandments
72. Edward Chapman in X: The Unknown
73. Robert F. Simon in Bigger Than Life
74. Robert Keith in Written on the Wind
75. Paul Fix in The Bad Seed
76. Anthony Newley in X: The Unknown
77. Earl Holliman in The Rainmaker
78. Pedro Armendariz in The Conqueror
79. Friedrich von Ledebur in Moby Dick
80. John Hoyt in Forever, Darling
81. John Lund in High Society 
82. Richard Eyer in Friendly Persuasion
83. Lonny Chapman in Baby Doll
84. Harry Carey, Jr. in The Searchers
85. Martin Benson in The King and I
86. Ken Curtis in The Searchers
87. Thomas Gomez in The Conqueror 
88. Patrick Adiarte in The King and I
89. Ted de Corsia in The Conqueror 
90. Christopher Olsen in The Man Who Knew Too Much
91. Hank Worden in The Searchers
92. Christopher Olsen in Bigger Than Life

Next Year: 1972 Lead

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1956: Elisha Cook, Jr. in The Killing

Elisha Cook, Jr. did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying George Peatty in The Killing.

Elisha Cook, Jr. can be noted as perhaps the grandfather of the loser henchmen, where it's not a question of whether or not they will die but rather when they will die, paving way for the likes of similarly "pathetic" actors like Steve Buscemi, David Patrick Kelly, and currently Paul Dano. Cook just could never get a break whether he was playing the communist everyone makes fun of in The Pigskin Parade, the gunsel everyone makes fun of in The Maltese Falcon, or here where he plays one of the men in a plot to get a "Killing" in a race track robbery. Things don't exactly look great for Cook as George is one of the inside men on the job, as he is one of the window tellers at the track. Well he's not so pathetic this time in his job, or at first, even in his interactions with the other men working on the scheme of the heist, rather this comes out most strongly when we get George's personal story through the scenes that he shares with his wife Sherry (Marie Windsor).

Sherry of course is nothing but a greedy, shallow, adulteress who obviously has nothing but disdain for her husband. Cook is very good in their scenes together as he shows just how much he is controlled by his wife. Cook almost never seems to break his stare off of her as though George is looking for a single moment of adoration from her, something he never really does see. The way he leans and watches her, even the always sorta tender a way he speaks to her, Cook exudes such a striking desperation in George as he is obviously held in her sway simple because he desires his love returned so badly. The worst part for George though is that he cannot even talk big in the right way as he tries to get her respect by promising that he'll be rich soon. Cook's delivery though shows such a weakness in this statement and basically shows that George basically encourages Sherry to start prodding him for information. His attempts to backtrack or avoid the question though also shown by Cook to be such a difficult thing for him to do that him giving away the plot is inevitable.

With the guys Cook is good at playing George at trying to be like one of them, although with a noticeable discomfort. This only grows when the guys catch Sherry listening in and Cook naturally breaks down. There's a reason Cook played so many pathetic characters because he was great at it. He reduces down to that quick talking nervousness with such ease, and makes George so perfectly meek. After narrowly avoiding punishment from the other guys George even considers backing out as Cook portrays George's fear only growing. The only thing that brings him back is Sherry offering a bit of false adoration towards him, and Cook so naturally brings George right back under her sway once again. Cook though is not wholly one note and does well to have a subtle undercurrent of anger in George. He gives the sense that George is aware of the true nature of his wife, but his more base desires keeps him from really doing anything about. This comes into play when after the heist, Sherry's own plan goes into plan where she uses her lover to ripoff the guys. Cook makes George's finally snapping particularly convincing and rather powerful that results in a bloodbath leaving George as the sole survivor. Cook's best scene is perhaps when the wounded George stumbles home to Sherry who ineffectually attempts to hide her treachery. Cook is rather moving in this single scene as he plays it as George looking one more time to his wife for affection. He is denied once again so he shoots her and Cook is wonderfully woeful, in a good one of course, once more as he still expresses George's subservience though this time not enough for him not to take his revenge. Cook's work here is of course right in his type, but that's just fine, because he was good at being that type.

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1956

And the Nominees Were Not:

Eli Wallach in Baby Doll

Elisha Cook, Jr. in The Killing

Ward Bond in The Searchers

Yul Brynner in The Ten Commandments

Edward G. Robinson in The Ten Commandments