Alternate Best Actor 1953: Results

5. Montgomery Clift in I Confess- Clift gives a solid performance that always remains true to his character even if I wish it was a little less overshadowed by the plot.

Best Scene: Father Logan confronts the murderer.

4. Marlon Brando in The Wild One- Brando's performance is mostly repetitive but fitting for his character, and the few moments where he breaks the mold are quite effective.

Best Scene: Johnny runs from the mob.

3. Glenn Ford in The Big Heat- Ford might not reach the heights that the role seems to offer, but he still gives a fairly striking subversion of his usual decent average man type of character.

Best Scene: Bannion confronts the murderer.

2. Masayuki Mori in Ugetsu- Mori's performance is somewhat limited but good in portraying every moment of his character's rather odd journey.

Best Scene: Genjuro reunites with his "wife". 

1. James Mason in Julius Caesar- Good predictions Luke, JackiBoyz, and Kevin. Mason gives a powerful performance bringing such poignancy to his depiction of a man who stands by his convictions no matter how dark of a place they bring him to.

 

Best Scene: Brutus stabs Caesar.

Overall Rank:

1. Montgomery Clift in From Here to Eternity
2. James Mason in Julius Caesar
3. Chishū Ryū in Tokyo Story
4. James Stewart in The Naked Spur 
5. James Mason in Charade
6. Burt Lancaster in From Here to Eternity 
7. Masayuki Mori in Ugetsu
8. Charles Boyer in The Earrings of Madame de….
9. Masayuki Mori in Love Letter 
10. Clifton Webb in Titanic   
11. Charles Vanel in The Wages of Fear
12. Yves Montand in The Wages of Fear
13. Hans Conried in Peter Pan 
14. Trevor Howard in The Heart of the Matter  
15. Glenn Ford in The Big Heat
16. Marlon Brando in The Wild One
17. Montgomery Clift in I Confess
18. James Mason in The Man Between 
19. Lars Ekborg in Summer With Monika 
20. Eitaro Ozawa in Ugetsu
21. Charles Winninger in The Sun Shines Bright
22. Jack Hawkins in The Cruel Sea 
23. Alan Ladd in Shane 
24. Vincent Price in House of Wax 
25. Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday 
26. Richard Widmark in Pickup on South Street 
27. Arturo de Córdova in El
28. Louis Jourdan in Rue de l’estrapade 
29. Fred Astaire in The Band Wagon  
30. David Niven in The Moon is Blue 
31. Fredric March in Man on A Tightrope 
32. Laurence Olivier in The Beggar's Opera 
33. Charlton Heston in The President's Lady 
34. Alec Guinness in The Captain's Paradise 
35. Åke Grönberg in Sawdust and Tinsel 
36. Kazou Hasegawa in Gate of Hell  
37. William Tallman in The Hitch-Hiker 
38. Van Heflin in Shane 
39. Niall MacGinnis in Martin Luther
40. Howard Keel in Kiss Me Kate 
41. Jack Palance in Man in the Attic
42. John Wayne in Hondo 
43. Raf Vallone in Thérèse Raquin
44. Jacques Tati in Monsieur Hulot's Holiday 
45. Richard Burton in The Desert Rats 
46. Edmond O'Brien in The Hitch-Hiker 
47. William Holden in The Moon is Blue
48. Spencer Tracy in The Actress
49. Stewart Granger in All The Brothers Were Valiant 
50. Tyrone Power in The Mississippi Gambler 
51. Richard Widmark in Take the High Ground 
52. Michael Wilding in Torch Song 
53. Frank Lovejoy in The Hitch-Hiker 
54. Kenneth Moore in Genevieve 
55. Bobby Driscoll in Peter Pan
56. Clark Gable in Mogambo  
57. Bud Abbott in A & C meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
58. Lou Costello in A & C meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
59. Dean Martin in The Caddy 
60. Max Showalter in Niagara 
61. John Gregson in Genevieve 
62. Edmond O'Brien in The Bigamist 
63. Robert Taylor in All The Brothers Were Valiant 
64. Richard Burton in The Robe
65. Cary Grant in Dream Wife 
66. Mel Ferrer in Lili
67. Stewart Granger in Salome  
68. Tommy Rettig in The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T 
69. Gene Barry in The War of the Worlds 
70. Elroy Hirsch in Crazylegs  
71. Jerry Lewis in The Caddy 
72. Robert Wagner in Beneath the 12-Mile Reef 
73. Robert Taylor in Knights of the Round Table 
74. Ed Wood in Glen or Glenda
75. Richie Andrusco in Little Fugitive
76. John Brown in Robot Monster
77. George Nader in Robot Monster
78. John Mylong in Robot Monster

Next Year: 1953 Supporting

Alternate Best Actor 1953: Glenn Ford in The Big Heat

Glenn Ford did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Det. Sgt. Dave Bannion in The Big Heat.

The Big Heat is a rather effective film noir about a detective who will get to the bottom of the murder despite rampant corruption around him, and threatens to his life and family. 

Glenn Ford is not the greatest leading man from the period as some of his performances can be a bit bland, and he does not exactly have the most range as an actor. In the Big Heat it appears as though this will be fairly standard Ford type of performance as the film opens. That being the devoted man with a loving family but dealing with some tough issues like his roles in Trial and The Blackboard Jungle. It is a fairly good example of it though as Ford has enough charm and likability in his scenes with his family. In the scenes of the early investigation Ford is also wholly solid in showing the straight method of Bannion as he goes about his task. He brings the right underlying passion in his portrayal of Bannion drive but is careful to show that at the end of the day Bannion still seems to be a man who's merely doing his job, although definitely determined to it to the best of his ability.

Of course everything is suddenly turned on his head when the gangsters who were behind the murder make an attempt on Bannion's life. Bannion is not harmed but the gangsters accidentally kill someone very close to the man instead. It is interesting as the film turns the usual Ford character on his head as Bannion has to deal with this death and it changes from the upstanding cop he was before. Bannion instead turns into a much darker character than before and it is rather fascinating to see Ford handle the role at this point. It's a bit more of stretch for him and Ford breaks apart his usual performance in a rather effective fashion. He pretty much drops the average guy charm instead giving a far more withdrawn portrayal as he conveys the way that Bannion seems to be now consumed by his desire for revenge.

Glenn Ford changes from the Glenn Ford style hero to a far more hard bitten type of detective more in the style of Robert Mitchum or Kirk Douglas. He does so in a rather convincing manner actually and gives a strong portrayal of Bannion as he is more interested technically in causing suffering for those who wrong him than simply upholding the law. Ford portrays it almost a sort of madness in Bannion as he seems to be almost wholly bent to the idea of revenge without being able to think of much else. He carries himself with a certain intensity at all times portraying Bannion, although in the right, as in a way lost to his own hatred. The only time Ford expresses a different side to Bannion is when must recall the one he lost. Ford makes these scenes rather poignant without making them seemed forced showing them as though he is remembering the good rather than experiencing it.

This is a good performance by Glenn Ford and he effectively leads the film noir quite well. He manages to break the mold of his usual standard sort of performance and is fairly striking in taking this more daring approach with work. I will be blunt when I say this is not quite a great performance though as Ford is not quite a great actor. He is indeed a decent one, and this is easily the best performance I have seen from him. Now having said that I do this Bannion as a character had potential for a truly great performance and one could easily see that if it were indeed in the hands of someone like Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum or maybe Ray Milland. Ford never quite reaches the heights one would imagine were possible for the role, but even so it is really a solid performance that still realizes his character rather well.

Alternate Best Actor 1953

And the Nominees Were Not:

Masayuki Mori in Ugetsu

Glenn Ford in The Big Heat

James Mason in Julius Caesar

Montgomery Clift in I Confess

Marlon Brando in The Wild One