Alternate Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor 1933: Results

5. Paul Robeson in The Emperor Jones- Robeson has some good moments throughout but his performance is always a little too stagy. He also can never quite make up for the rushed nature of the film.

Best Scene: Jones pretends to be invincible.

4. Warner Baxter in 42nd Street -Baxter's role is somewhat limited for most of the film but once he gets going he gives quite a compelling portrayal of the various tricks of the director to make his show a success.

Best Scene: Marsh teaches Ann how to act.

3. Groucho Marx in Duck Soup- Marx does his usual shtick here, which is just fine since his usual shtick is quite amusing.

Best Scene: Firefly cross examines the spy.

2. John Barrymore in Counsellor At Law- Barrymore is in absolute command of his film giving a charming and compelling portrayal of a driven lawyer.

Best Scene: The counsellor finds out the truth about his wife.

1. Claude Rains in The Invisible Man- Good Predictions Luke and Anonymous. Rains might just be a voice for some of the film but what a voice he is. He carries the right menace as the villainous invisible man, but he also is supremely entertaining with just a dash of pathos for good measure.

Best Scene:  The Invisible Man tells about his plans.

Overall Rank:

1. Charles Laughton in The Private Life of Henry VIII
2. Claude Rains in The Invisible Man 
3. John Barrymore in Counsellor At Law
4. Oliver Hardy in Sons of the Desert
5. Stan Laurel in Sons of the Desert
6. Feodor Chaliapin in Don Quixote
   
7. Groucho Marx in Duck Soup
8. Warner Baxter in 42nd Street
9. Paul Lukas in Candlelight
   
10. Gary Cooper in Design for Living
11. Fredric March in Design for Living 
12. James Cagney in Lady Killer
    
13. George Robey in Don Quixote
    
14. Edward G. Robinson in The Little Giant 
15. James Cagney in Picture Snatcher
    
16. James Cagney in Footlight Parade
    
17. Spencer Tracy in Man's Castle
    
18. William Powell in The Kennel Murder Case
19. John Barrymore in Topaze 
    
20. Spencer Tracy in The Power and The Glory
21. Roland Young in His Double Life
    
22. Robert Armstrong in King Kong
23. Paul Robeson in The Emperor Jones
24. Cedric Hardwicke in The Ghoul
25. Warren William in Lady For a Day
26. Bruce Cabot in King Kong 
27. Robert Armstrong in The Son of Kong
28. Cary Grant in She Done Him Wrong
    
29. Leslie Howard in Berkeley Square
30. Max Baer in The Prize Fighter and the Lady
    
31. Lee Tracy in Bombshell
32. William Gargan in The Story of Temple Drake
    
33. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in Morning Glory
34. Clive Brook in Cavalcade

Supporting Top Ten:

1. Robert Donat in The Private Life of Henry VIII 
   
2. John Barrymore in Dinner At Eight 
3. Rudolf Klein-Rogge in The Testament of Dr. Mabuse 
4. Harry Baur in La Tête D'un Homme
5. Valéry Inkijinoff in La Tête D'un Homme
6. Lionel Barrymore in Dinner At Eight
7. Henry Stephenson in Little Women
   
8. Edward Everett Horton in Design For Living
9. Paul Lukas in Little Women
   
10. Walter Huston in The Prize Fighter and the Lady
    

Next Year: 2004 lead

Alternate Best Actor 1933: Groucho Marx in Duck Soup

Groucho Marx did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Rufus T. Firefly in Duck Soup.

Duck Soup is a very enjoyable film about the hijinks involving a ruler of a free country who butts heads with a dictator.

Groucho Marx plays Rufus T. Firefly who is elected to be the new leader of Freedonia even if it takes a while for him to realize it. Who Groucho plays does not really matter as even though his name may be different this Groucho Marx doing his routine as Groucho. Marx's routine is not really to play a character, and his whole thing is to almost be separate from the story at hand. Now it is true of many of the early comics like Chaplin, and Laurel & Hardy in that they would play the same characters in their films, but those characters could still become emotionally involved with the plot of the film. This is not the case of Groucho Marx whose whole bit is to be kinda disassociated with everything to the point that he will often comment toward the camera to voice his insult or general disinterest at anything that is going on around him. That is perfectly fine though as the film is almost wholly built around Groucho's comedic manner to the outrageous situation he finds himself in.

Well Marx certainly is entertaining in his constant cracking of wise throughout the film as he basically never stops making insults of one form or another at anything and all things. Marx's whole method is to be as rapid fire as possible really, and rarely does he stop except for a slightly absurdest reaction to something. Therefore not every single joke he makes is going to perfectly land perhaps but a whole bunch of them certainly do. My favorite instance of his wordplay insults is when Firefly is interrogating a spy (Chico Marx) for the other nation and says everything as positive while twisting it quickly into actually something quite negative. Marx is very purposefully extremely one note in his performance as Marx never changes from his rather disingenuous attitude. Even in a scene where Firefly accidentally gets angry at the dictator of the other nation causing a war, Marx still plays it all the same, which is the whole point of his comedic character, which is just fine since Marx is consistently funny here.

Well what's a comic performance from the period if one does not count the physical aspect of the comedy? Well Marx actually takes a similair approach to the physical comedy as he does his verbal comedy with again being purposefully withdrawn from the whole thing. Marx often has just a big grin on his face, quite enjoying the hijinks himself, while walking around in a purposefully casually goofy sort of way. Marx actually has quite a bit of energy in the big musical numbers, or the scenes of great physical comedy in his manner of not caring. Marx's timing is excellent even though it all seems to lack a technical purpose, it's an odd trick, but one that Marx pulls off quite brilliantly. Now reading just the synopsis of the film you may be tricked into thinking this performance, and film has some greater purpose like Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator. That's not the case as the whole idea about the countries is merely just a springboard for some various comedic situations for the Marx brothers to participate in. Marx's performance does not strive to be anything more than it is which is a very enjoyable example of his usual shtick.

Alternate Best Actor 1933

And the Nominees Were Not:

Claude Rains in The Invisible Man

Groucho Marx in Duck Soup

Warner Baxter in 42nd Street

Paul Robeson in The Emperor Jones

John Barrymore in Counsellor At Law