Alternate Best Actor 1955: Results

5. James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause- Despite his overacted first scene Dean gives an effective performance relying on his unique charisma.

Best Scene: Jim tries to save Plato.

4. Alec Guinness in The Prisoner- This a disjointed work, but Guinness gives a powerful turn nevertheless.

Best Scene: The Cardinal breaks down.

3. Alec Guinness in The Ladykillers- Guinness gives a very enjoyable performance in his peculiar creation. 

Best Scene: Professor Marcus double crosses Louie.

2. Toshiro Mifune in I live in Fear- Mifune, despite being quite miscast as a seventy year old, gives a powerful portrayal of a debilitating fear.

Best Scene: Nakajima looks on as another man states facts about nuclear fallout.

1. Robert Mitchum in The Night of the Hunter- Good predictions Mark, Maciej, Kevin. Robert Mitchum gives perhaps his best performance. Mitchum gives a brilliantly stylistic turn in his creation of the charming, passionate and sadistic Harry Powell. The year overall came right down to the evil preacher and the good butcher. I'll give Mitchum the win for the moment, but a re-watch of Marty could possibly swing things Borgnine's way as they both give great performances.

Best Scene: Powell prepares for a murder.

Overall Rank:

1. Robert Mitchum in The Night of the Hunter
2. Ernest Borgnine in Marty
3. Laurence Olivier in Richard III
4. Spencer Tracy in Bad Day At Black Rock
5. James Dean in East of Eden
6. Toshiro Mifune in I Live in Fear
7. Alec Guinness in The Ladykillers
8. Masayuki Mori in Floating Clouds
9. Jean Servais in Rififi
   
10. Alec Guinness in The Prisoner
11. Danny Kaye in the Court Jester
    
12. Fredric March in The Desperate Hours
13. James Stewart in The Man From Laramie
14. Dirk Bogarde in Cast a Dark Shadow
    
15. Toshiro Mifune in Samurai II 
16. Curd Jurgens in The Devil's General
    
17. Broderick Crawford in Il Bidone
    
18. Gunnar Björnstrand in Smiles of a Summer Night
19. Tom Ewell in The Seven Year Itch
    
20. Henry Fonda in Mister Roberts
21. James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause
22. Dilip Kumar in Devdas 
23. Richard Basehart in Il Bidone
    
24. Henrik Malberg in Ordet
    
25. Richard Todd in The Dam Busters 
26. Jean Gabin in French Cancan
    
27. Jack Hawkins in The Prisoner
28. Cary Grant in To Catch a Thief 
29. Peter Ustinov in We're No Angels
    
30. Humphrey Bogart in We're No Angels
    
31. Humphrey Bogart in The Desperate Hours 
32. Michael Redgrave in The Dam Busters 
33. Cornel Wilde in The Big Combo
    
34. Glenn Ford in Blackboard Jungle
35. Ralph Meeker in Kiss Me Deadly
36. James Cagney in Love Me or Leave Me
37. Gordon MacRae in Oklahoma 
38. Rock Hudson in All That Heaven Allows
    
39. Glenn Ford in Trial
40. Edmund Gwenn in The Trouble With Harry
41. John Forsythe in The Trouble With Harry 
42. Larry Roberts in Lady and the Tramp
    
43. Subir Banerjee in Pather Panchali
    
44. Jack Palance in The Big Knife
45. Frank Sinatra in Guys and Dolls
    
46. Marlon Brando in Guys and Dolls 
47. Jamie Smith in Killer's Kiss
    
48. William Holden in Picnic
49. Robert Arden in Mr. Arkadin
    
50. Frank Sinatra in The Man with the Golden Arm
51. Glenn Ford in Interrupted Melody
    
52. Jack Webb in Pete Kelly's Blues
    
53. William Holden in Love is a Many-Splendored Thing
54. Aldo Ray in We're No Angels
55. Elroy Hirch in Unchained
    
56. Bela Lugosi in Bride of the Monster 
57. Billy Chapin in The Night of the Hunter 
58. Josef Lukáš in Journey to the Beginning of Time
    
59. Petr Herrmann in Journey to the Beginning of Time
60. Zdeněk Husták in Journey to the Beginning of Time
61. Vladimír Bejval in Journey to the Beginning of Time
62. Tony McCoy in Bride of the Monster

Next Year: 1955 Supporting

Alternate Best Actor 1955: James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause

James Dean did not receive an Oscar nomination, despite being nominated for a BAFTA, for portraying Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause.

Rebel Without a Cause is the only one of Dean's three performances for which he did not receive an Oscar nomination, but he was of course was nominated for East of Eden which means he was barred from being nominated for this performance no matter what. Although I am not a fan of the foolish rule that an actor can only be nominated once in a category in a year Dean was nominated for his best performance of the year as well as his entire film career. Rebel Without a Cause is without question Dean's most iconic role, it's pretty hard to even picture Dean without that red jacket. Rebel Without a Case is not his greatest performance though as it is probably his most self-indulgent turn.

In East of Eden Dean's methods worked well in creating the odd creature that Cal Trask was meant to be, in Giant he was a great maverick man, and even though I did not believe him as a old man Dean definitely tried to become his character in that film. Dean's worst acted scene of his short career is found in the opening minutes of the film. The opening scene is where Jim is suppose to be drunk and finds himself in a police station where his parents have to come to pick him up. Dean doesn't seem drunk rather seems like man trying to use every acting tic he came up with all at once. His delivery of "you're tearing me apart" does not seem the cry of a confused teenager rather the attempt of an actor to make himself known.

To be fair to Dean though he let's up on his ACTING after that opening scene and begins to actually try to find his character rather than try to simply show of his acting chops. Stark is probably Dean's least complex role actually because he does not have the biblical level conflicts of East of Eden, or the transformation from a young man with great ambition to an lusty old man filled with hate in Giant. Instead we have Jim whose biggest problem at the beginning of the film is that his warmer father is dominated by his cold mother. Even as the film continues the film really is more about the extreme actions and problems of others and less about Jim Stark's problems which seem much more minor by comparison.

James Dean actually most of the time gives a fairly relaxed performance as Jim. Jim often is one of the calmer characters in the film, and for most of the film Dean relies on his most natural aspect of his onscreen persona. That is of course his charisma and Dean personal charm, which is all his own, is rather endearing in its own. In more scenes his performance really does work when he is just normally interacting with the other teenagers in his fairly off beat fashion. Dean makes it easy to see why some of bullies would take offense to him because of his style that is anything but conformity but in this style there is such a magnetic quality that it is very believable why Natalie Wood's and Sal Mineo's characters would be attracted to him.

The interesting thing is that there are some later scenes in the film where Jim is troubled emotionally like the opening scene of the film, but Dean actually delivers in these scenes. Dean tones it down considerably and his reactions to his parents is far more believable as his more subtle discontent seems more fitting for a someone who lives with them day after day than the over top business at the beginning. Dean stays with his character and in doing so gives the emotional breakdown of Jim at the end of the film the power it deserves, since he does not distract with random mannerisms. Even though I find his first scene of the film to be the worst scene of his short career, I actually do like this performance overall as he does give an effective performance once he gets past his indulgences.

Alternate Best Actor 1955

And the Nominees Were Not:

Robert Mitchum in The Night of the Hunter

Alec Guinness in The Ladykillers

James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause

Toshiro Mifune in I Live in Fear

Alec Guinness in The Prisoner

Best Actor 1956: Results

5. Yul Brynner in The King and I- Brynner gives a odd performance that is strange in almost every aspect, his acting, his chemistry with Deborah Kerr, his singing, the only thing that is not strange is his dancing I guess.

4. Rock Hudson in Giant- Hudson gives a good performance throughout Giant. His character is a steadfast character, but Hudson is interesting to watch and makes himself interesting despite the simple nature of his  character sometimes.

3. James Dean in Giant- Dean is incredibly good in the first half of his performance making the most out of his character, in a compelling performance that only Dean could give. His second shorter half as the rich oil man, does not quite work for me. He was slimy I suppose but I was not convinced at all by the character later. Hudson and Taylor aged properly but I actually think Dean was incapable of really aging.

2. 1. Laurence Olivier in Richard III, and Kirk Douglas in Lust For Life- Good prediction Dinastzie These top two performers are both absolutely brilliant. They both take incredibly complicated and challenging characters and bring them to life brilliantly. They excel in everything facet of their performance, both use their whole physical presence to fully realize their character. Douglas's Van Gogh, and Olivier's Richard III are both perfect performance the two could not swap roles both are perfect for the roles and in the roles. I think both are equal roles, and performances, neither tops the other in any aspect they both brilliant, how could these two performances lose to Brynner is beyond me. If I was forced to vote for one I would go with Douglas because I have already voted for Olivier twice. But by strange Oscar logic I should get one best actor tie since there was one tie in the field.

Deserving Performances:
John Wayne in The Searchers

Best Actor 1956: James Dean in Giant

James Dean received his second and final posthumous Oscar nomination for portraying Jett Rink in Giant.

James Dean's is always a phenomenon considering he has only three films, and his acting style is so bizarre, yet he is a icon and his style is adored by many. Dean in Giant actually is a supporting player, and is not the lead. There are long passages where he is completely absent, and much of the time he is just the man slinking around in the background. Dean has his trademark mannerisms and looking at the ground constantly. He though has less I think than in East of Eden, and I do think he did utilize his mannerisms to create a character.

In East of Eden his mannerisms suggested a young man uncomfortable with just about everything. Here I feel he does properly use his mannerisms this time to convey himself as a loner in the early moments most assuredly well. He is uncomfortable with his surroundings and employer. He shows a hidden sense of hatred of his character, and his hidden motives quite well. I think he is actually interesting early on, and not distracting with his little slinking in the background always. He does convey everything and more for his character of Rink, and I think his intensity and style of his performance works perfectly early on.

Later though after he becomes rich his performance changes. I do like his one scene where he announces his soon to be riches in his fantastic style. His performance though becomes very limited in terms of screen time, occasionally popping in and out very quickly. I never really believed him at all as the older rich oil man. Dean's aging was not at all convincing even though Elizabeth Taylor's and Rock Hudson's were. I thought he was slimey enough but that was about it. He was suppose to have some sort of charm I think but he doesn't and I really did not believe Dean at all as the oil man. He was perfect for Rink at the beginning but by the end he seemed to become miscast. I do not know if any other actor could have been as interesting at the beginning  but I do think many could have been better than the second half of his performance.

Best Actor 1956

And The Nominees Were:

Rock Hudson in Giant

James Dean in Giant

Yul Brynner in The King and I

Kirk Douglas in Lust For Life

Laurence Olivier in Richard III

So who do you pick, and predict? The ranch owner turned oil man, the ranch hand turned oil man, the king who sings, the artist who screams, or the king who schemes.

Best Actor 1955: Results

5. Frank Sinatra in The Man with Golden Arm- Sinatra I will admit tries hard to do a good job here, but he never really succeeds. It is a challenging role which he does not meet the challenge.

4. James Cagney in Love Me or Leave Me- This is not a challenging role really, and Cagney plays it as well as possible. He is properly mean as the rather simple gangster, it is not much of a character but Cagney does a fine job with it.

3. James Dean in East of Eden- Mr. Mannerisms himself certainly has a lot of mannerism in his fairly over the top performance, now I probably would not let anyone else get away with a performance like this but something about Dean and the character of Cal make it work.

2. Spencer Tracy in A Bad Day at Black- Probably his best work, Tracy is brilliant here in a completely understated role. He has a magnetic presence in this film, and somehow controls the scenes even though he only ever raises his voice once.

1. Ernest Borgnine in Marty- Borgnine is just brilliant as Marty. He gives a very realistic and heartfelt of performance. He is brilliant at showing all of who Marty his from his frustrations, to the real joy he has when he finally finds love. Simply a great performance.

Deserving Performances:
Robert Mitchum in The Night of the Hunter

Best Actor 1955: James Dean in East of Eden

James Eden received his first posthumous Oscar nomination for portraying Caleb "Cal" Trask in East of Eden.

East is an okay film, although as an adaptation of the novel it is extremely truncated and some of the characters are poorly reduced especially the mother of Cal and Aron.

James Dean is simply one of the most mannered actors ever. He never stops doing his mannerisms ever through the film. He is moving around in his weird ways. Walking oddly, and looking at the ground constantly for no foreseeable reason, sitting in his own way on the train. He most certainly is over the top as Cal with the way he almost acts like a worm during time in the film. Something very interesting about that is that most actors who would give this sort of performance I and probably many others would not let the actor get away with it. Saying that the actor is just going over the top, and plays the role oddly.

But there is just something about Dean that lets him get away with it. Dean had some sort of certain charisma about him that enabled him to get away with his mannerisms. He some how despite the oddity of everything he does seems natural coming out of him. Still over the top but from Dean somehow it works. A reason perhaps why it works is that the character himself is suppose to be an outcast. Cal is not really suppose to get along with anyone despite seeking an acceptance of some sort, despite believing that he himself is bad. He particularity tries to gain acceptance from his distant father Adam (Raymond Massey), but finds they have trouble connecting. Dean's mannered performance certainly comes into conflict with Massey's much more to the point type of acting, but that actually  adds to their relationship showing a clear disconnection from each other.

Dean I must say is fascinating from beginning to end in the film.  Yes what he does seems odd, and strange at all times, but it does work well. His portrait of the angst ridden young man really is a perfect portrait, because of Dean. Yes it is because of his odd mannerisms, because they just add well to his performance. Odd for sure but I never felt they exactly seemed forced. Somehow Dean finds the way that his strange actions do add to his performance. They make Cal a memorable character and a full realized one. He has his mannerisms but Dean still does not forget to add a certain subtlety to his performance. Not a whole lot but enough so it is not always just over the top. But his over the top scenes do add the power of his performance. Such as when he tries to embrace his father after his father rejects his gift. Many scenes are strong just merely because of Dean performance even if it over the top. Due to Dean this film has one aspect that certainly is hard to forget.

Best Actor 1955

And The Nominees Were:

Spencer Tracy in A Bad Day At Black Rock

James Dean in East of Eden

Ernest Borgnine in Marty

Frank Sinatra in The Man With The Golden Arm

James Cagney in Love Me Or Leave Me