Alternate Best Actor 1962: Results

10. Oskar Werner in Jules and Jim - Werner's role is limited yet his unassuming charm manages to keep himself from being overshadowed despite the film's apparent desire otherwise.

Best Scene: Jules talks about Catherine's True Nature.

9. Montgomery Clift in Freud - Clift manages to create a compelling portrait of Freud not through mannerisms, but rather finding the emotional core within the man's motivations.

Best Scene: Freud finding the truth behind Cecily's mental trauma.

8. Laurence Harvey in The Manchurian Candidate - Harvey portrays well the cold calculated man turned into a cold killer, but also manages to be extremely moving in portraying the vulnerabilities of the man.

Best Scene: The Assassination

7. Patrick McGoohan in in All Night Long - McGoohan gives a fascinating portrayal of an Iago like drummer, whose greatest joy comes from the torment of others.

Best Scene: Johnnie "accidentally" spills secrets to Rex. 

6. Toshiro Mifune in Sanjuro - Mifune gives a great reprise of his role in Yojimbo, by slanting towards comedy and succeeding quite thoroughly in this regard.

Best Scene: The samurai observes the rescued women. 

5. Tom Courtenay in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner - I'll say right now that I had a great difficulty ranking these five, and found it even more impossible when having to include Peck, Wayne and Lemmon. These are all exceptional performances starting with Courtenay's intense yet heart wrenching depiction of young man lashing out due to his hatred of authority but also from his own fear.

Best Scene: The Beach.

4. James Stewart in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance - Stewart gives one of his best performances as both a young man passionately fighting for what is right, as well as an older man forcing to live with the lie that made his life.

Best Scene: The Senator finishes the story.

3. Robert Mitchum in Cape Fear - Mitchum creates one of the all time great cinematic villains, not through the depiction of a mastermind, but rather a violent creep who's completely content with his actions.

Best Scene: Cady's mentions his wife.

2. Tatsuya Nakadai in Harakiri - Nakadai gives an outstanding performance as he realizes not only an otherworldly spirit of righteous vengeance, but also the man who became it.  

Best Scene: Hanshiro Tsugumo finishes his story. 

1. James Mason in Lolita - Good Predictions JackiBoyz, RatedRStar. Mason gives an outstanding performance as he manages to balance everything in the film. He's the perfect straight man for Sellers's comedy, he manages to make Humbert far more sympathetic than should be possible, while giving an absolutely mesmerizing depiction of man being destroyed mentally and physically by his unhealthy obsession.    

Best Scene: Humbert confronts Quilty.

Overall Rank:

1. Peter O'Toole in Lawrence of Arabia
2. James Mason in Lolita
3. Tatsuya Nakadai in Harakiri
4. Jack Lemmon in The Days of Wine and Roses
5. Robert Mitchum in Cape Fear
6. Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird
7. James Stewart in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
8. Tom Courtenay in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
9. John Wayne in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
10. Terence Stamp in Billy Budd
11. Toshiro Mifune in Sanjuro
12. Patrick McGoohan in All Night Long
13. Laurence Harvey in The Manchurian Candidate
14. Frank Sinatra in The Manchurian Candidate 
15. Trevor Howard in Mutiny on the Bounty
16. Richard Attenborough in Trial and Error 
17. Phillip Alford in To Kill a Mockingbird
18. Montgomery Clift in Freud
19. Sean Connery in Dr. No 
20. Paul Newman in Sweet Bird of Youth 
21. Peter Ustinov in Billy Budd
22. Gregory Peck in Cape Fear
23. Oskar Werner in Jules and Jim  
24. Peter Sellers in Trial and Error
25. Robert Preston in The Music Man
26. Paul Harris in All Night Long
27. Burt Lancaster in Birdman of Alcatraz
28. Henri Serre in Jules and Jim
29. Marlon Brando in Mutiny on the Bounty

Next: The Waiting Game. 

Alternate Best Actor 1962: Laurence Harvey in The Manchurian Candidate

Laurence Harvey did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Staff Sergeant Raymond Shaw in The Manchurian Candidate.

The Manchurian Candidate is an effective thriller about a two men being brainwashed by communists with being forced to commit nefarious deeds in order to control the U.S. government from within.

Laurence Harvey plays the central pawn to this plot Raymond Shaw, though Frank Sinatra's Captain Marco is also given ample time who begins to uncover the scheme due to a recurrent nightmare. Harvey's part here is a rather thankless role actually, but it is an interesting one to examine to see what exactly Harvey does within these certain limitations. The first challenge of the part is in the character of Raymond Shaw, who is suppose to be unlikable, which is very important to the plot since one of the things that tips Marco off that something is wrong is that the brainwashed army unit have all been forced to recite how great of a guy Shaw. Well Harvey certainly fulfills this need of the part as he plays much of the role in a very distant and almost viciously cold manner. He makes Raymond like a sharpened stone as he seems unwavering in his manner yet there is something most unpleasant in this determination. This is the right approach though not only to fulfill that plot point, but also Havery utilizes it to show where Raymond has come from. In his scenes with his horrible mother (Angela Lansbury) and his step father we see how Raymond would have become this way.

Harvey's very good in making such a considerable anti-chemistry of sorts in his scenes with his "parents". Harvey plays it as though Raymond is always on the attack with them as he is quite aware of how despicable they both are, and really he does not even know the half of it. Harvey makes Raymond at his most raw here as his searing anger is a constant in his interactions with them, and even when it is just his mother talking Harvey is very effective in the way that he shows that Raymond is pained by her very presence. Harvey makes this as almost a transference in his interactions with everyone else as at the very best he's a bit distant, and at the worst he still seems a bit hostile as though his upbringing has left him at a constant unease with everyone. The only relationship we see that is opposed to this is Raymond's romantic one with the daughter of one of his stepfather's staunchest opponents. This scenes are done in an almost an excessively simple way, which works as a contrast to the details of the main story, but Harvey uses them well. Harvey brings a sincere happiness in Raymond in these scenes, that almost has a certain timid quality to it as though Shaw not only is new to it, but almost does not quite know what to say when dealing with this new experience.

Now of course Raymond purpose in the film is being used as an agent for the communists to commit their plot, which is actually spearheaded by his own mother. These scenes may seem standard enough in portraying just the detached zombie who carries out orders. Harvey does handle them well by never making it seem corny but rather chilling in depicting the single minded yet blank manner of Raymond as he carries out the orders no matter how brutal they may be. Even when Raymond kills it is nothing but a straight forward act as though he is opening a door. This might seem like a minor detail but Harvey uses it brilliantly in his last scene of the film, which also the best scene of the film. As it seems Raymond is still programmed to carry out the assassination which will put his stepfather in power. Suddenly as Raymond is pulling the trigger though Harvey suddenly reveals something that had been lacking in all the other kills, an emotional fury in his eyes, as it becomes clear Raymond is of his own will as kills those who had always been using him instead. Harvey makes the final seconds of his performance surprisingly heartbreaking as he reveals Raymond finally in full control of himself though only to be in the horror that his mother has put him. There is a satisfaction that Harvey reveals at their deaths as well as relief, though also a terrible grief as Raymond is well aware of what his life has been. The moment is swift yet the power of it is palatable due to Harvey so successfully finding the cruelty behind the use of a man as simply a tool.

Alternate Best Actor 1962

And the Nominees Were Not:

James Mason in Lolita

Toshiro Mifune in Sanjuro

Montgomery Clift in Freud

Robert Mitchum in Cape Fear

Tom Courtenay in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

Rank Those Five or These Five:

James Stewart in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

Tatsuya Nakadai in Harakiri

Laurence Harvey in The Manchurian Candidate

Oskar Werner in Jules and Jim

Patrick McGoohan in All Night Long 

Or both. 

Best Actor 1959: Results

5. Paul Muni in The Last Angry Man- Paul Muni's performance is frustrating because he shows some honest moments in his performance, but what perpetuates throughout most of his performance is a lot of overacting.

4. Jack Lemmon in Some Like it Hot- Jack Lemmon's performance is one loved by many, I find he is good myself infusing a lot of energy into his part, but I just did not like him as much as most people seem to.

3. Charlton Heston in Ben-Hur- Charlton Heston's performance is not at all perfect, but it works incredibly well for the film. His strong presence carries this epic the whole way through. 

2. Laurence Harvey in Room at the Top- Besides some very small nitpicks this is an almost perfect performance by Laurence Harvey. He shows a fascinating portrait of man filled with hate, and ambitious, but as well as something underneath the rough surface.

1. James Stewart in Anatomy of a Murder- Good prediction Dinasztie. The only reason Stewart really tops Harvey for me is that Harvey had almost unnoticeable flaws, where Stewart is flawless. The reason Stewart is the best of the year though is because of how brilliant, entertaining, funny, effective he is in this role. Paul Biegler really could have been a lackluster role in lesser hands but Stewart shows what how an old pro can truly bring the absolute best out of a role.

Deserving Performance:
Cary Grant in North by Northwest

Best Actor 1959: Laurence Harvey in Room at the Top

Laurence Harvey received his only Oscar nomination for portraying Joe Lampton in Room at the Top.

Room at the Top is an intelligent film about a working class man who will do what ever he can to reach the top.

Laurence Harvey of course portrays this young man, and if there is one emotion that is featured throughout his performance is just the incredible anger of Joe due to his position in life, and the way he is treated by the upper class as well. Laurence Harvey shows throughout his performance a seething intense anger that has clearly grown throughout Joe's entire life. It is a vicious anger that Harvey shows the cut throat nature of the character.

The other primary feature of Joe is his incredibly ambition. Harvey is extremely good at portraying this aspect of Joe. I find in particular the early scenes of the film where he almost entirely non verbally portrays this aspect of the character. Harvey has just about perfect reactions, and looks at possibly ways or fashions he will be able to "improve" his current condition, showing a completely unshakable desire to reach the top.

The most important part of his performance though is his affair with an unhappily married woman Alice (Simone Signoret). Their chemistry is something else, it has this almost mysterious quality to it that it astonishing. Their relationship grows from a mutual desperation at first which first springs in an incredible scene due to brilliant direction of the film, and as well as both actors pitch perfect connection in that moment.

Their relationship certainly is a tragic one but it is incredibly the way they develop a love relationship with one another despite the nature of their relationship. It is not an external loving relationship but rather one of a deeper connection between the two, that goes very deeply too deeply due to the situation they are in. Both actors create such an authentic relationship that makes the film as haunting as it is.

Laurence Harvey makes Joe's transition work fantastically as he gives up his actual love for material awards. Firstly through his seduction of a rich young man, which Harvey portrays in a very cruel, and brutally honest fashion. Secondly through Joe's negotiation to a position which Harvey's shows Joe's entire ambitious, and finally with his final dealings with Alice. Their final scene is heartbreaking due to Singoret's complete emotional honesty, and Harvey's cold brutal facade Joe uses to hide his true feelings for her.
 
Harvey's performance is just about perfect particularly his he shows the incredible grief of Joe, as well as his acceptance of finding his Room at the Top at such a price. I hate to do this, but there are just a few minor squabbles I have with his performance. Firstly his accent he uses is a bit inconsistent although, not ever in a distracting manner, and just one brief scene where Joe violently reacts to Alice telling him about a nude photo she had taken in her younger years. Although I believe it is in Joe's character Harvey's performance just seems slightly forced in this brief scene. Still these are incredibly minor details of the performance that certainly do not at all hinder the incredible strength and power of this complex performance.

Best Actor 1959

And the Nominees Were:

James Stewart in Anatomy of A Murder

Jack Lemmon in Some Like it Hot

Charlton Heston in Ben-Hur

Paul Muni in The Last Angry Man

Laurence Harvey in Room at the Top

I suppose this is my special Easter edition of best actor thanks to the actual winner Ben-Hur.