Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1950: Results

5. Louis Calhern in The Asphalt Jungle- I hate to put Calhern fifth as I really liked everyone in this line up. Calhern gives an effective performance bringing a nice complexity to his role as an amoral lawyer.

Best Scene: Emmerich tries to double cross the Doc.

4. Alastair Sim in Stage Fright-Sim gives an entertaining performance that up shows the entire film around him.

Best Scene: Eve Gill brings Johnathan to Commodore Gill's home.

3. Takashi Shimura in Rashomon- Shimura performance gives an interesting and moving performance as a seemingly moralistic woodcutter who might be hiding something himself.

Best Scene: The woodcutter is called out by the commoner.

2. Richard Attenborough in Morning Departure- Richard Attenborough gives a very strong turn being appropriately intense as a man who goes to extremes due to fear, but as well quite tender as the very same man who finds courage within himself.

Best Scene: The remaining crew play a game of cards.

1. Masayuki Mori in Rashomon- Good Prediction Psifonian feel free to name another year and performance to go with it. Mori gives an incredible performance giving four different perceptions of the same doomed man. He is able to be chilling then heartbreaking, brave then cowardly, and his reserved style here works perfectly in creating a very memorable dynamic with Toshiro Mifune's flamboyant turn. I will keep Sanders as the winner for the moment but I will say he is on thin ice. I will have to get around to watching All About Eve again as that will make or break his placement over Mori.

Best Scene: The samurai tells his version of the story.

Overall Rank:

1. George Sanders in All About Eve
2. Masayuki Mori in Rashomon
3. Sam Jaffe in The Asphalt Jungle
4. François Périer in Orpheus
5. Richard Attenborough in Morning Departure
6. Takashi Shimura in Rashomon
7. Alastair Sim in Stage Fright
8. Louis Calhern in The Asphalt Jungle
9. Anton Walbrook in La Ronde
   
10. Minoru Chiaki in Rashomon 
11. Victor Sjorstrom in To Joy
    
12. Francis L. Sullivan in Night and the City
    
13. Sessue Hayakawa in Three Came Home 
14. Juano Hernandez in Young Man With A Horn
15. Alec Guinness in The Mudlark
    
16. Edmund Gwenn in Louisa
    
17. Luis Van Rooten in Cinderella  
18. Herbert Lom in Night and the City
19. Ward Bond in Wagon Master
    
20. Charles Coburn in Louisa
21. Kichijiro Ueda in Rashomon
22. Juano Hernandez in The Breaking Point
    
23. Stanislaus Zbyszko in Night and the City
24. Wallace Ford in The Breaking Point
    
25. James Whitmore in The Asphalt Jungle  
26. Jack Warner in The Blue Lamp
    
27. Erich von Stroheim in Sunset Blvd.
28. Juano Hernandez in Stars in My Crown
    
29. George Cole in Morning Departure 
30. Karl Malden in Where the Sidewalk Ends
    
31. Cecil B. DeMille in Sunset Blvd.
32. Mario Vitale in Stromboli 
33. Ivan Desny in Madeleine
    
34. Hugh Marlowe in Night and the City 
35. Michael Brennan in Morning Departure
36. Marc Lawrence in The Asphalt Jungle
37. Nigel Patrick in Morning Departure
38. Jack Webb in The Men  
39. Denis O'Dea in Treasure Island
    
40. Everett Sloane in The Men 
41. Gary Merrill in Where the Sidewalk Ends
    
42. Edmund Gwenn in Mister 880
43. Richard Erdman in The Men
44. Stephen McNally in Winchester '73
45. Millard Mitchell in The Gunfighter
46. Jack Palance in Panic in the Streets
47. Wendell Corey in The Furies
    
48. Cecil Kellaway in Harvey 
49. John McIntire in Winchester 73'
50. Anthony Caruso in The Asphalt Jungle
51. Miles Malleson in Stage Fright
52. Jack Hawkins in Morning Departure
53. Zero Mostel in Panic in the Streets 
54. Basil Sidney in Treasure Island
    
55. Stephen McNally in No Way Out
56. Brad Dexter in The Asphalt Jungle
57. Wallace Ford in Harvey
58. Karl Malden in The Gunfighter
59. Barry Kelley in The Asphalt Jungle
60. Will Geer in Winchester '73
61. Paul Douglas in Panic in The Streets
62. Millard Mitchell in Winchester '73 
63. Tod Andrews in Outrage
    
64. Luther Adler in D.O.A 
65. Norman Woodland in Madeleine
    
66. Michael Wilding in Stage Fright
67. Patric Knowles in Three Came Home
68. Jeff Chandler in Broken Arrow  
69. Robert Clarke in Outrage
    
70. William Prince in Cyrano de Bergerac
71. Hugh Marlowe in All About Eve 
72. Richard Carlson in King Solomon's Mine
    
73. Charles Drake in Harvey
74. Skip Homeier in The Gunfighter
75. Gary Merrill in All About Eve
76. Charles Drake in Winchester '73
77. John McIntire in The Asphalt Jungle
78. Neville Brand in D.O.A.
79. Gregory Ratoff in All About Eve

Next Year: 1966 lead

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1950: Louis Calhern in The Asphalt Jungle

Louis Calhern did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Alonzo D. Emmerich in The Asphalt Jungle.

Louis Calhern was nominated for his performance as Oliver Wendell Holmes for lead actor in 1950 but his performance that year was actually his supporting turn in this year although it is not surprising that he was nominated for the dignified portrait of a supreme court justice rather his portrayal of a rather sleazy lawyer who dabbles in crime on the side. Calhern essentially plays the money man for the big operation to steal a fortune worth of jewels from a bank vault. Emmerich though is not nearly as trust worthy as the other men in the plan would like to be as he decides upon a double cross early on as one way to escape his own financial problems. One of the strengths of this film is that Emmerich's character is given far more depth than the usual greedy wealthy man often found in heist films.

Louis Calhern, who often played authority figures, deserves a great deal of credit for going about fleshing out his character beyond simply what his actions are. Calhern is of course very good in being the bluntest part of the role which is the rich lawyer who would like to be a hot shot criminal. Calhern has the right sort of pompousness in his performance. He seems like the rich man in front of the criminals and is very good in putting an extra emphasis to his rich man demeanor which is fitting as Emmerich is putting on a bit of a show for his associates benefits as he does want to trick them into believing that he will go through with the plan all the way without any tricks up his sleeve. Calhern maneuvers through the act effectively making it easy to see why the criminals would agree to work with him at first, but not agree to trust him later.

Calhern brings more to the role though than just being the seedy man who messes up the money end of the heist. Calhern very good in bringing depth into every facet of Emmerich's life. His affair with a young woman played Marilyn Monroe is particularly well handled by Calhern. When he speaks to her Calhern expresses an interesting combination of emotions in Emmerich as he seems to lust after her while seeming to be disgusted by his behavior at the very same time. Calhern also brings this complexity in his brief scenes where Emmerich spends time with his invalid wife. Calhern portrays the mixed feelings of Emmerich very well once gain although this time it is shame in him for being unfaithful for his wife although along with a boredom of her, although importantly Calhern does bring a subtle warmth in his performance that shows Emmerich still loves his wife despite his own behavior.

Like Sam Jaffe's performance and pretty much every performance in the film there is a certain style to Calhern's work that very much adds to the film as whole. There is something so particular about his manner especially the way that he smokes his cigarette that has a memorable style to it well always feeling authentic. One of the things this film does though is break apart the image of the men in the film with the tough Dix really begin a man just wanting to go home, the mechanical mastermind Doc really being just a lustful old man, and Emmerich although wanting to be the big boss man is really just a pathetic small man. One of Calhern's best scenes is when Emmerich tries to trick Doc and Dix to give him the money but things turn south causing Emmerich's henchmen to be killed by Dix. Calhern is excellent in the scene as he shows Emmerich lose his usual assured manner and become a scared wreck almost driven to tears revealing the truly pathetic Emmerich underneath his fancy suits. Calhern realizes Emmerich as a complex portrait of a man who tries to think big but is in fact a very small man inside.

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1950

And the Nominees Were Not:

Masayuki Mori in Rashomon

Takashi Shimura in Rashomon

Louis Calhern in The Asphalt Jungle

Alastair Sim in Stage Fright

Richard Attenborough in Morning Departure

Best Actor 1950: Results

5. Louis Calhern in The Magnificent Yankee- I will say it again that Calhern is just fine as Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, but only just fine.

4. Spencer Tracy in Father of the Bride- Spencer Tracy is very good in this film being both an interesting presence to follow through sometime purposely mundane situations, and fins the right amount of humor when he can.

3.Jose Ferrer in Cyrano De Bergerac- Ferrer is very strong in every speech he makes from his most explosively and overly dramatic ones to his more tender romantic ones. I do not think the film uses his performance particularly well, and Ferrer does not have anyone who can really act all that well with, but nonetheless gives a strong performance.

2.William Holden in Sunset Blvd.- William does an incredibly good job at being cynical, and finds the right if sometimes bizarre tone for his scenes with Gloria Swanson.

1. James Stewart in Harvey- I put him here because the film he is in and everything with in it would have been an absolute incredible failure if Stewart was not able to make Elwood such a likable, poignant, endearing, and most importantly believable character. Elwood is an incredible challenge and Stewart manages to meet it. 

Deserving Performances:
Toshiro Mifune in Rashomon

Best Actor 1950: Louis Calhern in The Magnificent Yankee

Louis Calhern received his only Oscar nomination for portraying Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes in The Magnificent Yankee.

The Magnificent Yankee is a fine old fashioned biography picture, a fairly overwhelmingly positive portrait just as they all were and this film and others like it were enjoyable in a certain way because of this.

Louis Calhern was mostly a character actor, and this one probably his only chance for a leading Oscar nomination which he did recieve.Oliver Wendell Holmes as portrayed by Calhern and the film is a very upstanding judge, who always believes in what is right, and does not mind telling people what he believes. He dislikes some things like reporters, but is a nice man, and has a great relationship with his wife. There is not that much to Holmes besides this. He is not a character of much complexity which is fine since it works well enough for the film. Calhern does just a fine job as portraying Holmes exactly as he is written. No more, but no less either. His performance is not especially charismatic, nor is a boring or dull, which it could have been.

Holmes does hold his beliefs well even if they are against the grain.Calhern is just fine again in showing the passion for Homles' beliefs. It is not an outstanding passion and Calhern plays in a fairly low key fashion which seemed to be the right way to portray this. Holmes stays about the same throughout the film, the only real change is that he gets older, and older. Calhern is fine at showing Holmes' steadfast demeanor, but as he grows old Calhern does not show all that much change for most of the film leaving the aging mostly to the makeup department.

There is one change for the character and that is Holmes loses the company of his wife for his final years. Calhern is again just fine in showing his sadness at his lost. Also showing his happiness and strength he gains back when he meets all the men he has influenced throughout his years. Calhern simply is just fine throughout his performance, giving a performance one would expect from a competent character actor, no more no less. He is never bad and his performance suits the film well enough. He could have done more, as could of the film, but in the end both are really just fine.

Best Actor 1950

And the Nominees Were:

William Holden in Sunset Boulevard 

James Stewart in Harvey

Jose Ferrer in Cyrano De Bergerac

Spencer Tracy in Father of the Bride

Louis Calhern in The Magnificent Yankee

What is your prediction? Who do you pick?