Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1976: Marty Feldman in Silent Movie

Marty Feldman did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Marty Eggs in Silent Movie.

Silent Movie is an enjoyable enough Mel Brooks gag fest filtered down even more than usual through that the film is indeed completely silent, well almost completely.

The film itself tells the simple story of a filmmaker Mel Funn (Brooks) and his two cohorts Dom (Dom DeLuise) and Marty Eggs. I suppose it is fitting that they share the same first names as the characters are not developed past the performer personalities of the actors, though I would say this is entirely purposeful. It basically is a chance for the three of them to test out their skills as a silent performer. Feldman perhaps is a bit tailored made for all show no speaking thanks to his well rather unorthodox appearance. I suppose Feldman does not seem like he needs to do anything more to stand out, but to his credit Feldman ensures that he does just a bit more as he is most expressive as a good silent comic performer should be. That grin of his alone of his is worth a few laughs all in itself, as he certainly is a fit for the concept of the film. If he's on screen Feldman does brighten in some way or another, even just the way he's sitting in a car between Dom and Mel comes off as rather funny for some reason.

The majority of the film is made up of various physical hi-jinks involving the boys either trying to get a Hollywood star to appear in the film, or simply avoid the dark corporate forces who want to see their film fail at any cost. Feldman is quit skilled at this and fits right into any given scene with his wild energy of sorts that he makes feel particularly natural, and not overdone in the least. Whether it is dealing with competing dogs who look the same, or tearing up the dance floor with Anne Bancroft Feldman throws himself into a scene rather head first. Now Feldman gets a bit more character, just a bit more, in that throughout the film he attempts to come on to women in the creepiest ways possible, even once announcing himself as a pervert as his line, in a title card though. Feldman is rather hilarious in every one of these quick side shows as he his lusty creep face is consistently entertaining. Now I suppose there's not much more than what he also brings just in the scenes where he's not necessarily the focus. Again Feldman's expressiveness brings a lot to the proceedings as his reactions say more than enough. Now even for a comedy of this sort this is a rather limited role, but Feldman is the best performer in the film. As he really knows how to work without sound. I won't say he's Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy, or Charlie Chaplin in this regard, but I will say this is a fun performance.

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1974: Results

5. Marty Feldman in Young Frankenstein- Feldman gives an entertaining and enjoyable performance.

Best Scene: Igor says what his father would say in rough times. 

4. Martin Balsam in The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three- Balsam does a great job of humanizing his hijacker, and makes it easy to follow through his own small story within the film.

Best Scene: Mr. Brown reacts to the first murder. 

3. John Huston in Chinatown- Huston gives a great villainous performance creating a fantastic mystery within his character who acts warmly, but evil seems lurking beneath his grin.

Best Scene: Gittes first meets with Noah Cross. 

2. Robert Shaw in The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three- Shaw gives an excellent performance as a steely cold and calculated villain.

Best Scene: Mr. Blue kills the first hostage. 

1. John Cazale in The Godfather Part II- Good Prediction RatedRStar. Although I do love Shaw's and Huston's performances Cazale does fairly easily win this year for me. He too could be argued as playing a villain, but Cazale turns his character's pathetic plight into a truly heartbreaking portrait of a brother who just was never good enough.

Best Scene: " I'm your older brother Michael"

Overall Rank:

1. John Cazale in The Godfather Part II
2. John Huston in Chinatown
3. Robert Shaw in The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three
4. Richard Harris in Juggernaut
5. Robert De Niro in The Godfather Part II
6. Ken Takakura in The Yakuza
7. Lee Strasberg in The Godfather Part II
8. Michael V. Gazzo in The Godfather Part II
9. David Warner in Little Malcolm
10. Roberts Blossom in The Great Gatsby
11. Harrison Ford in The Conversation
12. Bruce Dern in The Great Gatsby
13. Martin Balsam in The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three
14. Robert Duvall in The Godfather Part II
15. Sylvester Stallone in The Lords of Flatbush
16. Eddie Albert in The Longest Yard
17. Scott Wilson in The Great Gatsby 
18. Ben Johnson in The Sugarland Express
19. David Warner in From Beyond the Grave
20. Richard Jordan in The Yakuza
21. Marty Feldman in Young Frankenstein 
22. Harvey Korman in Blazing Saddles  
23. Gene Wilder in Blazing Saddles  
24. Holger Lowenadler in Lacombe Lucien
25. Kris Kristofferson in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
26. Christopher Lee in The Man With the Golden Gun
27. Ian Holm in Juggernaut 
28. Gene Hackman in Young Frankenstein
29. Hector Elizondo in The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three
30. John Cazale in the Conversation 
31. Paul Williams in Phantom of the Paradise
32. Robert Duvall in The Conversation
33. Vincent Gardenia in Death Wish  
34. Harvey Keitel in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
35. Tony Roberts in The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three  
36. Anthony Hopkins in Juggernaut 
37. James Shigeta in The Yakuza
38. Cyril Cusack in Juggernaut 
39. Peter Cushing in From Beyond the Grave
40. Gig Young in Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
41. Robert Webber in Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
42. Freddie Jones in Juggernaut
43. Paul Sorvino in The Gambler
44. Kenneth Mars in Young Frankenstein
45. Lee Wallace in The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three  
46. James Hampton in The Longest Yard
47. Clifton James in Juggernaut
48. Geoffrey Lewis in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
49. James Caan in The Godfather Part II  
50. Roy Kinnear in Juggernaut
51. Donald Pleasence in From Beyond the Grave
52. Denholm Elliot in The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
53. Omar Sharif in Juggernaut
54. Michael Gorrin in The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three
55. Allen Garfield in The Conversation
56. Fred Astaire in The Towering Inferno
57. Warren Oates in Badlands 
    
58. John Gielgud in Murder on the Orient Express
59. Jerry Stiller in The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three 
60. Charles Tyner in The Longest Yard
61. Perry Lopez in Chinatown 
62. Michael Byrne in Butley
    
63. George Kennedy in Earthquake
64. William Daniels in The Parallax View 
65. Gerrit Graham in Phantom of the Paradise
66. George Kennedy in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot 
67. Richard O'Callaghan in Butley
    
68. Dick O'Neill in The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three 
69. G.D. Spradlin in The Godfather Part II
70. Earl Hindman in The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three 
71. Roshan Seth in Juggernaut
72. Herb Edelman in The Yakuza
73. John Schuck in Thieves Like Us
74. Joseph Wiseman in The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz 
75. John Steadman in The Longest Yard
76. John McEnery in Little Malcolm
77. Raymond Platt in Little Malcolm
78. Ian Carmichael in From Beyond the Grave
79. George Memmoli in Phantom of the Paradise
80. Anthony Perkins in Murder on the Orient Express 
81. Larry Hagman in Harry and Tonto  
82. Randy Quaid in The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
83. Morris Carnovsky in The Gambler
84. Hume Cronyn in The Parallax View
85. Henry Winkler in The Lords of Flatbush
86. David Wayne in The Front Page 
87. Jim Siedow in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
88. Kris Kristofferson in Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
89. Richard Kiel in The Longest Yard
90. Richard Pryor in Uptown Saturday Night
91. Gaston Machin in The Godfather Part II   
92. Sean Connery in Murder on the Orient Express
93. Frederic Forrest  in The Conversation
94. Gunnar Hansen in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
95. Jack Warden in The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
96. Brian Keith in The Yakuza
97. Richard Widmark in Murder on the Orient Express 
98. Michael Lerner in Busting
99. Vincent Gardenia in The Front Page
100. Bert Remsen in Thieves Like Us 
101. Harold Gould in The Front Page
102. Lorne Green in Earthquake
103. Charles Durning in The Front Page
104. Ian Ogilvy in From Beyond the Grave
105. Alfred Lutter in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore 
106. Calvin Lockhart in Uptown Saturday Night
107. David Hemmings in Juggernaut 
108. Perry King in The Lords of Flatbush 
109. Ian Bannen in From Beyond the Grave
110. Michael Conrad in The Longest Yard
111. Joe Mantell in Chinatown
112. Harry Belafonte in Uptown Saturday Night
113. Allen Garfield in Busting
114. Alex Rocco in Freebie and the Bean 
115. Ed Launter in The Longest Yard
116. Wlater Ladengast in The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser
117. Bruno Kirby in The Godfather Part II
118. Martin Balsam in Murder on the Orient Express  
119. Robert Vaughn in The Towering Inferno
120. Denis Quilley in Murder on the Orient Express 
121. William Holden in The Towering Inferno
122. Michael York in Murder on the Orient Express  
123. Christopher Morley in Freebie and the Bean
124. Edwin Neal in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
125. Hervé Villechaize in The Man With the Golden Gun
126. Walter Matthau in Earthquake
127. Paul A Partain in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
128. Richard Chamberlain in The Towering Inferno
129. Allen Danziger in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
130. William Vail in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
131. Clifton James in The Man With the Golden Gun

Next Year: 2011 Supporting

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1974: Marty Feldman in Young Frankenstein

Marty Feldman did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Igor in Young Frankenstein.

Marty Feldman portrays the rather strange looking Igor although wearing his black hood, having a hump that changes side, and Feldman's own bulging eyes. Young Frankenstein is of course an extreme comedy in that it is only going for comedy and lots of it. Even if there is the slightest sort of a dramatic moment in the film there will be a joke still instantly afterwards. The film though does sort of take one thing seriously which is replicating the look of the old horror films of the thirties, and to a degree does the look part partially as well.

Feldman slinks around in the film much like one would in one of those old movies, and even says yes master constantly as well. Aside from the yes masters and the way he scurries about this is a completely comedic performance. His performance mostly consists of little humorous aside to the main scene whether it is a look, or a strange comment that he makes about something about himself, or some sort of slightest pestering comment against Dr. Frankenstein.

Feldman handles his very specific role, and most of his little reactions, and quite amusing, and many of them are hilarious. Feldman has quite a bit of fun having the dichotomy of the look of his character which is very much that of the 30's monster movies, but with an entirely modern manner in his portrayal of Igor's personality. It works quite well for the part, and Feldman certainly creates some of the highlights of the film.

Technically speaking his character is the most constant in the film as his role is quite firm which is making funny and bizarre observations throughout. Feldman makes the most out of all his moments though and they are terrific. One little moment I particularly find hilarious is his remarks about what his father said in times of distress. Feldman gives an entertaining and enjoyable comedic performance in the film that hits just the right notes.

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1974

And the Nominees Were Not:

Martin Balsam in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three

Robert Shaw in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three

John Huston in Chinatown

John Cazale in The Godfather Part II

Marty Feldman in Young Frankenstein