Best Actor 1949: Results

5. Richard Todd in The Hasty Heart- Todd performance never gets the below the surface with his performance. He is okay overall, despite a fairly over the top accent, but never anything special.

4. Gregory Peck in Twelve O'clock High- Peck's sometimes dull, and unemotional manner, works for the role of General Savage. Peck has the right commanding presence in the film, and although his performance is never exactly interesting it does work for the film.

3. John Wayne in Sands of Iwo Jima- John Wayne gives a standard Wayne performance, as the tough commanding sergeant Stryker. Wayne is fine, and fairly effective especially in reaction shots, but his performance is never anything that special.

2. Broderick Crawford in All The King's Men- Crawford is terrific as the evil slimy Willie Stark, but his transition into the evil Stark from a the good Stark is haphazard. Also in his public persona scenes as Stark he lacked the right amount of charisma to make his ascension to power completely believable.

1. Kirk Douglas in Champion- Douglas begins in the film as an incredibly charming guy, but than slowly dissolves into a manipulative cold man. Douglas' believable and carefully done transformation shows to Crawford, and Todd, how to do a character transformation properly.

Deserving Performances:

James Cagney in White Heat
Dennis Price in Kind Hearts and Coronets

Best Actor 1949: Richard Todd in The Hasty Heart

Richard Todd received his only Oscar nomination for portraying Cpl. Lachlan 'Lachie' MacLachlan in The Hasty Heart.

 The Hasty Heart is an okay somewhat charming film about a group of sick or once sick soldiers in a mobile surgery unit who try to get a soon to die soldier, but doesn't know it yet, to enjoy life and break out of his shell.

Richard Todd portrays this soldier who is Scottish, and you know he is Scottish, because Todd does a very Scotty Scottish accent in the role. He portrays Lachie as a angry annoyed man and everyone and everybody. He quickly turns everyone else off with his obnoxious behavior. In this early part Todd does very little to show Lachie's anger than what he is showing on the surface. Not that the anger he shows is poorly done, its fine I suppose, he just does not really anything to the character.

The men manage to get him to break from his shell through the work of a nice nurse (Patricia Neal), and a nice fellow soldier Yank (Ronald Reagan in a fairly charming performance). Todd when he breaks out of his shell does it quite suddenly and becomes the opposite of an mean man but now an overly nice guy. Todd again is sort of charming, and properly nice now, but his transition is a bit too rapid. He again though really keeps his character relatively simplistic.

Lachie eventually is told he is going to die, and I will give credit to Todd his reaction to hearing the news is sad and well handled. Lachie though then becomes just like he was at the beginning. He is now angry though in believing everyone was being nice to him because he was dying. Then he changes back at the very end when he learns they were his friends after all. Todd again leaves something to be desired although still remains okay. Not a terrible performance, but altogether unimpressive.

Best Actor 1949

And the Nominees Were:

John Wayne in Sands of Iwo Jima 

Gregory Peck in Twelve O'Clock High 

Broderick Crawford in All The King's Men

Richard Todd in The Hasty Heart

Kirk Douglas in Champion