Best Supporting Actor 1972: Eddie Albert in The Heartbreak Kid

Eddie Albert received his second Oscar nomination for portraying Mr. Corcoran in The Heartbreak Kid.

The Heartbreak Kid is a rather strange dark comedy, with a rather strange just feel to it. It tells the story of a newlywed young man Charles Grodin who becomes bored with his new wife very quickly, and instantly goes after another woman Cybil Shepard he chances upon.

Albert portrays Mr. Corocoran the father of Cybil Shepard's character who instantly dislikes Charles Grodin. I will say I enjoyed Albert's mostly deadpan performance as he gives Grodin a constant look like he is going to murder him. Albert performance mostly are just his reactions to Grodin which I did thoroughly enjoy, due to his quiet intensity.

He later has one big scene at the end where he tries to buy off Grodin to leave his daughter alone. Again Albert played the scene with the right amount of anger, but still managed to keep his anger in enjoyable sort of fashion. Albert's performance is not particularly complex, but his just right reactions to his performance work out quite well. I always like his presence in the film, and his is a very good supporting performance.

Best Supporting Actor 1972

And the Nominees Were:

Al Pacino in The Godfather

James Caan in The Godfather

Joel Grey in Cabaret

Robert Duvall in The Godfather

Eddie Albert in The Heartbreak Kid

Best Supporting Actor 1940: Results

5. William Gargan in They Knew What They Wanted- Gargan is okay at the beginning of the film, but as the film present a large challenge for him, he really is not up to it.

4. Jack Oakie in The Great Dictator- Oakie's parody of Mussolini is amusing enough, but most of the humor from his scenes come from Charlie Chaplin's direction more than from his performance.

3. James Stephenson in The Letter- An incredibly forgettable performance, that is the antithesis of a flashy role. I still think he did a fine job anyways, and properly portrayed his character.

2. Albert Bassermann in Foreign Correspondent- A simple dignified performance, that even keeps his dignity when he is all drugged out in the film. This is not a great performance or even the third best supporting performance in the film, but it serves its purpose.

1. Walter Brennan in The Westerner- This seems to happen in this category a lot, which is my number one is also the only choice I needed to consider. Brennan becoming my first two time supporting winner seemed almost unchallenged. I really enjoy Brennan's performance which manages to be an enjoyable charming performance, in an otherwise dull film, and an effective villainous performance that manages to be likable nonetheless.

Deserving Performances:
George Sanders in Rebecca
George Sanders in Foreign Correspondent
Herbert Marshall in Foreign Correspondent

Best Supporting Actor 1940: Walter Brennan in The Westerner

Walter Brennan won his third Oscar from his third nomination for portraying Judge Roy Bean in The Westerner.

The Westerner is a an unfortunate film, since it might of pretty good if they stuck with their great character they had, and the great performance with it. Instead the film gets caught up with Gary Cooper who is dull as ever with a dull character and dull romance, with scenes that do not have the only character worth watching Judge Roy Bean.

Walter Brennan is an actor who before I saw this film was use to seeing him as the friendly, comedic, or wise old guy, or sidekick to the main hero. Here though Walter Brennan portrays a villain, and a pretty cold blooded one at times especially at the beginning of the film.

I found it fascinating to see Brennan actually pretty chilling at the beginning when he condemns sentence on an innocent man, and hangs him. It is surprising but interesting to see Brenna as being a quite effective and cold villain as this. A villain cold enough to later darkly joke about killing the man later on in the film.

After his initial hanging Judge Roy Bean goes to his bar which he also uses for a kangaroo court. Despite being a villain he somehow makes Roy Bean likable anyways with his usual Brennan charm, which does not seem out of the nature for the judge. The Judge again goes to his hanging ways when he comes across a wrongly accused saddle bum Cole Harden (Gary Cooper).

Cole avoids a hanging but manipulating the Judges love for a stage actress Lily Langtree who he claims to have met. These scenes are sort of enjoyable because Brennan makes Roy Bean's love for Langtree an oddly honest, and charming one like a child's crush despite the nature of the character. Brennan completely steals these scenes from Cooper which makes his performance enjoyable but in terms of the film the scene do not work entirely though because the Judge is being manipulated by Cole.

This manipulation does not really work because of Cooper's boring dull portrayal against Brennan charming effective portrayal, really makes me doubt Cole's ability to really get the better of the judge. Even though I fully believed the judge naivety if Miss Langtry is involved thanks to Brennan again, in think the film would have worked better if the Judge actually got the better of Cole. Yes it would have been a completely different film, but it would have been a much better film.

Brennan performance is an enjoyable humorous performance that somehow also makes for an intense villain when he needs to as well. I find it wonderful that he can make him properly villainous, but also a likable character that I actually did feel for him at the end of the film. I find Brennan performance to be simple a perfect supporting performance that up shows everyone else in the film, and is the enjoyable or interesting part of an otherwise boring film. A performance makes me wish the film had been completely about Roy Bean like apparently it was originally.

Best Supporting Actor 1940: William Gargan in They Knew What They Wanted

William Gargan received his only Oscar nomination for portraying Joe in They Knew What They Wanted.

They knew what they Wanted is mostly standard 40's fair about a love triangle, which is not exactly bad, but it just is not anything good either. Also due to the censorship of the time makes the plot rather hard to follow at the end.

Joe is the foreman for a winery owned by an aging Italian man Tony Patucci (Charles Laughton). Tony uses Joe to writer letters to a waitress Amy (Carole Lombard) he wishes to marry even though she does not even know who he is. Tony even sens Amy Joe's picture instead of his own making for quite the mix up when she finally comes to get married.

Joe is a man who wishes no long term relationship at the beginning, but this changes when Amy comes around. Gargan is fine in the early scene being the freewheeling foreman who just wants to help his boss/friend out. Than as soon as she comes to town he becomes frustrated due to wanting Amy himself. I gotta say this is when Gargan's performance becomes immediately underwhelming. He has no real charm that shows why Amy would be driven to him otherwise just his looks I guess. His frustrations he shows never really seem all that real either, and it makes for very awkward moments at the end of the film.The whole ending part really required some authentic emotions but instead we don't get any.

Gargan is underwhelming and lacks a real drive or passion in his performance. The most lacking part of his performance though is that he has no chemistry with Lombard stopping their relationship from being believable and making the pregnancy plot at the end of the film all the more confusing. Gargan is okay at the beginning but soon his performance is incredibly lacking.

Best Supporting Actor 1940: James Stephenson in The Letter

James Stephenson received his only Oscar nomination for portraying Howard Joyce in The Letter.

The Letter is in many ways a strange melodrama, that did not quite work for me, even though it does have a few well done scenes.

Stephenson portrays Howard Joyce who is the lawyer of Leslie Crosbie (Bette Davis) who has killed a man in what she claims is self-defense. Joyce has his suspicions though which are more fully established by a letter he is given that basically shows she murdered him in cold blood. Stephenson does a good job of playing Joyce in a very proper calm fashion for this very uptight lawyer.

Stephenson never breaks his manner, and does show his character hiding what he knows well in certain scenes. Stephenson carefully makes only small reactions that only the audience would know hinting that he knows of what really happened, without making it so the character would see his doubts about Leslie. Most of the film Stephenson portrays Joyce pretty straight and to the point which is proper, except for his scene where he defends Leslie in court. A brief scene but Stephenson handles it well showing a nervousness and guilt over what he is doing. Stephenson performance well being adequate still is nothing amazing, or at all memorable but I still feel he did a fine job.

Best Supporting Actor 1940: Albert Bassermann in Foreign Correspondent

Albert Bassermann received his only Oscar nomination for portraying Van Meer in Foreign Correspondent.

Foreign Correspondent is an enjoyable and effective Hitchcock thriller, and it even managed to get in its final war speech well without seeming overly forced and actually pretty powerful, since it seemed almost all films about the war during the war had a speech similar to this near then end.

Albert Bassermann portrays Van Meer a dutch diplomat who has information wanted by foreign agents which leads to a complex, and interesting turn of events. Bassermann performance is a small simple one of an old man who just wants peace. He has the right quiet dignity in his first scene which work well for the film. After this scene though he is just always in a drug induced state. I suppose he is still fine if slightly odd, as just the drugged man. He even has a odd speech when drugged which he handles alright, but still it can't be that powerful since he still has to act drugged.

Bassermann gives fine performance which serves its purpose but little more than that. I was more impressed by other supporting players though. I particularly liked George Sanders who is quite good at playing a good guy for once, also good is Herbert Marshall as the more than meets the eye peace council leader, and even preferred Edmund Gwenn in a small but enjoyable role as a cockney assassin. Bassermann is not bad at all, I just feel he was not the best supporting player in the film.

Best Supporting Actor 1940: Jack Oakie in The Great Dictator

Jack Oakie received his only Oscar nomination for portraying Benzini Napaloni the Dictator of Bacteria.

Jack Oakie quite clearly is doing a parody of Benito Mussolini with Benzini Napaloni. It is a fine humorous enough parody, but that is the entirety of his performance. He does a funny parody accent although its rather inconsistent but hey this is not meant to be taken seriously, and he does the same for the mannerisms Mussolini. A nice funny enough performance but again not an amazing one, and also many of his scenes much of the humor comes from visual gags, and than humor from his performance.Overall Oakie performance is nice enough and does serve its purpose but lets just say although his comedic timing and his parody are fine his performance is never really a "gut buster".

Best Supporting Actor 1940

Jack Oakie in The Great Dictator

Albert Bassermann in Foreign Correspondent
 
Walter Brennan in The Westerner

William Gargan in They Knew What They Wanted

James Stephenson in The Letter

Who do you predict, who do you pick? Was the a third time a charm for Brennan, or was someone else more deserving?

Best Supporting Actor 1960: Results

5. Chill Wills in The Alamo- Wills may be everyone's cousin, and the cast be praying harder for him to win this than actual people who were praying for their lives, but that does not stop his performance from being completely forgettable.

4. Jack Kruschen in The Apartment- Kruschen gives a good humorous performance which is a nice little part of a great film.

3. Sal Mineo in Exodus- Mineo manages to stand out when he can in his role, and shows all the right passion and anger into his role that is unfortunately pushed into the background much of the time. He also has an absolutely terrific scene that shows a little more to his character, unfortunately I feel the film underused Mineo preventing this from being a great performance.

2. Peter Ustinov in Spartacus- Ustinov role is small, but I feel he gives an incredibly enjoyable performance anyways. He always adds a nice humorous charming presence to his film despite his performance being quite small.  

1. Peter Falk in Murder, Inc.- Falk performance is in an almost terrible film. Falk unlike the rest of the film gives an interesting realistic and effective portrait of a violent gangster who quietly gets what he wants most of the time, but uses brief intense violence when he faces too much resistance.

Deserving Performances:
Charles Laughton in Spartacus
Laurence Olivier in Spartacus
Eli Wallach in The Magnificent Seven
Fred MacMurray in The Apartment

Best Supporting Actor 1960: Sal Mineo in Exodus

Sal Mineo received his second and final Oscar nomination for portraying Dov Landau in Exodus.

Otto Preminger proves himself to be no David Lean with his inability to keep the epic Exodus at all interesting for its over three hour running time. It has some good scenes, and the subject matter could make a great film, but this film wears out its welcome quickly.

Sal Mineo role portrays Dov Landau a young angry Jewish man who wishes to violently carve out an independent Jewish country. Exodus as I said is a long film, and he Mineo's total screen time does not amount to all that much. He does stick out though well when he is there, and he is not lost in the film like say Chill Wills is in the Alamo.

Mineo fulfills his role well, always properly suggesting the anger of this young man at all times, even when his scenes are brief. He shows this passionate anger towards his oppressors well in every scene he is in, with the right amount of intensity. He also handles his short romantic scenes well despite the film not giving his romance enough time, despite it being the better romance than the one between the main characters.

 There is one scene where he is inducted into an underground violent Jewish group that stands out and shows more of his character. He is slowly interrogated and he slowly breaks down once he reveals that he did terrible work at Auschwitz. Mineo is terrific in this single single presenting his sadness and regret incredibly well, and very powerfully. This single scene is outstanding and adds a whole lot to his character.

Otherwise than that scene though I thought Mineo performance was unfortunately was just functional, even though it was good. He was in the background too much of the time, which is the film's fault for not recognizing that he is the best and most interesting character, and that Mineo's performance is by far the best in the film. I think if the film I more thoroughly utilized his character and performance than his could have been a great performance, but as it stands I feel it is just good.

Best Supporting Actor 1960: Jack Kruschen in The Apartment

Jack Kruschen received his only Oscar nomination for portraying Doctor Dreyfuss in The Apartment.

Doctor Dreyfuss is the neighbor of C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon). Baxter lends his apartment to higher ups at the company he works at.  Dreyfuss does not know this believing the drinking, the women, and the noise all are Baxter's doings. Dreyfuss gives the occasional humorous remark to Baxter that his "life style" is not going to lead to good things. Kruschen adds a nice little bit of humor here and there well, not sticking out too much, but still adding to the film.

Kruschen has a bigger moment though when Dreyfuss must aid Baxter with a rather serious situation. Kruschen is good here, add the proper amount of weight to the scene actually while still infusing it with a little bit of humor at the same time. Kruschen never does all that much though overall as Dreyfuss but I do think he portrays the part as well as anyone possibly could. I like his performance it adds just a little more to an already great film. His performance is again not amazing but it certainly is good.

Best Supporting Actor 1960: Chill Wills in The Alamo

Chill Wills received his only Oscar nomination for portraying the Beekeeper in The Alamo.

The Alamo is an overly long depiction of the Alamo even in the short version. It has a moment or two, but most of it rather boring.

The Beekeeper is one Davy Crockett's (John Wayne) wacky men from Tennessee. The Beekeeper is a barely noticeable character in the film. He mostly is just in the background that one really would not notice unless they were watching the film to see his nominated performance.

He really never has any time of important focus, when you do see him he just acts a little wacky briefly than he is not seen again for a whole while until he does the same thing again. He has one slightly dramatic moment near the end but it really is not very remarkable. Wills' performance is one that is barely on screen, and when he is off he is not missed.

Best Supporting Actor 1960: Peter Falk in Murder, Inc.

Peter Falk received his first Oscar nomination for portraying Abe "Kid Twist" Reles in Murder, Inc.

Murder, Inc. is a wildly uneven crime film, which I am not sure if it knew what type of story or film it was going for either way. It is interesting at first, but its ends up being basically nothing at the end.

Peter Falk portrays a hit man Abe Reles in this film who gains more prominence through a slick assassin organization known as Murder, Inc. Murder, Inc. is an odd film, in that early on the film it seems like Falk's Reles is going to be the lead character, and the film is going to be a interesting character study. Falk is very proper in the role. His movement and method of his performance just simply reminded me of the way a Wiseguy acts and should act.

Falk's performance is quietly intense and very effective because of that. He acts very calmly to people in a quietly charismatic way, but can quickly go from being relaxed to the person to becoming very violent, or murdering them. Falk handles Reles' method of killing very well, as he does it very casually although still with the right amount of violent intensity. Falk shows that Reles' violent nature is kept mostly controlled and organized most of the time, but he rather lets it comes out when necessary.

Reles disappears for a long time unfortunately for the film, since Reles is the only interesting character and Falk's performance is the only good performance. Falk returns though in a few scenes where he is interrogated by the police. Falk again is very good, as Reles shows off his ability to manipulate others carefully and quietly. He is especially strong when he tries to manipulate the police to give him what he wants. Later he also shows Reles' restrained fear well when faced with likely demise. This may sound disjointed but that is the nature of the film. Reles is not given enough time, but Falk still gives a strong effective performance.

Best Supporting Actor 1960: Peter Ustinov in Spartacus

Peter Ustinov won his first Oscar from his second nomination for portraying Lentulus Batiatus in Spartacus.

Spartacus is not a great epic, but it is fairly enjoyable one.

It is rather interesting that Peter Ustinov was nominated for the role of the owner of the gladiator school which trains Spartacus, considering the bigger supporting roles of Laurence Olivier as the evil dictator Crassus, and Charles Laughton as the sly Roman Senator Gracchus were both not nominated. Instead Ustinov was in his smaller, but an oddly important role.

Ustinov begins as a the man who buys Spartacus. Ustinov moves around with the right casual business man manner in these early moments, looking to make money from his Gladiators. Ustinov is actually rather enjoyable with his relaxed manner as the slave owner. I actually like that he makes his character strangely likable early on, despite being a cruel slave owner, but he just creates a fun presence as he tries to deal with his gladiators and his patrician guests who cause him a lot of trouble.

Ustinov later comes in and out of the film. I will say I was glad to see him every time that he returned. His scenes are simple but made enjoyable because of his simple down to earth performance. I like his simple moments with both Olivier, and especially with Laughton. Their certain chemistry they have together just is simply terrific. He adds just a nice charm, and a nice bit of humor to every moment he is in, which works well for the film.Ustinov's performance is not amazing, but it is a nice enjoyable performance which adds a nice bit of joy to a film that needs it.

Best Supporting Actor 1984: John Malkovich in Places in the Heart

John Malkovich received his first Oscar nomination for portraying Mr. Will in Places in the Heart.

Places in the Heart is a somewhat enjoyable small town, save the farm movie.

John Malkovich portrays Mr. Will a new blind boarder at widow Edna Spalding's (Sally Field) struggling farm. First blind acting is not really big deal with unless it is way too obviously fake. Malkovich handles his character blindness just fine. He handles the disability well, showing his character just dealing with it, and really not trying to bring all that much attention to it in his performance.

Malkovich shows Mr. Will to be a man of a quiet dignity who does not like being mistreated by others. I think Malkovich does  a nice job being nice here most of the time, but also showing his frustration well in one scene. I liked his performance in the film, and it certainly is a nice part of the film. I believe he is not given that much to do, but there is one brilliant scene of his. He asks Sally Field's character to described herself to him, his reaction in this scene is just brilliant. A very nice performance from Malkovich overall even if it is not an amazing one.

Best Supporting Actor 1984: Haing S. Ngor in The Killing Fields

Haing S. Ngor won an Oscar from his only nomination for portraying Dith Pran in The Killing Fields.

Haing S. Ngor was not a professional actor, but in fact a survivor of the Khmer Rouge just like the real Dith Pran. Despite this being his first film performance Ngor shows not a hint of amateurism or inexperience in his performance. He instead he is always completely natural in the role.

For the first half of the film Ngor really is supporting to Waterson who portrays journalist Sydney Schanberg. Dith Pran acts as an assistant and interpreter to Schanberg. First this first half Ngor acts as another empathetic human face on the situations he goes through. Ngor's quiet reactions to the horrors he sees, and the danger he predicts, are completely authentic, and very effective.

Ngor along with Waterson do something rather fantastic, and that is develop a friendship between the two characters despite the fact the film spends very little time with this very important aspect of the film. They develop a quiet but incredibly endearing friendship between these two men, never really with any dialogue, but it is clearly there between the two that incredibly handled by both actors.

In the first half Ngor has two key scenes, in which his honest authentic quality of performance makes these scene all the more powerful. The first scene is when he pleads with Khmer Rouge soldiers for the lives of his journalist friends. It is a very simple scene in terms of Ngor's performance in terms of his quiet pleading. Ngor makes this scene completely believable in the way it turns out due to Ngor's quiet but incredibly effective performance. Another incredible heartbreaking moment is when all the other journalists say goodbye him. A simple but incredible scene due Ngor's pure honesty.

The second half of the film does become almost completely about Dith Pran trying to survive in Khmer Rouge controlled Cambodia, making Ngor the lead in this second half. Ngor's performance is almost completely silent in his performance with only a narration telling of his thoughts. Pran must play dumb since all people with foreign ties, or intellectual backgrounds are killed. Ngor's performance is very careful, but simply outstanding as we follow him through his trials. He puts a true human face on these events which is essential to the film.

Pran makes an escape in attempt to get away from the mass killings, as he does his best to not being figured out, accidentally stumbles on the massive killing fields, and faces a dangerous journey across Cambodia for safety. Ngor's performance stays almost silent but outstanding because he still channels completely what Pran is going through. Ngor's performance is simple just a purely authentic, incredibly subtle, and brilliant performance.

Best Supporting Actor 1984: Pat Morita in The Karate Kid

Pat Morita received his only Oscar nomination for portraying Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid.

The Karate Kid is an entertaining classic.

Pat Morita's performance has become a classic mentor role He is a nice mostly stoic Asian man who helps obnoxious Danielson (Ralph Macchio) learn how to fight against the evil Cobra Kai bullies he must face. Morita has that stoic, slightly humorous manner of Miyagi down well in the film. That technically Morita made seem so natural to his character that most assumed he actually was merely like Miyagi, where in fact he wasn't at all. Now Morita in the role makes Miyagi an impressive teacher but offers such warmth in the teaching. Morita technically fashioned what has become an iconic performance and such an achievement should not be hand waved. Miyagi is able to capture that power of a personal philosophy. He brings a great heart in his personal manner, yet is not naïve in his portrayal. This is seen when Daniel doesn't listen or when faces down the rival sensei. Morita has terrific chemistry with Macchio as Daniel, as both the teacher but also sometimes as a comedic straight man. One aspect that often seems forgotten is that Morita has an Oscar scene. The scene consists of him being drunk and "celebrating" his anniversary with his deceased wife. Morita delivers in the scene offering what is below the stoic surface of Miyagi to reveal the very real pain in the past and it is moving scene that likely did secure him his Oscar nomination. Morita's performance is most remembered for those smaller moments, which should be credit to Morita. Whether it is practicing the crane kick, taking down the bad guys, or giving Daniel such a pleasant smile and nod at victory, Morita simply is as Miyagi should be.

Best Supporting Actor 1984: Ralph Richardson in Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, the Lord of the Apes

Ralph Richardson received his second and final Oscar nomination a posthumous one for portraying The Sixth Earl of Greystoke.

Greystoke besides having a very long name is a rather odd telling of the Tarzan story.

Ralph Richardson portrays the Grand Father of Tarzan. Richardson character and performance is that of a nice supportive old man. There really is nothing else to the role. It is a fairly standard stock role, and Richardson is just fine in it. He never has anything scenes that really requires anything more for him. He is simply just a likable old nice figure who is supportive to Tarzan.

Richardson is perfect in the role technically, I like his presence in the film, and it is a nice little performance. There is not single thing wrong with his performance, but his performance is also just a rather simple short performance that no actor could have done more with than Richardson does. I want to stress that this technically a good performance, but simply this character could not have had more to it than it does.

Best Supporting Actor 1984: Adolph Caesar in A Soldier's Story

Adolph Caesar received his only Oscar nomination for portraying Sergeant Waters in A Soldier's Story.

A Soldier's Story is an effective murder mystery about an African American officer investigating the death of a hated Sergeant.

Adolph Caesar portrays Sergeant Waters who is the murdered man at the center of the investigation, this is not a spoiler by the way it happens in the first scene of the film. Waters is shown in flash backs to be a fairly cruel Sergeant who mistreats his men, and strangely sort of has a superiority, and inferiority complex. Waters believes himself to be better than other black men ones from the south, but he also still believes that he has to act a certain way, and that all blacks have to act a certain way to be seen better by Whites. Caesar shows both of these complexes well, and finds the right balance between the two to grant a reality to Waters's behavior.

Caesar portrays the cruelty of his character well, in a proper strict systematic fashion. Caesar has the right intensity in his performance. Caesar is particularly good in moments in which he speaks of his thoughts on race. Caesar makes Waters' racism very realistic, and he shows it something that Waters had been taught to be his father. Waters' performance is interesting an effective performance, that shows almost an systematic racism developed within the character. Caesar makes Waters a complex man with his somewhat short amount of time, his presence makes a strong impact in a film despite his character dying in the first few minutes of the film. Leaving sort of his stain on all of it, and offering the most compelling character in the narrative.