Dana Andrews in The Ox-Bow Incident
Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2005: Ed Harris in A History of Violence
Ed Harris did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Carl Fogarty in A History of Violence.Ed Harris portrays the Philadelphia gangster who comes looking for diner owner Tom Stall who recently killed two men trying to rob his diner..
Best Supporting Actor 2011: Nick Nolte in Warrior
Nick Nolte received his third Oscar nomination for portraying Paddy Conlon in Warrior.Warrior details a winner take all mixed martial art tournament whose two main combatants are estranged brothers (Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton) fighting for their own difficult reasons.
Alternate Best Actor 2011
And the Nominees Were Not:Ryan Gosling in DriveRobert Wieckiewicz in In DarknessMichael Fassbender in ShameMichael Shannon in Take ShelterBrendan Gleeson in The Guard..
Showing posts with label 1943 Best Supporting Actor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1943 Best Supporting Actor. Show all posts
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Best Supporting Actor 1943: Results
Dana Andrews in The Ox-Bow Incident
Best Supporting Actor 1943: Claude Rains in Casablanca
Claude Rains received his second nomination for portraying Captain Louis Renault in Casablanca.
Claude Rains plays Captain Renault who is the head of the police in Casablanca. He is player of any side that gets him something being a self confessed corrupt official. Captain Renault is a very flashy role with all his scheming as well as his retorts and Rains decides to take this potential to its limit. This is the flashier performance by Rains that I have seen there is not a single scene where he does not appear to be trying to steal that scene no matter what. Rains throughout his performance is always trying to push himself and be the center of attention even when a scene has little to do with him.
Rains has basically no shame in his entire performance nor fear with his choices in this performance he always goes right out and says yes this is flashy role and that is exactly how I am going to play it. Rains does by stating each of his lines with a swift gusto, as well as when every moving on screen there is always something extra to what he does. Each of his reactions and just the way he walks has a certain extra actory quality to it only to really be flashier in the role and get even more attention.
Rains certainly through his flashiness make Captain Renault an enjoyable character to watch. He never quite makes Renault a villain rather always keeping him as a man gets only what he happens to want. Rains really shows a joy in Renault as he tries to get money and women from his position of power. Rains shows that nothing really gets Renault down to much even when he fails, which works well because it shows it as just mostly a game to Renault, a game he has lots of fun with.
Rains certainly has an enjoyable presence in the film, but what keeps me from entirely loving this performance is actually just how self aware Rains is in his entire performance. I never got the feeling that there was not a whole lot of acting going on behind Renault becuase of Rains' method of portraying him throughout the film. Do not get me wrong this is an enjoyable performance, but I personally would have liked it more if Rains whole flashy portrayal was just slightly less obvious and self aware than it is. I am not saying Renault should not be flashy it is the role, but an actor can bring that sort of performance without doing quite so clearly as Rains does here.
Rains has basically no shame in his entire performance nor fear with his choices in this performance he always goes right out and says yes this is flashy role and that is exactly how I am going to play it. Rains does by stating each of his lines with a swift gusto, as well as when every moving on screen there is always something extra to what he does. Each of his reactions and just the way he walks has a certain extra actory quality to it only to really be flashier in the role and get even more attention.
Rains certainly through his flashiness make Captain Renault an enjoyable character to watch. He never quite makes Renault a villain rather always keeping him as a man gets only what he happens to want. Rains really shows a joy in Renault as he tries to get money and women from his position of power. Rains shows that nothing really gets Renault down to much even when he fails, which works well because it shows it as just mostly a game to Renault, a game he has lots of fun with.
Rains certainly has an enjoyable presence in the film, but what keeps me from entirely loving this performance is actually just how self aware Rains is in his entire performance. I never got the feeling that there was not a whole lot of acting going on behind Renault becuase of Rains' method of portraying him throughout the film. Do not get me wrong this is an enjoyable performance, but I personally would have liked it more if Rains whole flashy portrayal was just slightly less obvious and self aware than it is. I am not saying Renault should not be flashy it is the role, but an actor can bring that sort of performance without doing quite so clearly as Rains does here.
Best Supporting Actor 1943: Charles Bickford in The Song of Bernadette
Charles Bickford received his first Oscar nomination for portraying Father Peyramale in The Song of Bernadette.
The Song of Bernadette tells of the life of Saint Bernadette Soubirous.
Charles Bickford plays the local priest who is very skeptical of Bernadette's sightings of a divine woman. Bickford's performance is not a particularly complex character. He is at first very hard on Bernadette since he does not believe her story. Bickford I suppose is appropriately strict at the begining of the film. Later on he shows his faith though when he eventually comes around to believing Bernadette.
There really is not any sort of transition to be seen in Bickford's performance nor is there one written though. The priest's change is almost instant. Bickford never becomes that interesting though after he becomes on her side he becomes a passionate supporter, and Bickford is appropriately passionate. When Bickford is suppose to be tender though Bickford seems always a little too rough still to really bring the right emotions to the situations near the end of the film. Bickford overall really is not bad but his part is too limited to ever really be compelling.
Charles Bickford plays the local priest who is very skeptical of Bernadette's sightings of a divine woman. Bickford's performance is not a particularly complex character. He is at first very hard on Bernadette since he does not believe her story. Bickford I suppose is appropriately strict at the begining of the film. Later on he shows his faith though when he eventually comes around to believing Bernadette.
There really is not any sort of transition to be seen in Bickford's performance nor is there one written though. The priest's change is almost instant. Bickford never becomes that interesting though after he becomes on her side he becomes a passionate supporter, and Bickford is appropriately passionate. When Bickford is suppose to be tender though Bickford seems always a little too rough still to really bring the right emotions to the situations near the end of the film. Bickford overall really is not bad but his part is too limited to ever really be compelling.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Best Supporting Actor 1943: Charles Coburn in The More the Merrier
Charles Coburn won his Oscar from his second nomination for portraying Benjamin Dingle in The More the Merrier.
The More the Merrier involves the misadventures of three people who find themselves in the same apartment due to a housing shortage in Washington D.C.
Charles Coburn really is not all that much of a supporting performance for about a half to a third of the film where he basically is the lead being the primary force in moving the story along. I do not mind this placement though because he almost disappears in the later part of the film, which is too bad for the film though because if he had remained the lead the film would have probably been better on a whole, since for me the film lost almost all of its steam when Coburn was not on the screen because he makes the movie.
Coburn plays Benjamin Dingle a rich eccentric billionaire who arrives two days early than expected forcing him to find housing by sharing an apartment with a woman Constance (Jean Arthur). Coburn with ease brigns out all the humor with the situation as he shows that Dingle is always in control of his situation. Not in some sort of dictator fashion, but just a man who always knows what to do, and takes the initiative as Dingle says "Damn the torpedoes full speed ahead.".
Coburn is just great in every scene he has with always pitch perfect comedic reactions to the the various complexities that occur thanks to the unusual room arrangement that Dingle makes even more unusual by renting half of his half to a younger soldier also in town named Joe (Joel McCrea). Every moment Coburn makes the most of with his exceedingly charming and entertaining performance. He always takes every line, every reaction and practically brings each to its fullest potential.
There is not a scene, even the with the later ones where Dingle is unfortunately pushed in the back where Coburn does not make Dingle the man in charge who can't help but be a joyous presence. I only wish Coburn had been the lead because his part is so enjoyable. This is a performance I simply love and he always makes the film a very easy watch. A eccentric comedic character like this is easy to get very wrong but Coburn always brings the humor and the charm of his character into each and every moment he has in the film.
Charles Coburn really is not all that much of a supporting performance for about a half to a third of the film where he basically is the lead being the primary force in moving the story along. I do not mind this placement though because he almost disappears in the later part of the film, which is too bad for the film though because if he had remained the lead the film would have probably been better on a whole, since for me the film lost almost all of its steam when Coburn was not on the screen because he makes the movie.
Coburn plays Benjamin Dingle a rich eccentric billionaire who arrives two days early than expected forcing him to find housing by sharing an apartment with a woman Constance (Jean Arthur). Coburn with ease brigns out all the humor with the situation as he shows that Dingle is always in control of his situation. Not in some sort of dictator fashion, but just a man who always knows what to do, and takes the initiative as Dingle says "Damn the torpedoes full speed ahead.".
Coburn is just great in every scene he has with always pitch perfect comedic reactions to the the various complexities that occur thanks to the unusual room arrangement that Dingle makes even more unusual by renting half of his half to a younger soldier also in town named Joe (Joel McCrea). Every moment Coburn makes the most of with his exceedingly charming and entertaining performance. He always takes every line, every reaction and practically brings each to its fullest potential.
There is not a scene, even the with the later ones where Dingle is unfortunately pushed in the back where Coburn does not make Dingle the man in charge who can't help but be a joyous presence. I only wish Coburn had been the lead because his part is so enjoyable. This is a performance I simply love and he always makes the film a very easy watch. A eccentric comedic character like this is easy to get very wrong but Coburn always brings the humor and the charm of his character into each and every moment he has in the film.
Best Supporting Actor 1943: Akim Tamiroff in For Whom the Bell Tolls
Akim Tamiroff received his second and final Oscar nomination for portraying Pablo in For Whom the Bell Tolls.
Akim Tamiroff plays Pablo the leader of the group of rebels in the Spanish Civil War who Robert Jordan (Gary Cooper) comes to join to blow up a bridge. Akim Tamiroff's Pablo is a rather weak willed man, who Tamiroff is perhaps just a tad too cartoonish in his portrayal since Tamiroff does his usual routine which is a combination of a craziness as well as some joviality.
Although this can work as just a side character in comedies or as a comic relief in other films here it does not really work so well. Tamiroff does tone down his usual style here, but really not enough to make Pablo either realistic or compelling. What I really do not like about his performance is the fact that Pablo could have been a pretty interesting character, but Tamiroff never reaches this potential like say Katina Paxinou does in the role of Pablo's wife and the eventual leader of the rebel group Pilar.
I suppose Pablo is appropriately weak willed and cowardly in the hands of Tamiroff, but there is really too much emphasis on this aspect of Pablo. Yes it is obvious that leadership would be taken from Pilar because of this but Tamiroff never makes any indication to how Pablo was ever their leader to begin with he seems too much like a clown much of the time, and too much like a loser most of the time. There is not even the slightest hint to Pablo ever being a strong man or a leader.
Tamiroff though fails more thoroughly when Pablo comes off as a dangerous man who you have no idea what he is going to do. Tamiroff never seems brutal, or sinister enough to give Pablo's actions any emotional weight. Tamiroff always remains far far too simplistic and never manages to bring the complexity of the character to life. Pablo perhaps could have been a fascinating character in his unpredictability, but Tamiroff never brings more than a paper thin characterization to the part.
Although this can work as just a side character in comedies or as a comic relief in other films here it does not really work so well. Tamiroff does tone down his usual style here, but really not enough to make Pablo either realistic or compelling. What I really do not like about his performance is the fact that Pablo could have been a pretty interesting character, but Tamiroff never reaches this potential like say Katina Paxinou does in the role of Pablo's wife and the eventual leader of the rebel group Pilar.
I suppose Pablo is appropriately weak willed and cowardly in the hands of Tamiroff, but there is really too much emphasis on this aspect of Pablo. Yes it is obvious that leadership would be taken from Pilar because of this but Tamiroff never makes any indication to how Pablo was ever their leader to begin with he seems too much like a clown much of the time, and too much like a loser most of the time. There is not even the slightest hint to Pablo ever being a strong man or a leader.
Tamiroff though fails more thoroughly when Pablo comes off as a dangerous man who you have no idea what he is going to do. Tamiroff never seems brutal, or sinister enough to give Pablo's actions any emotional weight. Tamiroff always remains far far too simplistic and never manages to bring the complexity of the character to life. Pablo perhaps could have been a fascinating character in his unpredictability, but Tamiroff never brings more than a paper thin characterization to the part.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Best Supporting Actor 1943: J. Carrol Naish in Sahara
J. Carrol Naish received his first Oscar nomination for portraying Giuseppe in Sahara.
Sahara details a small group of allied soldiers who attempt to hold up a large group of German soldiers.
Naish plays Giuseppe an Italian soldier held captive by the Allied Soldiers. Naish really has a very simple role and a very little screentime. He does an Italian accent that although clearly Italian it is not as over the top as it really could have been. Naish in his little time does give a sympathetic portrayal of Giuseppe showing just a man who desperately needs help. He mostly just stands around looking scared which Naish realistically portrays until he stands up for himself in a big anti Nazi speech at the end of his performance. It is well handled by Naish really putting the right passion and pride into the speech while keeping with the character still showing just an inner strength within Giuseppe. Although never amazing or substantial Naish gives a good performance technically but in a very very limited part.
Naish plays Giuseppe an Italian soldier held captive by the Allied Soldiers. Naish really has a very simple role and a very little screentime. He does an Italian accent that although clearly Italian it is not as over the top as it really could have been. Naish in his little time does give a sympathetic portrayal of Giuseppe showing just a man who desperately needs help. He mostly just stands around looking scared which Naish realistically portrays until he stands up for himself in a big anti Nazi speech at the end of his performance. It is well handled by Naish really putting the right passion and pride into the speech while keeping with the character still showing just an inner strength within Giuseppe. Although never amazing or substantial Naish gives a good performance technically but in a very very limited part.
Best Supporting Actor 1943
Claude Rains in Casablanca
Akim Tamiroff in For Whom the Bells Tolls
Charles Coburn in The More the Merrier
J. Carrol Naish in Sahara
Charles Bickford in The Song of Bernadette
