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 1955 Best Supporting Actor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1955 Best Supporting Actor. Show all posts
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Best Supporting Actor 1955: Results
Best Supporting Actor 1955: Arthur Kennedy in Trial
Arthur Kennedy received his third Oscar nomination for portraying Barney Castle in Trial.
Trial depicts the trial of a young Mexican boy accused of murder.
The more I see of Arthur Kennedy the more I must say I do not find him to be one of the best character actors, not a bad one, but not one who makes a film better by simply being in it. In fact I still feel the strongest performance of his was his leading turn in Bright Victory, and really I think he would have probably been better as a leading man on a whole. Here Arthur Kennedy plays a lawyer who takes the case of the young boy, but he may have other reasons for taking the case than just to help the kid.
Arthur Kennedy here shows his shortcomings in this performance as well as his strengths. In his scenes he tends to try a little hard to be noticed in his scenes. He always attempts to dominate his scenes, and be noticed even though he is not the star. Kennedy does not go over the top really, but there is more of a visible effort shown that really should be. That being said Kennedy does not fail or fall on his face either though.
Kennedy as Barney still has a strength and certain command that makes for Barney who does want to make a splash, and make the case be noticed. Kennedy does show there is most certainly an intelligence to Barney in the way he handles the case, there quickness in Kennedy's performance that perfectly expresses the knowledge Barney has of the case, and exactly how he can use it for its own cause.
Barney is not at all the noble crusading lawyer he pretends to be and only wishes to use the case of the young boy for his hidden agenda. Here Kennedy shows that Barney does always seem to have more than one thing on his mind at a time, suggesting his hidden motives, although I think Kennedy could have handled it better still since he goes just a little far with Barney's almost brutal way of handling his client that when it is revealed he has been hiding something all along you see it coming more than you should. Kennedy though on a whole does give a good performance, I only wish it had been just a little more refined than it may have been a great performance.
The more I see of Arthur Kennedy the more I must say I do not find him to be one of the best character actors, not a bad one, but not one who makes a film better by simply being in it. In fact I still feel the strongest performance of his was his leading turn in Bright Victory, and really I think he would have probably been better as a leading man on a whole. Here Arthur Kennedy plays a lawyer who takes the case of the young boy, but he may have other reasons for taking the case than just to help the kid.
Arthur Kennedy here shows his shortcomings in this performance as well as his strengths. In his scenes he tends to try a little hard to be noticed in his scenes. He always attempts to dominate his scenes, and be noticed even though he is not the star. Kennedy does not go over the top really, but there is more of a visible effort shown that really should be. That being said Kennedy does not fail or fall on his face either though.
Kennedy as Barney still has a strength and certain command that makes for Barney who does want to make a splash, and make the case be noticed. Kennedy does show there is most certainly an intelligence to Barney in the way he handles the case, there quickness in Kennedy's performance that perfectly expresses the knowledge Barney has of the case, and exactly how he can use it for its own cause.
Barney is not at all the noble crusading lawyer he pretends to be and only wishes to use the case of the young boy for his hidden agenda. Here Kennedy shows that Barney does always seem to have more than one thing on his mind at a time, suggesting his hidden motives, although I think Kennedy could have handled it better still since he goes just a little far with Barney's almost brutal way of handling his client that when it is revealed he has been hiding something all along you see it coming more than you should. Kennedy though on a whole does give a good performance, I only wish it had been just a little more refined than it may have been a great performance.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Best Supporting Actor 1955: Jack Lemmon in Mister Roberts
Jack Lemmon won his first Oscar from his first nomination for portraying Ensign Frank Pulver in Mister Robert.
Mister Roberts details the struggle on a naval ships in the back waters of the pacific during World War II between the kindly Mister Roberts, and the tyrannical ship's captain (James Cagney).
Jack Lemmon plays Ensign Pulver the laundry and morale officer aboard the ship. He might have this position though he mostly just seems to sleep in his quarters, and randomly attempt to come up with things to help pass his time on the rather boring ship. Lemmon is an actor I will admit that I actually tend to prefer him in dramatic roles oppose to his comedic roles, since I find he can easily go a little too far with his comic performance, or that his shtick can eventually become old during the course of a film.
Luckily in this film though Lemmon is used just the right amount, as well as he finds the right tone for his performance to work as it should. This is one of Lemmon's better comedic performances, because he does not overplay his role to the point of ever coming off as annoying or obnoxious but instead makes Ensign Pulver the most entertaining character in the film. Also really he makes his performance the mainly comedic performance that works best in the film, unlike the rest of the crew who shows just how one can constantly overact while attempting to be funny, but than not be funny at all.
Lemmon on the other hand succeeds in creating a very enjoyable performance as Ensign Pulver. As usual with most Lemmon performances, especially his comedic ones, he infuses a great deal of energy into his performance, and it is all well spent with Ensign Pulver. Lemmon manages to be very entertaining with simply his body language of Pulver who manages bring life to every scene he is in through his uneasy manner, I particularly like his scene where he accidentally runs into the ships Captain, and Lemmon shows just how little confidence Pulver really has.
Lemmon never really wastes a moment in his performance as Pulver, and manages to make more out of every scene he is in than there would have been otherwise. He has pitch perfect reactions throughout, and manages to make the lazy and rather meek Pulver a very enjoyable character. All of his behavior is made endearing by Lemmon, when it easily could have gone the wrong way. Lemmon has just the right charm in his performance to make Pulver as he should be. His performance though is not only comedic and does have some dramatic weight that is found in the end of the film.
Lemmon though manages just as well with his final dramatic scene as he did with all his comedic ones. He shows in his single scene how much the titular Mister Roberts meant to everyone and actually Lemmon's performance is what makes the final climax of the film work. He shows a transformation at the end with Pulver, that is made believable despite being a fast one, because he is able to show how Pulver sees his sense of duty and finally does it. This is a very good performance by Lemmon that seizes his opportunities of his part, and manages to make his performance the most memorable part of his film.
Jack Lemmon plays Ensign Pulver the laundry and morale officer aboard the ship. He might have this position though he mostly just seems to sleep in his quarters, and randomly attempt to come up with things to help pass his time on the rather boring ship. Lemmon is an actor I will admit that I actually tend to prefer him in dramatic roles oppose to his comedic roles, since I find he can easily go a little too far with his comic performance, or that his shtick can eventually become old during the course of a film.
Luckily in this film though Lemmon is used just the right amount, as well as he finds the right tone for his performance to work as it should. This is one of Lemmon's better comedic performances, because he does not overplay his role to the point of ever coming off as annoying or obnoxious but instead makes Ensign Pulver the most entertaining character in the film. Also really he makes his performance the mainly comedic performance that works best in the film, unlike the rest of the crew who shows just how one can constantly overact while attempting to be funny, but than not be funny at all.
Lemmon on the other hand succeeds in creating a very enjoyable performance as Ensign Pulver. As usual with most Lemmon performances, especially his comedic ones, he infuses a great deal of energy into his performance, and it is all well spent with Ensign Pulver. Lemmon manages to be very entertaining with simply his body language of Pulver who manages bring life to every scene he is in through his uneasy manner, I particularly like his scene where he accidentally runs into the ships Captain, and Lemmon shows just how little confidence Pulver really has.
Lemmon never really wastes a moment in his performance as Pulver, and manages to make more out of every scene he is in than there would have been otherwise. He has pitch perfect reactions throughout, and manages to make the lazy and rather meek Pulver a very enjoyable character. All of his behavior is made endearing by Lemmon, when it easily could have gone the wrong way. Lemmon has just the right charm in his performance to make Pulver as he should be. His performance though is not only comedic and does have some dramatic weight that is found in the end of the film.
Lemmon though manages just as well with his final dramatic scene as he did with all his comedic ones. He shows in his single scene how much the titular Mister Roberts meant to everyone and actually Lemmon's performance is what makes the final climax of the film work. He shows a transformation at the end with Pulver, that is made believable despite being a fast one, because he is able to show how Pulver sees his sense of duty and finally does it. This is a very good performance by Lemmon that seizes his opportunities of his part, and manages to make his performance the most memorable part of his film.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Best Supporting Actor 1955: Sal Mineo in Rebel Without a Cause
Sal Mineo received his first Oscar nomination for portraying Plato in Rebel Without a Cause.
Rebel Without a Cause depicts the story of troubled teenager Jim Stark (James Dean).
Sal Mineo plays Plato a very much troubled teenager who no longer lives with his family and is instead raised by his black house keeper. He basically spends most of his time alone, and attempts to find some sort of companionship with his fellow troubled teenager Jim, and attempts to help Jim with his problems with the local hoods. One thing that is never said but very much implied is that Plato is rather attracted to Jim to the point that he is clearly suppose to be a homosexual.
This is never stated in the film in anyway not in really even a hidden in the words like some films, instead it basically all comes entirely in Mineo's performance. Mineo is appropriately subtle in his depiction of his character he never plays his character in any sort of flamboyant fashion, instead he suggest this only in his looks, and his body language when reacting with Jim. It is very well handled by Mineo and perfectly shows how Plato is attracted to Jim.
Other than this aspect Plato is a very troubled young man. It actually would have been easy to constantly overplay Plato's troubles, but instead Mineo gives a quietly effective performance that is able to more realistically bring to life Plato's long history of problems. Mineo shows that Plato tries hard to hide all of his problems, but always shows that there is something wrong with him at all times. There is not a single scene where Plato seems entirely normal, because Mineo infuses Plato mental instability in every moment he is on screen.
A very important moment for Plato and Mineo performance is his single really happy scene where he hangs out with Jim in an abandoned home he used to runaway from home to. Mineo makes the most of his scene showing a desperation and a genuine happiness in Plato in this moment. He does not over do it though still making it clear that Plato is not well, but rather Mineo makes this Plato's imperfect attempt to be so.
Interestingly enough for me his final scenes felt like his least impressive scenes. Plato finally goes out of control. In these scenes Mineo is still good and still is as Plato should be, but I really feel that he should perhaps have been able to bring even more emotional strength into this pivotal scene. His performance is very good though I have no doubts about that. He never has a bad moment and creates an excellent characterization.
Sal Mineo plays Plato a very much troubled teenager who no longer lives with his family and is instead raised by his black house keeper. He basically spends most of his time alone, and attempts to find some sort of companionship with his fellow troubled teenager Jim, and attempts to help Jim with his problems with the local hoods. One thing that is never said but very much implied is that Plato is rather attracted to Jim to the point that he is clearly suppose to be a homosexual.
This is never stated in the film in anyway not in really even a hidden in the words like some films, instead it basically all comes entirely in Mineo's performance. Mineo is appropriately subtle in his depiction of his character he never plays his character in any sort of flamboyant fashion, instead he suggest this only in his looks, and his body language when reacting with Jim. It is very well handled by Mineo and perfectly shows how Plato is attracted to Jim.
Other than this aspect Plato is a very troubled young man. It actually would have been easy to constantly overplay Plato's troubles, but instead Mineo gives a quietly effective performance that is able to more realistically bring to life Plato's long history of problems. Mineo shows that Plato tries hard to hide all of his problems, but always shows that there is something wrong with him at all times. There is not a single scene where Plato seems entirely normal, because Mineo infuses Plato mental instability in every moment he is on screen.
A very important moment for Plato and Mineo performance is his single really happy scene where he hangs out with Jim in an abandoned home he used to runaway from home to. Mineo makes the most of his scene showing a desperation and a genuine happiness in Plato in this moment. He does not over do it though still making it clear that Plato is not well, but rather Mineo makes this Plato's imperfect attempt to be so.
Interestingly enough for me his final scenes felt like his least impressive scenes. Plato finally goes out of control. In these scenes Mineo is still good and still is as Plato should be, but I really feel that he should perhaps have been able to bring even more emotional strength into this pivotal scene. His performance is very good though I have no doubts about that. He never has a bad moment and creates an excellent characterization.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Best Supporting Actor 1955: Arthur O'Connell in Picnic
Arthur O'Connell received his first Oscar nomination for portraying Howard Bevans in Picnic.
Picnic is a very melodramatic film about a drifter Hal (William Holden) who visits a small Kansas town looking for work.
O'Connell plays one of the locals an older man who owns a store and is thinking over becoming married to one of the local school teachers Rosemary (Rosalind Russell). He is hesitant to give up bachelor life though. In fifties melodramas it is easy for one to give a rather melodramatic performance, or a very dull one. O'Connell thankfully though is a rarity in this situation and in this particular film as he does try his best to give a natural performance.
O'Connell's actual character is quite limited though in the scope of the film. Howard is there and shares small romantic scenes with Rosemary. O'Connell has descent chemistry with Russell even though it not especially special but it does manage to make their relationship believable. Howard past that just remains as the most sensible person who does not immediately jump to conclusions nor get all melodramatic all of sudden either.
O'Connell gives an appropriately charming performance, and never gets sucked up in the overacting or dullness that some of the other performers do in this film. I still cannot say that this is a great performance by any means though the part of Howard requires little of him in the very end. I will most certainly give him his due credit though as he does play Howard exactly as Howard should be portrayed.
O'Connell plays one of the locals an older man who owns a store and is thinking over becoming married to one of the local school teachers Rosemary (Rosalind Russell). He is hesitant to give up bachelor life though. In fifties melodramas it is easy for one to give a rather melodramatic performance, or a very dull one. O'Connell thankfully though is a rarity in this situation and in this particular film as he does try his best to give a natural performance.
O'Connell's actual character is quite limited though in the scope of the film. Howard is there and shares small romantic scenes with Rosemary. O'Connell has descent chemistry with Russell even though it not especially special but it does manage to make their relationship believable. Howard past that just remains as the most sensible person who does not immediately jump to conclusions nor get all melodramatic all of sudden either.
O'Connell gives an appropriately charming performance, and never gets sucked up in the overacting or dullness that some of the other performers do in this film. I still cannot say that this is a great performance by any means though the part of Howard requires little of him in the very end. I will most certainly give him his due credit though as he does play Howard exactly as Howard should be portrayed.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Best Supporting Actor 1955: Joe Mantell in Marty
Louis Morgan: Hello and welcome to my interview with none other than Joe Mantell who received his only Oscar nomination for portraying Angie in Marty. Well Mr. Mantell can you please describe your character in Marty.
Joe Mantell: Well Angie is a bit of a dope, the man who is always hanging out with Marty pestering Marty on what their going to do trying to convince to to find women with him.
LM: What else does Angie do over the course of the film.
JM: Well not much really he later on in the film keeps looking for Marty at different places well Marty finally finds a date.
LM: Anything more than that?
JM: Well at the end he keeps telling Marty that he went out with a dog and proceeds to go back to the way he usually does things.
LM: Well that really is not much is it, how do you play the part?
JM: Well Angie is really a big nothing so that is how a play him as a big nothing just always depending a little too much for his friend.
LM: Well I suppose you do play Angie just as he should be played, but is that really anything all that special.
JM: Well I suppose not, but hey I am not bad am I.
LM: Well no your not.
JM: Yeah that's right I'm not, I certainly am better than Baryshnikov in The Turning Point now aren't I.
LM: True, but still its hard to say that this is not anything more than just a bonus nomination for the very well liked Marty.
JM: Well that's your opinion.
LM: Indeed it is. I will say in closing though I love the way you say "Forget it Jake, It's Chinatown" in Chinatown you nailed that line.
LM: What else does Angie do over the course of the film.
JM: Well not much really he later on in the film keeps looking for Marty at different places well Marty finally finds a date.
LM: Anything more than that?
JM: Well at the end he keeps telling Marty that he went out with a dog and proceeds to go back to the way he usually does things.
LM: Well that really is not much is it, how do you play the part?
JM: Well Angie is really a big nothing so that is how a play him as a big nothing just always depending a little too much for his friend.
LM: Well I suppose you do play Angie just as he should be played, but is that really anything all that special.
JM: Well I suppose not, but hey I am not bad am I.
LM: Well no your not.
JM: Yeah that's right I'm not, I certainly am better than Baryshnikov in The Turning Point now aren't I.
LM: True, but still its hard to say that this is not anything more than just a bonus nomination for the very well liked Marty.
JM: Well that's your opinion.
LM: Indeed it is. I will say in closing though I love the way you say "Forget it Jake, It's Chinatown" in Chinatown you nailed that line.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Best Supporting Actor 1955
Sal Mineo in Rebel Without a Cause
Joe Mantell in Marty
Jack Lemmon in Mister Roberts
Arthur O'Connell in Picnic
Arthur Kennedy in Trial
