Best Supporting Actor 1958: Results

5. Arthur Kennedy in Some Came Running- Kennedy gives a rather uninteresting performance in a very dispensable part.

4. Theodore Bikel in The Defiant Ones- Bikel gives an adequate performance that fulfills his role as the humane sheriff.

3. Gig Young in Teacher's Pet- Gig Young gives a rather enjoyable performance being funny both when he is the perfect pompous man, to just a man with a very bad hangover.

2. Lee J. Cobb in The Brothers Karamazov- Although he is not in a great film Cobb makes the most out of his performance. He turns his bad father into an effectively realistic villain who is just as much of a buffoon as he is a master manipulator.

1. Burl Ives in The Big Country- Good prediction Eddie and Fritz. Ives gives the best performance of all of the nominees despite the fact that his film is quite lacking on a whole. Ives though never becomes the mediocrity of his surroundings though and gives a powerful moving portrait of troubled landowner and father, that frankly finds complexities to the part that probably were not even in the character as written.

Deserving Performances:
Orson Welles in Touch of Evil
Burl Ives in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

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Best Supporting Actor 1958: Arthur Kennedy in Some Came Running

Arthur Kennedy received his fifth and final Oscar nomination for portraying Frank Hirsh in Some Came Running.

Some Came Running depicts the problems faced by a returning war veteran Dave Hirsh (Frank Sinatra).

After watching all of Kennedy's supporting nominations I must say he is not in the league of Claude Rains, and in fact most of his nominations are pretty standard supporting performance that have absolutely no real distinction to them. This is probably the most true about his performance here though as Frank Sinatra's character's brother. The brother who tries his best to defend his brother, and tries to talk to him but has very little success either way. His whole character does feel a bit dispensable, particularly when the film attempts to give him a sub plot involving affair with his secretary caused by the coldness of his wife.

His character is rather repetitive and by the end of the film one could care less about him. Kennedy's follows suit with his performance which is equally repetitive. His performance is basically a one note of awkwardness around his defense of his character's brother. There is not any special connection ever shown between him and Sinatra in fact the way they were together you'd think they weren't brothers at all. After all there should be some small history between the two even if a small one, but the way the two interact suggests absolutely nothing. It does not even suggest estrangement even, since Kennedy plays his part in such a superficial fashion throughout his performance.

It just a terribly uninteresting performance for a terribly uninteresting character. Even when he has his affair, which the film barely cares about, Kennedy still does not make anything out of Frank. He still stays on the same basic note, and the affair just feels like something written for him to do rather than passionate action by Frank. I suppose the fact that Frank is boring does have a great deal in the way the part is written, really Kennedy has very little to work with to be perfectly honest, but still there was probably something more one could have done with the part than Kennedy does. This is not to say that Kennedy truly awful in the part, but at the same time it is a very dull performance from an actor seemed better suited for lead roles, at least when it comes to his Oscar nomination performances.

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Best Supporting Actor 1958

And the Nominees Were:

Theodore Bikel in The Defiant Ones

Lee J. Cobb in The Brothers Karamazov

Burl Ives in The Big Country

Gig Young in Teacher's Pet

Arthur Kennedy in Some Came Running

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Best Supporting Actor 1955: Results

5. Joe Mantell in Marty- There is nothing wrong with Mantell's performance, but there just is not much to it either.

4. Arthur O'Connell in Picnic- O'Connell most certainly has a certain charm to his performance, and does not fall into the melodramatic overacting of some of his co-stars, but on a whole he still does not do anythign substantial.

3. Arthur Kennedy in Trial- Kennedy spends a little too much effort to be noticed in this film but having said that he still does give an effective performance.

2. Sal Mineo in Rebel Without a Cause- Mineo gives a very strong quiet performance, that conveys the troubles of his character without fault.

1. Jack Lemmon in Mr. Roberts- Good Predictions Eddie, and Moviefilm. Lemmon is my choice of the year with his very entertaining and enjoyable performance. It is very easy to do comedy like this poorly, but Lemmon hits all the right notes, as well manages to bring the more dramatic aspects of his performance to life as well as the comedic ones.

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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.

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Best Supporting Actor 1955

And the Nominees Were:

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

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Best Supporting Actor 1957: Results

5. Russ Tamblyn in Peyton Place- Tamblyn although not awful gives a rather dull performance that at best is barely adequate.

4. Arthur Kennedy in Peyton Place- Kennedy goes way over the top, and well at least that does not make him as boring as much of the performers in this film it does not make his performance particularly good either.

3. Vittorio De Sica in A Farewell to Arms- De Sica has a limited part but does manage to be charming and emotionally convincing enough to be the most interesting part of his film.

2. Red Buttons in Sayonara- Red Buttons gives a passionate, and effectively convincing performance. Although his part is limited Buttons makes the most out of everything he does have rising above the rather weak film he is in.

1. Sessue Hayakawa in The Bridge on the River Kwai- Good Prediction RatedRStar. This year the choice is obvious to me with Hayakawa he is simply on a different level than the rest of the performances this year. He gives a remarkable performance creating a complex portrait of a man who puts codes before all else to the point of insanity. It is a great performance that compliments the great film it resides in.

Deserving Performances:
Jack Hawkins in The Bridge on the River Kwai
Ralph Meeker in Paths of Glory
(I'm sure a few of the Angry Men as well, but I need to rewatch 12 Angry Men to pinpoint which ones.)

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Best Supporting Actor 1957: Arthur Kennedy in Peyton Place

Arthur Kennedy received his fourth Oscar nomination for portraying Lucas Cross in Peyton Place.

Peyton Place tells the various stories of a small New England town were gossip persists as well as plenty of melodrama.

Arthur Kennedy plays the caretaker of the school who is an abusive drunk to a family he married into. Kennedy is one of the few actors in this film, in fact maybe the only one to play up the melodrama as much as possible, rather letting the over the top soundtrack do it instead. Many of the performances are very dull, but this cannot be said about  Arthur Kennedy who flaunts the drunkenness as well as the crudeness of his character at all times.

Kennedy is pretty over the top, but perhaps that is the right way to play the part considering how melodramatic the film is to begin with. He does his drunk act is basically all he does in the film,but than again that is all Cross is written as to do, being such a bad drunk that he even rapes his step daughter. Kennedy though is not a great drunk, yes he perhaps could have been over the top, and it would have been fine, but it always feels like acting drunk at all times. When it comes to playing drunk Kennedy is neither Thomas Mitchell, Ray Milland, or Dudley Moore. He simply can't sell it well enough.

The only real other facet of the character is his brutality towards his family. As this goes Kennedy again never comes off as realistic, that is for sure, but nor did have to really. The problem is though Kennedy really is not interesting or entertaining enough when he is being the angry Lucas. At least I can say that he is not boring like many of the other performances in this film, but still his performance is nothing special, and amount to very little in the end.

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Best Supporting Actor 1957

And the Nominees Were:

Vittorio De Sica in A Farewell to Arms

Sessue Hayakawa in The Bridge on the River Kwai 

Red Buttons in Sayonara

Arthur Kennedy in Peyton Place

Russ Tamblyn in Peyton Place

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