Best Supporting Actor 1951: Results

5. Leo Genn in Quo Vadis- Genn gives a dull performance that just goes through the motions of a part that in better hands could have stolen a few scenes.

4. Kevin McCarthy in Death of a Salesman- Although McCarthy is not helped by his co-stars or his film he still manages to give a convincing portrayal of a troubled young man.

3. Gig Young in Come Fill The Cup- Young gives an effective performance as a rich drunk who tries to sober up.

2. Peter Ustinov in Quo Vadis- Ustinov is wildly broad in his portrayal of the mad Nero and it works. He creates an entertaining portrait of this mad man while being an effective villain as well.

1. Karl Malden in A Streetcar Named Desire- Good Prediction RatedRStar especially since you even guessed Young's placement, and Michael Patison. Where Ustinov is greatness surrounded by dullness Malden is greatness within greatness. Rather than being swallowed whole by the power house performances around him Malden not only perfectly supports these performances, but also makes his character stand on his own as well.

Deserving Performances:
Mervyn Johns in Scrooge
Michael Hordern in Scrooge

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Best Supporting Actor 1951: Gig Young in Come Fill Cup

Gig Young received his first Oscar nomination for portraying Boyd Copeland in Come Fill The Cup.

Come Fill The Cup tells about a news paper editor Lew Marsh (James Cagney) who after hitting rock bottom as an alcoholic comes back, and later is called on to help another alcoholic do the same. Also since it is a James Cagney film I guess he also needs to take down a couple of gangsters.

Gig Young portrays the alcoholic Lew is sent to help, since Boyd is the nephew one of his higher ups in his newspaper. The only problem is Boyd happens to be married to Cagney's character's former girlfriend. Young as usual for him is good in the role of the rich man with a drinking problem. What works about Young's performance is that early in his performance he actually does not stress that his character is a drinker to that great of a degree. At a time when many actors who played drunk absolutely overplayed them, Young actually mostly focuses on the fact that he is rich drunkard more than just a drunkard.

All of his behavior early on Young treats Boyd problem fairly casually, since unlike when Lew was drunk he never once has to worry about his drink actually ever running out. Boyd can simply afford to be a drunk in a way, even if he is not living anywhere near his potential he can't quite hit rock bottom since he can always afford more drink. Young shows Boyd really never takes his drinking seriously, and even when he is heavily drinking he always acts as if hew just sort of having his own little party at all times. Young makes through this shows Boyd's history as a drinker, and why he really has been one for as long as he has.

In Young's portrayal of Boyd as a heavy drinker, who is always acting as if he is just a casual drinker shows exactly why it is difficult for anyone to get him to quit as it seems to be. Eventually though due to a tragedy that Boyd feels responsible for he does hit rock bottom, and faces going through withdrawal as well as suicidal feelings. Although there is not a transition to this place in Young's performance there really should not be since he is faced with the results of his drinking in such a severe and sudden fashion. In his scene of withdrawal and suicide combined Young nails it.

In this scene that is quite a challenge, Young brings to life all of the emotions Boyd is going through. Young appropriately brings to life the intense pain, and guilt into the moment. Young effortlessly conveys just how much the tragedy has weighed upon him. What is amazing though is in the same moment he also brings to life the horrible physical ramifications from his withdrawal as well. Scenes like this are easy to get quite wrong but luckily Young successfully brings all of the horrendous effects of this to life without once resorting to overacting. Young is terrific here because he effectively brings everything involved in Boyd's state alive here.

After this scene it jumps to Boyd having found his way towards recovering, and this is technically rushed a bit by the fact that it is told rather than shown by Young. Nevertheless when we do see Boyd again Young is convincing in presenting a recovered Boyd. Young is good here because he still shows that Boyd is not suddenly fixed. There is still just the right amount of hesitation in his performance showing that Boyd certainly has not forgotten his past, but Young as well does show a much stronger and more confidant man that before. Although somewhat limited by the film this is most certainly a good performance by Young that successfully fulfills his role. (Special thanks to Derek Bowman for helping me see this performance) 

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Best Supporting Actor 1951

And the Nominees Were:

Gig Young in Come Fill the Cup 

Kevin McCarthy in Death of a Salesman

Karl Malden in A Streetcar Named Desire 

Peter Ustinov in Quo Vadis

Leo Genn in Quo Vadis

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Best Supporting Actor 1969: Results

5. Anthony Quayle in Anne of the Thousand Days- Quayle gives a functional performance that turns Cardinal Wolsey into a basically a yes man.

4. Rupert Crosse in The Reivers- Crosse gives a charmingly wacky performance as well as combined with a more serious performance well by never overdoing either aspect of his character.

3. Elliot Gould in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice- Gould gives an enjoyable and effective performance as he realizes the many facets of his character's confusion.

2. Jack Nicholson in Easy Rider- Nicholson as usual for this period gives a very strong performance that has that unique magnetic quality that is distinctly Nicholson. It never quite reaches the heights of his later work in the seventies but it is an excellent precursor to them.

1. Gig Young in They Shoot Horses, Don't They?- Gig Young easily gives the strongest performance this year. Gig Young's performance is terrific flawless work that realizes the master manipulator aspects of his character as well as the energetic emcee. He effective brings all the facets of his character into one brilliant characterization that never has a simple moment, and creates a fascinating memorable man in the role of Rocky. 

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Best Supporting Actor 1969: Gig Young in They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

Gig Young won his Oscar from his third and final Oscar nomination for portraying Rocky in They Shoot Horses, Don't They?.

They Shoot Horses, Don't They? details a dance marathon during the depression where a great deal of downtrodden people are attempting to win the prize money from being the last dancer.

Gig Young Oscar win is quite interesting here as he was the only win for the film that received nine nominations, and really in some ways out of the three nominees for the film he has the least emotionally draining scenes at his disposal, which many times is the type of performance Oscar likes. Young wins should not have been too much of a surprise though since the category is commonly called the veteran's category, and even sometimes the villain's category and Young was both a veteran actor at the time and portrays the film's villain.

Gig Young as Rocky is the only substantial character who is not one of the downtrodden dancers but rather the emcee of the event. Gig Young joins the ranks of the likes of Robert Montgomery and Anthony Hopkins for a complete change in character from one Oscar nomination to the next. Gig Young enjoyable comedic turn in Teacher's Pet holds pretty much no resemblance to his turn as Rocky in this film. Rocky who is not usually mentioned as a villain after all he most certainly never laugh maniacally or really acts like an obvious villain.

Rocky though really is just as evil as those villains who make their antagonism well known, but more on that later. Gig Young turn as Rocky at first does not resemble a villain but just a business man running a contest to earn some money. Young is strong from his first moment have a low key but remarkable presence that ensures the fact that he owns the contest, he is the one in charge and Young makes sure there really is no question about that. Young instantly establishes a sly intelligence within his portrayal of Rocky to really suggest the fact that the contest will not be something that is easy to get through.

His low key moments though stand in great contrast to when Rocky actually is hosting the event. Gig Young is absolutely on the mark as the emcee putting in an enormous degree of energy in the proceedings that stands in that is entirely unlike all the dancers slogging through the event, Young always shows that Rocky has momentum for the entire event never being off for a moment. A horrendous of an event as it is Young in these scenes only shows that when Rocky is on he is on with each and every ounce of himself, and does at least seems to quite enjoy himself unlike the dancers.

Rocky's villainy comes out though as he manipulates the dancers in the contest to suit he wants to ensure that the audience is pleased. Young is brilliant in Rocky's manipulative moments because simply how cold and harsh Young is about it. Young acts as if Rocky treats it as just a simple business nothing more which is very chilling especially in Young low key approach he takes to Rocky's manipulations. What is especially strong about Young's work though, because he never leaves Rocky as a simple villain.

To Rocky it is all a show to him, which is how he can take every effect his manipulation has in stride. His expression for example when Jane Fonda character decides to perform on him sexually to gain some sort of favor with him Young is brilliant in showing just how much Rocky takes it in stride. He sees nothing strange about nor does he see it as anything will effect him, just something more of that comes with the show that he does mind taking. Young though doesn't show Rocky as a completely inhumane monster, even though his actions make him quite close to one.

In his two scenes where he deals with women having serious breakdowns Rocky somewhat more humane side is apparent. The first is a simpler but in the scene it is clear that Rocky does have his limits, his second though is incredible. Although the scene really is set up to be Susannah York's Oscar scene for me the scene belongs to Young. As he shows some degree of tenderness in the moment that is within Rocky somewhere. Young is especially gentle in this scene in a way that is simply outstanding as it Young shows it to come from the same exact man who carelessly abused the same woman to help bring her to that point.

This is simply a great performance by Gig Young that never fails to achieve with his character. There is not a single missed opportunity within Young performance and succeeds in every aspect of his character as well as another. Whether it is his cruelest moments, his somewhat gentler ones, or his moments of great showmanship Young is absolutely on the mark. It is a memorable very effective performance from Young that perfectly personifies society frankly with his character but never lets Rocky be a simple personification but instead always a whole man still. 

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Best Supporting Actor 1969

And the Nominees Were:

Anthony Quayle in Anne of the Thousand Days

Elliott Gould in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice

Gig Young in They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

Jack Nicholson in Easy Rider

Rupert Crosse in The Reivers

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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: Gig Young in Teacher's Pet

Gig Young received his second Oscar nomination for portraying Dr. Hugo Pine in Teacher's Pet.

Teacher's Pet is an enjoyable comedy about a newspaper editor who learned his way solely through working the job James Gannon (a very physically haggard but still charming Clark Gable) who tricks and later romances a journalism instructor Erica Stone (Doris Day) into thinking he is just a pupil.

Gig Young appears later in a film as the colleague of Day's character who Gable's Gannon assume is a rival suitor. Dr. Hugo Pine is a well educated, well read, and well experienced psychology professor. The Dr. know a whole lot, and does not mind telling others about that fact all the time. Young is quite enjoyable in the part of Hugo perfectly finding just the right way to portray his "perfectness". Young shows that Hugo certainly likes to flaunt his knowledge, but he portrays it with a degree of naivety to show that Hugo almost can't help it. Young turns him into certainly a well into himself fellow, but a slightly by accident into himself fellow.

 He is funny with his distinct sort of somewhat earned pompousness that is enjoyable and an effective contrast to the gruffer less sure of himself Gable. He effectively stays this way into a single reaction that instantly makes him fall from grace, which is a very amusing single physical reaction by Young. The rest of his performance involves Hugo suffering from a hangover from the alcohol that caused his fall, and actually helping Gable's character as it turns out Hugo and Erica are just friends, and he really is not any sort of rival to Gable's James Gannon after all.

The hungover Dr. Hugo Pine is as enjoyable as overly the sure of himself one. The difference in them is especially made amusing by Young through just how much he loses in the exchange. Young still shows Hugo to be quite intelligent as he tries to help Gable's character in the end, and tries to bring the two romantic leads together despite the fact their relationship is built on a lie. Young comes in at the right moment in the film as he acts as an negotiator between the two, as the film could easily fell almost completely into drama at the end.

Young though keeps the humor alive near the end with his comedic presence. Whether it is his constant handover that pains him, or his reactions to the rather bad decisions made by Gable's character are all quite funny and perfectly timed by Young. It is simply a very enjoyable supporting performance that appears exactly when it needs to in the film, and succeeds completely in preventing the film from having the slump that it very well could have had without him. It is the exact sort of supporting performance right for a romantic comedy like this that I maybe could have used even more of actually.

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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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