Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1944: Results

5. Sydney Greenstreet in The Mask of Dimitrios- Greenstreet does his master of exposition quite well here and does explore the little depth in his character well.

Best Scene: Mr. Peters searches Cornelius's room.

4. William Demarest in The Miracle of Morgan's Creek- Demarest gives a hilarious portrayal as the reactive face of exasperation at the absurd events during the film.

Best Scene: The constable tries to get Norval to escape from the jail.

3. Peter Lorre in Arsenic and Old Lace- Lorre gives a very funny comedic turn that steals his film in almost a weasel like fashion.

Best Scene: Dr. Einstein tries to warn Mortimer.

2. William Bendix in Lifeboat-William Bendix gives a heartbreaking portrayal of the degradation of his character in both body and soul.

Best Scene: Gus prepares for his amputation.

1. Edward G. Robinson in Double Indemnity- Good prediction Psifonian, Mark and koook160. Well this year was no contest for me and I love William Bendix's and Barry Fitzgerald's performances as well really like plenty of other performances this year too. There is just no question for me that Edward G. Robinson gives the best supporting performance of 1944. He is on every second he is on screen giving an extremely entertaining and even rather moving portrayal of a claims adjuster who can see everything except what is directly in front of him.

Best Scene: All of his scenes.

Overall Rank:

1. Edward G. Robinson in Double Indemnity
2. Barry Fitzgerald in Going My Way
3. William Bendix in Lifeboat
4. Peter Lorre in Arsenic and Old Lace
5. Clifton Webb in Laura
6. William Demarest in The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
7. Hume Cronyn in The Seventh Cross
8. Sydney Greenstreet in The Mask of Dimitrios
9. Walter Slezak in Lifeboat
10. Vincent Price in Laura
11. William Demarest in Hail the Conquering Hero
12. Henry Hull in Lifeboat 
13. Monty Woolley in Since You Went Away
14. Dan Duryea in Ministry of Fear
15. Walter Brennan in To Have and Have Not
16. Barry Fitzgerald in None but the Lonely Heart 
17. Thomas Mitchell in The Keys to the Kingdom
18. Raymond Massey in Arsenic and Old Lace
19. Donald Crisp in The Uninvited
20. Dan Duryea in The Woman in the Window 
21. Dan Seymour in To Have and Have Not
22. Frank McHugh in Going My Way
23. Joseph Cotten in Gaslight 
24. Thomas Mitchell in Wilson
25. Hume Cronyn in Lifeboat
26. Robert Mitchum in Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
27. John Hodiak in Lifeboat  
28. John Alexander in Arsenic and Old Lace 
29. Canada Lee in Lifeboat
30. Edward Everett Horton in Arsenic and Old Lace
31. Charles Coburn in Wilson 
32. Robert Walker in Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
33. Alan Napier in The Uninvited
34. Spencer Tracy in Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
35. Robert Walker in Since You Went Away 
36. Erskine Sanford in Ministry of Sandford
37. Porter Hall in The Miracle of Morgan's Creek 
38. Ray Collins in The Seventh Cross
39. William Frawley in Going My Way 
40. Joseph Cotten in Since You Went Away
41. Raymond Massey in The Woman in the Window
42. James Gleason in Arsenic and Old Lace
43. Alan Napier in Ministry of Fear
44. Vincent Price in The Keys to the Kingdom
45. Gene Lockhart in Going My Way
46. Felix Alymer in Henry V
47. Vincent Price in Wilson
48. Porter Hall in Double Indemnity
49. Stanley Clements in Going My Way
50. Cedric Hardwicke in The Lodger
51. Porter Hall in Going My Way
52. Jack Carson in Arsenic and Old Lace
53. Hoagy Carmichael in To Have and Have Not
54. Walter Abel in Mr. Skeffington 
55. Tom Powers in Double Indemnity
56. James Brown in Going My Way
57. Bill Edwards in Hail the Conquering Hero
58. Bryon Barr in Double Indemnity
59. Richard Waring in Mr. Skeffington

Next Year: 1971 Supporting

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Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1944: William Bendix in Lifeboat

William Bendix did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Gus Smith in Lifeboat.

Lifeboat is a very effective film about a group of survivors who take refuge on a life boat during world war two after the ships they were on were destroyed.

Lifeboat has a rather strong ensemble and I easily could have chosen Walter Slezak who gives a strong performance as a charismatic but still treacherous German. William Bendix though is the beating heart of the film as Gus who comes aboard the ship with a badly wounded leg. Bendix takes a remarkable approach to the part of Gus in that he plays him as an up beat sort of guy by nature who is fending off depression from his wounded leg and the whole predicament of being on the life boat. Bendix gives a wonderfully natural performance as Gus and every moment that brings him into focus Bendix brings a strong emotional impact.

Among the men and women of the crew Bendix stands outs through his performance as goodhearted Gus. He brings an innate likability and even his hatred of the Germans is shown by Bendix to come from a well meaning man. Bendix lightens the boat up in a most particular, and wonderful way through his presence. Even as Gus has to face the truth that he will probably lose his leg, and face the idea of losing his girlfriend whose favorite thing is dancing, Bendix still keeps a positive nature behind it all. The fears, the grief, and the pain is all there in Bendix's performance all the time, but he always keeps it within the context of Gus who in his heart is an optimistic man even if his current situation suggests he should be otherwise.

When Gus's leg needs to amputated Bendix has an amazing scene when Gus tries to prepare himself by drinking a bottle of whiskey. This probably could be used for one of the best drunk scenes ever given both on a technical and emotional level. On the technical level Bendix is extremely smart in the way he eases into Gus's is drunkenness when he drinks away the bottle. He doesn't skip a step in it and Bendix is believable the whole time. William Bendix is great as well on an emotional level as he shows a man reaching to have some final tender moments while he still has his leg. Bendix gives is outstanding through the simple emotional honesty he brings to Gus as he becomes inebriated.

William Bendix's after that spectacular scene takes his place in the boat as a rather quiet figure who just is slowly dying from thirst, starvation and his injury. Bendix's role is reduced but he is hardly forgotten. Every time the camera turn to Bendix, Bendix is quite moving in portraying the spirited Gus frankly slowly lose his spirit. Almost all of the actors are quite excellent in showing the exhaustion, but Bendix is the most effective because of how well he suggested the bright nature of Gus at the beginning of the film. Bendix's does not make Gus change his nature, he is always good-natured even to the very end of the film, he is far more heartbreaking by showing it though instead diminish in strength.

Bendix builds perfectly to the point in which Gus is at his rope end when he spots that the German has been hiding drinkable water the entire time. Bendix makes Gus's final scene a truly haunting end to his character as we see Gus, without any strength left as well as being disoriented, attempt to question the German's selfish actions. Bendix's performance is absolutely heartbreaking particularly with the final desperate cries for help as Gus meets his end. The fact that there is nothing especially notable about Gus's demise only adds to the sadness of the scene. Bendix does not have the most screen time in the film, and his character is far from the most flamboyant but Bendix stands out strongly among the ensemble by giving just a quiet genuine portrayal of the tragic story of a failed survivor.

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Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1944: Peter Lorre in Arsenic and Old Lace

Peter Lorre did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Dr. Herman Einstein in Arsenic and Old Lace.

Arsenic and Old Lace is an enjoyable dark screwball comedy about a recently wed drama critic Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant) who finds that his aunts are murderers at the same time his murderer brother Jonathan (Raymond Massey) comes home to hide from the police.

Peter Lorre role is that of the drunkard surgeon and partner in crime of Jonathan Brewster who is the one who caused him to look like Boris Karloff. In the theater production of the play Boris Karloff himself played the man who looked like Boris Karloff, it seems perhaps to act as a replacement of sorts, as Massey simply could not replace Karloff as Karloff, when they got another horror icon to play Brewster's partner. Although I have no idea if there was even a thought behind this but having Peter Lorre play the inappropriately named Dr. Einstein was quite a stroke of genius for this film as he fills in the gap that seems might have been created by the lack of Karloff.

Peter Lorre went on to be one of the most often parodied actors particularly in various Warner Brothers cartoons. Peter Lorre here gives basically the Peter Lorre parody before the Peter Lorre parodies, and the simple truth is who better to give a comedic version of a Peter Lorre performance then Peter Lorre himself. Peter Lorre here goes all out Peter Lorre so to speak with the way he is always slinking around screen, always making these slight gestures, having that always slightly nervous quality about him, and of course not in any way trying to adjust his accent here, letting his voice be the Lorre voice of his cartoon iterations.

Of course this type of performance can easily spell doom as it did in 1944 for Bette Davis in Mr. Skeffington, except the differences are that Arsenic and Old Lace is meant to be a comedy and Peter Lorre knows what he is doing. Lorre is terrific in adapting himself to a purely comic performance and is the highlight of the film with his performance. Lorre steals every scene he is in even when he is just in the background through the gestures of unease the makes as the situation slowly becomes more absurd through the film. Even when he is not the focus Lorre still steals the spotlight, as he finds just the perfect tone for his performance.

Lorre work is quite clever in the way he steals each scene he is in by doing what the film itself says he is doing which is underplaying. One of Lorre's best scenes is when Grant's character is going off about how dumb characters won't notice that the killer is coming behind them. Well Grant does a rather big display of acting the best part of the scene is Lorre's perfect comic timing as he shows Einstein's disbelief that Mortimer could be so thick headed. He also is the one who makes Massey work just fine as Jonathan because again what Massey is doing usually is usually rather straight, but what is so funny are the nervous interjections brought by Lorre.

Lorre gives the funniest performance in the film by finding the right balance with his performance unlike Cary Grant who overplays a tad and Raymond Massey who frankly could be a bit more humorous. Lorre though finds a more measured approach and is the funniest person in the film because of it. Lorre knows how to sell the material the best in that he gets all the comedic worth out of Dr. Einstein's actions through the film whether it be his unease at his partner's violent tendencies, his nervous drinking or his futile attempts to quietly warn Mortimer about Jonathan's attentions. Lorre sells every moment just enough to be funny without going over the top.

The role of Dr. Einstein really is not poised to necessarily do all that much in fact he easily could have been overshadowed by the characters who he is usually standing in the shadow of. Lorre never lets that happen though giving a thoroughly enjoyable supporting performance which is quite an interesting performance to from Peter Lorre as he goes for a fully comic performance since often there were light comic touches in his more dramatic performances anyways. Lorre with the chance to go all the way comic proves himself more then capable of taking the next step since he knows how to stay grounded with his character while being very amusing.

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Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1944: Edward G. Robinson in Double Indemnity

Edward G. Robinson did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Barton Keyes in Double Indemnity.

There are supporting performances that leave no impression, there are those that serve there purpose, there are those that make their mark, there are those that really make a mark, but even past that there is Edward G. Robinson in Double Indemnity. Edward G. Robinson plays Barton Keyes the lead insurance claims adjuster who works at the same company as Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) the man who plans to ripoff the company by killing the heavily insured husband of the femme fatale Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck). Keyes and Neff are friends and Keyes often discusses the insurance game with Neff or at least in Neff's presence.

Edward G. Robinson pops in and out of the picture as the deliverer of wisdom Keyes who has a "little man" inside himself to let himself know when something is not quite right. Robinson from his first scene, where Keyes quickly handles a fraudulent claim, shows exactly how he will be for the rest of the picture which in a word is amazing. Robinson gives a highly energetic and enthusiastic performance as Barton Keyes and makes every frame he is in something special. Everything that Robinson does just adds something to the proceedings of the film. Robinson is simply on as Keyes, and I mean on as he sets out to give a supporting performance one won't forget.

On one level this is the type of performance that is just wonderful to watch plain and simple. Robinson glows in the role like few actors ever do on screen as Barton Keyes. Every time he is on screen there is something worth watching. Robinson's part by nature did not even necessarily need to be entertaining, but Robinson is incredibly entertaining simply through his non-stop style he brings to Keyes. Robinson is often always talking and even more often moving. He is always making some gesture as his arms never seem to sit still as he is either pointing something out, searching for a match, or preparing to smoke his cigar.

The manner Robinson takes never feels mannered in the least but instead it shows part of the brilliance of this performance where he implements all sorts techniques that are fun to watch. They are not only fun to watch though as Robinson's performance is always natural and they do wonders in creating the portrait of Keyes. Robinson settles down indicating the way Keyes never settles down, and the way that he is a man whose always thinking of some different angle in the insurance game. The great intelligence of Keyes is a given as Robinson's performance so adeptly brings it to life through the way Keyes just seems always at least slightly impatient as he is always on the verge of figuring something out.

Naming a best scene for Edward G. Robinson in this film is a foolish task to partake in. The life that Robinson brings to every one of his scenes is stunning and really I could listen to Robinson talk about insurance all day. One of his great scenes is when Keyes completely rejects down the idea that a man died by committing suicide via a train. Robinson delivers the monologue about Keyes's knowledge of the possibilities of suicide in what seems like a single breath. Robinson does not stop and it is fascinating how Robinson does not lose a single step during the whole speech. It is a beautiful moment just to watch and listen to and once again Robinson is just terrific in portraying that unshakable confidence of Keyes.

There are few instances where the writing and the actor come together as perfectly as the way Robinson handles every word of Billy Wilder's and Raymond Chandler's script. All of the insurance talk in the film just seems like some of the most interesting information one could ever hear because of Robinson's exuberant delivery. It is not just that he says every word with such precision while saying it all so quickly but the way Robinson just owns the screen through his physical movements as well. He does not just say a line he put his while body into the delivery. When Barton Keyes says he is having a problem because his little man has a problem, we really see the little man because how just how good Robinson is here.

Of course flourishing in every scene just is not enough for Robinson and he just has to make himself the heart of the film too. The only relationship with any warmth in the film is found in the friendship between Keyes and Walter Neff. Robinson is excellent in making the friendship always an underlying factor even when Neff is actively trying to deceive Keyes. Robinson is able to make us believe the always astute Keyes would not suspect Neff by showing the certain ease that Keyes always has when talking to Neff. Robinson never says it out loud but always so effectively indicates the respect Keyes has for Neff. One of Robinson's best moments is when Keyes starts to go on a theory that suspects Neff, and Robinson shows Keyes force himself to shrug it off as an impossibility.

The ending of Double Indemnity is remarkable in that we have the bad end to a murderer, but it is not a cold ending. Instead we get the surprisingly poignant last words traded between Keyes and Neff as Keyes finally sees why he could not solve this one case. Robinson is outstanding in this scene as he shows Keyes as a man finally without that same pep, and Robinson subtly shows that really Keyes is heartbroken to see that it was his friend all along. Robinson is quite moving in his portrayal of Keyes's simple disappointment with Neff. Robinson brings such heart when Keyes responds to Neff statement that Keyes could not see it because the man was only right across desk with the simple "Closer then that Walter".

Edward G. Robinson does not steal the film so to speak, as Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck are in top form too, but what he does do is pretty much anything he can do to further the strength of the film. There is not a wasted glance, a gesture, a word in Robinson's performance. Robinson was a great actor but this just might be his very best performance. With the wrong actor Barton Keyes and all his insurance talk could have been easily ignored when compared to the intrigue of fraud and murder, but Robinson never lets that happen with his all or nothing performance. All I can say is Edward G. Robinson gives it his all and delivers in being perfect example of a perfect supporting performance that only ever adds to the greatness of this great film.

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Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1944: Sydney Greenstreet in The Mask of Dimitrios

Sydney Greenstreet did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying the man who calls himself Mr. Peters in The Mask of Dimitrios.

Sydney Greenstreet is probably best known for playing the shady Gutman in The Maltese Falcon. Greenstreet in this film once again plays a somewhat similar role with some key differences. As Gutman Greenstreet played a smooth but evil man, here he plays a shady character but one who technically is trying to ruin things for a genuinely evil character. Greenstreet plays the mysterious Mr. Peters who the writer Cornelius (Peter Lorre) comes across while tracking down the truth about a rather fierce criminal by the name of Dimitrios. Another difference is Greenstreet's take with the character of Mr. Peters which he certainly portrays in a rather different fashion from the way he played Gutman.

Where Greenstreet played Gutman as an excessively astute figure who knew absolutely everything or at least acted as if he did. Greenstreet downplays the suaveness a bit in his performance as Mr. Peters who may know quite a bit but is more then anything else trying to figure out what he does not know. Greenstreet still has plenty of magnetism in this role though too and really his downplaying of it is a better for for the role of Mr. Peters who at first is only after some money through blackmail. Mr. Peters is a smart guy and Greenstreet plays him as such but as a smart guy with a rather simplistic plan without any grand schemes involved like old Caspar Gutman had.

The Mask of Dimitrios is a missed opportunity because the film comes in and out of Greenstreet and Lorre's investigation, instead choosing to focus on a series of flashbacks about Dimitrios which unfortunately don't even include Greenstreet when they very easily could have. As I said in my review of Peter Lorre in this film, Lorre and Greenstreet are great together. It is something particularly special just to hear these two guys talk to one another. Greenstreet is quite the master of exposition of any kind. No matter what the information may be, whether it really is interesting or not, Greenstreet is able to make something easy to listen do to his special voice and diction. 

Peter Lorre in this film ended up being held back by the fact that he really had absolutely no character and really it was a good thing that Peter Lorre is such a character all by himself. Greenstreet actually has something to work with when it comes to Mr. Peters who has a bit of a journey as character while he takes a journey in tracking down Dimitrios. The character arc is relatively simple in that Mr. Peters is a first doing it for money then at the end does it for revenge, but Greenstreet is very effective in portraying this and finds why Mr. Peters would have the change of heart in the final scenes of the film where they find Dimitrios and his money.

When first they just find the money Greenstreet is quite amusingly blunt in showing the rather hollow moment of greedy lust as Peters almost seems to sniff the money. He quickly becomes moralistic when they find Dimitrios though. Greenstreet meets the extreme challenge though and alludes that the swing is caused by a strong hatred that comes from seeing the man who double crossed him face to face again. Greenstreet really carries the ending especially well particularly his expression of righteous indignation as he stares down Dimitrios with Dimitrios not having the upper hand for once.

Where Peter Lorre's performance in this film was an actor making something out of absolutely nothing Greenstreet makes even a little more by having just a bit more to work with. Again Mr. Peters is not an especially complex character and much of what makes him an interesting character is that Sydney Greenstreet is simply an interesting actor, but the little depth that there is to the role Greenstreet brings to life quite well. Greenstreet and Lorre both are always trailing the main plot in this film and technically they should be secondary in interest. The two actors' chemistry carries their half and actually steals the film as their simple final goodbye has more emotional power to it then any of the scenes depicting Demitrios's double dealings.

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Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1944: William Demarest in The Miracle of Morgan's Creek

William Demarest did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Constable Kockenlocker in The Miracle of Morgan's Creek.

Well leave it to the academy to nominate William Demarest for a film that is neither a comedy nor made by Preston Sturges. Only seeing his nominated performance one would see Demarest as only a fairly likable character actor, but when watching a Preston Sturges film one sees he has much more to offer then some light likability. William Demarest plays Constable Kockenlocker the, rightfully, overprotective father of Trudy Kockenlocker (Betty Hutton) who gets herself pregnant and married by a soldier that she can't remember. This was caused all of course that she went out to a dance for the soldiers going off to war against the very specific instructions of her father.

William Demarest role is being the righteous face of frustration through the course of the film. Although Kockenlocker might not always do the right thing, he is trying to do the right thing. Demarest plays Constable Kockenlocker as a rather cynical fellow whose concerns comes from the fact of knowing about the world all too well. Demarest's is especially blunt portrayal is incredibly enjoyable at the beginning of the film as the Constable has to witness the events that unfold from his daughter failing to listen to him. Each of Demarest's scenes are a little comedic gem and one particularly enjoyable scene comes when the Constable confronts Trudy's wannabe suitor Norval (Eddie Bracken).

In the scene the Constable demands Norval marry his daughter while he naturally brandishes multiple handguns at the same time. William Demarest is very intense in the scene yet always very amusing. Demarest in that scene and every scene he is in gets across the all the anger in the father that would be apparent in such a situation but he adjusts just ever so slightly for maximum comedic effect. Demarest knows exactly how to make rather unfunny types of emotions in a normal situation naturally quite funny while still bringing those emotions to his performance. He treads the lines without falling off once just always being the proper voice of exasperation although always a hilarious voice of exasperation.

William Demarest is a terrific balancing factor for the film. With so many wacky characters and completely absurd situations the film easily could become overbearing if not held back in some way. Demarest acts as the slap in face for the film by acting extremely ticked off from every problem that arises from his daughter's rather stupid decisions. Being extremely ticked off though is something that can be done poorly as the actor can easily just seem like they don't want to be in the film. Demarest though hits the right mark though by finding that lighter touch to make every hateful stare and annoyed grimace into the comedic gold it should be to fit the film.

Near the end of the film Demarest is actually given somewhat serious moments. Even though Demarest was very funny in the earlier scenes he did always show brings an underlying warmth even if it was very underlying it was there. Because Demarest had the slight bit of warmth the transition to a completely caring Constable Kockenlocker is a natural one. Demarest delivers with heartfelt speeches at the end and gives them an honest poignancy. It is no surprise that Demarest worked with Preston Sturges so many times as he is a perfect fit for Sturges's style. Demarest is able to effortlessly play in the arena of screwball situation while always having just the right bearing to never go off the deep end still able to bring the right dramatic weight if necessary.

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Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1944

And the Nominees Were Not:

Peter Lorre in Arsenic and Old Lace

Sydney Greenstreet in The Mask of Dimitrios

Edward G. Robinson in Double Indemnity

William Bendix in Lifeboat

William Demarest in The Miracle of Morgan's Creek

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