Alternate Best Actor 1949: Results

5. Trevor Howard in The Passionate Friends- Howard has a limited role, and is overshadowed by a co-star, but he does handle his own role well through his charming performance.

Best Scene: Steven tries to defend his affair.

4. Takashi Shimura in Stray Dog- Shimura creates an effective portrait of a veteran detective effortlessly portraying his character's substantial wisdom, and ability. 

Best Scene: Detective Sato manages a baseball game. 

3. Dennis Price in Kind Hearts and Coronets- Price meets the difficult challenge of finding the right tone for his film through his dry and thoroughly witty performance.

Best Scene: Louis defends himself in court. 

2. James Cagney in White Heat- Cagney plays his most evil role with a great deal of energy and he especially stands out when his character goes over the edge.

Best Scene: Cody finds out that his mother is dead. 

1. Toshiro Mifune in The Quiet Duel- Good Prediction Mark. Toshiro Mifune gives an excellent performance as man who sacrifices his happiness to do the right thing. It is a powerful poignant performance that shows Mifune's ability to excel in both quiet and flamboyant roles.

Best Scene: The doctor finally breaks down. 

Overall Rank:

1. Toshiro Mifune in The Quiet Duel
2. Toshiro Mifune in Stray Dog
3. Kirk Douglas in Champion
4. James Cagney in White Heat
5. Dennis Price in Kind Hearts and Coronets
6. Takashi Shimura in Stray Dog
7. Joseph Cotton in The Third Man 
8. John Wayne in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
9. Montgomery Clift in The Heiress
10. Trevor Howard in The Passionate Friends
11. Van Johnson in Battleground
12. Broderick Crawford in All The King's Men
13. Ronald Reagan in The Hasty Heart
14. John Wayne in Sands of Iwo Jima
15. Gregory Peck in Twelve O'Clock High
16. Richard Todd in The Hasty Heart
17. Gene Kelly in On the Town
18. Frank Sinatra in On the Town
19. John Ireland in All the King's Men
20. Budd Abbott in Africa Screams
21. Lou Costello in Africa Screams

Next Year: 1949 Supporting

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Alternate Best Actor 1949: Trevor Howard in The Passionate Friends

Trevor Howard did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Professor Steven Stratton in The Passionate Friends.

The Passionate Friends tells the usual story of two lovers who continue their passions far too long in their life without making a proper commitment. It is a well handled version of this story though particularly since it is directed by David Lean.

Trevor Howard portrays the man in the situation to Ann Todd's Mary who is the woman in the situation. Trevor Howard in this performance as Steven has a considerable charm in his portrayal. He and Todd don't have perfect chemistry due to Todd, but Howard is able to override this a bit with his performance. Howard handles this type of role well by not trying to make Steven some sort of rebel personality that entices Mary. Instead Howard honestly just makes Steven just a very charming, and fun loving fellow that makes it easy to see why Mary would be as taken with him as she is. 

Their problems arise at first though because Mary does not want to be married where Steven most certainly wants to be. Howard is quite good in his portrayal of the passion in Steven in this respect. He is genuine in making Steven a bit of a hopeless romantic. This type of character trait could have made Steven either seem dull or a dullard, but Howard's earnestness overcomes any problem that really could be associated with it. Howard makes this overwhelming aspect to Steven's personality work and he succeeds in showing why Mary would be both pulled in by as well as even pulled away with it due to his intensity for these feelings.

Eventually troubles arise as she leaves Steven and marries a wealthy older man Howard (Claude Rains), but they still carry on. Howard properly has that same enthusiasm in his performance to push forward to make the continued affair convincing. Howard's role is fairly straight forward except for a scene where he must more directly confront Mary's husband over the affair. Howard is good in this scene as well, showing the appropriate passion within Steven, and important showing that the love Steven feels is truthful even if not exactly the most well thought out idea either.

At the end of the film Steven moves on to another woman, and Howard plays this effectively though because he does not suggest Steven as a bad man for doing this. Instead he again shows Steven to be a genuine man who really just has a great deal of love to give more than anything else. It not that his current love is false or his past with Ann was false either instead Howard correctly portrays Steven as a true romantic. This is a nicely handled performance by Trevor Howard, even if the role is somewhat simple and there is another performance that you remember far more vividly from this film.

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Alternate Best Actor 1949: Dennis Price in Kind Hearts and Coronets

Dennis Price did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Louis Mazzini in Kind Hearts and Coronets.

Kind Hearts and Coronets is an excellent dark comedy about the son of a disowned daughter of a Dukedom who plans to murder all the heirs in front of him in the D'Ascoyne family (all played by Alec Guinness).

Playing the lead of this film certainly is a challenge as Price must be the one really to create and maintain the tone goes by through his portrayal of the serial killer. Of course Louis Mazzini is not the standard psychopathic serial killer instead he kills as a process to meet his goal of becoming the Duke in spite of the D'Ascoyne's disowning his mother. Price finds the right tone here in a similar manner to the way Charlie Chaplin did for Monsieur Verdoux, although Price probably goes even more head first into the approach than Chaplin did. This approach being that of being incredibly dry in their portrayal.

Dennis Price is all about being dry here which works for Louis perfectly. To have Louis really sadistically enjoy the murders, or to even greatly be troubled by them would not work at all for the tone the film is looking for. Price doesn't either portray his as an every man hero for us to follow either, which also would not have worked for the tone either. Instead he takes the dry approach portraying Louis as a particularly cunning, and astute killer. He makes it so the murders are perhaps personal in a certain way, but for the most part they come off as a bit of a sport that any jolly old man from Britain might find quite agreeable to them.

Price hits just the right note with his portrayal of Louis which is really quite a cold portrayal in a certain way in terms of how he goes about the murders, and even how he goes about his romantic relations with a married childhood friend and the widow of one of the men he has murdered. He is cold which works for the black comedy that is present, but importantly he has just the right degree of wit in his portrayal. This never an obviously humorous portrayal of Louis, except his brief scenes at the beginning when he portrays Louis's Italian father, but a far more subtle ones found in his deadpan within character deliveries of his lines.

Price gives a fairly consistent performance here that is fitting of Louis who is steadfast in his desire to become Duke, and basically starts acting like the would be Duke even before he is one. There are variations to this such as when he is trying to get into the graces of one of his eventual victims or the women in his life. Price does not change all that much in demeanor just changes into slightly more welcoming in his behavior although his eyes always suggest that his mission is always on his mind even when he exchanges pleasantries with the people he intends to kill. This again works in favor of the film's very specific tone.

This is a strong performance by Dennis Price that stays constant in tone and style throughout the film. He keeps it dry, intelligent, and wit filled as the murderous Louis Mazzini. This absolutely works to the benefit of the film that has such a particular and difficult fashion of comedy found in the film. Price makes it all work through his effective and efficient performance that moves through the plot in a fantastic fashion. Honestly this was a performance that if it had been off at all, which would have been very easy to say the least, the whole film could have faltered. Price though succeeds entirely with the role, and in turn allows the film to succeed as well.

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Alternate Best Actor 1949: Toshiro Mifune in The Quiet Duel

Toshiro Mifune did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Dr. Kyoji Fujisaki in The Quiet Duel.

The Quiet Duel tells the story of a doctor who accidentally contracts Syphilis from a patient he was working on and refuses his bride to be because of his refusal to pass on the disease. This film is definitely melodramatic but Akira Kurosawa knows how to present this type of story in an effective fashion.

Watching this film now pretty much has secured Toshiro Mifune a place as one of my favorite actors. Although I loved his performances in Throne of Blood and the Seven Samurai which where each an incredible display of exactly how to handle a flamboyant and loud performance. It did leave me wondering if Mifune could be as successful as a quiet man as loud one. Well Mifune certainly takes on a different role here from the crazed wannabe samurai or the vicious ambitious general. Here he plays for all practical purposes just a pretty normal doctor who there is not anything particularly special about.

Mifune plays the doctor with a decidedly quiet approach which is a far cry in style from the later leading performances I have reviewed so far. At the beginning of the film we see the doctor as a hard working man who is just going about his duty which is to tirelessly treat those wounded from the war. During an operation on one soldier he accidentally nicks his finger on a scalpel and his finger is drenched with the blood of the man. Mifune is excellent in these scenes as the doctor inquires about the disease of the soldier. Mifune very much underplays the horror in the doctor as he finds out he has it. Mifune though makes it powerful by the way he shows the underlying horror in his subtle expression.

Mifune through the middle portion of the film stays consistent in his portrayal of the doctor who is such a good man that he refuses to pass on his disease, nor does he really directly express anger against the man who gave him this problem. Mifune as very effective in bringing to life the nobility of the doctor. He never makes it seem forced at all, he is able to achieve it naturally through his consistent approach as the doctor. He is entirely natural in his portrayal of the goodness of the doctor, and it really works because how unassuming Mifune plays it. He doesn't ever impress it really ever, but instead Toshiro Mifune brings it inward through his portrayal as something that is a quiet determination.

The central power of the film lies in the sacrifice that the doctor makes to stay as a descent person no matter how much he will suffer. Mifune brings the weight through the intensity of his performance which is just incredible to watch through the way he redirects in an internal rather than an external fashion here. He conveys the passion of the doctor to do the right thing so powerfully. He makes this determination vivid and always remarkable particularly in his scenes where he is forced to openly discuss why he refuses to marry the woman he loves. Mifune is excellent in these scenes showing the pains and sorrow in his eyes well making it clear that he is repressing a ocean of emotions to keep himself together as he rejects happiness.

Mifune keeps his performance very much like a dormant volcano as, yet manages to pull out the emotional strength of each and every scene he appears in the film. He builds on this repression beautifully to one scene late in the film when he is pressured to talk about his true feelings and they finally come out full force. Mifune is magnificent in this scene. He absolutely earns the moment through the restraint shown before, as well as the fact his expression here is still reserved to a degree so it is fitting for the doctor. Mifune is absolutely heartbreaking in this scene as he portrays the full extent of the damage that the doctor has suffered. It is a very moving moment as we see a man who has never complained before about his lot finally truly open up.

This is a great performance by Mifune and it is especially stunning when compared to his later more flamboyant work. Mifune, like all of the greats, proves himself adept at both being expressive outwardly and inwardly. He proves himself capable of being just as compelling as a doctor with such a small scale human struggle as he was in an epic struggle between good and evil in the Seven Samurai. He makes the doctor an effective lead with a measured charm, and an appropriate passion that makes his struggle believable. This is a terrific performance that creates this low key struggle beautifully in his performance and manages to avoid the stilted quality so common in lesser melodramas.

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Alternate Best Actor 1949: James Cagney in White Heat

James Cagney did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Arthur "Cody" Jarrett in White Heat.

White Heat is a pretty effective crime thriller about an undercover cop (Edmond O'Brien) who attempts to bring down a psychotic criminal and his gang.

James Cagney is obviously no stranger to the gangster genre. He played a whole slew of criminals throughout his career. There is a difference here than compared to many other of his criminals and that is with the nature of Jarrett. Where in Angles With Dirty Faces he played a bad guy who had a soft spot somewhere down there. In White Heat Jarrett is someone rotten down to the core. Even something that could seem like a soft spot such as the closeness to his mother seems more disturbing that anything else. This is probably the evilest character Cagney ever played despite having played so many violent characters in his career. 

In Angles With Dirty Faces Cagney would go from a somewhat charming fellow but fall into the role of the menacing criminal when necessary. Cagney as Jarrett though never has the vicious criminal go away. He makes Cody as a constantly violent man, and his variation is that of becoming worse. He is on the edge to begin with, and Cagney plays it that the only place Cody can go is off the edge. Cagney takes this specific way of portraying of Cody and goes all the way with it. He never lets up on the menace with Cody here and that works. In the scenes where Cody is with his wife Cagney stays true to the character never letting up on the idea that Cody could just snap from the slightest thing.

This was that Cagney takes with Cody absolutely works in making him an effective, and importantly unpredictable villain. It is quite interesting to see Cagney to play a character of this all the way, and not hold back at all. Cagney is always good at being the villain because he always manages to be quite energetic in his evil, and here he has the same sort of appropriate fun in his portrayal. He puts a great deal of glee in his evil as Cody. He makes this portrayal memorable and it stands aside from his other performances of his somewhat similar characters by just how far he goes with his intensity and insanity here that really works in making Cody a memorable villain.

The highlights of Cagney's performance comes in the moments where the already psychotic Cody snaps. The first time it occurs when he is told that his mother is dead. Cagney is great in the scene as he shows Cody break down mentally, and physically in a fit of anger and heartbreak. It is a very powerful moment, and Cagney successfully shows the only place Cody really has left to go. The other time this occurs is at the very end of the film and this almost animal side of Cody comes out again when he is backed into a corner. Again Cagney is excellent showing the insanity of Cody fully that leaves without any sort restrains left leaving him truly deranged. It is incredible end to his performance that expresses his character's lunacy in one final extreme burst.

This is a very strong performance by Cagney particularly because the most expressive moments are actually his best. The reason these scenes work so well, besides the fact that Cagney just is fascinating to watch in them, is that he builds to them properly through his tense performance as Cody the rest of the film. Cagney really succeeds well with his performance here as Cody Jarrett. It is particularly remarkable the way Cagney makes Cody such a unique memorable character all in his own right despite playing so many similar characters. Cagney manages to do this so well by finding what makes Cody different from those other characters, and expressing theses differences brilliantly. Cagney honestly makes this film with his terrific villainous turn.

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Alternate Best Actor 1949: Takashi Shimura in Stray Dog

Takashi Shimura did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Detective Sato in Stray Dog.

Stray Dog is a very effective crime film about a rookie detective Murakami, and a veteran detective who team up to find the crook who has been using the rookie's recently stolen gun.

I actually could have once again nominated Toshiro Mifune in the role of the rookie Murakami. Mifune is again very effective in his role, and with each film I see of his the more he moves up my list of favorite actors. Anyway I chose though instead to review his somewhat frequent co-star Takashi Shimura who plays the veteran detective to Mifune's rookie. Shimura actually takes a little bit to appear as the film at first only follows Murakami's investigation to find the gun peddlers who stole his gun. After he does this we first see Shimura as the experienced detective, who takes on the case as well as takes Murakami under his wing. In the first scene we see the inherit difference between the two men where Mifune plays up the inexperience and emotions of Murakami, Shimura takes a more gentle approach with detective Sato.

In his first scene we see Sato interrogating the gun peddlar woman. It is clear that Murakami intends to forcefully get the information out, but when he gets that she is laughing comfortably well eating with Sato. Shimura is quite good in portraying the detective's technique here as a man with a long experience in his trade, therefore he handles this type of subject with slow manuevered inquiring rather than blunt questioning. Shimura handles it well by showing that Sato appraoch is an effective one in that he keeps both the prisoner at ease and relaxed well he does have that inquiring touch to get the information he wants. Shimura makes the fashion that Sato handles this entirely believable that Sato would handle a suspect this way, but also that he would get exactly what he desired from the witness.

Shimura makes Sato a true veteran in the whole film. He is very good by showing that what transpires in the investigation never surprises him in the way it does Murakami. Shimura shows the history of the detective simply through his relaxed manner of dealing with the crimes that go on. It is not that Sato does not care by any means, but rather Shimura effectively establishes that it is a job he knows so well that he simply will not have to sweat out the problems of the street as he has been fully aware of them for quite some time. It is a nicely handled portrayal as he finds the right tone for Sato who is so astute as a detective that he can go about his job as a detective the way other people would not even go about considerably less stressful positions. Shimura never goes too far with this as he always has the right undercurrent of seriousness and inquisitiveness in him along with his more casual manner.

This is a very early example of the vetran cop/rookie cop dynamic and Mifune and Shimura handle it especially well together. These two are unique as despite their tasks being quite different they are never really in conflict with one another. Shimura is very good adding a great deal of warmth to the relationship between the two. When Mifune portrays Murakami gettting angry over the crimes or greatly troubled by them Shimura always nicely combats it with his portrayal of Shimura's calm wisdom when it comes to crime. Where Murakami is rather conflicted in his philosophy Sato is firm. Shimura is excellent in the way he brings out this wisdom which he expresses so well as coming from the history of Sato as a cop. When Shimura basically shuts up a stressed out Murakami Shimura is great because he never does it with force but rather in a truly comforting fashion as a father would do for a son.

Takashi Shimura is very good throughout the film effectively bringing to life the wisdom and experience of his character to life. He and Mifune make the dynamic work perfectly and naturally ease into the mentor/student to a mutual friendship that is both believable and very moving when something happens to one of them late in the film. This is a strong performance by Takashi Shimura and simply fascinating the way he shows the much more firm view that Sato takes on morality. He makes the harsher stance that Sato takes on criminals really work because he conveys his feelings as something entirely genuine and something that comes from the fact that he has seen a truly great number of crimes in his lifetime. This is a very good performance by Shimura as he creates this character all the while moving through the film's plot.

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Alternate Best Actor 1949

And The Nominees Were Not:

Takashi Shimura in Stray Dog

Toshiro Mifune in The Quiet Duel

James Cagney in White Heat

Dennis Price in Kind Hearts and Coronets

Trevor Howard in The Passionate Friends

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