Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1949: Results

5. Kirk Douglas in A Letter To Three Wives- Douglas is effective as usual with his natural charm and intensity. His role though is rather limited, and he lacks that needed chemistry with his on screen wife.

Best Scene: George dissects radio advertisements. 

4. Edmond O'Brien in White Heat- O'Brien's role is overshadowed by Cagney's but he serves his part well as the man of two faces one a loyal gangster and the other a humane face within all the insanity.

Best Scene: Fallon is found out. 

3. Claude Rains in The Passionate Friends- Rains is terrific here taking a thankless role and with it stealing the entire film through his genuine portrayal.

Best Scene: Howard stops Mary's suicide attempt. 

2. Orson Welles in The Third Man- Welles appearance in this film is brief yet he makes a tremendous impact through very memorable portrayal of the slick yet slimy Harry Lime.

Best Scene: Lime's intro.

1. Alec Guinness in Kind Hearts and Coronets- Good Prediction RatedRStar, George Woolf, and Michael Patison. This was a very close choice between Welles and Guinness as there roles are very different. Where Welles plays one short role brilliantly, Guinness portrays eight different roles. Guinness succeeds incredibly in his roles as he manages to be both visible and invisible at the same time. He does something individual and special for each character leaving a very memorable impression.

Best Scene: The Parson indulges in a drink. 

Overall Rank:

1. Alec Guinness in Kind Hearts and Coronets
2. Orson Welles in The Third Man
3. Ralph Richardson in The Heiress
4. Claude Rains in The Passionate Friends
5. James Mason in The Reckless Moment
6. Trevor Howard in The Third Man
7. Edmond O'Brien in White Heat
8. James Whitmore in Battleground
9. Kirk Douglas in A Letter To Three Wives
10. Bing Crosby in The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
11. Takashi Shimura in The Quiet Duel
12. Ricardo Montalban in Battleground
13. Bernard Lee in The Third Man
14. Victor McLaglen in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
15. Paul Horbiger in The Third Man
16. Isao Kimura in Stray Dog 
17. Ernest Deutsch in The Third Man
18. Arthur Kennedy in Champion
19. Gen Shimizu in Stray Dog 
20. Shepperd Strudwick in All the King's Men 
21. Shemp Howard in Africa Screams
22. Arthur Shields in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
23. Erich Ponto in The Third Man
24. Paul Douglas in A Letter to Three Wives
25. Kenjiro Uemura in The Quiet Duel
26. Ben Johnson in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
27. Siegfried Breuer in The Third Man
28. Steven Cochran in White Heat
29. Fred Clark in White Heat
30. Paul Stewart in Champion
31. Roy Roberts in The Reckless Moment
32. Dean Jagger in Twelve O'Clock High
33. John Agar in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
34. Harry Carey Jr. in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
35. John Agar in Sands of Iwo Jima
36. John Derek in All the King's Men
37. Raymond Greenleaf in All the King's Men
38. Jules Munshin in On the Town
39. Jeffrey Lynn in A Letter to Three Wives

Next Year: Either 1935 or a special set of nominees. I haven't decided yet. 

Read More

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1949: Kirk Douglas in A Letter To Three Wives

Kirk Douglas did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying George Phipps in A Letter to Three Wives.

A Letter to Three Wives tells the story of the turmoil three women suffer after receiving a letter from their mutual friend that she has run off with one of their husbands, although she does not say which one. This is a decent enough film that is rather forgotten despite winning Best Director for Joseph L. Mankiewicz, although William Wyler, William Wellman, and Carol Reed would have been better choices.

The three husbands include Jeffrey Lynn who is quite a dullard, Paul Douglas who is the standard rich guy whose performance is pretty uninteresting although he is pretty good in his last scene. Kirk Douglas is the most interesting of the husbands mostly because he is played by Kirk Douglas. Each of the husbands have some sort of trouble with their wives George Phipps's problems is he feels somewhat emasculated that he makes less that his money than his radio writer drama wife (Ann Sothern), and also becomes rather annoyed by his wife bowing down to the whims of the rather unscrupulous advertisers for the radio.

Douglas gives the best performance in the film which isn't saying too much really, but here he does show his ability to steal scenes in a film in a supporting role in a similar fashion to the way he does it in a leading role. Douglas relies as usual on his ample amount of intensity he has in his possession that he can turn on and off in a matter of seconds but still make it seem entirely believable within his character. He does that here quite well when his character bashes the radio advertisers in particularly brutal fashion which Douglas handles with a delightful energy which gives life to the film well establishes properly the conflict in his character.

Of course Kirk Douglas's whole performance is not intense and he has a few scenes of being just his charming old self which he does so well, and due to his ability to switch from intensity to charm so effective and naturally it really makes the revelations of his character work out properly. This is a good performance by Kirk Douglas but not a great one as his role is very limited, and more importantly he and Sothern really do not have that much chemistry. This luckily is not that much of a problem as they are suppose to be not getting along for most of the film, but it leaves the ending of the film having a fairly minor impact. Entirely on his own though Douglas gives a good efficient performance.

Read More

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1949: Orson Welles in The Third Man

Orson Welles did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Harry Lime in The Third Man.

The Third Man is a fantastic film about a writer Hollis Martins (Joseph Cotton) who comes to Vienna to meet his old friend Harry Lime, but finds himself investigating the apparent death of his old friend.

This is not a case of Welles appearing flashback as Harry as he does not appear until well in the film as Hollis comes closer to finding out that there is something fishy about Lime's "Death". Hollis still thinks Lime is death until someone seems to be following him only revealed to be Harry himself in what has to be one of if not the greatest introductions to a character in film. The setup of the scene is of course brilliant by just how suddenly we see him considering the build up to his appearance before this point. A lot of things have been said about Harry suggesting many things about the man, but this is the first time we actually get a good look at him.

Welles performance as Lime though contributes greatly to just how good his entrance with his perfect reaction to seeing Hollis notice him. His smile is absolutely perfect conveying the charm of Lime beautifully along with his mischievous quality. You don't even Hollis to say Harry Welles shows in this single reaction that this is the Lime everyone was talking about all along. Welles could not be more brilliant in that expression that conveys pretty much the entire outlook of Harry the whole time which is too have a considerably good time the whole time all the while having a very sinister quality that somehow is part of that very same smirk.

Welles actually only has about four scenes with two of them being very short. His second scene is when he is called out to meet Hollis at an amusement park. Welles is amazing in this scene as he welcomes Hollis with open arms as a good friend would. Welles is outstanding as he creates this very particular sort of dynamic in his performance. On one side whenever he is talking about his exploits, despite being very horrendous in nature, he talks about them like he is just a kid having some fun and making some money. He has a great deal of charm, and enthusiasm here that shows perfectly that Lime's amorality is something that he has gotten a great deal of enjoyment from.

The dynamic that Welles makes though is the way he can switch from his friendly demeanor to that of the brutal criminal he is. Welles brings this moments out in a very effective fashion because he shows it is only when he can't contain his true nature when he believes Holly has done something he won't like. He pulls up and down this scale brilliantly from the true friend, to the true threat to every place in between all in a marvelous fashion. His moment where he tells Hollis of his philosophy about the world  his line "Would you really feel any pity if one of those dots stopped moving forever" is particularly chilling because of just how relaxed he is about the rather despicable thoughts he holds. 

This leaves only the very end of the film where Lime is cornered and must make his escape through the sewers of Vienna. This is a very physical performance at this time by Welles, and he contributes to the scene greatly by showing that smile leave Lime completely as he slowly gets more and more surrounded by the police. This leads to one final scene with a defeated Lime and Hollis exchanging one more look. This is a great moment for one because Welles so effectively shows Lime's desperation as the police have finally got the best of them, but also he and Cotton show in just this small moment that the two really were friends in the end. Welles's portrayal of Lime's acceptance is actually quite moving thanks to the history he and Cotton suggest in such a short moment. This is a perfect supporting performance by Orson Welles. He honestly could not be better in the role, and he makes Harry Lime one memorable villain. What is so astonishing about his work here is the fact that he does it all with such short amount of time. He makes the most out of each and every one of his moments in the film and has just a tremendous impact.

Read More

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1949: Claude Rains in The Passionate Friends

Claude Rains did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Howard Justin in The Passionate Friends.

The Passionate Friends is a film that, despite its well worn love triangle story for its basis, does manage to have a few surprises up its sleeve. The most notable being Howard Justin and Claude Rains's portrayal of the character. In this film Claude Rains portrays the husband of Mary (Ann Todd) who refused to marry her true love Steven (Trevor Howard) despite the fact she still holds strong feelings for him. Rains brilliantly portrayed the unlucky part of a triangle similar to this in Notorious. There is a considerable difference though in this case, one being he is not playing an evil Nazi, the other being the way things turn out by the end of the film.

The forgotten husband can sometimes be a thankless part, but Claude Rains knows exactly how to handle this type of thankless part by instead turning such a role into the best part of the film. Early on in the film we see Howard and Mary together. Their chemistry is of course not all like Mary's and Steven's. Rains though importantly shows that Howard very much does care for his wife in an understated but still very affectionate fashion. Although their marriage may have been of convenience at one time Rains portrays an appropriate earnestness in Howard that supports the idea that Howard very much likes being married to wife despite how they may have started off their marriage initially.

A big part of his performance of course comes in his suspicions that Mary and Steven may start their relationship anew. Rains near the beginning has a quick moment where he describes Steven as an enemy before changing to saying he was a friend. Rains is excellent in just this short moment from early in the film because of the playfulness he puts in the statement. Rains shows that there is indeed a concern, but more importantly than anything since Howard is just a normal man he tries to act as appropriately about the situation at first as possible. So Rains properly portrays Howard as basically just trying to laugh off his suspicious.

Of course Howard's suspicions stop being a laughing matter quickly as the signs appear quite quickly that it is a very serious problems. Rains is very effective in his reactionary moments where he notices one particular lie that Mary has told him and Rains carries a great emotional power similar to that found in his performance in Notorious. Of course in this case Rains does not portray it as a defeat as he did so in Notorious as Howard is not nearly as much of defeatist, instead he conveys the heartbreak in Howard properly but behind it a stern resolution to do something about it directly.Rains pretty much steals the entire film once Howard resolves to not put up with being brushed off so easily.

Rains is terrific in all of the scenes where he directly confronts either Steven or Mary over the affair. Rains is excellent in portraying the intensity of Howard's disgust in the way they have been trying to deceive him. He has this great distaste which Rains brings across quite effectively because he does not portray at all like villain, but instead really a righteous man. Rains is so great here because he portrays Howard's disgust not of hate but that of disappointment and sadness over his wife's behavior. The scene where he basically says he never wants to see his wife again. Rains is absolutely heartbreaking because he is able to bring out the conflicting emotions of anger and the love he does hold underneath so beautifully. 

This is such a brilliant performance by Rains that I ended up caring more about Howard then Steven and Mary despite being the sort of character that usually gets the short end of the stick in films like this. This film is different though and Rains makes the most of it especially in his last scene where he both saves Mary's life and offers reconciliation. Rains is terrific in just how much tenderness he brings out in Howard as he shows his forgiveness to only be entirely genuine through the warmth he expresses so well in his performance. Its a very moving scene due to Rains's sympathetic portrayal, and this is particularly interesting to watch considering his knack for playing villains. This is a outstanding performance from the great Rains, and I must say I quite enjoyed seeing Rains get the girl for once.

Read More

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1949: Edmond O'Brien in White Heat

Edmond O'Brien did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Hank Fallon/Vic Pardo in White Heat.

Edmond O'Brien is one of the kings of the thankless role. In this film, A Double Life, and The Killers he plays almost a secondary lead to a more flamboyant character found in the center film. In A Double Life it was Ronald Colman's deranged actor who stole the spotlight, in The Killers it was Burt Lancaster's deceased boxer/ small time criminal, and here it is the deranged big time hood Cody Jarrett played by James Cagney. Each time it is interesting to note that O'Brien has a great deal of importance in each films having scenes to himself to the point that he comes very close to being co-lead, in The Killers he actually has too much screen time not to be considered lead.

In this film O'Brien comes close to being lead again as the undercover agent who is put in prison to infiltrate Cody's gang to put a stop to both Jarrett, and his method of smuggling out his crime earnings. The agent Hank Fallon pretends to Vic Pardo who goes about trying to be Cody's best friend in every way so he can join the gang himself. Honestly O'Brien would be the lead in most films, but Cody is the one who always takes precedence within the scheme of things in the film leaving Hank as an observer who only acts when necessary to ensure that Cody is taken down. This leaves Edmond O'Brien to play this role rather close to his chest, and act really in the background while Cagney takes the spotlight.

O'Brien portrays the only character we can possibly sympathize with in the film as everyone else are low criminals who are either insane like Cody, or backstabbers like Cody's men and his wife. Of course O'Brien does not play Hank like the character we need to sympathize with though would works well for the rough nature of the film. Importantly above all he portrays Hank as man who is firm in doing his job and living to the end of it. O'Brien shows Hank playing the field well in the scenes where he is among only criminals and must try to embed himself within Cody's good graces.

O'Brien handles the back forth nature of the effectively going from the supportive Vic Pardo who seems to always be looking out for Cody, and supporting as the best sort of right hand man. O'Brien puts it on thickly but not too thickly as the false Vic who inserts himself with Cody by just seeming to be his biggest fan. O'Brien combines this well though through his moments which are silent reactions that show the more honest thoughts of Hank. These reactions are all very well placed by O'Brien whether it reflects his concern that he will be found out, or his sympathy for a man Cody brutally murder. O'Brien brings the appropriate realism to the proceedings with just these small moments that add to the film nicely.

This obviously is not the standout performance of the film. That undeniably is James Cagney, but Edmond O'Brien knows what is required of him in this part and goes with that. He handles his role just as it should be as basically the sanity within the insanity and to a certain degree he acts as a bit of a balancing act to Cagney's portrayal of Jarrett. He tries to be the more humane face in all the carnage and succeeds in doing so, well being the proper adversary in his depiction of Hank's ruse. Cagney is the one you remember at the end of the film but O'Brien in his solid portrayal supports the film in a very much needed fashion.

Read More

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1949: Alec Guinness in Kind Hearts and Coronets

Alec Guinness did not receive an Oscar nomination, despite winning NBR, for portraying the D'Ascoyne family including the Duke, the Banker, the Parson, the General, the Admiral, Young Ascoyne, Young Henry, and Lady Agatha.

Well with a performance like this where the great Alec Guinness plays eight different roles I might as well go role by role here starting with the first to be murdered Young Ascoyne. Guinness makes Ascoyne to be a distant young man who doesn't look anyone in the face particular not someone like Louis Mazzini who he considers below him. Guinness creates a self absorbed individual clearly always reflecting on only what he cares about to the extent that he does not even notice that a man is stalking him. Guinness instantly establishes this personality so brilliantly through that aloof physical demeanor, as well as cold refined manner of speaking.

Next up we see just how brilliant Alec Guinness is in his performance through his portrayal of the young Henry who is almost the exact opposite of Ascoyne. We first see him intrigued by Louis Mazzini pretending to be interested with photography which is Henry main pursuit. Henry very happily greets Mazzini and Guinness allows Henry to be a very outgoing chap. He is a smiling fellow with a charming manner that instantly welcomes Louis into his company, which is helped especially through the David Niven like accent he gives the young man. Guinness is amazing in the way he was so cold in the last Ascoyne could be exchanged for warmth with Henry. Henry is welcoming in just about every aspect from the great smile Guinness gives him to the way he looks Louis directly without reservations. Guinness does not stop there and subtly suggests there is a little hesitations in Henry. This is not in terms of being friendly, but rather hesitations involving his drinking which his straight laced wife would not approve of. Guinness handles this weakness of Henry in conveying a certain subtle shyness about the matter in public, but exchanged with quite the enjoyment of it when in private. It is a terrific supporting turn all on its own and particularly compelling when compared to how he portrayed the young Ascoyne.

We also meet the Banker who is also the father of the young Ascoyne, and here we see the first of the many other elder D'Ascoynes played by Guinness. Guinness as the banker once again makes a large statement on the character of the Banker simply through the physicality. In this case he shows a world worn man through his slow manner, although once again suggests his refined background through the general proper manner of moving. In this case Guinness plays the banker as a man who may have been as pompous as the rest but now has changed due to the death of his son. In his behavior Guinness emphasizes the grief in the banker showing that he is a haunted man in his sorrowful expressions and his quiet shaken voice. Guinness actually manages to suggest that sadness in the man is what enables him to be friendlier to Louis than he most likely would have been otherwise.

The next group of four actually are almost entirely for humorous effect. This is just fine of course, but Guinness does not stop making each a unique character in each case. One of these is the Parson D'Ascoyne. As the Parson Guinness makes him a bit of daffy old timer who is used to going on and on in his sermons and his stories. He plays this part wonderfully well and with much hilarity as he portrays the old man with his unique way of speaking like he is always delivering with that slow specific sermon delivery. Guinness is entirely believable as this old man, and could have done a whole film with this character frankly. He is a great deal of fun in the role and is particularly funny in his reaction to Louis's not particularly well thought out cover story. It is outstanding display from Guinness as he effortlessly creates the old parsons character, and manages to get these funny moments out well still respecting the characterization.

There is also the Admiral and the General who are probably the closest in style which makes sense considering they are both military men. In both cases Guinness plays a controlled aspect to the men fitting of their profession they are proper in stance and manner even as older men. Both are fairly quick characters but in it just enough for a very amusing moment for each of them to have. Guinness is great as the firm Admiral who keeps his proper stance as he barks a foolish order that causes his ship to crash,. Guinness makes the fact that Admiral chooses to stay on board, despite everyone else safely leaving , especially hilarious thanks to that same steadfast expression on his face as the Admiral slowly sinks underwater while giving a salute.

Although similar Guinness adjusts enough to make both the General and the Admiral unique to their own purpose. With the General Guinness also makes him an old man who still is keen on keeping his ways as a soldier. Although the difference comes in as Guinness suggests the disastrous campaigns the General was responsible for way on him a little bit from his tight expression to his spent eyes and voice. Again this is a quick one but Guinness portrayal suggests the good old soldier here perfectly. This allows it to be very funny as the General goes on with the story he has told a 1000 times only to blown up by a bomb in a caviar jar before he can continue on with his ways.

The least special of Guinness's performance here is definitely that of portraying Agatha D'Ascoyne, that is because he does not even get a line and this one is mostly based on the visual of Alec Guinness in a dress. Guinness still gives it his all in his portrayal of Agatha. He is quite funny though in his expressions still when he shows great glee in Agatha as she smashes windows, or flies in a hot balloon to promote her feminist cause. Her appearance is brief and asks the least of Guinness, but he still handles it especially well since he doesn't choose this time to ridiculously overact or anything else. He still goes about being funny through the character even in this briefest of circumstances.

Then there is the Duke who is there for more than a laugh as he represents the patrician manner of the D'Ascoynes that lead them to disown Louis's mother. Guinness handles this so well that with his scenes as the Duke I honestly completely forgot about Guinness playing all the roles. He is perfect as the Duke exemplifying a very certain type of aristocrat. The way he walks to the way he talks, to even the way he stands expresses perfectly the man's upbringing and life. Everything Guinness does in this role suggests a man who is very much assured of superiority. This snobbishness works particularly well because of how cold and nonchalant Guinness is in his portrayal of it. He allows us to easily see how the Duke would have been so cruel to disown Louis's mother without even a second thought about it. He again makes him a different type of older man than the other through that manner in which he does everything that is brought in an entirely natural fashion by Guinness that only every works in expressing the qualities of the Duke. Guinness is able to make this Duke the certain vain, prideful, and pompous man quickly yet entirely effectively.

Guinness gives a remarkable set of performances in this film and it is unlikely that any actor could have handled this set of roles as well as Guinness does. What is so incredible about this performance is the way he manages to be visible and invisible in the role. Although it is obvious the film wants us to know Guinness is playing everyone, as there is a scene that pans from one D'Ascoyne to the next, Guinness manages to fully invest himself in each character making each of the D'Ascoyne's their own. He is able to become each character with a outstanding degree of ease considering the circumstances, and having each of the characters stand out in the way they need to through his stunning ability to create a particular voice and physical style for each. This is a great great great great great great great great performance by Alec Guinness as he succeeds with this very large challenge well making it look easy the entire time.

Read More

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1949

And the Nominees Were Not:

Alec Guinness in Kind Hearts and Coronets

Claude Rains in The Passionate Friends

Orson Welles in The Third Man

Edmond O'Brien in White Heat

Kirk Douglas in A Letter to Three Wives

Read More