Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1961: Results

5. Anthony Quinn in The Guns of Navarone - Quinn gives a solid performance that overcomes his technical miscasting far more effectively than his co-stars. 

Best Scene: His introduction.

4. Burt Lancaster in Judgment in Nuremberg - Lancaster might not give the best performance in the film, but he still gives a powerful portrayal of a man consumed by despair.

Best Scene: Janning's speech.

3. Eli Wallach in The Misfits - Wallach technically has probably the most thankless role out of the main cast, but is quite remarkable by giving such a honest portrayal of his character.

Best Scene: Guido tells Roslyn about his wife.

2.  Karl Malden in One-Eyed Jacks - Malden is easily the highlight of his film giving a striking performance where he cleverly subverts his usual unassuming screen presence.

Best Scene: Dad and his men confront Rio.

1. Tatsuya Nakadai in Yojimbo - Good Prediction Michael McCarthy. Nakadai gives a great and so brilliantly smug villainous turn that perfectly complements Toshiro Mifune's heroic turn.

Best Scene: The Final Duel.

Overall Rank:

1. Montgomery Clift in Judgment At Nuremberg
2. Tatsuya Nakadai in Yojimbo 
3. Jackie Gleason in The Hustler
4. George C. Scott in The Hustler
5. Maximilian Schell in Judgment At Nuremberg
6. Karl Malden in One-Eyed Jacks
7. Martin Stephens in The Innocents
8. Eli Wallach in The Misfits
9. Burt Lancaster in Judgment At Nuremberg
10. Montgomery Clift in The Misfits
11. Anthony Quinn in The Guns of Navarone
12. Max von Sydow in Through the Glass Darkly
13. Rod Steiger in The Mark
14. Hans Lothar in One, Two, Three
15. Myron McCormick in The Hustler
16. David Niven in The Guns of Navarone
17. Gunnar Björnstrand in Through the Glass Darkly
18. Eijirō Tōno in Yojimbo
19. Pat Hingle in Splendor in the Grass
20. J. Pat O'Malley in 101 Dalmatians  
21. Ikio Sawamura in Yojimbo
22. Donald Houston in The Mark
23. Richard Widmark in Judgment At Nuremberg
24. Murray Hamilton in The Hustler
25. John Wengraf in Judgment At Nuremberg
26. Derren Nesbitt in Victim
27. Bernhad Wicki in La Notte
28. Lars Passgard in Through the Glass Darkly
29. Norman Bird in Victim
30. David Frankham in 101 Dalmatians
31. Peter McEnery in Victim
32. Anthony Quayle in The Guns of Navarone
33. Seizaburo Kawazu in Yojimbo
34. Ned Glass in West Side Story
35. Takashi Shimura in Yojimbo
36. Peter Falk in Pocketful of Miracles
37. Michael Redgrave in The Innocents
38. James Garner in The Children's Hour
39. Donald Wolfit in The Mark
40. Thurl Ravenscroft in 101 Dalmatians
41. Keenan Wynn in The Absent-Minded Professor
42. Dennis Price in Victim
43. Edward Everett Horton in Pocketful of Miracles
44. Stanley Adams in Breakfast At Tiffany's
45. Ben Wright in 101 Dalmatians 
46. John Fiedler in A Raisin in the Sun
47. Tommy Kirk in The Absent-Minded Professor
48. Thomas Mitchell in Pocketful of Miracles 
49. Russ Tamblyn in West Side Story 
50. Richard Harris in The Guns of Navarone
51. Martin Balsam in Breakfast At Tiffany's
52. Peter Wyngarde in The Innocents
53. Kevin McCarthy in The Misfits
54. Charles Boyer in Fanny
55. Buddy Epsen in Breakfast At Tiffany's
56. Ben Johnson in One-Eyed Jacks
57. Simon Oakland in West Side Story
58. William Shatner in Judgement At Nuremberg
59. Stanley Baker in The Guns of Navarone
60. Arthur O'Connell in Pocketful of Miracles
61. Slim Pickens in One-Eyed Jacks
62. George Chakiris in West Side Story
63. Leon Ames in The Absent-Minded Professor
64. Tucker Smith in West Side Story
65. Horst Buchholz in One, Two, Three
66. Maurice Chevalier in Fanny
67. Mickey Rooney in Breakfast At Tiffany's

Next Year: 1958 lead

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Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1961: Anthony Quinn in The Guns of Navarone

Anthony Quinn did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Colonel Andrea Stavrou in The Guns of Navarone.

The Guns of Navarone tells the story of a group of commandos in World War II who must destroy the Guns of Navarone to save allied soldiers. The Guns of Navarone is on one hand an entertaining wartime thriller, but on the other hand it tries to use the men on a mission for an anti-war statement. The anti-war statement does not go particularly hand in hand with this type of story and obviously was not part of the original book that the film is based on. It perhaps could have worked fine, but whenever it occurs it seems terribly obvious as the film basically seizes to a halt to have a heavy handed speech to state its points.

The Guns of Navarone faced some criticism at the time of its release due to the age of many of the cast members particularly Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn who seemed a bit old for the roles of wartime commandos. This is noticeable when watching the film for Niven and Peck, but Quinn kinda completely gets away with it. Quinn plays one of the commandos who is a Colonel from the defeated Greek army working with the British to kill as many Nazis as he can. Quinn as he also would prove a little later in Zorba the Greek that he is completely believable as a man taking on men who are in their prime. Quinn simply has the strong commanding presence needed so even though he's technically not in his "prime" he still seems like quite the force to be reckoned with. 

Quinn has his role down perfectly from his first scene where Peck's character Mallory gives Stavrou the info on what their new mission is. Quinn exudes the right menace as Stavrou accepts the assignment while at the simultaneously threatening Mallory. Stavrou is a particularly troubled man since his wife and children were killed in the war partially from the accidental result of Mallory's actions. Stavrou never reflects for long but Quinn is terrific by just wearing this history of Stavrou in his performance. The film throughout its course repeatedly states that the men are tired from the trials of the war, and Quinn easily expresses this the most effectively. For example Stanley Baker as one of the men just states that fact and never realizes it, Quinn does not dwell on this element, but rather expresses through the hard-boiled style of his performance.

Where a few of the performances in the few tend to waver a bit Quinn is rock solid in every scene. He even has some of the more tricky moments in his performance. In one Stavrou acts as though he is just a fisherman to fool the Nazis, and Quinn makes the whole trick believable through his portrayal of it. Another tricky aspect is that Quinn is given the major romance with a contact in Greece Maria (Irene Papas). This is particularly to the point in that she basically states that they should be together, and it is almost reduced to just a couple of glances. Quinn and Papas actually do make it work in simply portraying the attraction and understanding through these short reactions, and manage not to make the whole idea seem forced as it technically is as written.

The majority of this performance honestly is reactionary since it is an action film which is constantly on the move. What only adds to this is that Quinn is not given any of the semi heavy handed speeches in the film, which actually is rather good thing. Quinn though technically does well to even help with the speeches given by the other actors through his honest portrayal of Stavrou's unsaid feelings through every scene. He's particularly good when one of them suggests that he should kill he woman, and Quinn suggests the emotional turmoil in Stavrou without needing to resort to any histrionics. The nature of his role as well as the film itself keep Quinn somewhat limited but he uses what he does have well and easily excels the most out of anyone in the cast.

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Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1961

And the Nominees Were Not:

Anthony Quinn in The Guns of Navarone

Eli Wallach in The Misfits

Burt Lancaster in Judgment At Nuremberg

Tatsuya Nakadai in Yojimbo

Karl Malden in One Eyed Jacks

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Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1943: Dana Andrews in The Ox-Bow Incident and Results

Dana Andrews did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Donald Martin in The Ox-Bow Incident.

Dana Andrews often played characters who were stern and very restrained in their emotions such as in films like Laura and Boomerang. This performance is in a way is as much against type as Joseph Cotten was in Shadow of a Doubt due to the emotional nature of the role. Dana Andrews plays the man who is the leader of a group of three men who are stumbled upon by the posse hoping to avenge the death of a local rancher. The men are accused of the murder, and they are helped by the fact that they have some of the man's cattle without a proper receipt for the purchase. These leaves Martin to try and convince the very angry men to believe that he and the other men had nothing whatsoever to do with the murder and are innocent.

Andrews has none of his usual demeanor in this performance instead giving a very emotionally charged performance as Martin. His first scene is incredible reflecting the complete confusion of the man as he founds himself surrounded and instantly accused of a very severe crime. Andrews is absolutely terrific bringing about the strain of the situation into his performance. Andrews is excellent in showing how hard it is for Martin to try to keep his thoughts together as he tries to juggle all of the question being asked at him as well as trying to keep things under control among his own men, and from the extremely hostile crowd who are ready to string him up without even the slightest explanation.

It is especially powerful to see the usually so confidant Andrews give such an emotionally violate performance. Andrews is especially raw an intense in nature, and in a time where so many performances could be dull it is amazing to see such an uncompromising depiction of feeling as Andrews gives. His pleas for understanding, sympathy, and for the sake of his family are heartbreaking. There is never a moment of false sentiment in his portrayal. His performance is only ever genuine. There is nothing showy about this but rather he plays the part in such a purely genuine fashion that he is utterly gut wrenching to hear his pleas that are only the pleas of an innocent man fighting for his life.

 Andrews's performance pretty much takes over the picture  with his presence as even when he is not saying anything his silent reactions to the posse's deliberations are just as powerful as when he is talking. When the posse vote on whether to kill them or to let them live Andrews's performance is that brings the power of the scene so strongly to life. His face is so haunting as he shows Martin trying so hard to keep it together as the men choose. He is so moving as he gives the glimpse of hope in his eyes when some choose to let them live, but his reaction to most of the choosing death is one of the saddest moments ever put in a fictional film as we see Martin see that he has no chance to live. 

The Ox-Bow Incident is about showing the horrors and wrongfulness that is the act of lynching along with the mob mentality that goes along with it. Andrews gives the portrait of the victim of this injustice with his delicate and poignant performance. Dana Andrew's performance stands for me as one of the most affecting performances ever through his wholly genuine depiction of a man pleading for mercy against a wall of seemingly deaf ears. Although I still did not cry watching this performance his work right along with Richard Jordan's performance in Gettysburg stands as two of the few performances that I can't help but choke up when watching and come very very close to losing my composure.

Other Performances:

Anthony Quinn in The Ox-Bow Incident- Although Dana Andrews does leave the strongest impression on the film a very young Anthony Quinn makes his mark in the film as one of the other men in the accused group of three men. Quinn plays Juan Martínez who seems like he is the least savory of the three men. Quinn is very good in creating his character form the get out from his expression when he first sees that they have been surrounded by the posse. It isn't of fear or surprise but rather like he was thinking that he would be caught for something eventually. His character has some secrets, and Quinn is very good in being an unpredictable element in the film as a bit is revealed about Juan throughout his brief screen time. Each of the men react to their potential lynching differently, and the three actors each portray their parts differently. Quinn is very effective in being the cynical one who doesn't accept his fate, and won't let his captors see any fears in his eyes. His role is a short one which doesn't get the majority focus as most is given to Andrews, but Quinn makes a strong impact with all that he has.

Erich von Stroheim in Five Graves to Cairo- Erich Von Stroheim plays Field Marshall Rommel, but that really is not important. He plays the main Nazi villain of the film, which was a common villain during the 40's, and often they would be one note or rather bland. Stroheim buck this trend though in giving a fairly intelligent performance as Rommel. He plays Rommel as the arch villain with a strong presence, and just the right amount of flamboyance. Rather just trying to be evil like most Nazi villains of the time Stroheim goes about making Rommel a worthy adversary, and an entertaining character. He tears into all his scenes with a certain refined style where he expresses the ability of Rommel, and just is a fun character to watch while still successfully being the villain he is suppose to be. A fairly limited role on the whole, but one that Stroheim plays with the appropriate gusto to make Rommel one of the best parts of this film.

Overall Rank:

1. Dana Andrews in The Ox-Bow Incident
2. Charles Coburn in The More the Merrier
3. Anthony Quinn in The Ox-Bow Incident
4. Erich von Stroheim in Five Graves to Cairo
5. Harry Davenport in The Ox-Bow Incident
6. Lee J. Cobb in The Song of Bernadette
7. George Sanders in This Land is Mine
8. Francis Ford in The Ox-Bow Incident
9. Vincent Price in The Song of Bernadette 
10. Takashi Shimura in Sanshiro Sugata
11. Henry Travers in Shadow of a Doubt
12. Laird Cregar in Heaven Can Wait 
13. Hume Cronyn in Shadow of a Doubt
14. Harry Morgan in The Ox-Bow Incident 
15. Charles Coburn in Heaven Can Wait 
16. Rex Ingram in Sahara 
17. Frank Morgan in The Human Comedy 
18. Anton Walbrook in The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
19. Akim Tamiroff in Fives Grave to Cairo
20. Leigh Whipper in The Ox-Bow Incident 
21. Eugene Palette in Heaven Can Wait
22. George Coulouris in Watch on the Rhine
23. Walter Slezak in This Land is Mine 
24. Richard Nugent in Sahara 
25. Frank Conroy in The Ox-Bow Incident
26. Dan Duryea in Sahara 
27. Denjiro Okochi in Sanshiro Sugata
28. Van Johnson in The Human Comedy
29. George Coulouris in This Land is Mine
30. Wallace Ford in Shadow of a Doubt
31. Ray Collins in The Human Comedy
32. Peter van Eyck in Fives Grave to Cairo
33. William Eythe in The Ox-Bow Incident
34. Paul Hurst in The Ox-Bow Incident
35. Kent Smith in This Land is Mine
36. Louis Mercier in Sahara
37. Matt Briggs in The Ox-Bow Incident
38. J. Carrol Naish in Sahara
39. Charles Bickford in The Song of Bernadette
40. Chris-Pin Martin in The Ox-Bow Incident
41. Albert Bassermann in Madame Curie
42. Marc Lawrence in The Ox-Bow Incident
43. Henry Travers in Madame Curies
44. Dick Rich in The Ox-Bow Incident
45. Yukiki Todoroki in Sanshiro Sugata 
46. Akim Tamiroff in For Whom the Bell Tolls
47. Macdonald Carey in Shadow of a Doubt 
48. William Eythe in The Song of Bernadette
49. Kurt Kreuger in Sahara
50. James Craig in The Human Comedy
51. John Wengraf in Sahara
52. Donald Buka in Watch on the Rhine
53. Richard Gaines in The More the Merrier
54. Nelson Eddy in Phantom of the Opera
55. Edgar Barrier in Phantom of the Opera
56. Eric Roberts in Watch on the Rhine

Next Year: 2002 Lead

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