Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1970: Results

5. Leonard Frey in The Boys in the Band- Frey, although his voice is a bit theatrical, gives an effective in his portraying his character's sharp cynicism.

Best Scene: Harold cuts Michael down.

4. Donald Sutherland in Kelly's Heroes- Sutherland gives a weird performance but an endearing character as the aptly named Oddball. 

Best Scene: Oddball takes a break from battle.

3. Trevor Howard in Ryan's Daughter- Howard gives a strong performance that deftly mixes in rather coarse qualities with a genuine heart.

Best Scene: Father Hugh talks to Rosy about marriage.

2. Alec Guinness in Scrooge- Guinness has only two scenes but two scenes of brilliance in his dryly comic performance as a ghost.

Best Scene: Marley in Hell.

1. Karl Malden in Patton- Good Predictions JackiBoyz, Maciej, and Kevin. Karl Malden gives a great performance as the unassuming General Omar Bradley by being the perfect foil for George. C. Scott's depiction of the pride filled Patton, and showing that a modest man can still be a complex man.

Best Scene: Bradley openly speaks his mind to Patton.

Overall Rank:

1. Karl Malden in Patton
2. Alec Guinness in Scrooge
3. Trevor Howard in Ryan's Daughter
4. John Mills in Ryan's Daughter
5. Leo McKern in Ryan's Daughter
6. Donald Sutherland in Kelly's Heroes
7. Barry Foster in Ryan's Daughter
8. Don Rickles in Kelly's Heroes
9. Leonard Frey in The Boys in the Band
10. Orson Welles in Catch-22
11. Chief Dan George in Little Big Man
12. Anthony Perkins in Catch-22
13. Robert Duvall in MASH
14. John Marley in Love Story
15. Tom Skeritt in MASH
16. Kenneth More in Scrooge
17. Martin Balsam in Little Big Man
18. Richard S. Catellano in Lovers and Other Strangers
19. Richard Mulligan in Little Big Man
20. Gig Young in Lovers and Other Strangers
21. Bob Newhart in Catch-22
22. Anton Rodgers in Scrooge 
23. Martin Balsam in Catch-22 
24. Henry Fonda in Sometimes a Great Notion 
25. Bob Balaban in Catch-22
26. Rene Auberjonois in MASH
27. Gerald Sim in Ryan's Daughter
28. Charles Grodin in Catch-22
29. Len Lesser in Kelly's Heroes
30. Martin Sheen in Catch-22
31. Ray Milland in Love Story
32. Timothy Dalton in Cromwell
33. Hal Holbrook in The Great White Hope
34. Jon Voight in Catch-22 
35. Peter White in The Boys in the Band
36. Richard Jaeckel in Sometimes a Great Notion
37. Gianni Santuccio in Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion
38. Gastone Moschin in The Conformist
39. Art Garfunkel in Catch-22
40. Robert Morley in Cromwell
41. David Collings in Scrooge
42. Carroll O'Connor in Kelly's Heroes 
43. Richard Benjamin in Catch-22 
44. Gary Burghoff in MASH
45. Edward Binns in Patton
46. Cliff Gorman in The Boys in the Band
47. Michael Medwin in Scrooge
48. Laurence Naismith in Scrooge
49. Enzo Tarascio in The Conformist
50. Chester Morris in The Great White Hope
51. Billy Bush in Five Easy Pieces 
52. Michael Bates in Patton
53. Federick Combs in The Boys in the Band 
54. Richard Beaumont in Scrooge
55. Laurence Luckinbill in The Boys in the Band
56. Patrick McDermott in Joe
57. Lawrence Dobkin in Patton
58. Jack Gilford in Catch-22
59. Ralph Waite in Five Easy Pieces 
60. Robert La Tourneaux in The Boys in the Band
61. Cal Bellini in Little Big Man

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Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1970: Donald Sutherland in Kelly's Heroes

Donald Sutherland did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Sergeant "Oddball" in Kelly's Heroes.

Kelly's Heroes is an entertaining film about a ragtag group of World War II  soldiers who hatch a plan to steal some Nazi gold. I should say though I do wish there were more character driven moments, Clint Eastwood who plays the titular Kelly said many were cut from the final product, as the ones that were not cut are the best moments of the film.

Donald Sutherland plays one of the members of the odd group appropriately named Oddball. Oddball commands three Sherman tanks and helps act as the brawn to help their forces pierce through the enemy lines to get to the money. This is a bit of a departure from Sutherland's usual characters, as he often does play saner roles, well at least saner than this. Oddball's name just is not just a name as he has a philosophy, style and accent all his own. This performance is all about the creation of the character, who is rather consistent throughout as he always stays in his very peculiar manner throughout the film. It really would be out of character for Oddball to strive for long from his own personal daze.

Sutherland's performance is weird, but it's the right type of weird. He delivers every line with his bizarre accent that only succeeds in accentuating every random statement that he seems to make. Sutherland's performance works because he is entertaining to watch him simply do whatever it Oddball is doing. He importantly finds the right tone to play Oddball in, in that he never goes too far with his performance. He, in I suppose the Sutherland fashion, doesn't really play Oddball in a loud crazy fashion. Sutherland instead is very effective in playing the weirdness in a fairly quiet fashion, which works in portraying his very relaxed attitude and philosophy toward life and the war.

Sutherland's portrayal of Oddball's antics in the war scenes are particularly striking as he still seems to take everything in stride even when he is taking down a column of German men with his tank unit. The scene might seem a bit intense, but not at all thanks in part to Donald Sutherland's Oddball. It is easy to see how everything involving Oddball could have failed miserably a he is a very absurd character, which often can mean a very obnoxious character. Sutherland makes everything work at just the right pitch turning Oddball into an endearing and strangely lighthearted presence in the film. 

Sutherland portrayal of Oddball is just a fun performance to watch. He has some very enjoyable moments throughout the film but my favorite moment of Sutherland's has to be his casual dismissive behavior when Oddball reveals he knows how to ride in tanks, but does not know how they work in anyway. My problem is that the film does seem like it perhaps left off some great moments off the cutting room floor as the film did leave me wanting more of almost all the main characters including Oddball. Sutherland even with that gives a rather memorable turn with his portrayal of this rather memorable character.

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Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1970

And the Nominees Were Not:

Alec Guinness in Scrooge

Donald Sutherland in Kelly's Heroes

Trevor Howard in Ryan's Daughter

Karl Malden in Patton

Leonard Frey in The Boys in the Band

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Alternate Best Actor 1980: Results

5. Anthony Hopkins in The Elephant Man- Hopkins gives a good performance making the most out of his relatively simple character and bringing to life the complexities of the character where they exist.

Best Scene: Treves first sees the Elephant Man.

4. Jack Thompson in Breaker Morant- Thompson has a simple but showy role bringing the emotional punch to his courtroom scenes.

Best Scene:  Major J.F. Thomas's summation.

3. Donald Sutherland in Ordinary People- Sutherland gives an understated and moving turn showing the attempt of a man to hold his life as well as his family together after a terrible tragedy.

Best Scene: Calvin confronts Beth.

2. Edward Woodward in Breaker Morant- Woodward gives an excellent performance showing a courageous gentlemanly soldier, whose capable of horrible deeds.

Best Scene: Morant tells the court of rule 303.

1.Tatsuya Nakadai in Kagemusha- Nakadai gives an amazing performance playing two characters brilliantly one a cunning war lord, and the other an impersonator who has a difficult journey of pretending to be the other man. I am going to face all the wraith of meddling with the grand scheme of things and go my own way this year altogether. I have a confession to make which is watching Ordinary People again really made me lose a lot of my enthusiasm for Timothy Hutton's performance. I still think he is great, but actually watching it this time Donald Sutherland left the bigger impression on me. As for Robert De Niro I do believe his performance is tremendous but its never been a performance that I love. Therefore my very personal win goes to Tatsuya Nakadai.

Best Scene: The Lord and Kagemusha meet for the first time. 

Overall Rank:

1. Tatsuya Nakadai in Kagemusha
2. Robert De Niro in Raging Bull
3. Edward Woodward in Breaker Morant
4. Timothy Hutton in Ordinary People
5. Donald Sutherland in Ordinary People
6. John Hurt in The Elephant Man
7. Jack Thompson in Breaker Morant
8. Lee Marvin in The Big Red One
9. Anthony Hopkins in The Elephant Man
10. George C. Scott in Changeling
11. Burt Lancaster in Atlantic City
12. Tommy Lee Jones in Coal Miner's Daughter
13. William Hurt in Altered States
14. Paul Le Mat in Melvin and Howard 
15. Mark Hamill in The Empire Strikes Back
16. Christopher Reeve in Superman II 
17. John Belushi in The Blues Brothers
18. Jack Nicholson in The Shining   
19. Dan Aykroyd in The Blues Brothers
20. Steve Railsback in The Stunt Man
21. Robert Hays in Airplane
22. Robin Williams in Popeye
23. Sam J. Jones in Flash Gordon
24. Burt Reynolds in Smokey and the Bandit II
25. Jack Lemmon in Tribute 
26. Michael O'Keefe in Caddyshack

Next Year: 1980 Supporting

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Alternate Best Actor 1980: Donald Sutherland in Ordinary People

Donald Sutherland did not receive an Oscar nomination, despite being nominated for a Golden Globe, for portraying Calvin Jarrett in Ordinary People.

Ordinary People won best picture as well as Best Supporting Actor for the clearly leading Timothy Hutton, and was also nominated for Best Actress for Mary Tyler Moore and it got yet another supporting actor nomination for Judd Hirsch as well. The only main player in the film unrecognized was the never nominated Donald Sutherland who was probably either knocked out by Robert Duvall's fine work in the Great Santini or Jack Lemmon's terribly overblown performance in Tribute. Sutherland though also may have missed because in terms of the type of acting noticed by the academy he gets the short end. Timothy Hutton gets the big emotional outbursts, Mary Tyler Moore gets to be the almost flamboyantly cold character, even Hirsch gets some fairly juicy lines in his scenes, but what does that leave poor Sutherland.

Well it actually leaves Sutherland as the heart of the film. After the death of one of the sons of the family it leaves the younger son Conrad (Hutton) suicidal and very much troubled, the mother Beth (Moore) who has only become colder and more distant to her son who was never her favorite as well tries to keep her social life just the same, Calvin the father though tries his best to deal with and keep his family together. Sutherland due to this has the most subtle work here in that much of his portrayal of Calvin's feelings are silent especially early on. Sutherland portrays Calvin as just trying to get on his life while still being clearly changed by the tragic event. We see him with his wife at various social events, and Sutherland shows him as man attempting to be there for his wife but his mind is always elsewhere.

Sutherland does two things really well here in that he shows that on one hand Calvin really just does not care much for the things they use to do, although that is all that his wife after seems to care about both through the boredom of his expression as well as his almost boyish enthusiasm when he suggest to his wife that they just defy expectations and do something else for a change. Sutherland is really good because it is not that Calvin is putting on any sort of facade, but rather he is trying but just can't feign enthusiasm for things that just are not on his mind. He as well does allow us to see what is on his mind which is not only the tragedy of the death of his son but the mental health of his living son. Whenever it comes to Conrad Sutherland only ever portrays such a genuine earnestness that establishes properly that Calvin desperately wants his son to get better.

Sutherland has Calvin put on a happy face again not as a facade even though it is not entirely true, but rather Sutherland presents it as Calvin trying to make things work. Sutherland has the right visible effort that he puts into Calvin as he tries to bring the three of them together as a happy family and his cheer is not false but Sutherland suggests is perhaps that Calvin is pushing it a little because he really wants to make the family come together after this awful experience. Of course Calvin himself is not over it, but he does indeed stay quiet about it at least for most of the film. The grief that Sutherland shows comes in a subtle but powerful fashion. It is not the overwhelming grief that Timothy Hutton portrays instead it is a withdrawn yet still palpable. A scene that always stays in my mind is a moment where Calvin thinks back when he stopped a fight between the boys and we see him thinking about it. Sutherland has such a simple expression yet one of man truly haunted by this tragedy.

Through most of the film Sutherland makes Calvin always the one just trying to make it work, and he is terrific in the way he portrays Calvin's methods of working with everyone. With his wife there is a distance but at times a really energy that Sutherland brings to the scenes like Calvin is trying just to get her warm up any way he can. With Conrad he is different but Sutherland once again shows Calvin trying to make it work as he portrays a genuine warmth with him. Sutherland always makes it clear that Calvin absolutely loves his son without exception and only wants the best. Sutherland even shares one scene with Judd Hirsch's psychiatrist Dr. Berger. It is a great scene as Sutherland brings that negotiator quality out of Calvin again as he tries his best to defend his wife's coldness as well as support his son as well. He also very effective allows an underlying uncertainty in this scene suggesting what becomes his path for the rest of his film which is questioning his wife's behavior. 

The late scenes of Sutherland's performance is finally when he breaks the mold of Calvin just trying to make it work and starts to confront his wife. Sutherland plays these scenes out brilliantly starting so modestly just asking her in a somber tone why even at her sons funerals she was concerned with unimportant things. This escalates to a much more open fight and again Sutherland is excellent because he absolutely earns the frustrations in the scene because it is something he has been building to quietly from the beginning of the film. Their fight ends though as Calvin once again confronts her although not about Conrad so much and rather their own relationship. Sutherland is outstanding because how he forcefully presses her about her refusal to deal with the family's emotions, but as well beautifully shows how dealing with this conversation which is ending his relationship with the woman he has been with for year is tearing him apart inside.

Sutherland's work here may not have been the chosen Oscar nominated work from this film but he should have been especially over Lemmon. Sutherland gives such a low key yet so very heartbreaking in his underplaying by just getting down to the barest of emotions in a man who is only trying his best to try to get over them and later face them. Calvin attempts to be the glue of the family and Sutherland is the glue that holds the film together acting as a balancing act between the emotional extremes found in Timothy Hutton's and Mary Tyler Moore's performances. He finds that middle ground without ever being forgotten among the fire and the ice that surrounds him. He creates a complex portrait of Calvin Jarrett and fills every scene he is in with an earnest devotion and a true poignancy.

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Alternate Best Actor 1980

And the Nominees Were Not:

Anthony Hopkins in The Elephant Man

Edward Woodward in Breaker Morant

Donald Sutherland in Ordinary People

Tatsuya Nakadai in Kagemusha

Jack Thompson in Breaker Morant

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