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 Supporitng Actor 1961: Eli Wallach in The Misfits

Eli Wallach did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Guido in The Misfits.

Well this is my first time not reviewing Eli Wallach in the role as a outlaw in the old west. This time we meet in the opening of the picture as an average guy who works for a car garage. Wallach even though he's not touting a gun still has just a screen presence that's all his own. There just something about him that's interesting even when he's just undergoing a routine inspection of a car. Guido while doing this happens to catch a glance of the alluring divorcee Roslyn (Marilyn Monroe), who he tells his cowboy friend Gay (Clark Gable) about later. Wallach on paper has a pretty thankless role and almost might seem like in a throwaway role in lesser hands, but Wallach makes the most of it. In these early scenes of just really establishing the story Wallach realizes Guido personality incredibly well by just by playing so authentically this average guy.

Wallach is very good in just adding this extra layer of character to any scene he is in just through his interactions with the other characters. It does not even need to be important stuff even he could just be hanging out with Gay or looking at Roslyn from a distance. Wallach does not allow Guido just to be some side show that can easily be forgotten or ignored. The interesting thing is that Guido technically speaking is suppose to be a rather average hollow man, but Wallach just gets so much out of being this guy. Wallach so naturally really bridges the whole cast together by being this technically standard guy among the strong willed Gay and the rather damaged Roslyn and Perce (Montgomery Clift). Wallach just brings the most of the character and just makes Guido an interesting character to watch even though he technically isn't in conception.

Wallach manages to stick out even though his character is often pushed to the side, but there a few very short moments where Wallach is given his moments to shine. Wallach is excellent in these scenes as he very effectively shows the self-absorbed nature of Guido. Wallach is incredibly good here in the moments where Guido tries to show his "depth" to Roslyn by describing the fact that his wife died. Wallach here is terrific by being genuine in the moment as Guido talks about that troubled past, but only in that instance does Wallach show Guido being truly emotional. When not alone with Roslyn Wallach does not show Guido to become particularly emotional, and as odd as it might seem Wallach makes it completely believable. It is not that Guido is faking the emotions rather Wallach shows that Guido will only really reflect on them if he thinks it can in some way make it so he can connect with Roslyn.

Wallach here shows just as he did a year earlier with The Magnificent Seven that he only needs just enough to create a great character. Both Guido and Calvera very well could have been the most forgettable elements of their respective films, but in Wallach's hands they are among the most memorable. Guido may seem simple and in many ways he is and in fact the film seems set up just to dismiss him as the bad guy among all the guys. Wallach is great here by technically fulfilling the need of Guido being the "bad guy" but by doing in a realistic fashion that never paints him as being an obvious bad guy. In fact Wallach plays him most of the time as being likable enough whenever things don't really matter, but when the worse side comes out to him Wallach still does not undercut Guido as a character. He creates a very honest and full portrait of Guido that far surpasses what it seems was even the intent of the role.

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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 Actor 1966: Results

5. Oskar Werner in Fahrenheit 451- Werner gives a fairly effective performance as a man who goes to a cog in the machine to a free thinker but the power of his work is somewhat muted when the director basically takes over for him at the end of the film.

Best Scene: Montag confronts his wife and her friends.

4. David Hemmings in Blow-Up- Hemmings gives a good performance as a photographer in a haze who is forced to drift out of it when he discovers something unusual in a photograph.

Best Scene: Thomas tries to tell his agent about the murder. 

3. James Mason in The Deadly Affair- James Mason gives a great and surprisingly emotionally charged performance as a government agent who lives through too many double crosses in both his professional and private life.

Best Scene: Dobbs figures out who his wife's most current affair is with.

2. Tatsuya Nakadai in The Sword of Doom- See Wallach's summary.

Best Scene: Ryunosuke "confronts" his past.

1. Eli Wallach in The Good, The Bad and the Ugly- Good Prediction Psifonian. Well this was not an easy choice to make as this year came down to Eli Wallach's and Tatsuya Nakadai's performances for me. Both are brilliant very physical performances that both excel in leading films even though they technically play reprehensible characters, in Nakadai's case extremely reprehensible. They are both outstanding in very different ways with Wallach giving a hilarious and very entertaining performance, and Nakdai is absolutely magnetic while being uncompromising in his depiction of the evil nature of his character. To try to decide between the two I re-watched my favorite scenes of each of their performances well that did not help either only reassuring the fact that I love both of their performances. I have to choose one though therefore I choose Wallach... I guess for the moment right now at this second.

Best Scene: Tuco meets with his brother.

Overall Rank:

1. Eli Wallach in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
2. Tatsuya Nakadai in The Sword of Doom
3. Richard Burton in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf
4. Michael Caine in Alfie
5. Paul Scofield in A Man For All Seasons
6. James Mason in The Deadly Affair
7. Clint Eastwood in The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
8. Tatsuya Nakadai in The Face of Another
9. Peter O'Toole in How To Steal a Million
10. David Hemmings in Blow-Up
11. Lee Marvin in The Professionals
12. Burt Lancaster in The Professionals
13. Adam West in Batman
14. Jack Lemmon in The Fortune Cookie
15. Jean-Louis Trintignant in A Man and a Woman
16. Oskar Werner in Fahrenheit 451 
17. Steve McQueen in The Sand Pebbles
18. Alan Arkin in The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming
19. Charlton Heston in Khartoum
20. Zero Mostel in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum
21. Franco Nero in Django
22. Carl Reiner in The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming

Next Year: 1966 Supporting

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Alternate Best Actor 1966: Eli Wallach in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Eli Wallach did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Tuco Benedicto Pacífico Juan María Ramírez best known as just Tuco in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly is a masterpiece about three men searching for hidden gold all while the American Civil War rages around them.

The title of the film refers to the three principal players of the film the good most often referred to as the man with no name although referred to Tuco as Blondie is played by Clint Eastwood. The good is hardly perfect but definitely has a sense of compassion.  There is also the bad named Angel Eyes played by Lee Van Cleef who is assassin who will commit any immoral act to get the gold, and then there is the Ugly played by Wallach. The ugly refers to more than just Wallach nontraditional leading man style of appearance, but also his stance in terms of morality which is definitely not good but he is not pure evil by any measure either. Tuco's personality and morality is best described as ugly.

Although I don't wish to disrespect those who feel that Eli Wallach's performance in this film is supporting but I can't see him in any way other than co-lead with Eastwood in fact if for some reason you had to put one in supporting I would put Eastwood there before Wallach, although I would never do that. Wallach has the most speaking lines in the film which I suppose is a bit of a given considering Clint Eastwood never plays that talkative of a character. He also has the most screen time and Tuco's story is always just as important as Blondie if not more important in that we find out more about Tuco's past and whenever we drift from the two together we tend to follow Tuco more often than Blondie.

Eli Wallach wanted to play the Toshiro Mifune equivalent in the Magnificent Seven before he was cast as the main villain Calvera. I bring this up again because Wallach's on screen style reminds me of Mifune in the best possible way. Wallach has a daring of performance like Mifune where every physical action even the most unimportant motion seems to have some some significance. Wallach uses this style to utter brilliance here as Tuco who is a bandit with a seemingly unending number of crimes on his name at least according to his would be executioners. Wallach early on make Tuco hard to peg exactly his nature as he doesn't seem to deny his crimes he definitely has a liveliness you will not find in the cold blooded Angel Eyes.

Tuco early on the film though actually is a bit of a villain himself as he tries to track down and kill Blondie after Blondie left in the desert after Tuco wanted too much money in their extortion scheme together. Wallach does something very special in that he makes Tuco extremely likable for some reason despite Tuco's actions being less than admirable particularly in the early stages of the film. How Wallach does this is perhaps through his humorous manner he brings to the part. Wallach gives Tuco just the right kind of flamboyance it never seems like too much, but instead just makes every scene he is in all the more entertaining because of his style. Wallach brings in just the right way though never becoming just a cartoon even though he is very funny here.

Wallach approach is a bit of a scatter shot in the way he switches around in scenes and the way he never seems to stop talking or moving in any scene. Wallach approach is no doubt risky as any part of Tuco's character could fall flat, seem like too much, or just have certain elements of his character seem out of place but Wallach brings it all together in a single brilliant character. In his early rival scenes with Blondie Wallach balancing act involves having the appropriate menace when he traps Blondie with the attempt to kill him yet still is completely enjoyable in his style. One of my favorite moments of Wallach's performance is when Tuco and a few men try to take get Blondie. When he corners Blondie Wallach makes the threat real in Tuco's grudge holding eyes, but still has a moment for comedy when he sorta mourns his men who Blondie has killed with his trademark serious yet false sign of the cross.

Wallach makes Tuco a most peculiar yet completely winning character to follow along through the film. What drives Tuco throughout the film is intense greed as all Tuco really does want is to find the man desperately. A man filled with greed yet just a purely endearing man filled with greed in that there in that Wallach never makes this greed explicitly devious even though it technically is. Wallach just wins you over even though through his portrayal of Tuco who is indeed the ugly one thing is his energy in the part which never seizes and never stops entertaining but there is something else that makes it so the audience can overlook Tuco's faults and there are a lot of faults to be looked over through the course of the film.

The something else I think comes in the more vulnerable scenes with Tuco. One of them being when we find out a little of the past of Tuco as he meets with his brother who is a priest. Wallach is absolutely perfect in this scene because he does not let up on Tuco's flamboyant behavior except for brief moments using just the right subtle indications that there is a softer side to the bandit. Wallach doesn't dwell on it though showing that Tuco's behavior to at least some degree is a defense mechanism of sorts to hide Tuco's very real pains in his past. Wallach expression when Tuco is told the death of his father is very moving because it is just a slight change in Tuco's face and we see that there is more to this man than just the list of crimes and a bounty to his name.

Another important thing about Tuco compared to the other men is the genuine character that Wallach gives Tuco that makes him infinitely more likable than the truly evil men around him. By giving this color to Tuco Wallach makes the right difference between Tuco and Angel Eyes and the men like him. One of the best scenes of the film is when Tuco is being tortured by Angel Eyes and a henchman. It might seem odd to make a scene in which we are to sympathize with a criminal bandit, but it is Wallach performance that doesn't make it seem odd at all. Firstly Wallach delivers in painful detail how they break Tuco, but as well Wallach in all the scenes before this point made the Tuco character so rich in life that it is hard to see him treated with such extreme brutality.

One of trademarks of Sergio Leone's direction is his attention to faces in his films. There are never just random nameless men he uses but there is something notable about just about everyone he sets in frame. Wallach's face is one of his most intriguing in this film. Wallach is the wild card of this film as Angel Eyes and Blondie are technically both mysterious men but mysterious men with a distinct nature. Tuco doesn't stand exactly any where exactly in fact in the way Wallach plays him he rarely ever just stands still. Wallach's performance is flamboyance at its very best. It is a wild performance filled with life and humor at all times yet with just the right barriers within this insanity to ground Tuco in just the right way allowing there to be a heartfelt interior within the exceedingly entertaining exterior of this incredible performance.

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Alternate Best Actor 1966

And the Nominees Were Not:

James Mason in The Deadly Affair

Eli Wallach in The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

Tatsuya Nakadai in The Sword of Doom

David Hemmings in Blow-Up

Oskar Werner in Fahrenheit 451

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