Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1964: Results

5. Frank Overton in Fail-Safe- Overton gives a moving performance as a General who must deal with a Nuclear crises as well as a hostile room of men.

Best Scene: General Bogan speaks with his Russian counterpart.

4. Nigel Green in Zulu- Green gives a strong performance as a career soldier who has the utmost conviction in his code.

Best Scene: Sergeant Bourne calls out the roster.

3. Fredric March in Seven Days in May- March gives possibly the best performance of his career in his assured and remarkable depiction of the President of the United States who must prevent a coup.

Best Scene: President Lyman confronts General Scott.

2. George C. Scott in Dr. Strangelove- Scott's performance is pure comedic gold as an off the wall General who he appropriately plays in an off the wall fashion. Scott's whole performance is one great risk that completely pays off.

Best Scene: Turgidson gives his own thoughts on what they should do.

1. Sterling Hayden in Dr. Strangelove - Sterling Hayden gives a hilarious performance where he does not exactly play it straight nor does he play it funny, but whatever he does do it's perfect. My win is Hayden as I enjoyed his performance the most on this watch although if I watched it again I might switch over to Scott.

Best Scene: Ripper asks Mandrake about being tortured. 

Overall Rank:

1. Sterling Hayden in Dr. Strangelove
2. George C. Scott in Dr. Strangelove
3. Fredric March in Seven Days in May
4. Nigel Green in Zulu
5. Frank Overton in Fail-Safe
6. Keenan Wynn in Dr. Stangelove 
7. Gian Maria Volonté in A Fistful of Dollars
8. Jack Hawkins in Zulu 
9. Burt Lancaster in Seven Days in May  
10. Dan O'Herlihy in Fail-Safe
11. Patrick Magee in Zulu
12. Wilfrid Brambell in A Hard Day's Night
13. John Gielgud in Becket
14. Stanley Holloway in My Fair Lady
15. Slim Pickens in Dr. Strangelove 
16. James Booth in Zulu 
17. Walter Matthau in Fail-Safe
18. Lee Tracy in The Best Man
19. Gert Fröbe in Goldfinger
20. Robert Morley in Topkapi
21. Edmond O'Brien in Seven Days in May
22. Larry Hagman in Fail-Safe
23. Peter Bull in Dr. Strangelove
24. David Tomlinson in Mary Poppins  
25. Martin Balsam in Seven Days in May
26. Paul Scofield in The Train  
27. Leo McKern in King & Country
28. Gert van den Bergh in Zulu  
29. Percy Herbert in Guns at Batasi
30. Cecil Kellaway in Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
31. Ed Wynn in Mary Poppins
32. Herbert Lom in A Shot in the Dark
33. John Junkin in A Hard Day's Night
34. José Calvo in A Fistful of Dollars
35. Jack Hawkins in Guns at Batasi
36. Errol John in Guns at Batasi
37. John Houseman in Seven Days in May
38. John Leyton in Guns at Batasi
39. Norman Rossington in A Hard Day's Night
40. Victor Buono in Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
41. Ivor Emmanuel in Zulu
42. Donald Wolfit in Becket
43. Andrew Duggan in Seven Days in May
44. Akim Tamiroff in Topkapi
45. Glynn Edwards in Zulu
46. Desmond Llewelyn in Goldfinger
47. Patrick Magee in Seance on a Wet Afternoon 
48. Dom Deluise in Fail-Safe
49. James Mason in The Pumpkin Eater 
50. Eli Wallach in Kisses for My President
51. James Earl Jones in Dr. Strangelove
52. Joseph Cotten in Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
53. George Sanders in A Shot in the Dark
54. Sotiris Moustakas in Zorba the Greek
55. Kevin McCarthy in The Best Man
56. David Kernan in Zulu
57. James Ward in The Night of the Iguana
58. Jack Weston in The Incredible Mr. Limpet 
59. Shelley Berman in The Best Man
60. Bernard Lee in Goldfinger
61. Martin Gabel in Marnie
62. David Weston in Becket
63. Bruce Dern in Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
64. Mark Eden in Seance on a Wet Afternoon
65. Bruce Dern in Marnie
66. Giacomo Rossi-Stuart in The Last Man on Earth
67. John Henry Falk in The Best Man
68. Harold Sakata in Goldfinger 
69. Wilfrid Hyde-White in My Fair Lady
70. Leon Ames in The Misadventures of Merlin Jones 
71. Joseph Egger in A Fistful of Dollars
72. Hugh Marlowe in Seven Days in May
73. Norm Grabowski in The Misadventure of Merlin Jones 
74. Matthew Garber in Mary Poppins 
75. Fritz Weaver in Fail-Safe 
76. Paolo Stoppa in Becket
77. Jeremy Brett in My Fair Lady
78. Vincent Beck in Santa Clause Conquers the Martians
79. Bill McCutcheon in Santa Clause Conquers the Martians
80. Carl Don in Santa Clause Conquers the Martians

Next Year: 1955 lead

Read More

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1964: Fredric March in Seven Days in May

Fredric March did not receive an Oscar nomination, despite being nominated for a Golden Globe, for portraying President Jordan Lyman in Seven Days in May.

1964 in film could be described as the year of the London set musical, or maybe the year where Bruce Dern is brutally murdered, but I would call it the year of the President of the United States. There was Fred MacMurray being the husband of the first Female President, there was presidential hopefuls vying for favor of a former president, there was two presidents negotiating with the enemy to avoid mutual destruction, and there is the president of this film who must avoid being overthrown by a coup d'état lead by a General Scott (Burt Lancaster). Fredric March had some trouble adapting after his earlier days during the Golden Age of Hollywood. In films like Inherit the Wind and Death of a Salesman March seemed out of his element giving performances where he overacted wildly, that is not the case here which was one of his final performances.

Fredric March plays the President Jordan Lyman who is not a very popular guy as no one seems to like him, but he is a man who stands by his convictions doing what he thinks is right even if many people think otherwise. March has the most difficult role actually because he has to make the President compelling even though Lyman stands by what he believes through the film. Kirk Douglas gets to show the conflict of loyalties, Lancaster is straight forward but gets to be a vicious villain, Edmond O'Brien stays on the same side but hey he gets to be a sweaty drunkard, this leave March to be man standing his ground firmly and it is amazing because March actually steals the film. March wipes the slate clean of some his other late period performance with his very assured performance here.

March is excellent because he basically goes about showing all the complexities there are within a man who is so convicted in terms of his personal beliefs. March brings the right type of dignity to his role, a natural dignity. He never glorifies the President as a Saint like man, but shows him to be simply an honest statesman. March makes it believable that he would be such a good man, but as well would be a man that so many other people could hate. March is great in his early scenes as he explains his reasons for standing by his position no matter what. There is not a hint of sanctimony in anything that March says and he brings a naturalism to all of the Lyman's points. March never gives speeches to anyone, other than his actual speech at the end, he just makes Lyman a real man just trying to do what he thinks is best.

March really makes himself stand out though because he always brings more than just conviction to the part of President Lyman. March actually nicely brings some doubt in Lyman. This is never something that overwhelms the portrayal but March brings it in nicely though to flesh out Lyman. By bringing these slight hesitations in his performance March humanizes Lyman very effectively as he shows the mind of an actual president who has to think about too many things at too many times. Importantly March never makes as if Lyman is really doubts about what he believes, but rather doubts in regards due to the way so many around him are look at his desires for peace. There is an underlying fear March suggests, not fear of war, but a fear in Lyman over an apparent hysteria gripping the people.

President Lyman, despite his unpopularity, is no fool and takes it very seriously when he hears about the possible coup which brings out the strategist in the man. March is terrific in his scenes of showing how Lyman plays the game against General Scott and how he mediates his own room of allies. March stays unassuming to a certain point but always suggests a intelligence in the man. March is very good because as the other men say their peace he always has Lyman reasoning and deciphering what they are saying in an attempt to get to the bottom of it and make his next move. March never makes Lyman a machine though and one of his best moments is when one of his close aids have died. March is very moving as he shows that it really does hit him hard, but he can't do anything other than continue working to stop the coup.

The real test of March comes down to his confrontation scene with Lancaster. March has to go toe to toe with Lancaster and make it so we the audience believe that Lyman wins against the argument, and Lancaster is not pitching softballs. March not only stands his ground in the scene he actually overtakes Lancaster with the tremendous drive he brings with his performance. Every single line March delivers like a bullet at Lancaster. Every word he has March finds the passion behind it, and leaves no one to question who wins the day when the General leaves the room. I just love seeing March really give it his all with his performance and never once indulging in overacting as he very easily could have. Fredric March gives a great performance, giving the greatest presidential performance of 1964, and I would argue his personal best as an actor.

Read More

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1964

And the Nominees Were Not:

Nigel Green in Zulu

Fredric March in Seven Days in May

Frank Overton in Fail-Safe

George C. Scott in Dr. Strangelove

Sterling Hayden in Dr. Strangelove

Read More