Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1974: Results

5. Marty Feldman in Young Frankenstein- Feldman gives an entertaining and enjoyable performance. 

4. Martin Balsam in The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three- Balsam does a great job of humanizing his hijacker, and makes it easy to follow through his own small story within the film.

3. John Huston in Chinatown- Huston gives a great villainous performance creating a fantastic mystery within his character who acts warmly, but evil seems lurking beneath his grin.

2. Robert Shaw in The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three- Shaw gives an excellent performance as a steely cold and calculated villain.

1. John Cazale in The Godfather Part II- Good Prediction RatedRStar. Although I do love Shaw's and Huston's performances Cazale does fairly easily win this year for me. He too could be argued as playing a villain, but Cazale turns his character's pathetic plight into a truly heartbreaking portrait of a brother who just was never good enough. 

Overall Rank:

1. John Cazale in The Godfather Part II
2. Robert Shaw in The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three
3. John Huston in Chinatown
4. Robert De Niro in The Godfather Part II
5. Lee Strasberg in The Godfather Part II
6. Martin Balsam in The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three
7. Marty Feldman in Young Frankenstein 
8. Harrison Ford in The Conversation
9. Harvey Korman in Blazing Saddles
10. Gene Hackman in Young Frankenstein
11. Hector Elizondo in The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three
12. Gene Wilder in Blazing Saddles 
13. John Cazale in the Conversation
14. Robert Duvall in The Conversation
15. Vincent Gardenia in Death Wish 
16. Michael V. Gazzo in The Godfather Part II
17. Tony Roberts in The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three 
18. Kenneth Mars in Young Frankenstein
19. Lee Wallace in The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three
20. Robert Duvall in The Godfather Part II 
21. Geoffrey Lewis in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
22. James Caan in The Godfather Part II 
23. Michael Gorrin in The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three
24. Allen Garfield in The Conversation
25. Fred Astaire in The Towering Inferno
26. John Gielgud in Murder on the Orient Express
27. Jerry Stiller in The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three
28. Perry Lopez in Chinatown
29. William Daniels in The Parallax View
30. George Kennedy in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
31. Dick O'Neill in The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three 
32. G.D. Spradlin in The Godfather Part II
33. Earl Hindman in The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three
34. Anthony Perkins in Murder on the Orient Express 
35. Larry Hagman in Harry and Tonto
36. Hume Cronyn in The Parallax View 
37. Gaston Machin in The Godfather Part II  
38. Sean Connery in Murder on the Orient Express
39. Frederic Forrest  in The Conversation
40. Richard Widmark in Murder on the Orient Express
41. Joe Mantell in Chinatown
42. Bruno Kirby in The Godfather Part II
43. Martin Balsam in Murder on the Orient Express
44. Robert Vaughn in The Towering Inferno
45. Denis Quilley in Murder on the Orient Express 
46. William Holden in The Towering Inferno
47. Michael York in Murder on the Orient Express
48. Richard Chamberlain in The Towering Inferno

Next Year: 2011 Supporting

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1974: John Huston in Chinatown

John Huston did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Noah Cross in Chinatown. 

Chinatown is a fantastic mystery and the man behind the mystery is John Huston as Noah Cross. Huston actually is in only in a total of three scenes in the film, but he makes tremendous impact in each of his scenes. Noah Cross is a rich and powerful man who owns the water department formerly with the deceased Hollis Mulwray, who just happened to married to Cross's daughter Evelyn (Faye Dunaway). He is heavily embroiled it in it in some way and for some reason and private detective J.J. Gittes (Jack Nicholson) is determined find out how and why.

Huston handles his first scene impeccably when Gittes first meets him to question him. Huston has a tremendous presence, which could not be used better than it is here. He gives an even better similar type of performance as Lee Strasberg did in the Godfather Part II. Like Strasberg Huston does convey a certain grandfatherly quality in his performance a welcoming warmth as he speaks to Gittes, an ease in his personality that makes it easy to see how he could easily convince other that he has no ill intent toward others.

Huston though masterfully brings to life the two faces of of Cross as Gittes talks to him. Through every little extra question that Cross launches back at Gittes there is something very dark beneath the surface of this man. Huston keeps what exactly it is appropriately as a mystery, but he makes a truly striking dynamic between the apparent warmth of the man, and the more calculated murky side of him. There talk is an incredible scene  for Huston and my favorite moment of it is a purely silent one. He waves at some riders with a big kindly smile, but hearing another question Huston effortlessly morphs his expression into that of a man with horrible secrets.

Next we see him is when Gittes has found much of the truth about him and attempts to confront him. Huston creates an imposing villain in the screen, and the evil of the character especially prevailing. Huston is absolutely terrifying in how calmly talks of Cross's evil deeds which Cross feels no regrets over. Huston does not compromise what he established making Cross all the more chilling of villain. Huston still has that warmth here, which he still plays as such even though he means nothing warm in the way he talks, which makes Cross an especially compelling villain. Even when he threatens Gittes it is with a quiet genial command that made as very threatening due to Huston terrific portrayal here.

Noah Cross in the end does not lose in the film, and really Huston is the one who makes there no question to why this happens. Even when Gittes is trying his best to take him down Huston never loses the command of his character who pulls right to the front of every situation, no matter what the odds might seem to be. Huston through his three scenes makes Cross an unforgettable villain that controls the film without any seeming effort, and is a very disturbing portrait of depravity. In final act of the film as Cross comforts his "granddaughter" is made absolutely horrifying by Huston due to with such ease Cross is able to hide his evil. Huston gives an outstanding performance that makes a great villain with very little time at his disposal.

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1974

And the Nominees Were Not:

Martin Balsam in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three

Robert Shaw in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three

John Huston in Chinatown

John Cazale in The Godfather Part II

Marty Feldman in Young Frankenstein 

Best Supporting Actor 1963: Results

5. Nick Adams in Twilight of Honor- Adams is effective enough at being pathetic and confused in the trial scenes, but they don't come together all that well with his scenes of being a potentially violent loner.

4. John Huston in The Cardinal- Even though his part is barely anything Huston does everything he can with and more given some weight to a picture, as well as stealing all of the few scenes he is in.

3. Hugh Griffith in Tom Jones- Griffith in fact might have been drunk during much of his performance but nevertheless he gives a entertaining and very enjoyable performance that only adds to his film.

2. Bobby Darin in Captain Newman, M.D.- Darin's performance is indeed pure Oscar bait, and his big Oscar scene is far too long. This does not take away the fact that he does give an effective moving portrayal of a traumatized soldier nevertheless.

1. Melvyn Douglas in Hud- In a year that turned out to be stronger than I actually expected it to be, Douglas still stands tall above his fellow nominees. Douglas gives a poignant and powerful performance that absolutely creates a heartbreaking portrait of a dying breed of man.

Deserving Performances:
Brandon deWilde in Hud
Robert Shaw in From Russia With Love

Best Supporting Actor 1963: John Huston in The Cardinal

John Huston received his only acting Oscar nomination for portraying Cardinal Glennon in The Cardinal.

The Cardinal tells of the rise as well as the troubles of a catholic priest Stephen (Tom Tryon) through his many years in the church.

John Huston joins others directors Vittorio De Sica, John Cassavetes, Eric Von Stroheim, as also an actor nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Luckily unlike De Sica, and Stroheim he was nominated plenty of times for his writing and his directing, and properly won for both. Huston though received this nomination from his very first credited performance as an actor. Although it should be noted that Huston continued as an actor and certainly would have been very deserving of a nomination and even a win for his performance in Chinatown. Huston instead though was only nominated for this film.

This does not mean that Huston was undeserving of a nomination here, since seeing him here does make it a little surprising that Huston did not act sooner in his career. Huston's personality, and especially his voice just command a certain undeniable presence. Although I can't say it is particularly difficult to steal a scene from Tom Tryon, Huston still deserves credit for doing so. Huston absolutely does control every scene he is as the superior to Tryon's priest. Huston commands the screen with absolute sway which certainly works well for his character who is suppose to be a domineering man.

Huston does bring some life to the picture as the Cardinal in charge of Stephen. This is a time where I think I do need to give most of the credit to John Huston. There is not anything especially special about what he says to Tryon's character early on other than question some of his rebellious behavior, and accuse him of being overly ambitious. His character is a rather typical authority figure here, and his lines are pretty much the same. Huston though has a certain energy, and even a charm the livens up the scene greatly. Huston really handles the whole powerful Cardinal with ease, and even a certain joy that seems effortless.

He also has two more dramatic scenes one where he is attending to a sick priest played by Burgess Meredith, and another where he tries to convince Stephen to really thing about whether or not he wants to continue to be a priest or not. Huston is very effective in both of these scene really bringing a weight to the scenes that Tryon just is not able to do. Huston though is not in the film nearly enough or given enough to do for this to be a great performance, which is unfortunate since he is the best part of the film. I wish it had been about him because Huston gives a strong effective performance he makes something out of a character that really could have been nothing.

Best Supporting Actor 1963

And The Nominees Were:

Bobby Darin Captain Newman, M.D.

John Huston in The Cardinal

Melvyn Douglas in Hud

Hugh Griffith in Tom Jones

Nick Adams in Twilight of Honor

Top Ranked Films of John Huston

John Huston
41st w 17680 pts, 5 titles

These are all the films of John Huston’s that made the top 1000 in our 2011 update of the Top Ranked 1000 Films on the Net, all polls.

1. Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) bw #93
2. The Maltese Falcon (1941) bw #102
3. African Queen, The (1951) #459
4. Asphalt Jungle, The (1950) #473
5. Dead, The (1987) #616

and those that just missed
6. Misfits,

Across the Pacific

“Across the Pacific” (1942) is a nifty spy melodrama that offers a pleasant reunion of three key players (Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, and Sidney Greenstreet) and director (John Huston) from the previous year’s “The Maltese Falcon”, which was a big hit for Warner Bros.

The film takes place just before the bombing at Pearl Harbor and details how ex-solider Bogart gets swept up in a Japanese plot to blow up the Panama Canal. Much of the action takes place on a Japanese-owned passenger/cargo ship which seems to travel through heavy fog an awful lot in the evening (movie fog is a wondrous thing to behold in black and white). Of course the ship is rife with mysterious travelers and people whose identities are not what they seem.

It’s all most enjoyable, and moves along at a crisp 97 minutes. I continue to be amazed at the pace of these Warner Bros. “A” features. Of all the major studios of the era, most of the Warner Bros. features are as fast paced as a “B” movie. It’s just one of the many reasons why it’s my favorite studio from Hollywood’s Golden Age.

For Charlie Chan fans there is the additional fun of seeing Number One Son (Keye Luke) and Number Two Son (Sen Yung) in supporting roles.

Rating for "Across the Pacific": Three stars