Alternate Supporting Actor 1947: Ranking

 The simple truth about this year is that there are not a great deal of performances that really stick out that need to be nominated. The lead performances just stand out with far more strength than the supporting ones. Even in a film like Odd Man Out, which has a solid supporting cast none of the supporting players hold attention nearly as well as James Mason's lead performance. That is the case for almost every film this year. I will instead just do five short reviews of some fairly random performances, since this year in film there just are not a great deal of supporting performances that stick out as something that really must be reviewed.

Kirk Douglas in Out of Past- Douglas gives an an appropriately devious performance as the film villain. He has a great deal of fun when his character is in control of the situation, but he dials it back properly when he is not. This is not on the level of Richard Widmark's work from this year, since Douglas is not in the film all that much. It is an effectively handled slimy characterization though, and Douglas adds a great deal to his film with his presence. 4/5

F.J. McCormick in Odd Man Out- Odd Man Out has a great deal of fine performances from Robert Newton as a lunatic painter to Robert Beatty's loyal man who tries to help the injured IRA operative Johnny McQueen (James Mason). My favorite though is with McCormick as a slightly daffy bird keeper who tries to profit from finding the operative, but is quite in over his head in the whole affair. McCormick gives a enjoyable performance, that lights up the latter half right when the film needs it. He is quite a bit of fun, and is an effortless comic relief. He also quite effectively brings about a conscious in his character even if it is hasty, McCormick believably handles it. In fact he eventually almost becomes a moral compass of all his own as he sees where the story goes. McCormick's final reactions to end are particularly moving, and powerfully handled. He frankly makes far far more out of his part than really ever seemed required of him. 4/5

Gene Lockhart in Miracle on 34th Street- Gene Lockhart is quite enjoyable in this film as the judge who presides over the trial to prove whether Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) is Santa Clause or not. His motivation almost entirely comes form his election prospects which he is reminded of constantly by his political manager (William Frawley, doing his usual thing but doing it well). Lockhart's reactions throughout the trail scenes are quite enjoyable, and I particularly enjoy his direct conversations both verbal and non verbal with Frawley's character. This is a nice enjoyable part of the film that is a appropriately entertaining. 3.5/5

David Farrar in Black Narcissus- Farrar's character in this film acts as a temptation for the Nuns who have recently come to the Himalayas. Farrar's performance is appropriately virile in his own way, and he makes the problems that develop because of him believable. The main reason for this is that a coldness perpetuates within his performance, though as he both seems to encourage as well as discourage Nuns to have interest in him at the same time. He is not incredible but he serves his function well within the film. 3/5


Charles Coburn and Charles Laughton in The Paradine Case- The Paradine Case is not a very remembered Alfred Hitchcock thriller for a reason. It is rather poorly handled, the leading performance by Gregory Peck does not carry enough of an internal conflict necessary for the film. There is some of Hitchcock trademark directorial flair but not enough to make up for the lackluster story. The film does have two great character actors in it, Charles Coburn and Laughton who besides sharing a first name also share similar ability to steal scenes through their witty styles. I would say though that Coburn always comes off as a much warmer personality, and Laughton as a colder one. In this film Coburn is the legal adviser for Peck's character. Coburn is his usually charming self, and does his best to add some life to the proceedings. Although he does not save the film he successfully steals all the scenes from Peck that he is given the chance to effectively bringing to life the great legal mind his character is suppose to be. Laughton is given an odd role in that he has a subplot that is bizarre and really does not go anywhere about his character seeming disinterested with everything. Laughton tries to do something with his part, and with his natural charisma does his best, but unfortuantely nothing really comes from the part due to the bizarre requirements of it. Coburn 3.5/5, Laughton 2.5/5

Overall Rank:

1. Richard Widmark in Kiss of Death
2. Kirk Douglas in Out of the Past
3. F.J. McCormick in Odd Man Out
4. Robert Ryan in Crossfire
5. Gene Lockhart in Miracle on 34th Street
6. Thomas Gomez in Ride the Pink Horse
7. William Frawley in Miracle on 34th Street
8. George Sanders in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
9. Arthur Kennedy in Boomerang!
10. Robert Beatty in Odd Man Out
11. Charles Coburn in The Paradine Case
12. Monty Woolley in The Bishop's Wife 
13. Robert Newton in Odd Man Out
14. William Hartnell in Brighton Rock
15. Lee J. Cobb in Boomerang!
16. Robert Mitchum in Crossfire
17. Edmond O'Brien in A Double Life
18. David Farrar in Black Narcissus
19. Philip Tounge in Miracle on 34th Street 
20. Fred Clark in Ride the Pink Horse
21. W.G. Fay in Odd Man Out
22. James Gleason in The Bishop's WIfe
23. Denis O'Dea in Odd Man Out
24. Porter Hall in Miracle on 34th Street
25. Art Smith in Ride the Pink Horse 
26. Charles Bickford in The Farmer's Daughter
27. Charles Laughton in The Paradine Case
28. Jerome Cowan in Miracle on 34th Street
29. Leo G. Carroll in The Paradine Case
30. Raymond Massey in The Mourning Becomes Electra
31. Louis Jordan in The Paradine Case
32. John Garfield in Gentleman's Agreement
33. Kirk Douglas in The Mourning Becomes Electra
34. George Cooper in Crossfire
35. Brian Donlevy in Kiss of Death
36. Leo Genn in The Mourning Becomes Electra
37. Sabu in Black Narcissus

Next Year: 1954 Supporting

Alternate Best Actor 1957: Results

5. Andy Griffith in A Face in the Crowd- Despite an effective beginning to his performance Griffith never quite matches the ambition of his character, even though he does try.

4. Henry Fonda 12 Angry Men- Fonda gives a good performance consistently portraying the steadfast conviction of his part.

3. Toshiro Mifune in Throne of Blood- Toshiro Mifune gives an effectively brutal turn as his version of Macbeth. He holds no bars physically or mentally in his towering performance.

2. Tony Curtis in Sweet Smell of Success- Tony Curtis gives a strong performance that portrays well the abilities of his amoral press agent, and only shows a glint of conscience in the most powerful moments.

1. Kirk Douglas in Paths of Glory- Douglas gives the second best performance that I have seen this year, and gives one of the very best performance as almost entirely moral character. Douglas never gives a hint of sanctimony, or falseness, but instead powerfully and honestly portrays the deep of concern of his character believably throughout the film. 

Overall Rank:

1. Alec Guinness in The Bridge on The River Kwai
2. Kirk Douglas in Paths of Glory
3. Tony Curtis in Sweet Smell of Success
4. Toshiro Mifune in Throne of Blood
5. Charles Laughton in Witness for the Prosecution
6. William Holden in The Bridge on the River Kwai
7. Henry Fonda 12 Angry Men
8. Anthony Quinn in Wild Is the Wind
9. Van Heflin in 3:10 to Yuma
10. Andy Griffith in A Face in the Crowd
11. Glenn Ford in 3:10 to Yuma
12. Gary Cooper in Love in the Afternoon 
13. Marlon Brando in Sayonara
14. Rock Hudson in A Farewell to Arms
15. Lee Philips in Peyton Place
16. Don Murray in A Hatful of Rain
17. Anthony Franciosa in A Hatful of Rain

Next Year: 2008 Supporting

Alternate Best Actor 1957: Kirk Douglas in Paths of Glory

Kirk Douglas did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Colonel Dax in Paths of Glory.

Paths of Glory is a brilliant film about the French army court marshaling three men after a failed attack during World War I.

Kirk Douglas portrays the Colonel in charge of the regiment used by the ambitious and pompous General Mireau (George Macready) to take an impossible to overcome German position. Douglas here portrays one of the few officers in the film who is not an amoral man who cares far more about his own military career than for the welfare of his soldiers. As he is one of the few officers who seems to treat the war and casualties as something to be truly concerned about. Douglas portrays Dax as a  man who cares deeply for the lives of his men, although still believes that there is a task that needs to be done. 

Douglas takes a fairly simple but effective approach to the part of Dax. He does not really try to portray Dax in any sort of flamboyant fashion which is fairly common in Kubrick's films. Douglas plays it straight and properly so. In the middle of the men who seem almost insane in their manner towards the war, Douglas shows us a man who stands firm in the belief in his men, even if he does need to still follow orders. Douglas says a lot here with very little as even as he agrees to lead the charge on the hill he shows the genuine concern for the lives of his men as well as his own disbelief in his superior officer.

There is an underlying passion and drive always in this performance bringing to life that Dax is a man of action. Douglas importantly though as well even when he is ordering his men to go out on risky scouting maneuvers that there is always a deeply human compassion within Dax. He is never just a man blindly ordering his men about to risk their lives for the war. Douglas importantly in his performance does manage to portray a caring commanding officer even though he still commits to action. It is an important role within the film itself, and Douglas is excellent because he never seems sanctimonious or false. The goodness of his character always comes through as it needs to.

As the film proceeds Douglas stays though as the steadfast moral center of the film who refuses to accept his superior's stance that his men were cowards after the failed attack. Douglas has a quiet and effective intensity as he stands with his men and tries to help the three accused of the cowardice avoid the firing squad. Douglas is terrific representing all of the frustrations felt by the insanity espoused by his superiors who refuse to come to their senses. Douglas is very strong here and even has just the right about of satirical edge to his performance. In just the smallest reactions during the trial scene he can portray the true lunacy behind the charges.

Douglas never portrays the part as sanctimonious and he is able to portray the intelligence and anger behind Dax. After the men are sentenced to death Dax tries his best to make those who caused this to occur suffer as well as he can for their dreadful actions. Douglas's performance always puts forward the extreme hate, and disgust he has for the amoral officers he serves brilliantly. He never makes him seem like just a rebel, or a pointlessly angry man though. He is always firm and proper in his characterization making his moments where he tells his superior just exactly what he thinks extremely powerful. Douglas is absolutely truthful in this as he makes Dax truly the better man.

This may not be Douglas's most complex character, but this is one of his very best performances. Colonel Dax is an essential character in the film as he is the conscience of the entire film who stands against the structured lunacy of the military heads. Douglas keeps the honesty, and goodness of his character to life without ever being boring, dull, or seem in any way false. Douglas is able to genuinely finds the heart of his character, and becomes the heart of the film realistically throughout the film. Technically speaking it might not be the most showy performance in the film, but Douglas succeeds entirely within his performance achieving in finding the incredible power in his character's passion throughout the film. 

Alternate Best Actor 1957

And the Nominees Were Not:

Henry Fonda in 12 Angry Men

Andy Griffith in A Face in The Crowd

Kirk Douglas in Paths of Glory

Tony Curtis in Sweet Smell of Success

Toshiro Mifune in Throne of Blood

473. The Strange Love of Martha Ivers

473. (21 Nov) The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946, Lewis Milestone) 58



The Strange Love of Martha Ivers has an amazing prologue where an entitled young woman murders Judith Anderson, her wicked aunt, after she canes her kitten to death. The film then moves forward twenty years into the future and the only thing that's working in the film's favor at that point is the young woman is now Barbara Stanwyck. Kirk Douglas is totally miscast as her alcoholic husband and Van Heflin doesn't hold a candle to her either as her childhood sweetheart. There are some fun noir elements, particularly in the melodramatic finale, but a rushed romance between Heflin and Lizabeth Scott is a hindrance.

Lust for Life

Kirk Douglas should have won Best Oscar in 1956 for his portrayal as Vincent van Gogh in “Lust for Life.” It’s a stunning performance, and arguably his best.

Looking at his competition, I’m sure Douglas thought he would win. James Dean and Rock Hudson would likely split the vote for “Giant”, and two actors reprising their stage triumphs, Laurence Olivier for “Richard III” and Yul Brynner for “The King and I”, were the remaining contenders.

According to Kirk Douglas’ wonderful biography “The Ragman’s Son” (Simon & Schuster, 1988), everyone told him he was a shoo-in and the third time would be the charm, after losing Best Actor Oscar bids for “Champion” (1949) and “The Bad and the Beautiful” (1952).

But Douglas was in Germany shooting “Paths of Glory” (1957) when he learned that he lost to Yul Brynner. Sure, Brynner is great fun to watch, and it’s probably the ultimate Yul Brynner performance, but I’ve always had a sneaking suspicion that it didn’t hurt that he starred in the biggest hit of the year, “The Ten Commandments.”

Always one of the most physical of actors, Douglas brings his trademark intensity to the role while still expressing van Gogh’s inner pain. His body appears to shrink before our eyes as he faces one crushing disappointment after another, and his encroaching mental illness becomes too much for him to bear.

Some accuse Douglas of overacting in this film, but I don’t think so. Van Gogh was hardly the shrinking violet type. Just look at his paintings and see how alive and vibrant they are. Whether he was a preacher valiantly struggling to bring the Word of God to a poverty-stricken coal mining village, or falling in love with his first cousin Kay, and later a prostitute, van Gogh did nothing in half measures.

An intense, brilliant and haunting soul, van Gogh felt his emotions much deeper than anyone around him. Douglas is splendid in showing the inner torment and expressing the joy of creation, but not sugarcoating the character. Like many artists, van Gogh seemed to operate on a different plane.

In his autobiography, Douglas writes, “Playing Vincent van Gogh shook up my theory about what acting is all about. To me, acting is all about creating an illusion, showing tremendous discipline, not losing yourself in the character that you’re portraying…but I was close to getting lost in the character of van Gogh… I fled myself going over the line, into the skin of van Gogh. It was a frightening experience. The memory makes me wince. I could never play that part again. For a long time after I finished the movie, I didn’t see the picture.”

Douglas did some of his best work under the direction of Vincente Minnelli and “Lust for Life” and “The Bad and the Beautiful” are two of the best films in the actor’s (and director’s) careers.

In a recent post on “Brigadoon” (1954), I wrote of Minnelli’s initial disappointment at not being able to shoot on location in Scotland, instead re-creating the Scottish village on the M-G-M soundstages.

No disappointments on “Lust for Life”, as Minnelli and Company were able to film not only in Europe, but in the actual locations where van Gogh lived and painted.

Of course with Minnelli directing, I don’t have to mention how gorgeous the film looks. I especially liked watching the re-creations of country life and still portraits, with van Gogh in the foreground recreating them on canvas. This is followed by a slow fade until we see the final product, backed by the dramatic music of Miklos Rozsa.

“Lust for Life” was nominated in the Color Art Direction category but lost to “The King and I.” No doubt, Oscar voters thought Minnelli just used the locations that were already there.

An Adapted Screenplay nomination was awarded to Norman Corwin for his adaptation of Irving Stone’s best-selling (and immensely readable) 1934 novel. Corwin lost to the screenwriting team, which included S.J. Perelman, who adapted Jules Verne’s “Around the World in 80 Days.”

“Lust for Life” wasn’t left totally bereft at that year’s Oscar ceremony. Anthony Quinn won his second Best Supporting Actor Oscar as van Gogh’s friend Paul Gauguin. He’s not in the film that much, but when he’s there he’s brilliant. Quinn was also a magnificent physical actor and uses his body well.

For example, there’s a scene Quinn plays with no dialogue, when Gauguin is looking at van Gogh’s paintings and we see across his face equal parts admiration, envy and awe at what he’s seeing. It’s a marvelous scene and beautifully played by Quinn.

Quinn’s competition that year was Mickey Rooney in “The Bold and the Brave”, Don Murray in “Bus Stop”, Anthony Perkins in “Friendly Persuasion” and Robert Stack in “Written on the Wind.”

I think the Academy made the right choice. Quinn may not be on-screen as much as the other nominees, but he makes every scene count when he is there. The final argument scene between Gauguin and van Gogh is unbearably painful to watch. Douglas is equally magnificent in these scenes as he sees his friendship with Gauguin dissipate due to his own fierce stubbornness and encroaching mental illness.

I remember reading an interview with Robert Stack years later and he was still bemoaning losing to Anthony Quinn. No doubt rubbing salt in his wound was that his “Written on the Wind” co-star, Dorothy Malone, took the Best Supporting Actress Oscar that year for her work in that film.

Helping the movie immeasurably is the beautiful score by Miklos Rozsa. Rozsa has great fondness for the movie and writes in his autobiography “A Double Life” (Hippocrene Books, 1982) about the immense pleasure he had in writing the score.

Arguably the most cultured of the Golden Age composers, Rozsa describes how impressed he was with the film, the first cut of which was three hours. M-G-M knew they couldn’t sell a three hour film about a suicidal painter and cut it down to a more manageable two hours. Rozsa said that three hour cut was a thing of beauty and he responded with one of his best scores. He took special care with this assignment.

Rozsa writes about his approach to musically illustrating van Gogh’s life: “He was a post-impressionist, but post-impressionism in music comes much later than van Gogh’s death at the end of the nineteenth century: pictoral trends are always between 25 and 40 years ahead. The music he himself knew would have been that of the 1880s – Wagner, Liszt, Cesar Franck – but I felt that mid-19^th century romanticism has little in common with his work. Somehow I had to evolve a suitable style in terms of my own music. It had to be somewhat impressionistic, somewhat pointillistic, somewhat post-romantic and brightly, even startlingly colorful, much like the tenor of his paintings.”

We see many of van Gogh’s paintings throughout the movie but in the final scene the camera pulls back and we see a wall filled with those magnificent van Gogh canvases. Art museums and private collectors from around the world, including Edward G. Robinson and director Charles Vidor, donated their paintings to use in the film, and that final scene with all those paintings on display is literally breathtaking.

Kirk Douglas is this month’s Star of the Month on TCM. They will be airing “Lust for Life” on Tuesday, September 20 at 8:00 EST.

The War Wagon

“The War Wagon” (1967) opens with one of the catchiest, most toe tapping and irresistible of all movie songs. Once heard, it’s never forgotten. It’s the “It’s a Small World” of theme songs.

Composed by Dimitri Tiomkin (his last score for a John Wayne movie), lyrics by Ned Washington, and sung by Ed Ames, “The Ballad of the War Wagon” is a real gem. The rest of the movie is pretty darn entertaining too.

John Wayne stars as Taw Jackson (great name, Taw. If I ever had a son, that’s what I would have named him), who is recently released from prison. He seeks vengeance against Pierce (Bruce Cabot) who stole his ranch from him and framed him for an unspecified crime, leading to his jail time.

Pierce is the richest, most feared man in the territory and transports gold in an iron-plated wagon called “The War Wagon”. It boasts a Gatling gun, armed guards inside, and almost two dozen armed men riding in front and back of the War Wagon. Naturally Taw hatches a plan to hijack the War Wagon and steal the gold.

Pierce hears Taw is in town and hires Lomax (Kirk Douglas), the only man in the area fast enough to outdraw Taw, to kill him. But Taw gets to Lomax first and offers him $100,000 to help him steal the War Wagon. Since Pierce had only offered Lomax $10,000, Lomax takes up with Taw.

When Taw and Lomax aren’t sparring with each other, the plan to hijack The War Wagon takes shape. Taw enlists the help of an Indian Levi Walking Bear (Howard Keel), an explosives expert (Robert Walker, Jr.), and a cantankerous old man (Keenan Wynn) with a wife young enough to be his daughter. Plus a tribe of Kiowa tribesmen who throw in with Taw to strike back at Pierce. Or do they?

It’s a really entertaining film. Wayne and Douglas play marvelously against each other; it’s just a delight to watch these two great stars butt heads with each other. Even those who don’t like westerns would likely get a kick out of their sparring.

One of my all-time favorite dialogue exchanges occurs in “The War Wagon”. Two greenhorn gunfighters employed by Pierce (one played by a young Bruce Dern) think they can kill Taw in a gunfight and get that $10,000 reward for themselves. They slowly walk away from Taw and Lomax before turning to fire their guns. Of course, Taw and Lomax easily beat them to the draw and the two are killed.

Lomax says, “Mine hit the ground first.”

Taw, looks at him and says, “Mine was taller.”

Heist films are always entertaining and this one has the novelty of being set in the Old West. It’s fun to watch how the plan takes shape. Anyone who has ever seen a heist film, however, knows that the best laid plans never work out the way their makers intended.

No messages here, “The War Wagon” was designed as nothing more than to entertain audiences. “The War Wagon” runs about 99 minutes, is crammed full of action, comedy, good stunt work, pretty girls, and an irresistible song. What more could one ask for?

Rating for “The War Wagon”: Three stars.