5. Walter Pidgeon, Mrs. Miniver
4. Gary Cooper, The Pride of the Yankees
3. Ronald Colman, Random Harvest
2. Monty Woolley, The Pied Piper
1. JAMES CAGNEY, YANKEE DOODLE DANDY
IN CONCLUSION: Despite my discontent with Yankee Doodle Dandy, James Cagney walks away with the win quite handily. I just downright enjoyed him and liked him the most out of all the gentlemen. This was a bit of a surprise, as I was expecting to be most fond of Colman. Woolley is in a firm third place, Gary Cooper is Gary Cooper, and Walter Pidgeon shouldn't even be here. It's pretty much slim pickings in terms of any other potential nominees for the category--who else is there really? I suppose a Spencer Tracy nomination for Woman of the Year wouldn't have been the worst nomination of his. I've heard good things about Jack Benny in To Be Or Not To Be, which I was planning on watching but couldn't quite find the time. Tim Holt for The Magnificent Ambersons could have been a possibility? Leslie Howard or Laurence Olivier or Raymond Massey for 49th Parallel? Robert Taylor for Johnny Eager? Joel McCrea for The Palm Beach Story? I'm just throwing crazy shots in the dark. I have no idea. I'm so glad 1942 is over.
I've recently watched some Cagney films and I really really liked him. Glad he won.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you'll like 1943 in Best Actor category, but at least we have Casablanca.
lol, I'm curious as to what Lukas will bring to the table. Otherwise....no expectations.
DeleteJack Benny in To Be Or Not To Be would not have been out of line. It was definitely the best showcasing he ever had in a movie, and the film is a gem. Cagney deserves the ace, even if I like other films of his better.
ReplyDeleteNow I really want to watch it!
DeleteI made some calculations. So far you've agreed with the Academy 4 times in Lead Actress (Hayes, Colbert, Hepburn, Leigh) and 5 times in Lead Actor (Jannings, March, Gable, McLagen, Cagney) It'll be interesting to see how often you agree with the Academy when all is said and done.
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting indeed! I'm surprised that I've actually disagreed with as many Best Actress winners as I have--but perhaps it's because that's the category where my faithfulness lies, and with that comes loads of standards and expectations (in terms of the present day aughts I haven't agreed with a Best Actor winner in years)
DeleteAlso, welcome! Thank you for your comment, and I'm glad to have you here!