Round-Up: Actor 1944

5. Cary Grant, None But the Lonely Heart

4. Barry Fitzgerald, Going My Way

3. Bing Crosby, Going My Way

2. Alexander Knox, Wilson

1. CHARLES BOYER, GASLIGHT

IN CONCLUSION: A pretty meh year overall. Cary Grant's placing requires no explanation and while I found both Crosby and Fitzgerald about equal in terms of my overall tepid enjoyment, I gave Crosby the slightest edge due to my being a sucker for charming singers. The decision as to who would reign supreme between Knox and Boyer was TOUGH for me. I was struggling back and forth regarding whom I liked more for two weeks, and this final decision is by no means one of surefire confidence. And as much as I did enjoy Knox, ultimately I thought that the nature of his role just wasn't as inherently interesting as that of Boyer's. Wilson has a lot of time being uninteresting before actually being worthwhile to watch; Boyer, who I would wager does not reach Knox's highs in Wilson when he is at his best in Gaslight, is much more consistently cohesive, and shades Gregory with enough mystery while simultaneously showcasing his motives quite well. In terms of also-rans for this year, Fred MacMurray for Double Indemnity immediately comes to mind. Why the hell did this not happen? Oh yeah, Going My Way. Additionally, Grant might have been a better nominee with Arsenic and Old Lace. Dana Andrews could have been a contender for Laura, though his exclusions isn't surprising since Laura didn't seem like a home run hit with the Academy. Other than that, I got nothing (nor do I really care)! This year sucked. In fact, the first half of the forties have produced really underwhelming nominees. I really, truly hope that the latter half of the decade will make up for where the first half severely lacked.