And the nominees were:
Fredric March, The Best Years of Our Lives
Laurence Olivier, Henry V
Larry Parks, The Jolson Story
Gregory Peck, The Yearling
James Stewart, It's A Wonderful Life
Olivia de Havilland, To Each His Own
Celia Johnson, Brief Encounter
Jennifer Jones, Duel in the Sun
Rosalind Russell, Sister Kenny
Jane Wyman, The Yearling
I've done a lot of bitching about how much I've despised the nominated films of this decade, but at least 1946 is looking a smidgen better. I've no qualms about getting to watch It's a Wonderful Life, The Best Years of Our Lives, and Brief Encounter. I'm uncertain of my feelings about sitting through the combined 4.5+ hours of Duel in the Sun and Henry V. And as always, there're two biopics to look forward to, a Best Actress winning-film that sounds strikingly similar in plot to a previous Best Actress winning-film, and...Roz Russell as a nurse. Plus...The Yearling. So here goes...and as always, let me know who you think I'll love and dislike :)
"The Best Years of Our Lives" and "It's a Wonderful Life" are head and shoulders above every other film on this list, though I'm not sure you'll like Fredric March in "Best Years...." as much as you've liked some of his other performances (I think Stewart deserved the award). For a Shakespeare play/film, "Henry V" actually moves with a decent pace and Olivier is quite at home with the verse. The Best Actress lot isn't stellar and if you didn't care for Jones before my guess is "Duel" will not win you over, but Celia Johnson might surprise you because she's quite good. I don't suspect you'll find anything new in the biopic department but there are at least three Best Actor performances that are decent and deserved nominations. At the very least, this is a stronger group than the previous year so you may enjoy it and be more inspired to write about it.
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