And the Nominees Were...
- HUMPHREY BOGART, The African Queen
- MARLON BRANDO, A Streetcar Named Desire
- MONTGOMERY CLIFT, A Place in the Sun
- ARTHUR KENNEDY, Bright Victory
- FREDRIC MARCH, Death of a Salesman
- KATHARINE HEPBURN, The African Queen
- VIVIEN LEIGH, A Streetcar Named Desire
- ELEANOR PARKER, Detective Story
- SHELLEY WINTERS, A Place in the Sun
- JANE WYMAN, The Blue Veil
Welcome to 1951! It's been awhile - and as God as my witness, I'll make sure that it does not take me seven months to get this one reviewed and wrapped up.
This'll be an interesting year, and I think at first blush it's a nicely diverse bash. We've got a musical Best Picture winner, an adventure film from John Huston, stage-to-screen adaptations...and the it's filled with some performers I've become fond of (Fredric March, Katharine Hepburn, Kirk Douglas, Gene Kelly) - but I think it's obvious that the elephants in the room are A Place in the Sun and A Streetcar Named Desire.
Who will take Best Actor? Could it be Marlon Brando in his Oscar debut, or will Montgomery Clift take his second win? Might Arthur Kennedy put up a fight (after all, he did take NYFCC)? How does Bogie's win match up to his great 1940s output? How does March fare in a famed stage role?
On the Best Actress front - less of an exciting race and not nearly as packed as the year prior. I think it's safe to say that, sight unseen, Vivien Leigh will fare quite well. It's more of a question of whether my opinion of Jane Wyman has changed in the years since I first watched The Blue Veil, whether Katharine Hepburn holds her own, and how Eleanor Parker and Shelley Winters navigate amidst it all.
Regardless - I'm looking forward to it! Who are YOUR favorites and who do you think I'll go for?
I think you’ll pick Clift and Leigh. And I think you’ll like Parker much less than in Caged.
ReplyDeleteWe shall see!
DeleteDetective Story does seem more like a Douglas-driven flick.
As usual, my favorites for this year will more than likely differ from the usual suspects. It's not that I'm an against-er by any means. It's just how the chips fall for me, but isn't any discussion more interesting with differing views? I will say, having experienced both the Method and Williams' work at length in New York training years ago, I'm not an unqualified fan of either, so there's definitely that. We shall see.
ReplyDeleteI'm significantly handicapped here because I've only seen Streetcar, Queen and Place In The Sun, but I'm very eager to read. :) Onward we go.
ReplyDeleteThose would be the ones I'm most excited for!
DeleteP.S.
ReplyDeleteAllen, you didn't comment availability at that entry, but I assure you are not the only soul made to suffer by Photobucket. I've been a paid-in member since October 2004, I have over 138,000 uploaded photos there, and now rather at their mercy.
In 2012 or 13 the service changed owners, and the pinch-penny new ones shaved a lot of useful features it used to have. eBay sellers reliant on Photobucket were near-apoplectic at the time. Once, I would have recommended them to anyone. Not so much now. - Dave
Sigh, I'm very, very slowly restoring the photos year by year. Talk about a nuisance!
Deletethink Vivien Leigh's a no-brainer pick here - one of my favourite winners in this category and one of the greatest performances ever put on film.
ReplyDeleteBrando is terrific but I have to admit I like him a little less than most people do. Clift is amazing too.
I can't wait for Streetcar and A Place in the Sun!
DeleteAh, just for the fun of it :)
ReplyDeleteBogart: 3 stars
Brando: 5 stars
Clift: 5 stars
Kenndy: 3 stars
March: 4 stars
Winner: Clift
Hepburn: 4 stars
Leigh: 5 stars
Parker: 3 stars
Winters: 3 stars
Wyman: 3 stars
Winner: Leigh
I've read that Brando's long wait for a true win had something to do with his deliberate stance not to court any of Hollywood's influential figures. When you defiantly and openly refer to Louella Parsons as "the fat one," and Hopper as "the one with the hats," it's not likely to do you favors when it's time to mark ballots.
ReplyDeleteA STREETCAR NA_ED DESIRE
ReplyDelete...Is there a K?
I'm 99% sure you'll pick Leigh for Best Actress. I'm more excited though on how would Winters and Parker fare with you, both touted as supporting (in Leading Actress category).
ReplyDeleteBrando vs. Clift for Best Actor. Love them both.
Parker and Winters should have been Supporting ... but I think both still stand out and play major roles in their films.
DeleteOh great, supporting-esque performances in the lead category are always such a waste of space, in my opinion :) Give me as much screentime as possible!
DeleteI can't wait till you review Clift's performance. Clift is my favorite actor. I hate that he has faded from memory as time passes. I love Brandi, but there's something about Cliff as an actor that deeply resonates. He brings a different spectrum of masculinity to the fore: sensitive,tender, and vulnerable. Though Brando was naturalistic in his acting, he still presented the same image of masculinity but in a different style.I hate that Cliff never really had an iconic role. It's down right disgrace that James Dean, with all his twitchiness,is more recognizable than Clift. If only Clift had a godfather like role--a role and performance that is so iconic that you don't even have to have watched the respective film to know it. I will always worship at the altar of Clift. He was an intelligent actor who might not have been commanding but he was connecting.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to review him as well! :) Welcome to the site, David!
Delete