Shirley Booth, Come Back, Little Sheba

Won: Academy Award - Best Actress • New York Film Critics Circle - Best Actress
Golden Globe Award - Best Actress in a Drama • Cannes Film Festival - Best Actress

1952's slate of Best Actress contenders has gained a bad rap. I had read insinuations that the year is particularly poor on the actressing front, and yet, based on what I've seen so far, I'd conclude that it's largely an imperfect lineup with performances and films that hit a murky gray: be that Susan Hayward's questionably saintlike performance in a run-of-the-mill biopic, Joan Crawford's emoting in a sensationalized B-movie, Bette Davis' wild hysterics in a Sunset-Boulevard-on-bath-salts camp picture, or Julie Harris' pubescent hysterics in a stagey stage-to-film adaptation, this is not a field of contenders that strikes wide-range appeal to the modern masses. That being said, I don't think either are awful, though they do challenge you to conclude otherwise.

This also rings true for Shirley Booth, the victor of this pack: she and her performance in Come Back, Little Sheba are easily more forgotten and receive significantly less share of voice than the likes of fellow winners Judy Holliday, Vivien Leigh, Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly. This is in spite of the fact that Booth was a juggernaut during her respective year, picking up nearly every major Best Actress prize available (it should be noted that no other actor that decade, male or female, received prizes from Cannes, the National Board of Review, the New York Film Critics Circle, the Globes and the Academy for a sole performance).

Ralph Richardson, The Sound Barrier

Won: New York Film Critics Circle - Best Actor | National Board of Review - Best Actor

Chuck Yeager may have been the first man to exceed the speed of sound in level flight, but if the Brits behind The Sound Barrier had their way, that'd have been an achievement accomplished by a British pilot who had in turn been egged on by an aircraft-obsessed oil magnate.

Vivien Leigh, A Streetcar Named Desire

Won: Academy Award - Best Actress | New York Film Critics Circle - Best Actress | Venice Film Festival - Volpi Cup, Best Actress

Many actresses have that one powerhouse performance which goes on to define their filmographies. Some produce multiple, truly great performances. Where Vivien Leigh's legacy stands out is through two pieces of performance art which are not only "great," but widely considered as monumental, iconic acting achievements that belong in the upper echelon of Oscar's Best Actress category. No other actress holds this distinction.

With that being said, there's a question I've grappled with: is Leigh the definitive Blanche DuBois?

Arthur Kennedy, Bright Victory

Won: New York Film Critics Circle - Best Actor

Take a look at Arthur Kennedy's career from 1949 through the 1950s - a Tony Award for Best Supporting Actor, five(!!) Academy Award nominations, and inaugural stage performances in The Crucible and The Price, among other things - and you'd think he'd have been set to become a much more regarded actor in the collective memory than he is today. That said: in reviewing his sole Oscar nomination in the lead acting category (a performance which also won him the Best Actor prize via the New York Film Critics), I was expecting a sort of dynamism that might complement these impressive highlights in his resume. Alas...

Bette Davis, All About Eve

as Margo Channing

Won: New York Film Critics Circle - Best Actress • Cannes Film Festival - Best Actress

At long last, we’ve come to Bette Davis. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this performance and have attempted this write-up 3+ times, only to give up and shelve it away for a later time.

Why? Because this is a performance that has been praised to the high heavens, and yet…it’s played in quite a straightforward manner. It's executed in such a way that is potent but far from what one might deem as “mind blowing” or “revelatory.” Unlike the likes of Gloria Swanson and Judy Holliday, Davis isn’t projecting a character with eyesore and ear sore idiosyncrasies. She is playing Margo Channing forthright. Simply put, Davis does not transform into “Margo Channing” - she instead takes the character and shape-shifts it to fit a “Bette Davis” mold. The beauty of it all is that the character is a perfect fit to the actress - Davis may very well be playing herself, but this is an instance in which both character and actress persona fuse together seamlessly.

Olivia de Havilland, The Heiress

as CATHERINE SLOPER

WON: Academy Award - Best Actress | New York Film Critics Circle - Best Actress | Golden Globe - Best Actress

And so, after a strenuous two year journey perusing through Oscar's finest of the 1940's, we end the road with William Wyler's The Heiress. I saved this one for last for obvious reasons: film quality notwithstanding, Olivia de Havilland's work in the film is often regarded as the sole saving grace for an embarrassingly desolate slate of Best Actress options in 1949. I was worried that she might not live up to the praise seemingly everyone gives her, and perhaps this might have rang a tiny bit true, but the fact is: The Heiress is a superb film, and its lead actress delivers a superb performance.

Broderick Crawford, All the King's Men

as WILLIE STARK

Won: Academy Award - Best Actor | New York Film Critics Circle - Best Actor (1949) | Golden Globe - Best Actor

I was surprised to find that All the King’s Men features two lead characters. The intertwined storylines between Jack Burden and Willie Stark make the picture a less fluid and less compelling viewing experience than it could have been had the film primarily keyed in on the Stark character, but it’s obvious how Broderick Crawford reigned in everyone’s attention here. His is a compelling albeit slightly unvaried performance.

Gregory Peck, Twelve O'Clock High

as GENERAL FRANK SAVAGE

Won: New York Film Critics Circle - Best Actor (1950)

I’ve had a cool reception of Peck throughout his prior three nominated performances, mainly because his characters have been that of “noble” men who’re more receptive to the things that happen to them as opposed to being characters that have any distinguishable traits or flaws to actually develop around (For what it’s worth, the closest I was to being impressed by him was via his non-nominated work in Spellbound, and for less obvious reasons, Dual in the Sun). And so it’s interesting (and somewhat refreshing) that Peck should end his 40’s run playing fairly against type, continuing on with 1949’s archetype of the ‘tough guy’ in Twelve O’Clock High.

Olivia de Havilland, The Snake Pit*

as VIRGINIA CUNNINGHAM

Won: New York Film Critics Circle - Best Actress | National Board of Review - Best Actress | Volpi Cup for Best Actress

Having built the foundation to her career playing saints in the likes of Gone with the Wind and Hold Back the Dawn, it's shocking to see Olivia de Havilland so completely, flagrantly flawed in The Snake Pit. And while she took a quick detour from this image as a semi-flawed yet redemptive woman in To Each His Own, there's little atonement to be had for Virginia Cunningham. de Havilland goes absolutely go-for-broke with in this film, and the resulting performance is polarizing in a most literal sense. 

Laurence Olivier, Hamlet

as HAMLET, PRINCE OF DENMARK

Won: Academy Award - Best Actor | New York Film Critics Circle - Best Actor | Golden Globe Award - Best Actor

It's Laurence Olivier's most famous Shakespearian performance! I had my doubts going into Hamlet, primarily because I've been fairly underwhelmed by his method of acting in his first three nominated performances. But those roles - Heathcliff, Max de Winter, Henry V - those are different, more stoic men to Hamlet. So it was nice to see from the get-go an instant change of tone in Olivier, who appears as a more tender, vulnerable individual than I am used to.

Deborah Kerr, Black Narcissus

as SISTER CLODAGH

Won: New York Film Critics Circle - Best Actress

I can’t quite but my finger on it, but I thought Deborah Kerr was so magnetic in Black Narcissus. Perhaps it’s due to the film’s monochromatic use of colors towards her Sister Clodagh and her fellow nuns, the whites and greys of her face contrasting against an otherwise vibrantly colored film, creating a striking radiance on her. Perhaps it’s her tightly coiled intensity, which bubbles slowly inside of her as the film progresses. 

William Powell, Life with Father

as CLARENCE DAY

Won: New York Film Critics Circle - Best Actor

What made William Powell an interesting presence in The Thin Man was that in spite of the fact that he wasn't necessarily doing much in the film, he still bolstered his performance with an inane charm, which in turn made him likably watchable. That is what's severely lacking from Life with Father and the character of Clarence Day, and that's what makes it such a task to finish up the film.

Celia Johnson, Brief Encounter

as LAURA JESSON

Won: New York Film Critics Circle - Best Actress

"I love your wide eyes," says Trevor Howard's Alec to Celia Johnson's Laura. It's a statement that sounds like a cute little affectionate regard, but it speaks to Johnson's entire performance as a whole. Those wide eyes of hers probably made as big of an impression on me since Bette Davis in Of Human Bondage. Both two ladies use their eyes as cinematic weapons. But whereas Davis used hers as an more of a vengeful tool to bait and defend, Johnson uses hers to completely pierce into the viewer's hearts.

Laurence Olivier, Henry V

as HENRY V, KING OF ENGLAND

Won: New York Film Critics Circle - Best Actor | Special Academy Award - Actor, Producer, Director

After having watched Laurence Olivier play the role of the heartthrob in films like Wuthering Heights, Rebecca, and Pride & Prejudice to somewhat mixed reviews, I was excited to see him graduate to the next phase of his career, that of the Shakespearean Olivier, the Olivier that most everyone thinks him to be. Or, rather more simply put, the actor Olivier.

Ray Milland, The Lost Weekend

as DON BIRNAM

Won: Academy Award - Best Actor | New York Film Critics Circle - Best Actor
Cannes Film Festival - Best Actor | Golden Globe Award - Best Actor

Ray Milland's performance in The Lost Weekend swept just about any and all the Best Actor prizes that were available to be won back in 1945. It's the type of performance that has been heralded for its greatness to this day, and it's also the kind of performance that completely lives up to the hype.

Ingrid Bergman, The Bells of St. Mary's

as SISTER MARY BENEDICT

Won: New York Film Critics Circle - Best Actress | Golden Globe - Best Actress

Fresh off her Best Actress win, Ingrid Bergman came roaring back in a big way in 1945. With The Bells of St. Mary's being the highest grossing flick of the year, not to mention Spellbound and Saratoga Trunk being the second and seventh highest grossing flicks of the year, her star power was, without a doubt, at supernova levels. Today Mildred Pierce has carried on a more reputable legacy, but Bergman came pretty close to having her own Luise Rainer/Spencer Tracy moment, having picked up Best Actress prizes at the still infantile Golden Globes and the NYFCC. I for one am glad they didn't reward Bergman; not because of the content to which I am averse; rather, in my opinion it's just not a very "winning" role.

Tallulah Bankhead, Lifeboat

as CONSTANCE "CONNIE" PORTER

Won: New York Film Critics Circle - Best Actress

It is said that Alfred Hitchcock wanted the “most oblique, incongruous person imaginable” for the role of the glamourous, high-society journalist Connie Porter in Lifeboat. And to say that Tallulah Bankhead fits that criteria perfectly is an understatement. She is wholly fascinating specimen, carrying with her an alien presence that’s ripe with a sexuality and exoticism not so fitting for the Hayes Code-era. 

Barry Fitzgerald, Going My Way

as FATHER FITZGIBBON

Won: Academy Award - Best Supporting Actor | New York Film Critics Circle - Best Actor

The Role: as the traditional elder pastor of a church which is facing financial issues, Barry Fitzgerald has the unique honor of being the only actor ever to have been nominated for the same role in the same year in two different categories. It's the first high-profile case of flagrant category confusion; mix that with Fitzgerald's Best Actor win at New York and it's really fascinating to see that a performance like this got so much support from people. I say "performance like this" because it's sort of...an inconsequential one, adorable to an extent but one without much weight.

Ida Lupino, The Hard Way

as HELEN CHERNEN

Won: New York Film Critics Circle - Best Actress

The Role: as a woman from a humble background who deceives and manipulates her way up to the top so that her sister can become a big star, Helen Chernen is a character who's completely in contrast with the ladies that were nominated by Oscar in '43. With an acclaimed scientist, three innocent teenaged girls and an actress in a lighthearted comedy, it wouldn't seem like '43 was the year for Oscar to take to a scheming showbiz woman. What's more, it is alleged that Ida Lupino was not very revered by her studio--so there's irony there in the idea of a difficult actress playing a morally difficult woman. So thank god the critics of New York were smart enough to acknowledge Lupino that year, for she is worth recognizing here to say the least.

Paul Lukas, Watch on the Rhine

as KURT MULLER

Won: Academy Award - Best Actor | New York Film Critics Award - Best Actor | Golden Globe - Best Actor

The Role: As the mysterious transplant from Germany with a troubling and confidential political past, Paul Lukas won every damn Best Actor prize there was to win in 1943 (my count is 4, if you also include the National Board of Review's unorthodox "Best Actors" rewards), signaling to me that this is a bravura type of performance. His is a role that sounds really interesting on paper, so naturally I came into the film pretty interested.