Walter Huston, The Devil and Daniel Webster

as MR. SCRATCH

The Devil and Daniel Webster is such a stimulatingly eccentric picture. This coupled with the fact that it managed to snag Walter Huston a Best Actor nomination surely has to speak to the industry's immense respect for him. I say this because while it's not a bad performance by any means, Huston's role is noticeably tinier than that of fellow co-stars Edward Arnold and James Craig. To say that his performance should fall into the lead category is a total joke, but at the same time I can't help but cheer on this nomination.

Walter Huston, Dodsworth

as SAM DODSWORTH

Won: New York Film Critics Circle - Best Actor

Dodsworth is an interesting film. With a screenplay originating from the 1934 Broadway play, which itself was adapted from the Sinclair Lewis novel, the feature as a whole always felt more like that of a filmed play rather than a purely cinematic story. I have conflicted feelings towards the film--while my interested was generally piqued while watching Dodsworth, I was never fully engaged or consumed. Some of these conflicted feelings go towards star Walter Huston as well, who had previously originated the role of Dodsworth on stage. There's no trace of that stagey acting in his film adaptation--and while I liked Huston's work in the film, there was still something left to be desired here for me.