Unseen Oscar Nominated Performances

[Reza]

flipp is right, Erwin is a clear lead; he's also pretty much insufferable. He'd have deserved a nomination two years earlier, for Viva Villa. The only reason to watch Pigskin is for the now-inside joke of little Judy continually insisting she can sing and no one paying attention till the end of the movie -- when she does sing, and knocks 'em dead.

I finally saw Pigskin Parade and while Stuart Erwin is top billed he is not the lead. The film is an ensemble piece with various actors and singers getting to sing and dance including a young Betty Grable. The film's only memorable moments are when Judy Garland appears. She sings three songs. Erwin is her hick brother and I agree he is indeed insufferable. His nomination is a total mystery.

[mlrg]

From the last 20 years I still need to see:

1988
Max Von Sydow Pelle the Conqueror
Alec Guiness Little Dorrit

1989
Isabelle Adjani Camille Claudel


1992
Mary McDonnell Passion Fish


1994
Winona Ryder Little Women

1995
Richard Dreyfuss Mr. Holland´s Opus
Tim Roth Rob Roy
Mare Winningham Georgia

1996
Billy Bob Thornton Sling Blade
James Woods Ghosts of Mississippi
Joan Allen The Crucible
Barbara Hershey The Portrait of a Lady


1998
Meryl Streep One True Thing

1999
Janet MacTeer Tumbleweeds
Meryl Streep Music of the Heart

2000
Javier Bardem Before Night Falls
Geoffrey Rush Quills

2001
Sean Penn I Am Sam

It's been 9 years since you gave this list. How many of these performances have you managed to watch?

Still need to watch the ones above

[Big Magilla]

How and why was Nick Adams nominated for Twilight of Honor? He makes absolutely zero impression in the film.

Who else was under consideration that year? Two I can think of were Burgess Meredith for The Cardinal and Roddy McDowell for Cleopatra. Anyone else?

Nick Adams was a favorite of Hedda Hopper who heavily promoted him for the nomination.

Roddy McDowall was ineligible for a supporting nomination as 20th Century-Fox inadvertently listed the entire cast of Cleopatra as leads in the days when Academy rules deferred to studio recommendations.

Others, in addition to Burgess Meredith, who would have been better choices than Adams and Bobby Darin in Captain Newman, M.D. were Brandon De Wilde in Hud, Tom Bosley in Love with the Proper Stranger and even Walter Brennan in How the West Was Won, who was also heavily promoted at the time.

[Reza]

From the last 20 years I still need to see:

1988
Max Von Sydow Pelle the Conqueror
Alec Guiness Little Dorrit

1989
Isabelle Adjani Camille Claudel
Pauline Collins Shirley Valentine

1990
Bruce Davison Longtime Companion

1992
Mary McDonnell Passion Fish

1993
Leonardo di Caprio What´s Eating Gilbert Grape?

1994
Miranda Richardson Tom & Viv
Winona Ryder Little Women
Rosemary Harris Tom & Viv

1995
Richard Dreyfuss Mr. Holland´s Opus
Brad Pitt Twelve Monkeys
Tim Roth Rob Roy
Mare Winningham Georgia

1996
Billy Bob Thornton Sling Blade
James Woods Ghosts of Mississippi
Joan Allen The Crucible
Barbara Hershey The Portrait of a Lady
Lauren Bacall The Mirror Has Two Faces

1997
Robert Duvall The Apostle
Helena Bonham Carter The Wings of the Dove

1998
Meryl Streep One True Thing

1999
Janet MacTeer Tumbleweeds
Meryl Streep Music of the Heart

2000
Javier Bardem Before Night Falls
Geoffrey Rush Quills

2001
Sean Penn I Am Sam

2004
Annette Bening Being Julia

2005
Charlize Theron North Country
Paul Giamatti Cinderella Man
Frances McDormand North Country

It's been 9 years since you gave this list. How many of these performances have you managed to watch?

[Reza]

How and why was Nick Adams nominated for Twilight of Honor? He makes absolutely zero impression in the film.

Who else was under consideration that year? Two I can think of were Burgess Meredith for The Cardinal and Roddy McDowell for Cleopatra. Anyone else?

[Reza]

So... Did you watch The Tresspasser already?

Yes caught this finally but on youtube some days ago. Swanson is very good and deserved the nod.

[Big Magilla]

Finally caught up with Bright Victory and Arthur Kennedy's Best Actor nominated performance. While the performance is good there is really nothing exceptional for it to warrant a nod.

Was Kennedy, after one previous nod in the supporting category, considered to be a star lead in the making or was his Best Actor nomination here due to the nature of the part - the after effects of WW II and the problems soldiers were going through? After all Brando's debut was in a similar role just a year before and despite good reviews there was no traction for him during the 1950 awards season. And Brando was a huge name by 1950 just by virtue of the stage version of Streetcar which came in 1947.

It was the influence of the New York Film Critics who voted his performance the best of the year over Brando and Clift - Bogie wasn't eligible, The African Queen not having opened in New York until 1952.

Kennedy was considered an actor's actor who had been very popular on stage in the late 40s playing the sons in Arthur Miller's All My Sons and Death of a Salesman but losing both film roles to other actors. The movies liked him, too, going as far back as 1940's City for Conquest in which he played James Cagney' brother. I don't think anyone saw him as a new "star" - at the time of the nominations he had already been seen supporting James Stewart in 1952's Bend of the River and was about to be seen in Rancho Notorious in which he was the main character but was billed below the title with Marlene Dietrich receiving sole over-the-title billing. The nomination was a combination of genuine affection for both the character and the actor for his naturalistic acting style and not a bad choice, but he probably didn't have much of a chance of winning.

He was also one of three actors nominated that year for a Golden Globe. The others were Kirk Douglas in Detective Story and Fredric March in Death of a Salesman. March won.

This was the third similar film of the era behind not only The Men, but 1945's Pride of the Marines with John Garfield as well.

[Heksagon]

So... Did you watch The Tresspasser already?

[Reza]

Finally caught up with Bright Victory and Arthur Kennedy's Best Actor nominated performance. While the performance is good there is really nothing exceptional for it to warrant a nod.

Was Kennedy, after one previous nod in the supporting category, considered to be a star lead in the making or was his Best Actor nomination here due to the nature of the part - the after effects of WW II and the problems soldiers were going through? After all Brando's debut was in a similar role just a year before and despite good reviews there was no traction for him during the 1950 awards season. And Brando was a huge name by 1950 just by virtue of the stage version of Streetcar which came in 1947.

[Reza]

Still haven't gotten round to watching my video copy of The Tresspasser but did manage to see Sweeney Todd.

[Reza]

Finally received video copies of The Trespasser (1929)and The Blue Veil (1951). Shall be watching them both this weekend.



Edited By Big Magilla on 1273215500

[Big Magilla]

Be careful what you order from Play.com or anywhere for that matter - I did a search on their website for The Emigrants and found no Region 2 copy available but Region 1 imports are available through their partnership with e-bay companies Movie Mars and others. I looked a little closer and found the film they brought up was not The Emigrants, but The Emigrant, an Egyptian film which is indeed available in Region 1. I did a search on Liv Ullmann and found that The Emigrants is not available from them.

I did a search on Amazon,com for The Emigrants and found the Danish version (no English subtitles) available at prices between $60-125.

[Cinemanolis]

In the past months, i've been doing the same thing, i am trying to watch hard-to-find nominated films from the 70s and 80s. So i am happy to say that with most of the films on your list i can help.

There is an online store called www.play.com. I've been using it for many years now, and never had any problems. I get the DVDs in 7-10 days. The great thing about this site is that it has reasonable prices and the most important is that there are no shipping costs, so you pay the price you see listed for each product. It also has a U.S. branch that offers Region 1 DVDs as well, that are also without shipping costs. I did a quick check and found that the following DVDs are availiable there, and you can find a few bargains as many of them cost around 6 Euros.

Availiable from play.com

The Great White Hope
Lovers and Others Strangers
The Go-Between
Carnal Knowledge
The Hospital
Hester Street
Cousin Cousine
Una Giornata Particolare – A Special Day
Same Time, Next Year
Starting Over
Claudine
Cross Creek
Georgia
Trip to Bountiful
Anna
Street Smart
Longtime Companion
Tom & Viv
Ghosts of Mississippi
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
Pasqualino Settebellezze – Seven Beauties

Are availiable in Greek VHS and could possibly be found in other EU countries
I Never Sang for my Father
Who is Harry Kellerman?
Tribute
Only When I Laugh

Not easily found in Europe
Sounder
The Emigrants
Pete 'n' Tillie
The Heartbreak Kid
Give'm Hell, Harry!
Melvin and Howard
Gaby
Comes a Horseman
Chapter Two
Once is not Enough
Resurrection

I have them as VHS NTSC
Reuben, Reuben
Diary of a Mad Housewife
The Landlord
Summer Whishes, Winter Dreams
Hedda

Also if you are into donwloading movies online, many of these are also availiable there. I realise that is not the best way to watch a movie, but in some cases it's the only way, especially for us who live outside the U.S.

[mlrg]

I'm not familiar with Pasqualino Settebellezze or Una Giornata Particolare, but Diary of a Mad Housewife, Once Is Not Enough, Pete 'n' Tillie and The Emigrants are the only other films from your list that I haven't found available for purchase anywhere. I don't know about rentals.

I found a copy of The Emigrants, but it's in danish without any subtitles....

[Big Magilla]

I made DVD copies of all my old VHS tapes and laser discs but none of them play on my current equipment. Neither does anything I copied from TV so I've given up making copies.

However, you can still obtain copies of most Oscar nominated films if you look hard enough. Ironically, many of these films are more available in Region 2 than in Region 1.

I'm not familiar with Pasqualino Settebellezze or Una Giornata Particolare, but Diary of a Mad Housewife, Once Is Not Enough, Pete 'n' Tillie and The Emigrants are the only other films from your list that I haven't found available for purchase anywhere. I don't know about rentals.