I've actually seen a couple of these and the ones I haven't (Burns, Meredith, Warden) are all ones from veteran actors the latter two who have been nominated after this. That's a confusing sentence but you understand I mean they were nominated after this year which is the past for me and the future for them. Anyway, enough confusing talk, let's see what they have to offer.
1975 Best Supporting Actor
George Burns - The Sunshine Boys
My big worry was twofold for this performance: would Burns be funny and would he be able to act? The answer is a resounding yes. This film is absolutely flipping hilarious. Burns is more understated in his humor but still laugh out loud funny. Walter Matthau is more the physical comedy and a joke every few seconds type. The two work very well together and what I like is that Burns isn't just funny. It can be an easy thing to just tell some jokes, but to also bring some warmth and humanity to a character takes some real acting chops. The thing you'll read most about this performance is that this was Burns' comeback. He hadn't been in a film since the 30s and there were a bunch of other choices to play his character before he was chosen. Yet despite all that he comes in at 79 years old and still is sharp as a tack and funny as hell. This would launch his career again which is beyond impressive because he was over 80 by that time and enjoyed great success for a few years. Burns was one half a vaudeville duo, with Matthau being the other half. Burns is the more realistic of the two and while the two have had their issues, most of it seems to be from Matthau's end. Burns is fine with reconciling and is the more professional of the two. The two are a hoot when they finally get together again and get at each others' nerves. Burns is more than just making jokes because he comes to check on his friend after he has a heart attack and agrees to do the comedy special from the start after not seeing each other for years. But it's the way that Burns portrays that emotion and that realization of maybe losing a friend and also that hope to rekindle a long lost relationship and partnership. I think that Burns does a good job in not just being a one note actor telling jokes, but actually doing some real acting. Obviously, Burns' return after like 30 some years probably helped him win the Oscar, but it looks like he legitimately earned it. I'll have to see how the other nominees play out but Burns is your leader in the clubhouse after two nominations reviewed.
Brad Dourif - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
There is a lot to like about Dourif in this film as he gets the sole nomination for a cast of supporting actors that is downright fantastic. Dourif plays a shy, stuttering young man who seems to be the most likable and relatable character of the whole group. He seems like the one that could be redeemed and leave at anytime if he just got some confidence. And he does get that confidence when Nicholson has two girls sneak into the ward and everyone parties and gets drunk and he kinda forces Dourif to sleep with one of the girls. This turns him into more of a man and he feels really good about himself and even stands up to Nurse Ratched at first before she absolutely tears him down again and goes straight for his weakness using his mother against him. His final scene is heartbreaking because you know he's a good kid and doesn't deserve anything that's going on with him and he just needs a chance to live. Billy obviously idolized McMurphy and needed a presence like him to push himself in the right direction. Of course, he also needed to not be in the insane asylum because he clearly wasn't insane even if he did have some emotional problems. But Dourif played Billy in such a sensitive yet earnest way that you definitely like the character and are crushed at his ending. He does get the stuttering part down perfectly, I thought, and his meek demeanor seems so realistic. He reminds a ton of Scoot McNairy and maybe that's why I like him even more as a character and in the performance. I can easily see why the voters latched onto him but I have to say that I felt like Chief (William Sampson) was a better option. But I'm certainly not disappointed that Dourif got the nomination because his performance is strong and his characterization is almost perfect for the role.
Burgess Meredith - The Day of the Locust
Really strange ending to a film I thought was going to be fun to watch. It's a film that is about Hollywood in the 1930s and we follow a couple people who are looking to make it big and their lives intertwine. The film is based off a Nathanael West book from 1939 that seems like it's probably more interesting to read than this film is to watch. I was really letdown that this came off as weird as it did and not in a good way. Meredith is the father of a young woman in this apartment complex and he used to be a vaudevillian and now tries to sell some solvent door to door. We see him as this highly enrgized goof who uses his old acting style to try and sell his product yet continuously fails. Eventually he suffers some ailment at a clinet's house and then from there he's laid up in bed and ill most of the time. He even goes to a spiritual revival event to be healed but it only helps him feel better. I don't know what Meredith's arc was honestly. I guess he's just there as a nother weird, crazy character among many. Meredith is lively as the salesman which was way different than seeing him as Rocky's gruff trainer. He was nimble and making terrible comments left and right and the opposite of his other nominated role. So in that way, the performance is interesting because you see a different side of Meredith you probably didn't know existed. But it's still not all that good. He does his thing for a short while in the film and then dies and that's it. I was really hoping it would be a lot better and that Meredith would show himself as some thespian but he just becomes a kind of unlikable character in the film. He has one little down to earth type of scene where he talks about his past but it feels shoehorned in and doesn't exactly change how you view Meredith. I dunno, just a totally weird film that isn't helped by Meredith and vice versa.
Chris Sarandon - Dog Day Afternoon
No, he's not related to Susan, I checked. This was Sarandon's film debut and what a film to debut in, huh? The film is a modern classic, though when do we drop the modern and just call it a classic? Anyway, Sarandon has probably the most important and pivotal role in the film and only has two extended scenes in which to portray that importance. Sarandon plays the gay lover of Pacino, who is robbing the bank to get money for Sarandon to have a sex change operation. The two have a very tumultuous relationship that you can gather from their two scenes "together." The first is when they bring Sarandon to the bank and he collapses and they take him across the street. There, the film almost pauses as we focus on him in a chair telling the police about the relationship he has with Pacino. It's intensely compelling which is why I say the film sort of pauses in that moment. You have the frenetic, wired energy of Pacino driving all the other scenes and Sarandon comes in and slows it down with a really great scene. He portrays his character as a human and it's not too flamboyantly gay or anything to laugh at. In fact, when a policeman in the background does laugh at him, the Detective glares at him as if he's speaking for the audience in shutting that cop up. That scene is really strong but the better scene is his second one where he and Pacino talk on the phone. A lot of the film was improvised and the director, Sidney Lumet, wanted to capture that rawness and spontaneity and the phone scene achieves that. It's a really intimate moment between two lovers that speaks to their chaotic love and also what each are like as people on the inside. Sarandon doesn't fit in and has been hospitalized for trying to kill himself due to Pacino's abuse and Pacino is seen as this torn man whose love gets the best of him at times. Sarandon goes toe to toe with Pacino in this moment and holds his own and is just a really strong part of the film. If he falters at all, then the impact of Pacino doing this all for Sarandon would completely kill the film. But in his two scenes, you can see the impact Sarandon has on not only the film, but on Pacino as a character. I'm a little surprised the Academy went for this but it is the more showy of the other supporting roles without ever being over the top or silly. Strong work by Sarandon.
Jack Warden - Shampoo
Before I get into Warden's performance, I want to take a minute to talk about Hal Ashby. It seems for the last couple years, every time I look at who the director is for a film, it's Hal Ashby! Being There, Coming Home, Bound for Glory, Shampoo, The Last Detail, and a couple other films nominated and some that he edited. That's right, he started out as an Oscar winning editor before getting into directing! I'm just super impressed that he had such a solid Oscar run like that. Anyway, I like Jack Warden. I never knew he was nominated by the Academy so much before this project but it makes sense to me. I guess he wasn't exactly nominated so much. I was thinking three nominations but turns out it was only the two nominations, both of which come in Warren Beatty films. I'd say that this nomination is better than his second one for Heaven Can Wait, though both are pretty similar. In this, he plays a business man, maybe political guy (honestly don't know what he did but he had money) who is married to Lee Grant's character but is having an affair with Julie Christie's character and Beatty is banging all of them. Well, he's not banging Warden but you get my drift. Warden is just this red faced, gentle, lovable goof. He's almost like a fatherly figure even though he's cheating on his wife and when he finds out Beatty is doing both his women, wants to have him beat up. He just kinda goes along with the plot and you like him as an actor, same as in his other nomination. Though in this one, he does have some funny moments when the gang all go to some hippy party and he really starts to enjoy himself with the guests. Like I said, he's a big, lovable goof and you can't really hate him. Which is interesting because he was very serious in All the President's Men, which just goes to show his range. Not a winning performance but one that you'll surely like.
As per the usual, not a bad group at all. Even though I wasn't really a fan of Meredith in this (I'm thinking I might not be a fan of his in general, any films that you'd suggest I see?) he's not terrible or anything. There are some bloggers who voted him as their top pick for this year. I don't know what they saw exactly, but the performance has its fans. Warden is his typical self. Interesting that both of his nominations come from comedic Warren Beatty films. He's fine, not as good as his role in All the President's Men but still decent. Next would be Dourif, who is very good! Just not the best supporting player from his film. I did really enjoy the performance, though. Now this is where it gets tough. I think Burns is enjoyable even if it was more serious than I thought it was going to be. That shows his range even at that age. But man, did I really enjoy Sarandon. I never paid full attention to him in past viewings, I guess, but he is part of two pivotal scenes in the film and just amazing to watch in action. So he's my winner over Burns. Not a bad year, could have been better.
Oscar Winner: George Burns - The Sunshine Boys
My Winner: Chris Sarandon - Dog Day Afternoon
George Burns
Brad Dourif
Jack Warden
Burgess Meredith
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