Supporting Actor 1967

Some huge films and some great actors in this group. This is my favorite category and it always seems to come through for me. I fully expect that this one will do the same.

1967 Best Supporting Actor

George Kennedy - Cool Hand Luke

This is one of my favorite films of all time and it makes me happy that Kennedy won an Oscar for playing Dragline. His character is the unofficial leader of the prison inmates and he sort of sets the rules and influences everyone. He's a giant Southern man who is illiterate but ultimately deep down is a good person. I don't think we ever learn what he actually did to end up in the prison. We initially see him as this hulking, domineering bully who runs the show and comes up against Paul Newman's character. That conflict is solved early in a boxing match that shows Newman getting his ass kicked but doesn't stay down and keeps coming no matter what. That earns the respect of Kennedy and the other prisoners and from there we start to see Kennedy look up to Newman. Luke doesn't like authority and is just there passing time and does whatever he wants, so Dragline respects that and gives everyone else someone to live vicariously through almost. There's joy in cheering Luke on with his egg eating challenge or his escape attempts or his standing up to authority and real respect and tenderness when Luke's mom dies. These are mend that needed something or someone to rally around in their harsh existence and Luke offers that salvation for a bit. We see that Dragline is not just a big tough guy, but a guy who just needs someone to believe in to make him into a softer person. One criticism I saw said there was a lot of overacting by Kennedy, but I don't feel that's true. I feel everything is done well as Dragline is a bit over the top by design and comes off a bit goofy in his adoration for Luke. I think Kennedy does a great job in portraying this man who has a few more layers than we initially see. I feel this is a really strong supporting performance that makes the film and Newman's performance much better and that's all I can ask for out of a supporting actor.

John Cassavetes - The Dirty Dozen

I feel like if you're a dude, you've seen this film before. It's like some machismo right of passage, but that hides the fact that it's a well done, entertaining, pretty great film in its own right. Cassavetes is the lone representative for the film that did win one Oscar for Sound Effects. But it's got a smorgasbord of talented male actors from Cassavetes to Lee Marvin who probably would have been nominated in Lead in a weaker year. To Charles Bronso, Telly Savalas, NFL legend Jim Brown, Oscar nominee Richard Jaeckel, Donald Sutherland, Ernest Borgnine, and Oscar winner this year George Kennedy. Kind of crazy that Cassavetes made it out of that group as the nominee. But Cassavetes plays the prisoner that first makes an impression by challenging authority and constantly does so throughout the film. He stands out as the trouble maker and it's why we remember him. That's essentially what this role is and why it stands out on its own. He has moments of redemption and then he is killed in the end so that we don't really get that successful, fulfilling arc. Cassavetes is good in the role but is more representative of the film than what he is as an actor and he readily admitted that. Dude was an Oscar nominated screenwriter and director along with being an actor so he knows what he's talking about. A film that is a classic and is very much worth watching for the ensemble of the 60s.

Gene Hackman - Bonnie and Clyde

This was Gene Hackman's first Oscar nomination and thus my last time reviewing his work. I was thinking about how I've never seen Hackman give a bad performance and I think you'd be hard pressed to find one. I read that he was motivated by people in his acting classes saying he would amount to nothing and then he goes off to become one of the best actors ever with two Oscar wins. How's that for nothing? This was Hackman's first big film role and if you told me this was him at the start of his career, well I'd ask just how could his classmates and instructors say he would be a failure? Because this is a very good introduction to the acting of Hackman. He's got so much life and energy and honest, raw emotion that you just recognize it as another great performance from the man. He plays Buck Barrow, Clyde's older brother. He's been in prison and has a meek wife and seems thrilled to meet up with his brother who is on the run and join his gang. The energy Hackman brings is necessary because Beatty adds something different as do the other actors in this. I'd say that Hackman stands out even with Beatty being pretty great and Faye Dunaway being solid, too. Buck keeps Clyde in check and is just having a great time being together as a family. It's really great supporting work and it feels more authentic than anything else in the film. Definitely my favorite performance in this star studded film and what a great introduction to one of the best to ever do it.

Cecil Kellaway - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

The only thing I can say for this nomination is two things: this might just be a veteran nomination and I'm pretty sure he just rode the wave of love for the film. I assume the veteran thing came into play because Kellaway doesn't have much to do in this film. The performance is paper thin. He plays a Monsignor who comes to the house where everyone is because Spencer Tracy was supposed to golf with him earlier. He comes to see what's up and then is dropped into the middle of a crisis. But still he doesn't really do much. He talks with his friend, Tracy, who he takes advice from and makes some jokes but besides that he is a background character. I laughed at one point in the film as all of the main characters are talking about the marriage in various places alone with each other and we see a shot of the Monsignor chilling on the couch waiting for everyone to stop huddling and come out and drink with him. It was hilariously unintended but describes the performance. It has some warmth to it because he doesn't care about the wedding and doesn't react in a shocked way, but this isn't Supporting Actor material.

Michael J. Pollard - Bonnie and Clyde

It's interesting that Pollard also got nominated alongside Hackman because comparing the two is like comparing an apple with a bridge - there is no comparison. Now some of that is due to what kind of character Pollard has to portray. He plays C.W. Moss, who gets picked up by Bonnie and Clyde to drive them to and from their bank robberies. He is a rather slow in the head gas station attendant who is easily swayed by the two charismatic leads and hops in with them to prove he ain't scared of them or robbing banks. He's a gentle soul and Pollard portrays that innocence and mild mannered warmth to a great degree. But Moss doesn't need to be played any differently or the character would be lost in the film. Pollard balances out the alpha male dynamics of Hackman and Beatty well and gives the audience a connection to this gang of bank robbers. No real stand out Oscar moment, the character just exists in the film which makes it sound like Pollard does nothing but it's just a quiet performance. I don't know if I would have nominated it, but here he is. Being the least memorable performance in this film isn't too shabby when you have some real heavyweights taking up the screen time. I wished that maybe Moss would push back against his father when he decides to turn in Bonnie and Clyde, but it's fitting that the character is just a pushover who does what he's told and nothing else. Kind of a sad realization and portrayal but can't be upset at a performance that does it's job for the film.


This is a pretty good group of actors, if a bit top heavy. Kellaway has no business being nominated as he simply came along with the love his film had. I would much rather see someone else in his spot who contributed to a film in a meaningful way. Pollard I think also comes along with the film and if he was replace, I'd be cool with that. He just doesn't get a lot to do with that star studded group. Not much his fault but I'd still rather have something that stands out instead. Cassavetes is representing his huge cast and probably is one of the more noticeable actors in it and that's why he gets in. Hackman is probably the best actor in that film, at least on par with Dunaway and watching him is a treat. If it had won and Kennedy wasn't nominated, I'd be fine with that. But Kennedy deserved the win to me and not because I love the film but because it brought so much to the film. I love when performances do that in a supporting role. A decent enough group and no stinkers, just some that don't have much to do. Looking forward to 1966 now.

Oscar Winner: George Kennedy - Cool Hand Luke
My Winner:  George Kennedy - Cool Hand Luke
Gene Hackman
John Cassavetes
Michael J. Pollard
Cecil Kellaway