Supporting Actress 2023

This race lacked any real suspense on who was going to win because Joy Randolph swept everything and it was never in doubt for her to win. I'm eager to see the performance because from everything I've heard, she steals every scene, so I'm ready for that. The real suspense for this year was who exactly was going to be nominated. Foster sort of slipped into the fifth spot which could have been filled by a whole bunch of other women, so it was neat to watch that play out. I love that we have four first time nominees as I like to see new people rewarded for their work and not see the Academy going to the same well over and over again and that's no slight to Foster. Let's spread the wealth with these nominations!

2023 Best Supporting Actress

 

Da'Vine Joy Randolph - The Holdovers

 

This was the performance that dominated everything up through Oscar night, so I was very excited to see just what exactly swept the awards season. Why did this specific performance and person just run away with the whole thing. Online I was hearing that Joy Randolph really took over the film at parts and had an emotional Oscar moment. So of course I'm expecting this to be great, but I feel like I was let down some. Joy Randolph is fantastic in this role, no doubt. She plays a kitchen manager at a boarding school and has recently lost her son to the Vietnam war. He went to this boarding school, so she is reminded of her loss with a Christmas prayer. We don't fully understand her pain because she stays so guarded but what many would consider her Oscar turn is when she is at a party from a fellow coworker and has a breakdown in the kitchen. I had heard of this moment beforehand and was honestly expecting more from it, but while being heartbreaking, it never felt like one of those Oscar moments that I point out in this blog all the time. She gets drunk and breaks down and cries. It's good acting, but I didn't feel it was a can't miss moment that gets played in those Oscar acting montages. It was brief and subtle and fit the moment, but wasn't something that people would go crazy over. Also, a lot of Joy Randolph's acting felt like a woman side eye-ing everyone else as the story goes along and occasionally pointing out how the main characters are fucked up and it feels like a natural thing for her character. But a lot of her acting was just judging the others in the film. She is delicate but her steadfastness to her family is admirable and to her friends is even more impressive. I think it's a pretty decent performance, but it certainly doesn't wow me. I can only feel that this is a weaker year, having seen only one other performance in this bunch so far. I love the film and Joy Randolph is great in the context of the film, I just have to see if this is my winner after I view them all. I'm loving what she brings to the film, just not what she brings to the category.

Emily Blunt - Oppenheimer

I will be honest and say I didn't expect much from this nomination. For one, this was a Nolan movie, and two, this is about a bunch of nuclear physicists with a ton of famous male actors. Blunt always felt like a throw in, even while watching the film - nothing against her. She probably should have already had a nomination for The Devil Wears Prada, so this is a situation of the nomination is the prize. After watching her performance, I'm still wondering what exactly Blunt did to be nominated. I guess she was sufficiently supporting and she did have I think a drinking issue that was very minimally shown and not really dealt with before being forgotten and being direct and angry toward Cillian later in the film. And I think that was it? I just watched the film and I can't remember anything of significance that she did. I do remember the awful love scene with Florence Pugh. But please tell me what does Blunt do? I do think it's cool that Jim from The Office's wife has an Oscar nom now. Where you at Pam?! And I do like all that Blunt has done and hope that she does some more interesting performances that offer more depth than this one does. Just nothing here worth grabbing on to.

Danielle Brooks - The Color Purple

I had initially started writing something like who even wanted a musical film version of this story shortly into my watching this. I like to write down my thoughts sometimes as I watch a film to better make sense of it after its done. But this musical had a lot of success on Broadway and Brooks was nominated for a Tony Award and the cast won a Grammy for one of their random, obscure, 500 awards they give out. So I understood why they wanted to cash in on that success, but does it denigrate the original work and the substance of that work? Nah, the actual musical parts of the film are not a lot for a two and a half hour film. But yes, this is about Brooks who plays the Sofia character that Oprah played in the 1985 film and the role she was nominated for the Tony Award on stage. The film does do the dramatics of the story well, but to a way lesser degree than the Spielberg film, which makes sense. Brooks is a firebrand character who comes into the film like a wrecking ball (Miley Cyrus would be proud) and instantly sets the tone of what Brooks is going to bring to the film. Easy to see why she was nominated out of all the choices the film could have had. And again, it makes sense because Brooks is the one who lived this role for a bit while earning a Tony nod. She's very comfortable in the role, knows who Sofia is and ain't afraid to make her character spring to life. She is a much needed spark in a film that can get a bit moribund at times with the whole domestic violence, women ain't shit, poor black women are even lower thing, etc. Brooks shows us that is not the case. A strong, sassy, somewhat independent woman is a very real and very likeable thing. It obviously makes her character arc more heartbreaking when she is beaten down and defeated and we feel that as the viewer. It's great that there is a happy ending, though we don't really see it for Sofia other than she overcomes her resignation. It's a good performance. Fantasia Barrino was really great as Celie, but she was never getting nominated in Best Actress. It has some catchy songs, though the film itself isn't amazing and certainly not on par with Spielberg. But Brooks satisfies and feels like a worthy nominee here.

America Ferrera - Barbie

 

I love this nomination! I loved Ferrera in Superstore, so seeing her get an Oscar nom is surreal but also not surprising. She was definitely the heart and soul of that show and has been doing a ton in TV since Ugly Betty. She's an incredibly funny actress who has the chops to pull off any dramatic moment. That is evidenced by her performance here where she gives an iconic monologue about what it means to be a woman. It went viral and there's nothing fake in her delivery. She is the tired and exasperated woman who is done having to be perfect and submissive and strong and dutiful to the household and be a million different versions of herself at the right time to not offend someone. I'm a man and even I feel her desperation in that monologue. It's a double standard that us men just don't really have to navigate. Ferrera is the Barbie doll player that pulls Margot Robbie's Barbie into the real world and she nails her limited use. Her daughter hates her because the daughter is a typical brooding teen and they eventually bond over her being this badass woman who helps Barbie clean up Barbie Land and become her own thing. I am totally cool with people getting nominated based on one particular scene because it has happened so much throughout Oscar history. It has to be earned, though, and Ferrera definitely earns her nomination. That is a monologue that will be forever shown on clip shows and various Oscar highlights as some of the best reasons someone has been nominated. Totally approve of Ferrera being here and it's so cool to see her achieve this level of success.

Jodie Foster - Nyad

 

Foster was never going to win here and I feel like she came along for the ride with Annette Bening as the older Academy voters were showing them some love for maybe the last time? She is already a two time winner, so not much left to prove and this performance was good but certainly not as good as she is capable of. The film was a decent, enjoyable watch about Bening's Nyad, a woman who did marathon swimming challenges all over the world. She had tried to swim from Cuba to Florida in her 20s but failed. Now at 60, she decided she wanted to try again and the film follows her as she makes a few attempts. It's a never give up and good things will happen sort of story and Foster plays Nyad's longtime friend and sort of coach / manager. The two veteran actresses have unbelievable chemistry and you just feel like they are longtime friends (which they might be, I don't know exactly) with how they interact with each other and joke around and tease and call each other out. It's a very realistic friendship portrayal and it's part of the reason anyone is watching this little film anyway. We are watching Foster and Bening do their thing in a film together and rooting them on to succeed in their crazy swim. And that's really it. Foster is solid, she is believable in the role, she hits the right emotions at the right times, she brings a great vibe to the film overall. Not her greatest work, but not the worst thing you'll ever see and it's kinda nice to see her nominated again after so long.

Not the greatest group for what was really a weaker year for nominees, sad to say. I don't understand the Blunt nomination at all. I think she just came along for the ride like so many previous nominees because she did nothing of note and I had trouble remembering what exactly she did after watching the film. I enjoyed Foster, but she was never winning. Just a good supporting role for Benning to work with and enjoy a possible last nomination and getting her flowers. Joy Randolph would be the middle woman and I was really hoping to love her performance, but it simply underwhelmed for something that swept the whole season. Brooks was surprisingly good to me. She had a lot of energy and passion in the role and she carried a mostly boring film. If not for Ferrera having that big, iconic monologue scene, Brooks would have been the choice. I just loved what she brought to the film that became a cultural moment and would have loved to see her win. So she's my choice. Let's get on to 2024, I am so ready for it!

Oscar Winner: Da'Vine Joy Randolph - The Holdovers

My Winner: America Ferrera - Barbie

Danielle Brooks

Da'Vine Joy Randolph

Jodie Foster

Emily Blunt

Supporting Actress 2022

This was a battle of the veteran actresses all awards season long between Curtis and Bassett. And honestly, come Oscar night, I had no idea which name was going to be read out loud. I was cool with Bassett winning because she is such a phenomenal actress and because of her local connection to me. Everyone shaming her for her reaction to Curtis' win is so lame because I know I'd be pissed and looking angry if that was me, so I can't blame her there. Really interested to see the rest of these women as it looks to be a strong category.

2022 Best Supporting Actress

 

Jamie Lee Curtis - Everything Everywhere All at Once

 

I was interested to see what Curtis brought to this film because I remembered reading that this wasn't a very big performance, yet here she is as the winner. Well, I would imagine that Curtis won because she is well known and well liked in Hollywood and is the child of two old Hollywood stars. She may have had a nice speech, but her being a nepo baby is probably why she won the Oscar. The success of EEAAO probably also contributed to it and it's interesting because the success of EEAAO is due in part to Curtis heavily pushing it in Hollywood and hyping up her fellow actors and the directors. The performance is fine. I don't think it's award worthy. This is a career award for her time as a scream queen and putting in a lot of work in the industry, simple as that. She plays an IRS auditor and she is funny and entertaining at times and it's clear she had a lot of fun in the role. I just can't really say much more than that about her performance unfortunately. You aren't going to hate it or anything, but you aren't going to see anything truly great and worth giving an Oscar for. Not the first time this has happened and probably not the last time it will happen. That's the Oscars for you.

Angela Bassett - Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

I really thought that Bassett would end up winning come Oscar night, but EEAAO just had too much momentum and wasn't going to be stopped. I don't think Bassett's reaction was wrong or bad or anything, just a woman reacting in the moment as probably most of us would, let's be honest. Bassett is an incredible actress who has been lauded for her small screen and stage work and of course for her big screen career. This is her second Oscar nomination after she was nominated for playing Tina Turner in What's Love Got to Do with It in 1993. It's fitting that she would become the first person nominated for an acting award for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has seen many Oscar winners and nominees play characters in the franchises. Bassett busts through the gate playing T'Challa's mother, Queen Ramonda. She was great in the first film and many people were wanting her to be nominated for that same role. I think she is even stronger in this second film. She gets an Oscar moment when she exasperatingly yells to the other Wakandan leaders that she has sacrificed everything and lost her family protecting the country. It's one of those iconic scenes that will get replayed over and over when discussing Bassett's career and pivotal moments in the Marvel universe. Bassett has to be raw and fierce and strong as Wakanda has lost its Black Panther and she has lost her son while still ruling the country and keeping the rest of the world at bay. She also has to play the frightened, worried, emotionally exhausted woman and mother at the same time. Her daughter, Shuri, gets taken by the sea people (I don't think they are ever named?) and her fear and worry are so palpable. Bassett gets you to step in her shoes and feel what the Queen would be feeling and that's what makes her performance so good. She's tough and vulnerable and Bassett balances all of that extremely well. It's easy to see why people were clamoring for her to win and she definitely elevates this film with Chadwick Boseman no longer around. What's kinda funny and maybe a little pathetic is that the Academy decided to award Bassett this year (the year after she was nominated) with an Honorary Oscar. This lady isn't done giving great performances yet! She's in a hit TV show, just got her second Oscar nomination, and is almost acting royalty with husband Courtney B. Vance. Just odd timing to do it now and almost cheapens the award a bit. I'm sure she's happy, though, and hopefully we will see her back here once more.

Hong Chau - The Whale

I was really intrigued to watch this performance because it was the one that I basically knew very little about since Brendan Fraser was the one getting all the hype. To a lesser degree, there were some folks who were wanting Sadie Sink nominated for her role as Fraser's estranged daughter. And because I had heard that the film itself kinda sucked. So how did Chau end up getting nominated? I think it may be a bit of people watched for Fraser and ended up liking Chau's realistic portrayal of a home health nurse. I also think it just kinda came along for the ride with Fraser and possibly people felt good about nominating an Asian woman in a record year for Asian people at the Oscars. Chau was also in The Menu, which was well received, and had gotten previous Oscar buzz for Downsizing a few years earlier. All that to say it's a good performance that really helps the film be a little bit better but isn't something that grabs you. But it is solid, and Chau does a great job at playing a nurse very familiar with Fraser's condition. She reminds me of many nurses I used to work with when I was in the healthcare field. She has that take no shit attitude and will call anyone or anything out and be very blunt about it. She also cares deep down about Fraser and Chau is good at turning the emotion 180 degrees on a dime like when she has to save Fraser from choking or she gets upset at him hiding that he had a lot of money in the bank. She's fully invested in his health and well-being and Chau makes this look totally effortless in her performance. It's a solid performance in a film that is not all that great with the main draw being Fraser's Oscar winning role. Chau at least can feel like a breath of fresh air in this film and that's because she feels so authentic and real and because the film needs it.

Kerry Condon - The Banshees of Inisherin

 

Condon had a very outside shot to win this for a little bit of the awards season. There was a lot of buzz regarding her performance and if there had been a split from the EEAAO ladies and the Academy didn't want to reward a superhero film, it could have happened. A lot of what ifs and I don't mean to sound flippant about her performance, but it was getting some very good reviews and maybe in a different year could have been a winner. I actually really liked her performance because she felt like the only sane person in the film. That character that the audience can attach itself to and pretend that's how we would act. She is the sister of Colin Farrell's character, and she is called often to reign in his shenanigans and help diffuse any drunken situations, nothing overly bad, just being a good sister taking care of her brother. They live alone together and we gather that she is pretty smart and somewhat stuck on the island taking care of Farrell or at least being the levelheaded of the two. She offers advice on how to deal with things and calls him out on him being stupid. By the end of her performance, we see that the small island has taken its toll on her and leaving is her best option at happiness and not getting sucked into the loneliness and despair that has taken over everyone else. Condon does a great job at playing the straight woman, as it were, reacting like many of us would to the bullshit going on around her. I really enjoy some of the exasperated faces she makes when hearing about whatever new ridiculous thing is going on between her brother and Brendan Gleeson. I think Condon helps temper this film and keep it from going too far off the deep end and is the needed voice of reason. She excels at just being normal and likeable and someone we can almost root for to get away and go be a librarian or whatever the job she accepts is. Sometimes the normal person can be a strong breath of fresh air and that is exactly what Condon is to this film.

Stephanie Hsu - Everything Everywhere All at Once

 

If you watched this film and were asked who do you think could have won the Oscar for Supporting Actress, I think most people would point to Hsu. She has a much meatier role than JLC and frankly she gives a much better performance, too. Hsu plays the daughter of Michelle Yeoh and is also the villain of the multiverse, Jobu. Hsu's character is gay and while her mother seems okay with it to some degree, it causes tension between the two. It feels like a very real mother-daughter relationship and Hsu does a great job of getting us to feel her frustration at her mom. I'm guessing that's why Hsu is Jobu in the multiverse and it allows her to have a lot of fun playing the various characters. She gets to be funny and intimidating and do some action and fighting scenes and hit people with dildos and talk about a bagel that will end everything. It's a fun performance that has more depth than you think it would because Hsu goes all out and turns what could be a campy, goofy performance into something you could give an award for. I enjoyed her performance much more than JLC and wish that she would have gotten more attention for her work. I'm hoping this can springboard Hsu into more films and we can get to see her work, whether in comedy or something more serious. I know I haven't really given a deep critique of her performance but it is good and she was a great part of the Best Picture winning film.

There are going to be years where I just completely disagree with the Academy and what they liked or at least voted for. I feel like JLC won because of who she is and because she hyped this film up nonstop. And that's the only reason. Well, also because they loved the film, so probably just caught up in the hype, as well. Bassett is my winner because I really enjoyed her performance but also because it kinda feels like she should have more than just a token Honorary Oscar. So wild that the Academy would turn around a year later and give her that, almost like a mea culpa. Hsu is the one from that film that makes more sense for a win. She was so fun in that role and just acted circles around JLC. Condon would quite possibly be a winner in a weak year as she was really the anchor point of that film. She kept it from going off the rails and was a huge reason the film worked. Chau is good and a very important piece of her film, but the film overall is pretty weak and I'd rather see Chau in something better. All that said, the main theme of these nominations is that I hope to see all of these ladies in better films and roles in the future that brings them back here. They all are good and deserve to be nominated again in some capacity. We shall see if that happens.

Oscar Winner: Jamie Lee Curtis - Everything Everywhere All at Once

My Winner: Angela Bassett - Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Stephanie Hsu

Kerry Condon

Hong Chau

Jamie Lee Curtis

Supporting Actress 2021

This race kind of sucked because it was DeBose from start to finish and no one else even came close. Dench was a bit of a surprise nomination because almost all of the precursor awards were nominating fellow cast member Caitriona Balfe in her spot instead. It's wild that they decided to give Dench another random nomination over someone who got more buzz than anyone else besides DeBose. Excited to see how DeBose compares to Rita Moreno's win for the same role and how the other nominees stack up.

2021 Best Supporting Actress

 

Ariana DeBose - West Side Story

 

This was DeBose's award basically all season long, but how tough is it to follow in the footsteps  of a legend who won an Oscar that many consider one of the greatest Supporting performances of all time? And then to go out there and win your own Oscar while Rita Moreno is in the same film as you and you have key scenes in the film with her? You gotta give it to DeBose for rising to the occasion and delivering a very good performance in an already iconic role. DeBose was already a Broadway star and well versed in dance, so this wasn't exactly a tough transition for her but you can't just go out there and sing and dance well enough for this one. No, you have to put your own little spin on it and I think Debose succeeds in doing that and not just trying to mimic Moreno's performance from the original. Her "America" rendition is a bit more proud and defiant than Moreno's more sarcastic, sassy take on the song. Her take on "A Boy Like That" is deeply moving and heartfelt by how much anger and sadness she is repressing to try and reach through to Maria. I'd say she also stands out in the confrontation at Valentina's shop where she bravely has to try to talk to Tony while the Jets threaten and attack her. DeBose's performance feels more restrained , yet still full of that Puerto Rican strength, whereas Moreno lets us know how Anita is feeling with her snappy comments. You can't avoid comparing the two because they won for the exact same role. DeBose does her best and gets an Oscar for it, not too shabby I'd say.

Jessie Buckley - The Lost Daughter

I will admit right off the bat that I didn't like this film at all. I understand what it was trying to go for but I felt it was too ambiguous at times and the two versions of the main character, which Buckley plays the younger version of, is too disparate. Buckley's older self is played by Olivia Colman, nominated in Best Actress, and who gives an alright performance but nothing I thought was amazing or award worthy. Buckley gives the better performance of the two versions for me because she has so much more to work with from the role. Her parts are flashbacks where she is a young mother with a husband and two girls working in academia and translating Yeats' poems. We see that she can be a shitty mother by trying to ignore them as they make noise and her husband is on the phone and reluctantly goes to comfort them. By being mean to them, not responding to them when being annoying, by yelling and getting angry at them over little things. You get the feeling that she never wanted to be a mother and question why she ever had them in the first place. None of that is discussed or even hinted at it which is a big flaw of the film to me. Why is she acting like this? Why does she eventually abandon her family for years to go be who she actually wants to be? It's a frustrating film in that regard but I did enjoy Buckley's performance. She plays the overwhelmed and frustrated mother part well and I like how when she goes to a conference and her work and meets Peter Sarsgaard's character she does a complete 180 and her character comes alive. With that affair we see the vibrant, expressive, effusive character that contrasts the dour and haughty persona she has with her kids. And I feel for her exhaustive demeanor with her kids because that obviously takes a toll and it seems to explain her reason to just say fuck it and have an affair and then abandon the family for awhile. Buckley displays all this incredibly well and makes me excited to see more of her work. She seems to be a hot actress at the moment so I think that bodes well for her future chances with the Academy. She was in the just nominated Women Talking, so I have that to look forward to. But again, her performance is nothing like Colman's and it leads to me wanting to see more of Buckley and less of Colman in that I mean just show the flashback scenes as the whole film and go from there. The fact that Buckley had me thinking like that should tell you about the film and her performance. Can't wait to see more even if this one wasn't quite a winner.

Judi Dench - Belfast

This was the surprise announcement on nominations morning because everyone was expecting Caitriona Balfe to get the nod here instead. Both are from the same film and Balfe has hit all the precursor awards before this, so I feel like I can confidently say this is a veteran/career nomination for Dench and nothing else. Before getting to Dench, Balfe did have a lot of buzz as a threat to DeBose and yet was completely absent in the category. But that speaks to how great of a performance it truly is. Maybe there were issues with Supporting versus Lead, but I think they campaigned her in this category. Her role is meatier and she gets to show off way more acting chops simply because Dench isn't in much of the film. Dench plays Granny (Balfe plays Ma) and while she does have that adequate grandparent quality to her performance, there just isn't a lot to it. She adds some good humor to the film and comes off as a deeply loved member of the family. I think her one shining moment is the extreme closeup of her face at the very end of the film, but that's not enough for me to nominate her. Good enough work, but nowhere near the impact that Balfe has on the film. Kinda hard to get excited about this when it robs Balfe of a nomination and who knows if she'll ever get another chance, especially since this was Dench's eighth (!) nomination in her career.

Kirsten Dunst - The Power of the Dog

 

This is Dunst's first Oscar nomination but doesn't feel like she already has one? I guess because she has been acting as a little kid since 1989 and has been in all kinds of different types of films since then, her filmography is fascinating to look through. So I was happy to see she was nominated for this role as a widower who marries Jesse Plemons' character (her real life husband) who tries to assimilate into a different lifestyle and who turns to booze to cope. It sounds like a heavy performance, but Dunst is a supporting character so the focus isn't on her so much as it is her son in the film, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Benedict Cumberbatch. I do feel like it's a very good performance but also feel like it came along with the film, too. Not to denigrate Dunst as she does a great job of navigating a very complex character and a tense story. It's tough as the only real female performance in the film and it's one where she has to play a weary, socially anxious, out of her element, coherent drunk who is terrified of Cumberbatch's character because he torments her and her son. It's a character that could easily be pathetic where you look at her in disdain but she earns your empathy despite her fragility. A lot of what I read is that this performance and character gets better and better on each rewatch and I imagine that to be true. Jane Campion is great at crafting female characters that are much more than they initially appear to be and Dunst is no exception. I like that her performance makes everyone else hit harder or have more meaning behind them. Her son, her tormentor, her husband all benefit from what Dunst creates and are better off for it and so are we. I like that Dunst learned a couple piano pieces and practiced them religiously to get them down and only a bit of one was used in the final film. Apparently she stayed in character while shooting which just shows how dedicated she is to her profession. A good performance helped by the attention the film got which is why I say it came along with the film, but it holds up on its own easily. A great first nomination for Dunst.

Aunjanue Ellis - King Richard

 

Inevitably there are performances that come along for the ride with films that do well in awards season. I do think that Ellis partly came along for the ride as Will Smith basically swept his way to Oscar gold. But Ellis does give a very supporting performance that services the film and Smith well. She doesn't really have a big stand out moment other than the brief scene where she calls out Richard for having other kids/affairs and really holds her ground and doesn't back down when confronting him. It's solid and the rest of the performance is formed around that type of acting. She is the stalwart mother who loves her daughters more than anything and does everything she can to help them succeed, including coaching them. There are brief moments where she shines like when she yells at Smith in the car to not ever leave the girls to walk home on the streets as punishment. Which you can see her good moments are when she steps up to Smith's overbearing father and puts him in his place. It's good work that I'm not sure if the film did alright and didn't have Smith at the center if she would have been nominated alone. It's great that she was and I'm fine with the nomination and performance but don't expect an all time acting job. It's straightforward and simply good work.

Not gonna lie, this is a pretty weak year. The Dench nomination just felt like the Academy wanted to reward her one more time for her career. Balfe would have been such a better pick that would have elevated this group a bit and challenged DeBose for the win, honestly. Ellis just comes along for the ride. She isn't given much to do and has one little scene that comes out of nowhere that was strong but also felt shoehorned in. Dunst puts in good work and it's nice to see her get a nomination finally. Buckley was impressive in her role even if it felt a bit disparate compared to Olivia Colman's performance of Buckley later in her life. Nothing really could compete with DeBose who has a great performance in a tough, iconic role. Really wish this year would have been more competitive, I already know 2022 is.

Oscar Winner: Ariana DeBose - West Side Story

My Winner: Ariana DeBose - West Side Story

Jessie Buckley

Kirsten Dunst

Aunjanue Ellis

Judi Dench

Supporting Actress 2020

Ok, so this race started off with Glenn Close and Olivia Colman fighting it out while their buzz then kinda fizzled out. Basically Close's film came out and didn't do so well and Colman was a recent winner while the other three started getting more momentum. Youn Yuh-jung then pretty much became the front runner as awards season got fully going. Maria Bakalova and Jodie Foster (not nominated, obviously) were early winners. Not a whole lot of intrigue, especially late in the game, but I am eager to finally get to watch these after so long.

2020 Best Supporting Actress

 

Youn Yuh-jung - Minari

 

Apparently Yuh-jung is a well respected Korean actress who jumped at the chance to play for American audiences and was rewarded with a win. No surprise that if you are a highly decorated actress in your home country that you may have some success elsewhere if given the chance. She plays the grandmother to the two young kids and mother to the wife in this film. She comes off as kooky and fun and not like your normal grandma. Yuh-jung is refreshing in that she isn't the typical grandma figure. The kid asks her if she can can cook and she says no, can you? And that solidifies her as a very amusing character but also one who is secure in who she is and is there for the love of her family. She watches wrestling on TV, teaches the kids a Korean card game while swearing, and trying to convince her grandson to give her more mountain water, which I think was Mountain Dew from an earlier scene. She's a hoot and a welcome figure into the film and she is delightful to watch. I started to wonder if this is what everyone fell in love with, because I get it but was there more? Yes, there was. And spoilers for those that haven't seen it yet, she has a stroke. She isn't used much after this, but she does more than just be crazy grandma. She has an arc and she affects the very end of the film by causing the fire that burns down the barn and has a heartwarming scene with her grandkids as she randomly wanders off in the wrong direction. There is a lot to take in about those last few sentences, but that's what makes the performance so good. She changes on a dime and becomes a totally different person. We can see why she was a giant of Korean acting in this performance and I am super glad that we got to experience it for ourselves. Yuh-jung gave a fully realized performance that has you fully invested in her and the family. A great piece of work.

Maria Bakalova - Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

I mean, lol, what the fuck is this? I loved the first Borat film. I remember I was in the Army and me and my buddies went to watch it and just died laughing in the theater, especially when he wrestled his fat friend while naked on the bed lol. Who would have ever thought there would be a sequel and that it would have a performance worth nominating? This film is funny as hell, but is also cringe as fuck, as in I cringe in embarrassment watching these idiots do their thing (the folks Borat is hoodwinking, I mean). Bakalova plays Borat's daughter. Let's just pause to say this is a young Bulgarian actress improvising in a sequel and actually getting the Academy to take notice. That's damn impressive. I am impressed. She fully commits to her role and if you told me that was an actual person and not an actress, I would totally believe it. She deserves the nomination just for being in the same room as Rudy Guiliani as he lays back and unzips his pants like the garbage human being he is. Like I can't believe how convincing she is and how dedicated to the role she is. And it's a challenging role! I imagine she didn't get take after take to get it right and had to be delicate with the other people involved while always staying in character and being believable. You can also call this a co-lead with Sascha Baron Cohen, but given that Bakalova was unknown I get why this was put in Supporting. Bakalova also kinda makes this an emotional film about a father and daughter and not just a political satire film. She has the job of making the viewer invested in a film where Borat dresses up in all kinds of get ups and acts completely ridiculous. It's a great job by Bakalova and I'm glad to see that she has been getting some more roles recently, even if they aren't of the Oscar variety. I'm hopeful that she can do more great work in the future even if it's more comedic work like this.

Glenn Close - Hillbilly Elegy

A lot of people saw this as just another Oscar bait role for Close. She actually received a Razzie nomination which was only the third time ever someone got a dual nomination for the same role. I remember people just tearing this performance and film apart when it came out, but it seems really unfair to Close and the film. Is it Oscar bait? Oh most definitely! But I feel like Close's heart is in the right place. If you look at those pictures at the end of the film, she looks identical to Mamaw. And as someone who has grown up with and around older relatives/folks like her, she is spot on for a southern grandma. She fit the look to a tee. She also fits the personality to a tee with the inventive salty language, the taking care of the grandkids while failing the actual kids. I don't have personal experience with that but have known plenty of people who have suffered through similar family situations. I don't mind this film even though it is absolute Oscar bait and the fact that J. D. Vance is now some piece of shit asshole running for Senator of Ohio and might actually win (update: he did), it's just gross. Hard to really feel for him when he supports garbage ideals. Hopefully he loses and fades into obscurity, can't imagine how Usha feels but I don't know their dynamic. Anyway, this is about Close and this is her eighth nomination without a win. It's a record tied with Laurence Olivier, so not bad company. I actually don't think it's worthy of a Razzie and she does a great job of inhabiting her character. The family of Vance came on set and were blown away by how much she embodied Mamaw which says a lot about her performance. It's not bad at all, just in an Oscar bait film where people who don't know the life will ridicule it as some kind of bad acting. Close is good in the role but she was never going to win because the role just doesn't stand out enough in the film. Hard for me to hate on this one.

Olivia Colman - The Father

 

It's one of those things you see when paying close attention to the Oscars every year and something I have harped on a ton in this blog, but Colman is still in that window after her Oscar win to where she will garner consideration and nominations for solid work. This feels like a nomination because she was a recent winner. Not to say that Colman is bad, but this film obviously belongs to Anthony Hopkins. Colman plays the daughter of Hopkins who is helping take care of her father who is suffering from dementia. It's a heavy subject matter and so you already know what beats the performance should hit. Colman plays the role dutifully with her patience, her frustration, her sadness when her father lashes out at her. There is a bit of a moment near the end where she breaks down crying when talking to her father that probably gets the attention of the voters and is one of those Oscar type of moments. Her work is steadfast and I'd honestly say that if you put this in the Leading category, I might not bat an eye at it. She's in about 40% of the film so it does belong in this category, but she is the main female character. It's solid which is about the best thing I can say. If it wasn't included in this group, that would be okay but it's a good performance from an Oscar darling so here she is. That sounds totally dismissive of her performance but I promise it's not. It plays well off of Hopkins and adds to the sadness of the film and allows Hopkins to shine even more in his role.

Amanda Seyfried - Mank

 

Seyfried has been putting in work since her debut in Mean Girls and it has translated into an Oscar nomination and an Emmy win for playing Elizabeth Holmes, which was a great miniseries. Honestly, as many others have said about this role, this is a perfect pairing between role and actress. She has the look and feel of a Golden Era actress and makes the role feel lived in. When she is delivering lines with sassy comments or some old 30s vernacular, none it feels odd or out of place. She makes it all feel natural and not just like an actress playing pretend and way out of her depth. The best scenes she has are when alone with Gary Oldman's Mank and it feels like Marion Davies is allowed to be herself rather than a trophy wife to William Randolph Hearst who has to always play a certain type of pretty and naive character. It's a short performance at something like eighteen minutes or so, but Seyfried leaves a lasting mark on the film. We want to see more of her and would be okay with more interactions between her and Mank. Really excited at the kind of work Seyfried is doing lately and feel like she will be back again on one of these lists very soon, maybe even winning. A really perfect role for her that was made more interesting by her performance and helped inject the film with a bit of life whenever she was onscreen.

Kind of a surprising group of nominees. You can clearly see the diversity the Academy has been infusing in the past couple years starting to pay off. Close feels like a throw in nominee, one that the old Academy folks rallied around. I don't hate the performance like some because I've seen that type of person in real life before. But it is Oscar bait and won't be among her best of her eight nominations. Colman was a previous winner who is still in her window where as long as she does good work, she will most likely get nominated and did so here. It's a good performance, but not one that should win anything. Seyfried was a standout, perfectly encapsulating her character and making the film better. Could be a mix of the old and new Academy folks going for someone young, but who played a famous old actress. Bakalova is the biggest surprise because she was a complete unknown and in a Borat film. But she did so much with a tough role that she gets rewarded with second place for me. Hope to see her in more stuff down the line. Yuh-jung was awesome to see and clearly a product of Parasite winning and there being more diversity in the Academy. She also knocked her performance out of the park and ingested some life into her film. Great performance that makes me want to search out her Korean work to see how good it is, too. An interesting group, with a great winner that I think will eventually rank towards the top half of winners in this group. On to the next year!

Oscar Winner: Youn Yuh-jung - Minari

My Winner: Youn Yuh-jung - Minari

Maria Bakalova

Amanda Seyfried

Olivia Colman

Glenn Close

Supporting Actress 1960

A few films on this list I have been waiting a long time to finally watch. Also, some pretty recognizable names on here so hopefully this will be a pretty good group.

1960 Best Supporting Actress

 

Shirley Jones - Elmer Gantry

 

This performance was very much against type for Jones and is probably a contributing factor in her win. It also is one of those hooker with a heart of gold type of roles, albeit the heart of gold could be up for debate. But I actually really enjoyed this performance! When you look up the reviews on this performance, a lot of it is centered on Jones being a good girl in previous work going against type and mostly succeeding. I think she did a great job because she is just as morally ambiguous as Elmer Gantry (Burt Lancaster) is and it adds a bit to the theme of the film. Which the film is about Lancaster who is a grifter of sorts that latches onto preaching as a way to get what he wants. Jones is one of his old flames and she's a prostitute and recognizes him, so he has her cat house raided. She is convinced to blackmail him for lots of money by taking indecent pictures and does, but then reneges on accepting the payment because she still has feels. So here is this woman who is doing something maybe not morally great with selling herself and sees her ex-something swindling a community with religion and tries to expose him after he gets her house overrun with police. But she seems to feel a little guilty and doesn't take the money and it's just a great performance from Jones to go from cackling at his absurd scamming to wanting him to pay to oh, maybe I made a mistake. And I think that good girl persona served her well because she has this innocence to her but also this biting spitefulness, too. She also shows the past of Gantry and is important to establishing that he is a terrible fraud. Honestly really enjoyed this performance more than I thought I would and I think you will, too.

Glynis Johns - The Sundowners

Most people probably know Johns from her role as Winifred in Mary Poppins. A lot of that same energy is in this performance which was her only Oscar nomination of her career. Fun fact is that as of October 2022, she is the oldest living acting nominee still alive at 99 years young. Johns was a Tony award winner, a singer, and found most of her work as a character actress. In this film, Johns is a bartender down under and becomes friendly with a family of homesteaders and dates their helper, Peter Ustinov. I liked the film a lot because all of the characters are entertaining on different levels. Johns brings some comedic relief and a bit of a vivacious personality that livens up the film. She has these wide, bug eyes and a mouth that doesn't see to close because she either smiling ear to ear or constantly talking. She has fun interactions with Ustinov's character as he doesn't want to be tied down and is warm with the family she befriends. The role doesn't ask too much of her, but Johns does a good job with the performance that is as supporting as you can get without just being a cameo. A feisty little performance that fits the film and the role and gives you a good idea of who Johns is as an actress.

Shirley Knight - The Dark at the Top of the Stairs

There are times when I start a film and just can't get into it because it's been a long work day and I'm tired, got back from whatever and I'm tired, got drunk and decided to watch it and I'm tired, or started it and just couldn't give a fuck. The latter is this film, but also the former(s). Started this film so much to where I just want to finish it. It doesn't help that Knight doesn't show up until like 40 mins into this one. It's a film about, well, this young woman falls in love with a young Jewish boy from a neighboring boarding school while her parents go through marriage hell. It feels like Knight is lost in her feelings about her life and her new boyfriend and his issues with antisemitism. But she's playing a teenager in a melodrama and her role is more of an anxious, wispy girl who is overwhelmed not just by the subject, but by everyone else acting around her. It's the least interesting role in the film with Eve Arden as her caustic, bigoted aunt, Robert Preston chewing the scenery, Angela Lansbury giving a dignified performance. Even her boyfriend, little brother, and mother seem more interesting. This feels like the Academy trying to anoint a new starlet for whatever reason (young, pretty, blonde, member of the Actor Studio) since they also nominated her two years later for Sweet Bird of Youth. I think most people might say the wrong performance was nominated and not really the fault of Knight who does what she can with a flimsy role.

Janet Leigh - Psycho

 

How many people realize that this performance and this film was actually nominated for an Oscar? We have all seen the shower scene. We know the score. We probably all know the still of mother sitting in the window. I think it's easy to forget this is an Oscar nominated film and was really groundbreaking in what it brought to film. It's weird that both main actors, Leigh and Anthony Perkins, failed to be remembered for other instances in their career because both are so talented (how many know Perkins was nominated for a Supporting Actor Oscar before this?). I also think that people fail to remember that this film starts with Leigh stealing some money from her employer and then going on the run. She wasn't some weary, lost, innocent traveler needing a room. She had her own demons which adds to the overwhelming tension in the film. It's interesting what the collective public's mind will recall about actors or films. As for the performance, Leigh is anxious and that makes us anxious. Part of that building tension Hitchcock does so well. We are looking over our shoulder just like Leigh is and our faces are mirroring hers as she settles in at the Bates Hotel. She is great in closeup and she does a ton without actually saying much, which is a gift. The shower scene is iconic, but the rest of the performance is sort of a how to be a scared, paranoid woman on the run for every role that touched on those same themes. Leigh set the tone in iconic fashion so tons of other women could follow. Hell of a performance that we all kinda sorta remember.

Mary Ure - Sons and Lovers

 

This is a pretty interesting D. H. Lawrence film adaptation that deals with many different characters and their relationships and outlooks on life. Ure is like a factory supervisor who is also a very independent woman. She's an outspoken suffragette who believes in free love and is very self assured. She is the one character who knows who she is and what she wants. She helps guide the lead of the film Paul, played by Dean Stockwell, into trying to find who he is. They have a bit of a relationship, though he's not good in bed but does offer more than her husband does overall. She is the sensual, mature aspect of this film and almost a voice of reason. But we realize that she, too, has her own issues she is working through, she just knows that they are there and is working on them. Honestly, it's a great little performance from Ure because it gets us asking so many questions about Stockwell and her beliefs. I think coming at this from 2022 is probably a lot different than in 1960, where I feel this performance is a bit more salacious and captivating of a woman in charge of not only her own sexuality, but her own life as well. No one is dictating to her what she has to do or needs to do. And Ure plays this all a bit close to the vest and never really exposes herself and it makes for a really intriguing characterization. This is a performance that feels like it should or could be nothing more than a mistress realization but instead offers up much more thought and execution, thus delivering something much more worthwhile.

Not a bad group at all with some really interesting films. Knight is the obvious one out first and I honestly would rather replace her with Jill Haworth from Exodus who was pretty great in that film. Knight just gets overwhelmed in her film to where you'd rather nominate her co-stars instead of her. Johns is next because she was more of a glorified cameo, though very entertaining in her role. Just too small to reward here. Ure surprised me by being so modern of a performance that this probably hit harder back in 1960. A real solid performance that got me thinking. A shame that Ure didn't go own to have bigger roles. Jones went against type and had me liking her performance way more than I thought I would. Equally as morally ambiguous as her title character, it was solid work from Jones. Everyone knows Leigh's performance and it is partly iconic for a reason. Great performance that really sets the tone of the film and is an easy winner for me. A pretty decent group with some really interesting films, which is just how I like it.

Oscar Winner: Shirley Jones - Elmer Gantry

My Winner: Janet Leigh - Psycho

Shirley Jones 

Mary Ure

Glynis Johns

Shirley Knight

Supporting Actress 1961

A name and winner I love and adore, plus an old legend and some other women who are unfamiliar. What is this category? Terrible jokes aside, I already know who wins, this is just deciding second place.

1961 Best Supporting Actress

 

Rita Moreno - West Side Story

 

Quite possibly the best win in this category of all time. Definitely up for debate, but it is easily one of the best and is one of those iconic, star making, powerhouse performances you never forget. The fact that this same character won this same category 50 years later has me intrigued about Ariana DeBose, but I doubt it matches the fire that Moreno exudes as Anita, Bernardo's girlfriend. She has more performance in just throwing her purple skirt around than some actors do in a lifetime. It's so sure of a performance that every word used to describe the film is essentially describing Moreno's performance, too. Sexy, fiery, witty, funny, sympathetic, exquisite: all taken from reviews about the film. I loved one review that said that Moreno doesn't quite walk off with the film, it chases after her trying to catch up. She is the sole reason to watch this film, but you may also stay for the story and choreography and production design and the songs. Just one of those performances that hits you over the head not because it was trying too hard, but because you were in her way. I've had the pleasure of meeting Moreno a couple years ago at a film festival I worked and she was as delightful and charming as ever and even gave us all a little dance at around 90 years old. An amazing woman and an even more amazing performance. She was one of the first EGOT winners (third ever) and her body of work and cultural impact since then is almost unrivaled. After this win, she didn't make another film for seven years because all she was offered was stereotypical Latina roles and she wanted more. Takes courage to demand more at the height of your star power, or at least one of the heights, and not give in. I think she is one of the best actresses, not in like a Meryl Streep vein, but in just making an impact and blazing a trail. Wonderful woman, great actress.

Fay Bainter - The Children's Hour

OK, so I actually enjoyed this film a lot. I don't know what was in the water at the time but this film added to a group of really progressive early 60s films. There's a few films nominated this year that surprise in the subject matter they are about. This film, based on a popular play, is about two women, played by Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine, who run an all girls school together. One of the girls is a spoiled brat who gets in trouble one day and repeats what another girl thought she heard about the two women having an unnatural relationship. Bainter, a previous Oscar winner who was the first person nominated in the same year for both Lead and Supporting for two different films/roles and in her final film role of her career, is the little brat's grandmother. Hepburn is engaged to a man that is related to Bainter, I think a nephew. Anyway, Bainter at first just kinda plays along with her granddaughter, Mary, but then slowly begins to believe her. Eventually, alarmed, Bainter begins letting other families know and eventually all the girls leave the school. The two women then sue for libel and slander, but lose. The months later, Mary's mom finds out some things which leads to Mary confessing that she lied. Bainter is great, because as another reviewer said of her it's like she's a different person from scene to scene. That's a good thing because she slowly grows as the lie develops and becomes more and more concerned and tries to do what she thinks is right to protect the kids. It's a tough role handled extremely well by Bainter who does a lot of heavy lifting with just looks and glances and she doesn't immediately start off beating the war drum or anything. Her granddaughter is emphatic about what she heard and so Bainter goes all in because how could you not believe a family member who swears she is telling the truth? Once she realizes how badly she has been duped, the look of shock and horror and embarrassment or written all over her aghast facial expressions. Bainter does a lot with this role by not doing a lot of grandiose things that would seem apropos for the character. I just enjoyed how many different instances of belief and disbelief that Bainter had to go through. There were times I wanted to slap both her and the granddaughter for pushing these lies, but that's the mark of a convincing performance. Really good stuff from Bainter that makes me excited to see her double nomination in 1938 even more now. Definitely recommend this one.

Judy Garland - Judgment at Nuremberg

OK, let's not pretend this nomination isn't because this was her first film since A Star Is Born about 7 years prior. This is a two scene cameo where the first scene doesn't really matter or do much of anything besides introduce her. It's the second scene where Maximilian Schell grills her and is the Oscar defining moment. Apparently Garland wanted to lose a lot of weight as she thought she was too fat, but look at her in the film and she is just average. Garland goes against her usual type as she tries to play a sympathetic figure. I don't think she's fat really, but it would fit (no pun intended) the part of an adult German woman. I'm mentioning this to establish that this wasn't a glamorous role for Garland, this is a story about prosecuting Nazis for their crimes against humanity. The scene with Schell is what you would expect from such a venerable actress. He is deep into his Oscar win and is coming hard at the witness to help his case and Garland is just as game, running through all kinds of different emotions in this one scene. She's annoyed, angry, sadness, and utter contempt for being in this situation. Her accent is okay at best, but I like that she tried and didn't just speak normally. It's a great cameo and a good supporting performance, but this is mostly the Academy saying hey, let's reward this lady we love for her newest thing after a long time off. Good performance, but never should have won and thankfully didn't.

Lotte Lenya - The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone

 

A minor Tennessee Williams film based on one of his works, yet he liked this one the most of all his adaptations which seems a bit skeptical considering the classics he generated but whatever. It's a mildly interesting story of a successful Broadway actress, Vivien Leigh, who is getting old and goes on holiday to Rome but her older husband dies during the flight. After arriving she stays and starts seeing an Italian gigolo, Warren Beatty with a not so great accent. Leigh basically sleepwalks through the film while Beatty struts and preens around the film, and Lotte Lenya plays the villain-like madame and sneers at every chance in the film. Not the best performance because it is so nakedly one note. She's a spider woman trying to trap these wealthy foreign women into her web so she can take half of her gigolo's earnings. Even her actual interactions with Leigh feel pointless for dramatic sake as she tries to convince Leigh to spend her money and not just fall in love. I never felt as if she had ulterior motives because they were out there in the open from the start. The character wasn't good at being subtle or coy and Lenya just played it one specific way. This was Lenya's second film ever, and first in 30 years, so maybe that was the reason. I guess I always hope that an actress whose name I don't recognize will wow me or at least have a reason to be nominated like she was the queen of world cinema or something, but not quite sure for Lenya. She's just always sinister and doesn't really break from that so it wears you down expecting more from her. A minor performance in a minor story.

Una Merkel - Summer and Smoke

 

Oh hey, look, another Tennessee Williams adaptation. Honestly didn't realize he had two films get nominated in this category, but I guess it means he wrote some pretty interesting female characters. Except, Merkel is not one them. Or at least isn't in this film version. This is a classic older actress getting a nomination most likely because she was respected by the Academy. She had won a Tony Award a few years earlier and was in film and television since the 30s, that's truly the only reason. This role is almost nothing and I actually forgot about her character because she disappeared for most of the film. When she was onscreen, she plays Geraldine Page's crazy old mother who seems to have dementia or something. She basically just acts like a little child screaming to get her way or to signify she isn't happy and that's really the extent of her very brief performance. Never should have been nominated and I really can't stand these career achievement nominations because somebody more deserving could have been in this spot. Instead we get a small, silly, stupid performance you will never think about again five seconds after the film ends.

Rita is the unequivocal no-brainer. Probably the best winner in this category, everyone else is an after thought. Bainter already won an Oscar, so I ain't even sad about this. She is right where she belongs. Garland makes her comeback and gets rewarded with a decent performance that is elevated above what it actually is because she is making a comeback. If she wasn't a tragic figure, she wouldn't be here. Lenya is okay. Not anything memorable and just sticks out as a name. Merkel maybe even more so. Merkel does nothing and doesn't deserve the nomination and I wish we cold figure out who was sixth and bump them up on my blog orders. Anyway, greatest category performance sets it apart no matter what. I will always love this category for giving some fun nominees.

Oscar Winner: Rita Moreno - West Side Story

My Winner: Rita Moreno - West Side Story

Fay Bainter

Judy Garland

Lotte Lenya

Una Merkel

Supporting Actress 1962

A lot of birds in this one.

1962 Best Supporting Actress

Patty Duke - The Miracle Worker

This is one of those winners that always gets talked about as being pretty strong and maybe one of the top winners in this category. It can also be a bit divisive as some people prefer Angela Lansbury in this year, but I think that has to do with the whole strange actressexual blogger communities. Not to get away from Duke's win, she plays Helen Keller who we all should know. Stricken deaf and blind due to an illness as a baby. This film shows how she was taught by Anne Bancroft's Anne Sullivan in how to communicate and unleash the person inside of her. Duke was fifteen at the time of filming and had played the role on stage for awhile. So it's impressive that at fifteen she was able to deliver such a great and physical performance, but it also makes sense seeing as she did this on stage over and over. With a role like this you have to strike a balance that doesn't devolve into some ham fisted display where you are rooting around like a monkey but also not being convincing enough. And Duke is beyond convincing as a deaf and blind girl. It's what struck me immediately is how her eyes stay fixated on nothing and she doesn't move like someone who is hearing able and can react. She stays in character the whole time and only some very few times does it ever feel a bit goofy. Mostly it just feels like she is the real deal and it honestly is impressive to me. Duke herself said that the role is what won the Oscar and I can understand that. I think in any capable hands like Duke, the actor would have probably won for this. But Duke is the one that did it on stage and on film and did it convincingly. So this is definitely more than just the role, even if Duke doesn't have to say words and can wildly thrash about, there is acting here and it's very good.

Mary Badham - To Kill a Mockingbird

If you have followed this blog to any degree, you will know that I detest child actors. They are usually either way too precocious or are being told what to do rather than acting. It's kind of ironic that this year had the youngest nominee ever in Badham and then the youngest winner in Patty Duke. But I happen to like both, though I would not call Duke a child actor. So yes, I thoroughly enjoyed Badham's performance. And I love that she represents all of Scout, Jem, and Dill. These are legitimately some of the best child actors I have ever seen. That is definitely not hyperbole coming from me. All three of them are so natural and convincing as small town southern children. They easily help elevate this film to its iconic status because if the kids are grating or annoying or just outright awful, the film would suffer and would not be thought of as highly if you ask me. But all three of them just have this great quality and I think it's due to their acting ability but also director Robert Mulligan's direction. He said that he only did a few takes with the kids or at least took from the first few takes because they would become less natural over time and stilted. And it shows that their acting is so light and fun and comes from a place of authenticity. Seriously this whole film is perfect and the kids' acting has a lot to do with that. Badham was never going to win the Oscar but I feel that she definitely deserves to be here representing the kids and the film.

Shirley Knight - Sweet Bird of Youth

For what could be just a wisp of a character, Knight does all she can to make her character relevant in the film. Caught in the middle of a tug of war between her overbearing political boss father (Ed Begley) and the man she loves who keeps coming in and out of her life (Paul Newman), the character can easily get lost as just a piece of property of two very different men. But Knight brings her character to life instead of moving through the film as some sort of rag doll. The character has a bit of independence to her that feels more of a choice by Knight rather than something Tennessee Williams wrote for this role. Unfortunately, the story really doesn't let Knight do all that much with the role, although she tries to wring more than just pretty young woman out of it. Most of the scenes she has are just running to Newman or away from her father. I wish she had a bit more to do because you can see that Knight would have done something great with it. This was her second and final nomination, so the Academy clearly loved her. I am hoping that her first nomination has her doing much more in her performance. Knight is good here, but the role just isn't all that meaty enough as the men dominate the film.

Angela Lansbury- The Manchurian Candidate

One of the cool things about this project is when you find someone unexpected that has an Oscar nomination. It's happened a few times where you look over the categories and go oh wow, I didn't know they were nominated before! This is one of those as everyone of a certain age probably knows her best as the lady from Murder, She Wrote. But she was an accomplished actress before that as evidenced here. This also goes against type for what I know her as, so it's a bit refreshing to see her play this subtly villainous role. And what I liked most about it is how we know something is up with her character the whole time but it slowly unravels just to how deep her treachery goes. Like peeling back an onion, there are so many layers to it. Lansbury doesn't play the character full tilt and I like that choice a lot. It's more mysterious in just who she is and what her plans are instead of getting some caricature or whatever the female equivalent of twirling your mustache is. And since I haven't mentioned it yet, she plays the mother of a "war hero" who in reality has been brainwashed after being captured in North Korea to become a sleeper agent in America. She manipulates her son and her husband and, well, you can watch the rest to see just how exactly Lansbury figures into it because I was trying to understand just what she was up to. It's really intriguing and makes me respect Lansbury more as an actress who took on a role such as this. I do wonder if I had seen her work prior to this, how would I react to this nomination? Would it subvert my expectations in the same way? I'll have two more nominations of hers to review in the 40s and I'm looking forward to those.

Thelma Ritter - Birdman of Alcatraz

This is my first Thelma Ritter nomination to review, though I have seen her in some other films for this project. This was Ritter's sixth and final nomination, all in Supporting Actress, making her the most nominated in this category without a win. And that's what this nomination feels like to me: an attempt to get her the win finally. Not to say she is bad, she is perfectly fine in the role as the mother of Burt Lancaster's character. But there just isn't much to the performance that will grab you at all. It's a thin role that anyone could have fulfilled in the same way Ritter did. It's just not enough for a nomination for me. She goes to bat fighting to keep her son from being hanged and when that is commuted to a life sentence, she plays the supportive mother until Lancaster marries a woman who kinda takes on that role. Nothing explosive in that outcome and nothing to point to as any kind of great moment. It's a dutiful performance that feels like Lancaster dragged her (and Telly Savalas) along with him. I understand that this role was a bit against type for Ritter, so I'm hoping that's why she was nominated and not an indictment on her acting ability. Really hoping Ritter doesn't become another Geraldine Page situation where I can't stand any of her many nominations. We will have plenty of opportunity to see coming up.


This is a pretty interesting group of nominees. I wonder how many times I have typed that sentence out? I think it's pretty clear that Duke is your winner and my winner. She has lived in that performance and has made it her own and is awesome in it. Ritter is my bottom because she just doesn't add anything and it feels more like the Academy trying to get her a win than her actually being Oscar worthy. Anyone can play that role to the same effectiveness. Knight took what could have been a nothing role and forced it to be noticed and I love that. It fails more from the writing and direction because she could have made it really good I feel. Badham is such a nice nominee here. Like I am so glad she got recognized for her work, which really probably represents all of the kids, because she is so natural and great. And I dislike child nominees, so that tells you something there. Lansbury was fun to see her be a villain and she gave a great performance. Would have won if not for Duke, but nothing wrong with that. A pretty decent group of women and I am excited to keep it going.

Oscar Winner: Patty Duke - The Miracle Worker
My Winner:  Patty Duke - The Miracle Worker
Angela Lansbury
Mary Badham
Shirley Knight
Thelma Ritter

Supporting Actress 1963

This will be a pretty quick category for me. One of the rare times when there has been three nominees from the same film. You always wonder if they all deserve it or if they just came along with a film that was well liked overall. I imagine the truth will be somewhere in the middle. Does the winner deserve her win or was there vote splitting between the three? These questions and more answered down below!

1963 Best Supporting Actress

Margaret Rutherford - The V.I.P.s

Well, having watched this one before the others, I am left scratching my head and asking more questions instead of getting any answers. It's a baffling decision to nominate Rutherford for this performance in this unfortunately boring film. Even more baffling to give her the damn Oscar for it. She plays a Duchess who is flying for the first time and has to get a job because her estate is out of money or something. All of these people get fogged in at an airport in London, so we jump from each of their stories. Rutherford doesn't really have much of one, she is simply the comedic relief of the film that at times is way too melodramatic for its own good. She is actually funny in her brief scenes, but that's it. She's this bumbling, pill popping, haughty, fish out of water mess. Mostly funny, but also there are times where you just want her to get on with it and do something interesting. She never does and their is no emotional payoff or character arc being completed. I wouldn't even say she's supporting to any of the big name actors in the film like Orson Welles, Richard Burton, and Elizabeth Taylor. Rutherford mostly just stays to herself and only offers up the comedic relief for the film. I am going to assume that either the vote split allowed Rutherford to win or the Academy loved her career and gave her an award for it. Or maybe I will come to find out she was the only real choice as I finish up watching these performances!

Diane Cilento - Tom Jones

I would guess this is the surprise of the film and the category. I don't know her history other than she had recently married Sean Connery at the time, but she seems to have come along for the ride with the film. I fully believe that she just was a choice because the film did so well. She plays Molly, who is like a town whore I guess, no disrespect meant. Her characterization is just that and she seems to revel in that role but it never leaves that basic characterization. She is only in the beginning of the film for a bit and I think used to highlight Tom Jones' promiscuous, playboy ways. She is the lusty wench as referenced in the film. People will search for elaborate descriptions of the performance that just aren't there. Cilento is just glad to be nominated because it's not that great and entirely forgettable.

Edith Evans - Tom Jones

There is always concern that when you get a film with multiple acting nominations, especially in the same category, that maybe one of them is not well earned. Well, I can't say that Evans didn't earn this one as I like her the most out of the Tom Jones nominations. I love the way she says Brother and honestly she adds a much needed stiff upper lip to the film. It's a period piece that doesn't feel stuffy at all yet need someone to ground the film in reality and I think Evans does that. Also, she is just charming as the aunt to Sophie who is the woman Tom Jones actually loves. She adds a certain presence to the film and just does so much more with her role than the other women nominated, no knock against them! She butts heads with her brother who is responsible for Sophie and their bickering is hilarious and her staunchiness, which I don't think is a word, is commendable. I basically mean she stands up to him and keeps her haughtiness, which is a word, to great effect. I have begun to enjoy Evans' performances that I have reviewed for the project. This is her first nomination of three, so my last time reviewing her, but I hope to see more of her in some of the films moving backwards in time. A great actress who got recognized way late in life. She is the best of the three in this film.

Joyce Redman- Tom Jones

Okay, so now the third woman from Tom Jones to be nominated. I feel like Redman, who we just saw nominated for Othello which was not that memorable, was nominated here for the food eating scene. I think this is probably an iconic scene that you may have seen already. Certainly parodied before, the scene is Albert Finney and Redman eating different foods seductively. Apparently this took over three hours to film and led to them both throwing up multiple times as they were eating the food. It's actually a great scene and I can understand that in 1963 that was probably ground breaking stuff. It was also supposed to be a bit controversial as we are led to believe their hooking up was incestuous. It's revealed at the end of the film, she is not his mother, but her little wink to the camera is pretty great and shows how good Redman is in the role. She comes in late and molds the story and has a lasting impact. Redman, as mentioned by another reviewer, had to embody the film with the beginning silent film take, the naughtiness, the fourth wall breaking. She did a lot with so little. Not a winner and probably came along for the ride with the love of the film overall, but Redman worked what she was given and I enjoyed the performance.

Lilia Skala - Lilies of the Field

Or should it be Lilias of the Field? Okay, terrible joke aside Skala really is more of a leading role. She dominates a lot of the film as Mother Maria, the head nun who convinces Sidney Poitier to stay and help build a chapel. She is a very stubborn and forceful woman who has more good intentions than anything nefarious. She believes that God has sent Poitier to help build the chapel and does what she can to keep him there. She works well with Poitier's character, but as mentioned in my review for the film itself, it's missing something. We learn that the nuns came from Germany having escaped over the Berlin Wall and Poitier calls Skala Hitler at one point because she is so demanding. There feels like she has some dark underlying emotions, but it never gets explored and the film maintains it's more positive and upbeat tone. Skala does well with talking in German and broken English and being believable as a tough, stubborn mother superior. A lot of her performance is different facial expressions which can be tough to pull off without looking too goofy, but she does. It's a fine performance, but I don't really consider it a supporting one since she squares off with Poitier. I could honestly see her getting the win over Rutherford, though, if things played out a bit different.


And the answer to the above question is yes, there probably was some vote splitting letting Rutherford get the win. I am not a fan of Rutherford because she doesn't add much more than some brief comic relief and that certainly isn't Oscar worthy. Cilento doesn't get much screen time and doesn't have much to do besides be a pretty lady. That's it, so a legit fifth spot for her. Rutherford drops down far because her performance is so spare and pointless to her film. Skala in the middle for a role that was mostly brooding, stern mother superior. Though there does feel like she has something just under the surface of the performance begging to come out but it never does. That's why the other two Tom Jones ladies come in at the top. Evans was just kinda fun and actually added a bit to the film. Redman had the most to do out of everyone nominated here and by that along is the reason she wins. Sometimes that's just how it is. She affects the film more than any other besides maybe Skala but also gets to have a bit of an arc. Not a great year at all and a reason having multiple nominees from the same film is pointless. You are always going to nominate a lesser performance because the Academy got so infatuated with the film. I am sure there are 1-2 other amazing performances from this year that we missed out on. Really bad year honestly and I just want to get on to some better Supporting women.

Oscar Winner: Margaret Rutherford - The V.I.P.s
My Winner:  Joyce Redman - Tom Jones
Edith Evans
Lilia Skala
Margaret Rutherford
Diane Cilento

Supporting Actress 1964

Fun fact about this year's category and group of nominees is that it may be the oldest average age of nominees ever at 61. I think I read that somewhere, so I don't know if another category is older, but this one is for sure an average age of 61. So it is full of older white women. Now I don't know what that means exactly, older women were getting pushed into supporting roles? Academy wanted to reward some older actresses with a nomination? This was just a coincidence for the year? Or maybe we were in a transition year where the older folks were having their last hurrah before the 60s really started to take over. I dunno which one is more accurate but it's an interesting fact. I'm hoping for some really good performances and not some boring, perfunctory efforts simply voted for because they are old. Let's find out.

1964 Best Supporting Actress

Lila Kedrova - Zorba the Greek

I have always been interested in watching this winner because I have no idea who Kedrova is/was and the film was always well talked about whenever it would come up in discussions. From what I read, Kedrova learned English for this role as she was Russian and then did more film and stage work in the West, eventually winning a Tony Award for the early 80s revival of Zorba. Pretty interesting and that could certainly play into her win in a weak year with only older, white actresses in the running. Kedrova plays Madame Hortense, a foreign woman who owns a hotel in Greece. She is introduced to our main two men when they need a place to stay and she eventually gets all romantical with Anthony Quinn. She has a strong presence in the beginning of the film and then a little bit at the end of the film and is very naturally supporting to Quinn and Alan Bates. She's a woman with a lot of passion and gusto and she plays up the emotional side of her character and it almost mirrors Quinn's character in a way. She also shrouds her sadness in the vibrant emotions she shares on screen with her dancing and fretting about her hotel. She's been often married, so I think she is just at the end of her life and enjoying her time with Zorba but also anxious in the budding relationship. She's a very sympathetic character and it's easy to see why this was a well liked performance for the year. She brings a much needed balance to Zorba and helps liven up a film that can be a little too serious at times. A pretty decent performance that may not wow you and would certainly not win in a more stacked year. It at least entertains and is an actual supporting role which I can appreciate.

Gladys Cooper - My Fair Lady

This is one of those pointless nominations that comes along for the ride with a film that was so beloved by the Academy that it won 8 Oscars. I imagine that this was partly a veteran nomination as well as fitting the theme of this year's category of rewarding older, experienced actors. If you've seen the film, you may have trouble remembering who she is because she only has a couple short scenes. She plays Henry Higgins' mother. Now I must say, as I often do with these kinds of nominations, this is not a bad performance. Cooper is actually good for the film because she stands up to Higgins' shtick and doesn't blink at all at his shenanigans and behavior. To say it frankly, she doesn't put up with his shit. And it's welcome as I'm sure many folks can't stand Harrison in the role or at least the character itself. So it is essentially a mother who doesn't suffer her son's crap, calls him out with some haughty lines, and that's about it. It's a nice change of pace but is also too short and really doesn't leave a lasting impact. You can look to Stanley Holloway's supporting nomination as one that does do a lot for a film. I would rather have another actress here that maybe showed off more and allowed a chance to see another film. Not a bad performance, just not a good nomination.

Edith Evans - The Chalk Garden

This was Evans' second consecutive nomination, so that tells me the Academy probably loved her and that they were trying to give her at least a win. Is this a veteran nomination? Oh absolutely! It has to be. The film itself is actually pretty good. I thought it was going to be this stuffy British period piece type of thing, but it is about Evans who is an old wealthy Englishwoman who has custody of her granddaughter and wants to keep it that way. Which sounds stuffy, but it is not at all! The granddaughter is Hayley Mills and she is spoiled rotten and never told no and just has her bad behavior encouraged. So Evans is the main lady, Mrs. St. Maugham, where Mills' character lives. Her mother divorced her father and ran off with another man and so Evans' character took her in. Lots of animosity abound. Deborah Kerr is a mysterious woman who comes and answers an ad to be the governess and is hired. The film is about Kerr and Mills going at each other and that's the mystery and the appeal of the film. Evans plays the haughty grandma who has that prickly British accent who gives whoever shit when they deserve it or when she feels they deserve it. She is upper crust and tries to rule her little kingdom, but lets her granddaughter do whatever she wants, including burning things and snooping and just being a terrible person. You watch this film for Kerr and Mills, but Evans certainly adds to the overall appeal of the film. I enjoyed her performance because it adds to the film and supports the others involved. Though the performance is still mostly a grumpy old woman in power who talks down to everyone. I really did enjoy the performance, though. Not above and beyond or anything, just as a really good, classical supporting role in an entertaining film.

Grayson Hall - The Night of the Iguana

I was excited to watch this film because I have become a big Richard Burton fan and this is also an adaptation of a Tennessee Williams play. So it had some good pedigree going in its favor. The film is good enough, but feel like it may lose something from the play, I don't know for sure. The film is about Burton who is a priest who suffered a breakdown after being accused of banging a young Sunday school teacher. He went down to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to chill out as a tour guide and drink. A church tour comes through lead by Hall who has a young, hot teenage niece who tries to seduce Burton. Hall then vows to destroy Burton's reputation. Most of what I got out of Hall's performance was mostly one note. She screams a lot at Burton or when trying to locate her niece. She just seems like a grumpy, repressed bitch who may or may not be a lesbian who has a thing for her own niece. Just high strung and on guard from the start and never really eases up on that part of the performance. Hall plays her more like a lonely spinster who gets her kicks on getting someone in trouble. She has a memorable look with her wild hair and screeching but it doesn't progress much beyond that. This film does have some very good female performances especially from Ava Gardner, who I am looking forward to seeing more of, and from Deborah Kerr. Both feel like they'd be better choices but also are probably more leading than Hall. They also both have other big films this year, so it's surprising they weren't nominated themselves. Interesting film, yet the interesting performances weren't nominated in this film.

Agnes Moorehead - Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte

The most interesting fact about Moorehead that I learned was that she was the first female host of the Oscars and I found that to be very cool. It also tells you what the Academy thought of her and probably why she got nominated here. This is a Southern Gothic melodrama with some hints of horror and it is really fascinating and entertaining to watch, honestly. It's very campy at times and Moorehead is fully on board with that campiness. I think you have to go into this with an idea that it's supposed to be the way it is and not some super serious Oscar contender, though it did get seven nominations. And you have to realize that this is a follow up of sorts to Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? and realize why it was made. Starring Bette Davis and Olivia de Havilland, it's about Charlotte who in later life lives alone and is eccentric and crazy and in her youth was having an affair with a man who was killed in a gruesome way. Moorehead plays Velma, Charlotte's maid. She overacts and I think that is by design as she knows she's in a campy film where Bette Davis is overacting her ass off. She's got that very Southern accent and fiercely defends her employer. That's about all of what she does in the role. She lurks around and does Charlotte's bidding and then at the end of her time in the film, accuses de Havilland of drugging Charlotte. A lot of melodrama and I enjoyed it all. I don't think that Moorehead is all that amazing in the role, though she does make it her own. She is probably singled out for the aforementioned reasons but I'm okay with that because I got to watch this film as a result. It's campy fun and you get to watch quite a few big name older actresses do their thing and that's pretty cool, honestly. Never gonna be a winner, but it's fun to just sit back and enjoy a film for what it is.


One of the oldest average aged group of nominees actually produced a decent enough slate of performances. I am actually surprised and happy about that! Cooper is a throw in for a film everyone liked and probably because she was a beloved actress herself. Fine. But would be better suited with someone more deserving. Hall is completely one note to me and it brings her impact down so much. Just shrieking and not very likable, just above the ride along nominee. I really enjoyed Moorehead's campiness. It was such a melodramatic film that it fit and it just felt fun to watch. I got a sense of who she is and what she is capable of and will probably see more of her as I go back in time. Evans was almost the winner for me. Great in the role and in a surprisingly interesting film, with such a weak year she almost took it home. But I enjoyed Kedrova's desperate for love and attention hotel owner. She added to the film and was a great supporting player and, well, can't go against the Academy when they get it right. A year I didn't think would be very good, ended up being pretty entertaining with some super interesting films. More like this please.

Oscar Winner: Lila Kedrova - Zorba the Greek
My Winner:  Lila Kedrova - Zorba the Greek
Edith Evans
Agnes Moorehead
Grayson Hall
Gladys Cooper

Supporting Actress 1965

Slowly but surely I am getting there. Glad to be halfway done with the 60s and happy to dive into these performances based on names I recognize and some big time films.

1965 Best Supporting Actress

Shelley Winters - A Patch of Blue

This was Winters' second Oscar win after her first for The Diary of Anne Frank. These are definitely two very different performances. I was wondering how to really explain my thoughts on this win and it basically boiled down to it being one note. Usually a bad thing as an actor doesn't change much or grow or budge from their comfortability level. It works for the character Winters plays even though it doesn't really leave me hyped up about the performance. Winters plays the abusive, ratchet mother of a blind woman. She's an awful person, a racist, an abuser, and a schemer. There are times where you'd say you want to see growth from a character. You want them to have an arc where they find redemption or learn or become better; but that isn't always true. It works for Winters here because her mother character is a true piece of shit and sometimes that is the reality of people. They are irredeemable. Winters didn't like this character as she was a huge ally of the Civil Rights movement at the time and worried that she couldn't do this role. So it's a testament to her acting abilities that she makes this woman into a truly hateable person. She plays it exactly how it needs to be done to not only show the racist, hateful attitudes of the day but also highlight how pure and innocent her daughter is. It just seems to lack some kinda oomph quality to it. Hard to explain but she is a shitty person but I needed a bit more to grab onto. I'm saying this without having seen all the rest of the nominees but I needed something more from this. It may end up winning for me, who knows, but it is a bit one note even though that's the point. I did like one moment where her daughter was happy and excited and Winters gives this look like oh I'll knock you back down to earth for even daring to be happy. It's a subtle thing and is what I was looking for, just wanted more of it. Winters is good, no doubt about it. Great actress who I am excited to watch two more performances of.

Ruth Gordon - Inside Daisy Clover

This was Gordon's 4th nomination, but her first for acting. She had 3 writing nominations before this and of course won her only Oscar for playing a crazy old neighbor in Rosemary's Baby in 1968. This feels like the typical veteran nomination to me. The film is one that I don't care much for. It stars Natalie Wood, Robert Redford, and Christopher Plummer. It should be a hidden gem, but it was not enjoyable to me. Daisy is Wood and she is an almost 30 years old playing a 15 year old, so right off the bat it's unbelievable. She overacts and the film is about how she finds her way into Hollywood who then chews her up and we see a rough life from there. It's a drama that has some black comedy tinges, but yeah, I didn't care for it. Gordon plays Wood's mother and has a couple scenes in the beginning where we see her playing cards and drinking and being a loud, quirky mother. It's a small role but you realize she's way more entertaining than Wood. Gordon eventually gets put into a mental institute once Wood hits it big in Hollywood so the studio can sell her as a tragic orphan. We see a bit more of her here and there but it never amounts to anything coherent or interesting to me. There's a promise of a great character who maybe should have been the focus of the film along with Wood and Redford, but we don't get that. This is the Academy trying to reward someone they loved after she made the switch to acting. It's a cool story for Gordon and she would reap that reward eventually. This one just ain't it.

Joyce Redman - Othello

So this was Redman's second nomination in three years, which tells me what I want to know about this nomination. The Academy liked her enough to include her in two ensemble heavy films as a nominee. But was that simply because of the well liked films she was in? Most likely. I'll have to wait and see on Tom Jones in two years, but I feel like it applies to this one. Redman plays Emilia, Desdemona's attendant or maid. She doesn't factor into the story all that much until the very end. Though she does have a pivotal scene where she gives Desdemona's handkerchief to Iago. The saving grace of Redman's performance is she is the most grounded performer in this film. Her performance feels most natural and underplayed while everyone else is going all out. I appreciate Redman for this reason and understand she's a good actress. She's like the calm in the story, the rational person doing her thing. But it really doesn't stand out to me. Anyone else could have done this. Maybe worse, possibly better. Redman is not bad at all, but she is mostly an extra character there like Roderigo is. Not sure this should have been rewarded and seems to have rode the wave of support for the film to a nomination -  and that's okay. Would rather have a great performance here, but it is what it is. The Academy liked her and of course liked Shakespeare even more.

Maggie Smith - Othello

What I have found out about during this project is that I am not much of Maggie Smith fan. I do like her Harry Potter work, but that seems to fit her more than beautiful young woman roles that she was in a ton, because I don't think she is pretty at all. That sounds pretty messed up, but if she is in those roles, I gotta believe in them. And her eyes are expressionless which I don't like. I've been open to everything I have seen of hers, but nothing has stuck with me in a good way. I am completely underwhelmed by her Desdemona, which to me should be beautiful and worth being jealous over. Also, her performance is rather tepid to me. I don't think she gets much of a chance to shine opposite of Laurence Olivier hamming it up in black face, but I wish she could have been more assertive. I don't know where that blame lies and I'm probably missing the point of Desdemona, but she just seems like something to act with like a prop and not act with like a person to balance a performance. That sounds extremely harsh reading it back but I feel that way. Of course, the film isn't that great having not had a lot money to shoot and it being a very austere stage shooting. Olivier acts in his own world and Smith is there to try to do her part. I'm not really a fan of either of the Othello nominations and feel like these could have been better served going to anyone else. As toxic as it is to say, I am glad I have no more Smith nominations to come. I'm just simply not a fan and this is certainly not a performance or film that could have changed that.

Peggy Wood - The Sound of Music

Yep, this is one of those short, easy reviews for the reasons you already know. Wood was obviously an older woman and from what I read, a TV regular. This is one of those nominations that is both purely here because the film was such a smashing success and because I think the Academy was rewarding her for her career for whatever reason. It absolutely does not deserve a nomination. At all. Wood plays the Mother Abbess nun. In the beginning, she doesn't think Julie Andrews' character belongs in the abbey and Wood helps convince her to move on. We then later see her towards the end as she "sings" Climb Ev-ry Mountain. In quotes because she was dubbed over by request and she couldn't match up the lip synching so the scenes are in shadows and her back turned at times. That's bad acting and it got rewarded with a nomination. I mean, it really doesn't add much to the film for me especially knowing she isn't actually singing. Yes, Christopher Plummer was dubbed over, but took the time to learn to play guitar and to sing for the role but producers decided to dub it over. There's a difference than an actor saying they can't do it like Wood did. It also probably took away a nomination from Eleanor Parker who was the Baroness and who would have been a better recipient from the film. Clearly you can tell I don't like these kinds of token nominees and we should always be rewarding the performances and not the career.


Yikes. None of these are stand out performances and it's easy to see why Winters won her second Oscar since no one else was even competitive this year. Winters is the only choice and that kinda sucks because she was okay, but would rather have a more deserving winner in this spot. Gordon is interesting due to the whole getting nominated a bunch for writing and then finally breaking through in acting. Her performance has some intriguing elements but it never really coalesces into anything worth voting for. Smith is the middle because she has way more to do in her role than the remaining two. I still don't really care for her and wanted someone with way more depth and energy in the role. Redman is along for the ride and is fine, but anyone could do that role. Wood clearly should not have ever been nominated and allowed someone more deserving the chance to be nominated. Really dislike performances and nominations like this one. All in all, an extremely weak year. One of the wrost I can remember in some time. Really hoping 64 can redeem this category for me.

Oscar Winner: Shelley Winters - A Touch of Blue
My Winner:  Shelley Winters - A Touch of Blue
Ruth Gordon
Maggie Smith
Joyce Redman
Peggy Wood