1951 Oscar Shouldabeens

[OscarGuy]

I just watched An American in Paris and I'm still stymied at the love for it. It's an okay movie. Cedric Gibbons outdid himself with this one but For the life of me, I can't understand why this is the quintessential musical. It's slow in parts, not particularly well acted (Kelly being the lone exception) and the story is such a musical cliché.

[Damien]

Et tu, Damien?

Uri, Ritter and Parker are both borderline cases. But for me, Gene Tierney is the protagonist in The Maring Season and Thelma Ritter's character exists to affect hewr (and John Lund).

I consider Parker a lead in Detective Story because she provides the film's emotional high points and is a dramatic equal to Kirk Douglas. She's the heart and soul of the picture.

[Big Magilla]

Et tu, Damien?

I've been at it so many times before, so to quote myself of about five years ago:

"Isn’t it great we’re not committed to the Hollywood politics? So why not practice it here. Thelma Ritter was the lead in The Mating Season. She was the protagonist, she had the most screen time – the film was about her character. Reducing her to the supporting category, is an expectance of the convention that women who “past their prime”, especially those who’s never been considered desirable objects to begin with, are not entitled to be a main attraction of any kind. On my list, she is one of the top five leading actresses of ’51, third only to Leigh and Hepburn."

Now – Eleanor Parker, on the other hand, had a small, though showy, part in Detective Story. She was indeed, at the time, following her big splash in Caged, seen as a major star in the making, and she was certainly in her conventional "sexual prime", so she was automatically declared as lead. But, as I said, why confine ourselves to these conventions? Switching Ritter and Parker would make a perfect solution, imho.

I like Damien's off-the-beaten-track recognition of Losey's remake of M and Mann's The Tall Target as well as some of his acting choices.

As we've discussed many times before, the placement of actors in lead vs. supporting categories often makes no sense and goes back to the very first supporting nominations in 1936 when Stuart Erwin who was in every scene of Pigskin Parade was nominated in support and Spencer Tracy who played a supporting role in San Francisco and was billed under the title, was nominated as lead.

Thelma Ritter, however, is a different case. The Mating Season was released in January, 1951 when Ritter was just emerging as a name to be reckoned with. Two years earlier she wasn't even credited for a performance in A Letter to Three Wives that many consider one of that year's best. All About Eve was just starting to win awards and she hadn't even been nominated for her first Oscar yet. While Ritter's character is clearly the driving force behind The Mating Season, her fourth billing in the film is consistent with her stature as a relative unknown at the time.

By August she was receiving star billing alongside Monty Woolley in As Young As You Feel despite a relatively small part and by November she was being billed over the title for The Model and the Marrige-Broker. Fox promoted for best actress in the latter as well as for support in The Mating Season, which was consistent with her billing. Age discrimination had nothing to do with it.

Eleanor Parker, on the other hand, was a major star and had been since the mid-forties. Her name above the title in Detetive Story helped sell tickets. I think her nominatioin in that category is well earned. If anything I'd leave Ritter in support for The Mating Season, add her to the best actress list for Marriage Broker in lieu of Peggy Dow who I'd move to support in place of Nana Bryant. I'd also replace Donna Corcoran with Spring Byington from Angels in the Outfield, Ann Blyth with Ethel Barrymore in Kind Lady and Jayne Meadows with Gladys Cooper in Thunder on the Hill if I were Damien, but I'm so I'll just have to consider them for my own next revision.



Edited By Big Magilla on 1153322054

[The Original BJ]

WHAT!?

No award for Best Goddamn Cartoon for Alice in Wonderland!

The shock of the year!

:p

[Uri]

Et tu, Damien?

I've been at it so many times before, so to quote myself of about five years ago:

"Isn’t it great we’re not committed to the Hollywood politics? So why not practice it here. Thelma Ritter was the lead in The Mating Season. She was the protagonist, she had the most screen time – the film was about her character. Reducing her to the supporting category, is an expectance of the convention that women who “past their prime”, especially those who’s never been considered desirable objects to begin with, are not entitled to be a main attraction of any kind. On my list, she is one of the top five leading actresses of ’51, third only to Leigh and Hepburn."

Now – Eleanor Parker, on the other hand, had a small, though showy, part in Detective Story. She was indeed, at the time, following her big splash in Caged, seen as a major star in the making, and she was certainly in her conventional "sexual prime", so she was automatically declared as lead. But, as I said, why confine ourselves to these conventions? Switching Ritter and Parker would make a perfect solution, imho.

[Damien]

BEST PICTURE OF 1951
1. Early Summer (Yasujiro Ozu)
2. Along The Great Divide (Raoul Walsh)
3. A Streetcar Named Desire (Elia Kazan)
4. An American In Paris (Vincente Minnelli)
5. The River (Jean Renoir)
6. M (Joseph Losey)
7. Diary Of A Country Priest (Robert Bresson)
8. The Tall Target (Anthony Mann)
9. Father’s Little Dividend (Vincente Minnelli)
10. The Secret Of Convict Lake (Michael Gordon)

BEST ACTOR
1. Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire
2. David Wayne in M
3. Kirk Douglas in Along The Great Divide (but not Detective Story)
4. Humphrey Bogart in The African Queen
5. Cary Grant in People Will Talk

BEST ACTRESS
1. Vivien Leigh in A Streetcar Named Desire
2. Katharine Hepburn in The African Queen
3. Peggy Dow in Bright Victory
4. Ann Blyth in Thunder On The Hill
5. Eleanor Parker in Detective Story

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
1. John Williams in Kind Lady
2. Horace MacMahon in Detective Story
3. James Edwards in Bright Victory and The Steel Helmet
4. Karl Malden in A Streetcar Names Desire
5. Leo Genn in Quo Vadis?

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
1. Nana Bryant in Bright Victory
2. Thelma Ritter in The Mating Season
3. Donna Corcoran in Angels In The Outfield
4. Jayne Meadows in David And Bathsheba
5. Jean Casto in St. Benny The Dip

BEST DIRECTOR
1. Yasujiro Ozu – Early Summer
2. Raoul Walsh – Along The Great Divide
3. Elia Kazan – A Streetcar Named Desire
4. Vincente Minnelli – An American In Paris
5. Jean Renoir – The River

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
1. Early Summer – Kôgo Noda and Yasujiro Ozu
2. David And Bathsheba – Phillip Dunne
3. An American In Paris – Alan Jay Lerner
4. The Secret Of Convict Lake – Anna Hunger, Jack Pollexfen; Oscar Saul, Victor Trivas
5. Along The Great Divide – Walter Doniger. Lewis Meltzer

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
1. A Streetcar Named Desire – Tennessee Williams
2. The River – Rumer Godden and Jean Renoir
3. The Man In The White Suit – John Dighton, Roger MacDougall, Alexander Mackendrick
4. Decision Before Dawn – Peter Viertel
5. Fixed Bayonets - Sam Fuller

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
1. Along The Great Divide – Sid Hickox
2. The River – Claude Renoir
3. An American In Paris – Alfred Gilks and John Alton
4. M – Ernest Laszlo
5. The Tall Target – Paul Vogel

BEST FILM EDITING
1. Along The Great Divide
2. A Streetcar Named Desire
3. The Tall Target
4. An American In Paris
5. Late Summer

BEST ART DIRECTION
1. An American In Paris
2. Quo Vadis?
3. The River
4. Tales of Hoffman
5. Along The Great Divide

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
1. Quo Vadis? – Herschel McCoy
2. The African Queen – Connie Di Pinna and Doris Langley Moore
3. An American In Paris – Orry-Kelly, Walter Plunkett and Irene Sharaff
4. A Streetcar Named Desire – Lucinda Ballard
5. On The Riviera – Oleg Cassini and Travilla

BEST MUSIC – MUSICAL FILM
1. An American In Paris
2. Royal Wedding
3. The Strip
4. Two Tickets To Broadway
5. Here Comes The Groom

BEST MUSIC – NON-MUSICAL FILM
1. A Streetcar Named Desire – Alex North
2. The Day The Earth Stood Still – Bernard Herrmann
3. Kind Lady – David Raksin
4. Along The Great Divide – David Buttolph
5. St. Benny The Dip – Robert W. Stringer

BEST SONG
1. “Happy Trails” (Spoilers Of The Plains) – Dale Evans
2. “Too Late Now” (Royal Wedding) – Burton Lane and Alan Jay Lerner
3. “A Kiss To Build A Dream On” (The Strip) – Bet Kalmar, Harry Ruby and Oscar Hammerstein II
4. “I Left My Hat In Haiti” (Royal Wedding) – Burton Lane and Alan Jay Lerner
5. “Mister Christopher Columbus” (Here Comes The Groom) – Jay Livingston and Ray Evans

BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS
1. Royal Wedding
2. Fixed Bayonets
3. Tales Of Hoffman
4. When Worlds Collide
5. The Day The Earth Stood Still

BEST MAKE-UP
1. The African Queen
2. Tales Of Hoffman
3. The Day The Earth Stood Still
4. An American In Paris
5. A Streetcar Named Desire

WORST MOVIE
1. Cattle Queen
2. The Whip Hand
3. Another Man’s Poison
4. He Ran All The Way
5. Show Boat
6. The Great Caruso
7. The Strip
8. When Worlds Collide
9. Too Young To Kiss
10. A Place In Th Sun

[Reza]

Best Supporting Actress
Shelley Winters (A Patch of Blue)

Surely you mean Shelley Winters in A Place In the Sun?

[Bruce_Lavigne]

Best Picture
• Ace in the Hole (Billy Wilder)
• The African Queen (Sam Spiegel, John Woolf)
• Rashômon (Minoru Jingo)
• Strangers on a Train (Alfred Hitchcock)
• A Streetcar Named Desire (Charles K. Feldman)


Best Leading Actor
• Humphrey Bogart (The African Queen)
• Marlon Brando (A Streetcar Named Desire)
• Montgomery Clift (A Place in the Sun)
• Michael Redgrave (The Browning Version)
• Robert Walker (Strangers on a Train)


Best Leading Actress
• Irene Dunne (The Mudlark)
• Katharine Hepburn (The African Queen)
• Vivien Leigh (A Streetcar Named Desire)
• Thelma Ritter (The Mating Season)
• Shelley Winters (A Place in the Sun)


Best Supporting Actor
• Leo Genn (Quo Vadis?)
• Alec Guinness (The Mudlark)
• Karl Malden (A Streetcar Named Desire)
• Kevin McCarthy (Death of a Salesman)
• Peter Ustinov (Quo Vadis?)


Best Supporting Actress
• Hope Emerson (Westward the Women)
• Lee Grant (Detective Story)
• Kim Hunter (A Streetcar Named Desire)
• Lenore Lonergan (Westward the Women)
• Jan Sterling (Ace in the Hole)


Best Director
• Alfred Hitchcock (Strangers on a Train)
• John Huston (The African Queen)
• Elia Kazan (A Streetcar Named Desire)
• Akira Kurosawa (Rashômon)
• Billy Wilder (Ace in the Hole)



Edited By Bruce_Lavigne on 1285466207

[Precious Doll]

Best Film

1. A Place in the Sun
2. Diary of a Country Priest
3. Strangers on a Train
4. Early Summer
5. Pandora and the Flying Dutchman

Best Director

1. George Stevens, A Place in the Sun
2. Robert Bresson, Diary of a Country Priest
3. Alfred Hitchcock, Strangers on a Train
4. Yasujiro Ozu, Early Summer
5. Albert Lewin, Pandora and the Flying Dutchman

Best Actor

1. Montgomery Clift, A Place in the Sun
2. Marlon Brando, A Streetcar Named Desire
3. James Mason, Pandora and the Flying Dutchman
4. Alastair Sim, A Christmas Carol
5. Arthur Kennedy, Bright Victory

Best Actress

1. Vivien Leigh, A Streetcar Named Desire
2. Anna Magnini, Bellissima
3. Shelley Winters, A Place in the Sun
4. Ava Gardner, Pandora and the Flying Dutchman
5. Thelma Ritter, The Model and the Marriage Broker

Best Supporting Actor

1. Robert Walker, Strangers on a Train
2. John Charlesworth, Tom Brown’s School Days
3. Henry Nakamura, Westward the Women
4. Will Geer, Bright Victory
5. Keenan Wynn, Kind Lady

Best Supporting Actress

1. Hope Emerson, Westward the Women
2. Nancy Kulp, The Model and the Marriage Broker
3. Kim Hunter, A Streetcar Named Desire
4. Peggy Dow, Bright Victory
5. Thelma Ritter, The Mating Season

Best Screenplay

1. Early Summer
2. Westward the Women
3. Bellissima
4. La Poison
5. The Model and the Marriagebroker

Best Screenplay Adaptation

1. A Place in the Sun
2. Diary of a Country Priest
3. Strangers on a Train
4. Pandora and the Flying Dutchman
5. Miss Oyu

Best Cinematography

1. Pandora and the Flying Dutchman
2. A Place in the Sun
3. The River
4. Strangers on a Train
5. Miss Oyu

Best Editing

1. Strangers on a Train
2. A Place in the Sun
3. Westward the Women
4. The River
5. Bellissima

Best Sound

1. Strangers on a Train
2. The River
3. Across the Great Divide
4. Westward the Women
5. A Place in the Sun

Best Art Direction

1. When Worlds Collide
2. A Place in the Sun
3. Miss Oyu
4. Strangers on a Train
5. Pandora and the Flying Dutchman

Best Costume Design

1. Pandora and the Flying Dutchman
2. A Place in the Sun
3. A Christmas Carol
4. Westward the Women
5. Miss Oyu

Best Music

1. A Place in the Sun
2. Strangers on a Train
3. Westward the Women
4. Across the Great Divide
5. A Streetcar Named Desire

[MCAR]

Picture:
The African Queen
Rashomon
The River
Strangers On A Train
A Streetcar Named Desire

Actor:
*Marlon Brando – A Streetcar Named Desire*
Montgomery Clift – A Place In The Sun
Kirk Douglas – Ace In The Hole
Toshiro Mifune - Rashomon
Michael Redgrave – The Browning Version

Actress:
Ethel Barrymore – Kind Lady
Katharine Hepburn – The African Queen
Machiko Kyo - Rashomon
*Vivien Leigh – A Streetcar Named Desire*
Thelma Ritter - The Mating Season

Supporting Actor:
Karl Malden – A Streetcar Named Desire
Masayuki Mori - Rashomon
Takashi Shimura - Rashomon
Peter Ustinov – Quo Vadis
Robert Walker – Strangers On A Train

Supporting Actress:
Mildred Dunnock – Death Of A Salesman
Lee Grant - Detective Story
Kim Hunter – A Streetcar Named Desire
Jan Sterling – Ace In The Hole
Shelley Winters – A Place In The Sun

Director:
Alfred Hitchcock – Strangers On A Train
John Huston – The African Queen
Elia Kazan – A Streetcar Named Desire
Akira Kurosawa - Rashomon
Jean Renoir – The River

Original Screenplay:
T.E.B. Clarke – The Lavendar Hill Mob
Jack Davies & Michael Pertwee - Laughter In Paradise
Samuel Fuller – The Steel Helmet
Walter Newman, Lesser Samuels & Billy Wilder - Ace In The Hole
Martin Rackin – The Enforcer

Adapted Screenplay:
James Agee & John Huston - The African Queen
Raymond Chandler, Whitfield Cook & Czenzi Ormonde - Strangers On A Train
Rumer Godden & Jean Renoir - The River
Shinobu Hashimoto & Akira Kurosawa - Rashomon
Oscar Saul & Tennessee Williams - A Streetcar Named Desire

Foreign Film:
Early Summer (Japan)
Poison (France)
*Rashomon (Japan)*
Repast (Japan)
The Underdog (Germany)

[Reza]

1951
Best Picture
Ace in the Hole
Bellissima
A Place in the Sun
Strangers on a Train
*A Streetcar Named Desire

Best Actor
*Marlon Brando, A Streetcar Named Desire
Humphrey Bogart, The African Queen
Montgomery Clift, A Place in the Sun
Kirk Douglas, Ace in the Hole
Michael Redgrave, The Browning Version

Best Actress
Katharine Hepburn, The African Queen
*Vivien Leigh, A Streetcar Named Desire
Anna Magnani, Bellissima
Silvana Mangano, Anna
Eleanor Parker, Detective Story

Best Supporting Actor
Vittorio Gassman, Anna
Karl Malden, A Streetcar Named Desire
*Robert Walker, Strangers on a Train
Peter Ustinov, Quo Vadis?
Raf Vallone, Anna

Best Supporting Actress
Ava Gardner, Show Boat
Kim Hunter. A Streetcar Named Desire
*Thelma Ritter, The Mating Season
Jan Sterling, Ace in the Hole
Shelley Winters, A Place in the Sun

Best Director
Alfred Hitchcock, Strangers on a Train
John Huston, The African Queen
*Elia Kazan, A Streetcar Named Desire
George Stevens, A Place in the Sun
Billy Wilder, Ace in the Hole

[Big Magilla]

1951

Best Picture
The African Queen
An American in Paris
A Place in the Sun
Rashomon
*A Streetcar Named Desire

Best Actor
Humphrey Bogart, The African Queen
*Marlon Brando, A Streetcar Named Desire
Montgomery Clift, A Place in the Sun
Fredric March, Death of a Salesman
Alastair Sim, A Christmas Carol

Best Actress
Claudette Colbert, Thunder on the Hill
Katharine Hepburn, The African Queen
*Vivien Leigh, A Streetcar Named Desire
Eleanor Parker, Detective Story
Jane Wyman, The Blue Veil

Best Supporting Actor
Richard Basehart, Fourteen Hours
Karl Malden, A Streetcar Named Desire
Kevin McCarthy, Death of a Salesman
Peter Ustinov, Quo Vadis
*Robert Walker, Strangers on a Train

Best Supporting Actress
Mildred Dunnock, Death of a Salesman
Nina Foch, An American in Paris
Kim Hunter, A Streetcar Named Desire
*Thelma Ritter, The Mating Season
Shelley Winters, A Place in the Sun

Best Director
John Huston, The African Queen
*Elia Kazan, A Streetcar Named Desire
Akira Kurosawa, Rashomon
Vincente Minnelli, An American in Paris
George Stevens, A Place in the Sun