Best Supporting Actor 1940

[Mister Tee]

I haven't decided yet if I'm going to vote here, as I'm missing William Gargan's They Knew What They Wanted performance. I did have one opportunity to see the movie -- local channel 5 or 9 ran it the night before Thanksgiving in 1980, when I was at my parents' house -- but I was outvoted by friends who didn't have the patience for it. Had I known it was going to be such a singular occurrence, I'd have forced the matter.

Of the nominees: I don't regret that Jack Oakie was denied for his Slapstick Mussolini. I like some Chaplin. but The Great Dictator is one of his least distinguished.

Albert Basserman is perfectly fine in Foreign Correspondent, but the role is punishingly small without any particularly big moments.

I know I'm supposed to be wild for James Stephenson -- he damn near won the NY Critics' best actor prize, and certainly the character he plays is interestingly complex. But I found his persona generally bland. A stronger actor in the same role might have got my vote.

But, if I vote, it's going to be for Walter Brennan, who's terrific as Judge Roy Bean. It's strange to me that this was the win that got everyone grumbling, when it's clearly a dominant, charismatic performance that would be in the running any year.

I'll wait and see how many vote without seeing the Gargan performance (which I assume has been as elusive for everyone else). If enough others jump in, I might, as well.

[Big Magilla]

This is the only time I think Walter Brennan deserved his Oscar. His Judge Roy Bean is the whole show in The Westerner.

You can keep the rest of the nominees. Albert Basserman was splendid in his brief role in Foreign Correspondent but it wasn't all that special. The best supporting actor in a Hitchcock film this year was George Sanders, albeit in Rebecca.

As many times as I've seen The Letter I've never gotten the acclaim for James Stephensenson. If anyone deserved to be nominated in this category for that film it was Herbert Marshall.

William Gargan really does nothing ot warrant a nomination for They Knew What They Wanted and Jack Oakie's hamola in The Great Dictator is almsot as bad as Gargan's co-star Frank Fay in They Knew What They Wanted .

It's really shocking that they settled for so little when they could have nominated the enduring performances of Fank Morgan in The Mortal Storm; John Carradine in The Grapes of Wrath and last year's winner, Thomas Mitchell at his career best in The Long Voyage Home.

[ksrymy]

The only one I haven't seen is They Knew What They Wanted and rightly so as it's not on Netflix.

Oakie is pretty alright stuff in Chaplin's picture but that's the problem: it's Chaplin's picture.

Albert Bassermann's Van Meer in Hitchock's flick is great and convincing and all but the real standout support is George Sanders's ffolliot which I think is on par with his All About Eve work. Sanders was fantastic in Rebecca this year too.

Judge Roy Bean is one of the polarizing yet forgotten names of the Old West and Brennan plays him well and definitely steals the picture away from Gary Cooper but I'm picking James Stephenson.

Stephenson isn't able to steal the show from Bette Davis as Brennan was from Cooper, but Stephenson's character is a lovely one. The subtle movements of his face and eyes allow us to figure out along with him that Davis is entirely guilty. His character doesn't get loud or showy which is very impressive for a non-parental supporting nominee. For a lovely subtle performance, he gets my vote.

My picks:
1. Frank Morgan - The Shop Around the Corner
1. James Stephenson - The Letter
3. George Sanders - Foreign Correspondent/Rebecca
4. Thomas Mitchell - The Long Voyage Home
5. John Carradine - The Grapes of Wrath