Re: Best Supporting Actor 1966
Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2016 1:45 am
NOTE: Edited 2016 to reject category fraud.
I've finally caught up with The Fortune Cookie thanks to TCM's 31 Days of Oscar, and completed this field. The performances here are solid, though I can't say any leaps out at me as being the overwhelming choice.
I can't say Mako made all that much of an impression on me in The Sand Pebbles. I'll grant that his character's relationship with McQueen is among the more interesting parts of a fairly dull movie, and his raw emotionalism is affecting, but he doesn't have too many great scenes, and is gone from the movie pretty soon after he appears.
George Segal is definitely solid in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, in a decent-size part. As the one relatively sane character in the film, he provides an emotionally grounded counterpoint to the other actors. Of course, the other three get the kind of fireworks that lead to performances that are truly dazzling; Segal, by comparison, is simply good.
Robert Shaw barrels into A Man for All Seasons and clearly walks off with his portion of the movie, a great spitfire showdown with Paul Scofield delivered with great energy and humor. But, as Mister Tee says, that's basically his entire part. He makes enough of an impression to merit a nomination, but it's hard for me to pick him as a winner.
James Mason is typically classy in Georgy Girl, projecting an air of refinement that prevents his character from seeming too creepy. And he's the kind of smart, usually witty actor I'd try to find a place to choose for an Oscar at some point. The trouble is, though I think he's perfectly decent throughout this movie, it's not such a showcase role, so it's hard for me to be outraged he lost.
I wonder how Walter Matthau's performance in The Fortune Cookie must have felt in real-time. Because by the time I got to it, last weekend, I thought, wow, I've been seeing Matthau do this basic part since I first saw him in Dennis the Menace at age seven. He clearly has the most stand-out role on this ballot -- even an actor as wonderful as Jack Lemmon doesn't register much here, because Matthau just takes charge of every scene he's in, rattling off mile-a-minute dialogue and finding all kinds of funny grace notes along the way. But on category fraud terms, I still have to grumble -- although this isn't the WORST case of fraud ever, co-leads are still leads.
Best performance: Matthau, but I'd have to vote Mason as the year's actual best supporting actor.
I've finally caught up with The Fortune Cookie thanks to TCM's 31 Days of Oscar, and completed this field. The performances here are solid, though I can't say any leaps out at me as being the overwhelming choice.
I can't say Mako made all that much of an impression on me in The Sand Pebbles. I'll grant that his character's relationship with McQueen is among the more interesting parts of a fairly dull movie, and his raw emotionalism is affecting, but he doesn't have too many great scenes, and is gone from the movie pretty soon after he appears.
George Segal is definitely solid in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, in a decent-size part. As the one relatively sane character in the film, he provides an emotionally grounded counterpoint to the other actors. Of course, the other three get the kind of fireworks that lead to performances that are truly dazzling; Segal, by comparison, is simply good.
Robert Shaw barrels into A Man for All Seasons and clearly walks off with his portion of the movie, a great spitfire showdown with Paul Scofield delivered with great energy and humor. But, as Mister Tee says, that's basically his entire part. He makes enough of an impression to merit a nomination, but it's hard for me to pick him as a winner.
James Mason is typically classy in Georgy Girl, projecting an air of refinement that prevents his character from seeming too creepy. And he's the kind of smart, usually witty actor I'd try to find a place to choose for an Oscar at some point. The trouble is, though I think he's perfectly decent throughout this movie, it's not such a showcase role, so it's hard for me to be outraged he lost.
I wonder how Walter Matthau's performance in The Fortune Cookie must have felt in real-time. Because by the time I got to it, last weekend, I thought, wow, I've been seeing Matthau do this basic part since I first saw him in Dennis the Menace at age seven. He clearly has the most stand-out role on this ballot -- even an actor as wonderful as Jack Lemmon doesn't register much here, because Matthau just takes charge of every scene he's in, rattling off mile-a-minute dialogue and finding all kinds of funny grace notes along the way. But on category fraud terms, I still have to grumble -- although this isn't the WORST case of fraud ever, co-leads are still leads.
Best performance: Matthau, but I'd have to vote Mason as the year's actual best supporting actor.