Best Supporting Actor 1975

[ITALIANO]

A reasonably good selection. Even George Burns wasn't bad, and even today occasionally funny - which, considering the material he had to deal with, can be considered a kind of personal triumph. He's certainly better than Walter Matthau in the same movie. But this is still Neil Simon - overlong Neil Simon, even - and Burns is clearly a co-lead.

It's not easy to vote here, because the other four are more or less on the same level. Jack Warden was a serviceable character actor of those years, serviceably used in Shampoo. Brad Dourif had the sort of role - sensitive young man - and was in the sort of movie which made his nomination certain, and the Oscar itself, I guess, possible; category fraud didn't make it happen (I'm sure he'd have won if Burns hadn't been in the race), but Dourif is actually effective in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and it's a pity that this strange but not untalented actor never really had a second chance.

In one of his extremely interesting letters - one that he wrote in the 30s, when he was playing Hamlet on Broadway - John Gielgud, who used to complain about the state of American theatre of the time, said that he had seen the young and, I think, still not very famous Burgess Meredith in a play and had found him to be an exceptional, promising new talent. It took a long time for Meredith to become popular in movies too - and when it finally happened, many years later, it was just as a "prestige" supporting actor. He probably didn't have the right looks to become a movie star, and even in supporting roles he was sometimes a bit too powerful - but when well-used, as in True Confessions or in this The Day of the Locust, he could definitely be impressive. I could easily vote for him...

... except that I've finally decided to vote for Chris Sarandon. I wouldn't compare his character or performance to Leonard Frey's - feminine men, after all, do exist, and Sarandon is quite believable and realistic in this role (which isn't exactly a gay role even - more a transexual, or transgender, person); plus, I'd say that, especially by 70s standards, the theme is quite correctly treated. And while it certainly isn't a "big" role, those two scenes - the often mentioned phone scene especially - are memorable. Sarandon had a handsome Greek face and could be - as it's obvious in Dog Day Afternoon - very good, so it's surprising that he didn't become a bigger star (maybe not in America, but in Europe he's mostly known as Susan's husband).

[mlrg]

Jack Warden - Shampoo

[Sabin]

Haven't seen The Day of the Locust so I'll abstain from voting because I would imagine that Burgess Meredith is likely better than at least half the nominees here. I have never understood why Robert Shaw wasn't nominated for Jaws, especially over what little Jack Warden has to do in Shampoo and the brevity of Chris Sarandon's admittedly awesome performance in Dog Day Afternoon.

[Reza]

Voted for Burgess Meredith.

My picks for 1975:

1. Robert Shaw, Jaws
2. Henry Gibson, Nashville
3. Burgess Meredith, The Day of the Locust
4. Chris Sarandon, Dog Day Afternoon
5. Brad Dourif, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

The 6th Spot: George Burns, The Sunshine Boys

[Precious Doll]

Good line up. My choices:

1. Henry Gibson for Nashville
2. Volker Spengler for Satan's Brew
3. Chris Sarandon for Dog Day Afternoon
4. Jack Warden for Shampoo
5. Sydney Lassick for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Also worthy of a mention is John Cazale for Dog Day Afternoon.

[Mister Tee]

This category bounced around all year -- I kept changing my mind on who'd win, or even be nominated -- but in the end became the evening's most predictable thanks to category fraud.

For much of the summer, I was sure Robert Shaw would win. The Academy that had nominated Fred Astaire's non-entity work for The Towering Inferno seemed sure to eat up Shaw's showy role in the biggest blockbuster of the era. I'm still surprised he was left out entirely.

Henry Gibson's omission was less a surprise, as Hollywood clearly never took to Altman (I was relieved I'm Easy was able to hold on and win despite this). Gibson was clearly deserving -- it was a career peak.

I was never that crazy about Alan Arkin in Hearts of the West. I found him, like his film, amusing in a low-key way. Come to think of it, that pretty much describes the role that finally got him the prize 30 years later.

Other potential nominees (though not my choices) were Golden Globe winner Richard Benjamin, and Charles Durning, who I believe took NBR. But each was superseded by another entrant from his own film.

To the nominees:

It's lost to history now, but in late Fall/early winter, some of us worried that George Burns might triumph over Jack Nicholson in the best actor category. Yes, it seemed finally Jack's time -- Quincy Jones had been quoted in the NY TImes Magazine saying "They're finally going to run out of old dudes to vote for". But Burns was exactly the sort of "old dude" -- long-beloved veteran -- who'd beaten Nicholson the year before, and no one was willing to bet Hollywood was beyond another such snub. I remember exactly the moment I realized what the strategy was going to be: Burns was on with Johnny Carson, highly touting co-star Walter Matthau, saying "I hope he wins the Oscar. If they put me up for supporting, I'll accept it; I won't send any Indian to turn it down" (yes, gratuitous Brando slap). The fact that both Cuckoo's Nest and Sunshine Boys were UA releases may have had something to do with this obvious positioning. In any event, once it was established, Burns was viewed as a shoo-in. And he's not bad in the film -- he's the most amusing thing about the movie, for as little as that's worth. But certainly I won't vote for him.

Brad Dourif was good as Billy Bibbitt -- he certainly was different from the way I'd pictured the character on the page. But his role wasn't that dominant, and I felt he was carried in by best picture momentum.

Jack Warden was the kind of actor generally appreciated in hindsight, rarely celebrated in the moment. He had been fairly widely priased for Shampoo, but the film was an early-year opener (February), and there'd been so many candidates afterward that it seemed he'd be forgotten. I'm pleased he survived the cut, even though he doesn't get my vote.

Burgess Meredith was impressive enough in The Day of the Locust that he ecured this nomination despite many utterly despising his film. His veteran status was enough to help him over the nomination hump, but he was chanceless in the final voting. I haven't seen the film since 1975, but I liked him a great deal at the time, and rate him first runner-up.

But my choice -- then and now -- is Chris Sarandon for Dog Day Afternoon. It's possible that, like Leonard Frey's work in Boys in the Band, this performance would seem dated today. But at the time it was a revelation: a sort of character we'd never seen in a Hollywood movie, infused with incredible pathos (hardly the trademark of Sidney Lumet's work). The role I guess only covered two scenes, but WHAT scenes -- first Sarandon's interview with the police, and then his heart-breaking telephone conversation with Pacino. I'd never seen Sarandon previously, but I was completely floored by what he did here, and I give him my vote without hesitation.

[Big Magilla]

There wasn't anything about The Sunshine Boys I liked and that includes George Burns' performance. Granted, he proved in his old age that he could be more than just a straight man for his gifted comedienne wife, Gracie Allen, but the vehicle that brought him renewed popularity was loathsome and tireseome. Besides, he is the film's co-lead, along with Walter Matthau, and did not belong in the supporting category.

Jack Warden, was to me, the least interesting actor in Shampoo which contained stellar performances from non-nominees Warren Beatty, Juie Christie and Goldie Hawn as wellas Supporting Actress winer Lee Grant.

How those two wound up with nominations that should have gone to Henry Gibson in Nashville and Alan Arkin in Hearts of the West is somethign I'm still trying to figure out. Ginson was easily teh year's best in this category, followed closey by Arkin.

The other three nominees were all note-worthy. Both Chris Sarandon and Brad Dourif looked like real finds who would become major strs. Alas, though both are still with us, neither has reached the heights of their initial acclaim.

Burgess Meredith, an actor who came close to an Oscar nod as far back as 1945s The Story of G.I. Joe finally received a nomiantion for his finsest role, as the has-been vaudevilllian in The Day of the Locust. He gets my default vote.

[ksrymy]

I still need to see Day of the Locust before I vote. I'll get around to that tonight or tomorrow. I only prolong this instead of voting now because I have direct access to the film and I hear Meredith is marvelous in it.

I'd also cite Henry Gibson in Nashville and Robert Shaw in Jaws alongside Burns, Dourif, and Sarandon. Shaw or Burns may be bumped if I enjoy Meredith enough.