Best Actor 1959: Results

5. Paul Muni in The Last Angry Man- Paul Muni's performance is frustrating because he shows some honest moments in his performance, but perpetuates throughout most of his performance a lot of overacting.

4. Charlton Heston in Ben-Hur- Charlton Heston performance is not at all perfect, but it works incredibly well for the film. His strong presence carries this epic the whole way through. 

3. Jack Lemmon in Some Like it Hot- Jack Lemmon's performance is one loved by many, I find he is good myself infusing a lot of energy into his part, but I just did not like him as much as most people seem to.

2. Laurence Harvey in Room at the Top- Besides some very small nitpicks this is an almost perfect performance by Laurence Harvey. He shows a fascinating portrait of man filled with hate, and ambitious, but as well as some underneath the rough service.

1. James Stewart in Anatomy of a Murder- Good prediction Dinasztie. The only reason Stewart really tops Harvey for me is that Harvey had almost unnoticeable flaws, where Stewart is flawless. The reason Stewart is the best of the year though is because of how brilliant, entertaining, funny, effective he is in this role. Paul Biegler really could have been a lackluster role in lesser hands but Stewart shows what how an old pro can truly bring the absolute best out of a role.

Deserving Performance:
Cary Grant in North by Northwest

Best Actor 1959: Charlton Heston in Ben-Hur

Charlton Heston won his Oscar from his only nomination for portraying Judah Ben-Hur in Ben-Hur

Ben-Hur tells of a Jewish prince who becomes a slave due to be being betrayed by his old friend Marcella (Stephen Boyd) who has become a Roman centurion. The film depicts his survival and revenge, as well as

Charlton Heston performance in Ben-Hur certianly received criticism which certainly expands to Heston himself. Heston certianly is an actor it would be hard for anyone to say he ever really disappears into a role. I would not say that is not automatically a problem with an actor, as due to the actors style that may be impossible, and an actor who is good at playing in their own style can have a unique appeal which only they have.

Heston does certainly have an appeal, with his distinct voice, and commanding stature. He is not that of an appealing actor to me though, but I will just say I do not automatically dislike him, and I will say he does have something that others actors could not imitate exactly. Heston was not the only choice for Ben-Hur, and it is interesting to examine two who stick out of the potentials. Burt Lancaster who probably would have given his straight man style performance and perhaps a bit boring, and Paul Newman who as he said probably would not have looked good in a Tunic, and also he failed to carry an epic well, in my opinion, in Exodus a year later.

My point though is although Heston does have less range than those actors he probably was the better choice for Judah Ben-Hur. I will say he most certianly does carry the picture. He carries the entire epic on his soldiers, and I did not find his performance to be overly empathetic but his strong command and presence in the role of Ben-Hur just worked for the epic, and that is all there is to it. Is it amazing acting? no, but it is an effective leading performance. Heston made me want to follow Ben-Hur through his journey, and his ultimate revenge.

Now this is not a flawless performance obviously, that's why I said it was not great acting. Some of his line readings can be a be stilted at times, it is pretty obvious he was unable to cry on camera since he always turns away when he is going to, but I still felt most of the time what he did as Ben-Hur worked.  It is a strong effective passionate lead performance, that fully services the film it is in. Hardly perfect, and perhaps a little overshadowed by the film itself but it is not a bad performance.

Best Actor 1959

And the Nominees Were:

James Stewart in Anatomy of A Murder

Jack Lemmon in Some Like it Hot

Charlton Heston in Ben-Hur

Paul Muni in The Last Angry Man

Laurence Harvey in Room at the Top

I suppose this is my special Easter edition of best actor thanks to the actual winner Ben-Hur.