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: James Stewart in Anatomy of A Murder

James Stewart received his fifth and final Oscar nomination for portraying lawyer Paul Biegler in Anatomy of a Murder.

Anatomy of a Murder is a fascinating court room drama since it investigates the interesting psychology of the court room incredibly effectively.

James Stewart is an interesting actor in his transition from the aw shucks passionate young man, which continued his pre-war years, and partially into It's A Wonderful Life, parts of It's a Wonderful Life showed a darker Stewart which continued later into his career especially in Vertigo and certainly in this film. His Paul Biegler is fascinating because he is not fighting for good, or necessarily justice. He is instead only fighting the case of an army soldier who murdered a man who possibly raped his wife, just because it basically is the case he is trying.

It is interesting because he portrays Paul Biegler as a very passionate, and extraordinarily hard working, and not really cynical, but instead Stewart shows Biegler as a man who is doing a job is likes and is incredibly good at. There is not a whole lot of scenes that show the personal life of Biegler, since all the people he interacts with are either witnesses or his colleagues, yet Stewart still makes Biegler an entirely vivid character.

It is fascinating to see Stewart as Biegler, since he shows that Biegler will do about anything within the law to win the case. In particular his early scenes where Stewart brilliantly shows Paul's creation of the case and his defense in his mind. Stewart perfectly shows the intelligence and simply the craftiness of Paul almost entirely non verbally through his perfect indicative glances. Stewart is especially good in show Paul way of coaxing  an excuse for the killing by the killer, that will please the jury. Stewart makes it clear that Paul knows there really was not an excuse, but almost had one made to show his ability. 

Stewart best scenes of course are the court room scenes, in which he is simply astonishing in every moment. Stewart is perfect in showing how Paul basically puts on a three ring circus since he really practically does not even have a case to speak of. Stewart is outstanding in his complete mastery of these courtroom, and the scenes himself. He holds the attention of scene throughout every single moment, even when not focused on.

Stewart is firstly is completely believable as the lawyer he never loses a beat in his court room performance. He is also incredibly entertaining to watch, as he is simply fun to watch all of these scenes, and I never felt he was "acting" but always showing that this is Biegler's method in winning the trial. It is fascinating how Stewart can be funny in one moment with his perfect delivery of Biegler's one liners, such as when he says he is just an old country lawyer, and the next moment incredibly powerful in his passionate speeches to the court. Stewart makes all these transition it entirely realistic.

Stewart does not have a wrong moment in this performance, and it is one performance I just love to watch because of how incredibly effective it is. Stewart is essential to the film in making every court room scene as good as it is, as well as making Biegler a fascinating and well drawn character despite the little there is about him in the film. Overall this performance shows how an old pro like Stewart could simply do wonders with what could have been a stock or unmemorable role. Stewart though clearly shows everything he had learned over the years into this terrific, and somehow effortless 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.

Best Actor 1940: Results

5. James Stewart in The Philadelphia Story- Although I usually like Stewart a whole lot, here his performance always seemed to lack the right comfort and joy to work for this romantic comedy.

4. Raymond Massey in Abe Lincoln in Illinois- Massey is not always completely believable as Abe Lincoln such as in his early scenes, but he always gives a nice charming, and passionate performance as Lincoln.

3. Henry Fonda in The Grapes of Wrath- Fonda gives a very strong performance showing Tom Joad as a normal man, who slowly grows a strong passion and realization to fight against the injustices brought against his family and other struggling people.

2. Charlie Chaplin in The Great Dictator- I will not say Chaplin is entirely consistent, but almost always enjoyable. His comedic timing as both the Barber, and the Dictator are spot on with his direction. Also his final speech although out of character, has tremendous power due to his passionate delivery.

1. Laurence Olivier in Rebecca- Olivier once again was an easy choice for me. Olivier simply does wonders with his role as Maxim de Winter. In the somewhat sparse time he is given early in the film, he creates a wonderful interesting character, with the mysterious haunted quality, and when he finally can reveal the whole truth of his character it simply leads to an outstanding performance by Olivier.

Deserving Performances:
Cary Grant in His Girl Friday

Best Actor 1940: James Stewart in The Philadelphia Story

James Stewart won an Oscar from his second nomination for portraying tabloid journalist Macaulay 'Mike' Connor in The Philadelphia Story.

The Philadelphia Story is of course a film of romantic hijinks about a divorced couple (Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn), her impending marriage to someone else, some snooping tabloid journalists, as well as some crazy family members.

James Stewart is an actor that I usually enjoy very much, as he can be a both a very charming screen presence, and a powerful one as well. Here as Macaulay Connor I really just could not really enjoy his performance very much. In particular his opening scenes in the film where he questions the degrading job of snooping in on people's private lives.

In these early moments I really felt Stewart was simply just unpleasant. He seemed to have no joy at all in his performance, as he shows Connor being annoyed by his job and the Socialites' way of life. Now he obviously did need to show some consternation in his performance, but he could have had a little bit fun with being annoyed, but instead I felt like Stewart himself did not want to be playing the part.

Stewart stops being perpetually annoyed though when Mike becomes quickly in love with the soon to be married Tracy Lord(Katharine Hepburn). Frankly I did not entirely believe his instant infatuation on his part, yes Hepburn has the right hard to resist charm but Stewart just did no make me believe his entirely head over heals fall for her.

Stewart in the romantic scenes does finally get to show some of his Stewart charm, but frankly it does not seem to be as charming as he usual is. He still is charming and makes the scenes with Hepburn nice enough, but he never really reaches his level of charm he does in his best roles such as in It's A Wonderful Life, or Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

Also in his screwball scenes, particularly his big one with Cary Grant, Stewart shows a certian lack of comfort in his performance. I will give credit to Stewart for trying, trying very hard, and possibly succeeding a little bit, but everything he tries to do to make the scene seem crazy, seem a little bit forced, since he never becomes comfortable enough in his performance or the scene. That is how I really felt about his whole performance. Overall he is fine, but lacking especially for Stewart who can usually be great. This is one of the best examples of the right actor winning an Oscar but for the wrong role.

Best Actor 1940

And the Nominees Were

Henry Fonda in The Grapes of Wrath

Charlie Chaplin in The Great Dictator

James Stewart in The Philadelphia Story

Laurence Olivier in Rebecca

Raymond Massey in Abe Lincoln in Illinois

Best Actor 1950: Results

5. Louis Calhern in The Magnificent Yankee- I will say it again that Calhern is just fine as Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, but only just fine.

4. Spencer Tracy in Father of the Bride- Spencer Tracy is very good in this film being both an interesting presence to follow through sometime purposely mundane situations, and fins the right amount of humor when he can.

3. William Holden in Sunset Blvd.- William does an incredibly good job at being cynical, and finds the right if sometimes bizarre tone for his scenes with Gloria Swanson. The only reason he is third because I though he had more help from the film than the other two.

2. Jose Ferrer in Cyrano De Bergerac- Ferrer is very strong in every speech he makes from his most explosively and overly dramatic ones to his more tender romantic ones. I do not think the film uses his performance particularly well, and Ferrer does not have anyone who can really act all that well with, but nonetheless gives a strong performance.

1. James Stewart in Harvey- James Stewart tops this list although I am not going to say I am completely sure about even this placement, but it is the placement for the moment. Anyways I put him here because the film he is in and everything with in it would have been an absolute incredible failure if Stewart was not able to make Elwood such a likable, poignant, endearing, and most importantly believable character. Elwood is an incredible challenge and Stewart manages to meet it.

Deserving Performances:
Edmond O'Brien in DOA
Toshiro Mifune in Rashomon

Best Actor 1950: James Stewart in Harvey

James Stewart received his fourth Oscar nomination for portraying Elwood P. Dowd a man whose best friend is a Pooka in Harvey.

Harvey is a weird comedy I will say, it tries for something very odd, and I would say it does not succeed fully but I do not think still is an enjoyable film.

 I must say that Jimmy Stewart certainly has quite a challenge with the character of Elwood. Elwood is most assuredly a bizarre man, whose level of sanity certainly is up to debate. Elwood as a character could have been rife with problems such as being too crazy or being creepy, or most importantly not being at all believable. Elwood certainly is a preposterous character and could have been all of these things. Also the film put the actor as Elwood in a very very odd spot, since is he crazy, I mean Harvey does clearly actually exist with the dictionary scene and all that but Elwood still is suppose to be an alcoholic, and he still oddly constantly wants to hand people his card.

Stewart then is in an incredibly tricky spot since the film makes Elwood so strange. Stewart though I think does manage to find a way through all these oddities in making an endearing character out of Elwood for me anyways. I think this comes partially from Stewart's demeanor he uses so well in this film. He has his usual Stewart charm in this film, but in an specially relaxed sort of way, which I think is the right tone for Elwood. After all this alone I find makes it so Elwood unique problems do not seem abrasive or creepy at all, because Stewart is such a relaxed presence. He plays Elwood as a nice guy who happens to simply be friends with a giant rabbit. I actually believes that he saw Harvey because of this attitude he has in the film. He just turns and talks to his friend Harvey like everyone else he speaks to which I felt worked for the oddity of Elwood.

Stewart's performance is one that Stewart finds the perfect tone for and keeps it throughout the film. It is the right way to play Elwood in my opinion and this allows I felt for the best moments of the film. I think everyone of Stewart's speeches he makes about meeting Harvey, or his speech about his philosophy of life are very well handled. I found he put the right heart into them, and made them as poignant which they very well could have fallen flat. He finds the right tone for this very difficult character, and I think he actually succeeds with the bizarre Elwood, which really is pretty amazing considering the nature of him. He somehow stayed realistic to me, for every moment, I did believe in Elwood as a character. I would say his performance could seem simple since Elwood does not change, but that is the point of Elwood. The hardest part of the portrayal was the original creation of the character by the actor, which was very difficult but I feel Stewart managed to pull it off.

Best Actor 1950

And the Nominees Were:

William Holden in Sunset Boulevard 

James Stewart in Harvey

Jose Ferrer in Cyrano De Bergerac

Spencer Tracy in Father of the Bride

Louis Calhern in The Magnificent Yankee

What is your prediction? Who do you pick?

Best Actor 1939: Results

5. Mickey Rooney in Babes in Arms- Mickey Rooney I think he is just fine and functionally correct in his role. Nothing that much, but I really thought he did what he had to.

4. Robert Donat in Goodbye, Mr. Chips-Robert Donat really is a strong winner showing his transition from a young man, to an old teacher brilliantly. He handles all of Chips changes throughout his years brilliantly, and gives a very memorable performance.

3. Laurence Olivier in Wuthering Heights- Heathcliff is a very dramatic character who certainly is an Archetype but Olivier does not stop this from giving a great performance. He is perfect at first as the romantic lead than his transitions brilliantly and truly effectively as the dark and cold Heathcliff.

2. James Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington- James Stewart using his charm which only has really gives a very strong performance. Stewart really is great in his way as the innocent Smith, to his transition to the lone man fighting for what is right.

1. Clark Gable in Gone With The Wind- Clark Gable gives a truly legendary performance as Rhett Butler. Rhett is made is into the extremely memorable character by Gable. Gable is able to stand out in this epic, and stand with Vivien Leigh which is an incredible achievement. An iconic performance that is truly a great performance. This whole year was a great year for acting performances, and each would have been deserving in any year, but I feel Gable happens to be the most powerful, most effective performance, and really was the most challenging character. For such achievement Gable becomes my second two time lead winner now tying with Walter Huston.

Deserving Performances:
John Wayne in Stagecoach

Best Actor 1939: James Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

James Stewart received his first Oscar nomination for portraying recently selected Junior Senator Jefferson Smith in Mr. Smith Goes To Washington. 

Mr. Smith Goes To Washington is a film I enjoy, although it is odd in it has scenes that are a little too hokey such as the scene where he goes around looking at the monuments, but at the same time it has rather dark scenes were the men of the political machines are literally attacking children. Still I do like it anyways, and I find the final scenes of the film are what makes it work.

James Stewart plays Jefferson Smith an old fashioned, well meaning,  upright citizen, and a head of a  local chapter of a fill in for the boy scouts called the boy rangers. He is chosen as the man to fill in for a senator who suddenly died, because political machinists headed by Jim Taylor (Edward Arnold) believe he will just be too simple to see through their schemes, and will be easy to manipulate. I really like Stewart's enthusiasm in his early scenes as Smith, Stewart really is simply perfect for the part as Jefferson Smith. He is perfectly the man he plays, and truly is an actor who was perfectly cast. I actually also liked Stewart because for me he is one actor who can play down the sometimes corny nature of scenes incredibly well. This is because for me I do not think he ever plays it unnaturally and can help even incredibly forced scenes feel much more natural.

He goes along to Washington and is pressured, bothered by many aspects of the Washington scene, but also intrigued by Democracy in action. I think handles the mix of emotions very well. I like his downright honest enthusiasm to see the monuments, and to be an actual United States Senator. He also when meeting the women of Washington, Stewart has the perfect awkward aw shucks. It is the usual Stewart romantic lead reactions, and actions, I do really enjoy them when they add to part of his overall performance. I think a particularly strong scene showing the usual Stewart charm that only Stewart ever had was when he is writing his Bill for a special camp for his Boy Rangers with his secretary Saunders (Jean Arthur). The way Stewart maneuvers himself in this scene is just perfect in that perfect Stewart way that I enjoy a whole lot.

His strongest scenes though is when he introduces his bill. He first introduces his bill, and Stewart is simply great in his manner of Smith's nervousness. But his bill causes him to see find out about a dark side of Washington involving a political machine. Smith is about to be rejected from the Senate on trumped up charged. Stewart's early enthusiasm is properly drained out in these scenes that really show that Smith can barely comprehend that such people could be so bad, and that his Senior Senator (Claude Raines) really was just a stooge the whole time. To prevent from being kicked out Smith starts a filibuster in an attempt to prove his innocence and to reveal the political machine in control. This final part of his performance is what makes it so memorable. Stewart is simply brilliant in his scenes of moving along and along trying to fight for his right, and slowly becoming more and more tired. Stewart is masterful in my opinion, especially in his brilliant final speech that holds true power, that is needed for the ending to succeed which I believe it does very well. I find this performance has the right amount of power, and charm throughout that supports the idea that 1939 is one of if not the greatest year in film.

Best Actor 1939

And The Nominees Were:

James Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Laurence Olivier in Wuthering Heights 

 Robert Donat in Goodbye, Mr. Chips

 Mickey Rooney in Babes in Arms

Clark Gable in Gone With The Wind

So will it be one of the three screen legends, the then young star, or the actor who should be far better remembered than he is?