Here are the five nominees: (Winner in Bold)
Biggest Snub:
Charlie Chaplin – City Lights
My Overall Thoughts:
This was a strange year where only 3 actors were nominated and the vote was too close for comfort. Although I haven’t been able to find a copy of The Guardsman and don’t know if it’s any good, I feel for Lunt being the sole “non-winner”, not something one wants to have on their resume. 😦
My Rankings:
Acting Performances
3. Alfred Lunt (Not Yet Seen)
2. Wallace Beery
1. Fredric March
Movies
3. The Guardsman (Not Yet Seen)
2. The Champ – Great story about issues that weren’t really discussed at the time. The connection between the Champ and Dink works really well and it’s easy to believe that they are really father and son. Beery deservingly won an Oscar for best actor for this role because we really can feel the pain and difficulties that he constantly faces and tries to overcome.
1. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – March is superb in this film because he gets to show his range as an actor due to the diverse attitudes of his two characters. The special effects used for this film were quite unique and innovative for its time and the fact that some of the techniques used were only revealed decades later says so much about this process. March deserving won an Oscar for Best Actor for this role and unfortunately due to silly Academy rules had to share the win with someone who got one less vote than he did. This film still works really well even after so many years and I’m so glad I finally got to see it!
Do I agree with the Oscar winner? – Yes and No! It’s pretty silly to believe that a one vote difference between nominees would warrant a tie. March is amazing in this film and was much better than Beery. They subsequently changed the rules after this year’s vote, but it still remains only one of two ties in Acting categories in Oscar History.
Let me know what you think about these films and my rankings!
MovieRob 