Nominees: Distant Journey, Stray Dog, White Heat, Late Spring, Bitter Rice, The Set-Up, Thieves’ Highway, Flame of My Love
Oscars pick: All the Kings Men
Nominees: Battleground, The Heiress, A Letter to Three Wives, 12 O’clock High
Finally, an easy pick... not that my other choices were bad. Among the best: The nightmarish, sometimes surreal holocaust picture, Distant Journey, and Kurosawa's Stray Dog, a sweat-soaked, gripping detective story wrapped around sociopolitical issues.
I don’t mind Oscar's pick, though its story of the rise and fall of a politician is sporting a few cobwebs these days.
But The Third Man, written by Graham Greene, is in a world of its own. I'm a sucker for a good mystery, and this politically drenched tale is a gripping mystery (at first), but it's also a keen examination of moral bankruptcy with a wry sense of humor. Joseph Cotton is rock solid as the dogged Holly Martins - and while Orson Welles' part is small, it's iconic: From his first appearance in the shadows to the speech about cuckoo clocks – he makes an impression. The atmospheric direction features Reeds best work and hey, zither music!
I recently watched it again and was surprised at how fresh and contemporary it has remained. Like Citizen Kane or Casablanca, the film only gets richer, offering new revelations with each viewing. I loved it when I first saw it as a teenager, and while it didn’t seem possible, my admiration for it grew stronger after watching it 30 years later.
Roger Ebert described it perfectly, as being like the exhausted aftermath of Casablanca. Ahh, and what a brilliant double feature that would be.
Honorable Mentions:
Toshiro Mifune & Takashi Shimura, Quiet Duel & Stray Dog * James Cagney, White Heat * Joseph Cotten, The Third Man * John Wayne, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon * Alec Guinness, Kind Hearts & Coronets * Kirk Douglas, Champion * Sydney Greenstreet. Flamingo Road * Robert Ryan, The Set-Up * Chishū Ryū, Late Spring
Honorable Mentions:
Kinuyo Tanaka, Flame of My Love * Judy Garland, In the Good Old Summertime * Linda Darnell, A Letter to Three Wives * Katharine Hepburn, Adam’s Rib * Marie Windsor, Hellfire * Joan Crawford, Flamingo Road * Olivia de Havilland, The Heiress * Susan Hayward, My Foolish Heart * Lizabeth Scott, Too Late for Tears
Runner up: Ethel Waters, Pinky
Supporting Actor: Orson Welles, The Third Man
