1958 - 45th Ceremony

Vertigo (Director: Alfred Hitchcock)
Nominees: Touch of Evil, The Music Room, Sweet Anna, The Hidden Fortress, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Une Vie, Cairo Station, Man of the West, Giants and Toys

Oscars pick: Gigi
Nominees: Auntie Mame, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Defiant Ones, Separate Tables

The musical Gigi was cute, but it wasn't the best picture. Of the Academy's nominations I liked the adaptation of Tennessee William's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and the Defiant Ones more. Even better were movies that failed to catch Oscar's eye. Kurosawa's Hidden Fortress, the scathing Giants and Toys, my favorite from Anthony Man, Man of the West, as well as 2 from a couple masters of form and composition - Orson Welles, with the expertly directed Touch of Evil, and Alfred Hitchcock with his magnum opus, Vertigo...

Which was only one real choice to my mind.

Vertigo has the trappings of a mystery, but the mystery is just the MacGuffin - a tool to get the stars aligned, get these characters together and dig into the heart of the matter - that heart is obsession. The entire film is about that psychological spiral: From the haunting music to the Saul Bass credit sequence... it's all about circles, turning around into themselves. James Stewart does his best, most shaded work as a man sinking further and further into a kind of madness. He as much objectifies this woman (Kim Novak), as he does genuinely love her. He will reshape another (he assumes) into her image and lose himself completely.

The movie is archetypal Hitchcock - the expressionistic techniques, the mattes and rear projection, and every detail -from sound to color to editing- is vital to the theme, character, and narrative of the feature. It’s loaded with eerie subtle moments that become even more apparent in repeat viewings (note the look in Madeleine's face when Scottie speaks of the past. A past she is familiar with but can't acknowledge). All of this makes the movie timeless.

It's a film that crept up on me - on my first viewing I was not as impressed. Later I discovered that a lot of us do this on a first go through, we misread the picture, and only on further viewings do we get it. This probably explains its trajectory, from mixed reviews and lower than expected box office, to it becoming a sort of lost film, as it was kept out of distribution for over a decade. During that time the master print faded and shrunk - leading to a restoration, rerelease, and reevaluation, which saw its reputation rise (a 4K restoration was done in 2014). Of course, there's always going to be pushback, are we champions over-evaluating it, as a handful of critics accuse? Obviously, I say no. Vertigo is appreciated as it always should have been appreciated, as the director's crowning achievement.

Memorable Scenes: Scotties vivid nightmare - the bits at the psychiatric hospital with Midge - Judy becomes Madeleine, bathed in a glow of sickly green light – The contra-zoom when Scottie's vertigo kicks in as he climbs the stairs - The John Whitney and Saul Bass title sequence, the first in film history to use computer animation.

Memorable Quote: Stewart & Novak are in the forest, looking at the rings of a tree, Novak's Madeleine points to a spot on the tree... "Here I was born, and there I died. It was only a moment for you; you took no notice."

I've written about Vertigo on so many occasions I’m starting to sound like a broken record. So, I'll just stop and say what the Academy should have said - "And the Oscar (and Felix) for best picture goes to... Vertigo!"

Best Actor: James Stewart, Vertigo 
Honorable Mentions:
Max Von Sydow, The Magician * Poitier & Curtis, The Defiant Ones * Paul Newman, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof * Toshiro Mifune, The Hidden Fortress * Gary Cooper, Man of the West * Youssef Chahine, Cairo Station * Chhabi Biswas, Music Room * John Mills, Ice Cold in Alex * Teiji Takahashi, Ballad of Narayama

Best Actress: Mari Töröcsik, Édes Anna (Sweet Anna)
Honorable Mentions:
Maria Schell, Une Vie * Susan Hayward, I Want to Live * Elizabeth Taylor, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof * Kim Novak, Vertigo * Ingrid Bergman, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness * Jean Simmons, Home Before Dark * Kinuyo Tanaka, The Ballad of Narayama * Shirley MacLaine, Some Came Running * Ellie Lambeti, A Matter of Dignity

Supporting Actor: Gunnar Björnstrand, The Magician 
I also adored Paul Douglas in Fortunella

Supporting Actress: Ingrid Thulin, The Magician
Also, Irene Worth, Orders to Kill






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1957 - 44th Ceremony

The Seventh Seal (Director: Ingmar Bergman)
Nominees: Wild Strawberries, Kanal, Pyaasa, Paths of Glory, Nights of Cabiria, Throne of Blood, Sweet Smell of Success, 12 Angry Men, Witness for the Prosecution, A Face in the Crowd, Le Notti Bianche, La Casa del Angel, The Cranes are Flying

Oscars pick: The Bridge on the River Kwai
Nominees: Peyton Place, Sayonara, 12 Angry Men, Witness For the Prosecution

1957 was loaded! At the top of my hit parade was Pyaasa and Sweet Smell of Success. Behind them; Kubrick's powerful and bleak anti-war story, Paths of Glory and Billy Wilder's courtroom mystery, Witness For the Prosecution.  12 Angry Men with Henry Fonda giving one of his best performances. Kazan's A Face in the Crowd with Andy Griffiths electrifying staring role. Kurosawa's Throne of Blood, Wadja's Kanal and Fellini's Nights of Cabiria... Among them all though, this year belonged to the Swede, Ingmar Bergman.

Bergman had put together an impressive body of work from the late 40s to the mid-50s. But in 1957 he elevated his game to the level of undeniable genius.

The Seventh Seal's reputation is built upon its art and solemnity: We remember the rich shadowy photography that calls to mind the work of the Dane, Carl Theodor Dreyer. its themes of war and plague and ignorance. Of the dance with death and the chess match. Of the grave knight (played by Max Von Sydow) who wrestles with existential angst and hungers to know if God and the Devil exist. An answer to which neither a witch nor Death itself can provide.

Woody Allen called the piece a "Sinister fairy tale" and considers Bergman, cinemas most intellectual voice. But what some fail to consider is that Seventh is quite humorous. The banter is reminiscent of Shakespeare in the clever way it slips off the tongue and strikes like pointed daggers. People smile in this movie; they joke around and play, even as they contend with matters of life... and Death - a being that is both forbidding and cunning, but is not without a sense of humor of his own (as when he saws a tree in order to take down the doomed man who is hiding there). This then is one of filmdom's most perceptive fusions of comedy and tragedy.
 
But Ingmar wasn't done; later in that same year he released Wild Strawberries. A poignant and wise drama of an aging professor who looks back at his life as he travels to receive an award. Bergman employs surrealistic dreams, rife with dark symbolism, shock cuts, and sound that reflect the director's passion for German Expressionism. Strawberries was the first Bergman movie I'd ever seen, and it knocked me out. It remains to this day one of my favorites. I could have selected either picture or gone with a tie. But decided to go with the iconic Seventh Seal.

I liked the Academy’s choice, David Lean's highly respected, The Bridge on the River Kwai. Though I feel the film loses focus as it spins towards its end (and after the first 2 hours, I got the point. There was no need to belabor it)

🎭Acting wise, oh what a crowd, even beyond those I nominated (ala Van Heflin in 3:10 to Yuma, Rod Steiger in Across the Bridge, Pedro Infante in Tizoc, Anthony Perkins in Fear Strikes Out, Guinness & Holden, in the River Kwai, Michael Redgrave in Time Without Pity, and in support, Peter Van Eyck in Retour de manive). While my male lead might not be as accomplished a big screen actor as many of my honorable mentions, he tapped into something special here. It's an iconic, ferocious performance. But I think he really excels -not when he's chewing scenery with the best of 'em- but in those quieter, toned-down moments. The ladies? Again, there was some stiff competition, and I really loved Neal, Masina & Mitchell, but -speaking of iconic roles- I felt Joanne was operating on another world.

Best Actor: Andy Griffith, A Face in the Crowd
Honorable Mentions: 

Max von Sydow, The Seventh Seal * Henry Fonda, 12 Angry Men * Victor Sjöström, Wild Strawberries * Kirk Douglas, Paths of Glory * Toshirō Mifune, Throne of Blood * Charles Laughton, Witness for the Prosecution * Nikolai Cherkasov, Don Quixote * Tony Curtis, Sweet Smell of Success * Robert Mitchum, Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison * Marcello Mastroianni, Le Notti Bianche

Best Actress: Joanne Woodward, The Three Faces of Eve
Honorable Mentions:  

Giulietta Masina, Nights of Cabiria * Patricia Neal, A Face in the Crowd * Tatiana Samoilova, The Cranes Are Flying * Deborah Kerr, Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison * Michèle Morgan, Retour de manivel * Elsa Daniel, La Casa del Angel * Nargis, Mother India * Ingrid Thulin, Wild Strawberries * Yvonne Mitchell, Woman in a Dressing Gown * Setsuko Hara & Ineko Arima, Tokyo Twilight

Supporting Actor: Burt Lancaster, Sweet Smell of Success

Supporting Actress: Mylène Demongeot, The Witches of Salem

Also, Isuzu Yamada who had a great year with Throne of Blood, Tokyo Twilight, Black River, and The Lower Depths

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1956 - 43rd Ceremony

The Searchers (Director: John Ford)
Nominees: Aparajito, Lust for Life, The Wrong Man, Street of Shame, Samurai 3: Duel at Ganryu Island, Gervaise, Patterns, The Bitter Stems

Oscars pick: Around the World in 80 Days
Nominees: Friendly Persuasion, Giant, the King and I, The 10 Commandments

Around the World in 80 Days is the worst flick to ever win Best Picture. Some folks call it somewhat entertaining -- about the only entertainment I derived from it was in the cameo by Buster Keaton. The cinematography was pretty, but the movie is a ponderous, overlong, glorified travelogue.

If the Academy hadn't already stubbed its toe giving DeMille's Greatest Show on Earth the award a few years back, they might have gone with the superior 10 Commandments.  Tomatoes called it "Bombastic and occasionally silly but extravagantly entertaining. Of Oscar's nominees, that's my favorite.

The movie that many embrace as the year's best wasn’t even nominated, John Ford's The Searchers. It's a breathtakingly beautiful looking film and Ford's manner of filming vistas with a wide-open line of sight has been imitated by the likes of Kurosawa and Eastwood. The general composition of the piece is so impressive that one could sit back and appreciate single frame shots of the film as they would art in a gallery.

The story of two men’s tireless pursuit of a tribe of Indians that killed and kidnapped members of their family - makes for one of the greatest, most powerful.... and troubling westerns ever produced. It’s about a changing west, and a man, Ethan Edwards, who is set in that past, and who is fueled by hatred for those he hunts (and by his unspoken love for Martha.) It features one of John Wayne’s finest performances, one of the best of any actor in any age. He shows a great range - in quiet moments when you see the subtle anguish on his face when he realizes that he’s too far away to save his family from being massacred. In the volatile, as when he expresses his anger and sickness over what he saw in the hills. And the twisted small smile he wears when he shoots the eyes of a dead Indian. The racism in the man is white hot and ugly. However, in the end, it is love that prevails. The Duke spoke about what was going on in Ethan's mind when picked up Debbie and looked into her face in that final sequence. Wayne figured he saw in her eyes the woman he'd loved (Martha), and that was enough to overcome his hatred.

So why did I even consider another film? Because the Searchers has its flaws. The theatrical romance and moments of ham-fisted comedy (especially during the letter reading scenes) are awkwardly slotted into the story. But when I watched my other contender’s looking for something better. None could surpass Ford's masterpiece.

Note: Here are some interesting thoughts on the movie and the stellar book by Glenn Frankel (The Searchers: The Making of an American Legend) from Martin Scorsese

The Searchers strongest competition came from Vincente Minnelli and his look at the life of Vincent van Gogh, Lust for Life speaks to me on a deeply personal level. I know how the creative process can consume you; it’s something akin to madness.

Other movies I enjoyed and considered for nomination: Kubrick's tense noir caper, The Killing, which is highlighted by quick cutting dialog and vivid performances, especially Sterling Hayden, Elisha Cook Jr. and Marie Windsor as one devilishly delightful femme fatale. A couple of sci-fi classics, Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Forbidden Planet, (which was Shakespeare in space). Bigger than Life, Nicholas Ray's honest, if melodramatic examination of drug addiction, Bunuel's gripping Death in the Garden, the drama Tea and Sympathy (ignore the tacked-on epilogue), and the western produced by John Wayne’s company, Seven Men from Now.

Best Actress: Maria Schell, Gervaise
Honorable Mentions:
Ellie Lambeti, A Girl in Black * Carol Baker, Baby Doll * Betsy Blair, Calle Mayor * Vera Miles, The Wrong Man * Machiko Kyō, Street of Shame * Simone Signoret, Death in the Garden * Marie Windsor, The Killing * Karuna Banerjee, Aparajito  * Patty McCormack, The Bad Seed * Françoise Arnoul, People of No Importance

Best Actor: John Wayne, The Searchers
Honorable Mentions:
Kirk Douglas, Lust for Life * James Mason, Bigger Than Life * Henry Fonda, The Wrong Man * Toshirō Mifune, Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island * Carlos Cores, Bitter Stems * Eli Wallach & Karl Malden, Baby Doll * Sterling Hayden, The Killing * Humphrey Bogart, The Harder They Fall

Supporting Actor: Elisha Cook, Jr. The Killing 

Also... Anthony Quinn, Lust for Life

Supporting Actress: Ayako Wakao, Street of Shame






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1955 - 42nd Ceremony

Pather Panchali (Director: Satyajit Ray) and
Ordet (Director: Carl Theodor Dryer)
Nominees: Les Diaboliques, The Night of the Hunter, Samurai 2: Duel at Ichijoji Temple, Smiles of a Summer Night, Lola Montès, Death of a Cyclist, The Counterfeit Coin, Rififi, The Desperate Hours

Oscars pick: Marty
Nominees: Love is a Many-Splendored Thing, Mister Roberts, Picnic, The Rose Tattoo

I like Oscar's pick Marty, and I think Ernest Borgnine did a hell of a job in the title role. There's a scene near the beginning, with Marty on the phone with a woman who wants nothing to do with him - and the expressions on his face, his body language... it was simple brilliance the way he brought this heartbreaking sequence to life. But I think the second half of the film loses steam, and the situations that stood in the way of Marty's happiness came off contrived.

Better than Marty was Hiroshi Inagaki's Samurai 2: Duel at Ichijoji Temple, Ingmar Bergman's witty tale of adultery, Smiles of a Summer Night, Max Ophuls extravagant Lola Montès, Charles Laughton's beautifully crafted nightmarish fairy tale, Night of the Hunter, and Henri-Georges Clouzot's devilishly dark Les Diaboliques. But it came down to two...

From India came Satyajit Ray's stunning debut, Pather Panchali  - a poetic meditation that focuses its lens on a poor family living in a Bengal village. The first in a trilogy, here we meet the boy Apu as a wide-eyed observer to things both joyous and tragic. And while Ray (a commercial artist) and his cameraman (a still photographer) had little to any experience with film, they created a deliberately paced work of profound beauty and truth. It flows like water, sings like music (added in this by the celebrated score from Ravi Shankar)

The movie is full of deeply drawn characters and zeroes in on the stormy (though ultimately loving) relationship between mother and daughter. Karuna Banerjee, as the mother Sarbajaya, gives an inspired, world weary performance. And the scenes with daughter Durga (played by Runki Banerjee and Uma Dasgupta, pictured above) are memorable: From the bit where Durga (Uma) and Apu chase after a train (that ever-present harbinger) to the lyrical sequence with her dancing in the rain. What happens to her, in the end, hit me hard and stuck with me long after the film was finished.

From Denmark - Carl Theodor Dreyer's Ordet (the Word) is slow. Slow really isn't a flaw in this case, but tolerance for such things, even good things like Ordet can come into play (Great craftsmanship matters little if you're too bored to care or keep your eyes awake). The shot sequences, the editing, acting, and dialog are all expertly integrated to create a certain rhythm. That rhythm is measured and requires some concentration -- but rich rewards are had if you can stick with it.

As was the case with "Pather Panchali", Ordet is not plot driven; it's about a family of simple farmers and their relationship with God. One member is driven to madness (after reading too much Kierkegaard, lol) and now believes he is Jesus. The film is rendered in a style Dreyer called, "Psychological reality" (it comes off both naturalized and dream-like). I think the movie's basic theme is how religion can divide and hurt, but also how faith can restore (and how children and the insane are more open to God than anyone). It's a superb picture and in terms of cinematic technique, pretty near flawless (see this shot... criterion) Beyond that, it also moves me. Though I've seen it several times, the final sequence never fails to bring me to tears... and what gets to me the most is little Maren (Ann Elizabeth Groth) and her unfailing faith that her Uncle can do what he says he can do. Her emerging smile near the end says it all.

A note about Preben Lerdorff Rye who plays Johannes Borgen (The man who believes he is Christ). His work has been described as irritating. And yes, his vocal inflection is affected (it was modeled after a mental patient Dreyer knew), but I am fascinated by the performance. It's as if Johannes has been touched by such a power that his mortal self simply couldn't contend with it. And when you pay attention to what he is saying, his words are actually prophetic and wise.

In the end, I considered these 2 features long and hard. Watching them back-to-back I concluded that I admired both equally and simply could not pick one over the other.

Best Actor: Laurence Olivier, Richard III
Honorable Mentions:  

Robert Mitchum, The Night of the Hunter * Ernest Borgnine, Marty * Daniel Gélin, Les amants du Tage * Spencer Tracy, Bad Day at Black Rock * Masayuki Mori, Floating Clouds * Dilip Kumar, Devdas * Alec Guinness, The Prisoner * James Cagney, Love Me or Leave Me * Humphrey Bogart & Fredric March, The Desperate Hours

Best Actress: Karuna Banerjee & Uma Dasgupta, Pather Panchali
Honorable Mentions:
Véra Clouzot & Simone Signoret, Diabolique * Jane Wyman, All That Heaven Allows * Hideko Takamine, Floating Clouds * Eva Dahlbeck, Smiles of a Summer Night * Lucia Bosé, Death of a Cyclist * Martine Carol, Lola Montes * Françoise Arnoul, Les amants du Tage * Yumeji Tsukioka, Chibusa yo eien nare

Supporting Actor: Trevor Howard, Les amants du Tage

Supporting Actress: Birgitte Federspiel, Ordet
Also, Gloria Grahame, Not as a Stranger & Lila Kerdova, Razzia






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1954 - 41st Ceremony

On the Waterfront (Director: Elia Kazan)

Nominees: The Seven Samurai, Rear Window, La Strada, Sansho the Bailiff, Sound of the Mountain, Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto, Godzilla, Johnny Guitar, Wuthering Heights, Vera Cruz, Huis-Clos (No Exit), Gabrielle, Boot Polish, A Story from Chikamatsu

Oscars pick: On the Waterfront

Nominees: The Cain Mutiny, The Country Girl, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, Three Coins in the Fountain

On the Waterfront -the final collaboration between Kazan and Brando- is the pinnacle of both men’s careers. Visually it is a thing of beauty. The gloomy, gray skylines highlight the sorrow and the struggles revealed in the story. The acting was multifaceted and nurtured by Kazan’s deft coaching, Brando gives the performance of a lifetime. Waterfront is a tale of redemption that is soaked in blood and tears and regret. Even the score (by Leonard Bernstein) is often a mournful cry. All of it, every ounce of sweat that went into making this film was molded into something transcendent.

The story is about corruption on the New York docks and of a young punch drunk ex-fighter who has it easy because he’s aligned with this group of thugs who hold the power. He follows orders, keeps quiet and only wakes up when he realizes that he had a hand in causing unbearable hurt to someone he’s falling in love with. Kazan said that the heart of the film, what made it work, was that relationship - and I agree. Eva Marie Saint as Edie has never been more beautiful, never more perfect, and her chemistry with Brando is palpable - their scenes are the soul of the picture.

The performances are seamless, it goes beyond mere acting - it is real, flesh and blood. It’s method done better than it has ever been done. The scene in the park, when Terry picks up Edie’s glove and puts it on his own hand. He’s found a way to keep her there, talking with him, but there’s also something sweet, even intimate in it. He has a part of her. Their scene in the bar is another touching moment. When Edie tells Terry that she knows that he’d help her (find her brother’s killers) if he could and then gently places her hand on his arm, the expression that washes over Malloy’s face is devastating. It’s subtle but it’s there - all the guilt and the anguish and desperation. He so wants to be clean of this stain, so that he can just be with her. Love her.

Of course, there’s the famous taxicab sequence between the brothers (I could have been a contender). That speech, the acting, there’s so much loss in it and it has become one of filmdom's enduring moments. You can examine this movie frame by frame and discover treasures like this throughout. It’s simply amazing: brilliantly acted, written, directed, scored -- and one can't say enough about the poetic realism in Boris Kaufman's Oscar-winning cinematography.

Also very near and dear to my heart is Kurosawa's classic, The Seven Samurai. In addition, there's Hitchcock's Rear Window, Mizoguchi's gut-wrenching Sansho the Bailiff,  and Fellini's La Strada, each incomparable masterworks that stood just a breath behind my winner. 

I'm also nominating Godzilla. As well as the first part of Hiroshi Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy, Musashi Miyamoto, which starred Toshiro Mifune. It will win the best foreign language film award in 1955.

Johnny Guitar and most remarkably Rear Window, did not receive nominations. Both are better than the decent but unremarkable Three Coins or even Country Girl.  The Academy did nominate some top-notch movies, among them The Cain Mutiny, A Star is Born and the entertaining Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. And they gave La Strada a Foreign film Oscar. In addition to that, they got it right when they picked On the Waterfront as its best picture. Not bad work for the folks in Hollywood.

Best Actress: Giulietta Masina, La Strada
Honorable Mentions: Dorothy Dandridge, Carmen Jones * Maria Schell, The Last Bridge * Judy Garland, A Star is Born * Setsuko Hara, Sound of the Mountain * Eva Marie Saint, On The Waterfront * Michèle Morgan, Obsession * Silvana Mangano, The Gold of Naples 

Best Actor: Marlon Brando, On the Waterfront (pictured top)
Honorable Mentions: * Anthony Quinn, La Strada * James Stewart, Rear Window * Ray Milland, Dial M For Murder * Jean Gabin, Touchez Pas Au Grisbi * James Mason, A Star is Born

Supporting Actor: Lee J. Cobb, On the Waterfront

Supporting Actress: Kinuyo Tanaka, Sansho the Bailiff

Special Award - Best Ensemble: The Seven Samurai
Takashi Shmura, Yoshio Inaba, Daisuke Katō, Seiji Miyaguchi, Minoru Chiaki, Isao Kimura, Toshiro Mifune, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Bokuzen Hidari, Kamatari Fujiwara, Keiko Tsushima, Kokuten Kōdō, Yoshio Kosugi, etc




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1953 - 40th Ceremony

Tokyo Story (Director: Yasujirô Ozu)
Nominees: La Red, Ugetsu, Old Czech Legends, Roman Holiday, Shane, The Wages of Fear, Earrings of Madame de… The Naked Spur, The Big Heat, The Wild Geese, I Vitelloni, Él

Oscars pick: From Here to Eternity
Nominees: Julius Caesar, The Robe, Roman Holiday, Shane

The Japanese invasion continues with two towering artistic achievements, Kenji Mizoguchi's Ugetsu, which is the story of a man who falls in love with a vengeful ghost, and Yasujirô Ozu's Tokyo Story – a quiet, heartbreaking story of an older couple who are seen as burdensome by their children and their spouses. It offers little that we haven’t already seen from Ozu. As with Late Spring, there’s the same strange composition that breaks continuity, coupled with narrative ellipses – all of which makes it a challenging visual effort. You get many of the same actors, giving similar performances and the theme that life is about undergoing change, with the old giving way to the new. Despite the familiarity, it's a great motion picture.

Other highlights of the year: Brando showed his range by taking on Shakespeare in Julius Caesar. Jimmy Stewart continued to show he was more than a homespun nice guy in another dark Anthony Mann western, The Naked Spur. The Western in general continued its ascension in the 50s, with the enduring classic, Shane, starring Alan Ladd as the legendary gunfighter drawn back into the violence he'd hoped to leave behind.  Max Ophüls shows off his trademark tracking shots in the romantic tragedy The Earrings of Madame De... and Henri-Georges Clouzot directs the cynical and suspenseful The Wages of Fear.

I adore Roman Holiday, -which introduced most Americans to that enchanting sprite, Audrey Hepburn- and number it as one of my favorite films. It might be a fluffy romantic comedy, but it’s a special one.

And while I liked Oscars pick From Here to Eternity well enough, the films from Japan were the year's best, with Tokyo Story earning the Felix.

Best Actor: Arturo de Córdova, Él
Honorable Mentions:
Jack Hawkins, The Cruel Sea * Chishū Ryū, Tokyo Story * Pedro Armendariz, El Bruto * James Stewart, The Naked Spur * John Gielgud, Julius Caesar * Marlon Brando, The Wild One & Julius Caesar * Masayuki Mori, Ugetsu * John Wayne, Hondo * Trevor Howard, The Heart of the Matter * Montgomery Clift, From Here to Eternity * Yves Montand & Charles Vanel, The Wages of Fear

Best Actress: Hideko Takamine, Wild Geese/The Mistress
Honorable Mentions:
Danielle Darieux, The Earrings of Madame de… * Harriet Andersson, Sawdust and Tinsel & Summer with Monika * Machiko Kyo, Gate of Hell & Ugetsu * Audrey Hepburn, Roman Holiday * Maria Schell, The Heart of the Matter * Katy Jurado, El Bruto * Jean Simmons, Young Bess * Chieko Higashiyama, Tokyo Story * Gloria Grahame, The Glass Wall

Supporting Actress: Gloria Grahame, The Big Heat

Supporting Actor: Jack Palance, Shane

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1952 - 39th Ceremony

Ikiru (Director: Akira Kurosawa)
Nominees: The Quiet Man, Umberto D, Lightning, Forbidden Games, Bend of the River, Singin’ in the Rain, Mother

Oscars pick: The Greatest Show on Earth
Nominees: High Noon, Ivanhoe, Moulin Rouge, The Quiet Man

The Greatest Show On Earth was an entertaining trifle, but it shouldn't have been allowed anywhere near the best picture award. In truth, aside from the 10 Commandments, I don’t know if anything directed by Cecil B. Demille outside of the silent era could be considered Best Picture worthy. Maybe they were just rewarding a long career (if so, they should have waited, as we will soon see)

What astonishes film fans, even more, was that Singin’ in the Rain was locked out as a nominee. Many critics feel it's the greatest musical ever made, and the best movie of the year. Me, I'd name Pyaasa the greatest musical and a few other movies as the year's best. Still, while cheesy at times, Singin’ has top-notch music and dance numbers, and Jean Hagen, who does a better Judy Holiday than Judy Holiday.

Along with it, I nominated the Anthony Mann/Jimmy Stewart western, Bend of the River, and a strange story of children set during wartime, Forbidden Games (which won a special foreign language film, Oscar). DeSica's Umberto D (about an old man and his dog) and the John Ford classic The Quiet Man, with John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara. Above them all (and recent additions, Lightning and Mother from Naruse) I place Akira Kurosawa's important, landmark offering, Ikiru.

Takashi Shimura stars and it is arguably the most memorable performance of his career. He plays a dying man named Watanabe - a Government agency paper pusher who has accomplished little with the job. He's a widower, with a brother who doesn’t really know him, and through his own fault, a non-existent relationship with his son. You could say his life has been a bit of a waste.

One of the films powerful scenes comes after Shimura learns that he has stomach cancer. He leaves the doctor's office lost in his own thoughts -- when suddenly the silence of the scene is broken by a burst of sound -- the city comes to noisy life. The camera pulls back - he is so very small - life goes on with you and without you.

The story follows his quest for meaning and happiness, his failed attempt to repair his relationship with his son, and finally, in the 2nd half of the movie -in flashbacks during his funeral- what he did to leave this small corner of his world a little better after he was gone. While Ikiru is wordy, and at times Kurosawa indulges that didactic nature of his, he doesn’t overdo it, and butts these moments against ones where he doesn’t fill in every detail; there are gaps in the narrative and the back-story that we have to fill in for ourselves. There are also scenes where he allows facial expression alone tell the story.

Though I found it uplifting, it isn't simply a warm and fuzzy tale; the ending doesn’t tie everything up in a neat bow. While the lead character finally finds what he’s looking for and does something important... life goes on as it always does. Only one other guy (a co-worker) understands this, but he is helpless to do anything to change the course. The wheel grinds on and nobody opens their eyes -- unless they are forced to.

This thoughtful meditation on what it is to live a meaningful life is one of the director’s finest pieces. Offering many a lasting image, it is profound and stays with you long after it's over. The acting is honest and the direction impeccable (this is the last film where Akira leans on wide-angle shots, from here on out telephoto lenses will become his tool of choice).

🎭 I found my best actress a few years after starting the search, in a film titled Secret People, which is probably best known as the movie Audrey Hepburn made before becoming an international superstar with Roman Holiday. While it's cool to see Hepburn (and to watch her dance the ballet) it's Valentina Cortese's bravura performance that carries the picture. She displays a range of emotion that is quite remarkable - shifting from desire and joy to shock and disbelief. The movie itself is philosophical and features some potent camera work - as in the use of shadow and light during Maria's interrogation, or when she explains how an evening ended tragically and we see her move from the window, and into her own flashback. I also liked the expressionistic scenes at the hospital. For insights into the plot, here's a quality review (it's also where I found the image below).

Best Actress: Valentina Cortese, Secret People
Honorable Mentions: 

Jean Simmons, Angel Face * Brigitte Fossey, Forbidden Games * Hideko Takamine, Lightning * Maureen O’Hara, The Quiet Man * Nobuko Otowa, Children of Hiroshima * Kinuyo Tanaka, Life of Oharu & Mother * Ingrid Bergman, Europe '51 * Ethel Waters, The Member of the Wedding

Best Actor: Takashi Shimura, Ikiru (pictured up top)
Honorable Mentions:
John Wayne, The Quiet Man * Laurence Olivier, Carrie * Orson Welles, Othello * James Stewart, Bend of the River * Carlo Battisti, Umberto D * James Mason, 5 Fingers * Dirk Bogarde & Jon Whiteley, Hunted

Supporting Actress: Jean Hagen, Singin' in the Rain

Supporting Actor: Anthony Quinn, Viva Zapata! (pictured above)








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