Wednesday, Aug 3, 2005
Oscar victories for Best Actor haven't always been for the stars' best work either, but have often been an effort to right past injustices, or for an entire body of work:
56 year-old Ronald Colman's late win as Best Actor for A Double Life (1947) - a tribute to his entire silent and sound film career
62 year-old John Wayne's belated win as Best Actor for True Grit (1969), when he should have been honored years earlier for Stagecoach (1939), Red River (194
, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), The Quiet Man (1952), The Searchers (1956), or The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
James Stewart's win for Best Actor (his first and sole award) for his role in The Philadelphia Story (1940) was because he had lost the previous year for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Jack Lemmon won his sole Best Actor award for Save the Tiger (1973), but he should have won instead when nominated for Some Like It Hot (1959), The Apartment (1960), or Days of Wine and Roses (1962)
Paul Newman's sole Oscar win for reprising his "Hustler" role as pool player Eddie Felson in The Color of Money (1986) was a dubious honor - it really represented praise for his entire career's work, for his colorful non-conformist roles in The Hustler (1961), Hud (1963), and Cool Hand Luke (1967)
A late-career win was also given to Al Pacino for Scent of a Woman (1992) for his role as a blind, suicidal ex-Army officer, after four Best Actor losses for Serpico (1973), The Godfather, Part II (1974), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), and And Justice For All (1979), and three other Best Supporting Actor losses
Sean Connery won Best Supporting Actor for The Untouchables (1987), but he should have been nominated (and won) for earlier, more deserving performances in The Hill (1965), The Molly Maguires (1970), or The Man Who Would Be King (1975)
John Gielgud won Best Supporting Actor for his performance as the butler in Arthur (1981), but he should have won instead for either Julius Caesar (1953), Richard III (1955) or Becket (1964)
A seriously-ill, 76 year-old Henry Fonda won Best Actor for On Golden Pond (1981), despite the brilliant performance of Burt Lancaster in Atlantic City (1981). Fonda should have won years earlier for any number of performances, including The Grapes of Wrath (1940) or The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
56 year-old Ronald Colman's late win as Best Actor for A Double Life (1947) - a tribute to his entire silent and sound film career
62 year-old John Wayne's belated win as Best Actor for True Grit (1969), when he should have been honored years earlier for Stagecoach (1939), Red River (194
, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), The Quiet Man (1952), The Searchers (1956), or The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) James Stewart's win for Best Actor (his first and sole award) for his role in The Philadelphia Story (1940) was because he had lost the previous year for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Jack Lemmon won his sole Best Actor award for Save the Tiger (1973), but he should have won instead when nominated for Some Like It Hot (1959), The Apartment (1960), or Days of Wine and Roses (1962)
Paul Newman's sole Oscar win for reprising his "Hustler" role as pool player Eddie Felson in The Color of Money (1986) was a dubious honor - it really represented praise for his entire career's work, for his colorful non-conformist roles in The Hustler (1961), Hud (1963), and Cool Hand Luke (1967)
A late-career win was also given to Al Pacino for Scent of a Woman (1992) for his role as a blind, suicidal ex-Army officer, after four Best Actor losses for Serpico (1973), The Godfather, Part II (1974), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), and And Justice For All (1979), and three other Best Supporting Actor losses
Sean Connery won Best Supporting Actor for The Untouchables (1987), but he should have been nominated (and won) for earlier, more deserving performances in The Hill (1965), The Molly Maguires (1970), or The Man Who Would Be King (1975)
John Gielgud won Best Supporting Actor for his performance as the butler in Arthur (1981), but he should have won instead for either Julius Caesar (1953), Richard III (1955) or Becket (1964)
A seriously-ill, 76 year-old Henry Fonda won Best Actor for On Golden Pond (1981), despite the brilliant performance of Burt Lancaster in Atlantic City (1981). Fonda should have won years earlier for any number of performances, including The Grapes of Wrath (1940) or The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
