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Post by hi224 on Apr 16, 2020 1:14:18 GMT
did the right one win?. I'll saay my win is Olivier.
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Post by mikef6 on Apr 16, 2020 1:41:10 GMT
My won choices would have been:
Cary Grant in Only Angels Have Wings and Gunga Din to win or any of these nominees (none of whom were Academy nominees):
Basil Rathbone in The Hound of the Baskervilles
Charles Laughton in The Hunchback of Notre Dame
John Wayne in Stagecoach
Henry Fonda in Young Mr. Lincoln
Academy nominees:
Robert Donat* Goodbye Mr. Chips
Clark Gable GWTW
James Stewart Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
Laurence Olivier Wuthering Heights
Mickey Rooney Babes In Arms
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Post by mattgarth on Apr 16, 2020 2:01:41 GMT
My choice:
Stewart as Mr. Smith
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Post by movielover on Apr 16, 2020 2:14:17 GMT
My nominees:
Cary Grant - Only Angels Have Wings
Robert Donat - Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Henry Fonda - Young Mr. Lincoln
Clark Gable - Gone with the Wind
Burgess Meredith - Of Mice and Men
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Post by OldAussie on Apr 16, 2020 2:22:04 GMT
Robert Donat - Goodbye Mr. Chips
Clark Gable - GWTW
James Stewart - Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
Cary Grant - Only Angels Have Wings
Charles Laughton - The Hunchback of Notre Dame
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Post by rudeboy on Apr 16, 2020 3:11:22 GMT
The first win I’d give Stewart - It’s a Wonderful Life would be the second.
Donat is touching and wasn’t a bad choice. Olivier is excellent, the best thing about WH but I feel it’s a mediocre adaptation. Gable is fine but Leigh owns GWTW. I haven’t seen Rooney but have never been fond of him in anything.
Unfairly overlooked favourites include Cary Grant (Only Angela Have Wings but not Gunga Din) and Henry Fonda (Young Mr. Lincoln).
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Post by hi224 on Apr 16, 2020 3:18:49 GMT
The first win I’d give Stewart - It’s a Wonderful Life would be the second. Donat is touching and wasn’t a bad choice. Olivier is excellent, the best thing about WH but I feel it’s a mediocre adaptation. Gable is fine but Leigh owns GWTW. I haven’t seen Rooney but have never been fond of him in anything. Unfairly overlooked favourites include Cary Grant (Only Angela Have Wings but not Gunga Din) and Henry Fonda (Young Mr. Lincoln). agreed.
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Post by bravomailer on Apr 16, 2020 5:19:19 GMT
Charles Laughton in The Hunchback of Notre Dame "Why was I not made of gold like thee?"  |
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Post by marianne48 on Apr 16, 2020 10:57:21 GMT
Robert Donat was a decent choice.
Stewart's Oscar the following year for The Philadelphia Story was considered by many to be his "consolation prize" for not winning as Mr. Smith.
Clark Gable played a variation of his usual screen persona, so it wasn't much of a stretch.
Laurence Olivier--probably nominated mainly because of his cachet as a stage actor, as well as to avoid
hurting his feelings as his then-wife was getting a lot of attention that year.
Mickey Rooney--Musical comedy performances are rarely winners.
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Post by snsurone on Apr 16, 2020 14:40:55 GMT
1939 was, and still is, considered as Hollywood's greatest year. Therefore, it must have been especially difficult for the Academy to select winners. IMHO, Donat deserved his Oscar for giving a gently nuanced performance of the complex character Mr. Chipping, spanning the decades from his idealistic youth to old age, and the numerous events in his life. Second choice would be Olivier, who actually learned film acting from director William Wyler in WUTHERING HEIGHTS. As another poster noted, Clark Gable essentially played himself in GWTW. Jimmy Stewart's Oscar for THE PHILADELPHIA STORY in what was actually a supporting role might well have been a consolation prize, as observed. I've seen BABES IN ARMS, and I think it's a lousy movie, with a substandard plot and a hammy, over-the-top performance from Mickey Rooney. In fact, I find that in all the Mickey-Judy musicals, he chewed the scenery to shreds, leaving her little opportunity to shine. Thank goodness he wasn't in THE WIZARD OF OZ!  |
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Post by cynthiagreen on Apr 16, 2020 15:12:48 GMT
of nominees Olivier probably of other options Grant in ANGELS and Stewart in DESTRY are good choices - Gary Cooper in BEAU GESTE was fine... Melvyn douglas was wonderful in NINOTCHKA but I guess he was technically a support (although the leading man).  |
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Post by mattgarth on Apr 16, 2020 15:48:39 GMT
Just as Stewart's win the following year for PHILADELPHIA (he was practically in support there) was compensation for the loss in '39 (he did win the NY Film Critics Award against stiff competition for SMITH) -- the win for DONAT's excellent performance may also have been compensation for his previous year's loss in THE CITADEL to consecutive winner Tracy for BOYS TOWN ... and perhaps an acknowledgement by the Academy voters as a kind of salute to England in the first year of the war raging over there. Also -- Jimmy was serving as a Private in the U.S. Army just then ... so it was a patriotic choice as well.
Stewart beat out his best buddy (for the GRAPES OF WRATH) ... and years later at a Kennedy Center tribute to Fonda revealed:
"Hank, we never discussed it -- but I want you to know I voted for you that year. But then -- I also voted for Alf Landon and Wendell Willkie and Tom Dewey ... twice! So I'm used to backing losers."
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Post by Feologild Oakes on Apr 16, 2020 15:50:23 GMT
I think the right actor won
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Post by hi224 on Apr 16, 2020 22:47:56 GMT
Just as Stewart's win the following year for PHILADELPHIA (he was practically in support there) was compensation for the loss in '39 (he did win the NY Film Critics Award against stiff competition for SMITH) -- the win for DONAT's excellent performance may also have been compensation for his previous year's loss in THE CITADEL to consecutive winner Tracy for BOYS TOWN ... and perhaps an acknowledgement by the Academy voters as a kind of salute to England in the first year of the war raging over there. Also -- Jimmy was serving as a Private in the U.S. Army just then ... so it was a patriotic choice as well. Stewart beat out his best buddy (for the GRAPES OF WRATH) ... and years later at a Kennedy Center tribute to Fonda revealed: "Hank, we never discussed it -- but I want you to know I voted for you that year. But then -- I also voted for Alf Landon and Wendell Willkie and Tom Dewey ... twice! So I'm used to backing losers." nice anecdote.
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Post by TheGoodMan19 on Apr 16, 2020 23:56:16 GMT
I would have voted for Gable. If you ever read the book (and most everyone had by 1939), he WAS Rhett Butler. It was like Margaret Mitchell had Gable in mind when she wrote the book. Much more that Vivian Leigh was Scarlett O'Hara.
It was a tough year. I really thought Brian Donlevy should have won Best Supporting for Beau Geste. Sergeant Markoff is such a tough character to play.
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Post by hi224 on Apr 17, 2020 0:47:28 GMT
I would have voted for Gable. If you ever read the book (and most everyone had by 1939), he WAS Rhett Butler. It was like Margaret Mitchell had Gable in mind when she wrote the book. Much more that Vivian Leigh was Scarlett O'Hara. It was a tough year. I really thought Brian Donlevy should have won Best Supporting for Beau Geste. Sergeant Markoff is such a tough character to play. yeah Donlevys underrated.
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Post by ellynmacg on Apr 19, 2020 3:26:44 GMT
OOOHH. Brian Donlevy as Sergeant Markoff gave a new meaning to the term "a villain you love to hate." I would have awarded a Best Performance by a Child Actor (or whatever they called that award) to Donald O'Connor as the young Beau Geste. He even managed a halfway-decent English accent. Where did he go to school to lose it? 'cause Gary Cooper sure didn't have it!  |
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