José Ferrer won the 1950 Best Actor Oscar for this film. What did you think of his performance? Would this performance win today, or does the Academy look for different things now than they did then?Ferrer beat Spencer Tracy (Father of the Bride), Jimmy Stewart (Harvey), Louis Calhern (The Magnificent Yankee), and William Holden (Sunset Blvd.) for the award. Did he deserve to win over those performances? (I've only seen one of the others, but I'm guessing some of you have seen others.)
4 comments:
He was FABULOUS. I loved it. I don't begin to make judgments about awards because I'm often baffled by what the Academy is apparently looking for.
I thought he was fantastic. It was a great role for an actor, too -- a lot of complicated feelings to emote about love, nobility, fear, shame, humor, vengefulness, mockery. Maybe that's why he stood against some of those bigger names and bigger films Ben cited. I've only seen William Holden's role via George's pick, and he was good, but not as good as Ferrer.
Oh, and his voice was rich and magnificent. It reminded me of Orson Welles, but more elegant.
Ben, I was delighted to make the connection from José Ferrer to character actor Miquel Ferrer, his oldest son.
I recall Miquel from his recurring role as an FBI examiner in "Twin Peaks." He played a hilarious character. And when José did his first monologue, taking down the theater fop, I realized it was just like Miquel's bit on "Twin Peaks" -- he was the best deliverer of insults who I can recall. Just one of his speeches makes viewing the series worthwhile. (But as you all know, I'm one of those "Twin Peaks" freaks.) I wonder whether Miquel was cast as that scathing character with a kind heart beneath the surface in TP because of the similar, albeit lead, role his father played in "Cyrano."
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