http://www.sunspot.net/news/nationworld/sns-oscars-omissions.story
September 7, 2002
From
the Chicago Tribune
A look at Oscar's worst omissions
By Michael WilmingtonTribune film critic
It's sometimes said -- usually by a nervous contestant -- that being nominated for an Oscar is as big an honor as winning one. But what about the people who richly deserved nominations and were passed by?
Many great films and performances have been ignored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Was there any excuse for leaving out "2001: A Space Odyssey" in 1968? Or the documentary "Hoop Dreams" in 1994?
The reasons for these omissions vary. Sometimes a film is too independent ("sex, lies & videotape"), too unpopular ("Blade Runner") or too popular ("The Empire Strikes Back") for a best-picture nod. And if you want an Oscar, you had better not be a monster ("Dracula's" Bela Lugosi, "Frankenstein's" Boris Karloff) or a clown ("The Bank Dick's" W.C. Fields, "The Producers'" Zero Mostel.)
In most cases, history rights the score. Today we don't rega! rd "The Broadway Melody" (1928-29) as a great musical because it won a best-picture Oscar, or "Singin' in the Rain" (which recycles "Broadway Melody's" songs) as mediocre, because it wasn't even nominated.
It would be nice, but impossible, to right every wrong in Oscar's long history. But here are the more flagrant omissions, the best of the ones that never had a chance on Academy Awards night.
Not nominated for best actor
Charlie Chaplin in "City Lights" (1930-31): Chaplin's sublime performance as the penniless tramp who poses as a millionaire to woo a blind flower girl was ignored, as were his matchless roles in "Modern Times" (1936) and "Monsieur Verdoux" (1947). Other great actors not nominated: Humphrey Bogart in "The Maltese Falcon" and "High Sierra" (both 1941), James Cagney in "White Heat" (1949), Robert Mitchum in "Night of the Hunter" (1955), James Dean in "Rebel Without a Cause" (1955), James Mason in "Lolita" (1962), Peter Sellers in "The Pink Panther" and "A Shot in the Dark" (both 1964), Clint Eastwood in "Dirty Harry" (1971) and David Thewlis in "Naked" (1993).
Charlie Chaplin in "City Lights" (1930-31): Chaplin's sublime performance as the penniless tramp who poses as a millionaire to woo a blind flower girl was ignored, as were his matchless roles in "Modern Times" (1936) and "Monsieur Verdoux" (1947). Other great actors not nominated: Humphrey Bogart in "The Maltese Falcon" and "High Sierra" (both 1941), James Cagney in "White Heat" (1949), Robert Mitchum in "Night of the Hunter" (1955), James Dean in "Rebel Without a Cause" (1955), James Mason in "Lolita" (1962), Peter Sellers in "The Pink Panther" and "A Shot in the Dark" (both 1964), Clint Eastwood in "Dirty Harry" (1971) and David Thewlis in "Naked" (1993).
Not nominated for best supporting actor
Jason Robards for "Long Day's Journey Into Night" (1962): One of the most electrifying performances in both stage and film history was Robards' fiery turn as alcoholic Jamie Tyrone Jr. Other miscues: Robert Walker in "Strangers on a Train" (1951), Jack Carson in "A Star is Born" (1954), Akim Tamiroff in "Touch of Evil" (1958), Sammy Davis Jr. in "Porgy and Bess" (1959), Peter Sellers in "Lolita" (1962), George C. Scott in "Dr. Strangelove" (1964), Dennis Hopper in "Blue Velvet" (1986) and Tim Roth and Steve Buscemi in "Reservoir Dogs" (1992).
Jason Robards for "Long Day's Journey Into Night" (1962): One of the most electrifying performances in both stage and film history was Robards' fiery turn as alcoholic Jamie Tyrone Jr. Other miscues: Robert Walker in "Strangers on a Train" (1951), Jack Carson in "A Star is Born" (1954), Akim Tamiroff in "Touch of Evil" (1958), Sammy Davis Jr. in "Porgy and Bess" (1959), Peter Sellers in "Lolita" (1962), George C. Scott in "Dr. Strangelove" (1964), Dennis Hopper in "Blue Velvet" (1986) and Tim Roth and Steve Buscemi in "Reservoir Dogs" (1992).