They Shoulda Won- Best Supporting Actress Nominees from Past Years

-Last week on my blog I paid tribute to some of this year's current academy Award nominees by looking back at some of their past work. This week, with the Oscars just 3 weeks away, I decided to look back over the years and take a look at those who almost took home the gold. All week long, I will be looking at the top 5 Oscar categories (supporting actress, supporting actor, actress, actor and picture) and picking one nominee in each category from each decade to pay tribute to. I'm not doing this to take anything away from those who DID win those years, but simply stating that this is who I felt should have won had I been alive and/or eligible to vote that year!!

I begin with the Best Supporting Actress Category. This is a rather tricky one in terms of performances; an actress can carry a majority of the film alongside an actor, yet be relegated to the supporting sidelines (Eva Marie Saint- On the Waterfront) or be onscreen for a handful of mintues and still take home the gold (Judi Dench- Shakespeare in Love). In any case, the debate still lingers that perhaps some voters don't know what constitues a supporting performance. There has usually been some arguments raised with regards to how the nominees/winners of this category have been selected, but rather than go on about cases such as Marisa Tomei's legendary Oscar upset for My Cousin Vinny (she has actually maintained a decent post-Oscar career since her deserved win), or Kim Basinger's L.A. Confidential prostitute beating Gloria Stuart's Titanic older Rose, I thought I'd just look at some of the past "supporting" performances that, despite being nominated, wrongfully went home empty handed.

1940s:

Judith Anderson- Rebecca (1940) -lost to Jane Darwell for The Grapes of Wrath
-If there was one person credited with stealing the show in Alfred Hitchcock's haunting love story, its Anderson as the head housekeeper of an old English mansion who silently torments her employer's new wife out of a twisted adoration for her predecessor. As Mrs. Danvers, the actress gives in many people's opinion, the greatest acting job in any Hitchcock production. Her portryal of the housekeeper filled with love for her late employer and hatred for her new one is chilling and mesmerizing all at once. Its little compensation that Rebecca won Best Picture after losing out in most of the other categories, such as Best Director. Yet it was Anderson's loss that remains that night that stings the most.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r43B3e1JTU
(please watch up to 2:20)

1950s:

Thelma Ritter- Pillow Talk (1959)- lost to Shelley Winters for The Diary of Anne Frank
-Nominated for six times as Best Supporting Actress without a single win, Ritter has been looked at as one of the greatest character actresses of all time. As the lovable alcoholic maid in the romantic comedy Pillow Talk, Ritter is at her best in her trademark working-class no-nonsense role. She holds attention better than most leading performers and delivers each line with proper timing. While Winter (already a past Oscar winner) gave a performance that was heartwrenching, Ritter's role, just like her impeccible body of work, truly defined support.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FNGZnlSj1o

1960s:

Edith Evans- The Chalk Garden (1964)- lost to Lila Kedrova for Zorba the Greek
-A classic example of how a supporting performance can double as a leading one, Edith Evans' work as Hayley Mills' grandmother in the poignant drama The Chalk Garden is so powerful that the actress easily outshadows Mills and Deborah Kerr in all of their scenes. Her character is domineering but also frightened and vulnerable. To do all of the above seems like an impossible feat, but Evans, one of Britain's finest performers, pulls it off well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TirgGbbvQg0
(please watch until 4:00)

1970s:

Piper Laurie- Carrie (1976)- lost to Beatrice Straight for Network.

-How such a performance went by unrewarded is beyond me. The second of actress Piper Laurie's Oscar nominations is also perhaps her most deserving. As Carrie White's religion-frenzied mother who sees her daughter's progression into womanhood as a devilish act, Lauire was absolutely riveting in a most difficult role; creating one of the most frightening portraits of motherhood ever shown on screen. While winner Beatrice Straight's performance in Network was powerful, it contained none of the magnetic force that made Laurie so chillingly unforgettable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5pL1PUJ59A

1980s:

Diane Weist- Parenthood (1989)- lost to Brenda Fricker for My Left Foot

-Many seem to remember Ron Howard's Parenthood as a funny and heartfelt look at the adventures of raising a family. Yet Weist's portrayal of a divorced working mother trying to raise a rebellious daughter and an introverted son are the film's most real moments. Weist perfectly embodies the frustrations presented to many women faced with doing it all on thier own. Her love for her children and her devotion to them are the emotional core of this brilliant performance and truly deserved Oscar praise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qicbxao1o7A

1990s:

Rosie Perez- Fearless (1993)- lost to Anna Paquin for The Piano

-To be honest, the image that comes to mind when one mentions Rosie Perez is not "accomplished actress." But that's just what Perez proved herself to be with her turn in the drama Fearless. As the survivor of a plane crash, Perez' character is wracked with guilt over the loss of her infant son in the accident and struggles to rebuild her life in the aftermath. The actress is typically utilized in comedic roles in urban comedies, but with a part that requires deep emotion and vulnerability, Perez proved she more than has what it takes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUBaRqY_NqA

2000s:

Holly Hunter- Thirteen (2003)- lost to Renee Zellweger for Cold Mountain

-Though she had already won for The Piano and gave nominated turns in Broadcast News and The Firm, Hunter gave one of her best performances ever with her role as the mother of a young teenage girl whose behavior is spiraling out of control. Her character is not the perfect mother and she knows this, but does the best she can with whatever she has all for the ones she loves. For an actress, who at the time had no children of her own, Hunter was required to be nurturing, supportive, concerned, paniced, and above all, loving; which she managed convincingly without a hitch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wScczSXpM4k


Tomorrow...Best Supporting Actor!!