by Allan Fish
You know the score…
Best Picture Rear Window, US (10 votes, winning by 1 from The Seven Samurai)
Best Director Alfred Hitchcock, Rear Window & Kenji Mizoguchi, Sansho Dayu (9 votes, 1 ahead of Kurosawa)
Best Short Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century, US, Chuck Jones (10 votes)
Best Actor Marlon Brando, On the Waterfront (22 votes)
Best Actress Giulietta Masina, La Strada (10 votes, beating Judy by 1)
Best Supp Actor Lee J.Cobb, On the Waterfront (9 votes)
Best Supp Actress Mercedes McCambridge, Johnny Guitar (8 votes)
Best Cinematography Kazuo Miyagawa, Sansho Dayu (8 votes)
Best Score Leonard Bernstein, On the Waterfront (17 votes)
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and my own choices…
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Best Picture SANSHO DAYU
Best Short DUCK DODGERS IN THE 24½TH CENTURY, US, Chuck Jones
Best Director Kenji Mizoguchi, Sansho Dayu
Best Actor Marlon Brando, On the Waterfront
Best Actress Giulietta Masina, La Strada
Best Supporting Actor André Morell, 1984 TV
Best Supporting Actress Kinuyo Tanaka, Sansho Dayu
Best Cinematography Kazuo Miyagawa, Sansho Dayu
Best Musical Score Nino Rota, La Strada
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And on to 1955…
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1955
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Adolescence (Japan…Heinosuke Gosho)
All That Heaven Allows (US…Douglas Sirk)
Le Amiche (Italy…Michelangelo Antonioni)
Artists and Models (US…Frank Tashlin)
Battle Cry (US…Raoul Walsh)
Il Bidone (Italy…Federico Fellini)
The Big Combo (US…Joseph H.Lewis)
The Blackboard Jungle (US…Richard Brooks)
A Bloody Spear on Mount Fuji (Japan…Tomu Uchida)
C’ela S’Appelle L’Aurore (France/Italy…Luis Buñuel)
The Cobweb (US…Vincente Minnelli)
Cold Nights (Hong Kong…Lee Sun-fung)
Confidential Report (Spain…Orson Welles)
The Court Jester (US…Norman Panama, Melvin Frank)
The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz (Mexico…Luis Buñuel)
The Dam Busters (UK…Michael Anderson)
Death of a Cyclist (Spain…Juan-Antonio Bardem)
Dementia (US…John J.Parker)
Les Diaboliques (France…Henri-Georges Clouzot)
Distant Clouds (Japan…Keisuke Kinoshita)
Dreams (Sweden…Ingmar Bergman)
East of Eden (US…Elia Kazan)
Empress Yang Kwei-Fei (Japan…Kenji Mizoguchi)
Floating Clouds (Japan…Mikio Naruse)
A Girl in Black (Greece…Michael Cacoyannis)
Les Grandes Manoeuvres (France…René Clair)
Guys and Dolls (US…Joseph L.Mankiewicz)
Herr Puntila and His Servant Matti (Austria…Alberto Cavalcanti)
Hill 24 Doesn’t Answer (Israel…Thorold Dickinson)
Hvor bjergene sjeler (Denmark…Bjarne Henning-Jansen)
I Live in Fear (Japan…Akira Kurosawa)
It’s Always Fair Weather (US…Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly)
Kiss Me Deadly (US…Robert Aldrich)
Kokoro (Japan…Kon Ichikawa)
Lady Chatterley’s Lover (France…Marc Allégret)
The Ladykillers (UK…Alexander Mackendrick)
Land of the Pharaohs (US…Howard Hawks)
Lola Montes (France…Max Ophuls)
The Man from Laramie (US…Anthony Mann)
The Man With the Golden Arm (US…Otto Preminger)
Marianne of My Youth (France…Julien Duvivier)
Marty (US…Delbert Mann)
The Merry-Go Round (Hungary…Zoltán Fabri)
The Miracle of Marcelino (Spain…Ladislao Vajda)
Mister Roberts (US…Mervyn le Roy, John Ford)
The Moon Has Risen (Japan…Kinuyo Tanaka)
Moonfleet (US…Fritz Lang)
Nana (France…Christian-Jaque)
The Night of the Hunter (US…Charles Laughton)
Oh, Rosalinda! (UK…Michael Powell)
Oklahoma! (US…Fred Zinnemann)
Ordet (Denmark…Carl T.Dreyer)
Pather Panchali (India…Satyajit Ray)
Pete Kelly’s Blues (US…Jack Webb)
The Phenix City Story (US…Phil Karlson)
Picnic (US…Joshua Logan)
Razzia sur la Chnouf (France…Henri Decoin)
Rebel Without a Cause (US…Nicholas Ray)
Richard III (UK…Laurence Olivier)
Rififi (France…Jules Dassin)
Rio 40 Degrees (Brazil…Nelson Pereira dos Santos)
Samurai Part Two: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (Japan…Hiroshi Inagaki)
The Seven Year Itch (US…Billy Wilder)
She Was Like a Wild Chrysanthemum (Japan…Keisuke Kinoshita)
Shin Heike Monogatari (Japan…Kenji Mizoguchi)
Smiles of a Summer Night (Sweden…Ingmar Bergman)
Stella (Greece…Michael Cacoyannis)
Summertime (US/UK…David Lean)
The Tall Men (US…Raoul Walsh)
The Tattered Wings (Japan…Keisuke Kinoshita)
This Island Earth (US…Joseph M.Newman)
To Catch a Thief (US…Alfred Hitchcock)
The Trouble With Harry (US…Alfred Hitchcock)
Twilight Saloon (Japan…Tomu Uchida)
The Unknown Soldier (Finland…Edvin Laine)
The Widow (South Korea…Park Nam-ok)
The Woman in the Painting (Italy…Franco Rossi)
Young Love (Finland…Roland af Hällström)
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Best Short
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The Bespoke Overcoat (UK…Jack Clayton)
Blinkity Blank (Canada…Norman McLaren)
The Legend of Rock-a-Bye Point (US…Tex Avery)
Le Maitres Fous (France…Jean Rouch)
Nuit et Brouillard (France…Alain Resnais)
One Froggy Evening (US…Chuck Jones)
The Red Balloon (France…Albert Lamorisse)
Speedy Gonzales (US…Friz Freleng)
Good luck with that one! Jeze!
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Best Actor
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Gunnar Bjornstrand Smiles of a Summer Night
Ernest Borgnine Marty
James Cagney Love Me Or Leave Me
Broderick Crawford Il Bidone
James Dean East of Eden
Tom Ewell The Seven Year Itch
Jean Gabin Razzia sur le Chnouf
Jean Gervais Rififi
Alec Guinness The Ladykillers
William Holden Picnic
Chiezo Kataoka A Bloody Spear on Mount Fuji
Henrik Malberg Ordet
Ralph Meeker Kiss Me Deadly
Robert Mitchum The Night of the Hunter
Masayuki Mori Floating Clouds
Masayuki Mori Kokoro
Laurence Olivier Richard III
Jack Palance The Big Knife
Michael Redgrave The Dam Busters
Frank Sinatra The Man With the Golden Arm
James Stewart The Man From Laramie
Richard Todd A Man Called Peter
Cornel Wilde The Big Combo
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Best Actress
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Françoise Arnoul Les Amants du Tage
Karuna Banerjee Pather Panchali
Lucia Bosé Death of a Cyclist
Martine Carol Lola Montes
Eva Dahlbeck Dreams
Eva Dahlbeck Smiles of a Summer Night
Doris Day Love Me Or Leave Me
Julie Harris East of Eden
Susan Hayward I’ll Cry Tomorrow
Katharine Hepburn Summertime
Kay Kendall Simon and Laura
Machiko Kyo Empress Yang Kwei-Fei
Elle Lambeti A Girl in Black
Piper Laurie Ain’t Misbehavin’
Vivien Leigh The Deep Blue Sea
Anna Magnani The Rose Tattoo
Melina Mercouri Stella
Marilyn Monroe The Seven Year Itch
Eleanora Rossi Drago Le Amiche
Simone Signoret Les Diaboliques
Hideko Takamine Floating Clouds
Mari Torocsik Merry Go Round
Jane Wyman All That Heaven Allows
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Best Supp Actor
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Edward Andrews The Phenix City Story
Alfie Bass The Bespoke Overcoat
Stephen Boyd The Man Who Never Was
Richard Conte The Big Combo
Donald Crisp The Man from Laramie
Marcel Dalio Razzia sur le Chnouf
Jules Dassin Rififi
Edmund Gwenn The Trouble With Harry
Cedric Hardwicke Richard III
Daisuke Kato A Bloody Spear on Mount Fuji
Stubby Kaye Guys and Dolls
Arthur Kennedy The Man from Laramie
Arthur Kennedy Trial
Duncan Lamont The Adventures of Quentin Durward
Preben Lerdoff-Rye Ordet
Joe Mantell Marty
Jack Lemmon Mister Roberts
Raymond Massey East of Eden
Paul Meurisse Les Diaboliques
Sal Mineo Rebel Without a Cause
Alexis Minotis Land of the Pharaohs
Jeff Morrow This Island Earth
Arthur O’Connell Picnic
William Powell Mister Roberts
Basil Rathbone The Court Jester
Ralph Richardson Richard III
Chishu Ryu She Was Like a Wild Chrysanthemum
Paul Scofield That Lady
Rod Steiger The Big Knife
Richard Todd The Dam Busters
Peter Ustinov Lola Montes
Charles Vanel Les Diaboliques
Anton Walbrook Lola Montes
Anton Walbrook Oh Rosalinda!
Emlyn Williams The Deep Blue Sea
Richard Wordsworth The Quatermass Experiment
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Best Supp Actress
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Harriet Andersson Dreams
Harriet Andersson Smiles of a Summer Night
Vivian Blaine Guys and Dolls
Betsy Blair Marty
Chunibala Devi Pather Panchali
Brigitte Federspiel Ordet
Lillian Gish The Cobweb
Lillian Gish The Night of the Hunter
Gloria Grahame Oklahoma!
Katie Johnson The Ladykillers
Peggy Lee Pete Kelly’s Blues
Aline MacMahon The Man from Laramie
Esther Minciotti Marty
Agnes Moorehead All That Heaven Allows
Mildred Natwick The Trouble With Harry
Marisa Pavan The Rose Tattoo
Gaby Rodgers Kiss Me Deadly
Susan Strasberg Picnic
Haruko Sugimura She Was Like a Wild Chrysanthemum
Jo Van Fleet East of Eden
Jean Wallace The Big Combo
Natalie Wood Rebel Without a Cause
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Best Cinematography
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Philippe Agostini Rififi
John Alton The Big Combo
Henning Bendtsen Ordet
Christopher Challis Oh Rosalinda!
Stanley Cortez The Night of the Hunter
Gunnar Fischer Smiles of a Summer Night
Lee Garmes, Russell Harlan Land of the Pharaohs
Ernest Haller Rebel Without a Cause
Osmo Harkimo, Antero Ruuhonen, Olavi Tuomi, Pentti Uhno The Unknown Soldier
Otto Heller Richard III
Jack Hildyard Summertime
James Wong Howe Picnic
Charles Lang The Man from Laramie
Ernest Laszlo Kiss Me Deadly
Robert le Fèbvre, Robert Juillard Les Grandes Manoeuvres
Ted McCord East of Eden
Russell Metty All That Heaven Allows
Subrata Mitra Pather Panchali
Kazuo Miyagawa Shin Heike Monogatari
Robert Planck Moonfleet
Harold Rosson Pete Kelly’s Blues
Kohei Sugiyama Empress Yang Kwei-Fei
Robert L.Surtees Oklahoma!
Masaro Tamai Floating Clouds
Armand Thirard Les Diaboliques
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Best Score
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Elmer Bernstein The Man with the Golden Arm
David Buttolph, Sammy Cahn, Ray Heindorf, Matty Matlock, Arthur Hamilton Pete Kelly’s Blues
Bernard Herrmann The Trouble With Harry
Maurice le Roux The Red Balloon
Alex North Unchained
Leonard Rosenman East of Eden
Ravi Shankar Pather Panchali
Frank Skinner, Joseph Gershenson All That Heaven Allows
Dimitri Tiomkin Land of the Pharaohs
Georges Van Parys Les Grandes Manoeuvres
William Walton Richard III
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NB: I haven’t listed Eric Coates’ score for The Dam Busters. In actual fact, he only wrote the march theme and the rest was written around it by Leighton Lucas, but crucially, the theme was written based on an unfinished and unpublished piece of work composed before being asked to do the piece. Hence, as it was not specifically written for the film, I cannot count it.
REAR WINDOW’s Best Picture win is consistent with it’s win two year’s ago as Best Film of the 1950′s in the WitD polling. 1955 is a dynamite year with many great films. Aside from my No. 1 choice the films that contnded for the top spot were: Floating Clouds, Smiles of a Summer Night, Ordet, The Night of the Hunter, East of Eden, The Man from Laramie, All That Heaven Allows, Marty, Lola Montes, Les Diaboliques, Richard III, Death of a Cyclist, Rififi, Rebel Without A Cause, Kiss Me Deadly.
Best Picture: Pather Panchali
Best Director: Satyajit Ray (Pather Panchali)
Best Actor: Laurence Olivier (Richard III)
Best Actress: Hideko Takamine (Floating Clouds)
Best Supporting Actor: Sal Mineo (Rebel Without A Cause)
Best Supporting Actress: Lillian Gish (The Night of the Hunter)
Best Short: The Red Balloon and Niut et Brulliard (TIE)
Best Cinematography: Stanley Cortez (The Night of the Hunter)
Best Score: Elmer Bernstein (The View from Pompey’s Head) and Ravi Shankar (Pather Panchali)
I went off the boards for BEST SCORE naming Elmer Bernstein’s ravishing score for POMPEY’S HEAD. The score for THE RED BALLOON is narrowly behind the two two leaers.
The short category may be the greatest of all-time. After the tie, there is another short materpiece with ONE FROGGY EVENING.
After Olivier, James Dean would be next among lead actors for EAST OF EDEN.
There is more than one other masterpiece, old boy, there’s The Bespoke Overcoat, one of the greatets of all short films.
Great list here and fantastic lists in general by everyone.
Can’t quite come up with a comprehensive list just yet for all the categories by Seven Samurai would top the best film list for me. A top 10 for this year would otherwise also include in no particular order La Strada, Pather Panchali, Chikamatsu Monagatari, Rear Window, Sansho Dayu, Late Chrysanthemums, Senso, Sound of the Mountain. Two fantastic Indian films from this year are Amar (Hindi) and Sadanander Mela (Bengali).
will try and get back later for a 1955 list.
by the way when I try to access older lists for the 70s (that all of us contributed) in the sidebar the initial contributions are hyperlinked to a dead page..
Great to see you here Kaleem! I do indeed well remember your excellent 1950′s list and lamentthe dead link, which I will now investigate. As always your proposed list here is exceptional!
Best Picture: The Night Of The Hunter
Top Five: 1. The Night Of The Hunter 2. Les Diaboliques 3. Rififi Chez Les Hommes 4. Ordet 5. Kiss Me Deadly
Not much easier than last year.
Best Picture: Lola Montes
Best Director: Ophuls
Best Actor: Meeker, Kiss Me Deadly
Best Actress: Signoret, Les Diaboliques — but where’s Martine Carol?
Supporting Actor: Lerdoff-Rye, Ordet — best of a deep, deep field
Supporting Actress: Rodgers, Kiss Me Deadly
Cinematography: tough! — but will go with Haller for Rebel w/o Cause, with honorable mention to Alton for Big Combo.
Score: Walton, Richard III
Short: Abstain — don’t want to give it to Froggy Evening because Chuck Jones whimsy grows insufferable over time but can’t recall any of the others. I may come back after checking them out.
Top 5: Lola Montes, Kiss Me Deadly, Ordet, Man From Laramie, Rebel w/o Cause. Shame to shut Laramie out of the prizes but Mann will have more chances later.
Shameful confession: I haven’t seen Pather Panchali!
Picture: Pather Panchali
Director: Satyajit Ray, Pather Panchali
Actor: James Dean, East of Eden (also Rebel Without a Cause)
Actress: Simone Signoret, Les Diaboloques
Sup. Actor: Raymond Massey, East of Eden
Sup. Actress: Lillian Gish, Night of the Hunter
Cinematography: Stanley Cortez, Night of the Hunter
Yay for Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century winning best short in 1954.
I vote “The Ladykillers” for best movie in 1955.
I vote Alexander Mackendrick for best director (“The Ladykillers”) in 1955.
I vote “Blinkity Blank” for best short in 1955.
I vote Alec Guiness for best actor in “The Ladykillers” in 1955.
I vote Karuna Banerjee for best actress in “Pather Panchali” in 1955.
I vote Sal Mineo for best supporting actor in “Rebel without a Cause” in 1955.
I vote Katie Johnson for best supporting actress in “The Ladykillers” in 1955.
I vote “Pather Panchali” for best cinematography.
I vote “Pather Panchali” for best score.
Best Picture: Pather Panchali (Not even close. Ray’s directorial debut and magnum opus is a timeless masterpiece. I’m not sure there are ten better films from the decade)
Best Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot, Les Diaboliques (This was by far the hardest choice. How to choose between Dreyer, S. Ray, Welles, N. Ray, Laughton, Bergman and Mizoguchi?! At the end of the day, I choose Clouzot. Les Diaboliques remains one of the great spine chillers and in my opinion is superior to even Hitchcock’s greatest entry in the horror genre. much of that has to go to Clouzot)
Best Actor: Robert Mitchum, The Night of the Hunter (This is the role Mitchum will forever be remembered for, and because of that, it was hard to choose anyone else. James Dean, however, was a close second)
Best Actress: Vera Clouzot, Les Diaboliques (Not the actress listed above, but it was her performance that made the film)
Best Supporting Actor: Paul Meurisse, Les Diaboliques (One of the more underrated performances in the history of cinema, as well as one of the most disgusting characters ever)
Best Supporting Actress: Brigitte Federspiel, Ordet (I was very close of giving her the Best Actress spot. A truly wonderful performance)
Best Cinematography: Stanley Cortez The Night of the Hunter (Some of the best work ever by the magnificent director of photography. Cortez is easily one of my favorites of the era)
Best Short: Nuit et Brouillard, Alain Resnais (not too difficult of a choice there)
Best Score: Ravi Shankar, Pather Panchali (It’s fucking Ravi Shankar! How can he not be number 1)
How great is it to see our old friend back on the boards here? Fantastic, and with the usual brilliant insights and taste! Alas I can’t deny you are rght to heap enormous praise on Shankar, who I now have elevated from very very close to a tie for the top spot.
All I can say is it’s great to be back and I can happily say I wont be gone that long again!
Feature: Pather Panchali (that’s the one I was forgetting, Sam)
Short: Night and Fog
Director: Charles Laughton (Night of the Hunter)
Actor: Ernest Borgnine (Marty) – RIP
Actress: Jane Wyman (All That Heaven Allows)
Supp. Actor: Richard Conte (The Big Combo) – I really hope he wins although right now Mineo is in the vet narrow lead. Maurizio, you would you step out of your Best Picture-only approach momentarily to give him an edge?
Supp. Actress: Chunibala Devi (Pather Panchali)
Cinematography: Stanley Cortez (Night of the Hunter)
Score: Ravi Shankar (Pather Panchali)
Screenplay: Ordet
Editing: Kiss Me Deadly
honorable mention: Les Diaboliques
Great year…
However, in my mind there is one film in the running that stands head and shoulders above them all. It’s a film of quiet tenderness and keen observation, one that is both real and hypnotic at the same time…
Let’s get at it…
PICTURE: PATHER PANCHALI
(My top five: Pather Panchali, Les Diaboliques, Floating Clouds, East Of Eden, The Night Of The Hunter)
SHORT: NIGHT AND FOG (really, for me, this is a no-brainer and what the director does in less than an hour is as powerful as the best 3 and 4 hour documentaries on the subject). ONE FROGGY EVENING, one of the greatest of all cartoons, would be a close second as crazy as that may sound compaired to the subject of the top choice.
DIRECTOR: Henri GEORGES-CLAUZOT (LES DIABOLIQUES)-This was one of the toughtest decisions to make. The strengths of the likes of Ray, Laughton, Kazan (whose East of Eden is my choice for his very best film-I think it’s a perfect American movie), Ophuls, Mann and Naruse are formative and combative, but I think that Clauzot perfectly captures the chamber/drama/horror intensity so perfectly that he bests Hitchcock at times.
LEAD ACTOR: Laurence OLIVIER (RICHARD III)-Succintly, this is Oliviers best performance on screen. Sly, comical and deadly, his turn here is a perfect example of effortless creation and could be looked at as a reference for how its done. This was no easy choice though. Olivier has the likes of Mitchum (in his greatest performance), Dean (for his better performance in EAST OF EDEN and not REBEL), Meeker and Sinatra all breathing down his back…
LEAD ACTRESS: Simone SIGNORET (LES DIABOLIQUES)-This is an insanely perfect turn in two faced psychopathy and shouldn’t be overlooked in favor of more traditional dramatics. Her performance walks a tight-wire between vile self-preservation and loathsome guilt.
SUPP. ACTOR: Raymond MASSEY (EAST OF EDEN)-The reasoning center of a film about morality torn apart. Massey is quietly powerful in every moment he’s on screen and stands tall in his scenes opposite the juggernaut that is James Dean.
SUPP. ACTRESS: Jo VAN FLEET (EAST OF EDEN)-Sorry, gotta side with Oscar on this one. Van Fleet’s performance is a tour-de-force of unaplogetic screen villiany. One of the great, great portraits of true evil ever done on screen and an almost perfect adaptation of one of the greatest bad guys of 20th Century literature.
PHOTO: Stanley CORTEZ (THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER)-You just need to see the films from this year and you’ll know who the master in this category is. It’s that obvious.
MUSIC: Ravvi SHANKAR (PATHER PANCHALI)-Pretty obvious choice (and probaly the best one), though Bernsteins intense jazz from THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM would be hot on its heels.
Till next week.
Dennis I voted for Cortez as well….but Haller is not that far behind. The brilliant CinemaScope framing in Rebel is incredibly well done. I recently did an essay on Rebel and examined many screen shots….it’s one of the best widescreen cinematography works of the era. Just saying.
I can’t believe I’ve never seen “Pather Panchali” !!!!
Best Picture: Les Diaboliques
Best Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot (Les Diaboliques)
Best Actor: Alec Guinness (The Ladykillers)
Best Actress: Simone Signoret (Les Diaboliques)
Best Supporting Actor: Sal Mineo (Rebel Without A Cause)
Best Supporting Actress: Lillian Gish (The Night of the Hunter)
Best Cinematography: Stanley Cortez (The Night of the Hunter)
Best Score: Bernard Herrmann (The Trouble With Harry)
Best Picture: The Night of the Hunter
Best Director: S. Ray (Pather Panchali)
Best Actor: Robert Mitchum (The Night of the Hunter)
Best Actress: Jane Wyman (All That Heaven Allow)
Best Supporting Actor: Sal Mineo (Rebel Without A Cause)
Best Supporting Actress: Lillian Gish (The Night of the Hunter)
Best Score: Leonard Rosenman (East of Eden)
Best Cinematography: Stanley Cortez (The Night of the Hunter)
Best Short: Night and Fog
I find this to be a most painful year for two reasons: (1) the massive number of great movies makes choosing in each and every race excruciatingly tough (resulting in my first tie, for cinematography), and (2) the humiliating fact that I, too, have yet to see PATHER PANCHALI (Hey, I just can’t find a copy of it to rent, okay? And I don’t have Netflix, and I don’t live in a town that every played it even when we DID have repertory theaters). Anyway, enough of my excuses…and, by the way, though I have seen the Chuck Jones short many more times than I’ve seen NIGHT AND FOG and THE RED BALLOON put together, I still have to give the edge to the obviously great Renais film…though I’m a huge Jack Clayton fan and would LOVE to see THE BESPOKE OVERCOAT. Anyway, went with my heart on each of these….
PICTURE: The Night of the Hunter (followed by Kiss Me Deadly, Lola Montes, The Big Combo, Les Diaboliques, East of Eden, Lady and the Tramp, Ordet, Summertime, The Man from Laramie, The Ladykillers, Rififi, Guys and Dolls, The Phenix City Story, Smiles of a Summer Night, Richard III, Mister Roberts, Rebel Without A Cause, Marty, It’s Always Fair Weather)
DIRECTOR: Charles Laughton, The Night of the Hunter (2nd: Robert Aldrich, Kiss Me Deadly)
ACTOR: Robert Mitchum, The Night of the Hunter (2nd: James Dean, East of Eden)
ACTRESS: Simone Signoret, Les Diaboliques (2nd: Katherine Hepburn, Summertime)
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Raymond Massey, East of Eden (2nd: Stubby Kaye, Guys and Dolls)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Lillian Gish, The Night of the Hunter (2nd: Vivian Blaine, Guys and Dolls)
CINEMATOGRAPHY: TIE!!–Stanley Cortez, The Night of the Hunter; John Alton, The Big Combo (2nd (B&W): Ernest Laszlo, Kiss Me Deadly)
ORIGINAL SCORE: Elmer Bernstein, The Man with the Golden Arm (2nd: George Duning, Picnic)
SHORT: Night and Fog (followed by The Red Balloon, then One Froggy Evening)
FURTHER:
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: William Rose, The Ladykillers (2nd: Philip Yordan, The Big Combo)
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: James Agee, The Night of the Hunter (2nd: A.I. Bezzerides, Kiss Me Deadly)
COLOR CINEMATOGRAPHY: Christian Matras, Lola Montes (2nd: Ernest Haller, Rebel Without a Cause)
B&W ART DIRECTION: The Rose Tattoo
COLOR ART DIRECTION: Lola Montes
B&W COSTUME DESIGN: Smiles of a Summer Night
COLOR COSTUME DESIGN: Lola Montes
FILM EDITING: Kiss Me Deadly
SOUND: Rebel Without a Cause
SCORING OF A MUSICAL: Jay Blackton, Cyril J. Mockridge, Guys and Dolls
ORIGINAL SONG: “Bella Notte” from Lady and The Tramp, Music and lyrics by Sonny Burke and Peggy Lee (2nd: “Unchained Melody” from Unchained)
VISUAL EFFECTS: The Dam Busters
MAKEUP: This Island Earth
Oh, dangit…I made a mistake…
BEST ACTRESS: Martine Carol, Lola Montes (2nd: Katherine Hepburn, Summertime)
I certainly agree with your first point Dean. This is not an easy year to judge at all. No single film really stands out (and how could it during such a great decade for cinema). I’m actually surprised Ordet has received no votes so far. 1955 can certainly contend for best year of the 50′s with a few others…
I think if you have a tie, Dean, the next best is 3rd, not 2nd.
You can actually do it ether way, as both ae done depending on the way each presents it. Your method is right, but Ibeieve Dean’s is as well.
Another tremendous presentation Dean, if I may say so! I adore the song “Belle Notte” and completely agree that George Duning, an extremely underrated composer, crafted a beauty with PICNIC!!!
Yeah, all those Peggy Lee/Sonny Burke songs from LADY AND THE TRAMP are great! And PICNIC is such a sweet score (its theme even hit #1 on the pop charts, covered by Morris Stoloff). But that Elmer Bernstein score was a doozy. I’m sure I’d love the Ravi Shankar stuff, too!
I always think of 1954 as such a monstrous year (and it is), but looking at this list makes me realize how great 1955 is as well.
Best Picture: Kiss Me Deadly
Best Director: Robert Aldrich (Kiss Me Deadly)
Best Actor: James Dean (East of Eden)
Best Actress: Simone Signoret (Les Diaboliques)
Best Supporting Actor: Richard Conte (The Big Combo)
Best Supporting Actress: Gaby Rodgers (Kiss Me Deadly)
Best Cinematography: John Alton (The Big Combo) – this was the toughest category for me. So many worthy contenders: Cortez and his gothic photography in The Night of the Hunter…Ernest Laszlo and his fantastic work in Kiss Me Deadly. Ultimately, I went with Alton in The Big Combo. It is a film that comes as close as any other to defining how noir should look.
Best Score: Leonard Rosenman (East of Eden)
Couldn’t agree more with Dave’s views on John Alton and the look of The Big Combo. If I were asked to name one film that’s quintessential film noir for me, it would probably be this. I’m not saying its the best noir of all time, just that it was the possibly most archetypal of all & a terrific representative of the style/genre called noir. And, its incredible photography (with such fascinating usages of shadows, silhoettes, camera angles, etc.) played a key role in that.
picture / lola montes
director / max ophuls / lola montes
actor / robert mitchum / night of the hunter
actress / hideko takamine / floating clouds
supporting actor / preben lerdoff-rye / ordet
supporting actress / shirley maclaine / artists and models
cinematography / stanley cortez / night of the hunter
Great to see Peter on this thread again! He’s invaluable, but he’s understandably busy.
My votes for 1955:
Best Picture: Ordet
Best Director: Satyajit Ray (Pather Panchali)
Best Actor: Henrik Malberg (Ordet)
Best Actress: Karuna Banerjee (Pather Panchali) & Birgitte Federspiel (Ordet)
Best Supporting Actor: Paul Meurisse (Les Diaboliques)
Best Supporting Actress: Jean Wallace (The Big Combo)
Best Cinematography: John Alton (The Big Combo)
Best Score: Ravi Shankar (Pather Panchali)
Top 5:
1. Ordet
2. Pather Panchali
3. The Big Combo
4. A Generation
5. Kiss Me Deadly
Just Missed: Rififi, Les Diaboliques (Personally, I’m not very fond of Night of the Hunter – consider it a decent film at best)
I guess there can be discussions & debates on a number of categories for this year, but except for Cinematography & Score. John Alton (in The Big Combo) & Ravi Shankar (in Pather Panchali) were simply peerless, and that too by some distance, for the categories Cinematography & Score, respectively, in my humble opinion. So these 2 were, by far, the easiest selections for me.
A quick correction: I’d like to change my vote for Best Supporting Actor to Richard Conte for The Big Combo.
Picture- Pather Panchali
Dir- Laughton – The Night of the Hunter
Actor- Dean – East of Eden
Actress- Hepburn – Summertime
Supp. Actor – Sal Mineo – Rebel….
Supp. Actress – Natalie Wood – Rebel….. (Couldn’t this be a lead role?)
Short – Night and Fog – Resnais (This might actually be the best work of the year…period)
Score – Shankar – Pather Panchali
Cinematography – Cortez – The Night of the Hunter (Wow this is a tough choice though because Haller’s work on Rebel Without a Cause is amazing stuff. Brilliant Scope framing.)
I love the entire Apu Trilogy. The first film, however, is the best, and for me the best of this year.
Best Film: Pather Panchali
Best Director: Satyajit Ray (Pather Panchali)
Best Actor: James Dean (East of Eden)
Best Actress: Jane Wyman (All That Heaven Allows)
Best Supporting Actor: Sal Mineo (Rebel Without A Cause)
Best Supporting Actress: Jo Van Feet (East of Eden) agreed Dennis!
Best Short: The Red Balloon
Best Score: Ravi Shankar (Pather Panchali)
Best Cinematography: Charles Lang (The Man from Laramie)
I know Miller was listed above as cinematographer for “The Man from Laramie,” but the only credited cinematographer for the film is the great Charles Lang.
R.D. you are quite right. I see even Peter erred by simply following Allan’s nominated choices, ough of course the right film is the thing as far as the voting is concerned. Allan has made that rare gaffe here. As I see Allan has corrected it I will go into WP and change the name on Peter’s ballot as well.
I too love the entire Apu trilogy like you do, Peter. But, my opinion slightly differs in that, I feel Aparajito (The Unvanquished), the second film in tre trilogy, was the best of the lot (and even makes a very strong case for Ray’s greatest work), followed by Apur Sansar (The World of Apu) & Pather Panchali, in that order. But yes, Pather Panchali was certainly a fascinating debut film and the most famous of the lot, and the making of the film makes for a great read.
ooooh, tough, tough….
Best Picture: The Man from Laramie runner-up Ordet
Best Director: Anthony Mann (The Man from Laramie)
Best Actor: Ernest Borgnine (Marty)
Best Actress: Jane Wyman (All That Heaven Allows)
Best Short: Night and Fog
Best Supporting Actor: Sal Mineo (Rebel Without a Cause)
Best Supporting Actress: Brigitte Federspiel (Ordet)
Best Cinematography: Hening Bentsen (Ordet)
Best Score: Elmer Bernstein (The Man with the Golden Arm)
Would love to hear ‘Pompey’s Head’ Sam!
My top five for 1955 are Kiss Me Deadly, Ordet, Lola Montes, Diabolique, and Pather Panchali. Unfortunately, I have not yet been able to see Floating Clouds which may well be the best film of this year.
Best Picture: Kiss Me Deadly
Best Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer (Ordet)
Best Actor: James Dean (East of Eden)
Best Actress: Simone Signoret (Diabolique)
Best Supporting Actor: Sal Mineo (Rebel Without a Cause)
Best Supporting Actress: Birgitte Federspiel (Ordet)
Best Cinematography: John Alton (The Big Combo)
Best Score: Ravi Shankar (Pather Panchali)
From the Apu Trilogy I prefer ‘Aparajito’, so I guess I’ll go with the Bergman
Film: ‘Smiles of a Summer Night’
Director: Bergman
Short: ‘Night and Fog’ (maybe the best film of 1955, period)
Actor: Alec Guinness (‘The Ladykillers’)
Actress: Katharine Hepburn (‘Summertime’)
S. Actor: Rod Steiger (‘The Big Knife’)
S. Actress: Harriet Andersson (‘Smiles of a Summer Night’)
Photography: Gunnar Fischer (‘Smiles of a Summer Night’)
PICTURE: Pather Panchali
DIRECTOR: Dreyer, Ordet
LEAD ACTOR: Robert Mitchum, Night of the Hunter
LEAD ACTRESS: Hideko Takamine, Floating Clouds
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Sal Mineo, Rebel Without a Cause
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Lillian Gish, NIght of the Hunter
SHORT: Night and Fog
SCORE: Ravi Shankar, Pather Panchali
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Stanley Cortez, Night of the Hunter
Bonus pick:
Script: James Agee, Night of the Hunter (taking the lion’s share of individual awards, I see…)
Pic: Les Diaboliques (France…Henri-Georges Clouzot)
Director: Pather Panchali (India…Satyajit Ray)
Short: One Froggy Evening (US…Chuck Jones)
Actor: Ernest Borgnine Marty
Actress: Simone Signoret Les Diaboliques
Sup Actor: Sal Mineo Rebel Without A Cause
Sup Actress: Lillian Gish The Night of the Hunter
Cinematography: Stanley Cortez The Night of the Hunter
Score: Elmer Bernstein The Man with the Golden Arm
Why wasn’t Vera Clouzot on this list? I just watched Diaboliques again last night and she gives the best performance in that film.