Best Actor-Who Should Have Won for 1945

 

1945 nominees for Best Actor were not a lot of great choices, to be honest….it could have been much better but the Academy decided to go with ho-hum actors. This could have been a much better year instead of …meh. The first actor is who won the Oscar, the 2nd is my choice as to who should have won…

1. RAY MILLAND IN THE LOST WEEKEND

This is a Billy Wilder film and one of the first to depict a troubled alcoholic and his downward spiral into alcoholism despite the love of a woman and his brother’s devotion. All he wants is to drink and will do whatever it takes to get that drink. Ray Milland was known as a light comedian but wanted to be more so he went after this role. He convinced Wilder and it won him the Oscar, and I have no idea how he won this. Wait, I do…a light comedian acts in a serious role as an alcoholic…some things never change. I can’t stand this movie, not because of the directing or the character actors or the main actress, played by Jane Wyman, but because of Ray Milland. To me, he greatly overacts to the point where he made me laugh out loud ( he has booze in a paper bag and he is looking all around wondering what everyone else sees. His eyes seem to pop out of his head as he looks at everyone in a paranoid manner and it made me laugh. I just can’t get into his character because he is very unlikeable, condescending  and obnoxious. 

2. EDWARD G. ROBINSON IN SCARLETT STREET

Edward was not even nominated for his brilliant turn as a hen-pecked husband who loves to paint. He is taken out by his work to celebrate all the years working at the bank and as he walks home he meets up with a beautiful woman, played by, now brunette, Joan Bennett. He helps her out and thinks she is quite the lady but, she is anything but. She is slovenly, lazy, two-timing wrench who sees her mark. Edward is smitten and places her in  a nice apartment, buying her whatever she desires. He just loves to paint her and she is fine with this and so is her boyfriend played so slimely by Dan Duryea. Through a series of events, Edward's paintings get noticed by a reputable art dealer and his paintings are being sold but they think the artist is the broad. Poor Edward has no idea but continues to give this gal her every wish to the point where he now embezzles from his work. We all know this actor as a rough gangster so this is a new character he plays and he acts so well that you believe him to be this sad, beat upon man. Edward was, actually, a very soft soul who hated guns and would often close his eyes causing the director to yell "Cut" until he got the take. Edward was also a lover of art and had quite the collection. I believe Edward G. Robinson deserves the Oscar for this role and, yet, he was not even nominated.

3  CORNEL WILDE IN A SONG TO REMEMBER 

This is one of the many romanticized bios that the studios made during the 40s, this being one of them. Cornell Wilde was a handsome stud and one I had a crush on when I first saw this film. I always got a kick out of how these great composers composed...from figuring out how to play his new work to playing the piece with full gusto all within 30 seconds. This is a very fictionalized account of Chopin's life including his affair with George Sand. She decided to dress and act like a man since men made it on the world where women were delegated  to bring them their slippers. Merle Oberon played Sand but had to play her as the villain because  you can't have a strong woman who dresses like a man, as a woman with strength.  Chopin was proud of his Polish heritage and fought to have Poland become independent. Cornell was good in his role but nothing special, again, in my opinion. 

The other nominees were Gregory Peck in "Keys for the Kingdom"; Gene Kelly in, "Anchors Aweigh;" and Bing Crosby in"The Bells of St. Mary's."

Humphrey Bogart wasn't nominated for his role in " To Have and Have Not." John Wayne in "They Were Expendable." And even Hurd Hatfield in "The Picture of Dorian Gray."