Tuesday
Feb062018
26 days til Oscar. (From Here to the 26th Annual Oscars Eternity)
Tuesday, February 6, 2018 at 11:30AM by Nathaniel R
With but 26 days left until Hollywood's High Holy Night, it's time to get cracking on film year wrap-up everything so expect a few more Oscar chart revisions very soon plus the Film Bitch Awards and such. But until then, let your minds drift back to the dirty sexy 26th annual Oscars when Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, and Monty Clift all got filthy for From Here to Eternity (1953) which took Best Picture and seven other Oscars but none for the three leading actors.
The Best Picture nominees were...
- From Here to Eternity ★
- Julius Caesar
- The Robe
- Roman Holiday
- Shane
The Best Actress nominees were...
- Leslie Caron, Lili
- Ava Gardner, Mogambo
- Audrey Hepburn, Roman Holiday ★
- Deborah Kerr, From Here to Eternity
- Maggie McNamara, The Moon is Blue
Monty for EternityThe Best Actor nominees were...
- Marlon Brando, Julius Caesar
- Richard Burton, The Robe
- Montgomery Clift, From Here to Eternity
- William Holden, Stalag 17 ★
- Burt Lancaster, From Here to Eternity
This was only the second time the Oscars had been broadcast on television. Who would you have voted for in these competitions?
Reader Comments (32)
I would have voted for From Here to Eternity,Audrey Hepburn, and Montgomery Clift
How many other films have scored 3 lead acting nominations? Network? Any others?
Shane, Hepburn and Holden.
Solid nominees all around.
From Here to Eternity, Caron, Clift
Dear God, that picture of Montgomery Clift. TFE is my new Pornhub.
JB - Mutiny On The Bounty.
This is one that Oscar got right all around.
...and he's shaved, too. And still looks hot!
I would go with FHTE, Montgomery, and Deborah, but these were very good choices too.
The Best Picture lineup is good though how Wages of Fear missed on a BP nom I'll never understand. Even if it had been included though my vote still would have gone to From Here to Eternity which remains compelling today.
I love Bill Holden and he's fine in Stalag 17 but I think this was a makeup Oscar for Sunset Boulevard and this should have been Monty's Oscar win.
Best Actress is the most flawed and my choice for the win that year, Gloria Grahame in The Big Heat wasn't nominated so with the choices at hand I'd still go with Audrey Hepburn.
Oh Audrey Hepburn definitely, and even though my personal favorite movie of this group is Roman Holiday, I'd still probably vote for From Here To Eternity despite the flaws brought about by censorship.
And Montgomery Clift, duh.
SHANE, Maggie McNamara and Monty Clift
THE ROBE is legit one of the all-time worst Best Picture nominees.
Oscar got it right this time. But don't ya just love Shane! Shane, come back!
Great year for Deb, starring in two BP nominees.
I agree that they got it right, but my Best Supporting Actress would be Thelma Ritter.
Shane
George Stevens, Shane
Montgomery Clift, From Here to Eternity
Aubrey Hepburn, Roman Holiday
Frank Sinatra, From Here to Eternity
Thelma Ritter, Pickup on South Street
Leslie Caron takes the gold this year. I'm just in love with that performance. Isn't anybody else?
These lineups are pretty strong, but I have to confess that I have never heard of The Robe. I guess it didn't age as well as the others?
How close did From Here to Eternity come to winning four acting Oscars? And if it did I wouldn't begrudge them. That was a solid ensemble.
My contenders for the '53 Oscars would have been quite different :
Actor:
Fred Astaire "The Band Wagon"
Glenn Ford "The Big Heat"
Robert Ryan "Inferno"
Spencer Tracy "The Actress"
Clifton Webb "Titanic"
Actress:
Jean Arthur "Shane"
Doris Day "Calamity Jane"
Audrey Hepburn "Roman Holiday"
Jane Russell "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes"
Barbara Stanwyck "Titanic"
Supporting Actor:
Jack Buchanan "The Band Wagon"
Jack Carson "Dangerous When Wet"
Brandon de Wilde "Shane"
James Mason "Julius Caesar"
Anthony Quinn "Blowing Wild"
Supporting Actress:
Nanette Fabray "The Band Wagon"
Grace Kelly "Mogambo"
Machiko Kyo "Ugetsu Monogatari"
Jeanette Nolan "The Big Heat"
Teresa Wright "The Actress"
Only three on the above list (Hepburn, de Wilde and Kelly) were actually nominated.
Actor and Actress categories were so tough in '53 I'd have had to - with great regret - omit Alan Ladd ("Shane") and Gloria Grahame("The Big Heat") - both performances that added immeasurably to the greatness of their films. So - unfortunately - did the Academy..
@Ken Tiranic was a fantastic movie! I don't understand how Webb and Stanwyck never got traction for that film. The goodbye scene! I just love that movie.
brookesboy:
Are you getting The Robe ('53) which stars Jean Simmons mixed up with Quo Vadis ('51) which does star Deborah Kerr?
brooksboy
Whoops. Sorry, I forgot Deborah Kerr is in Julius Caesar.
LOVE FHTE. Hands down one of my favorite Supporting Actor wins.
My medalists would've been:
Picture
Gold: Form Here To Eternity
Silver: Roman Holiday
Bronze: Julius Cesar
Actor
Gold: Marlon Brando
Silver: Montgomery Clift
Bronze: Burt Lancaster
Actress
Gold: Audrey Hepburn
Silver: Ava Gardner
Bronze: Deborah Kerr
Supporting Actor
Gold: Frank Sinatra
Silver: Jack Palance
Bronze: Eddie Albert
Supporting Actress
Gold: Grace Kelly
Silver: Donna Reed
Bronze: Geraldine Page
I've not seen The Robe and a couple of the acting nominees, but as things stand, I would go for:
Shane (just, over From Here to Eternity)
Montgomery Clift
Audrey Hepburn
Jack Palance (just, over the Chairman of the Board)
Thelma Ritter
George Stevens
Excellent winners, but I wld replace Holden (who shld've won three yrs ago for Sunset Blvd) w Monty (achingly vulnerable), n Reed w Ritter (a true scene stealer n yo heart aches at her ending).
From Here to Eternity, Hepburn n Sinatra r all deserving of their wins 😁
Actress wise, Caron n Kerr probably comes close but Hepburn has the momentum.
Stage legend, Ethel Merman reprises her tony winning role in Call Me Mafam n won a golden globe but was sadly snubbed by Oscars. I wld replace the silly virgin McNamara w Merman.
from here to eternity
deborah kerr
monty
and whenever given the chance, i would've always voted for thelma ritter
@claran
Ethel Merman was a punchy one of a kind performer who could belt a song or a wisecrack to the back row of the balcony. But the closest she ever came to nuance in her screen career was in 1954's "There's No Business Like Show Business". I love that movie; the interplay between her and Dan Dailey was a joy. In '53 though - as far as fully realized movie musical performances go, I'd say Doris Day("Calamity Jane") and Jane Russell ("Gentlemen Prefer Blondes")were miles ahead of Merman's enjoyable work in "Call Me Madam". For me, Donald O'Connor, Vera-Ellen and - of course - Irving Berlin shone brightest in that show.
@joel6
The Wages of Fear wasn't a '53 film for AMPAS purposes - recalling the oddity of foreign film rules.
From Here to Eternity, Montgomery Clift - no one in actress, though Kerr gives my favourite performance.
It's still hard to believe Clift and Ritter went Oscar-less during their careers (especially Ritter, given her bounty of nominations.) Ironically, I'd say '53 was the year they both deserved it the most.
I fully support From Here to Eternity for Best Picture, Hepburn for Best Actress, and Sinatra for Supporting Actor.
I prefer Jean Arthur and Van Heflin in Shane over Palance and de Wilde (and would've nominated them both in Supporting over the latter two.) I also wish Pickup on South Street would have gotten more love. I'd have nominated it for Picture and Director, as well as Richard Widmark in Actor and Jean Peters in Actress.
And as much as I love Audrey in Roman Holiday, it's still sad to me that Jean Simmons didn't manage a deserved nomination for Young Bess after appearing in three notable films that year.
Definitely Clift, probably Julius Caesar, and I truly don't know for Actress - touch choice there from those I know, and I've never heard of much less seen The Moon Is Blue - but I am chiming in late to this thread to note that I'm very happy to see the love here for Jane Russell in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and I wish she'd been an option. Such a wonderful performance.
I think it's interesting that Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire came out only a few months apart. It was, apparently, such a different marketplace back then.
If anyone should have won an Oscar was Monty
I wasn't wild about the Oscar nominees in 1953, though they're not as catastrophic as some Oscar lineups in the 50s.
In fairness, FHTE is a respectable BP winner and miles ahead of the other BP nominees. The Big Heat and Pickup on South Street are edgier and more innovative films, the former getting my personal BP vote.
William Holden is a great actor but Staglag 17 is far from his best performance. He shouldn't have been nominated for it. Normally I'm not a Monty Clift fan but his obtuse methody acting is very well suited to this messy, tormented character. Lancaster is also very good. Brando should have been nominated for The Wild One which I think is one of his best performances period.
Audrey Hepburn is good but I wish that the Academy waited to reward her for The Nun's Story or Breakfast at Tiffany's or even My Fair Lady. Ava has her moments but Mogambo is a bore. Out of the nominees I think Leslie Caron is the best; she gives her role realism and pathos. Working against her is the movie itself which is a cloying vomit fest.
My personal actress pick would be Jean Peters who was very multilayered and raw in South Street. The acting across the board was really strong; I think Widmark, Ritter, Peters, and Richard Kiley should hv all been nominated.
Also 1953 was Marilin Monroe's best year. I would have double nominated her for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Actress and Niagara, Best Supporting Actress and also her best against type perf.
The 1950s are the best nominees. Not always the best winners, but the best and more memorable movies and stars.