Kasept isn't it amazing how the Academy does a make-up call for all the missed oppurtunities to get it right. Cool Hand Luke certainly comes to mind as countless others to which he never won the big one for best actor.


The Academy is an embarassment. Newman could have won for about 8 different roles over the years.. Hud.. Hustler.. Cat/Tin Roof.. Luke.. Verdict.. Absence of Malice.. Butch Cassidy.. Sting.. even Slap Shot.. And they give it to him for one of his most ordinary performances.

They pulled the same stunt with Henry Fonda, making him wait until he was nearly dead before giving him a statue. If there's a better performance in American Cinema than Fonda's Tom Joad in 'Grapes of Wrath', I haven't seen it. The award went to Jimmy Stewart that year for one of my absolute favorite films, The Philadelphia Story.. But in that, Cary Grant STOLE the picture from him with about half as much screen time. And the picture belongs to Kate Hepburn anyway.. AND SHE LOST TOO! (To Ginger Rogers! for the forgettable 'Kitty Foyle')

And Fonda made another dozen award quality turns between that (1940) and Golden Pond (1981).. How does he not win for Mister Roberts?.. or Fail Safe? or The Tin Star? or 12 Angry Men?

They are dicking Scorsese around as well. Let's see.. He made arguably one of the best films of the 70's: Mean Streets.. 2 of the best films of the 80's: Raging Bull and King/Comedy.. the best film of the 90's: Goodfellas.. possibly one of the best of the 00's: Aviator.. And STILL no Oscar..

The Oscars are a joke..

Sorry, I don't know what happened to this thread, but someone mentioned Fonda in The Grapes of Wrath. That movie is a treasure and his performance was mesmorising. Also the woman that played his mother was fantastic. A very accurate and moving portrayal of the events of the time.

I think it is simply about guys making $$ off those who like to solve puzzles. Just common parasites.

Jim,

That would have been me who mentioned Fonda in "Wrath".. Ma Joad was played by the incomparable Jane Darwell, whose career in cinema pre-dated sound.. She made more than 100 films and was a treasure.

Her career was largely over and she had been generally forgotten in Hollywood when Robert Stevenson thoughtfully cast her in "Mary Poppins" in 1964. Even there, she managed to make a short appearance memorable during the most touching sequence in that wonderful confection: She played the "Birdwoman" in Trafalgar Square during Andrews' rendition of "Feed the Birds"... It was the last role of her six decades as an actress.

She is haunting in Grapes of Wrath..

"Rich fellas come up an' they die, an' their kids ain't no good an' they die out. But we keep a'comin'. We're the people that live. They can't wipe us out; they can't lick us. We'll go on forever, Pa, 'cause we're the people."

Fonda
 

Quite frankly he was great in On Golden Pond. I always loved the scene where the kid Billy uses the word bullshit. Fonda's character says to the Kid "you like that word don't you?" pauses and says "It's a good word" and walks away.

On Golden Pond was a very nice movie. Always my Dad's favorite movie growing up. Must have watched this 10 times. :rolleyes:

I like em older too... :D

LOL!! Great to know!

Haunting absolutely. Yep that's the speech in the movie that really really moves me! She embodied the tough spirit of the southwest. My grandparents were okies and were children during the time of the dust bowl and the Jane Darwell character reminds me of my grandmother. The entire scene with her and Tom Joad talking at the end before he leaves is riveting and great writing.

For example, Tom Joad "Then it don't matter. I'll be all around in the dark - I'll be everywhere. Wherever you can look - wherever there's a fight, so hungry people can eat, I'll be there. Wherever there's a cop beatin' up a guy, I'll be there. I'll be in the way guys yell when they're mad. I'll be in the way kids laugh when they're hungry and they know supper's ready, and when the people are eatin' the stuff they raise and livin' in the houses they build - I'll be there, too. "

A/J,

True enough.. It's tough to beat that Steinbeck guy for dialouge! His book was adapted by the deft and brilliant Nunnally Johnson, who also either adapted, wrote or directed 'Man in the Grey Flannel Suit', 'Three Faces of Eve' and many, many more... 'The Dirty Dozen' too!

Amazing that your kin were Dust Bowl Okies.. Hardscrabble upbringing is an invaluable asset for the following generations.. My father and his mother came here from Vienna in '39, literally with $10 each.. That's all the Nazis allowed them to leave Austria with..

i know you're talking movies, but john steinbeck was mentioned....

his 'east of eden' is a work of art. that man was an incredible author. i read grapes of wrath again just a few months ago. of mice and men one of the best short stories ever. i enjoy his, nabokov, and dh lawrences shorts the best.

Love the Steinbeck short stories. Read most of the back in school but what I should do is revisit them again. Of mice and men would be my favorite.

Great tidbit, kasept. I've forgotten 99% of the movie scenes I've seen, but that little piece from Mary Poppins was wonderful.

Likewise with that quote from Tom Joad, ArlJim. It's been decades since I read Grapes of Wrath, but those lines are still fresh in my mind, while most books I read last year are entirely forgotten.

--Dunbar