The 1956 Hollmann Awards, Part Two

So far, of the 28 films nominated in eighteen categories, six films have divided the first nine awards among them. The Ten Commandments, which led the nominations with 15, also leads the wins with three...so far.

Best Supporting Actress

Mercedes McCambridge as Luz Benedict

Giant

2. Nina Foch in The Ten Commandments; 3. Mildred Natwick in The Court Jester; 4. Helen Hayes in Anastasia; 5. Yvonne De Carlo in The Ten Commandments

I still can't believe McCambridge is only in Giant for 10 minutes and change. It's a marvelously thorny performance that haunts the rest of the movie - her tenacity, her jealousy, her idea of what Benedict means. And she does it without unclenching her jaw. A subtle power.

In second, Foch's Bithiah is as loyal a mother as anyone could want. In third, Natwick's Griselda is straight-faced no matter what kooky incantations she spouts. In fourth, Hayes' Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna is bitter, heartbroken, skeptical. In fifth, De Carlo's Sephora is patient beyond reason.


The rest after the jump.

The 1956 Retro Hollmann Awards, Part One

The first nine winners.

Best Director 

Elia Kazan

Baby Doll

2. Cecil B. de Mille for The Ten Commandments; 3. Akira Kurosawa for Seven Samurai; 4. George Stevens for Giant; 5. Henri-Georges Clouzot for Diabolique

In Elia Kazan's hands, Baby Doll transcends its scandalous, trashy premise, but does so without looking down its nose at the material. There's dark comic energy, feverish sexuality, characters who are so comically alive, they must be real. Kazan understands the Southern Gothic appeal way better than most other filmmakers who try their hand at it.

In second, de Mille's incredible scope. In third, Kurosawa's understanding of human drama serving the action. In fourth, Stevens' assured hand over scenes both expansive and intimate. In fifth, Clouzot's claustrophobic grip.

Eight more categories, including Best Original Song, Best Actress, and both screenplay categories, after the jump.

Day One: Best Director, 1954

As I mentioned earlier, musicals brought me to 1954, particularly the Actor-and-Actress-nominated A Star is Born and Best Picture nominee Seven Brides for Seven Brothers - stellar cinematic works whose directors (George Cukor and Stanley Donen, respectively) went un-nominated. You'd think Seven Brides would have a better shot here, but 1954 was one of those odd years where only 2/5 of the Best Director roster helmed Best Picture nominees: On the Waterfront's Elia Kazan and The Country Girl's George Seaton.

The three "lone" director slots went to Alfred Hitchcock for the unassailable thriller Rear Window, Billy Wilder for the influential rom-com Sabrina, and William A. Wellman

 for the execrable-but-profitable disaster flick The High and the Mighty. For Hitchcock, it was the second of three times that he would be up for a film that wasn't a Best Picture nominee, the other two being Lifeboat and Psycho. For Wilder, it was the second time in a row, having been nominated just the previous year for Stalag 17 - he'd be a lone director nominee again for Some Like It Hot in 1959. For Wellman, it was a first, his previous nods having come from Best Picture nominees Battleground...and the original A Star is Born! Funny how things work out...

Was their 1954 output worthy of a nomination? Let's check after the jump....

Enter Kazan: Director, 1947

Today, we take a look at Best Director. By now, you should be somewhat familiar with the films involved: the actor-goes-nuts drama A Double Life, the anti-anti-Semitism polemic Gentleman's Agreement, its B-picture equivalent Crossfire. The only ones we have not gone into detail about so far are The Bishop's Wife, in which an angel comes to Earth to help a disillusioned bishop and his wife, and Great Expectations, which I assume most of us know from our Dickens. If you don't, it's about a poor boy who becomes a well-off young man thanks to a mysterious benefactor; the most famous element is a wealthy woman forever encased in the wedding dress she wore when she was jilted many many many years ago.

The nominees should be familiar to us all. George Cukor was a favorite of Katharine Hepburn's and was one of the initial directors of Gone with the Wind. A Double Life was his third of five nominations, and he eventually won for My Fair Lady. Edward Dmytryk helmed many a noir, but this would be his first and only nod; better known is his status as one of the original Hollywood Ten held in contempt of Congress during the red scare, who saved himself from the Blacklist by later naming names. Elia Kazan received his first nomination for his fourth film - and won!

He went on to four more Best Director nods, one of which resulted in a second win, but more importantly, he became known as one of the great directors of the 1950s - and, yes, all time. He was unapologetic about naming names to the House Un-American Activities Committee, something that caused a bit of a rift in the audience of the 71st Academy Awards, where he received an Honorary Oscar.

Henry Koster did great and acclaimed films like Harvey, My Cousin Rachel, The Robe, Flower Drum Song...those all came after his nomination for The Bishop's Wife, his first and only. And David Lean would become known for his epics, winning Oscars for The Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia. In all, he received eleven Academy Award nominations.

But let's talk about their work in these movies. Let's do that after the jump.