The 1954 Retro Hollmann Awards: Part One

Extremely late. The 1954 Retro Hollmann Awards are today and tomorrow, nine categories each day. Who's nominated? You'll find out as we go along. For now, let's start with....

Best Actress

Judy Garland as Esther Blodgett / Vicki Lester

A Star is Born

She truly does it all: singing, dancing, comedy, drama - and more than once, all at once. Her chemistry with James Mason is perfect, her watchfulness, her knowing when to turn it on to cheer him up and when to fade back. Her song-work, of course, is superb, from the way she conjures a second "Born in a Trunk" out of nothing but living room furniture for "Someone at Last" to her gathering all her strength to sell the optimistic "Lose That Long Face" to, of course, "The Man That Got Away." You've heard the legend of Judy Garland; come see for yourself.

In second place, Danielle Darrieux in The Earrings of Madame De... - where frivolous flirting gives way to genuine passion. In third place, Rosaura Revueltas in Salt of the Earth - a marvelous arc where quiet housewife becomes fierce fighter for the working class. In fourth place, Brenda de Banzie in Hobson's Choice - a force of nature that's never overbearing, a genuine warmth that lives in tandem with her curt professionalism. In fifth place, Jane Powell in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers - leading the film's balance between rough-and-ready horniness and family-friendly sweetness.

Eight more categories, including Best Score, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor, after the jump.

Day Nine: Best Actress, 1954

In 1940, at the ceremony honoring the films of 1939, Hattie McDaniel made history as the first black performer to be nominated for an Academy Award. She also made history as the first black winner, receiving the plaque for Best Supporting Actress for Gone with the Wind.

It would take another 15 years for a second black performer to be nominated for an Oscar, which would be history-making anyway (when an industry does its utmost to ignore or handicap you, every step is a milestone). But Dorothy Dandridge's nomination for playing the titular role in Otto Preminger's adaptation of Carmen Jones carries an extra significance: it was the first ever for a black woman in Best Leading Actress. She would never be nominated again, a fact that some blame on Preminger, who during their four-year affair advised her against taking supporting roles in high-profile films, since a Best Actress nod meant she should only take star parts from then on. He was not necessarily wrong, but nor was he some altruist; Preminger had a history of taking actresses under his wing, rocketing them to stardom and Oscar nods, then controlling their careers into oblivion.

To this day, only ten women have repeated the feat, with Ruth Negga being the most recent for 2016's Loving. Monster's Ball's Halle Berry is still the only black winner for Best Actress, and she did so just two years after winning the Emmy equivalent for playing the title role in Introducing Dorothy Dandridge. Funny how things work out...

Of course, just as I'm crossing my fingers for a three-peat repeat in the supporting categories (ahem, Parasite), I'm also hoping that this year, we can add a few more names to the roster. Earlier this year, I predicted that this would be the first time since 1972 when more than one black actress got a Best Actress nomination, and although the names I have in mind may have changed (Lupitaaaaaaa!), I still expect it to happen. 

But you never know with Oscar. Sometimes he does the right thing. Other times, he surprises you in unpleasant ways:

The nominees were....

Day Six: Best Supporting Actress, 1961

Day-and-a-half late, but we're back with the Academy Award Nominees of 1961! We start this week with the nominees for Best Supporting Actress, after the jump.