Walter Brennan
DeOscarized
Best Supporting Actor 1936
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If you want to remove the “bad” part of coffee, you DeCaffeinate
If you want to remove the offending aroma from a room, you DeOdorize
And if you want to give the award issued by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to a more deserving recipient, you must DeOscarize the current holder.
DeOscarize WALTER BRENNAN Best Supporting Actor 1936
The world saw a great many injustices in 1936. It was the year of the bully. Japan bullied its way into China. Italy bullied its way into Ethiopia, bravely battling against spears and arrows with tanks and machine guns. Germany bullied its way into the Sudetanland and Stanley Baldwin bullied a king from his throne. So many injustices and the world seemed to have become immune to their effects. Hollywood was no more immune to a culture of injustice in 1936 than the world was, especially when it came to some choices made by the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. I previously dealt with the choice of recipient for Best Supporting Actress which should have rightfully gone to Alice Brady for My Man Godfrey. That injustice was rectified. Please See DeOscarize Gale Sondergaard for Alice Brady. I find an even greater injustice done to Humphrey Bogart who wasn’t even nominated Best Supporting Actor 1936 for his outstanding, breakthrough film performance as Duke Mantee in The Petrified Forest.
Humphrey Bogart in his breakout role as Duke Mantee in
The Petrified Forest, 1936
He created the role on the Broadway stage. Leslie Howard played the lead in that same production and was signed to repeat the role on film with Bette Davis. The studio had someone else in mind to play Duke Mantee. After all, Warner Brothers was known for its roster of actors who were hired to play outlaws, so they had plenty to choose from. “Why”, asked the Warners, “should we hire another actor when we have already so many actors to choose from, now?”. Leslie Howard said, “Because, if you don’t hire Bogart, you don’t get me.” They hired Bogart, which turned out to be a very smart thing for Warner Brothers to have done and it didn’t do Bogart any harm, either. He was forever grateful to Leslie Howard for the actor’s largesse. If you can’t picture Leslie Howard in your mind, you’re not as big a Classic Film connoisseur as you might think. Leslie Howard is probably best remembered in North America as Ashley Wilkes in Gone With The Wind.
Leslie Howard
1893 – 1943
AS ASHLEY WILKES IN GONE WITH THE WIND
Leslie Howard died when the plane in which he was travelling was shot down by the German Luftwaffe in 1943. The Germans thought the reported VIP in the plane was Churchill. Nine years later in August, 1952 Humphrey Bogart and his wife, actress, Lauren Bacall had a baby girl they named Leslie in honour of the actor whose generosity was never forgotten. However, if you are a true classical movie buff, this story is no news to you. Anyway, I do have some hesitation in giving another award to Bogart. I already DeOscarized Paul Lukas so that Bogart could get the Best Actor Award that he so rightfully deserved for Casablanca. Who can disagree with that? You look at the nominees for 1936 and you gotta wonder where Bogie is? And frankly, Walter Brennan suffers the fate of Olivia DeHavilland (see DeOscarize Olivia DeHavilland Best Actress, 1946), of having given a pretty good performance in a rather dated film, although Frances Farmer’s performance in Come and Get It, is much more interesting and energized than Walter Brennan’s rather pedestrian yet professional portrayal as a second banana, helping the rather tired, intricate plot to keep going. Now, look at Bogart’s electrifying portrayal of a desperate, violent man on the run but risking everything, his freedom, his life for love. Check out the nominees here and tell me I’m wrong.
Best Supporting Actor Nominees 1936
Walter Brennan WINNER Best Actor 1936 – Come And Get It as Swan Bostrom
Walter Brennan WINNER Best Supporting Actor 1936
Come And Get It
Mischa Auer – My Man Godfrey as Carlo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F67PzoF_JbM
Mischa Auer as Carlo My Man Godfrey
Stuart Erwin – Pigskin Parade as Amos Dodd
Stuart Erwin as Amos Dodd
Pigskin Parade
Basil Rathbone – Romeo and Juliet as Tybalt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFE5-ky5Xp0
Basil Rathbone as Tybalt Romeo and Juliet
AkimTamiroff – The General Died at Dawn as General Yang
AkimTamiroff – The General Died at Dawn
NON ASIAN WHO PLAYED AN ASIAN GETS NO PICTURE OF THAT ROLE.
This is what I mean by the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences committing a series of injustices. All the performances listed below are just as good today as they were then, yet look at who got…
Snubbed by the Academy in 1936
Humphrey Bogart – The Petrified Forest as Duke Mantee https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QV6cVAQr0ok
Humphrey Bogart in his breakout role as Duke Mantee in
The Petrified Forest, 1936
Spencer Tracy – Libeled Lady as Warren Haggerty https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI-yV-XZQno
Great comedic performance by Tracy, playing second banana to two other great comedic performances by William Powell and Jean Harlow. The members snubbed Tracy for this performace. Maybe it’s because his fellow members were jealous because Tracy was the one and only that got that treasured big, new long-term contract that year with MGM.
as Warren Haggerty
Libeled Lady
Warner Baxter – The Prisoner of Shark Island as Dr. Samuel Alexander Mudd https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANBU5L9706Y
Warner Baxter as
Dr. Samuel Mudd
The Prisoner of Shark Island
This was an excellent performance by a great early talking film perennial, Warner Baxter. You probably know him from 42nd Street, if you are a Classic film connoisseur. I don’t know if the story of Dr. Mudd was historically inaccurate at the time it was filmed. As the years have gone by documentation has been discovered that Dr. Samuel Mudd may not have been as innocent as was portrayed in this film directed by the great, John Ford. That alone is worth a look if you actually haven’t seen The Prisoner of Shark Island. Granted, it is a lesser known work and perhaps inferior to other Ford films but by no means, inferior to all and it was made during Ford’s time with Darryl F. Zanuck at 20th Century when they made some great pictures together. They made The Grapes of Wrath which should have won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1940 instead of Rebecca; an injustice that has hence been rectified on this very site (Please see Rebecca DeOscarized). At any rate, I believe Warner Baxter should have at least been nominated by the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for his performance in The Prisoner of Shark Island.
Your Choice – GO TO Leave a Reply
Perhaps the members were just, kind of getting their ‘sea legs’ when it came to sorting out this new Supporting Actor/Actress category. Nevertheless I believe most of their nominations were unjustified when compared to some perfomances that were snubbed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The whole idea of DeOscarize is to finally give credit where credit and awards are rightfully due. Speaking of which, the fact that Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan
DeOscarized
Best Supporting Actor 1936
did not receive Best Supporting Actor Awards for Sergeant York, My Darling Clementine, The Pride of the Yankees, Red River and Bad Day at Black Rock, yet won for unmemorable films like Kentucky and Come and Get It, only adds to the premise that great films and great film performances still admired to this went unrewarded and therefore unawarded in their time, denied by a cold, cruel community of ego-sapping neurotics and sadists known as the Hollywood film community. This is the place where, finally they get the recognition they so richly deserve by discerning, disinterested yet passionately informed and dedicated fans of classic films. Namely, you and I.
So until I hear a compelling argument to prevent this from happening I hereby declare Walter Brennan DeOscarized and that Humphrey Bogart is the NEW Best Supporting Actor 1936 for The Petrified Forest. He shoulda’ wonnit ‘den!
Winner NEW Best Supporting Actor 1936
Humphrey Bogart – The Petrified Forest
Humphrey Bogart NEW Best Supporting Actor 1936
The Petrified Forest
Of course I can see where folks might think I’m wrong. I’m prepared to make my case for DeOscarizing Walter Brennan to give due credit to Humphrey Bogart. Can you make the case to prevent it? Is there someone else you would DeOscarize Walter Brennan for in 1936, if anyone? Let’s discuss it.
Name your own Nominee!
It’s Your Choice! DeOscarize is Your Universe!
Enjoy! Discuss! Prevail! Let Right Be Done!
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Copyright © 2013 Thomas O’Neill
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DeOscarize©™ 
While I feel llike protesting he deoscarizing of Walter Brennan – he’s one of my favorite actors – I realized I’ve never actually seen Come and Get It, so you might be right. A while back my wife and I started watching Petrified Forest and stopped partway through – right before Duke Mantee shows up, as it turns out – for some reason. We recently watched the whole thing and were glad we did, of course. Bogart was very cool. I’ve been singing “Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke Mantee …” to myself ever since. Libeled Lady is near the top of our watch list too.