Best Performance In A Vintage Film

[Hemingway Jones]

Joseph Cotton in The Third Man, such a wonderful mix of earnestness and cluelessness. He portrayed disillusionment like few others.

The best part of his performance for me was when he is expressing his affections to Anna clumsily; equal parts vulnerable and inebriated.

Orson Welles may have been more fun in The Third Man, but few actors have betrayed a man at so many different stages of his life with such conviction and veracity as Mr. Welles did in Citizen Kane.

I enjoy the energy of his youthful aggressive performance as he takes over the newspaper.

Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, especially in those scenes when he is tormented and you can see it in his face, as it contorts, his eyes, as they dart from side to side as if he is reading invisible words projected in front of him.

The best part of his performance is as he is getting drunk alone in his apartment above the cafe. -And the glass is knocked over...

So, jump in your time machine and hand out some awards for the best performances and be as specific and descriptive as possible.

 

[scotrace]

Dana Andrews in The Best Years of Our Lives - in fact, Myrna Loy, Fredrick March and Harold Russell would all score best actor.

Bogart in Casablanca.

Richard Barthelmess in Only Angels Have Wings. The performance seems real, even by modern handheld-camera standards. Not at all dated or mannered.

William Powell in Libeled Lady. He is perfectly suave, yet a bit of a scoundrel.

Jimmy Stewart - but which? I can watch The Shop Around The Corner a hundred times and never tire of it. But what about It's a Wonderful Life? Or The Philadelphia Story? Or Rear Window?

Cary Grant in North By Northwest. I never doubt his confusion over mistaken identity.

There are so many...

 

[Miss Neecerie]

Dana Andrews in The Best Years of Our Lives - in fact, Myrna Loy, Fredrick March and Harold Russell would all score best actor.

OOh...Dana Andrews....I just saw Best Years and was amazed by his performance.....say what you want about George Clooney....but -thats- where he learned how to act, I would wager.

 

[Lady Day]

Douglas Fairbanks in 'The Thief of Bagdad' (1924).

To play a comical role, without overacting, in a time of silent movies and still convey a since of drama, and finesse that translate to even a modern audience...bravo Mr Fairbanks, bravo!

LD

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Dana Andrews in The Best Years of Our Lives - in fact, Myrna Loy, Fredrick March and Harold Russell would all score best actor.

Jimmy Stewart - but which? I can watch The Shop Around The Corner a hundred times and never tire of it. But what about It's a Wonderful Life? Or The Philadelphia Story? Or Rear Window?

The moment in It's a Wonderful Life, when Jimmy Stewart realizes that his entire world has changed, his eyes are huge and desperately scared as they pan across the screen. This is an incredible moment; a brave triumph for the actor and an excellent directorial technique.

To me, The Best Years of Our Lives is psychologically devastating. That film seems real as few others appear in comparison.

 

[Elaina]

Whatever happend to Baby Jane Both davis and Crawford gave excellent performances, and showed that while Hollywood may have considered then has beens, two old broads had more acting chops then anyone else.

The Red Lilly's Enid Bennet gives a heart wrenching performance in this silent, one of the few films I ardently admire.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Douglas Fairbanks in 'The Thief of Bagdad' (1924).

To play a comical role, without overacting, in a time of silent movies and still convey a since of drama, and finesse that translate to even a modern audience...bravo Mr Fairbanks, bravo!

LD

And ... it was the first case in Hollywood of a major star "buffing up" for a film in which he spent a lot of screen time barechested.


Long before Stallone was a gleam in his mother's eye, Doug Fairbanks spent months at the Los Angeles Athletic Club lifting weight and working out on a rowing machine. The effort paid off: Fairbanks looks incredibly lean and fit in the movie. (And he wasn't a spring chicken, either!)

.

 

[HadleyH]

There have been so many good performances through the years that 'd be somewhat unfair to name just one, but what the heck, let's be unfair
My choice is John Barrymore (1882-1942) in everything he portrayed the man was a genious, you name it; 'Dinner at Eight', 'Twentieth Century','Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde...etc...etc. To say nothing of his work on stage, during the 1920s "he was America and perhaps the world's greatest Shakespearean actor ". His 'Hamlet' and 'Richard the III have never been equaled.

and also this is the man who quote:


"I would like to find a stew that will give me heartburn inmediately instead of at three o'clock in the morning".

and

"The good die young, because they see it's no use of living if you have to be good".


He's one of my favorites ever!!!

 

[Feraud]

I will ramble a bit..

Tyrone Power in The Razor's Edge. A WWI veteran returns to civilian life and is unsatisfied with "getting ahead". Power leaves a beautiful fiancee (Gene Tierney) and career opportunity to go off to another country and find himself, his place, and purpose in Life. People tend to think of Tyrone Power as a handsome face, but the guy could act. See also Nightmare Alley and The Eddie Duchin Story.

Jimmy Stewart in Vertigo. Jimmy Stewart plays beautifully against type as a detective who follows a woman for an old friend and is drawn into a web of obsession. This is probably my favorite Jimmy picture.

Humphrey Bogart in In A Lonely Place. Bogart will forever be known for Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon. I like Bogey's later films. The Desperate Hours, Caine Mutiny, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, etc.
Bogey plays Dixon Steele, a writer who is suspected of murder until his lovely neighbor (played by Gloria Grahame) provides an alibi. The two start a love affair that takes a downward turn due to Bogey's violent temper.
The quote of quotes: "I was born when she kissed me, I died when she left me, I live a few weeks while she loved me."

 

[LizzieMaine]

Lillian Gish in "Broken Blossoms" (1919). I first saw this film -- this absolutely transcendent performance -- when I was seven years old, and I have never forgotten it.

 

[Dagwood]

For Your Consideration - Barry Fitzgerald in Going My Way. Barry was nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor and, consequently, the Academy had to change the rules.

 

[Amy Jeanne]

Marion Davies & William Haines in SHOW PEOPLE (1928). This movie is made 100% perfect by the performances of these two wonderful actors! We all already know what a great comedienne Marion is! William Haines, whom I've been obsessed with for years now, is also a fabulous actor in both silents and talkies. I've always compared him to Clara Bow -- full of energy, acts with his whole body (see my Clara review below!) SHOW PEOPLE is William at his best! He steals a few scenes from Marion, but they're both excellent. Great movie.

Clara Bow in CALL HER SAVAGE (1932). She jumps off the screen and makes her woodenly theatrical co-stars look that much more wooden and theatrical! A lot of people criticize her for using too much of her silent-film acting in her talkies, but I think it makes her seem way ahead of her time. She used her whole body to act whereas most everyone else stuck to the stiff, theatre-style acting of the time -- not a bad thing, but you know what I mean

Jean Harlow in RED HEADED WOMAN (1932). She plays an unlikeable character so likeably that it's amazing. A more serious actress would have ruined the film, in my opinion. Jean's blend of sexiness and inexperience made her wonderful in the role.

Allen Jenkins in I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG (1932). He wasn't in the movie for long, but I still think this was his best performance! He totally stole every scene he shared with star Paul Muni, who was excellent himself. Whenever I think of IAAFFACG, the first thing that comes to mind is Allen's wonderfully slimy performance!

 

[Steve]

In addition to all of the above, I would like to add Gary Cooper as seen in Sergeant York and the Great War and Meet John Doe.

 

[Rafter]

Walter Slezak's performance in Hitchcock's 1944 classic, Lifeboat!
From the beginning he is hiding things from the people in the boat, but at the same time, he offers their only salvation!
As for the great Tallulah Bankhead, she was excellent. But her performance is perhaps exaggerated in order to convey the sophistication of her character.

 

[Mike1939]

Leslie Howard in Petrified Forest (1936) : Plays the part of a down on his luck English writer making his way across the U.S.A. by the power of the thumb. He played this role on Broadway and the silver screen and owed it.

James Stewart in The Naked Spur (1953) : The is my favorite classic western. Mr. Stewart plays a bounty hunter after an outlaw in the Rocky Mountains. He wrestles with nature, greedy partners, a beautiful girl and ideas of right and wrong.

William Powell in One Way Passage(1932) : Plays the part of a fugitive being taken back to San Francisco from the Orient to be executed. Along the voyage he falls in love with a fatally ill lady . Simply put one of Mr. Powells best performances.

 

[dhermann1]

Well, if we're talking silent films, I love Rudolph Valentino in Blood and Sand. For talkies of the Golden Era, I still have a soft spot for Roddy McDowell in How Green Was My Valley, and Greer Garson in Mrs Miniver. And, yeah, ya gotta love Fairbanks Sr in almost everything he did.
I expect as this thread develops, I'll be saying to myself, "Yeah, that one, too" a lot.
I just saw Barrymore in A Bill of Divorcement the other night. Ya gotta love the guy, even when he's so over the top that he's in orbit.

 

[Mike1939]

William Powell in Libeled Lady. He is perfectly suave, yet a bit of a scoundrel.

J

This is by far my favorite screwball comedy. The fly-fishing scene with William Powell is Hilarious. No matter how many times I see it, it still has me laughing out load, as does his elevator scene in Love Crazy.

 

[Naphtali]

A short list of great performances

Gary Cooper in "Friendly Persuasion" (1956).

Lee Marvin in "Shack Out on 101" (1955).

Henry Fonda in "The Lady Eve" (1941).

Claire Trevor in "Key Largo" (1948).

James Stewart in "Harvey" (1950).

Steve McQueen in "Soldier in the Rain" (1963).

Arthur O'Connell in "Anatomy of a Murder" (1959).

Cary Grant in "Father Goose" (1964).

Thelma Ritter in "Pickup on South Street" (1953).

 

[LadyStardust]

If EVER there was an actor tailor made for a role, it was Rex Harrison as Henry Higgins.

Absolutely pitch perfect. The transition from the man to the role was seamless!

And as weird as this sounds, Janet Gaynor and George O'Brien in their roles as simply Husband and Wife, in Sunrise. Mind-blowing poignant, heartfelt, intense roles, and it's odd to term it that, because they were so emotionally raw and natural.

Gosh, I love them and that movie. Cinema at its greatest.

 

[Paisley]

Bette Davis in The Little Foxes. When her husband is having a heart attack on the stairs, she sits there looking like a spider. I've never seen anything else like it.