Best Supporting Actor 1963: Melvyn Douglas in "Hud"

The Film Experience is taking a brief trip to 1963 for the forthcoming Smackdown. That year's supporting Actor winner was Melvyn Douglas in Hud... 

by John Guerin

Paul Newman as Hud makes me forget everything else. All my attention is funneled into those blue-grey eyes, the nucleus of Newman's swaggering energy. Hud emerges from this drowsy Midwestern tapestry like a geyser springing up from a desert. Why look anywhere else? The film hardly forfeits narrative or photographic attention from Hud, but he's not the only performer doing expert work in Martin Ritt’s 1963 masterwork. There's Patricia Neal's Alma, an iconic intersection of Southern exhaustion and eroticism. There's also Melvyn Douglas' Homer, which, to my constant surprise, remains perhaps the films best performance...

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Introducing: The Supporting Actresses of 1963

Don't freak out but the Smackdown returns in exactly one week after endless delays (if you'd like to vote, details are at the bottom of the post). This time we're looking at 1963 but before we introduce our panel, or start tinkering around with '63 hijinx, let's look at how 2 of the 5 nominated characters are introduced in their films. 

First up... a stone-faced nun eyeing Sidney Poitier's muscles...

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Q&A: Best 'Best Actress' Decade? Gay for Play as Actorly Rite of Passage?

Four more reader questions to kick off the weekend. Wheeee. As ever, I'd love to hear your answers to these questions thrown my way.

MATT ST CLAIR: Is there an unseen awards contender this year that you are hoping doesn't fail?

NATHANIEL: My "please let this be successful" hopes reside with Blade Runner 2049 (because the original's reputation being tarnished would be such a pity), The Greatest Showman (because musicals MUST continue to thrive) and Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (because it's infinitely annoying that Annette Bening doesn't have an Oscar yet and didn't even get nominated for such gorgeous work in 20th Century Women). While we're well- wishing please let Wonderstruck, How to Talk to Girls at Parties, and The Florida Project could be bigger hits than usual for Todd Haynes, John Cameron Mitchell, and Sean Baker, since they're three of our most distinctive American auteurs. I could go on but I'll stop as no genie grants unlimited wishes.

CATBASKETS: I've been thinking a lot about straight actors getting their starts or big breaks playing gay roles--Hugh Grant in Maurice, Guy Pierce in Priscilla, DDL in Beautiful Launderette, Charlie Hunnam in Queer as Folk, Eddie Redmayne in Savage Grace, etc. etc. Do you think this was/is a major rite of passage for actors? Do you think this will slow down now that there's more awareness/active demand for gay actors to play these roles?

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Last Chance Streaming: "The Hustler" and "The Way of the Dragon"

I haven't quite dared to cut the Netflix cord yet, but I get closer every month since I find myself downloading movies more and more from iTunes or streaming on Amazon instead. Since Netflix is systematically erasing all traces of cinema pre 2000 (and even their 2000-2010 collection is tremendously lacking!) as they focus more and more on becoming a TV channel, you have until June 1st to watch the following 20th century films which are leaving the service.

We'll play our little streaming roulette game and screengrab whatever comes up as we bid adieu to the following. Which will you watch before it's hard to find them again?

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50th Anniversary: the 20th Annual Cannes Film Festival

by Nathaniel R

Franco Nero and Vanessa Redgrave at Cannes '67Fifty years ago on this very day over in France the 20th annual Cannes Film Festival opened with the French film I Killed Rasputin directed by Robert Hossein. The jury was headed by the influential Italian director Alessandro and featured both Shirley Maclaine and Vincente Minnelli, two of our favorites.

When the festival closed that year the awards were spread out (as they should be) with lots of countries winning something. The Palme d'Or went to Michelangelo Antonioni's brilliant Blowup at the end of the festival (a film we tried to interest y'all in a few years ago to crickets. *sniffle*). Check out Vanessa Redgrave's frankly awesome full-body get-up on the red carpet with her then brand new lover Franco Nero (of Camelot fame). They finally married 11 years ago!

Both of the acting prizes went to young actors...

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