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| Can Cooper & Gaga Make History? |
This year, we could be setting up for another round of this as A Star is Born seems to be legitimately in the running to win the Best Actor (Bradley Cooper), Actress (Lady Gaga), and Supporting Actor (Sam Elliott) trophies, and it does have a significant possibility to take the top trophy considering the critical hosannas that are coming its way and the boffo box office performance. While I'm not as sold as I was when it came out that it could take all four of these trophies, they are clearly in the running for the quartet of prizes (it's genuinely hard to tell which of the quartet is most out-of-reach...maybe Gaga for Best Actress?), and as a result I wanted to take a look not just at A Streetcar Named Desire and Network, but also other films that came close to getting a third trophy and a Best Picture win.
Rules: In terms of counting a film as "being close" the movie has to have done all three of the following: 1) Received a Nomination for Best Picture, 2) Won at least two competitive acting trophies and 3) received a third nomination in an additional acting category that the movie lost, so it theoretically was in the running for all three. When applying these rules, there are only nineteen films in the history of the Academy Awards that have done all three of these things, and A Star is Born if it pulls off this coup, would be the first film in 14 years to be added to this list. Without further adieu, let's take a look at these 19 films and how close they got.
Honorable Mentions: While there are many films that hit #1/#2 above or #1/#3 above, only one film won two acting trophies, was nominated in another one that it lost, and still didn't get nominated for Best Picture: 1963's Hud (which, it's worth noting, is better than any of the actual Best Picture contenders of that year).
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| Leigh Wins, But Gable Loses |
The Victors: Vivien Leigh (Best Actress) and Hattie McDaniel (Best Supporting Actress) both won trophies for the film.
The Losers: In one of the bigger upsets of the 1930's, Clark Gable was surprised for Best Actor against Robert Donat in Goodbye Mr. Chips. Gable hyperbolically told his wife Carole Lombard "this was my last chance" which seems a bit extreme for someone who was the biggest matinee idol in the world at the time, but he was right. Despite being a major star for the next 22 years, he would never again be nominated for an Oscar. Olivia de Havilland lost to her costar Hattie McDaniel, but had better luck in the following years (which was a good thing, as de Havilland was famously not good at losing Oscars), picking up two trophies. It's also worth noting that Thomas Mitchell won Best Supporting Actor that year for Stagecoach, but had a significant role in Gone with the Wind and may well have won for that part if he'd been nominated for GWTW instead.
Was it Best Picture?: Yep-it was Gable's win that kept it from being the first movie of this nature to win top prize & three acting trophies, as there was no besting the Everest of Hollywood's Golden Era.
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| Wright Wins, But Whitty Loses |
The Victors: Greer Garson (Best Actress) and Teresa Wright (Best Supporting Actress)
The Losers: This was one of two times that Walter Pidgeon lost Best Actor while costarring with Greer Garson (the next being 1943's Madame Curie), and Henry Travers got his only Oscar nomination in Supporting Actor, though four years later he'd have his most iconic role as Clarence in It's a Wonderful Life. Wright also beat one of her costars (Dame May Whitty), as Mrs. Miniver was one of the most-nominated films in the history of the Oscars. Wright, weirdly enough, was nominated for Best Actress that year for Pride of the Yankees, so she lost to costar Garson (Wright is the only person ever to be nominated for her first three roles onscreen).
Was it Best Picture?: Yep-Mrs. Miniver was a huge success, and while it's atypical in hindsight, "women's pictures" used to do much better at the Oscars than they do in the modern era.
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| Crawford Wins, But Ireland Loses |
The Victors: Broderick Crawford (Best Actor) and Mercedes McCambridge (Best Supporting Actress)
The Losers: Longtime character actor John Ireland scored the only Oscar nomination of his whole career as Jack Burden in All the King's Men, losing to Dean Jagger. This was coming the year after his most notable film, the homoerotic western Red River opposite an impossibly gorgeous Montgomery Clift.
Was it Best Picture?: Yep! While it didn't take Best Director (that went to Joe Mankiewicz for A Letter to Three Wives), it did win the Best Picture trophy and was one of the ten highest-grossing films of the year.
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| Leigh Wins, But Brando Loses |
The Victors: Vivien Leigh (Best Actress), Karl Malden (Best Supporting Actor), and Kim Hunter (Best Supporting Actress)
The Losers: Marlon Brando was the favorite headed into Oscar night, but lost to longtime Hollywood superstar Humphrey Bogart for The African Queen. It's probably for the best that we live in a world where Humphrey Bogart won an Oscar (he'd earned it at this point in his career), but seriously-there is no comparing these two performances. Bogart was good in a good movie, while Brando was giving one of the greatest performances of all time.
Was it Best Picture?: No, as I mentioned above it lost Best Picture to An American in Paris. Weirdly, neither was considered the big frontrunner at the time, as most expected George Stevens' A Place in the Sun to take the top prize (it did win Best Director).
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| Reed Wins, But Clift Loses |
The Victors: Frank Sinatra (Best Supporting Actor) and Donna Reed (Best Supporting Actress)
The Losers: Like Mrs. Miniver, this 1953 World War II epic also scored five acting nominations. Both Burt Lancaster and Montgomery Clift lost Best Actor to William Holden, while Deborah Kerr was losing her second Oscar nomination for Best Actress that year to Audrey Hepburn. While she'd eventually win an Honorary Oscar, she'd never win a competitive award, despite six nods in Best Actress (a record).
Was it Best Picture?: It did. 1953 was a very good year for Best Picture nominees (Roman Holiday and Shane are also among the nominees), but I kind of have to assume that Zinnemann's masterpiece was going to be impossible to beat.
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| Brando Wins, But Steiger Loses |
The Victors: Marlon Brando (Best Actor) and Eva Marie Saint (Best Supporting Actress)
The Losers: Three of the film's supporting actors (Rod Steiger, Lee J. Cobb, and Karl Malden) all scored nominations for the film, marking only the second time that one film got three acting nominations in the same category for the same film (the first was 1935's Mutiny on the Bounty), and like the earlier film, this one also went home empty-handed for all three actors, with Oscar picking Edmund O'Brien for Barefoot Contessa.
Was it Best Picture?: Yep-arguably the greatest issue film of all time (it's an ode to the labor movement) it was easy catnip for Oscar and won the top prize.
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| Umeki & Buttons Win, But Brando Loses |
The Victors: Red Buttons (Best Supporting Actor) and Miyoshi Umeki (Best Supporting Actress)
The Losers: Once again Marlon Brando returns to the fold, this time losing to Alec Guinness, which feels, accurate considering this is one of the rare times that Brando wasn't giving the best nominated performance that year, and Bridge on the River Kwai is considerably better than Sayonara.
Was it Best Picture?: Nope, like I said, the David Lean epic was considerably superior to Joshua Logan's romantic epic. Still, Umeki was the first (and so far only) Asian actress to ever win an Academy Award, so it's most noted by scholars today for that distinction.
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| Niven Wins, But Kerr Loses |
The Victors: David Niven (Best Actor) and Wendy Hiller (Best Supporting Actress)
The Losers: Brando and Deborah Kerr seem to be the patron saints of this trivia article (along with Jane Fonda-hang on a second), with Kerr losing Best Actress here against another longtime actress who was trying to get her first trophy (Susan Hayward). Kerr would return once more for 1960's The Sundowners, but Hayward was hitting her career peak with I Want to Live! and would never be close to an Oscar nomination again.
Was it Best Picture?: It was not. The now-largely forgotten drama was bested as part of 1958's Gigi sweep.
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| Taylor wins, But Segal Loses |
The Victors: Elizabeth Taylor (Best Actress) and Sandy Dennis (Best Supporting Actress)
The Losers: Richard Burton lost Best Actor, something he would have to get used to in his career (like Kerr, he was one of Oscar's favorite bridesmaids), while George Segal (who'd later enjoy a bevy of television fame on shows like Just Shoot Me and The Goldbergs) won his only Oscar nomination as Nick, but lost to Walter Matthau for his very strong performance in The Fortune Cookie.
Was it Best Picture?: It was not. 1966 pitted the tried-and-true A Man for All Seasons (directed by Oscar favorite Fred Zinnemann) against newcomer Mike Nichols' first foray into cinema after a lot of success on Broadway. The next year Nichols would get a consolation prize, taking his only trophy for Best Director for 1967's The Graduate.
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| Nicholson Wins, But Dourif Loses |
The Victors: Jack Nicholson (Best Actor) and Louise Fletcher (Best Actress)
The Losers: In a cast filled with memorable supporting actors (Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, Will Sampson), Brad Dourif scored his only nomination for his heartbreaking role as Billy Bibbit. Dourif is most well-known to modern audiences for his work as Wormtongue in The Lord of the Rings.
Was it Best Picture?: Yep! It not only won Best Picture, but is the only film on this list to have won Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay.
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| Dunaway Wins, But Holden Loses |
The Victors: Peter Finch (Best Actor), Faye Dunaway (Best Actress), and Beatrice Straight (Best Supporting Actress)
The Losers: Network is the most recent of the films that received five nominations for acting to secure that distinction. Ned Beatty was cited for his work in Best Supporting Actor, a performance he claimed he filmed in one day (to date it's Beatty's only Oscar nomination, so it was clearly a good day's worth). William Holden was also nominated for his work in Network, losing to Finch (who was the first posthumous acting victor); Holden later said of the loss "if the son of a bitch hadn't died, I'd have won my second Oscar."
Was it Best Picture?: Nope-the film, in a great year for the category, lost to Rocky, a more populist hit than the negative (though prescient) Network.
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| Redgrave Wins, But Fonda Loses |
The Victors: Jason Robards (Best Supporting Actor) and Vanessa Redgrave (Best Supporting Actress)
The Losers: Jane Fonda was nominated for Best Actress for the film, but lost to Diane Keaton (Fonda would win a second trophy the next year and Keaton was in Annie Hall, so...this was the right call). Maximilian Schell lost to his costar Robards in Supporting Actor in what was largely an extended cameo. It's worth noting that Oscar's favorite actress, Meryl Streep, made her screen debut in this film, but didn't get a nomination (one of only two times in her career she starred in a Best Picture nominee without also getting nominated herself).
Was it Best Picture?: No. Julia actually seems like a stronger fit with Oscar's tastes, but Woody Allen would not be denied in 1977, and instead they chose that comedy (history would focus less on Julia's loss than Oscar not picking Star Wars that year, which would basically redefine cinema in the decades to come).
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| Fonda Wins, But Dern Loses |
The Victors: Jane Fonda (Best Actress) and Jon Voight (Best Actor)
The Losers: Bruce Dern, who'd win another Oscar nomination over thirty years later for Nebraska, lost Best Supporting Actor to Christopher Walken in The Deer Hunter, while Penelope Milford would lose to Maggie Smith in California Suite. Fonda sweetly whispered to Milford after Smith beat her "don't worry, I lost to Maggie on my first time too."
Was it Best Picture?: It was not-The Deer Hunter, which Fonda claimed to hate (but had not seen-she'd just heard it was terrible from Julie Christie) won instead of Coming Home. One has to assume that the Oscars were having a bit of a joke with themselves by picking two films critical of the war with Hollywood conservative John Wayne as the Best Picture presenter that year.
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| Hoffman Wins, But Alexander Loses |
The Victors: Dustin Hoffman (Best Actor) and Meryl Streep (Best Supporting Actress)
The Losers: Jane Alexander received one of her four nominations, losing to costar Streep. Justin Henry became the youngest person ever nominated for a competitive acting prize for his work as Billy (in Supporting Actor); Henry would be bested by Melvyn Douglas, who didn't show up because the 78-year-old actor didn't like the idea of competing against an 8-year-old. Henry was so sad after losing that someone had to convince Superman himself (Christopher Reeve) to come over to stop him from crying (Reeve was one of the only movie stars at the event that Henry recognized).
Was it Best Picture?: A huge hit in 1979 (the #1 movie of the year), it also took the top prize, beating Martin Ritt's Norma Rae.
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| Hepburn Wins, But Fonda Loses |
The Victors: Henry Fonda (Best Actor) and Katharine Hepburn (Best Actress)
The Losers: While her father emerged victorious, daughter Jane wasn't so lucky, losing Best Supporting Actress to Maureen Stapleton. The 44-year-old Fonda was probably too young to win in what was (cumulatively) the oldest winning year at the Oscars for acting winners.
Was it Best Picture?: Despite being a huge hit, On Golden Pond didn't win, and neither did Reds (the favorite of the night), as Oscar instead went with the populist flick Chariots of Fire.
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| Cher Wins, But Gardenia Loses |
The Victors: Cher (Best Actress) and Olympia Dukakis (Best Supporting Actress)
The Losers: The film received one more Oscar nomination for acting, Best Supporting Actor Vincent Gardenia, who lost to Sean Connery in The Untouchables (Gardenia's second lost after 1971's Bang the Drum Slowly). While Cher's speech (where she thanked her hair & makeup people but forgot her director & screenwriter) is the stuff of legend, I always loved that Olympia Dukakis thanked her cousin Michael, who was running for president at the time.
Was it Best Picture?: It was not. Despite being a huge hit, the Academy couldn't turn down The Last Emperor sweep, watching the film take 9 Oscars.
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| Nicholson Wins, But Kinnear Loses |
The Victors: Jack Nicholson (Best Actor) and Helen Hunt (Best Actress)
The Losers: Greg Kinnear got nominated for Best Supporting Actor (a nomination that most people thought would go to Rupert Everett, who would have been the first openly gay actor to be nominated for playing a gay character had that happened). Kinnear lost to Robin Williams, but has consistently worked ever since, mostly in television. Williams had a funny story about his conversation with Nicholson that same night here on The Graham Norton Show.
Was it Best Picture?: It was not. As Good As It Gets was famously snubbed for Best Director (something host Billy Crystal scolded the Academy for during his monologue), only landing for Best Picture, but even if James L. Brooks had made it, it's hard to imagine it making it past Titanic.
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| Paltrow Wins, But Fiennes...wasn't even nominated?!? WTH? |
The Victors: Gwyneth Paltrow (Best Actress) and Judi Dench (Best Supporting Actress)
The Losers: Geoffrey Rush lost in 1998 for his work in Shakespeare in Love. Rush was beaten by James Coburn, winning a sentimental award of sorts for his tyrannical father in Affliction, and while Coburn is very, very good, I distinctly remember Entertainment Weekly putting him dead last in their predictions assuming that the race was a battle between Ed Harris for The Truman Show and Robert Duvall in A Civil Action, as both had recently been snubbed by the Academy. While Duvall, Rush, and nominated Billy Bob Thornton all had trophies at this point, Harris would get two more nominations but (to date) has never won an Academy Award, making him one of the most-nominated living actors without a trophy.
Was it Best Picture?: It was! A bit of a surprise at the time despite being the nominations frontrunner, Shakespeare defeated Saving Private Ryan in a victory that is still hotly debated by film fans to this date.
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| Swank Wins, But Eastwood Loses |
The Victors: Hilary Swank (Best Actress) and Morgan Freeman (Best Supporting Actor)
The Losers: Though it's the most recent nominee on this list, I remember being stunned at the time that Eastwood was even nominated to begin with (most people were surprised), so I always forget this movie was even eligible for a list like this (smart money at the time was on Paul Giamatti for Sideways, and if not him Javier Bardem for The Sea Inside). Clint has taken four Oscars in his long career, but has never won for acting, a fact I suspect you'll hear a lot of later this awards season if The Mule is a hit.
Was it Best Picture?: It was. For the second time Barbra Streisand gave Eastwood an Oscar (Streisand, true-to-form, made sure to acknowledge this when she gave out the trophy), and Martin Scorsese would have to wait two more years before he'd finally get the top prizes.
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