NY Film Critics' Historical Results - Installment 2: 1952 - 1968

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nightwingnova
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Post by nightwingnova »

I guess a latter day vote is out of the question. Most of the members from that year are probably dead. It would be nice to know what they thought. On the other hand, we may just need to figure out what Bosley Crowther wanted.

Damien wrote:Yes, there was a long and bitter newspaper strike in New York City in 1962. When it was over (4 months -- 114 days -- after it began), I think people were too exhausted and spent to think about movies from the previous year. (The strike ended March 31.)



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Post by Mister Tee »

Damien wrote:Tee, I like Monsieur Verdoux a great deal. I think it's easily Chaplin's best. (Although, ironically, the Great Comic has the film stolen from under him by Martha Raye, just as Jack Oakie steals Great Dictator.)
We're in sync there. I'd found The Great Dictator tiresome, and went into Verdoux expecting I was just doing cinematic duty -- and was shocked to love it.
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Post by Damien »

Tee, I like Monsieur Verdoux a great deal. I think it's easily Chaplin's best. (Although, ironically, the Great Comic has the film stolen from under him by Martha Raye, just as Jack Oakie steals Great Dictator.)
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
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Post by Mister Tee »

Damien wrote:In 1952, the once-universally loved Chaplin was loathed in right-wing circles for being a tax evading, One World, peace-loving lefty. So I'm sure that the ladies of the conservative daily papers (Rose Pelswick of the Journal-American, Wanda Hale of the Daily News, et al) did their damnedest to make sure he wasn't honored.

Chaplin's politics were swell as far as I'm concerned, but for him to win for the maudlin Limelight (arguably the most self-indulgent, self-important, self-aggrandizing piece of junk until All That Jazz) would have been horrible. Bad enough that he won in 1940 for The Great Dictator.
What's your view of Monsieur Verdoux?
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Post by Mister Tee »

Damien wrote:Yes, there was a long and bitter newspaper strike in New York City in 1962. When it was over (4 months -- 114 days -- after it began), I think people were too exhausted and spent to think about movies from the previous year. (The strike ended March 31.)
Maybe it was an early instance of critics deciding they only gave out the awards to influence the Oscars, for which it was too late. (Kidding..I think) The Oscars came just 7 days after the strike ended.

The settlement did set up one of my earliest Oscar memories. I'd mostly watched the show -- my first -- peeking through the louver doors that separated my brother's and my bedroom from the living room where my father was watching (my mother was in the hospital for a minor operation). Then, the following morning, I went to pick up something at the candy store before school, and saw the Daily News headline: "Peck, Bancroft Win Top Oscars". (Which actually puzzled me for a second, since the night before the best picture prize had been introduced as "the big one")
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Post by Damien »

In 1952, the once-universally loved Chaplin was loathed in right-wing circles for being a tax evading, One World, peace-loving lefty. So I'm sure that the ladies of the conservative daily papers (Rose Pelswick of the Journal-American, Wanda Hale of the Daily News, et al) did their damnedest to make sure he wasn't honored.

Chaplin's politics were swell as far as I'm concerned, but for him to win for the maudlin Limelight (arguably the most self-indulgent, self-important, self-aggrandizing piece of junk until All That Jazz) would have been horrible. Bad enough that he won in 1940 for The Great Dictator.
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
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Post by Damien »

Yes, there was a long and bitter newspaper strike in New York City in 1962. When it was over (4 months -- 114 days -- after it began), I think people were too exhausted and spent to think about movies from the previous year. (The strike ended March 31.)



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Post by Reza »

Why were there no awards for 1962? I read somewhere that it was because of a newspaper strike. So what? Once the strike was over the awards could still have been voted for and handed out.
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Post by Big Magilla »

The New York Daily News would be a good source for 1967, but unfortunately they don't have anything on lien so you would have to trek to the New York Public Library to retrieve the information.
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Post by Mister Tee »

Round two. The remainder of the old system years, ending in 1968.

A few things to note:

The impetus for posting these came from a discussion of Wyler's Carrie, under Last Seen Movie. Magilla, based on The Envelope's historical database, reported that Olivier in that film had finished second in the NY voting -- a fact seemingly belied by the 1952 stats below. It's actually a bit more complicated scenario. According to Lyons, Chaplin actually led the first round of voting with 5, while Richardson, Olivier and Guinness -- for precisely the films Magilla cited -- trailed with two each. Apparently there was then an Anglo, anybody-but-Chaplin pile-on, because, by the fifth ballot, Richardson had gathered the remaining votes and had enough to win over Chaplin, whom remained at 5. So, Olivier di make a showing, but it didn't survive into the finals.

1967 is the year about which it's most difficult to get any useful information; you'll see I have winners and nothing else. The reason for this is likely that the NY Times – long the best source of voting data – had an interested party, Bosley Crowther, fighting ferociously (as he had in his review) against Bonnie and Clyde, and if the film finished anywhere near In the Heat of the Night, he didn't care to have that reported. (Either that or the fight itself so embarrassed him he preferred it be left shrouded in secrecy.

The rules were changed after 1968, not because everyone calmly agreed it was time for a weighted ballot, but because several members stormed out in protest after fighting epically with the blue-haired ladies from the Daily News and Journal American. Check the winners and runners up – the stark contrast between them may give you an idea of the cultural upheaval that was happening in American film (in America, period).

By the way, before someone asks: Yes, the critics did have a best foreign film category, but Lyons reports no data on those races. If you just want to know the winners, look at The Envelope.


1952-1968:

1952
Film: VI - High Noon 10
[The African Queen 5]
Actor: V - Ralph Richardson (Breaking the Sound Barrier) 10
[Charles Chaplin (Limelight) 5]
Actress: I - Shirley Booth (Come Back, Little Sheba) 12
[Katharine Hepburn (The African Queen) 3]
Director: II - Fred Zinnemann (High Noon) 10
[John Huston (The African Queen) 2]

1953
Film: II - From Here to Eternity 11
[The Conquest of Everest 2, Roman Holiday 1]
Actor: V - Burt Lancaster (From Here to Eternity) 11
[John Gielgud (Julius Caesar) 2, William Holden (Stalag 17) 1]
Actress: III - Audrey Hepburn (Roman Holiday) 11
[Ava Gardner (Mogambo)]
Director: II - Fred Zinnemann (From Here to Eternity) 10
[George Stevens (Shane) 3]

1954
Film: I - On the Waterfront
Actor: I - Marlon Brando (On the Waterfront) 11
[James Mason (A Star Is Born) 3]
Actress: II - Grace Kelly (The Country Girl) 12
[Audrey Hepburn (Sabrina) 1, Eva Marie Sainte (On the Waterfront) 1, June Allyson (The Glenn Miller Story) 1, Judy Garland (A Star Is Born) 1]
Director: I - Elia Kazan (On the Waterfront)

1955
Film: III - Marty 12
[Mr. Roberts 4]
Actor: VI - Ernest Borgnine (Marty) 9
[Frank Sinatra (The Man With the Golden Arm) 4]
Actress: I - Anna Magnani (The Rose Tattoo) 13
[Katharine Hepburn (Summertime) 2, Jennifer Jones (Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing 1]
Director: VI - David Lean (Summertime) 9
[Otto Preminger (The Man With the Golden Arm and The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell) 6, William Wyler (The Desperate Hours) 1]

1956
Film: II - Around the World In 80 Days 13
[Giant 2]
Actor: IV - Kirk Douglas (Lust for Life) 11
[Yul Brynner (The King and I) 3, Laurence Olivier (Richard III) 2]
Actress: III - Ingrid Bergman (Anastasia) 12
[Deborah Kerr (The King and I and Tea and Sympathy) 3]
Director: III - John Huston (Moby Dick) 11
[Elia Kazan (Baby Doll) 5]
Screenplay: Around the World in 80 Days

1957
Film: II - The Bridge on the River Kwai 13
[Twelve Angry Men 2, Sayonara 1]
Actor: VI - Alec Guinness (The Bridge on the River Kwai) 10
[Marlon Brando (Sayonara) 6]
Actress: V - Deborah Kerr (Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison) 12
[Eva Marie Sainte (A Hatful of Rain) 3)
Director: III - David Lean (The Bridge on the River Kwai) 13
[Sidney Lumet (Twelve Angry Men) 3]

1958
Film: III - The Defiant Ones 10
[Separate Tables 5]
Actor: VI - David Niven (Separate Tables) 8
[Alec Guinness (The Horse's Mouth) 7]
Actress: IV - Susan Hayward (I Want to Live!)
Director: IV - Stanley Kramer (The Defiant Ones)
[Richard Brooks (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof) and (The Brothers Karamazov)]
Screenplay: VI - The Defiant Ones
[Separate Tables]

1959
Film: V - Ben-Hur 10
[Room at the Top 5]
[I - Ben-Hur 5, On the Beach 3, Anatomy of a Murder 2, Room at the Top 1]
Actor: V - James Stewart (Anatomy of a Murder) 10
[Paul Muni (The Last Angry Man) 5]
Actress: VI - Audrey Hepburn (The Nun's Story) 8
[Simone Signoret (Room at the Top) 7]
Director: VI - Fred Zinnemann (The Nun's Story) 8
[Jack Clayton (Room at the Top) 5, William Wyler (Ben-Hur) 1, Basil Dearden (Sapphire) 1]
Screenplay: III - Anatomy of a Murder) 10
[Ben-Hur 3]

1960
Film: VI - (tie) The Apartment and Sons and Lovers
Actor: VI - Burt Lancaster (Elmer Gantry) 8
[Trevor Howard (Sons and Lovers) 5, Laurence Olivier (The Entertainer) 3]
Actress: VI - Deborah Kerr (The Sundowners) 9
[Melina Mercouri (Never on Sunday) 7]
Director: (tie) Jack Clayton (Sons and Lovers) and Billy Wilder (The Apartment)
Screenplay: The Apartment

1961
Film: III - West Side Story 8
[Judgment at Nuremberg 4]
Actor: VI - Maximillian Schell (Judgment at Nuremberg) 10
[James Cagney (One, Two, Three) 4, Paul Newman (The Hustler) 2]
Actress: VI - Sophia Loren (Two Women) 11
[Geraldine Page (Summer and Smoke) 4, Piper Laurie (The Hustler) 1]
Director: VI - Robert Rossen (The Hustler) 10
[Robbins and Wise, West Side Story 6]
Screenplay: Judgment at Nuremberg
[One, Two, Three]

(NO 1962 AWARDS)

1963
Film: VI - Tom Jones 9
[Hud 5]
Actor: VI - Albert Finney (Tom Jones)
[Sidney Poitier (Lilies of the Field), Paul Newman (Hud)]
Actress: I - Patricia Neal (Hud) 11
[Leslie Caron (The L-Shaped Room) 3]
Director: Tony Richardson (Tom Jones)
[Martin Ritt (Hud)]
Screenplay: Hud

1964
Film: VI - My Fair Lady 8
[Dr. Strangelove 5]
Actor: VI - Rex Harrison (My Fair Lady) 7
[Dirk Bogarde (The Servant) 6]
Actress: II - Kim Stanley (Seance on a Wet Afternoon)
[Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins), Audrey Hepburn (My Fair Lady), Sophia Loren (Marriage-Italian Style)]
Director: VI - Stanley Kubrick (Dr. Strangelove)
[George Cukor (My Fair Lady)]
Screenplay: VI - The Servant 6
[Dr. Strangelove 5]

1965
Film: VI - Darling 8
[The Pawnbroker 5, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines 3]
Actor: III - Oskar Werner (Ship of Fools) 11
[Rod Steiger (The Pawnbroker) 3, Lee Marvin (Cat Ballou) 2]
Actress: III - Julie Christie (Darling) 11
[Julie Andrews (The Sound of Music) 3, Catherine Deneuve (Repulsion) 1]
Director: VI - John Schlesinger (Darling) 10
[David Lean (Dr. Zhivago) 3, Roman Polanski (Repulsion) 3]
(No Screenplay award)

1966
Film: I - A Man For All Seasons 10
[Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 3, Blow-Up 1]
Actor: II - Paul Scofield (A Man For All Seasons) 10
[Richard Burton (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 3, Alan Arkin (The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming) 1]
Actress: VI - (tie) Lynn Redgrave (Georgy Girl) 7, Elizabeth Taylor (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) 7
Director: I - Fred Zinnemann (A Man For All Seasons) 10
[Mike Nichols (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) 1, Karel Reisz (Morgan) 1, Michelangelo Antonioni (Blow-Up) 1, Jan Kadar (The Shop on Main Street) 1]
Screenplay: I - A Man For All Seasons 12
[Morgan 2]
Foreign Film: The Shop on Main Street

1967
Film: In the Heat of the Night
Actor: Rod Steiger (In the Heat of the Night)
Actress: Edith Evans (The Whisperers)
Director: Mike Nichols (The Graduate)
Screenplay: Bonnie and Clyde
Foreign Film: La Guerre Est Finie

1968
Film: VI - The Lion in Winter 13
[Faces 11]
Actor: Alan Arkin (The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter) 13
[George C. Scott (Petulia) 8, Peter O'Toole (The Lion in Winter) 2]
Actress: Joanne Woodward (Rachel, Rachel) 18
[Tuesday Weld (Pretty Poison) 5]
Director: VI - Paul Newman (Rachel, Rachel) 11
[John Cassavettes (Faces) 9]
Screenplay: Pretty Poison 10
[The Lion in Winter 8]
Foreign Film: War and Peace
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