Alternative Film Guide

Oscar-nominated performances in Fred Zinnemann’s films

Fred Zinnemann began his career during the studio system, but kept on going, however sporadically, long after most of his contemporaries had retired. Even so, today his name means little for most audiences and critics alike. Why?

Quite possibly because, like William Wyler’s (Wyler’s Oscar list), Zinnemann’s relatively small oeuvre (21 narrative feature films) covers just about every film genre there is: Western (High Noon), romance (From Here to Eternity), socially conscious drama (The Search), historical drama (A Man for All Seasons), adventure (Five Days One Summer), thriller (The Day of the Jackal), crime (Act of Violence), comedy (My Brother Talks to Horses), and musical (Oklahoma).

Most film critics and historians are no different than most simpletons. They tend to value work that can be easily categorized and labeled. And it always helps if the films in question revolve around tough guys and their issues.

Fred Zinnemann, like Wyler and George Cukor (Cukor’s Oscar list), never had a long association with a male actor, while most of his films, though often centered on male characters, could hardly be called "tough." (Even High Noon is more about cowardice than about bravery.) Additionally, in his character dramas Zinnemann was better at handling actresses than actors — nope, that really doesn’t mean that the director was gay — as evidenced by a number of outstanding female star turns in his films.

The ladylike Deborah Kerr, for instance, became a highly convincing adulteress in From Here to Eternity and a country woman roaming the Australian outback in The Sundowners. (That 1960 best actress Oscar had Kerr’s name on it — if only Elizabeth Taylor hadn’t been near death.)

Also, Donna Reed was never better than as the fibbing (and gorgeous) hooker in From Here to Eternity, and the same goes for Audrey Hepburn, reaching a career high as the conflicted nun in The Nun’s Story — one of the most effective films on a religious theme. Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave excelled in the classy Julia, and so did Julie Harris and Ethel Waters in the psychological drama The Member of the Wedding, while Eva Marie Saint stole A Hatful of Rain from her showier male co-stars.

Despite all their award wins and nominations, Zinnemann was less successful with his male actors. If Gary Cooper made us feel his pain as the solitary sheriff in High Noon and Robert Mitchum gave a first-rate performance in The Sundowners, Burt Lancaster and Frank Sinatra are just plain old (and phony) Burt Lancaster and Frank Sinatra in From Here to Eternity, while Paul Scofield needed to be considerably toned down so as to make believable his Sir Thomas More of A Man for All Seasons. Scenery-chewing was the order of the day for Lloyd Nolan, Don Murray, and Anthony Franciosa in A Hatful of Rain.

Zinnemann received seven Academy Award nominations for best direction: The Search, 1948; High Noon, 1952; From Here to Eternity, 1953; The Nun’s Story, 1959; The Sundowners, 1960; A Man for All Seasons, 1966; and Julia, 1977.

He won for both From Here to Eternity and A Man for All Seasons, neither of which is among his best films. (Though, admittedly, both have their fans.)

 

Fred Zinnemann

20 Acting Nominations (tie with Martin Scorsese)

(s) supporting category

(*) Academy Award winner

 

1944

Hume Cronyn (s) The Seventh Cross

 

1948

Montgomery Clift The Search

 

1952

Gary Cooper High Noon *

Julie Harris The Member of the Wedding

 

1953

Montgomery Clift From Here to Eternity

Burt Lancaster From Here to Eternity

Deborah Kerr From Here to Eternity

Frank Sinatra (s) From Here to Eternity *

Donna Reed (s) From Here to Eternity *

 

1957

Anthony Franciosa A Hatful of Rain

 

1959

Audrey Hepburn The Nun’s Story

 

1960

Deborah Kerr The Sundowners

Glynis Johns (s) The Sundowners

 

1966

Paul Scofield A Man for All Seasons *

Robert Shaw (s) A Man for All Seasons

Wendy Hiller (s) A Man for All Seasons

 

1977

Jane Fonda Julia

Jason Robards (s) Julia *

Maximilian Schell (s) Julia

Vanessa Redgrave (s) Julia *

 

William Wyler: Top Oscar Directors for Actors - I

Elia Kazan: Top Oscar Directors for Actors - II

George Cukor: Top Oscar Directors for Actors - III

Martin Scorsese: Top Oscar Directors for Actors - V

Oscar quiz - part I

Oscar answers - part I

Oscar Nominations 2007 - Article

Oscar Nominations 2007 - List

 

George Cukor: Top Oscar Directors for Actors - III

Elia Kazan: Top Oscar Directors for Actors - II

William Wyler: Top Oscar Directors for Actors - I

Hanif Kureishi’s VENUS Inspiration

Academy Awards 2007 - Nominated Producers

 

 

Add Alternative Film Guide to:        blinkbits BlinkList Bloglines blogmarks co.mments connotea del.icio.us De.lirio.us digg Fark FeedLounge feedmelinks Furl GoogleReader Kinja LinkaGoGo Ma.gnolia MyAOL MyMSN MyYahoo NetVibes NewsAlloy NewsBurst NewsGator NewsVine Netvouz Pluck RawSugar Reddit Rojo scuttle Shadows SimplyHeadlines Simpy Smarking Spurl TailRank Technorati Wists YahooMyWeb

 

Comments RSS