why didn't Mr Karloff earn an Oscar Nomination as Best Actor for his chilling performance as Coachmen John Gray,,his best performance...in fct in danny o'learys alternated oscar choices Mr Karloff was his choice to win Best Actor in 1945
shareBest Supporting Actor is more like it, as his chilling and magnetic portrayal of Cabbie Gray is one of the all-time great supporting performances.
"...if that was off, I'd be whoopin' your ass up and down this street." ~ an irate Tarantino
in the book alternative oscars by danny leary i believe he was his choice for best actor in 1945 over ray milland and lost weekeend,,he was in body snatcher as much as anthony hopkins was in silence of the lambs
shareThere was no other actor in The Silence of the Lambs that could logically lay claim to "lead actor", and his performance made such an impact that it was a no-brainer.
In The Body Snatcher, Henry Daniell is the lead. Even if you argued for Karloff as lead actor (which I don't believe you can do), at best he splits it with Daniell.
The supporting category is a much better fit, and a far easier sell. He should have gotten in there no problem.
"...if that was off, I'd be whoopin' your ass up and down this street." ~ an irate Tarantino
do wish they would of nominated him he may of won,,lot of actors go to supporting for a better chance of winning..I hate when they nominate an actor/actress for a small 3-9 min long,,,
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At the time, "genre" performances like Karloff's were ignored by the Academy for the most part (Fredric March in JEKYLL AND HYDE being an exception).
"We're fighting for this woman's honor, which is more than she ever did."
Not much has changed in this respect - the Academy still mostly ignores genre movies in the major categories.
shareHe was truly amazing in this movie.
I'm watching it this evening for Halloween!
Love how in the beginning of the movie he can speak rather easily to the little girl who cannot speak with her doctor because she is afraid of him but not - it seems - Karloff!
IMO, Karloff suffered from the same fate as Edward G. Robinson....what can be described as "excellence bias"...meaning they (and some others) were so consistently good in their acting/characters that their talent was taken for granted and never recognized. I also realize that studio politics always played (and still play) a factor in who gets awards and notariety vs. who doesn't.
shareHe should have won at least one Oscar. It's appalling he was never even nominated. I think he should have won for The Body Snatcher and at least gotten nominations for the two Frankenstein movies plus several other films.
shareKarloff was amazing in the film, but as others have pointed out, genre films didn't get much respect.
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