MovieChat Forums > Cat Ballou (1965) Discussion > Lee Marvins oscar? Bogus?

Lee Marvins oscar? Bogus?

posted 9 years ago by uscmd
7 replies | jump to latest

Let me begin by saying I like Lee Marvin, and I appreciate his service during WWII.

But heres a few of the actors that were passed up in 1965:

Sir Lawrence Olivier in Othello
Richard Burton in the Spy who came in out of the cold, and
Rod Steiger in the Pawnboker.

No doubt Marvin's dual role was a challenge, but I'd guess he never even viewed hinself in the same league as the other 3 actors, that most would probably were among the best male actors of the 2nd half of the 20th century.

So in my opinion, it was simply a goof, and quite possibly a product of a great, but secret back story.

[–] jimbrown257 9 years ago

I don't know if the Oscar results have ever been very objective.

[–] CKJones88 9 years ago

I haven't seen Olivier or Burton's performances, but Rod Steiger blew me away in The Pawnbroker. I know people always think of In The Heat Of The Night as his best performance, but imo The Pawnbroker was his greatest. Also, Omar Sharif was robbed of a nomination that year.

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] TrentinaNE 8 years ago

Most actors agree that playing comedy is actually harder than most dramatic roles. I'm glad the Academy recognized Lee Marvin for his stellar work in Cat Ballou. The physicality and range of emotion he showed were no easy trick.

[–] whitelion43 8 years ago

this is true Comedy is a lot harder to do

Oh GOOD!,my dog found the chainsaw

[–] nocomputer1962 7 years ago

I'm a huge Lee Marvin fan, but there's no way he deserved the Oscar over Rod Steiger. As with Frances McDormand in Fargo, Lee was nominated in a lead category for a role that doesn't even begin until the film is one-third over. Even at that, his funniest scenes are his attempts to ride a horse while intoxicated, and those scenes are very obviously handled by a stuntman.

Now if Lee had been nominated in the Supporting Actor category, he would have rightfully won by a landslide.

[–] jackbnimbleharvardblue 7 years ago

Lee Marvin shouldn't have won for this. He should have been nominated and won best supporting actor for his performance in the Man Who Shot Liberty Valence. I would have nominated Ivan Dixon in Nothing But A Man over him here!