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Every year the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences gets together to single out the best movies, performances and craftsmanship, and sometimes they actually get it right. Sure, sometimes it goes the other way, but throughout the history of the Oscars, there are many excellent examples of actors who gave astounding performances for the ages. The types of roles may change, and the acting styles may evolve, but these Oscar-winning actors of yesteryear absolutely deserved their gold statues and remain some of the gold standards for screen acting.<\/p>\n
Norma Shearer, \u201cThe Divorcee\u201d (1930)<\/strong><\/p>\n Norma Shearer gives an astoundingly multifaceted performance in Robert Z. Leonard\u2019s \u201cThe Divorcee,\u201d as a woman whose husband is unfaithful and decides turnabout is fair play, only to see her role in polite society shift dramatically. What could have been a tawdry and finger-wagging cautionary tale lights up because Shearer explores all the emotional complexity of her struggle to navigate sexist double standards while keeping her dignity intact.<\/p>\n Wallace Beery, \u201cThe Champ\u201d (1931)<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the great tear-jerkers, to this day, \u201cThe Champ\u201d stars Wallace Beery as a down-on-his-luck boxer who can\u2019t seem to do anything right, but whose son thinks he can do no wrong. His young co-star Jackie Cooper gets the film\u2019s biggest scene \u2014 a climax that would make anyone with a soul choke up \u2014 but he\u2019s led there by Beery, playing a character who\u2019s only just barely aware that he\u2019s not a good father, no matter how much he tries to be.<\/p>\n Greer Garson & Teresa Wright, \u201cMrs. Miniver\u201d (1942)<\/strong><\/p>\n Winston Churchill allegedly said William Wyler\u2019s \u201cMrs. Miniver\u201d was more invaluable to the war effort than \u2014 depending on who\u2019s sharing the anecdote \u2014 a flotilla of destroyers\/battleships\/etc. It\u2019s a harrowing drama about British life during the Blitz, anchored by an astounding performance by Greer Garson as a wife and mother struggling to maintain some sense of normalcy during fearful times, and brought crashing to reality by Teresa Wright\u2019s incredible, tragic supporting turn as Garson\u2019s daughter-in-law, the other \u201cMrs. Miniver.\u201d<\/p>\n Harold Russell, \u201cThe Best Years of Our Lives\u201d (1946)<\/strong><\/p>\n Harold Russell won two Academy Awards for his unforgettable performance in \u201cThe Best Years of Our Lives,\u201d William Wyler\u2019s sprawling drama about U.S. soldiers reacclimatizing to everyday life after World War II. Russell plays Petty Officer 2nd Class Homer Parrish, who lost both his hands in the war, just like Russell himself. It\u2019s a remarkably nuanced and sensitive performance, despite Russell\u2019s lack of on-camera experience, which confronts the often contradictory emotions of a man who wants to get on with his life as though nothing happened, while simultaneously resenting his family for following his lead. For his inspirational turn, Russell not only won Best Supporting Actor but also earned a special honorary Oscar for inspiring his fellow veterans.<\/p>\n George Sanders, \u201cAll About Eve\u201d (1950)<\/strong><\/p>\n Joseph L. Mankiewicz\u2019s backstage drama \u201cAll About Eve\u201d has one of the finest acting ensembles ever assembled, and earned a record-setting 14 Oscar nominations, including a whopping five Academy Award nominations just for its cast. Somehow only George Sanders won, but his slithering performance as morally corrupt theater critic Addison DeWitt is undeniably one for the ages. Sanders\u2019 air of superiority is suffocating and dangerous, and watching him manipulate one of the most manipulative characters in film history is simultaneously poetic and terrifying.<\/p>\n Audrey Hepburn, \u201cRoman Holiday\u201d (1953)<\/strong><\/p>\n Audrey Hepburn\u2019s star-making role in \u201cRoman Holiday\u201d could have been a whimsical one-off, but Hepburn infuses this delightful romantic comedy with infectious enthusiasm and absolute sincerity. And, of course, perfect comic timing. As a princess who plays hooky to enjoy life as a normal person, and winds up romancing a newspaper reporter who\u2019s only trying to get the tabloid scoop, Hepburn lets the audience experience a day of non-stop exhilaration while never losing sight of the melancholy fact that all these wonderful moments have to end.<\/p>\n Marlon Brando & Eva Marie Saint, \u201cOn the Waterfront\u201d (1954)<\/strong><\/p>\n Elia Kazan\u2019s \u201cOn the Waterfront\u201d is often described as a turning point in motion-picture acting, in which performances began to turn inward and convey new levels of complexity. Watching it today, the film still feels fresh and exciting, as Oscar-winners Marlon Brando and Eva Marie Saint are in the process of drawing the blueprints for generations of performers to follow. As a dockworker swept into a life of corruption, in more ways than one, Brando practically overflows with inner conflict, and only finds something resembling solace in his relationship with the sister of a man he unwittingly got killed. The moral and ethical layers of \u201cOn the Waterfront\u201d are made stickier by their parallels to Kazan\u2019s own history, but Brando and Saint are fully realized, distinct characters whose journey has value whether you know Kazan named names or not.<\/p>\n