Wrapping things up with the winners of the 1962 Retro Hollmann Awards. Make sure you refer back to the nominations for full context, as well as the Top Ten for further insight.
Let us begin:
Best Ensemble
The End of Summer
2. Long Day's Journey Into Night; 3. The Connection; 4. Billy Budd; 5. Victim
Every character, no matter how brief their turn, is perfectly performed. Not just the sisters and their father, but the aunt who shows up in two scenes, the mistress's daughter and her American boyfriend, the potential suitor, the woman who runs the bar, the two farmers at the end: all of them have their own stories happening off-screen, and the glimpse we get makes them just as compelling as our leads.
The remaining 17 categories after the jump...
Best Sound
Lawrence of Arabia
John Cox, sound dubbing
Paddy Cunningham, sound recordist
Winston Ryder, sound editor
Malcolm Stewart, sound
2. The Longest Day; 3. Hatari!; 4. The Music Man; 5. Experiment in Terror
In an epic like Lawrence of Arabia, the mix must be perfect - the bombastic score must not be lost, but nor can it drown out the clamor and cries of battle. There is, too, a certain stillness in the air when meeting with Mr. Dryden, a terrifically subtle touch. Ooh, or the brief silence in the Turkish Bey scene, Lawrence staring at his captor, not even room tone, until the snap of the crop brings him back. It's all very effective.
Winston Ryder's second nomination and win. Malcolm Stewart's second nomination and win. John Cox's fifth nomination and first win. Paddy Cunningham's first nomination and win.
Best Editing
Lawrence of Arabia
Anne V. Coates
2. The End of Summer; 3. Long Day's Journey Into Night; 4. Peeping Tom; 5. Cape Fear
Again, a tough decision between the two top spots, but while I am awed by the skill that makes the everyday conversations of The End of Summer endlessly captivating, I can't deny the awesome assemblage of Lawrence of Arabia. The famous cut from the matchhead being blown out to the sun in the desert; the march through the desert, first to Aqaba then back to Cairo, both of them purposely monotonous, exhausting, beating us and Lawrence down; that shudder-inducing cut to the Turkish Bey in his doorway; communicating Lawrence's high-speed death in the beginning.
Anne V. Coates' first nomination and win.
Best Supporting Actor
Peter Sellers as Clare Quilty
Lolita
2. Victor Buono in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?; 3. Murray Melvin in 4. Omar Sharif in Lawrence of Arabia; 5. Jose Ferrer in Lawrence of Arabia
Juggling the chronology could undercut Sellers' performance, but it oddly makes it more effective, seeing him start the movie in desperation, fear, and that agonizing death shudder before getting to know the conceited, confident menace that is Clare Quilty. His comic skills make Quilty's interactions with Humbert, and intentions towards Lo, all the more chilling - not the sweaty, drooling, hand-wringing villain, but an entertainer, a man who thinks himself untouchable, clever, hilarious!
Peter Sellers' second nomination and first win.
Best Supporting Actress
Maidie Norman as Elvira
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
2. Setsuko Hara in The End of Summer; 3. Shelley Winters in Lolita; 4. Maureen O'Hara in Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation; 5. Hermione Gingold in The Music Man
Time and again I came back to the determination on Elvira's face. Her back had to be turned for Jane to get the upper hand because you know she would have won that fight without breaking a sweat. Great chemistry with Joan Crawford: their time together may be limited, but there's a real camaraderie, and one gets the sense she's just as caring and attentive with all her charges. So attentive, in fact, she knows b.s., and can size a situation up quickly. Norman makes Elvira capable and strong; her death is horrifying because she made us love her.
Maidie Norman's first nomination and win.
Best Cinematography
1. Lawrence of Arabia
Freddie Young
fourth nomination and second win
2. The Miracle Worker
Ernesto Caparrós
3. Peeping Tom
Otto Heller
4. Mutiny on the Bounty
Robert Surtees
5. Long Day's Journey Into Night
Boris Kaufman
Best Director
David Lean
Lawrence of Arabia
2. Yasujirô Ozu for The End of Summer; 3. Sidney Lumet for Long Day's Journey Into Night; 4. Stanley Kubrick for Lolita; 5. Michael Powell for Peeping Tom
Like I said: "...epic scale and intimate portraiture. His sense of space communicates both the geography of battle and the intimacy between friends...and enemies."
David Lean's second nomination and first win.
Best Adapted Screenplay
Lawrence of Arabia
Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson
from Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence
2. Lolita; 3. Cape Fear; 4. Billy Budd; 5. Flame in the Streets
Like I said: "For me, it's the gold standard of writing: for epics, for biopics, for entertainment, for character study. Memorable dialogue, dynamic characters, beautifully crafted storytelling."
Robert Bolt's second nomination and first win. Michael Wilson's second nomination and first win.
Best Actress
Katharine Hepburn as Mary Tyrone
Long Day's Journey Into Night
2. Melina Mercouri in Phaedra; 3. Bette Davis in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?; 4. Anne Bancroft in The Miracle Worker; 5. Brenda de Banzie in Flame in the Streets
Like I said: "Her relationship to her body - from the constant self-measuring of her Hepburn-sized hips to the disembodied way she paws her son - communicates the tenuous grasp of control, the need for relief. In her manner of speech, she gets across the rise, bliss, and fall of the high."
Katharine Hepburn's fourth nomination and first win.
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Bette Davis, character makeup
Beau Wilson, key makeup artist
Peggy Shannon, hair stylist
2. The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm; 3. Eyes Without a Face; 4. Lawrence of Arabia; 5. Jack the Giant Killer
I just really appreciate the willingness to "go there" for both Jane, absolutely ghoulish in her pancake makeup and little heart-shaped beauty mark, and Blanche, wasting away with dried vomit and spittle at the corner of her mouth. Sorry to be a sucker for de-glam, but when it works...!
Bette Davis's third overall nomination and first win. Peggy Shannon's first nomination and win. Beau Wilson's first nomination and win.
Best Visual Effects
The Longest Day
Karl Baumgartner / Johnny Borgese / Joseph de Bretagne / Karl Helmer / Augie Lohman / R.A. MacDonald / Alex Weldon, special effects
Jean Fouchet, optical effects
Wally Veevers, visual effects
2. Jack the Giant Killer; 3. Mothra; 4. In Search of the Castaways; 5. Mutiny on the Bounty
Usually how I rank these is in order of "How'd they do that?" perplexity on my end. In this case, The Longest Day wins out because I don't know how they achieved the beach landing, parachuting, etc., explosions all around, without killing anyone. Genuinely dangerous-looking - good job!
Johnny Borgese's fifth nomination and third win. Wally Veevers' fifth nomination and first win. Joseph de Bretagne's fourth overall nomination and first win. August Lohman's third nomination and first win. Karl Baumgartner's second nomination and first win. Jean Fouchet's second nomination and first win. R.A. MacDonald's second nomination and first win. Alex Weldon's second nomination and first win. Karl Helmer's first nomination and win.
Best Score
1. Taras Bulba
Franz Waxman
third nomination and first win
2. Lawrence of Arabia
Maurice Jarre
3. Cape Fear
Bernard Herrmann
4. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Frank De Vol
5. Lolita
Bob Harris / Nelson Riddle
Best Costume Design
Lawrence of Arabia
Phyllis Dalton
2. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?; 3. Taras Bulba; 4. The Music Man; 5. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Outfits are important to the narrative of Lawrence of Arabia. It's the difference between being a British soldier, a white man representing an Empire seeking to expand, and being "of Arabia," embracing the culture of the people whose independence one is supposedly fighting for. It's also how can tell at a distance who does and does not belong at your well.
Phyllis Dalton's fourth nomination and second win.
Best Production Design
Lawrence of Arabia
John Box, production design
John Stoll / Anthony Masters, art direction
Dario Simoni, set decoration
2. The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm; 3. The Connection; 4. Mothra; 5. Peeping Tom
You could say it's just a bunch of tents and offices, and you'd largely be right, but that doesn't make it any the less effective. I love the busts and the ready-for-meetings tables and chairs the British have, I love the way Prince Feisal has his own spin on this in his tent, I love that each of these don't just contrast each other, but also reflect each other - you can tell who the Big Men are, especially when compared with the openness of Auda abu Tayi's tent, or the storage room quality of Lawrence's initial offices. They're great sets.
John Box's fourth nomination and second win. Anthony Masters' third nomination and first win. Dario Simoni's second nomination and first win. John Stoll's first nomination and win.
Best Original Song
1. "Mosura no uta" from Mothra
music by Yûji Koseki
lyrics by Tomoyuki Tanaka, Ishirô Honda and Shin'ichi Sekizawa
second overall nomination and first win for Tanaka, first nomination and win for Honda, Koseki, Sekizawa
2. "Walk on the Wild Side" from Walk on the Wild Side
music by Elmer Bernstein
lyrics by Mack David
3. "Follow Me" from Mutiny on the Bounty
music by Bronislau Kaper
lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
4. "Enjoy It" from In Search of the Castaways
music and lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
5. "Earth Boy" from Girls! Girls! Girls!
music and lyrics by Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett
Best Original Screenplay
The End of Summer
Kôgo Noda & Yasujirô Ozu
2. Victim; 3. Blast of Silence; 4. Peeping Tom; 5. The Case of Patty Smith
I am almost tempted to repeat my notes from the Ensemble win above, for in truth those performances are so vivid because the characters are so specific in dialogue and in manner. Unfolds naturally, never quite what you expect, with a few things left unresolved - it's life, after all, and not everything is tidily brought to an end. Stories continue, possibilities are endless, and the only end is the end.
Yasujirô Ozu's second overall nomination and first win. Kôgo Noda's first nomination and win.
Best Actor
Peter O'Toole as T.E. Lawrence
Lawrence of Arabia
2. James Mason in Lolita; 3. Robert Preston in The Music Man; 4. Robert Mitchum in Cape Fear; 5. Robert Ryan in Billy Budd
Like I said: "Every moment you have to believe that he possesses both the strength and the quiet doubt, that he's constantly bulldozing over the latter to create his own legend, that no matter what he suffers, he can convince himself that it's all for a good cause. There is charm, strength, fear, fury in O'Toole's performance."
Peter O'Toole's seventh nomination and first win.
Best Motion Picture of the Year
Lawrence of Arabia
produced by Sam Spiegel
2. The End of Summer; 3. Long Day's Journey Into Night; 4. Lolita; 5. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
6. Flame in the Streets; 7. Peeping Tom; 8. The Music Man; 9. Billy Budd; 10. Cape Fear
Sam Spiegel's first nomination and win.
For only the fourth time in Hollmann Awards history, my Best Picture is also Oscar's Best Picture - indeed, Lawrence of Arabia finished with nine wins, more than any other film this year (it's also the second-highest number of awards won by a film, right behind The Exorcist and Bram Stoker's Dracula, each of which won ten). Of the seven other winning films, only The End of Summer and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? won more than one - they each won two. The remaining Best Picture nominees, Lolita and Long Day's Journey Into Night, each won an acting award. The rest of the awards were won by films not even in the Top Ten - The Longest Day, Mothra, and Taras Bulba.
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