Back to Golden Days

Throughout this month, just like I did last year, I have decided to do a series of Oscar-related articles in anticipation to the 90th Academy Awards ceremony, which will be held on March 4. To start things off, today I am sharing with you my top 10 favourite Best Supporting Actor-winning performances. Please bear in mind that this is my own personal opinion, which of course is limited to the films I have seen so far.     10. Jack Lemmon in Mister Roberts (1955) Ensign Frank Thurlowe Pulver (Jack Lemmon): Captain, it is I, Ensign Pulver, and I just threw your stinkin' palm tree overboard! Now what's all this crud about no movie tonight?     9. Jack Nicholson in Terms of Endearment (1983) Garrett Breedlove (Jack Nicholson): If you wanted to get me on my back, all you had to do was ask me.   8. Cuba Gooding Jr. in Jerry Maguire (1996) Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.): Anyone else would have left you by now, but I'm sticking with you. And if I have to ri...

For my second Oscar-related «Film Friday» I'm bringing you one of the five Best Picture nominees at the 28th Academy Awards ceremony in March 1956. This also serves to honour Jack Lemmon's 92th birthday, which was on Wednesday. Directed by John Ford and Mervyn LeRoy, Mister Roberts (1955) is set aboard the USS Reluctant , where executive officer Lieutenant Junior Grade Douglas A. «Doug» Roberts (Henry Fonda) tries to shield the dispirited crew from the harsh and unpopular captain, Lieutenant Commander Morton (James Cagney). World War II is winding down and Roberts fears he will miss his chance to get into the fighting. He repeatedly asks to be assigned to another ship, but Morton, anxious to use Roberts to expedite his own promotion, refuses to sign any of his transfer requests. Roberts shares his quarters with Ensign Frank Thurlowe Pulver (Jack Lemmon), the laundry and morale officer. Pulver spends most of his time idling in his bunk and avoids the captain at all costs, so mu...

In honor of Marilyn Monroe and Tony Curtis, who both had birthdays this week, I thought that for this week's "Film Friday" I would bring you the only film they made together. Theatrical release poster Directed by Billy Wilder, Some Like It Hot (1959) follows the crazy adventures of Joe (Tony Curtis) and Jerry (Jack Lemmon), two hapless Chicago jazz musicians who accidentally witness the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in February 1929. In a desperate attempt to get out of town after being spotted by gang leader "Spats" Colombo (George Raft) while fleeing the scene of the crime, Joe and Jerry disguise themselves as women, "Josephine" and "Daphne," and take a job with an all-female band headed to Miami. During the train trip, they meet the beautiful Sugar Kane Kowalczyk (Marilyn Monroe), the band's vocalist and ukulele player . Both J oe and J erry are immediately smitten with her, but keep their true identity a secret. Once ...