Best Actress in a Supporting Role 1950: Ranking

5. Thelma Ritter in All About Eve

Thelma Ritter is consistently entertaining in the role of Birdie and does a more than fine job as the conscience of the movie, but the role is extremely limited and her character is never given a proper closure since she simply disappears midway through the movie.

Best scene: Birdie confesses to Margo her doubts about Eve's innocence.

4. Nancy Olson in Sunset Boulevard

Nancy Olson delivers a quiet, charming performance that serves as the perfect bright stop in Sunset Boulevard's dark, grotesque world. She shares a fine chemistry with William Holden and her final scene is surprisingly poignant. 

Best scene: Betty finds out about Joe's double-life.

3. Hope Emerson in Caged

Hope Emerson is the standout of Caged's great supporting cast: the role itself is bordering on camp and Emerson goes along with it without ever becoming a caricature. She is a genuinely menacing presence and makes for a remarkable villain, even if the two-dimensionality of the role prevents her from becoming truly amazing.

Best scene: Harper teases the inmates by telling the details of her relationship with her boyfriend.

2. Josephine Hull in Harvey

Josephine Hull delivers a hilarious performance that is purposefully over-the-top but never shrill, perfectly working with James Stewart's subtler work. She is a comedic gem for most of the movie and she even manages to give some real emotional weight to the final scenes of the movie. 

Best scene: "Knock him down, judge! Kick him, kick him!"

1. Celeste Holm in All About Eve

I was tempted to give my win to Hull, but ultimately I decided to give it to Celeste Holm's subtle and layered performance as Karen. Holm delivers a wonderfully natural and spontaneous performance making Karen the character to whom the audience can relate: she movingly portrays Karen's conflicted emotions and feelings and grounds the whole movie with her quiet, reactionary portrayal.

Best scene: Eve blackmails Karen. 

Honorable Omissions: Before I started this year, I was almost completely sure that I would have given my overall win to Machiko Kyo's outstanding performance in Rashomon, and she indeed would be very deserving: she does a phenomenal job in portraying the slight variations of the character in each of the stories, creating an endlessly fascinating character. However, I found myself completely won over by Maria Casares' incredible performance as Death in Orpheus: Casares brings the right amount of allure and coldness to the mysterious role and as the movie progresses she's heartbreaking as she reveals the vulnerabilities and weaknesses of the character - I never thought that Death could be the most touching character of a movie, but Casares proved me wrong and her final moments in the movie might be some of the most devastating acting I've ever seen. Linda Darnell is extremely good as the embittered widow who discovers again her long-buried conscience in No Way Out, and both Agnes Moorehead, as the kind superindentend who witnesses Marie's loss of her innocence, and Betty Garde, as the though inmate Kitty, are rather memorable in Caged. None of the actors of Max Ophuls' masterpiece La Ronde get too much screen-time, but some of them managed to make vivid impressions with their limited appearence: Simone Signoret brings allure and screen-presence to the role of the prostitute Leocadie, Simone Simon is playfully seductive as the housemaid and Danielle Derrieux is a hoot as the unfaithful married woman. The Breaking Point is not a masterpiece, but it's a good movie with two strong female supporting performances: Phyllis Thaxter is deeply moving as John Garfield's worried wife and Patricia Neal leaves a lasting impression as the lonely, washed up prostitute. Both Eleanor Audley as Lady Tremaine and Verna Felton as the Fairy Godmother do remarkable voice-work in Cinderella. Giulietta Masina delivers a fantastic performance in Federico Fellini's first film Variety Lights: it's a fun, lively, scene-stealing turn from her but most importantly she feels relatable and emotionally true, making the most out of her quiet, reactionary moments in which she touchingly conveys the tragedy of her character. Carla Del Poggio is also very remarkable in the same movie as she portrays so well her character's charm and appeal as well as her selfishness: what I most appreciate, though, is that despite being a questionable, at times despicable character neither Del Poggio nor Fellini envision her as a villain making her a flawed, vain but real person.

The next year: As requested, 1959.

My Best Supporting Actress Ballot:

1. Maria Casares, Orpheus - 5/5
2. Machiko Kyo, Rashomon - 5/5
3. Celeste Holm, All About Eve
4. Carla Del Poggio, Variety Lights - 4.5/5
5. Josephine Hull, Harvey 
6. Linda Darnell, No Way Out - 4.5/5
7. Giulietta Masina, Variety Lights - 4.5/5
8. Hope Emerson, Caged
9. Agnes Moorehead, Caged - 4/5
10. Patricia Neal, The Breaking Point - 4/5