Nothing particularly wrong with the 1953 actress vote the first time around. But since then, the Argentine classic El Vampiro Negro has been rescued and restored and has recently made its TCM debut on Eddie Muller's Noir Alley. And if you can't change your mind in light of new information, well then, you're like a lot of people these days ...
A loose remake of Fritz Lang's classic M, El Vampiro Negro (The Black Vampire to you English-speakers) stars Olga Zubarry as a nightclub singer who is the only person to have seen the face of a serial killer preying on local children. It's a very good movie and Zubarry is very good in it. Thus, her nomination here for best actress.
Four of the other nominees remain the same. For those of you scoring at home, three of them — Audrey Hepburn, Deborah Kerr and Marilyn Monroe — have won alternate Oscars for other movies.
Which is not why I'm voting for Jane Russell, but it doesn't hurt. She's terrific in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes — if you know the movie and the behind-the-scenes story, you know she's the reason this is such a great film — and I happen to think it's the best performance by a lead actress in 1953. That she had a career worth a little recognition is just icing on the cake.
Not that I'm trying to influence you, but if you can't twist a friend's arm, then what are arms for?
Have at it.
My choices are noted with a ★. Historical Oscar winners are noted with a ✔.
Named for Katie-Bar-The-Door, the Katies are "alternate Oscars"—who should have been nominated, who should have won—but really they're just an excuse to write a history of the movies from the Silent Era to the present day.
To see a list of nominees and winners by decade, as well as links to my essays about them, click the highlighted links:
Remember: There are no wrong answers, only movies you haven't seen yet.
The Silent Oscars
And don't forget to check out the Silent Oscars—my year-by-year choices for best picture, director and all four acting categories for the pre-Oscar years, 1902-1927.
Look at me—Joe College, with a touch of arthritis. Are my eyes really brown? Uh, no, they're green. Would we have the nerve to dive into the icy water and save a person from drowning? That's a key question. I, of course, can't swim, so I never have to face it. Say, haven't you anything better to do than to keep popping in here early every morning and asking a lot of fool questions?
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