1935 – Franchot Tone
Mutiny on the Bounty
So, here is another example of a supporting actor getting a Best Actor nomination, simply because that was no Best Supporting Actor category had not yet been created. And honestly, I don’t think he deserved the nomination. And I say that based on both his acting skills, and the way the character was written. True, there wasn’t much to his character, and I’m not sure what he could have done to improve it much from the page to the screen, but throughout the film, he didn’t have more than three facial expressions, making him seem, at times, emotionally flat.
He played the part of a wide-eyed youth who has his naïve and idealistic notions of being an officer in the Royal British Navy crushed by the evil Captain Bligh. Honestly, his character was so one-note that he was boring to watch. And his acting ability seemed as green and inexperienced as the character he played. There were several times when he had to go into either a moralistic or inspirational speech. When that happened, his smile vanished, and he looked like he was trying too hard to be deep and dramatic.
He played Mr. Byam. In the original novel, Byam was the main protagonist, but in this film adaptation, it file like he had been relegated to a supporting character, being completely overshadowed by Clark Gable and Charles Laughton. He played the part of the innocent sailor well enough, but that was about all he played. I have a feeling the character could have been much more crucial to the plot, and much more complex and interesting than he was allowed to be in this movie.
But for the moral lesson that the film built up to in the last few scenes, he almost could have been written out of the film and little would have changed. The way the role was played by Tone, Byam was weak in will, and weak in conviction. Even in the film’s climax, when Byam is unjustly sentenced to death, and he finally speaks out in support of Fletcher Christian’s mutiny against Bligh, he barely registers any strong emotion that would certainly have been fitting. The least he could have done would be to raise his voice, point a finger, something. But no. I didn’t feel the passion or conviction I think the moment needed from him.