1942 – Van Heflin
Johnny Eager
How do you win an Oscar for playing a chronic drunkard for an entire movie? I don’t know, but Van Heflin did it, and he did it wonderfully. From his first appearance on the screen to nearly his last, the character of Jeff Hartnett, the right hand man of notorious gangster Johnny Eager. Jeff is an intellectual man, but a complete raging alcoholic. His role in the narrative seemed to be that of Johnny’s conscience, and his only true friend. He willingly helped Johnny in his criminal schemes and hated himself for doing it.
So really, Jeff was a weak-willed man who drank because he was riddled with guilt over his ongoing part in Johnny’s life of crime. But as long as Johnny kept being his friend and providing the booze, he would continue to do his job. Believably drunk is not always easy to play, but Heflin was up to the challenge. For the most part, he played Jeff as sleepy, like he was only a few minutes away from passing out on the floor, though he never did. And he was constantly jonesing for a drink, never turning down a shot whenever one was offered. At times he was nearly shaking with need. The only other movie that had that kind of a character was The Lost Weekend, and I think Heflin did a better job than Ray Milland.
Van had a few scenes that packed emotional punches, and allowed him to show off his acting skills. In one, he admits to Johnny that he nearly had a moment of clarity where he intended to go to the police to tell them all about Johnny’s crimes before committing suicide. Fortunately, he found that he was a coward, and decided to crawl into a bottle instead. The other was the climax of the film, where he holds the dying Johnny in his arms and sheds real tears over the death of his friend. Both were powerful moments and Heflin really earned his Oscar.
But there were also a few scenes in the movie where Jeff actually seemed sober, or mostly sober. He seemed likeable enough, but even then, there was that underlying alcohol-soaked demeanor, the slow movements, the difficult speech, the shaky countenance. Heflin did an amazing job, and I thoroughly enjoyed his performance. Now, I’m curious to know what else he was in.