MovieChat Forums > Executive Suite (1954) Discussion > Excellent movie but how did Nina rate an...

Excellent movie but how did Nina rate an Oscar nomination

posted 13 years ago by mousalope
3 replies | jump to latest

An impressive film, one of those movies you've heard of but never had the opportunity to see until it pops up on TCM. The intro mentioned Nina's nomination, but after seeing the film I don't see how she rose to that level. As the executive secretary she really didn't have that much to contribute. Any number of contemporary actresses could have delivered the same performance. Actually I thought Barbara Stanwyck added more.

Looking it up, it wasn't a strong year in this category:

Eva Marie Saint – On the Waterfront (Winner)
Katy Jurado – Broken Lance
Nina Foch – Executive Suite
Jan Sterling – The High and the Mighty
Claire Trevor – The High and the Mighty

I also appreciate how the strong performances and tight story made unnecessary any musical score. I had totally forgotten this choice until the closing score jarred me to recall its absence.

[–] Mocha28 13 years ago

I agree, I've always heard about this move my whole life, but never actually watched it..I to was waiting to see what all the Hoopla was regarding Nina Foch! Her role was well written, but the result would have been same no matter who played that part. Good Movie Though!

[–] Clatskanie 9 years ago

Puts me in mind of the few minutes of screen time that garnered Beatrice Straight the Oscar in Network.

LL

[–] hobnob53 9 years ago

Beatrice Straight's win is an excellent analogy. A ten-minute part that even she was shocked to win for (and probably even be nominated for).

There have been other such examples, for instance Carolyn Jones's nomination for her ten minutes or so in The Bachelor Party (1957), although she was excellent and memorable. That role made her a star. Montgomery Clift had a Supporting nomination for Judgment at Nuremberg in 1961, a performance that took up 17 minutes of the film's 183-minute run time. But he too was magnificent.

David Niven was named Best Actor of 1958 for Separate Tables even though he's on screen for all of 18 minutes out of 99 -- the least amount of screen time of any Best Actor Oscar winner.

At least Nina Foch was a character throughout the entire picture.