Evening star., 1949-02-13
Academy Voting Easy
Every One Ready to Tell Hollywood
Who Merits Its Prizes
BY Jay Cormody

By Jay Cormody
The rest Of the country which adds up to 100000 square
may withhold lot of things from HOLLYWOOD among them
understanding sympathy, admiration and affection
Yet for dearth of these it offers the compensation OF
advice.
itself All has to do is determine which Of
the thousands of poed decisions from outsiders is least likely
to result immediate and final catastrophe The other way that
doing its thinking and coming its own conclusions might
be better but Hollywood too harassed ever to make use OF it.
Nominations Start It.
AS OF this moment the movie industry and its samoous pac-
ttiones nothing but advice They
haps the worst weeks of the year, every year.
The period begins did the other day with the announce
ment nominations for the Academy awards.
These nominations kind OF primary in which nve candidates
several categorecres actors directors etcar chosen
made six weeks ahead to give Academy voters chance to
deliberate and make their selections
Theoretically the election private and strictly for mem
bers only the annual elections of the Chevy Chase Club
Practically the being anhe of the Chevy Chase
poor devils Just how to do it,
The countrys critics the most agile offenders in this
what they like think cevenss Their avote device is to
pretend they are merely trying to guess how the elections will turn
out, to make series of predictions
picture Of the year. "amlet The Snake PITT johnny Belinda
"The Red Shoes" and Treasure of Sierra Madre"
Having and praised all Of these the critic will make his
choice the ve which Treasure Of Sierra Madre
Comes the Prediction.
Logic elusive thing be- pels the critic to predict that
this the the Academy voters also will select the years best
seenpay The question however how the others
d, IT. d mt w % & f b sv b per isn ti p - th s
1t quite simple trick at its best when the critic
up the defects Of the four other pictures IN the fewest possible
words. such
Hamlet" wonderful but not original
"The Red Shoes" magnificent, slightly trite
"The Snake Pit" great journalism still Journalism.
johnny Belinda superb melodrama contrived and
artificial.
That them, way Treasure
Sierra Madre" Or does it?
It nominations
actor Lawrence Olivier in Hamlet" Montgomery Cliff
Search" Lew Ayres Johnny Belinda Daley When
My Baby Smiles Me" and Clifton Webb Sitting
The critic feeling ashamed for having betrayed Olivier Ham
let the best decides atone for it by giving him the
acting prize (and hoping the Academy will kewise
the others:
Cliff. superb, a award later.
Webb fine but frivolous.
DALEY, charming but after all musical comedy
Ayres grand but in final analysis merely support Jane
Wyman.
That Disposes of Them
In the nature Of things the nature of things in
critics world this should dispose Cliff
This brings the Academy advisers
for the best actress of the These Ingrd
Joan of Arc" Olivia Haviland
Dunno in II Remember Mama Wyman Johnny
and is the critics choice he would like to give
field by disposng Of the others follows:
Miss Bergman, beautiful pet but by another
Of
Christians In the stage version
Miss sanwyck competent actress trapped a phony
melodrama.
Miss Wyman in any year that Miss De Havl-
land had not played "The Snake Pit"
Having established his technique the critic
predict that in other categores the winners will
Best director. John for
Best supporting performance by Walter
the picture.
supporting performance by actress Trevor in
key Largo"
Hollywood would psychotc
all trying to decide who did the years best work in Hollywood