Best Actor, 1941

Awards presented February 26, 1942

The nominees were ... 

• Gary Cooper in Sergeant York   
• Cary Grant in Penny Serenade    
• Walter Huston in All That Money Can Buy     
• Robert Montgomery in Here Comes Mr. Jordan  
• Orson Welles in Citizen Kane 

... when they should have been ... 

• Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon 
• Gary Cooper in Sergeant York   
• Henry Fonda in The Lady Eve 
• Walter Huston in All That Money Can Buy    
• Orson Welles in Citizen Kane 

And the Oscar went to ... 

Gary Cooper in Sergeant York. 

Legend has it that Cooper was Alvin York's choice to play him in the film based on his heroic World War I exploits, but there is evidence to suggest that that was mere press-agentry. Cooper had been the symbol of American integrity, the quintessential strong silent type, in movies for more than a decade. He had stepped out of the ranks of extras in 1926 to take a featured part in The Winning of Barbara Worth, replacing an actor who had failed to show up for a location shoot. The following year he appeared in a small but noticeable role in the first best-picture winner, Wings, sparking "who's that guy?" comments from audiences and leading to more important roles in films like Morocco, A Farewell to Arms, and Lives of a Bengal Lancer. But it was Frank Capra who, by casting him in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, established the Cooper persona: shy but two-fisted.  

... when it should have gone to ... 

Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon. 

George Raft had backed out of playing Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon, giving Bogart the role that boosted him out of the pack of Warner Bros. contract players and made him one of the true Hollywood legends -- and one of the most unlikely. His co-star Mary Astor's description of Bogart captures him superbly: "He wasn't very tall; vocally he had a range from A to B; his eyes were like shiny coal nuggets pressed deep into his skull; and his smile was a mistake that he tried to keep from happening. He was no movie hero. He was no hero at all." And that very unheroic quality is what makes his Spade -- a mean little man -- so memorable.

Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade