5. Michael Caine - Sleuth
Warning: Sleuth is famous for its twist-filled plot. It's amazing to watch unfold; however, it's impossible to talk about the film without using spoilers. If you haven't seen the film yet, you might want to skip this section. Sleuth holds a special place in Academy Awards history; it's the only film which had its whole cast nominated for Oscars. Of course, when a film's cast consists of two actors, that's an easy goal to achieve. Both Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine were nominated for the 1972 Best Actor award for their performances in the film adaptation of Anthony Shaffer's play. While Olivier is fantastic (as usual) as the snobby, eccentric, conniving mystery writer Andrew Wyke, it's Michael Caine, as the self-made, adulterous hairdresser Milo Tindle, who's the most deserving of the Best Actor honor. While Olivier does an amazing job with his role, he doesn't have to shoulder the burden of playing two characters, as Caine does. You see, after Andrew learns of the affair Milo's been having with his wife, he invites Milo to his country manor to play a "game." Wyke will tell Milo where to locate the diamonds that will help Milo provide for Wyke's wife. The only catch is that Milo must "rob" Andrew: he must put on a disguise, break into the safe where the diamonds are kept, and get out of the house undetected. Unfortunately, Milo fails at this last task. He's caught by Andrew, who pulls a gun and shoots Milo dead. Andrew is confident that he's going to get away with murder. His hopes are dashed, however, by Inspector Doppler, a police detective investigating Milo's disappearance. Doppler visits Andrew's home and discovers a mess of clues that prove Andrew's guilt. Andrew grows increasingly desperate as Doppler searches the house. Just as Andrew's terror reaches its breaking point, Doppler rips his face off, revealing Milo's face. The first time I saw the film, I was totally surprised by this twist; in fact, just about everybody who's seen the film says the same thing. This surprise stems from the fact that Caine's portrayal of Doppler is totally different from his portrayal of Tindle. The accent's different, the walk is different, the mannerisms are different. There's nothing about the two performances that's similar. I'm not an actor, so maybe playing two parts in one film isn't too difficult, but it's certainly memorable. Instead of Caine, the Best Actor Oscar went to Marlon Brando for his performance in The Godfather. Brando's performance as Vito Corleone isn't bad by any stretch of the imagination, but the fact that he rejected the award in embarrassingly tacky fashion (hiring an actress to dress up as a Native American and deliver an overwrought speech about the plight of the American Indian) makes Brando undeserving of the honor. Caine's performance is equal to Brando's, and Caine probably would have accepted the award.