Oscar's Supporting Actress history never ceases to amaze me; new discoveries, overlooked gems, and everything in between continue to enthrall me endlessly, and especially the more prominent ones. There is a rather "unique" category within this broad category of that are the "Kid Actors" -- the young tykes under the age of 18, who nonetheless, never quite get the same level of respect as an adult actor, despite contributing just as much to their craft (sometimes even more) as their elders do. With said Kid Actors, its most of the time considered some odd form of "controversial" because of A) how much is the child actually doing
themselves on screen and B) the topic of category placement, because no matter the size or quality, the Academy wouldn't dare put a child in the mix in the Lead category...God forbid,
right?! Both of these "issues" arise in a particular performance and performer that made big Oscar history at the tender age of 10 when she became the youngest Academy Award winner in history, and the little lady that to this day holds that title is none other than...
Tatum O'Neal plays Addie Loggins, a nine year old little girl living in the Great Depression who's recently been orphaned after her dear Ma has passed on.
While only a few "neighbor ladies" to loosely look after Addie, the child's still grieving her loss and is told that her only known living relative, her Aunt Billie, lives in Wichita but other than that she just has nowhere else to go.
But luck comes in the unlikely form of Moses Pray, (Ryan O'Neal, in a often stiff but consistently effective performance) a scheming con man, who with a winning smile and charismatic sweet talk, runs a very clever and sneaky scam, and who agrees to take Addie to her aunt's house while he does business along the way.
Addie, with her stiff, angry stare and wordless stance, slyly observes this man with curiosity as she just knows he's up to no good and only out for himself in the long run when she's got nothing else to hang on too. She behaves like any regular pouty little girl would when stuck in what seems to be a dead-end situation. But, when the unsuspecting Moses cons $200 from a man which remains rightfully Addie's, things get a bit stirred and the real story gets spun into motion.
And as it turns out, Addie's not just some kid, but a smart, savvy, world-weary person in a child's body. She's tough and determined to know if this man really is her father ("You ma' Pa?"), and puts up a strong defense especially when she demands her money ("I want my two hund' dollah'!") be returned back to her.
Addie's firm stance, and mature demeanor become even more visually obvious when we see that the little lady is also a smoker, beyond her years. Like the best of 'em, O'Neal's Addie is a new kind precocious of kid character who knows how to play the game long before it begins.
Tatum handles these scenes with controlled, hard-bitten believability, which not only establishes the set-up to come, but the character's steady foundation which ever so slightly develops.
Quickly picking up on Addie's savvyness, Moze seizes the opportunity to use her for a great advantage which will help them reel in even bigger bucks -- after all -- who couldn't resist the adorable sweetness of this little child's disposition?
Now the real road trip begins -- as the two begin to sell Bible's to widow's who believed their husband's had purchased before passing away -- which leads to some pretty funny comic situations and the reason for the effectiveness is all thanks to O'Neal's Addie. In a sense, O'Neal is giving a performance within a performance both of which rely solely on the actress herself, and she nails both down flat.
Reading Ms. O'Neal's memoir
A Paper Life (a very sad but very interesting read which makes me hate her father all the more) it seems that being a first time actor would be even more of a struggle with all of the adults coaxing what they wanted out of her. It's a famous fact that O'Neal would need numerous takes before landing it perfectly, much to the distress of the grown ups around her, and her work is often dismissed as ridged, phoned in stuff because or that.
But what I have come to notice more and more in the performance is how, even though Bagdonavich is coaching her through it, Tatum seems to be constantly improving and transcending on his suggestions throughout instead of just following directly what he instructs which easily would have resulted in a stiff, mannered outcome. O'Neal not only uses it for the comedic set up, but to show the growing relationship and affection she needs from a father figure like Moze. What's even more impressive is how O'Neal never stays on that one shrilly note, but instead deepens this character beyond a self-infatuated child, while having her father trying to steal the show every single minute from his daughter who's obviously running the show.
Through steady detail, O'Neal crafts a hilarious, nuanced, and multi-facted characterization which projects the character of Addie with uncommon verve and imagination. In fact, the actress' greatest accomplishment in the role derives from her ability to act as a conniving, sneaky, mature player in an adults world, while still never losing sight of the child Addie really is;
the child who maneuvers the world around her because she simply must, the child who cares about those less fortunate, the child who needs more than just a friend, but the loving devotion and protection of a father.
O'Neal conveys all of this with a warm, luminous, subtle poignancy while slowing building the sturdy emotional architecture which remains essential to the real underlying theme. Not that of wacky con tricks, or funny gags, but of the special bond/connection which can form between two people lost at each end of the road who find each other -- and Tatum gets this, which makes everything fall precisely into the right place and have it click.
With what could have been a cutesy "kiddie" performance, O'Neal goes above and beyond in what is already a great role and transcends and broadens the scope of the character in thoughtful, delightful, and imaginative ways. It's why she not only is one of Oscar's best choices ever made, but she made history as the youngest winner ever -- and very deservedly so...
FRITZ - An impossibly hard to judge performance – where does Linda Blair end and Mercedes McCambridge begin, plus the confusion with all the make-up and body doubles. The story makes sure that hers is an interesting role, for sure, but the performance itself is neither interesting nor even challenging. Linda Blair plays her first scenes very naturally and successfully establishes the most important theme of the story – a love between a mother and a daughter. But the truth is that she isn’t given much to do she could screw up and it seems that her co-stars, the editing, the special effects and the make-up do more for Linda Blair’s performance than the actress herself.
TWISTER - A peculiar performance and odd nomination. Blair's work in this legendary role offers the actress almost nothing to work as it's one big, elaborate stunt used solely for narrative purposes -- yet, (when she does get to actually act) Blair, with her radiantly natural appeal, subtly shades the tender, underlying emotional foundation onto which this haunting film is built upon. 
TWISTER - Stuck in a tired retread of a stock role we have seen too many times, Clark's performance might have been able to spin gold from coal had she invested something fresh, new, or surprising into the air-headed Debbie, making the role her own. Sadly, this is all absent form Candy's work; where's the energy, the zest, the idiosyncrasy? Not an instance of shading, humanity, or emotional insight involved with this caricature who could have easily of stood out among the surrounding dullness. An uninspired performance and a silly nomination. 
TWISTER - Kahn is hilarious, delightful, and enduring in a role tailor made for her, but she remarkably doesn't coast on her charisma in the role. Instead, she gives us a humane glimpse into this flaky caricature's private pain, and subtly crafts a inner and outer life for Trixie to convey and entire sad history of mishaps, regrets, and failed dreams. And that saucy line reading? Genius!
FRITZ - How wonderful to see that the true supporting lady of Paper Moon wasn’t forgotten. Madeline Kahn shows how to leave the biggest impression in a thankless part. With the talent of a true comedienne, she found all the possibilities of her role and added so much more to create a character that is hilarious, poignant, pathetic, a woman hungry for life and money who uses all (ALL!) the talents she has to get it. But Madeline Kahn took the stereotypical money-grabber and gave a deep and understanding performance that combines so many emotions at the same time. Who would have thought that a monologue about bone structure could be funny, sad, intelligent and stupid at the same time? A truly scene-stealing and show-stopping turn!
FRITZ - I appreciate it when an actress attacks a throw-away part with an almost aggressive dedication but Sylvia Sydney has lost the battle before she could even begin. In a true supporting role, her visiting mother sets up the action for Joanne Woodward’s Rita and, unlike Candy Clark, makes the viewer want to see more but in the end, Sylvia Sydney isn’t even given enough to do to reach a level of two-dimensionality. She adds some nice touches to her dominant character (like rolling her eyes when she sees the picture of her gay grandson) and her heart attack scenes are frighteningly realistic but neither the character nor the actress has any staying power – once she leaves the pictures, she is immediately forgotten. And in the case of Sylvia Sidney, this happens much too early.
TWISTER - Although the character is written as a hollow plot device, Sidney -- with formidable verve and sharp wit -- elevates this boring role out of the gutter and gives this old harridan some peppy life. She ably nails easily overlooked character tid bits (her sadness, her past regrets, her non-acceptance) to actually make Mrs. Pritchett a much more complete person and to rejuvenate what the script offers her by turning close to nothing into something actually interesting.
