Two Movie Categories, but Which is the Important One?

By Nicholas Stix

Mexicans/Hispanics, or Strother Martin in movies?

At a Steve Sailer blog essay on “Plaques for Blacks at the Golden Globe Awards,” someone brought up Mexicans/Hispanics in Movies.


Anonymous[399] • Disclaimer says:
December 6, 2018 at 11:53 pm GMT • 100 Words
Let’s see, so 3/5 films are about blacks, and 1 of the 5 is about a homosexual Parsi. So basically, the film industry considers blacks about 10,000,000 times more interesting than Mexicans/Hispanics more broadly, even though there are already about as many Hispanics as blacks in the US and the numerical balance will be overwhelmingly tilted in favor of the former by 2050 or so.

Steve Sailer says: • Website
December 7, 2018 at 8:41 am GMT
@Hail
Treasure of the Sierra Madre?

There were a fair number of Mexican characters in old time westerns, although Westerns didn’t get Best Picture nominations that’s often.


hhsiii says:
December 7, 2018 at 10:58 am GMT • 200 Words
@Steve Sailer

High Noon. It was nominated for Best Picture and Katy Jurado won the Golden Globe as Best Supporting Actress playing Helen Ramirez. She was Mexican.

But yeah, Westerns often didn’t even get nominated. My Darling Clementine got shutout. And there the Mexican love interest, Chihuahua, is played by Linda Darnell.

Viva Zapata. Quinn won an Oscar.

The Searchers has Antonio Moreno as Emilio Figueroa. No nominations.

They go to where, Bolivia in Butch Cassidy? Where they meet…Strother Martin.

The Wild Bunch.

The Good The Bad etc. Eli Wallach. No nominations.

Buster Scruggs shoots up a cantina. That’ll likely get a nomination or two, maybe one for Zoe Kazan. Not for the Mexicans.

Charlton Heston plays a Mexican in Touch of Evil. Akim Tamiroff too. Tamiroff could play every ethnicity except black or wasp. I’m not sure if Marlene Dietrich is supposed to be a Mexican madame.



Nicholas Stix says: • Website
December 13, 2018 at 9:42 am GMT • 200 Words
@hhsiii

A much stronger category is “Movies Featuring Strother Martin.”

The Asphalt Jungle (1950) was up for four Oscars, though not for Best Picture. A Star is Born (1954) was up for six Academy Awards, though not for Best Picture, and won none. Cool Hand Luke (1967) was up for four Oscars, and won one, though it was not up for Best Picture. The Champ (1979) was up for one Oscar, though also not for Best Picture.

1969 was The Year of Strother, as:

• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid won four Oscars and was up for seven, including Best Picture;

• The Wild Bunch was up for two Oscars, though not for Best Picture, even though it was by far the best; and

• True Grit was up for two Oscars (but not Best Picture), and finally won John Wayne his Best Actor Oscar.

Clearly all of the foregoing seven pictures’ success was thanks to that Martin magic.