Take two: Did Oscar make it? We’re rewriting history with our alternative acting picks throughout the Academy’s 95 years

Editor’s note: Deadline presents the 52nd episode of its video series Second try, in which Pete Hammond and Todd McCarthy explore the artistry of movies that hit theaters every weekend. Each of them has spent decades reviewing and writing about the craft, and has built up a remarkably broad knowledge of films past and present. When we asked them, we were hoping for a concise, mature and thoughtful conversation similar to what we saw from Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel.

Second try will continue to take home the Oscars in the coming weeks as we look back at the history of the Oscars, point out where the academy may not have gotten it right, make our predictions for this year, and then recap how the big show turned out is.

We’re featuring a few this week variable Oscar winners over the years, Best Actor and Best Actress nominees representing the Academy not but in hindsight we think 20/20 would have been a better choice or, as in the case of stars like Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, Elizabeth Taylor or James Stewart, who we think may have won for the wrong role in many cases , perhaps as a catch-up prize after a loss for a more credible performance.

We examine some of the reasons why actors win in a given year, even though historically it seems Oscar just hasn’t done well, something about “standing the test of time.” Of course, each Oscar year is just a snapshot, not a lifetime award, but an award for that particular role, and it’s not always fair, as you can see from the names of those who have never won an Oscar did not win. Oscar contenders – Cary Grant, Peter O’Toole, Barbara Stanwyck, Deborah Kerr – and those still trying, like Glenn Close, with eight nominations and eight losses so far. You may agree or have your own ideas, but that’s what makes it so much fun. This is a lively conversation.

Click above to see our discussion. And join us next week as we make our 100% correct predictions about who will take home Oscar gold on March 12th.

Hammond has been a columnist for Deadline’s Awards for the past decade, covering the Oscar and Emmy seasons year-round. He is also Deadline’s chief film critic, having previously reviewed films for MovieLine, box office Magazine, BackstageHollywood.com and maximumHow Film Guide by Leonard Maltin, for which he was an editor. In addition to writing, Hammond also hosts the KCET Cinema Series and the network’s weekly series Must see movies.

McCarthy is a veteran film critic, columnist and reporter who has also written several award-winning books and documentaries. He served two terms on staff diversity And The Hollywood Reporter and internationally acclaimed film festivals for both publications. his video Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography won the best documentary award from the New York Film Critics and the National Society of Film Critics Associations, and he won an Emmy for writing the documentary Preston Sturges: The Rise and Fall of an American Dreamer. He also directed the documentaries Filmmaker: Pierre Rissient And Forever Hollywood.