

And the Runner-Up Is
Kevin Jacobsen
"And the Runner-Up Is" is the Oscar history podcast that highlights past races at the Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actress. Host Kevin Jacobsen and special guests break down why winners won, why losers lost, and which films and contenders were the likely runners-up, falling just short of taking home the gold.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 15, 2021 • 2h 1min
1939 Best Actress (feat. Louis Virtel)
This week on the season finale of And the Runner-Up Is, Kevin welcomes Keep It cohost Louis Virtel to discuss the 1939 Oscar race for Best Actress, where Vivien Leigh won for her performance in "Gone with the Wind," beating Bette Davis in "Dark Victory," Irene Dunne in "Love Affair," Greta Garbo in "Ninotchka," and Greer Garson in "Goodbye, Mr. Chips." We discuss all of these nominated performances and determine who we think was the runner-up to Leigh. 0:00 - 9:41 - Introduction 9:42 - 24:19 - Bette Davis 24:20 - 38:44 - Irene Dunne 38:45 - 53:28 - Greta Garbo 53:29 - 1:08:39 - Greer Garson 1:08:44 - 1:31:11 - Vivien Leigh 1:32:12 - 1:54:17 - Why Vivien Leigh won / Twitter questions 1:54:18 - 2:00:40 - Who was the runner-up? Support And the Runner-Up Is on Patreon at patreon.com/andtherunnerupis! Follow Kevin Jacobsen on Twitter Follow Louis Virtel on Twitter Follow And the Runner-Up Is on Twitter and Instagram Theme/End Music: "Diamonds" by Iouri Sazonov Additional Music: "Storming Cinema Ident" by Edward Blakeley Artwork: Brian O'Meara

Dec 8, 2021 • 2h 15min
1938 Best Actress (feat. Dashiell M. Silva)
This week on And the Runner-Up Is, Kevin welcomes Dashiell M. Silva to discuss the 1938 Oscar race for Best Actress, where Bette Davis won for her performance in "Jezebel," beating Fay Bainter in "White Banners," Wendy Hiller in "Pygmalion," Norma Shearer in "Marie Antoinette," and Margaret Sullavan in "Three Comrades." We discuss all of these nominated performances and determine who we think was the runner-up to Davis. 0:00 - 9:26 - Introduction 9:27 - 25:41 - Fay Bainter 25:42 - 47:48 - Wendy Hiller 51:14 - 1:10:25 - Norma Shearer 1:10:26 - 1:25:15 - Margaret Sullavan 1:25:20 - 1:43:11 - Bette Davis 1:43:12 - 2:08:28 - Why Bette Davis won / Twitter questions 2:08:29 - 2:15:00 - Who was the runner-up? Support And the Runner-Up Is on Patreon at patreon.com/andtherunnerupis! Follow Kevin Jacobsen on Twitter Follow Dashiell M. Silva on Twitter Follow And the Runner-Up Is on Twitter and Instagram Theme/End Music: "Diamonds" by Iouri Sazonov Additional Music: "Storming Cinema Ident" by Edward Blakeley Artwork: Brian O'Meara

Dec 1, 2021 • 2h 14min
1937 Best Actress (feat. Sophia Ciminello)
This week on And the Runner-Up Is, Kevin welcomes Sophia Ciminello from the Oscar Wild podcast to discuss the 1937 Oscar race for Best Actress, where Luise Rainer won for her performance in "The Good Earth," beating Irene Dunne in "The Awful Truth," Greta Garbo in "Camille," Janet Gaynor in "A Star Is Born," and Barbara Stanwyck in "Stella Dallas." We discuss all of these nominated performances and determine who we think was the runner-up to Rainer. 0:00 - 9:55 - Introduction 9:56 - 31:04 - Irene Dunne 31:05 - 51:13 - Greta Garbo 51:14 - 1:08:09 - Janet Gaynor 1:08:10 - 1:24:10 - Barbara Stanwyck 1:24:11 - 1:41:36 - Luise Rainer 1:41:37 - 2:07:45 - Why Luise Rainer won / Twitter questions 2:07:46 - 2:14:05 - Who was the runner-up? Support And the Runner-Up Is on Patreon at patreon.com/andtherunnerupis! Follow Kevin Jacobsen on Twitter Follow Sophia Ciminello on Twitter Follow And the Runner-Up Is on Twitter and Instagram Theme/End Music: "Diamonds" by Iouri Sazonov Additional Music: "Storming Cinema Ident" by Edward Blakeley Artwork: Brian O'Meara

Nov 24, 2021 • 24min
On Second Thought: The Emigrants (1972)
Listen to this PREVIEW of the 46th episode of On Second Thought, a special bonus series you can hear on the And the Runner-Up Is Patreon exclusive feed! On Second Thought is a series in which Kevin is joined by TWO special guests in breaking down another Best Picture nominee not reviewed on the regular show that could have still been the runner-up. In this episode, Kevin speaks with Juan Carlos Ojano and Fritz about Jan Troell's "The Emigrants," the possible runner-up that lost Best Picture to "The Godfather" in 1972. This episode includes a review of the film itself, its awards run, and another fun quiz! You can listen to the full episode of On Second Thought by going to patreon.com/andtherunnerupis and contributing at the $3 per month tier. Follow Kevin Jacobsen on Twitter: @Kevin_Jacobsen Follow Juan Carlos Ojano on Twitter: @carlosojano Follow Fritz on Twitter: @FritzandOscars Follow And the Runner-Up Is on Twitter: @OscarRunnerUp

Nov 17, 2021 • 1h 42min
1936 Best Actress (feat. Izzy from Be Kind Rewind)
This week on And the Runner-Up Is, Kevin welcomes Izzy from the Be Kind Rewind YouTube channel to discuss the 1936 Oscar race for Best Actress, where Luise Rainer won for her performance in "The Great Ziegfeld," beating Irene Dunne in "Theodora Goes Wild," Gladys George in "Valiant Is the Word for Carrie," Carole Lombard in "My Man Godfrey," and Norma Shearer in "Romeo and Juliet." We discuss all of these performances and discuss why the confirmed runner-up was the runner-up. 0:00 - 7:35 - Introduction 7:36 - 23:13 - Irene Dunne 23:14 - 36:59 - Gladys George 37:00 - 54:04 - Carole Lombard 54:05 - 1:06:53 - Norma Shearer 1:06:54 - 1:18:39 - Luise Rainer 1:18:40 - 1:36:17 - Why Luise Rainer won / Twitter questions 1:36:18 - 1:42:24 - Why was ____ the runner-up? Support And the Runner-Up Is on Patreon at patreon.com/andtherunnerupis! Follow Kevin Jacobsen on Twitter Follow Izzy on Twitter Follow And the Runner-Up Is on Twitter and Instagram Theme/End Music: "Diamonds" by Iouri Sazonov Additional Music: "Storming Cinema Ident" by Edward Blakeley Artwork: Brian O'Meara

Nov 10, 2021 • 1h 59min
1935 Best Actress (feat. Manish Mathur)
This week on And the Runner-Up Is, Kevin welcomes Manish Mathur of It Pod to be You and Queer and Now to discuss the 1935 Oscar race for Best Actress, where Bette Davis won for her performance in "Dangerous," beating Elisabeth Bergner in "Escape Me Never," Claudette Colbert in "Private Worlds," Katharine Hepburn in "Alice Adams," Miriam Hopkins in "Becky Sharp," and Merle Oberon in "The Dark Angel." We discuss all of these performances and discuss why the confirmed runner-up was the runner-up. 0:00 - 14:43 - Introduction 14:44 - 30:04 - Elisabeth Bergner 30:05 - 43:18 - Claudette Colbert 43:18 - 1:00:43 - Katharine Hepburn 1:00:44 - 1:12:57 - Miriam Hopkins 1:12:58 - 1:26:10 - Merle Oberon 1:26:11 - 1:37:04 - Bette Davis 1:37:05 - 1:51:44 - Why Bette Davis won / Twitter questions 1:51:45 - 1:58:54 - Why was ____ the runner-up? Support And the Runner-Up Is on Patreon at patreon.com/andtherunnerupis! Follow Kevin Jacobsen on Twitter Follow Manish Mathur on Twitter Follow And the Runner-Up Is on Twitter and Instagram Theme/End Music: "Diamonds" by Iouri Sazonov Additional Music: "Storming Cinema Ident" by Edward Blakeley Artwork: Brian O'Meara

Nov 3, 2021 • 1h 59min
1934 Best Actress (feat. Kimberly Pierce)
This week on And the Runner-Up Is, Kevin welcomes Kimberly Pierce of Ticklish Business to discuss the 1934 Oscar race for Best Actress, where Claudette Colbert won for her performance in "It Happened One Night," beating Grace Moore in "One Night of Love" and Norma Shearer in "The Barretts of Wimpole Street," plus write-in candidate Bette Davis in "Of Human Bondage." We discuss all of these performances and discuss why the confirmed runner-up was the runner-up. 0:00 - 8:37 - Introduction 8:38 - 23:05 - Grace Moore 23:06 - 43:09 - Norma Shearer 43:10 - 1:04:00 - Bette Davis 1:04:01 - 1:21:30 - Claudette Colbert 1:21:31 - 1:53:25 - Why Claudette Colbert won / Twitter questions 1:53:26 - 1:59:29 - Why was ____ the runner-up? Support And the Runner-Up Is on Patreon at patreon.com/andtherunnerupis! Follow Kevin Jacobsen on Twitter Follow Kimberly Pierce on Twitter Follow And the Runner-Up Is on Twitter and Instagram Theme/End Music: "Diamonds" by Iouri Sazonov Additional Music: "Storming Cinema Ident" by Edward Blakeley Artwork: Brian O'Meara

Oct 27, 2021 • 22min
On Second Thought: American Graffiti (1973)
Listen to this PREVIEW of the 45th episode of On Second Thought, a special bonus series you can hear on the And the Runner-Up Is Patreon exclusive feed! On Second Thought is a series in which Kevin is joined by TWO special guests in breaking down another Best Picture nominee not reviewed on the regular show that could have still been the runner-up. In this episode, Kevin speaks with Charlie Bright and Lauren LaMagna about George Lucas's "American Graffiti," the possible runner-up that lost Best Picture to "The Sting" in 1973. This episode includes a review of the film itself, its awards run, and another fun quiz! You can listen to the full episode of On Second Thought by going to patreon.com/andtherunnerupis and contributing at the $3 per month tier. Follow Kevin Jacobsen on Twitter: @Kevin_Jacobsen Follow Charlie Bright on Twitter: @charlesbright Follow Lauren LaMagna on Twitter: @laurenlamango Follow And the Runner-Up Is on Twitter: @OscarRunnerUp Music featured in this episode: "Rock Around the Clock" - Bill Haley & His Comets

Oct 20, 2021 • 1h 43min
1932-33 Best Actress (feat. Cláudio Alves)
This week on And the Runner-Up Is, Kevin welcomes Cláudio Alves of The Film Experience to discuss the 1932-33 Oscar race for Best Actress, where Katharine Hepburn won for her performance in "Morning Glory," beating May Robson in "Lady for a Day" and Diana Wynyard in "Cavalcade." We discuss all of these nominated performances and discuss why the confirmed runner-up was the runner-up. 0:00 - 8:56 - Introduction 8:57 - 28:35 - May Robson 28:36 - 49:54 - Diana Wynyard 49:55 - 1:04:59 - Katharine Hepburn 1:05:00 - 1:35:06 - Why Katharine Hepburn won / Twitter questions 1:35:07 - 1:42:42 - Why was ____ the runner-up? Support And the Runner-Up Is on Patreon at patreon.com/andtherunnerupis! Follow Kevin Jacobsen on Twitter Follow Cláudio Alves on Twitter Follow And the Runner-Up Is on Twitter and Instagram Theme/End Music: "Diamonds" by Iouri Sazonov Additional Music: "Storming Cinema Ident" by Edward Blakeley Artwork: Brian O'Meara

Oct 13, 2021 • 1h 23min
1931-32 Best Actress (feat. Samantha Ellis)
This week on And the Runner-Up Is, Kevin welcomes Samantha Ellis of Ticklish Business and Classic Movie Hub to discuss the 1931-32 Oscar race for Best Actress, where Helen Hayes won for her performance in "The Sin of Madelon Claudet," beating Marie Dressler in "Emma" and Lynn Fontanne in "The Guardsman." We discuss all of these nominated performances and determine who we think was the runner-up to Hayes. 0:00 - 11:55 - Introduction 11:56 - 30:00 - Marie Dressler 30:01 - 45:00 - Lynn Fontanne 45:01 - 1:00:45 - Helen Hayes 1:00:46 - 1:13:02 - Why Helen Hayes won / Twitter questions 1:13:03 - 1:22:47 - Who was the runner-up? Support And the Runner-Up Is on Patreon at patreon.com/andtherunnerupis! Follow Kevin Jacobsen on Twitter Follow Samantha Ellis on Twitter Follow And the Runner-Up Is on Twitter and Instagram Theme/End Music: "Diamonds" by Iouri Sazonov Additional Music: "Storming Cinema Ident" by Edward Blakeley Artwork: Brian O'Meara


