A historical look at our favorite men's Oscar fashion moments ... from
wonderful to wacky
By Kathleen Murphy
Special to MSN Movies
I COULDA BEEN A CONTENDER! Marlon Brando, 27th Annual Academy Awards, 1955
During
the '50s, perhaps his most productive acting period, Brando owned
every movie he
starred in, muscling out all competition. His Stanley Kowalski practically stank
of thwarted machismo in "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951, Oscar nom), his
torn-T-shirt sexuality driving fragile Blanche Dubois over the edge. From
passionate Mexican revolutionary ("Viva Zapata!", 1952, Oscar nom) to iconographic
biker rebel ("The Wild One," 1953) to noble Roman senator ("Julius Caesar," 1953, Oscar nom), Brando worked the magic of
his suggestive drawl, physical authority and dramatic smarts to stun audiences
into awed submission. Both Frank Sinatra and Montgomery Clift were up for the part of Terry
Malloy in "On the Waterfront" (1954), until Brando was finally
persuaded to sign on, giving the character of the doomed stevedore persuasive
visual and dramatic heft. Out of T-shirt and biker leather for once, the buff
Method actor displayed surprising sartorial splendor as he received -- with
unabashed delight -- his first Oscar. (Bettmann/Corbis)
Also: Oscar's Glamorous Gals
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