Honestly, I’m not exactly sure why Ralph Bellamy was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. His performance was adequate and passable, at best. At worst, he was a little one-note, and not at all dynamic. As far as I could tell, he didn’t do anything or put anything into his performance that made him stand out. He had only one or two facial expressions, which he used nearly every time he was on the screen. And it wasn’t all the actor’s fault. The part just wasn’t written to be that memorable.
In other words, Bellamy did his job, but the job just wasn’t anything special, certainly nothing that was worthy of an Oscar nod. But he did have one thing going for him. He really had the right look for the part. The character of Dan Leeson was supposed to be good natured and eager, a little like a doe-eyed puppy. But the film was a romantic comedy, and his scenes were neither romantic, nor comedic.
Dan Leeson was a wealthy cattle rancher who was spending time in the big city with his mother. He is introduced to Mrs. Warriner, and within a few days, he is in love, but when he eventually learns that she still loves her ex-husband, he leaves in the most civilized and curious way, making some kind of comment like, “I guess it’s true what they say. A man’s best friend is his mother.”
And the character was written as a bit of a social moron. This is really brought to life when he forces Mrs. Warriner to dance, even after she attempts to decline. Then, when Mr. Warriner pays the band to play the fast dance song a second time, he is enjoying himself so much that he pulls the reluctant Lucy back out to the floor for another go. And that’s Dan Leeson, in a nutshell.
It’s too bad that Ralph Bellamy was given a role that was so dull and lifeless, but he played the part exactly as it was written. Unfortunately, it was just not a very memorable or dynamic part. I think his mildly affable country-boy personality was supposed to be charming, but it just wasn’t. The problem is, I don’t know how the character could have been fixed. Could another actor have done any better?