Smackdown

The category is Best Actor and the year is 1958. It was a very strong year, not the best ever, but it was a very interesting one.
And the nominees were:
• Tony Curtis in The Defiant Ones
• David Niven in Separate Tables *
• Paul Newman in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
• Sidney Poitier in The Defiant Ones
• Spencer Tracy in The Old Man and the Sea

And my ranking is:
1. Sidney Poitier in The Defiant Ones: Oh Poitier is one of my favorite actors ever. I love the honesty in his performances. He's always really subtle and I couldn't imagine him yelling. In The Defiant Ones he gives an emotional and moving performance as a black man who has to get along with another (white) convict. His role is less flashy than the one of Curtis, but it certainly got me.
2. David Niven in Separate Tables: He's great, well he's David Niven. This guy was a genious and the only reason why I prefer Poitier is because Niven is almost supporting. Apart from that, he's just fascinating as the Major. He gave a very strong and dignified performance, which could seem to be a bit dated, but IMO it's flawless.
3. Paul Newman in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof: I am a big fan of Newman, but I was never able to like this performance, I think he had better movies (I think his best performance ever was in The Verdict). However, I can appreciate it, because he's charismatic, but I think Liz Taylor stole the show from him sometimes. But Newman's confrontation scene with Burl Ives was simply breathtaking.
4. Tony Curtis in The Defiant Ones: I prefer Poitier, but Curtis was also excellent in The Defiant Ones which is a bit more about Curtis than Poitier. Yet I believe Poitier has the better role. Curtis is very good though with the material he was given but he was not very memorable. He was really worthy of that nomination though.
5. Spencer Tracy in The Old Man and The Sea: I like Tracy but not in this movie. I had extremely high expectations and he wasn't good enough. I felt as if he reprised his role from Captains Courgaeous, except that he was a bit older. But he is able to carry this movie on his shoulders, which was awful in itself and it would have been even worse if it wasn't for Tracy.

What's your opinion?