Yurka threw herself into the part – quite literally . Her final fight scene with Edna May Oliver ( who was only four years older than Yurka ) showed the two actresses tumbling over tables and over the floor , offering a hint of Yurka 's onstage physicality . Although not nominated for a best supporting actress Academy Award ( the supporting categories were n't established until the following year ) , her character portrayal was a model of a sinister screen villain . In close-up , she flashed a look of steely malevolence ; in her speech to the revolutionary tribunal – asking for the conviction and execution of Charles Darnay – she played it large and to the rafters . The film was only nominated in the Best Film and Best Editing categories , not even its star , Ronald Colman getting an Oscar nod
Academy Award
9th Academy Awards
Blanche Yurka