Now we're gettin' a little action, OK!
His Sam Spade in "Falcon" is a great character (THE classic private eye), and not only is that final scene a tour de force between two brilliant actors, but they both build up to that moment in perfect harmony through the whole film. Who would've thought EITHER of these masterfully manipulative, cold-blooded individuals capable of such emotions?
Mary Astor did win the Oscar that year, for another role; she always said she'd wished she won it for "Falcon."
Queeg, yes, another beautifully layered performance: Suave, tough-minded, angry, then he totally panics and shuts down during the typhoon, and that courtrom scene! (as Bogie said, though, the primary thing wrong with the film, it's screwed up with an unnecessary love story).
And Fred C. Dobbs is the one that gets my vote for Second Choice if we can only award Bogie ONE Oscar.
But I'm sticking to my guns: Dixon Steele forced Bogart to pull out all the stops. He's charming, witty, vulnerable, romantic, in love, enraged, obsessed, and potentially deadly (we easily believe he MIGHT have killed the girl).
Who else here has read the original novel by Dorothy B. Hughes? It's quite a different character.