Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 158: Johnny Irish

It's sometimes interesting to see people outside of their comfort zone so when Johns both Wayne and Ford collaborated on The Quiet Man it was somewhat of a shock as they're primarily known for their westerns. Previously on the Oscar Search we've seen them work together on Stagecoach while later films included The Man who Shot Liberty Valace and The Searchers but in The Quiet Man it is much more of a serene affair with Wayne playing a romantic lead. The plot sees Wayne play Sean Thornton a man who was raised in the Irish town and returns ready to purchase his old family farm but raises the ire of local businessman Will Danaher when he outbids him for the property. Sean also becomes besotted with Will's sister Mary Kate and after some traditional yet bizarre courting rituals the two marry however when Will finds out that he has been duped by the pair he refuses to give her all of his dowry. Mary Kate wants her new husband to defend her honour but he keeps claiming that he didn't marry her for her money but thanks to the local town holy men he later learns that traditions mean a lot to the locals. Will challenges Sean to a boxing match however in his old life he was a boxer who quit when he killed an opponent but after getting over his nerves he battles his brother-in-law all over town before they get over their differences and end up in the pub.

The main thing I remember about The Quiet Man is the focus on traditional customs and culture with Wayne as the outsider baffled by some of them as we the audience similarly are. For example in one set piece the men ride horses to collect the Easter bonnets of the women they intend to court while the courting itself is supervised by one of the town elders. If I was someone who didn't know about Ireland and therefore thought this was accurate portrayal then I certainly would think it was a backward place where squabbles are sorted out with boxing matches and all women care about is money. Wayne also feels outside of his comfort zone here and his trademark slowed down speech doesn't suit a film in which everyone else is in high spirits with fast-paced Irish accents. Thankfully co-stars Maureen O'Hara, Barry Fitzgerald and Victor McLaglen are all in high spirits and try to aide Wayne as much as they can. Though the Irish customs are rather outdated the Irish countryside is beautifully shot and the film deserved its Best Cinematography award though I'm not quite sure about Ford winning yet another Best Director prize. The best way to describe The Quiet Man is a quaint romance with an unsure male lead but some stunning camera work that beautifully captures the Irish scenery.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 102: The Soldiers Coming Back and The Women that Wait for Them

So we're back in the saddle, and as it's Oscar Weekend I'm guessing I'm going to have carry over the Oscar challenge for another year as at the moment we're still straddling around in the 1940s.

First up is The Long Voyage Home, a nominee from 1941, which looks at a group of men journeying back from service in the West Indies firstly to Baltimore and then to England. This is very much a film about men trapped in an enclosed space as one-by-one they become increasingly suspicious that the Englishman Smitty is actually a German spy. When they finally confront him and torture him it turns out that he is no more than a recovering alcoholic who has run away from his family and is concealing his true identity because he is ashamed. The scene in which he breaks down is made even more poignant when Smitty is killed shortly after by a German plane making all the other men decide not to sign up for another tour of service on the ship and instead decide to help the mild-mannered Ole return home to Sweden. However, in the final part of the film, Ole is drugged and kidnapped and forced onto another ship so his shipmates help him escape but in the confusion the ship sets sail with one of their number, their sort of leader the Irish Driscoll, on board and they soon hear that the ship was blown up by a German torpedo with all the men still on board. The film has a sort of a happy ending as Ole does return to Sweden but the rest of the men decide to travel on and return to the ship. I did enjoy this film, for the most part, especially the scenes in which the men are trying to occupy themselves on the voyage home. I loved Ian Hunter as the tragic Smitty and Thomas Mitchell as Driscoll who at times seemed like the only reasonable person on the ship. But the actor in the cast who surprised me most was John Wayne, so much so that at the start of the film I didn't even realise it was him. Wayne's Ole is completely different from most of the other parts he plays, he is understated, softly-spoken and feels very much like a real character. The film sort of falls down in the final third with the stupid stuff involving the drugging and Driscoll's death but other than that a solid film and a worthy nominee.

So while the men are journeying home what are the women up to? Well the answers to that are found in a nominee from the 1945 ceremony - Since You Went Away. The film has a mightily impressive ensemble cast headed up by Claudette Colbert, in what many consider her final great role. Colbert almost didn't take the part as a wife and mother waiting to hear news of her husband in the war, as she didn't think she was old enough to play the mother of two teenage girls. The story concerns the Hilton family and specifically Anne and her two daughters - Jane and Brig played respectively by Jennifer Jones and Shirley Temple trying to cope during 1943. The Hiltons are short on money so take in the long-in-the-tooth former serviceman Colonel Smogget, in order to keep up with the rent. Smogget's grandson Bill comes to visit him to tell him he's joined the army, however Smogget isn't really interested but Bill does end up falling in love with Jane and the two begin a relationship which is cut short by Bill's tragic death. The other story concerns Anne herself who is faithful to her husband despite being wooed by long time friend Tony, she also has to consider he place in the war effort and what she is actually doing to help after being apalled by comments made by her snooty friend Emily. Since You Went Away was one of the famous 'women's pictures' of the 1940s and was absolutely tremendous making what could've been just a romantic drama and turning into a film about family, friendship, belonging and finding your place. Colbert was denied the Best Actress Oscar as it went to Ingrid Bergman in Gaslight but she is fantastic here as are everyone in the cast which, as well as the three main actress, includes Joseph Cotten, Monty Woolley, Agnes Moorhead, Lionel Barrymore and Hattie McDaniel. Although many will be unfamiliar with the film itself, the scene in which Jane chases after Bill's train has been spoofed in many films most famously in Airplane. Overall another film that deserved all the praise it got but another film that was left out in the cold so the completely average Going My Way could scoop all of that year's prizes.

Okay so we're back on the road again, more to follow.

Big Oscar Challenge Day 93-94: Catch-Up Part 4

The 1940s Oscar contenders didn't tend to be light-hearted and as well as Chaplin's masterpiece there are only two other pieces that are fairly easy-going. The first is the first winner of the Best Picture Oscar when the field thinned back to five nominees at the 1945 ceremony. Going My Way was a sort of comic musical and featured Oscar winning turns from both Bing Crosby as a young priest and Barry Fitzgerald as the older priest who Crosby has come to take over from. The film is an easy-going film about Crosby's Father O'Malley's efforts to improve the parish by getting all the boys together into a choir as well as mentoring a young woman who also surprisingly has a lovely voice. As the film stars Crosby there is plenty of singing and also plenty of life lessons learnt. Crosby is a fine, jovial lead but it is Fitzgerald as the older priest who seems to have more to do as he realises that he isn't as relevant as he once was. Going My Way was a triumph winning a total of seven Oscars including one for its director Leo McCarey.

The other comedy film is The Philadelphia Story a nominee from the 1941 awards it stars Katherine Hepburn alongside Cary Grant as her ex-husband and James Stewart as the reporter come to cover the story of her relationship. I know The Philadelphia Story much better in its musical version of High Society and had never seen the original version which I quite enjoyed thanks in part to Cary Grant however this was the film that James Stewart won his Oscar for despite him putting in much better turns in Mr Smith Goes to Washington and It's A Wonderful Life. But The Philadelphia Story was an enjoyable enough fare but it never really bothered Rebecca as a serious contender for Best Picture.