Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 367-369: Days of Future Past Part Three

Sorry for those who are feeling a bit disorientated by the jumps in time but I'm back in the earlier days of the Academy Awards for three more films that I couldn't locate back when I covered the 1930s and 1940s.

We kick off with Alexander's Ragtime Band; a sideways look at the world of jazz and swing music directed by Henry King and co-written by Irving Berlin. As one would expect, the titular song by Berlin features quite heavily throughout the film and in fact the movie begins with a performance of it. Our central character is conductor Roger Grant who, by a coincidence, leads a performance of the song after he finds the music for it dropped by singer Stella Kirby. Roger is soon given the name of Alexander and tours with Stella even though each find the other hard work. Rather predictably they begin to fall for each other but she eventually gets signed to a record contract whilst the rest of the lads are forced to enrol in the army due to the start of World War I. Initially I believed that this film would be nothing more than another light-hearted musical like The Broadway Melody of 1936. However, it morphed into something a little darker as both Stella and Alexander fall in and out of the spotlight until the final performance of the hit at Carnegie Hall. Some of Berlin's most famous songs; including Heat Wave and Easter Parade, are included in the soundtrack and make for an incredibly enjoyable musical. In their roles of Alexander and Stella; Tyrone Power and Alice Faye both shine although I did find the supporting players didn't get much time in the spotlight. The ending was also a little disjointed as it appeared as if Berlin and his co-writers couldn't really devise a good way for Alexander and Stella to reunite. But despite this I felt the film wasn't as flimsy as it could've been and had a great soundtrack that got you through the movie's duller moments.

Moving on a year we find Greta Garbo in only one of the two films she starred in to be nominated for an Oscar, that being Ninotchka. As the majority of my knowledge of classic film stars is via this journey I'm not really aware of Garbo's back catalogue although she did have an incredibly powerful aura in Grand Hotel. Ninotchka was Garbo's penultimate film and was the first broad comedy film in which she starred hence the tagline 'Garbo Laughs.' I was particularly surprised how much the film made me laugh as well as it mocked the Soviet Union's rigid society and the way in which four of its patrons are corrupted when they arrive in Paris. Ninotchka's plot is wafer-thin as it involves the sale of jewellery which had been confiscated during the Russian Revolution and whose owner now wanted it back. Representing the Grand Duchess Swana is Melvin Douglas' Count Leon; a dashing cad who is able to corrupt the three Soviets who arrive in Paris to complete the sale. Garbo's Ninotchka then arrives on the scene; a beret-clad Soviet agent whose job is to complete the sale. I found Garbo to be utterly hilarious in her role as the strait-laced Soviet who is gradually won over by the smooth-talking count. Ernst Lubitsch's direction perfectly anchors the humour whilst the script is packed full of laugh-out-loud one-liners. At just under two hours, Ninotchka is perfectly paced as our two characters come together before being torn apart due to blackmail. The final scene is beautifully played and one more gag is included in the closing shot which I for one appreciated. But ultimately the success of Ninotchka comes down to the brilliant chemistry between Garbo and Douglas both of whom contribute to making this a thoroughly enjoyable satirical screwball comedy.

Entering the 1940s we find Sergeant York which is most famous in Academy Awards history for Gary Cooper's Best Actor win in a field that also included Orson Welles' powerful turn in Citizen Kane. Before going into Sergeant York I believed it to be a war film which chronicled the wartime exploits of Alvin York who won the Medal of Honour. Whilst there are war scenes towards the end of the film the majority of the picture is concerned with York's journey from ne'er-do-well to God-loving pacifist. Indeed, American's participation in World War One isn't even touched upon until the second half of the film and by that point I'd got a little bit bored if truth be told. York's Tennessee townsfolk were all a little bit backward and used phrases such as 'cash money' to resemble how simple they were. Meanwhile, I found Cooper's performance to be a little underwhelming and nowhere near as good as his turn as the steadfast sheriff in High Noon. There were some highlights amongst the cast namely the pretty Joan Leslie as the girl who made York change his way and Margaret Wycherly as his long-suffering mother. I feel my main gripe with Sergeant York though is its sense of American patriotism and the idea that God wanted an American to fight in the trenches in order to win the war. I think if I were a God-loving American I may feel differently about Sergeant York but overall I was a little bit bored during a film that run just over two hours. As well as winning two Oscars; Sergeant York was the highest-grossing film of 1941 and I have to say I'm not surprised as the Americans would've lapped up this patriotic nonsense during World War II. But, over seventy years later, Sergeant York is one of those films that feels awfully outdated.

Next time we return to the 21st Century where we focus on two films starring a hearthrob turned serious actor.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 358-360: Days of Future Past Part One

Since I started this quest four years ago, a lot of the older movies that I once hadn't been able to track down have since popped up online. So I thought, before I left the twentieth century entirely behind, I'd look back at some of these offerings from prior decades.

I started with Smilin' Through a film nominated at the sixth Oscar ceremony back in 1934. Upon first watching it I'd forgotten just how basic some of these films from the 1930s were and it was evident that the actors were still struggling to deal with the cameras. Based on the play by Jane Cowl and Jane Murfin; Smilin' Through was the story of Leslie Howard's John Carteret who learnt to love again after adopting his young niece. John had been heartbroken after the death of his wife, at the hands of her jealous former lover, and had sunk into a deep depression. Raising Kathleen, John finds a new purpose but oddly doesn't seem perturbed by the fact that she looks exactly like his late love due to the fact both are played by Norma Shearer. The rest of the film deals with Kathleen's feelings towards Kenneth Wayne, the son of the man who killed her uncle's love and John's refusal to accept their romance. Despite Kenneth being played by the brilliant Frederic March, I still didn't feel much sympathy for the character when he was injured during the first world war. I think part of the reason for this is that I didn't buy into the romance between Kenneth and Kathleen primarily due to the lack of chemistry between March and Shearer. Furthermore I've never been a massive fan of Leslie Howard's acting and found he struggled with the filmic setting the most. Of the three key players I found that Shearer was the most engaging as she shone in the scene in which she had to perform the film's titular tune. The film is at its strongest in the flashback scenes which add some context to John's feelings and the love he had for Moonyeen. But for a lot of the times the film was confined to characters speaking in rooms and so it felt like director Sidney Franklin had simply recorded a version of the original play. Smilin' Through was a film I really wanted to like more, and it was an easy watch, but unfortunately it felt quite stagy and too melodramatic for my liking.

Nominated for Best Picture that same year, State Fair is an adaptation of Philip Strong's novel and is directed by Henry King. Many of you will know State Fair better as a Rogers and Hammerstein musical, which itself had two film adaptations, but this version predates both of those. Following the exploits of the Frake family, State Fair basically does what it says on the tin as we see the clan prepare for the titular event. The film features moments of big drama such as when Ma Frake over-brandies her mincemeat or when her husband uses her hairbrush to beautify his prize pig. The main draw for the majority of the audience would be the film's central romance between Janet Gaynor's naive Margy and Lew Ayres' newspaper reporter Pat Gilbert. Their whirlwind fling that begins on a rollercoaster is certainly the film's most involving plot but one that I felt needed more time devoted to it. It doesn't help that the story about Margy's brother Wayne's relationship with a trapeze artist basically mirrors that essential plot. Controversially Wayne's relationship troubled censors at the time as his seduction at the hands of Emily was strongly hinted at on screen which angered certain moralists. I can certainly see why State Fair later became a musical, because this straight version is a little dry and extremely dull at times. Director King at least attempted to make State Fair visually appealing and the rollercoaster scene was particularly well-executed given the time the film was released. The film certainly did its job in recreating a State Fair as I felt immersed in all of the pickle judging and hoop-tossing that came along with the event. Of the cast, Gaynor gave an incredibly breezy turn as the sweet-natured Margy whilst Will Rogers was perfectly convincing as Frake patriarch Abel. Although State Fair hasn't aged well, it was at least an interesting watch and it was clear to see that King had tried his best to visually recreate the original novel.

Our final film comes from the next year's Oscar ceremony in the form of operatic drama One Night of Love. The film features operatic soprano Grace Moore as Mary, a talented singer who journeys from New York to Italy in order to broaden her musical horizons. Whilst performing in a restaurant, Mary catches the eye of music teacher Guilio Monteverdi who agrees to tutor her as long as she does everything he says. The fact that Guilio insists that none of his pupils ever fall in love with him gives you the sort of idea as to where One Night of Love goes next. However the path of true love never did run smooth and the couple's potential relationship is tested by one of Guilio's ex-students as well as a friend of Mary's from New York who proposes to her. Although the story in One Night of Love is quite basic, the film thrives thanks to its musical scenes and the multiple performances by Grace Moore. The film climaxes with two performances as Mary stars in Carmen in Italy and then returns to New York to star in Madame Butterfly. In addition to her brilliant singing, Moore is an accomplished actress and convinces as the trainee opera diva attempting to make her mark in the world. One Night of Love won three Oscars; all of which were related to its musical score and sound recording. Aside from winning the sound and music awards, One Night of Love won a special achievement Oscar for its revolutionary use of the Vertical Cut Disc Method in order to present the musical sequences on screen. The production design throughout the film is also quite impressive given the time period and I was particularly taken by the fact that the entire Metropolitan Opera House was recreated on Columbia Studio's largest sound stage. Though it never blew me away, One Night of Love was a fun little film which was easy to watch and was ultimately a showcase for the incredibly talented Grace Moore.

I'll return soon with more films from the 1930s.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 163: Up, Up and Away

Another day, another war film however at least this one takes things from the soldiers on foot to those up in the air as we join the men looking to go Twelve o'clock High. Henry King's film centres on the 918th Heavy Bombardment Group known as a 'hard luck group' to most as they often suffer fatalities and very few missions see all the men from this squadron return back safely. A lot of the blame for this can be centred on their commander Keith Davenport who is too personal with his team and has driven himself crazy with worry so those in charge believe that he needs to be replaced. They eventually decide that his replacement should be his friend Frank Savage a more level-headed gent who has been working a desk job up to this point in the war. Savage initially alienates most of the company as he chastises them for not carrying out proper security checks, wearing the wrong uniform and generally having a bad attitude. Just before most of the company are about to ask for transfers he is advised by Major Stovall, played by Dean Jagger who won a Best Supporting Actor award for his role, to try and draft in a young pilot and he does this by bringing in Jesse Bishop. Soon the group warm to Savage but like Davenport he starts to go a bit bonkers as the war begins to be fought more and more in the air and it is the task of those around him to try and keep him sane.

For a film set during the war and about flying squads, 12 o'clock High doesn't half feature a lot of men talking in rooms so much so that if it was made today you would've thought Aaron Sorkin had written in it. Of course all the procedural dialogue is important in order for the audience to know how and why the powers-that-be have chosen Savage as a replacement for Davenport but it drags down the first half an hour or so of the film. The film really starts getting going when Gregory Peck takes the helm and his performance as the initially by-the-book Savage is the greatest strength of Twelve o'clock High. He is ably assisted by Dean Jagger who gives a great performance as the former lawyer Stovall who becomes Savage's greatest ally and indeed is the person who is featured first and last in this film while I'm not sure if this was an Oscar-worthy role it is certainly a memorable one in terms of the film's ensemble cast. The most spectacular scenes are those when we are allowed up in the air with the squadron as they try and take down the superior Luftwaffe. This is also a very patriotic film as we see a German radio station mocking the bad luck squadron and the film ends with a celebration of everything these men fought for only several years prior. So an uneven film which really gets going once Peck emerges as the star and we are able to enjoy some spectacular aerial sequences but one that perhaps relies too much on patriotic feelings to get its point across.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 152: Sidney, Tony, Jenny and Bill

Part two of the catch-up with one film I remember and one that really hasn't stuck with me at all.

The film I can't really remember is  Love is a Many Splendored Thing which stars Jennifer Jones and William Holden. As you can probably imagine from the title this is a romantic drama set in Hong Kong in the 1940s with Jones playing it borderline racist as Han  a Eurasian doctor who falls in love with Holden's reporter Mark  a man who was previously married but is now separated. The two enjoy a love affair which is later tarnished by racial barriers as Han is ostracised by her Chinese community for falling in love with an American which is further complicated by the fact he was previously married. I don't want to give the plot away after that for those of you who may want to watch it but for me this was a predictable melodrama that somehow was nominated for eight awards and stopped classics like To Catch a Thief, Guys and Dolls and Rebel Without a Cause from getting a nomination. The only thing really memorable about this film is its award winning title tune and that's about it both Jones and Holden have been in better films and both should've known better.

Finally a film that I did enjoy with two Oscar nominated Best Actor performances for both Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier in The Defiant Ones. Curtis and Poitier play John and Noah respectively who are two criminals that escape from a chain gang and are stuck with each other despite their mutual loathing. As you could imagine from a film released in the late 1950s race comes into play as John has a hatred of Noah based on the colour of his skin while Noah hates John's prejudice towards him. Though over time they learn a little bit about each other and despite their differences they learn to get along for the hope of actually escaping from their lives as prisoners. The final third of the film sees them happen upon a young boy and his mother a lonely housewife who falls for John and wants to escape with him leaving Noah behind to fend for himself. But by this point in the film the two have formed an unbreakable bond and John has to make his mind up whether to be free or stick with his newfound friend. I really enjoyed The Defiant Ones, which was a film I wasn't familiar with before I watched it, as it is a tense cops and robbers film with the camera also following the police's attempts to apprehend the two escapees. In his first starring role Poitier really goes for it and becomes a star while Curtis is also brilliant in a role which shows off his gritty demeanour. The fact that this lost to the very twee Gigi just shows how wrong Oscar gets a lot of the time but I will now be listing this as one of my favourite films I've watched so far which I'm sure is some consolation to those involved, or perhaps not.