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 45: The Silent War

The final film in the opening Best Picture category is next up. In 1929 at the first ceremony, only three films were nominated - eventual winner Wings, patchy gangster film The Racket and Seventh Heaven, a film about love and war.

As with all of the first these pictures, Seventh Heaven is also a silent film and is directed by Frank Borzage whose movies have shaped my viewing habits over the last few days. The film is set in Paris and is essentially one of two halves, the first half follows the romance between sewer worker Chico and young prostitute Diane who has run away from her violent sister. To save Diane from arrest Chico pretends to be her husband and the two start to fall in love. But in the second half the love story is interrupted by World War One and Chico has to go off and fight leaving Diane alone and waiting for updates from Chico's fellow soldiers starts to get depressed. The end of the film sees Diane believe Chico has died in the war and she is about to commit suicide when he returns just as the war is won. Although he is not dead, Chico has been blinded but he and Diane agree to stick together once and for all now he is back and free.

For a film from the early days of cinema, Seventh Heaven is technically impressive. I found the scenes depicting World War One a lot better than some of the amateurish ones in the first Best Picture Winner - Wings. Gaynor and Farrell was also fairly moving in their roles, Gaynor especially was able to display emotion easily and I she gave as a fully-rounded performance and was rewarded with a Best Actress award, Borzage also won best director and the film picked up the prize for adapted screenplay. However I believe that Wings was ultimately the best film to win, I found Seventh Heaven somewhat disjointed and a bit dull in parts, while it was better than The Racket I think that it didn't make enough of the filmic techniques available to it to create a truly memorable picture. Saying that it still more than deserves its place on the list of the first three films nominated for Best Picture.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 39: Wishing on a Star

Obviously I was aware of A Star is Born, but have never seen the two well-known version starring Judy Garland and Barbara Streisand respectively. However I didn't know the format pre-dated Garland and the first version starred Janet Gaynor as the up-and-coming starlet and Frederic March as the leading man who helps her on her way. The film is also historic in its use of Technicolor and won a special Oscar for its use of the technique, it is also the first film I've watched in this quest that has a scene at the Oscar ceremony itself. For those unfamiliar with the story it sees a young girl go to Hollywood to make her mark. After several unsuccessful attempts she meets Norman Maine a screen icon who's latest performances have been criticised, Maine introduces her to his agent who renames her Vicki Lester. Maine and Lester get married but soon she begins to flourish and he starts drinking heavily, goes into rehab and is almost sent to jail following a brawl. She gives up her career to look after him but eventually he decides to commit suicide leaving her heartbroken. With the help of her grandmother she decides to return to the screen with a tribute to her late husband.

I rather enjoyed A Star is Born, I believe the later versions are both musicals but this worked well being a straight piece of drama. In the lead role Janet Gaynor is a triumph, and was nominated for Best Actress, she lets the audience see her journey from small-town North Dakota gal, to struggling actress to Hollywood star. However it is her fellow nominee Frederic March who steals the show as soon as he comes on the scene. You feel for him as his career leaves him and he becomes almost a secretary for his wife. There are also some nice supporting performances most notably from Lionel 'Max from Hart to Hart' Stander who, as he did in Mr Deeds Goes to Town, plays the wise-cracking aide. As well as the nominations I've mentioned and of course Best Picture, the film did win Best Screenplay and was also nominated for Best Assistant Director an award that would disappear that year. A very good and compelling film, A Star is Born ultimately lost out to The Life of Emile Zola, but left more of a lasting legacy than most of the films up against it that year.