Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 245: Little Devils

As I've previously discussed in other posts, comedy was a genre that was being sparsely represented at the Oscars in the 1970s. One genre that has rarely had a look in during any of the decades is that of horror which has hardly featured in the last 85 years. In fact it took over forty years for a horror film to garner a nod at the Academy Awards but the film that was given the nomination certainly deserved it.

That film in question was The Exorcist, William Friedkin's version of William Peter Blatty's story. The Exorcist is one of those films that I don't really want to write a plot summary for as I feel a lot of people already know it. But the main bulk of the film is based around actress Chris MacNeill who gets increasingly worried about the behaviour of her twelve year old daughter Reagan. She believes that Reagan's mood swings and uncharacteristic behaviour is due to psychological problems. But in fact her daughter has become possessed by an evil spirit which found its way into their house. Although Reagan's possession and the famous exorcism scenes are what made the film well-known, I feel that this The Exorcist is more about the journey of young priest Damien Karras. The priest and psychiatrist struggles with his faith throughout the course of the film and this story comes to a head following the death of his mother. It's his idea to go through with the exorcism and he ultimately becomes the hero of the tale. Perhaps the film's more memorable priest is Lankester Merrin, who is the exorcist of the title, but he only appears briefly at the start and finish of the movie.

Indeed one of the great things about The Exorcist is the way in which the tension and horror are built up so all of the pivotal characters are involved in the final exorcism scene. Friedkin brilliantly builds up the tension throughout the film, making you question for ages what the problem with Reagan actually is. The interconnecting stories featuring the MacNeils and Damien then come to a head in possibly one of the most famous horror sequences of all time. From the lighting to Mike Oldfield's 'Tubular Bells' sequence every part of the film process is used to full effect and I'm personally still freaked out by certain scenes every time I watch The Exorcist. The four central cast members are all fantastic most notably Jason Miller and Max Von Sydow as Karras and Merrin. Doing my research for this post it turned out that the original casting plans could have seen Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando take on the roles. I do feel this would have been a mistake and The Exorcist actually benefited from having a lack of familiar faces. Ellen Burstyn and Linda Blair meanwhile are fantastic as the down-to-earth family who are inflicted by an evil demon. Blair in particular should be praised for her Oscar-nominated performance and I do feel she should have won the award. Though The Exorcist was nominated for ten awards, it only won for Sound Editing and its excellent screenplay. However, I do feel that a Best Picture award could have possibly been warranted if only for all the good work that The Exorcist did in promoting the horror genre as a whole.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 206: A Star-Studded History Lesson

As I previously mentioned in my post on The Graduate, the 1960s were definitely a decade of change when it came to film-making. At the same time, several of the old-fashioned epic style films were being made, some with bumper casts. The next two posts will deal with these star-studded epic films and we start with How the West Was Won. The film was an interesting one, as it split its story into five parts with three of these directed by Henry Hathaway and the other two by John Ford and James Marshall respectively. In addition, How the West Was Won marked itself out visually as it was filmed in a three-strip cinerama which had both post and negative affects on the viewing experience. The story itself deals with generations of the same family initially known as the Prescotts, whose daughters would both go on to marry and have children. Over time we saw how the families battled the wild rivers to get to the west, how they battled through the civil war and ultimately dealt with outlaws to claim the land for themselves. The two sisters - Eve and Lilith, had different fates with the former creating a homestead on the place where their parents died. Eve's son Zeb would later go on to fight in The Civil War and negotiate with the Native Americans. Lilith meanwhile hooks up with a gambler and inherits a run down gold mine before finally reuniting with Zeb and his growing family. The story comes full circle as the Prescott family finally settle in the west once and for all.

Seeing as it was made in 1962, How the West Was Won has a very old-fashioned feel to it and almost seems a little out of place Similarly, the big name cast are mostly wasted with John Wayne being the biggest example as his role is nothing more than an extended cameo. Indeed, the actors who have the biggest parts are Debbie Reynolds and George Peppard, neither of whom are promoted as the main stars of the piece. I felt that actors such as James Stewart, Henry Fonda and Gregory Peck popping up for two minutes did nothing to enhance the film and instead made the story feel a little flabby. That's not to say I didn't enjoy How the West Was Won and found it to be a colourful western epic which passed the time fine. The sweeping scenery and Spencer Tracy's assured narration were definitely the film's biggest strengths while I learnt a lot about the formation of America. At the same time, I was never blown away by the film and none of it really stuck with me after the DVD had finished playing. The three-strip cinerama process also made the film seem a little odd with the visible strips of paper almost looking a little messy. Overall, while not a bad film, How the West Was Won was quite unremarkable endeavour which is odd when you consider who was involved.

Next time a similar sort of film to How the West Was Won, but one that is a lot darker.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 137-138: Mostly Marlon Part 2

And without further ado here is the second part of the Marlon Brando season.



After three years of striking out in the Best Actor category Brando finally came up trumps at the 1955 ceremony with the film that also won the Best Picture award that year - On the Waterfront. For this picture Brando reteamed with both Streetcar writer Elia Kazan and co-star Karl Malden to make a story based on real experiences that long shoremen had dealing with their mob-run environment. As the film starts Brando's Terry Malloy is instrumental in the death of long shoreman Joey Doyle who's death is interlinked with him testifying against gangster Johnny Friendly who runs the docks and trades illegally. Malloy's brother Charley works as Friendly's accountant and gets Terry to do some of the easier jobs through his guilt of making Terry throwing fights when he was a prize fighter. Events get complicated when Terry falls for Doyle's sister Evie who, along with Malden's priest Father Barry, tries to convince Terry to testify against Friendly. Worried that Terry is being swayed Friendly sends Charley out to set Terry straight where Terry delivers the still famous 'I Coulda Been a Contender' speech. Eventually Terry testifies and Friendly turns the rest of the dockworkers against him and has him beaten up but Friendly is then discredited with all the longshoremen turning their backs on him. There's so much to praise about On The Waterfront and thankfully for once a great film gets recognised by the Academy winning Best Picture, Actor, Director, Screenplay and Supporting Actress for Eva Marie Saint as Evie. Saint is great in the film so much so I think this was almost a Lead performance which would've seen the film scoop the much-touted 'Big Five'. If Streetcar was Brando's breakout then this was definitely his star-making turn playing a conflicting character wanting to do what's right but not wanting to test his loyalty against his brother and the men who have been giving him the job. There are also so many great filmic moments from the already mentioned speech, to the ending where a beaten Malloy makes his way to work despite being light on his feet and having blurred sight but my favourite scene is probably Terry telling Evie about his involvement in Joey's death which we don't hear as a big steamship comes past making their conversation inaudible. Of the supporting performances Karl Malden is probably my favourite as the priest, but Lee J Cobb also makes a convincing gangster and Rod Steiger as Charley also is strong in a couple of scenes all were nominated as Supporting Actors but to Edmond O'Brien in The Barefoot Contessa both a role and film that aren't best remembered. I also feel that the score is brilliant it stuck in my head afterwards and added to the atmospheric tone. The Oscar winning set direction and cinematography were both brilliantly handled with the shoot taking place over 36 days in Hoboken, New Jersey making all the shore scenes seem very real and the workers' silence over how badly their work is run and even some of Friendly's goons are played by real-life prize fighters. Just a brilliant film and a worthy Best Picture winner and definitely the film that made Marlon Brando.

The final Best Picture nominee that Brando starred in during the 1950s, and again he got a Best Actor nomination, was Sayonara which I feel was a bit of a departure from the roles he played in contemporary American dramas in this particular blog post. The film sees Brando play Air Force Major Ace Gruver who moves from Korea to Japan where one of his troop - Joe Kelly is about to marry a Japanese woman. A lot of people in the Air Force and the military in general aren't happy with Kelly's choice to marry a Japanese woman but despite his reluctance Gruver agrees to be Kelly's best man. Also in Japan, Gruver's superior General Webster has bought along his daughter Eileen, played by Patricia Owens, who for a long time Ace has been in a relationship with. However during the time in Japan neither feel the relationship is pretty solid with Eileen's feelings being a lot stronger than Ace's. As time goes on Gruver starts to accept Kelly's relationship with his wife Katsumi and himself becomes entranced by a Japanese dancer Hana-ogi. Things come to a head when Kelly is to be shipped back to America and his wife isn't allowed to come with him despite the fact she is pregnant. Ace is also to be sent back after his relationship with Hana-ogi is revealed but the day that Kelly is to be taken away he runs back to Katsumi and they both commit suicide deciding to be together in the next life. Ace then discovers that General Webster has made a law possible for men like Kelly to bring their Japanese wives back to America so he announces to the media that he is marrying Hana-ogi and people best get used to it. The biggest surprise in this film is probably seeing Brando in a kimono despite that this film is a little long-winded in its message of equality and that these soldiers are in love with these women rather than just wanting to be with the first woman they touch as Webster so eloquently puts it in once scene. Brando's Southern drawl adds an extra dimension to this character who is portrayed as being a natural leader but at the same time very simple in his views and he is one round by the differences that Japan and Japanese women have to offer. However the two standout performances come from Oscar winners Red Buttons and Miyoshi Umeki as Joe and Katsumi both giving spectacular performances as the doomed couple Buttons in particular is a revelation as he was much better known as a comedian than a dramatic actor but this film more than showed that he could do both. I have to say I felt the film needed to be about 20 minutes less and I didn't need to see as many of the Japanese sequences as I did and I felt James Garner was wasted in a worthless role as the military man showing Ace a different side of Japan. Overall though a film with a strong message and another great performance from Brando again displaying his range.

As I watched this quartet of films I really felt that Brando was improving as an actor as the decade went on from rough and ready in Streetcar he honed his skills for On the Waterfront before playing an almost naive character in Sayonara. Like with Elizabeth Taylor I'm looking forward to seeing more of Brando as we trek on through the decades but I guess its Sayonara for now

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 127: My Day in Court

So finally a new decade in the Oscar challenge and we move from the tumultuous 1940s to the glorious 1950s in which the big screen came alive as Technicolor became more and more frequent and the cinemas were dominated by large, colourful epics luckily Oscar still had place in its nomination slots to honour smaller films that were well written but may've only had two or three sets to their name. And we're starting off with two such films both based in a courtroom setting.

The first of these two films is 1958 nominee Witness for the Prosecution the adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel starring Charles Laughton as the belligerent Sir Wilfred a brilliant barrister who has just returned to his chambers having suffered from health problems. It is not long before Wilfred is visited by a solicitor friend who has a new client - Leonard Vole who is accused of murdering the wealthy spinster Emily French with strong circumstantial evidence pointing towards him as the killer. The only person who can vouch for his whereabouts and act as his alibi is his German wife Christine, here played by the sultry Marlene Dietrich, but Wilfred warns that a testimony from a loving wife doesn't hold up to much. The best scenes of the film happen in the Old Bailey mainly because the set is so impressive, it had been recreated by Alexandre Trauner, and is also where the trial begins The prosecution calls several witnesses before their key witness is revealed as Christine acting as the titular Witness for the Prosecution. Anything I say from there would spoil the film and I was told specifically at the end of the film by a stern voice-over not to tell my friends anything about the film's conclusion. I will say however that I very much enjoyed Witness for the Prosecution and most of that is down to Laughton's performance a mix of drama and comedy he captures what I believe the character needed and ultimately is able to do the right thing. It is odd to see Laughton act this way after portraying a bunch of villains in the 1930s, in films such as Les Miserables and Mutiny on the Bounty, however he did display comic flare in Ruggles of Red Gap and he uses that here getting a Best Actor Nomination but ultimately losing to Alec Guinness. The other Oscar nominee here is Elsa Lanchester who plays Sir Wilfred's fussing personal nurse Miss Plimsoll with whom Wilfred clashes but by the end they have a grudging respect for what the other does while I did enjoy this performance I'm surprised Dietrich didn't get a nomination for playing her feme fatale role to great effect. Sometimes the tone doesn't feel just right, occasionally the comedy feels misjudged especially since this is a film about an old woman who has been murdered but the great ending which I didn't see coming makes up for any shifts in tone.

Also nominated at the 1958 ceremony was a film which is still my favourite of all time that being the late Sidney Lumet's classic 12 Angry Men. If you haven't seen the film then you need to as, in the words of one of my friends, it's good for you but I will indulge you with a small plot summary nonetheless. Almost all of the film takes place in a jury room in which the twelve men who make up the jury are discussing whether the boy on trial killed his father or not and if they find him guilty he will go to the chair. The boy has been raised in a slum and two witnesses attest to seeing the boy stab his father or that they heard him shout that he was going to kill him. Initially only Henry Fonda's Juror Number 8 stands up for the boy voting Not Guilty in the first round of votes so that there can be a discussion about the trial and whether all the evidence was completely accurate. Some people bring their own prejudices to the table for example one juror has a problem with people from slum backgrounds while another lets his personal issues cloud his judgment. The best thing about the film, in my opinion, is the way in which the plot unravels and the characters are given more depth as the time goes on. We only learn two of the juror's names and that only happens in the very final scene instead they are referred to simply by their juror numbers. Despite the cramped setting, filmic techniques are still employed throughout 12 Angry Men including using different shots to focus on either the whole set or one character in particular for example a close-up on Juror Number 4 who in his own words never sweats but is in fact seen perspiring during one key moment. I honestly can't find fault with this film and have seen it so many times and I'm still horrified that it didn't win Best Picture or at least Best Screenplay. The only actor nominated for his role in the film was Fonda which I think is a mistake there are plenty of strong performances most notably from Lee J Cobb as the last angry man Juror No. 3. Overall a masterpiece and that's my final word on the matter.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 118: Nothing to Do With the Four Tops

Over the past couple of weeks in the Oscar Challenge we've had a bit of a religious theme whether it be Bing Crosby's priest visiting a school run by nuns or David Niven's Bishop clashing with Cary Grant's Angel it's all been getting a bit too holy. So I was disheartened to learn that The Song of Bernadette was nothing to do with the 1967 Four Tops hit Bernadette, a bit impossible seeing that the film was nominated for Best Picture at the 1944 ceremony. The star Jennifer Jones also was one of the first to discover that if you play a character with an illness, firstly asthma and later cancer, your chance to win an Oscar is greatly increased. Jones' Bernadette is a young innocent who while gathering logs in a cave in Lourdes ends up seeing a vision of the Virgin Mary. Obviously most people don't believe her, her parents are embarrassed and want her to stop and the officials in Lourdes think that her supposed visions are doing adverse things for the town. The Town Officials are all seen as devious men as they all have ominous facial hair and are played by classical actors like Lee J Cobb and most notably a campy Vincent Price seemingly in a different film from everyone else. Eventually people start to believe her when a spring that Bernadette digs produces water that heals the residents and when the emperor uses it Bernadette is appeased. Her former headmaster suggests that she joins a convent where she comes face to face with her old teacher Sister Vazous who is jealous of Bernadette and wonders why the visions are coming to a girl who doesn't deserve rather than someone like her who has prayed and devote all her life. She feels shame when Bernadette is diagnosed and later dies from cancer of course after her death she was sainted and now everyone talks about the healing qualities of Lourdes.

If The Song of Bernadette were released today it would be seen as a traditional Oscar film. Featuring themes of faith vs. religion, a lead character who is a bit dopey and then suffers from cancer and various Americans pretending to be French and of course a true story this has everything that the Academy loves. But in the less cynical 1940s I think they might just have been taken with the sweet nature of the film and Jones' naive performance as Bernadette which won her the Oscar. To be fair Jones is good as the lead having to go from playing a 14 year old school girl to Bernadette at her death she is able to demonstrate her range. Elsewhere I think Gladys Cooper possibly deserved a Supporting Actress Oscar as Sister Vazous the angry nun who shows humanistic qualities also nominated for Oscars were Charles Bickford as her headmaster priest and Anne Revere as her mother although I just loved Price's town prosecutor maybe because he was so over-the-top. For me it was a little bit too long after a while I got the point that people didn't believe Bernadette and thought the second half of her life was rushed in comparison. The general tone of the thing was very much pro-religion presenting all the non-believers as comical villains and giving them no leeway whatsoever basically saying if you don't believe in God, then you're wrong. So if you can overcome this strong message then you might be able to enjoy some of the performances in the film but personally I'd just stick on the best of The Four Tops album on instead.