Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 417-419: Days of Future Past Part Five

After completing the first decade of the 21st century I find myself almost eighty years back in the past as I look at three more films that I've unearthed from the 1930s.

We start with a film from the 1931 ceremony in the rather controversial Trader Horn. The film itself was ground-breaking as it was the first non-documentary film to be shot on location in Africa. Trader Horn certainly makes use of this fact by including plenty of facts about the country's various wildlife population. In fact at times these scenes, some of which were shot in Mexico, felt like they were straight out of a nature documentary as lead actor Harry Carey informed the audience of the beasts' various attributes. The story, which was very slight, saw Carey's titular ivory trader take his new apprentice down the Nile whilst avoiding hungry native tribes and the brainwashed missing daughter of a missionary. At times the film would just stop and start without a lot of explanation whilst a lot of the sound recording was patchy at best. Part of the reason for this would be that a lot of the sound was re-recorded in the States although this led to suspicion that the film hadn't actually been shot in Africa at all. Trader Horn is almost more interesting for its behind-the-scenes stories including the fact that two crew members died; one eaten by a crocodile whilst the other was gored by a charging rhino. Meanwhile lead actress Edwina Booth's career was effectively ended when she contracted a disease, possibly malaria, which she took the next six years to recover from. Although viewed by modern eyes Trader Horn is quite hokey, there's no denying that it's influential in the way it shot on location. If you take into consideration that film-making was still in its infancy then director W.S. Van Dyke needs applauding for the risks he took whilst making Trader Horn. Ultimately, even though it doesn't hold up today I believe that Trader Horn's historical significance at least justifies it a place amongst its fellow best picture nominees.

Moving forward three years we have Sidney Franklin's The Barretts of Wimpole Street which essentially tells the story of how Elizabeth Barrett married Robert Browning. The majority of the film felt like a play that had simply been put on the big screen primarily as it was almost all in set in one room. The room in question was the one in which Elizabeth had been recuperating following an illness that had left her incredibly weak. The illness was being used by her despicable father Edward to keep her with him for as long as possible as he felt all of his children were deserting him. Elizabeth's redemption came through her correspondence with Browning who later appeared at the house in person and eventually convinced her that she wasn't as ill as she believed. Everything about The Barretts of Wimpole Street is pure melodrama from Herbert Stothart's overly dramatic score to the performances given by the primary cast members. Norma Shearer definitely plays to her strengths as the damsel in distress who is both subdued and rescued by seemingly stronger men. Meanwhile Frederic March is every inch the dashing hero as Browning who isn't particularly convincing as one of literature's most famous figures. Meanwhile, as Edward, Charles Laughton hams it up big time as he delivers all of his evil lines with great aplomb. If there was an image that perfectly summed up the film then it would be one of the many times that Laughton appears out of nowhere to confront one of his troublesome daughters. His arrival is coupled with ominous music whilst Laughton himself lays on an expression that just screams out villain of the piece. I think the film best demonstrates the fact that ten nominees during the 1930s was just too many especially if movies like The Barretts of Wimpole Street rank among the year's best.

I would echo that sentiment when it comes to another Frederic March vehicle, Anthony Adverse. The film is based on Hervey Allen's epic novel and is directed by the dependable Mervyn La Roy. Anthony Adverse is essentially a nuts and bolts literary adaptation filled with overblown exterior shots and cloying heart-to-hearts between characters. The titular character initially grew up in an orphanage after his mother's despicable husband dropped him off after learning he was the product of an affair. As chance would have it, Anthony ends up working for and living with his grandfather who knows of his identity but never informs him of it. As Anthony grows up, and is eventually portrayed by March, he falls in love with Angela; the daughter of the housekeeper. Angela and Anthony eventually marry but are separated soon after as he goes to Cuba and then Africa where he attempts to recoup his family fortune by participating in the slave trade. If this doesn't sound far-fetched enough then the film climaxes with Anthony learning that opera singing Andrea is now Napoleon's mistress but not before giving birth to her husband's baby. There were only a couple of things I liked about Anthony Adverse the first being an enthralling carriage ride that climaxed in an unfortunate servant plummeting to his death. Additionally I felt that Claude Rains delivered the best performance of the bunch as the despicable Don Luis who attempts to bring down Anthony several times as revenge for his mother's infidelity. Unfortunately March and female lead Olivia De Havilland don't make much of an impression and the adapted screenplay makes the whole plot feel even more overblown than it is. Anthony Adverse's only lasting legacy is the fact that it made Oscar history by containing the winner of the first ever Best Supporting Actress Award. The performer in question was Gale Sondergaard who played Don Luis' partner in crime, devious ladies' maid Faith. Whilst Sondergaard did thrive in her handful of scenes, I don't think she did that much to warrant being awarded an Oscar. Thankfully the recipients of the prize only got better from here on in and I would say that Anthony Adverse was another nominee that didn't really deserve its place amongst the Best Picture contenders.

I will return soon with more films from the 1930s and 1940s.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 150: More from Monty

As we've seen in our trip through the 1950s we've had a lot of stars straddle films I've done retrospectives of the fifities films of both Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando in the former's collection we found A Place in The Sun. That gently links into this next section as we look into the work of the male lead of that film, Montgomery Clift's, other work.

We kick off with just what I need, another play adaptation, this time thankfully there's enough exterior shots to counteract the scenes of people talking in rooms. That film is The Heiress and once again we find the lead actress Olivia De Havilland once again winning the Best Actress award for her tremendous performance as Catherine Sloper the titular woman of the title. The story has a simple premise would a charming young man who mishandles his money be interested in a dowdy heiress for anything more than her cash. That's the situation that Catherine finds herself in after being charmed by Clift's Morris Townsend who visits her house various times and eventually proposed much to the horror of her father played by Ralph Richardson. Richardson's character firstly quizzes Morris' family members before taking his daughter off to Europe, these scenes are especially bought alive by the film medium, realising he can't change her mind he decides to disinherit her therefore only giving her a small amount of money and when Morris finds this out he leaves her on the evening that the couple were meant to elope. It is here that De Havilland comes into her own as she becomes bitter not allowing her father to speak to her and spurning Morris' advances when he returns despite realising he now loves her she wants to humiliate him the way he did her and therefore ends up sad and alone. I did enjoy The Heiress it didn't outstay its welcome and all the leads acted their parts well. De Havilland's performance in the latter scenes were truly spectacular and she did more than earn her Oscar. Montgomery Clift does as he's told playing charming but sinister and playing on his screen idol persona to try and trick the audience into thinking that he really does love Catherine while Ralph Richardson's stoic routine lends itself well to the father. William Wyler brings the play to life and shoots outside as much as possible to give the film a life of its own all in all a good actors film but nothing spectacular.

We come now to another Best Picture winner from the 1954 ceremony starring Clift alongside Burt Lancaster and Oscar winners Frank Sinatra and Donna Reed that film is From Here to Eternity. Covering the same sort of time as 1940s nominee Wake Island, From Here to Eternity looks at army-life in Hawaii just in the run-up to the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbour. Clift plays Private Pruitt a soldier who has been transferred to his new unit for his boxing prowess however when he refuses to box his Captain gets the other officers to bully him and put him doing manual labour his only friend being Sinatra's Private Maggio. Meanwhile Lancaster's Sergeant Ward is romancing the Captain's wife played by Deborah Kerr their romance includes the famous beach sex scene which is the iconic plateau of the film but which had to be toned down for the censors so it wasn't implicit that the sexual act actually took place. Kerr and Lancaster's romance is thwarted by the fact that she hates it on Hawaii and he vows to earn his Captain's stripes so they can return to the States. Pruitt also falls in love with a girl he meets in a club named Lorene, later revealed to be named Alma, at first he is frustrated with the fact that her work comes first but eventually the two move in together. When Maggio goes AWOL to get drunk he is court martialled and beaten by the warden he eventually escapes but dies from his wounds this causes Pruitt to attack and kill this officer and get wounded himself and going AWOL at Alma's house. It is at this time that the Pearl Harbor attacks take place and Ward takes charge with the Captain being sacked for giving preferential treatment to his boxers. Realising that he will always put the army first Kerr leaves him and returns to America alone meanwhile Pruitt dies trying to make it back to base having been shot by one of the other soldiers. Kerr and Reed's Lorene meet in the film's final scene each realising who the other is as they throw their lays out to sea meaning that neither will ever return.

Occasionally when doing this blog I bemoan the choices of Best Picture but thankfully in 1954 the academy got it spot on with this film. There are no less than five stunning performances with Sinatra stunning me the most as the jovial Maggio who is suddenly brutally attacked and dies a tragic death. Clift is also good here playing a little against type as the stubborn Pruitt but his love scenes with Reed were obviously there for his fans to woo over him. Lancaster is particularly good holding everything together as he's the likeable man torn between love and duty. The almost completely exterior shooting means that this film also boasts great scenery and realistic backdrops and I have to say I was caught off guard by the Pearl Harbour attacks as I'd obviously left my sense of history at the door. Overall a great film and a worthy Best Picture winner and as we've seen here Montgomery Clift definitely made his mark on 1950s film by being both suave and vulnerable in both of these classics.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 115: It's All a Bit Mental

A while ago I did a course about the use of institutions, such as prisons and hospitals, in films which focused mainly on mental hospitals. One film that didn't feature was The Snake Pit which was nominated at the 1949 ceremony featuring a top notch performance by Olivia De Havilland. We are plunged straight into the action as De Havilland's Virginia wonders about her surroundings and what she's doing in what she believes in a prison. It turns out that Virginia has been committed into a mental institution and her story is told in flashback firstly by her husband Robert and then by Virginia herself. We find out about how Robert and Virginia met and then about Virginia's past engagement and her relationship with her parents. These flashbacks are transposed by Virginia's journey through the mental instution at different times she is in the most extreme ward and at other times she is in the low security ward with its strict nursing. Again we are never given all the information and don't often find why Virginia is shifted around to various cells although we can usually guess due to watch leads up to it. All the time you are wondering about the other characters most notably Dr. Kik, Virginia's original doctor who at some times is asked not to treat her hinting at something darker in his past. Overall Virginia seemingly recovers but there is still something lurking in the background that you're not 100% sure.

Most of what works about The Snake Pit can be attributed to Olivia de Havilland who is absolutely brilliant in this film. Virginia is paranoid at some points, normal at others and she guides as through all the gaps in between and really makes us relate to her plight. De Havilland was nominated for Best Actress but lost out to the brilliant Jane Wyman in Johnny Belinda. De Havilland had previously put in a great performance in Hold Back the Dawn but this was much better however it would only be a year in which she triumphed in the same category. The story is also fairly clever cutting between time periods and different wards in the institution, Virginia's realisation and ultimate conclusion are both fairly neat and I felt the need for a neat wrap up after an interesting and thought-provoking film. The male characters also don't get a good rap although Robert seems nice enough and Dr Kik is seemingly a nice guy there's always the sense that they are manipulating Virginia. But overall this was a fantastic film that I'd never previously heard of but I'm so glad that I've seen and it would certainly suit the nature of the course I was on very well.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 82: An Inconvenient Marriage

An interesting romance film that was nominated at the 1942 ceremony is up next. The majority of the film is narrated by Charles Boyer's character Georges Iscovescu who is pitching the film's story to a Paramount director. As we are told at the opening of the film this meeting between Georges and the director is how the making of the film came about however later it is incorporated as part of the story. Georges has come to America from his native Romania to try and escape the conflict of World War II however when he arrives U.S. immigration inform him that the numbers of Romanian immigrants have already been filled and he will have to stay in Mexico until there is room for him. Georges spends his time in a rundown Mexican hotel just by the border filled with other Europeans also waiting for their chance to become U.S. citizens, the hotel is also visited from time to time by immigration inspector Hammock who checks on the status of the immigrants. Later Georges meets his old dancing partner and lover Anita who has told him that she has married an older American man and that will fast track her over the border. Anita hatches a plan with Georges that he will marry an American woman and when they are both safely in America will both divorce their partners and be together. Georges then comes across naive teacher Emmy whose school bus has broken down trapping her and several pupils on the wrong side of the border. Georges steals a part of the bus thus forcing Emmy to stay in his hotel and for him to charm and later propose to her. Emmy and Georges are soon married however Hammock returns to the hotel and Georges realises that he will start asking her questions so he takes her off on an impromptu honeymoon. Inevitably Georges then starts to fall in love with her as they journey around the coast and stop in at a church to be blessed. They arrive back at the hotel where Anita realises that Georges won't go through with the plan so she reveals all to Emmy however when she is questioned by Hammock she lies and says she and Georges are in love. Georges stays in Mexico to get his papers in order but then he learns that Emmy was in an accident and crosses the border before it is legal for him to do so. He enters the hospital to see her but is soon tracked down by Hammock's men and runs to the studio to talk to the director who he had previously encountered in Mexico. The final part of the story is told by the director, after Hammock arrested Georges he took him back to Mexico, Georges learns that Anita has met another wealthy man who she plans to exploit. Finally, Hammock softens and tells Georges that he has fast-tracked his citizenship because he failed to report the earlier incident of Georges' escape and realises that Georges and Emmy's relationship is genuine.

I have to say one of the things I enjoyed most about Hold Back the Dawn is its narrative structure. By having the story being a narration by Georges we are intrigued to see how his and Emmy's story will end and how it will fit with this meeting at the studio. Although it is a bit soppy at times the romance between Georges and Emmy starts as a hoax but ends up being fairly genuine. As far as the acting goes Olivia De Havilland's performance as Emmy earned her an Oscar nomination and it was just about deserved as Emmy grows as a character throughout the film becoming tougher as she realises the extent of Georges' plans. Paulette Goddard is also enthralling as Anita the manipulative other woman and to some extent the film's villain. But it is Charles Boyer who anchors the whole film with a mix of charm and real emotion he makes Georges one of those characters who does horrible things but still seems likeable however he failed to even get a nomination for his performance. The film also had something to say about the lengths some immigrants will go to to get into America and the setting of the Mexican hotel feels cramped and somewhat unwelcoming. Overall this was a fairly engaging if overly sentimental romantic drama with undertones of social commentary.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 70: Getting a Bit Windy

Back to the start of the decade now with the winner of the 1940 ceremony and possibly one of the most famous films of all time - Gone with The Wind. It holds a place in Oscar history as it is the first Best Picture filmed entirely in colour and also the first film to feature an Oscar winning turn by an African American performer but more on that later. The story follows Southern Belle Scarlett O'Hara who we meet at the start of the American Civil War, Scarlett is admired by several suitors but she is in love with the debonair Ashley Wilkes but she discovers that he is to marry his cousin Melanie. Simply out of spite Scarlett decides to marry Melanie's brother Charles but he is soon killed when the Civil War starts. At the same time Scarlett meets the dashing rogue Rhett Butler who seems to have offended everyone who comes into contact with him. As the men go away to fight in the war Scarlett promises Ashley that she will look after Melanie, the two of them soon move to Atlanta to tend to sick soldiers but then a pregnant Melanie gets sick and Scarlett helps to deliver her baby. Scarlett enlists Rhett's to help transport Melanie and the baby back to Scarlett's estate which she finds in a state and her father who has since succumb to dementia and then dies just after the war finishes. Scarlett struggles to keep her estate going and soon marries her sister's suitor the middle-aged Frank Kennedy with whose money she buys a saw mill and convinces Ashley to help her run it. After Scarlett is attacked Frank, Ashley and a returning Rhett go after the attackers and Frank is fatally injured in the scuffle. Scarlett and Rhett eventually marry and have a child but Rhett realises that she is still in love with Ashley and starts to drink heavily and then asks Scarlett for a divorce however she doesn't want the scandal so instead Rhett takes their daughter away to London. They return after Rhett realises Bonnie needs her mother but then Bonnie dies after falling off a horse and then Melanie dies during her second pregnancy. After seeing how distraught Ashley is when Melanie dies she realises that he could never have loved her in the way he did Melanie and finally decides that she is in love with Rhett. However at this point Rhett has had enough and when Scarlett asks what she will do without Rhett he utters the line 'frankly my dear I don't give a damn' and this is followed by the film's other famous line 'tomorrow is another day' when Scarlett realises that the only thing that is left in her life is her family's estate and that's what her priority has to be.

It has been a while since I saw Gone With The Wind and the DVD I rented came as two discs separated by the interval which the original audience would have got. Part One of the film is definitely it's stronger half with the opening scene at the barbecue where we get the feel of all of the four principal characters followed by the war itself. You get the feel of the epic scale of the picture as we get a shot of all the injured soldiers laid out across the land there also some very interesting camera techniques and the use of colour is expertly done. The film's second half is where things get a bit flabby as director Victor Fleming takes too long telling the story of the love quadrangle that takes place but the film picks up in its final part with the marriage and separation of Scarlett and Rhett and the deaths of Bonnie and Melanie. The production itself seemed to be very fraught with original director George Cukor being fired and replaced by The Wizard of Oz's Fleming while there was about 20 actresses in the frame for Scarlett but the role went to the then unknown British actress Vivien Leigh. Leigh's performance won her an Oscar and she did a good job portraying the incredibly complex Scarlett. Clark Gable was brilliant as Rhett but he lost out to Robert Donat and Olivia De Havilland was also nominated as Melanie but she also lost. The actress she lost to was Hattie McDaniel who portrayed the O'Hara's servant Mammy, McDaniel stole most of the scenes that she featured in especially the opening scenes which without her would've been awfully melodramatic. McDaniel laid down the legacy which saw other African American performers being accepted by the academy equally impressive was Butterfly McQueen as the jittery servant Prissy.

Although I do have a lot of love for what The Wizard of Oz did in terms of its special effects and use of colour there's no denying that Gone With The Wind is weightier in terms of its tone. Although, at three and a half hours it's a bit long, at the time the audience would've appreciated this and the cinema was much more of a communal event than it is now. Although I am yet to watch seven of the other films that were nominated against it at the moment I can definitely say that Gone with The Wind was a good choice to be the first winner of the 1940s ceremonies.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 11: Getting a Bit Bard

In the interest of getting though this challenge I decided to group together two films which have one thing in common - Mr Bill Shakespeare. Yes two Shakespeare adaptations - A Midsummers Night's Dream and Romeo and Juliet, were nominated in 1936 and 1937 respectively. First of all A Midsummers Night's Dream (the fourth of 1936's nominees) I am to watch which I was very impressed with. For a film from 1935 I was impressed by the overall design of the picture and the quality of some of the scenes especially those involving the fairies. Despite losing out in the Best Picture (and Best Assistant Director) categories the film did pick up two awards for cinematography and editing and I have to say it deserved both. I was utterly enthralled by some of the sequences involving Puck when he transformed into a cloud of smoke, even though Mickey Rooney's acting completely annoyed the hell out of me. Star of the show surprisingly was James Cagney, better known for his roles in gangster movies here Cagney played Bottom - possibly the best known character for getting turned into a donkey. Of course his performance is overblown but that's what the character has to be he is of course the comic relief. The majority of the story as all English graduates know focuses on Hermia due to marry Demetrius but really in love with Lysander the three, along with Demetrius' admirer Helena are trapped in the woods and at the mercy of the spells of Puck and fairy lord Oberon. I felt this part of the story lacked panache, it is quite boring and the two actors playing Lysander and Demetrius didn't really have a lot going for them and neither seemed to be of the leading man calibre that I believe the roles need. The other big name in the cast is Olivia De Havilland the best of the quartet - her Hermia is kind of strong yet vulnerable but I didn't feel that she should really be paired with either of the men who were pursuing her. The whole thing was enjoyable enough although I felt the pace lagged in places mainly during, fairy queen, Titania's singing and the final play performed by Bottom and co. Overall enjoyable and I thought it was better than a lot of the films in the Oscars list from this year (Captain Blood, The Informer)


So we continue onto the second helping of the Bard and George Cukor's Romeo and Juliet another film that was nominated for four Oscars but failed to pick up any. Twice losing out to The Great Ziegfeld both in Best Picture and Best Actress categories, I apologise if I was a little harsh on Luise Rainer in my previous post but her performance in The Great Ziegfeld was certainly better than Shearer's Juliet. While Norma Shearer is a fine actress I found her a little flat as Juliet and much too old to play the part. Similarly Leslie Howard's age is a problem in his performance as are his looks which I thought were rather effeminate and couldn't buy his fight scenes. Luckily there are some choice support performances which keep the film flowing along. John Barrymore as Mercutio is brilliant playing it more for laughs as an aging playboy thinking that he is still a hit with the ladies. While Basil Rathbone pops up again to flail a sword around as quite a villainous Tybalt. Although I didn't think he was as great as Barrymore, it was Rathbone who got a Best Supporting Actor nomination. Although it is a good story to tell I think the film dragged out and wasn't particularly inventive and very stagy, I was really only impressed by the masquerade ball scene, I didn't really feel anything when the lovers die or when Mercutio is stabbed and just thought it was just a bit cold and didn't offer anything particularly cinematic. So at the moment with this and Three Smart Girls, The Great Ziegfeld was definitely the right choice to win that year.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 9: There Will Be Blood

The first DVD I watch to give me a complete view of a 1930s cinematic experience is the one for Captain Blood. This one has a lot of elements that were similar to The Adventures of Robin Hood, director Michael Curtiz and stars Errol Flynn, Olivia De Havilland and Basil Rathbone. However Captain Blood was made three years previously to Robin Hood, sees Flynn in his first leading role and his first of six screen collaborations with De Havilland. The main problem I had with Captain Blood is that we have to buy the fact that Flynn is a doctor at least for the first part of the movie. After treating a man involved in the rebellions against James II Flynn is forced into slavery and whilst in the Caribbean commandeers a pirate ship that has rocked up to pillage the governor's land. Meanwhile Blood has fallen for the niece of a wealthy landlord who has designs on being governor but double crosses her for a life of piracy. From here it is usual Errol Flynn territory swashbuckling and a sword fight plus a quick appearance from Rathbone as a French pirate who wants to have De Havilland's character for himself. The finale is a high octane fight as the British fight the French for supremacy as Blood is happy that William of Orange is now in the throne. This is a very much us and them film as the aristocracy are portrayed as fancy clothes wearing cowards and the rebels are portrayed as hardworking, loyal and brave. Flynn is a captivating lead even in his early films and his chemistry with De Havilland is winning and it is easy to see why he was paired with her time and time again. As previously mentioned the DVD comes with a newsreel and a cartoon and gives the idea that this kind of cinema was pure escapism for the American depression era as the crowds would get to cheer on Flynn and boo the villains.

In terms of Oscar success this was nominated in the 1936 ceremony, I don't think it is as accomplished as the other film I have already watched from that year - Top Hat but it is still a pretty well made film. In fact it was nominated for five Oscars - Curtiz's direction of course is one of them as is picture alongside script (a bit dubious) and sound recording and music the former sounds ropey by today's standards but obviously was advanced at the time and the latter was a brilliant accompaniment to the swashbuckling adventures of Flynn and co. Despite being nominated it won nothing which is a shame as this was obviously the early forerunner to the big screen action blockbuster that we know today.