Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 129: Two from the West

We trickle on down the river of the Oscar hunt as we have two westerns for your delectation and delight.

Kicking off with High Noon, a nominee from the 1953 ceremony but a film that did win four awards including Best Actor for Gary Cooper and Best Original Song for the completely annoying Do Not Forsake me My Darling which plays throughout the film. Cooper stars as Will Kane the sheriff of a small New Mexico territory who is to give up his job and leave the town with his new wife Grace Kelly's Amy. However just before he is to go he gets word that Frank Miller, a criminal that he convicted, is to return and has his mind set on revenge. Even though he is advised to leave the town he realises that things will only get worse if he doesn't take care of Miller. He desperately tries to drum up support in his help of taking down Miller and his three gang members but is met with resistance from everyone he asks some on personal reasons, others because they are scared and some because they think that it will make the town look bad if it became associated with a shootout. At noon, Miller gets in and a classic shootout begins in the deserted town between Miller's gang and Kane. I have to say I really like High Noon mainly because of its simplicity. The central theme with Kane going round the town is handled well with everybody finding different reasons not to help him even though most concede that Kane has helped clean up the town they just don't want to help him. The design of the town is also deftly handled each set is laid out well and this helps in the final scenes with the shootout. Cooper gives a good performance and is ably supported by Lloyd Bridges as his deputy who refuses to help out as he is jealous of Kane and thinks he still has designs on his ex-girlfriend now Bridges' girl. This girl is Helen Ramirez played by Katy Jurado who sizzles in the film coming across as a strong Latino woman and a lot more interesting than Grace Kelly's pacifist who has little to do for most of the film apart from hang around at the station although she does come into her own in the final scenes. As I've said I found the song completely annoying and its not perfect but as a classic western High Noon still stands up today.

Going forward one year we have Shane another fairly simplistic western seeing Alan Ladd as the titular stranger who comes to a town which is involved in a war between the homesteaders and the landowners lead by Emile Meyer's Ryker. Shane eventually moves in with Van Heflin's homesteader Joe Starrett and helps strengthen their cause while at the same time becoming a second father to Starrett's son and falling in love with his wife Marian played by Jean Arthur in her final film role. Shane incorporates several showdowns between each gangs as Ryker becomes rattled by Shane and hires ruthless gunslinger Jack Wilson played by Jack Palance. Wilson quickly takes out one of the best loved homesteaders who is able to stick to his ground. After his funeral Starrett tries to rally the homesteaders against Ryker and most agree to help him. Shane realises that the only way to help Starrett is to take down Wilson and Ryker and free the homesteaders of the threat of them losing the land once and for all. After a gun battle, witnessed by Starrett's son and his dog, Shane is wounded and goes off on his horse at the end with the audience wondering whether he is dead or not. As we are now into the 1950s colour is starting to be used more and more and that is evident in Shane which won an Oscar for its cinematography. Taking advantage of its large sweeping landscapes and exterior shots Shane is a gorgeously shot film and also is great in its themes of what it means to be a man with the juxtaposition between the classic hero Shane and the grounded family man Starrett both envy each other for different reasons and that's why each of them want to sort out Ryker. Ladd, Arthur and Hefflin all play their roles very well and Ladd in particular has a difficult job portraying a character with very little dialogue. None of these got an acting nomination instead Palance was nominated as the striking Wilson while Brandon De Wilde as Joey Starrett also got a nod despite being really annoying throughout the film like most child actors in the 1950s. The biggest problem with the film for me is Meyer whose Ryker never comes off as a viable threat appearing more as a pantomime villain but despite this Shane is a competently directed Western which capitalises on the use of Technicolor cinematography and utilises to its full extent.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 106: Small Town Charm

After the Human Comedy set in the small town of Ithaca we return to small town life on the Oscar Challenge with Sam Wood's 1940 adaptation of Thornton Wilder's Our Town set in Grover's Corner, New Hampshire. In the early 1940s it seems that adapting plays to the screen still meant almost a scene for scene reconstruction of how they first played in the theatre. Like on the stage Our Town begins with the character of Stage Manager, here played by Frank Craven, who addresses the audience directly and introduces them to the characters and day-to-day activities in the small town. The film concentrates on two families - the Gibbs and the Webbs and in particular their two eldest children George Gibbs and Emily Webb played by William Holden and Martha Scott. You can kind of sense the film was a play to begin with as it seems to be divided into three acts the first with George and Emily's schooldays and their first attraction to each other, the second with them getting together properly and getting married and the final with Emily's death during childbirth and her appearing as a ghost looking back at her life. However some changes were made from the play when it became a film most notably is that Emily's death is just a dream in the film, something that didn't happen in Wilder's original work, presumably because Wood wanted the wartime audience to have a happy ending leaving the cinema on a high with Emily's words about really living still ringing in their heads.

Although as I previously stated there are some issues over the adaptation of the play in that it still feels quite stagy there are some nice touches most of them in the film's final act. Emily's presence as a ghost looking at her funeral is done very well she is shot with a bright light surrounding her wearing only white and as she is taken up to heaven, before waking up, the screen closes in around her so she is in black addressing the audience with her final speech. There are also some good scenes elsewhere the funeral itself with the camera focused on a lot of umbrellas at the grave is a nice touch and the wedding scene is also well done. But there are a few dodgy bits as well a scene at an ice cream parlour goes on far too long and also a scene during a choir rehearsal at a church seems misplaced. In terms of the acting I was surprised that the names that I recognised - Holden, Thomas Mitchell and Fay Bainter, didn't give memorable performances but instead it was Craven's Stage Manager and Scott's Emily who really made an impact during the film and Scott was rightly given a Best Actress nomination for her role losing out to Ginger Rogers in Kitty Foyle, another film directed by Wood. Overall a quaint adaptation which suffers from filmic limitations but is given life by a great central performance from its lead actress.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 88-89: Catch-up Part 2

Next to the Wild West firstly with John Ford's classic western Stagecoach which fell to the superior Gone With the Wind at the 1940 ceremony. Set primarily in the titular Stagecoach it sees a lot of disparate characters heading from Arizona to New Mexico. Among them are Claire Trevor's prostitute Dallas, Thomas Mitchell's alcoholic Doc Boone, Lucy Mallory a woman travelling to see her injured husband and a corrupt banker who is trying to abscond with $50,000 dollars from his place of employ. On their way the party pick up and arrest Wayne's fugitive The Ringo Kid but the group have to quickly bond together in order to avoid being finished off by the Apache gangs in the area. Along the way Lucy goes into labour and Doc Boone is called into action and later Ringo and Dallas form a relationship with Ringo proposing to Dallas who doesn't feel herself good enough to deserve happiness. Although some of the party don't make it all the way most of the people get their happy ending or receive their comeuppance. I really did enjoy Stagecoach finding it both a well-shot Western and a very intriguing character piece featuring some great performance especially from Trevor and Mitchell who won the award for Supporting Actor.

The other Western was a nominee from the 1944 ceremony, The Ox-Bow Incident, which didn't really have a chance up against Casablanca. Despite this it is an interesting little film about mob mentality after one of their ranchers is supposedly killed in an incident involving cattle rustlers a group of 25 set out to find those responsible. Among thsi group is Henry Fonda's Gil and his friend Art who join the group mainly to avoid suspicion themselves when three men are found they are automatically thought to be guilty. After finding the gun belonging to Kinkaide, all but seven of the group agree that the men have to be hung. As the group return they find out that Kinkaide is still alive and the men who they hung had nothing to do with it. The final scene in which all the members of the mob go to the saloon and drink in silence is particularly effective.The Ox-Bow Incident has a simple story and some good turns in a cast lead ably by Fonda, while it didn't do any particular damage at the Oscars I still think it deserved its nomination.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 81: A Presidential Epic

Following one biopic with another this time about the 28th President of the U.S.A Woodrow Wilson. Ask someone from the UK to name all the presidents of America that they know and they would probably give you Lincoln, Washington, Nixon, Bush, Clinton and Obama and possibly a couple more. But only the more knowledgeable would be able to tell you about Wilson even though he served through two terms and was the President of America during World War 1 and helped forge the League of Nations. The film itself was the project of 20th Century Fox's head honcho Darryl F Zanuck who was a big fan of Wilson's however despite winning five Oscars it was a monumental flop and Zanuck was so disappointed the film was never to be mentioned in his presence again. One of the reasons that the film may not have done so well is that it is incredibly long. I think Zanuck didn't want to leave anything out about Wilson's life but that means that the film does drag from time to time. We see him originally as a Princeton professor who has written many works about politics he is encouraged to run for governor and then eventually for President. Despite not doing much campaigning he is able to get in due to earnest nature. Initially Wilson refuses that America enter the war claiming that he didn't want to be responsible for any American men losing their lives but eventually he decides to help out and even contributes to the war effort. After the war he is one of the leaders involved in the League of Nations who try to ensure that something like a World War doesn't happen again. Some of the leaders disagree but Wilson delivers a speech and eventually they all agree. That seems to be a recurring theme of the film, Wilson's long and worthy speeches which convince people of his ideas. Meanwhile Wilson's personal life is also detailed with the death of his first wife and his very quick romance and marriage to his second wife. This is one of the moments in the film that I found a bit creepy, I thought that Wilson didn't leave it too long before moving on but the film blesses Wilson's new wife because she is the favourite of Wilson's daughters.

The film's best point and possibly reason for its failure is the no-name Alexander Knox as Wilson himself. Knox doesn't look like an actor and doesn't particularly act and that's why the film works I'd go as far to say as his performance is one of the best I've ever seen by a Lead Actor of all time. Showing little emotion from the beginning to the end but still being passionate about his family and his causes, Knox's Wilson is a compelling presence without being overtly loud and over-the-top. There is a large collection of supporting characters the most famous of whom are Charles Coburn and oddly Vincent Price as one of Wilson's political aides. Supposedly the film glossed over some of Wilson's flaws his very belligerent nature as well as his inherent racism aren't mentioned at all. The film also is very pro-America propaganda, as the film was released while the war was still on and it is very support our troops and boo the Germans. Despite though this is a fairly enjoyable if overlong biopic with a stunning central performance.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 78: Frank and Jimmy Take on Congress

After watching seven of his films its time to say goodbye to Frank Capra, for his final film on the list its time to go back to the 1940 ceremony and Mr Smith Goes to Washington. The story sees Jimmy Stewart's Boy Scout Leader Jefferson Smith as the surprise choice to take over from the previous senator in his state. Originally the film had been intended as a follow up to Capra's Mr Deeds Goes to Town with Gary Cooper reviving the Deeds role and entering the senate. However when it was revealed Cooper wasn't available Capra decided it would be a perfect vehicle for him to work again with Stewart and Jean Arthur (who had been a couple in You Can't Take It With You). When Smith gets to Washington he is awe-inspired by the architecture and the history that the place has but is ridiculed by the press for being a simpleton. Smith is taken under the wing of Senator Paine, his father's oldest and best friend as well as charming over Arthur's Saunders, Paine's Chief-of-Staff. Smith proposes a new legislation to approve a government loan to allow for some land to be purchased in his state for a national Boy's Camp, and the loan will be paid back by donations from the scouts. Paine is leaned on by the manipulative political adviser Jim Taylor to quash Smith because the land is already part of a dam-building scheme constructed by Taylor. Paine decides to make out that Smith owns the land and is defrauding the scouts but by this stage Saunders is on Smith's side and uncovers Taylor's corruption. The film's most famous scene is where Smith decides to embark on a filibuster, holding the floor and speaking for as long as possible without sitting down, when all the senators leave the room. Taylor and Paine try and break his spirit by rigging the press in Taylor's state and making out that no-one is supporting him but he finds solace in a smile from the senate's president. At the end of the film Smith collapses from exhaustion and Paine tries to commit suicide when he is stopped he confesses everything and Smith's reputation is redeemed.

Just like with Stewart and Capra's most famous colaboration, It's a Wonderful Life, Mr Smith Goes to Washington is remembered for its final scenes. However before that there is a lot that no-one ever thinks about including the scene where Smith tries to punch a lot of journalists after they diss him and Smith's romance with Paine's daughter which is used as a distraction for Smith's plans. However there is a lot to like here, Capra's themes of the underdog triumphing is possibly at its most blatant here with the innocent and ultimately good Smith gets one over on the cowardly Paine and the tyrannical Taylor. Jean Arthur again proves that she is the most consistent of Capra's female leads, with Saunders she portrays a woman trying to survive in a masculine world and has almost lost all her femininity to do so. In fact there is no romantic end to her relationship with Smith however her greatest moment is when someone calls her Clarissa, her first name, which makes her feel somewhat human. Stewart himself is able to play a real, likeable if innocent character with ease. While there are some fine supporting performances from Claude Rains as the multi-layered Paine and Edward Arnold as the just plain evil Taylor. Rains, Stewart and Harry Carey (as the president of the senate) were all nominated for Oscars although none were successful. Indeed only the story won an Oscar but it did come up against Gone With The Wind, I reckon if it had been released a year before or after it may have done better. Although this is more than a fitting end to my Frank Capra education.

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.