Here it is. This is the year most people single out as the best in Hollywood history. For my money I prefer the year after this for number of quality films released. This year has 2 behemoths in Gone With The Wind and The Wizard Of Oz and one of my favorite movies, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington. You also have Stagecoach, Ninotchka, Of Mice And Men and Wuthering Heights but then it's just a lot of good to fair pictures after that. My top 5 movies of the year all got Oscar nominations so that makes this one of the best Oscar years in history. All 10 of the Best Picture nominees deserve to be here. Usually there's one movie that sticks out. You see that today even, the nominees are The Hurt Locker, District 9 and... The Blind Side? Who let you in? Obviously Goodbye Mr. Chips can't compete with Gone With The Wind but it's a good film and would get a nomination in most years. Gone With The Wind wins most of the awards this year which is understandable, even if I would have gone a different way in a lot of the categories.
You can see my GABBY winners and nominees HERE
BEST PICTURE
9. Love Affair - This is a terrific romantic drama. Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne meet on a cruise ship, fall in love but they are both engaged to other people. They make a plan to meet at the Empire State Building in six months. On her way, Dunne gets hit by a car and is paralyzed and Boyer thinks that she stood him up. They meet by accident and fall in love. It's a great, simple love story with good performances. It was remade by the same director as An Affair To Remember and later in 1994 with Warren Beatty and Annette Bening. Sad part about this film is that it has not aged well. The movie is in public domain and the copies that are circulated are really poor quality.
8. Dark Victory - Bette Davis is a rich socialite who develops a brain tumor. The doctor says she has limited time so they keep it a secret. She eventually finds out her diagnosis and shit hits the fan. It's a fine film, no way it could compete in this crowded field, and Bette Davis is very charismatic as the lead. Humphrey Bogart has a supporting part but he's not playing the typical Bogart role. He's the concerned stable master who looks out for Bette. It's interesting to watch a Hollywood star get his start in a role that is the exact opposite of the kind of role that would make him an icon.
7. Wuthering Heights - This an epic romantic drama. I've never read the book, because I'm not that big of a reader, I watch too many damn movies, so I can't tell you if this is a good adaptation but it is a beautiful movie. I mean it just looks beautiful, it should it was directed by William Wyler with cinematography by Gregg Toland. Heathcliff and Cathy are young lovers but he feels that he is below her class. Eventually Heathcliff leaves town because her overhears Cathy talking about how she couldn't marry him because of their societal differences. He comes back years later, rich and looking for some revenge so he marries her sister-in-law and she eventually dies of a broken heart and he is visited by her spirit years later. It's just a beautiful movie to look at. Other movies have better stories or flow better but this movie just looks so damn good.
6. Ninotchka - This is a Billy Wilder script directed by Ernst Lubitsch. You can't ask for a better pairing than that. It's about some Russians who want to sell some jewelry and Melvyn Douglas who is sent to stop them. The Russians are comically inept so Douglas is able to fool them so they send in Ninotchka, Greta Garbo. She's a stern, no-nonsense woman but, of course, she softens and ends up falling for Douglas. It's a really funny film.
5. Stagecoach - This is a John Ford western about people on a stagecoach. John Wayne plays an anti-hero, he's a wanted man who is being taken into custody but of course he helps save the day when the coach gets attacked by Apache Indians. You meet all the passengers of the coach and they all have something that defines them, the drunk, the prostitute, the pregnant lady. If you like westerns this is a good one.
4. Of Mice And Men - John Steinbeck's novel about two ranch hands, one mentally challenged, who dream of making it on their own during the depression. Burgess Meredith plays George and Lon Chaney, Jr. plays Lennie. George takes care of Lennie until he gets into too much trouble and has to be dealt with. It's a beautifully depressing film that leaves you emotionally stunned at the climax.
3. Gone With The Wind - A spectacle to be hold. This is about Scarlett O'Hara, the daughter of a plantation owner, during the Civil War and reconstruction. You can't watch this movie without being stunned by how much work went into this. It doesn't look like any other film from the 1930s. There are so many extras and stunts and the color and scope of the film is like nothing that has been seen before. It's definitely longer than it needs to be but it's a big budget, star studded, action packed epic. The last time I watched it I was most impressed by the horses. There's a scene where Clark Gable rides his horses into a burning town that made me very scared for the animals.
2. The Wizard Of Oz - Everybody has seen this film, right? A young girl from Kansas is taken to a magical land after a tornado and needs to find her way back home. She meets a scarecrow, a tin man and a lion and does battle with a wicked witch. It's a wonderful family film that gets better the more you watch it. I first watched it as a kid and have seen it many times since, both by myself and with children and it never gets old.
1. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington - An open senate seat is filled by the head of the Boy Rangers, Jefferson Smith. He is chosen because the people in power feel that he will be easy to manipulate. At first he is naive and confused as to how government really works and is taken advantage of by other senators and the press. Then he uncovers some government corruption which he first gets blamed for but then holds a filibuster on the senate floor. It's a terrific film that makes me tear up every time I watch it.
It's hard to go against Gone With The Wind and in this company I think most people would vote either Wind or The Wizard Of Oz. I'm going with Mr. Smith Goes To Washington as I can't watch that movie without weeping. I'm not an incredibly patriotic man but watching Jefferson Smith fight for what is right against an entire group of people standing up against him makes me swell with pride. It's a story about how one man, no matter how naive, can change the world and it makes me wish that we had more people like that today.
Oscar Winner: Gone With The Wind
My Vote: Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
GABBY Winner: Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
BEST ACTOR
4. Laurence Olivier - Wuthering Heights - Olivier plays Heathcliff, a poor stable boy who falls in love with a woman above his class. He thinks that she doesn't love him because of his status so he leaves to gain his wealth and then comes back a rich man to rub it in her face. This was the role that made Olivier a movie star. He's good in the role but it's not something I would consider for this category. It is a good star-making performance and you can see that his screen presence is strong.
3. Robert Donat - Goodbye Mr. Chips - We first get introduced to Mr. Chips on his first day as a teacher at an English boarding school. The movie follows the character until his death. Donat does a really good job of aging with his character, I bought him as a young man and bought him as a decrepit old timer. His character not only ages physically but in his personality as well going from a stuffy young teacher who only cares about the rules to a wise older man who commands respect from his students.
2. Clark Gable - Gone With The Wind - Gable plays Rhett Butler, a wealthy southern man who ends up marrying Scarlett O'Hara and then leaving her in epic fashion. This is a performance that usually wins an Oscar. He's in the Best Picture winner, he's a respected Hollywood star and he gives a great performance. I wouldn't vote for him just because he already won an Oscar at this point and the next actor on this list gave one of my favorite performances of all time.
1. James Stewart - Mr. Smith Goes To Washington - Jefferson Smith is a naive man who loves his country, government and history. He's the leader of the Boy Scouts in his town and gets elected to the senate as a replacement for a man who died in office. He is hand picked because the powers that be feel that they can easily manipulate him into voting how they want. When he gets to Washington he is full of wonder and feels pride in being part of our government. He soon becomes disillusioned when he sees how things really work in Washington. The last 40 minutes of the movie is Stewart holding the senate floor in a filibuster in possibly the greatest instance of film acting ever.
I can't possibly vote for anyone other than Jimmy Stewart here. I know he's going to win next year for The Philadelphia Story but if Spencer Tracy and Tom Hanks can win back to back Oscars Stewart should be able to as well. If I'm voting strictly on performance then I gotta pick Stewart, if I'm voting for who should have an Oscar more, then I'm still picking Stewart, if I'm voting for who I want to have a beer with, the answer is always going to be Jimmy Stewart.
Oscar Winner: Robert Donat
My Vote: James Stewart
GABBY Winner: James Stewart
BEST ACTRESS
4. Bette Davis - Dark Victory - Davis plays a socialite who enjoys drinking, smoking and partying until she is diagnosed with a brain tumor. She is given limited time to live and starts a relationship with her doctor but then breaks it off when she thinks he is just with her out of pity. It's a pretty good performance, not something that should win and considering she had 2 Oscars already, this is not 3rd Best Actress Oscar quality. Much like Spencer Tracy or Tom Hanks, once you win 2 Oscars it's kind of like "been there, done that" and you have an easy excuse not to vote for them.
3. Irene Dunne - Love Affair - This is a classic romantic drama. Dunne meets Charles Boyer on a cruise ship and they fall in love. Problem is they are both engaged. They make a pact to meet at the Empire State Building in six months but on the way Dunne gets hit by a car and Boyer thinks that she stood him up. Dunne is one of my favorite actresses of this era and deserved an Oscar. She should have won 2 years ago for The Awful Truth or gotten a career achievement type win in 1948 but unfortunately, this year she just can't compete.
2. Greta Garbo - Ninotchka - Garbo plays Ninotchka, a soviet who is stern, humorless and almost robotic. While in Paris she meets Melvyn Douglas, who falls for her. He warms her up and she eventually starts to smile, in one of the best scenes from a romantic comedy where Garbo laughs. That was the tagline to the movie, just "Garbo Laughs". She was known for her romantic dramas but she proved herself a capable comedienne as well. I absolutely adore her in this film and she would be an easy win in most years but unfortunately for her...
1. Vivien Leigh - Gone With The Wind - Leigh plays Scarlett O'Hara. It's easy to forget now, but in 1939 Vivien Leigh was not a star. This was the performance that made her career, and what a performance it was. For the entire running time of the film she is at the forefront and creates a character that you don't mind spending the time with. She goes through almost every emotion available during the film and is simply iconic.
One of the easiest decisions I've ever had to make in one of these Oscar Watch entries. Vivien Leigh holds together a 4 hour movie with her performance. It was a bit of a gamble to cast her in the first place, she wasn't an established star, this was pretty much her first lead role. Irene Dunne and Greta Garbo deserved Oscars in their career but here they just can't compete with Scarlett O'Hara.
Oscar Winner: Vivien Leigh
My Vote: Vivien Leigh
GABBY Winner: Vivien Leigh
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
4. Harry Carey - Mr. Smith Goes To Washington - This is such a great film. Everything in it is wonderful. I love every second of it and Harry Carey...is in it too. I'm all in favor of Mr. Smith Goes To Washington getting more nominations but I just don't understand this one. Carey plays the president of the senate and he mostly just explains rules and bangs his gavel. He has one really nice moment near the end of the film where he drops his responsible demeanor and just smiles at Jefferson Smith but there's no way I would put this in my top 5.
3. Brian Donlevy - Beau Geste - This is about a group of men in the foreign legion. I didn't get in to it that much but certainly the most interesting part is Brian Donlevy as the sadistic sergeant. These guys show up in his company and he immediately dislikes them because they don't fit his high standard of soldiers. He takes pleasure in torturing his men to toughen them up. He has one really great moment where he watches a man die and then puts his ear close to his chest to hear the final breaths and just smiles. It's an interesting character because he could have just been a villain but you sort of see his side as well.
2. Claude Rains - Mr. Smith Goes To Washington - How did Claude Rains never win an Oscar? People talk about the travesty of Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton but Claude Rains may be the biggest Oscar failure of all time. Rains plays a senator who is secretly corrupt. Jefferson Smith accidentally uncovers some stuff and at first Rains is putting on a smile and telling him to look the other way but then when it starts to look like he is going to be found out he starts acting like a cornered animal. It's a nice layered performance and, like I said, Claude Rains deserved an Oscar at some point during his career.
1. Thomas Mitchell - Stagecoach - Mitchell is the drunk old doctor aboard the titular stagecoach. Mitchell could always play a good drunk. It's a really good performance where he gets to play funny and serious. He's the stand out of the ensemble as he gets all the funny lines but also has a terrific scene where he has to sober up to deliver a baby.
First off, why no love for The Wizard Of Oz in this category? Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr or Frank Morgan would have made a lot more sense than Harry Carey. If I was voting for who deserved an Oscar the most then I would be voting for Claude Rains. I'm voting instead for Thomas Mitchell for a couple of reasons. He was a great character actor as well and is one of the people who I feel embodies this category. He was not only in Stagecoach but also Gone With The Wind and Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, all 3 Best Picture nominees, he certainly makes a case for Supporting Actor Of The Year. Finally, I know I'm going to vote for Claude Rains when I get to 1943. I know my votes don't matter but I'm using that as the tipping point that tilts the scale in Mitchell's favor. This is my blog, I can do what I want.
Oscar Winner: Thomas Mitchell
My Vote: Thomas Mitchell
GABBY Winner: Bela Lugosi for Son Of Frankenstein
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
You can see my GABBY winners and nominees HERE
BEST PICTURE
10. Goodbye, Mr. Chips - This movie is just a little stuffy but I think it's supposed to be. It follows Mr. Chips through his life. He is a young teacher who is a stern disciplinarian, he keeps his students from competing in a Rugby match or something and it pisses off the whole school. He is a no-nonsense by the book kind of guy but then he meets Greer Garson who is full of life. They fall in love and he starts softening and then he gets older and older and eventually becomes everyone's favorite teacher. Then he dies. That's the movie. It's a fair watch but doesn't really stay with you.
8. Dark Victory - Bette Davis is a rich socialite who develops a brain tumor. The doctor says she has limited time so they keep it a secret. She eventually finds out her diagnosis and shit hits the fan. It's a fine film, no way it could compete in this crowded field, and Bette Davis is very charismatic as the lead. Humphrey Bogart has a supporting part but he's not playing the typical Bogart role. He's the concerned stable master who looks out for Bette. It's interesting to watch a Hollywood star get his start in a role that is the exact opposite of the kind of role that would make him an icon.
7. Wuthering Heights - This an epic romantic drama. I've never read the book, because I'm not that big of a reader, I watch too many damn movies, so I can't tell you if this is a good adaptation but it is a beautiful movie. I mean it just looks beautiful, it should it was directed by William Wyler with cinematography by Gregg Toland. Heathcliff and Cathy are young lovers but he feels that he is below her class. Eventually Heathcliff leaves town because her overhears Cathy talking about how she couldn't marry him because of their societal differences. He comes back years later, rich and looking for some revenge so he marries her sister-in-law and she eventually dies of a broken heart and he is visited by her spirit years later. It's just a beautiful movie to look at. Other movies have better stories or flow better but this movie just looks so damn good.
6. Ninotchka - This is a Billy Wilder script directed by Ernst Lubitsch. You can't ask for a better pairing than that. It's about some Russians who want to sell some jewelry and Melvyn Douglas who is sent to stop them. The Russians are comically inept so Douglas is able to fool them so they send in Ninotchka, Greta Garbo. She's a stern, no-nonsense woman but, of course, she softens and ends up falling for Douglas. It's a really funny film.
5. Stagecoach - This is a John Ford western about people on a stagecoach. John Wayne plays an anti-hero, he's a wanted man who is being taken into custody but of course he helps save the day when the coach gets attacked by Apache Indians. You meet all the passengers of the coach and they all have something that defines them, the drunk, the prostitute, the pregnant lady. If you like westerns this is a good one.
4. Of Mice And Men - John Steinbeck's novel about two ranch hands, one mentally challenged, who dream of making it on their own during the depression. Burgess Meredith plays George and Lon Chaney, Jr. plays Lennie. George takes care of Lennie until he gets into too much trouble and has to be dealt with. It's a beautifully depressing film that leaves you emotionally stunned at the climax.
3. Gone With The Wind - A spectacle to be hold. This is about Scarlett O'Hara, the daughter of a plantation owner, during the Civil War and reconstruction. You can't watch this movie without being stunned by how much work went into this. It doesn't look like any other film from the 1930s. There are so many extras and stunts and the color and scope of the film is like nothing that has been seen before. It's definitely longer than it needs to be but it's a big budget, star studded, action packed epic. The last time I watched it I was most impressed by the horses. There's a scene where Clark Gable rides his horses into a burning town that made me very scared for the animals.
2. The Wizard Of Oz - Everybody has seen this film, right? A young girl from Kansas is taken to a magical land after a tornado and needs to find her way back home. She meets a scarecrow, a tin man and a lion and does battle with a wicked witch. It's a wonderful family film that gets better the more you watch it. I first watched it as a kid and have seen it many times since, both by myself and with children and it never gets old.
1. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington - An open senate seat is filled by the head of the Boy Rangers, Jefferson Smith. He is chosen because the people in power feel that he will be easy to manipulate. At first he is naive and confused as to how government really works and is taken advantage of by other senators and the press. Then he uncovers some government corruption which he first gets blamed for but then holds a filibuster on the senate floor. It's a terrific film that makes me tear up every time I watch it.
It's hard to go against Gone With The Wind and in this company I think most people would vote either Wind or The Wizard Of Oz. I'm going with Mr. Smith Goes To Washington as I can't watch that movie without weeping. I'm not an incredibly patriotic man but watching Jefferson Smith fight for what is right against an entire group of people standing up against him makes me swell with pride. It's a story about how one man, no matter how naive, can change the world and it makes me wish that we had more people like that today.
Oscar Winner: Gone With The Wind
My Vote: Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
GABBY Winner: Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
BEST ACTOR
5. Mickey Rooney - Babes In Arms - This is a Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland musical. It's a fine film but compared to everything else nominated in this category, this is just a weird nomination. Mickey is the son of a vaudeville entertainer and he likes to write songs. His father, of course, doesn't see his talents and everybody dismisses his skills as just kid stuff. The children of the vaudeville people decide to put on a show themselves. It's a very light movie, it kind of leaves your mind right after you watch it. Mickey is fine in it. He has a natural screen presence that you just can't teach. Still, he just seems out of place here.
3. Robert Donat - Goodbye Mr. Chips - We first get introduced to Mr. Chips on his first day as a teacher at an English boarding school. The movie follows the character until his death. Donat does a really good job of aging with his character, I bought him as a young man and bought him as a decrepit old timer. His character not only ages physically but in his personality as well going from a stuffy young teacher who only cares about the rules to a wise older man who commands respect from his students.
2. Clark Gable - Gone With The Wind - Gable plays Rhett Butler, a wealthy southern man who ends up marrying Scarlett O'Hara and then leaving her in epic fashion. This is a performance that usually wins an Oscar. He's in the Best Picture winner, he's a respected Hollywood star and he gives a great performance. I wouldn't vote for him just because he already won an Oscar at this point and the next actor on this list gave one of my favorite performances of all time.
1. James Stewart - Mr. Smith Goes To Washington - Jefferson Smith is a naive man who loves his country, government and history. He's the leader of the Boy Scouts in his town and gets elected to the senate as a replacement for a man who died in office. He is hand picked because the powers that be feel that they can easily manipulate him into voting how they want. When he gets to Washington he is full of wonder and feels pride in being part of our government. He soon becomes disillusioned when he sees how things really work in Washington. The last 40 minutes of the movie is Stewart holding the senate floor in a filibuster in possibly the greatest instance of film acting ever.
I can't possibly vote for anyone other than Jimmy Stewart here. I know he's going to win next year for The Philadelphia Story but if Spencer Tracy and Tom Hanks can win back to back Oscars Stewart should be able to as well. If I'm voting strictly on performance then I gotta pick Stewart, if I'm voting for who should have an Oscar more, then I'm still picking Stewart, if I'm voting for who I want to have a beer with, the answer is always going to be Jimmy Stewart.
Oscar Winner: Robert Donat
My Vote: James Stewart
GABBY Winner: James Stewart
BEST ACTRESS
5. Greer Garson - Goodbye Mr. Chips - I know Garson is second billed in the film but this really can't be qualified as a lead role. The movie is about Mr. Chips, a stuffy English professor and he meets Garson, falls in love, she teaches him to live life to the fullest and then she dies. This was her first of 7 nominations, 5 of which were consecutive, and she's very good in the role but it is very obviously a supporting one.
4. Bette Davis - Dark Victory - Davis plays a socialite who enjoys drinking, smoking and partying until she is diagnosed with a brain tumor. She is given limited time to live and starts a relationship with her doctor but then breaks it off when she thinks he is just with her out of pity. It's a pretty good performance, not something that should win and considering she had 2 Oscars already, this is not 3rd Best Actress Oscar quality. Much like Spencer Tracy or Tom Hanks, once you win 2 Oscars it's kind of like "been there, done that" and you have an easy excuse not to vote for them.
3. Irene Dunne - Love Affair - This is a classic romantic drama. Dunne meets Charles Boyer on a cruise ship and they fall in love. Problem is they are both engaged. They make a pact to meet at the Empire State Building in six months but on the way Dunne gets hit by a car and Boyer thinks that she stood him up. Dunne is one of my favorite actresses of this era and deserved an Oscar. She should have won 2 years ago for The Awful Truth or gotten a career achievement type win in 1948 but unfortunately, this year she just can't compete.
2. Greta Garbo - Ninotchka - Garbo plays Ninotchka, a soviet who is stern, humorless and almost robotic. While in Paris she meets Melvyn Douglas, who falls for her. He warms her up and she eventually starts to smile, in one of the best scenes from a romantic comedy where Garbo laughs. That was the tagline to the movie, just "Garbo Laughs". She was known for her romantic dramas but she proved herself a capable comedienne as well. I absolutely adore her in this film and she would be an easy win in most years but unfortunately for her...
1. Vivien Leigh - Gone With The Wind - Leigh plays Scarlett O'Hara. It's easy to forget now, but in 1939 Vivien Leigh was not a star. This was the performance that made her career, and what a performance it was. For the entire running time of the film she is at the forefront and creates a character that you don't mind spending the time with. She goes through almost every emotion available during the film and is simply iconic.
One of the easiest decisions I've ever had to make in one of these Oscar Watch entries. Vivien Leigh holds together a 4 hour movie with her performance. It was a bit of a gamble to cast her in the first place, she wasn't an established star, this was pretty much her first lead role. Irene Dunne and Greta Garbo deserved Oscars in their career but here they just can't compete with Scarlett O'Hara.
Oscar Winner: Vivien Leigh
My Vote: Vivien Leigh
GABBY Winner: Vivien Leigh
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
5. Brian Aherne - Juarez - First off, this is a lead role. Second, this movie isn't that good. It's all right if you like historical dramas about Mexican revolutionaries played by white guys, but if you don't then you can probably skip this. Aherne actually isn't that bad in the film and, if he had taken Mickey Rooney's spot, would have been a nice, weird, little addition to the Best Actor category. He plays a French guy who is declared ruler of Mexico by the king just so France can keep control of the country. He's a guy in way over his head and when he gets executed at the end he gets a nice moment of being able to go out in style. Still, it's category fraud and a movie I didn't care for that much.
4. Harry Carey - Mr. Smith Goes To Washington - This is such a great film. Everything in it is wonderful. I love every second of it and Harry Carey...is in it too. I'm all in favor of Mr. Smith Goes To Washington getting more nominations but I just don't understand this one. Carey plays the president of the senate and he mostly just explains rules and bangs his gavel. He has one really nice moment near the end of the film where he drops his responsible demeanor and just smiles at Jefferson Smith but there's no way I would put this in my top 5.
3. Brian Donlevy - Beau Geste - This is about a group of men in the foreign legion. I didn't get in to it that much but certainly the most interesting part is Brian Donlevy as the sadistic sergeant. These guys show up in his company and he immediately dislikes them because they don't fit his high standard of soldiers. He takes pleasure in torturing his men to toughen them up. He has one really great moment where he watches a man die and then puts his ear close to his chest to hear the final breaths and just smiles. It's an interesting character because he could have just been a villain but you sort of see his side as well.
2. Claude Rains - Mr. Smith Goes To Washington - How did Claude Rains never win an Oscar? People talk about the travesty of Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton but Claude Rains may be the biggest Oscar failure of all time. Rains plays a senator who is secretly corrupt. Jefferson Smith accidentally uncovers some stuff and at first Rains is putting on a smile and telling him to look the other way but then when it starts to look like he is going to be found out he starts acting like a cornered animal. It's a nice layered performance and, like I said, Claude Rains deserved an Oscar at some point during his career.
1. Thomas Mitchell - Stagecoach - Mitchell is the drunk old doctor aboard the titular stagecoach. Mitchell could always play a good drunk. It's a really good performance where he gets to play funny and serious. He's the stand out of the ensemble as he gets all the funny lines but also has a terrific scene where he has to sober up to deliver a baby.
First off, why no love for The Wizard Of Oz in this category? Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr or Frank Morgan would have made a lot more sense than Harry Carey. If I was voting for who deserved an Oscar the most then I would be voting for Claude Rains. I'm voting instead for Thomas Mitchell for a couple of reasons. He was a great character actor as well and is one of the people who I feel embodies this category. He was not only in Stagecoach but also Gone With The Wind and Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, all 3 Best Picture nominees, he certainly makes a case for Supporting Actor Of The Year. Finally, I know I'm going to vote for Claude Rains when I get to 1943. I know my votes don't matter but I'm using that as the tipping point that tilts the scale in Mitchell's favor. This is my blog, I can do what I want.
Oscar Winner: Thomas Mitchell
My Vote: Thomas Mitchell
GABBY Winner: Bela Lugosi for Son Of Frankenstein
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
5. Maria Ouspenskaya - Love Affair - I always get this nomination confused with her nomination for Dodsworth in 1936 because they are both basically the same character. She's an old lady who sits in a chair and a guy comes up to her and asks her relationship advice. In Dodsworth he is trying to get permission to marry a lady and she is cold, here she's warm and basically tells Irene Dunne that Charles Boyer should be with her. She's in the movie for like 5 minutes, this is a bullshit nomination. Seriously, no Margaret Hamilton, but this?
4. Geraldine Fitzgerald - Wuthering Heights - After Olivier comes back to town a wealthy man he decides that he wants to make his ex love's life a little painful. He marries Geraldine Fitzgerald, who is his ex's sister-in-law just to make her jealous. She really loves Olivier but he is cold to her because he's secretly still in love with his ex. Fitzgerald is fine in the role but the role doesn't require much, she's just not in the film that much. More than Ouspenskaya, but still not that much.
3. Olivia De Havilland - Gone With The Wind - De Havilland plays Melanie, Scarlett O'Hara's sister-in-law. She's a nice, sweet and proper lady who Scarlett dislikes because she married the man she liked. I've written in other posts about my love for Olivia De Havilland and nothing has changed. As of this date she's still alive too, 100 years old, so I still got a chance. I got that going for me, which is nice.
2. Edna May Oliver - Drums Along The Mohawk - Oliver is one of my favorite character actresses of this time period. She was just always very fun to watch. She had an interesting look about her that made her automatically funny. She looks like a mixture between Margaret Dumont and Olive Oyl. In this John Ford technicolor western she plays an old settler who gives Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert a place to stay. She's the highlight of the film. She's big, loud, boisterous and funny, exactly what a supporting performance should be. Sadly, this was her only nomination and she died shortly afterwards.
1. Hattie McDaniel - Gone With The Wind - And then there's Mammy. I have mixed feelings about this. Plus side, she was the first black actor to win an Oscar. She's also very good in the role and even though she's playing, essentially, a slave she has some moments of true strength and is actually a really powerful character. On the other hand, she's a black woman playing a housekeeper which was the only type of roles black actors could get at the time and they thought so highly of her that they wouldn't even let her write her own acceptance speech.
I really don't have anything against the Hattie McDaniel win I just have a problem with the Oscars celebrating this milestone as a historic event. Yes, you gave a black person an award but you're just hanging a lampshade on the problem. It would be over 20 years before another black actor won an Oscar, which isn't the Oscars fault, movies only cast black actors as maids, butlers and slaves. I thought about voting for Edna May Oliver just because she had a better career but if you think for one second I'm not voting for Hattie McDaniel you can kiss my apologetic-for-my-white-privilege ass.
Oscar Winner: Hattie McDaniel
My Vote: Hattie McDaniel
GABBY Winner: Margaret Hamilton for The Wizard Of Oz
I really don't have anything against the Hattie McDaniel win I just have a problem with the Oscars celebrating this milestone as a historic event. Yes, you gave a black person an award but you're just hanging a lampshade on the problem. It would be over 20 years before another black actor won an Oscar, which isn't the Oscars fault, movies only cast black actors as maids, butlers and slaves. I thought about voting for Edna May Oliver just because she had a better career but if you think for one second I'm not voting for Hattie McDaniel you can kiss my apologetic-for-my-white-privilege ass.
Oscar Winner: Hattie McDaniel
My Vote: Hattie McDaniel
GABBY Winner: Margaret Hamilton for The Wizard Of Oz
Best Director
Victor Fleming wins for Gone With The Wind and since Frank Capra already had 3 Oscars and Fleming also directed The Wizard Of Oz, this is an extremely fair decision.
Best Story/Best Screenplay
I have no idea what the distinction between these 2 categories is, it makes it all the more confusing that Mr. Smith Goes To Washington and Ninotchka are nominated in both. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington wins Best Story while Gone With The Wind wins Best Screenplay. I guess the idea of Mr. Smith was good while the actual dialogue in Gone With The Wind was good.
Best Score/Original Score
OK, I think I got this one figured out. Back in these days a studio was guaranteed a nomination as long as it submitted a film that qualified. So MGM would submit every movie they made that year and the Academy would pick the best one of the bunch, sometimes 2 or 3. I'm guessing that the Best Score nomination is for all around music and the Best Original Score nomination is for the composer of a film's score. I don't know why there is a need for 2 categories that honor the same thing and for some reason Of Mice And Men gets nominated in both of them. Anyway, Stagecoach wins for Best Score and The Wizard Of Oz wins for Best Original Score, both movies have very good music.
Best Song
Over The Rainbow from The Wizard Of Oz is probably the best winner in this category ever.
Best Sound Recording
This is a category that you would assume would go to Gone With The Wind or The Wizard Of Oz, which wasn't nominated, or a musical, but instead it went to When Tomorrow Comes a movie that is not talked about much today and I had never heard of. Turns out it is available on YouTube and is another Irene Dunne/Charles Boyer romantic drama. One of the big set pieces of the film is a hurricane which is heard but not seen. They are sheltering themselves from it so you hear the hurricane outside the house. So the sound is good and it feels like David going up against Goliath and coming out victorious.
Best Art Direction
12 nominees really makes it hard to pick a winner. Which is probably why Gone With The Wind wins by default, everything else cancels each other out.
Best Cinematography - Black And White/Color
Wuthering Heights and Gone With The Wind are the two prettiest movies of the year so it's nice that they both were able to get an Oscar.
Best Film Editing
Gone With The Wind wins. No arguments here.
Best Special Effects
It's hard to tell what qualifies as a special effect in 1939. If you needed a scene where everything was on fire in 1939 you just set everything on fire and turned on a camera. The winner was The Rains Came which has a big flood scene and also seems to have been filmed mostly on location. Topper Takes A Trip had cooler special effects but I think we can all agree that The Wizard Of Oz still holds up and looks just as great now as it did back then. If I had to choose between all the CGI in the world and the effects that made Dorothy's house get swept up by a tornado I would pick the latter.
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