The only really good thing to come out of this year is the Oscar wins for John and Walter Huston. They win for directing and acting in The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre, respectively. This movie is far and away the best film of the year. It wins everything it's nominated for except Best Picture. That award goes to Hamlet, for some reason. I guess the Academy thought it was the classy choice. Other than papa and son Huston winning, the rest of this year is pretty forgettable.
You can see my GABBY winners and nominees HERE
Best Picture
5. Hamlet - Had this not won Best Picture I would probably not look on it with as much disdain as I do. It's a perfectly fine, although not very cinematic, adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Laurence Olivier is compelling as the prince of Denmark, although looks a tad too old for the role. His father was murdered by his uncle, who then married his mother, and is now on the throne. If you just look at the performances, this is a very good adaptation. If you look at everything else, it feels very stagey. The sets look like sets and when we get to my favorite movie of the year you will see a huge difference between what a filmed stage production can do compared to an actual film.
4. The Red Shoes - One thing I like about doing these Oscar watches is that I feel like I am living in the year I'm writing about. I start by watching the films I've seen before then move on to the ones I haven't then watch some more from the year that look interesting. This year brought me a lot of melodrama and film noir and then I watch this film and the colors are like nothing I've seen. I can't imagine how I would feel if I was actually alive in 1948, I see Hamlet and then walk into The Red Shoes. This movie is more colorful than color. That's a common thing with the films of Powell and Pressburger, their movies just pop off the screen. This movie is beautiful to look at, the story however didn't quite connect with me. It's about the inner workings of a ballet company, which is a world I just don't understand. This movie is held in high regard, both Martin Scorsese and Brian De Palma name it as their favorite film but I liked 3 movies from this year better.
3. The Snake Pit - This is a film that goes from good to great because of its central performance. Any other actress in this movie and it would have been your standard 40s melodrama. With Olivia De Havilland in the lead role it becomes a classic. What's great about the movie is that the film keeps you in the dark as much as the main character is in the dark. We start with Olivia in an insane asylum and she has no idea where she is and has no memory of what brought her there. Through flashback we find out why she's here. De Havilland is incredible, the movie is okay but bolstered due to her performance.
2. Johnny Belinda - Johnny Belinda earned 12 nominations this year including nods in all 4 acting categories, becoming only the 4th film to do so. With widespread support like that, it's a little surprising that it didn't end up winning here. This is the story of a deaf and mute girl who lives with her father and aunt on a farm. Nobody knows how to communicate with her until a doctor comes to town and teaches her sign language. She is raped by a local and ends up having a baby. All eyes look toward the doctor and a trial for the baby commences. It's a very good film, I wouldn't rank it higher than my number 1 film for this year but it would certainly be a better Best Picture winner than Hamlet.
1. The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre - This is one of the best movies ever made. John Huston directs this movie about 3 guys looking for gold. Once they find their treasure they face greed, bandits and paranoia. Nobody trusts anyone once the gold starts flowing. Huston shot his films on location which makes a huge difference. Watch Hamlet and you see a guy on a set, watch this film and you see the sweat on Humphrey Bogart's lip and you know it's real. All the performances in this film are incredible specifically Bogart and Huston's father Walter who is just magnificent as the old and wise prospector who has seen what gold does to men's soul.
Based on quality of film there is no contest here. The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre is one of my favorite films of all time and easily gets my vote. It was only nominated for 4 awards and won 3 of them. It won Best Director, Screenplay and Supporting Actor (somehow Bogart was overlooked as was the cinematography and editing) but lost Best Picture to Hamlet. Hamlet just seems so old timey compared to Sierra Madre. It's not very cinematic at all and it's an adaptation of a story that's been done on stage thousands of time. Treasure Of The Sierra Madre still holds up and is a timeless film. Hamlet looks like it could have been made in 1927. If Sierra Madre doesn't win then it only makes sense to give the win to Johnny Belinda. It's not a classic movie but it's a very good movie and, unlike Hamlet, feels like a film.
Oscar Winner: Hamlet
My Vote: The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre
GABBY Winner: The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre
Best Actor
3. Clifton Webb - Sitting Pretty - Every time Clifton Webb shows up in a movie I take notice. He's an actor who had a very unique presence. He specialized in playing prim and proper upper crust men. He was a slightly effeminate man who was obviously gay but since this was the 40s he was not allowed to be open. He lived with his mother until she died when he was 70. He was also a very talented actor. Here he plays Lynn Belvedere and if you're familiar with the 80s sitcom Mr. Belvedere, they are one and the same. He's a man who takes a job as nanny to a family. Because of his first name the family assumes he is a woman until he shows up and is an eccentric man. His style works for the film and it's a lot of fun to see him interact with children when he is so hoity-toity.
2. Lew Ayres - Johnny Belinda - Lew has to do double the acting in Johnny Belinda. He plays the doctor who comes to town and finds a young mute and deaf girl. He teaches her sign language and how to communicate and gives her a new meaning in life. He not only has to sign half of his dialogue but he also has to communicate to the audience what Belinda is trying to say. It's a very sweet performance, not flashy at all but sweet. It reminded me a lot of William Hurt in Children Of A Lesser God. He has a very soft spoken voice that makes him nonthreatening so you never get any lascivious ideas that he might be making advances or trying to take advantage of Belinda.
1. Montgomery Clift - The Search - This is one of my favorite movies I discovered while doing this Oscar watch. I had heard about it but never quite knew what it was about. I just knew it was Montgomery Clift and a little kid. The little kid is played by young Ivan Jandl, he's a survivor of Auschwitz who doesn't know the difference between the soldiers trying to save him and the soldiers here to save him. He escapes and meets Clift, a young GI just trying to enjoy his lunch. Clift takes the boy, teaches him some English and helps him find his mother. This is one of those movies where you see the ending coming a mile away but when it gets there it hits you and you start blubbering like a baby. Clift is so damn charming in this film. He has great chemistry with the kid. This was his breakout year in Hollywood starring in this and Red River the same year.
This category should be thrown out and the Academy should have been forced to vote again seeing as how Humphrey Bogart was not included in the nominees. His performance as paranoid treasure hunter Fred C. Dobbs in The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre is one of the finest performances in his career. If he had been included he could have won here instead of for The African Queen, which is one of those Oscar decisions that most people think is questionable. Seeing as how he's not here, I almost want to vote for Dan Dailey just to prove how stupid this category is. The good thing about this year is that Olivier wins so they don't have to give him a win later for a lesser role. It would be a terrible shame if he won for something like Marathon Man or The Boys From Brazil. I'm gonna vote for my favorite actor of the bunch and for my favorite film and that's Montgomery Clift in The Search. Normally I wouldn't vote for a guy in his first year in film but these are special circumstances. Clift never got an Oscar in his career so this would right that wrong.
Oscar Winner: Laurence Olivier
Best Actor
5. Dan Dailey - When My Baby Smiles At Me - I saved this movie for last on my watch. I wanted to see everything and then see the performance that kept Humphrey Bogart from getting nominated. I was hoping to make sense of this, maybe even see a performance that I wanted to vote for. After watching the movie I can safely say, I have no idea what the Academy was thinking. This movie isn't very good at all. Dan Dailey and Betty Grable play a married vaudeville team. Their marriage crumbles when he is offered a Broadway show, starts cavorting with other women and starts drinking too much. Dailey is perfectly fine when he sticks to singing and dancing but not very good at all when he has to act. Near the end of the film he has one scene where he goes way over the top to display the effects his drinking has had on his performing and then he tones it down when he recognizes his problem. I can't understand why he was nominated at all.
4. Laurence Olivier - Hamlet - This may sound sacrilegious but I never understood the acclaim for Olivier. He's perfectly fine in mostly everything but I would never put him on any list of the greatest actors ever. In some roles he's down right hammy. He makes a perfectly capable Hamlet, even though he's too old for the part. I can't vote for him though because he's playing a part that's been played for 200 years. Is he the best Hamlet ever? I couldn't say, I haven't seen all 48,000 productions of Hamlet.
3. Clifton Webb - Sitting Pretty - Every time Clifton Webb shows up in a movie I take notice. He's an actor who had a very unique presence. He specialized in playing prim and proper upper crust men. He was a slightly effeminate man who was obviously gay but since this was the 40s he was not allowed to be open. He lived with his mother until she died when he was 70. He was also a very talented actor. Here he plays Lynn Belvedere and if you're familiar with the 80s sitcom Mr. Belvedere, they are one and the same. He's a man who takes a job as nanny to a family. Because of his first name the family assumes he is a woman until he shows up and is an eccentric man. His style works for the film and it's a lot of fun to see him interact with children when he is so hoity-toity.
1. Montgomery Clift - The Search - This is one of my favorite movies I discovered while doing this Oscar watch. I had heard about it but never quite knew what it was about. I just knew it was Montgomery Clift and a little kid. The little kid is played by young Ivan Jandl, he's a survivor of Auschwitz who doesn't know the difference between the soldiers trying to save him and the soldiers here to save him. He escapes and meets Clift, a young GI just trying to enjoy his lunch. Clift takes the boy, teaches him some English and helps him find his mother. This is one of those movies where you see the ending coming a mile away but when it gets there it hits you and you start blubbering like a baby. Clift is so damn charming in this film. He has great chemistry with the kid. This was his breakout year in Hollywood starring in this and Red River the same year.
This category should be thrown out and the Academy should have been forced to vote again seeing as how Humphrey Bogart was not included in the nominees. His performance as paranoid treasure hunter Fred C. Dobbs in The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre is one of the finest performances in his career. If he had been included he could have won here instead of for The African Queen, which is one of those Oscar decisions that most people think is questionable. Seeing as how he's not here, I almost want to vote for Dan Dailey just to prove how stupid this category is. The good thing about this year is that Olivier wins so they don't have to give him a win later for a lesser role. It would be a terrible shame if he won for something like Marathon Man or The Boys From Brazil. I'm gonna vote for my favorite actor of the bunch and for my favorite film and that's Montgomery Clift in The Search. Normally I wouldn't vote for a guy in his first year in film but these are special circumstances. Clift never got an Oscar in his career so this would right that wrong.
Oscar Winner: Laurence Olivier
My Vote: Montgomery Clift
GABBY Winner: John Wayne for Red River
Best Actress
4. Olivia De Havilland - The Snake Pit - This is my favorite performance of the bunch and who I gave my win to. Unfortunately I can't vote for her here as she already had a win and is gonna win another the year after this. It's a shame she won for the forgettable melodrama To Each His Own when they could have given her an Oscar for this far superior performance. She plays a woman who finds herself in a mental institution with no memory of how she got there. She goes through shock treatment and gets thrown in the titular pit with a bunch of insane women. This is a performance that should automatically win you an Oscar, unless you've already won and are up against 3 great actresses who haven't.
3. Barbara Stanwyck - Sorry, Wrong Number - If it weren't for the hypnotic appeal of Barbara Stanwyck this would just be another woman in peril film. There were an abundance of these in the 40s and continue to be to this day. There's a killer on the loose, the woman knows who did it and we spend 90 minutes or so waiting for either her to be murdered or catch the culprits. This movie would have been entirely forgettable but Stanwyck is just so watchable. She's an invalid, confined to her bed or her wheelchair and has only her phone to get to the outside world. One evening a crossed line has her overhear a murder plot and Stanwyck has to piece it all together. It's not Oscar worthy material but it is Barbara Stanwyck who should have won one by now.
2. Irene Dunne - I Remember Mama - This is an episodic look at an immigrant family. Dunne plays the matriarch who counts every penny and looks after her family. She has a recurring line, "is good" is what she says when something goes her or her family's way. Dunne is incredibly sweet in the role, the movie is fairly forgettable.
1. Jane Wyman - Johnny Belinda - Wyman plays Belinda, a young deaf and mute girl who is treated pretty much as farm equipment by her family. One day she meets a friendly doctor who teaches her how to communicate with the outside world. Wyman is able to communicate everything with her face and her eyes. She doesn't say a word in the whole film but she doesn't need to. When Belinda is happy, Wyman's face lights up, when she is sad, her whole body crumbles. We know everything we need to know about her just through her expressions.
What an incredible category. These are 5 of my favorite actresses of the era. All of them should have won an Oscar at some point in their career. As far as voting goes, I gotta knock of Bergman and De Havilland out of consideration because they've already won. That leaves Dunne, Stanwyck and Wyman. Stanwyck is the first to go just because the movie is so genre specific. Mostly anyone can play the woman in peril, Stanwyck adds some class to the proceedings but not an Oscar level of class. I really want to vote for Dunne but the playing field between her and Wyman is pretty even so I gotta go with strength of performance and this is Wyman's all the way.
Oscar Winner: Jane Wyman
Best Actress
5. Ingrid Bergman - Joan Of Arc - This is a 2 1/2 hour epic telling of the story of Joan of Arc, the woman who was told by God to save France only to end up burnt at the stake by the English. It's a very colorful film and pretty to look at. It would be a forgettable film if it weren't for the magnetic performance of Ingrid Bergman. She is great as always and has many terrific scenes and monologues in the film. There's no way I can vote for her though. She already had an Oscar at this point and would go on to win 2 more.
4. Olivia De Havilland - The Snake Pit - This is my favorite performance of the bunch and who I gave my win to. Unfortunately I can't vote for her here as she already had a win and is gonna win another the year after this. It's a shame she won for the forgettable melodrama To Each His Own when they could have given her an Oscar for this far superior performance. She plays a woman who finds herself in a mental institution with no memory of how she got there. She goes through shock treatment and gets thrown in the titular pit with a bunch of insane women. This is a performance that should automatically win you an Oscar, unless you've already won and are up against 3 great actresses who haven't.
3. Barbara Stanwyck - Sorry, Wrong Number - If it weren't for the hypnotic appeal of Barbara Stanwyck this would just be another woman in peril film. There were an abundance of these in the 40s and continue to be to this day. There's a killer on the loose, the woman knows who did it and we spend 90 minutes or so waiting for either her to be murdered or catch the culprits. This movie would have been entirely forgettable but Stanwyck is just so watchable. She's an invalid, confined to her bed or her wheelchair and has only her phone to get to the outside world. One evening a crossed line has her overhear a murder plot and Stanwyck has to piece it all together. It's not Oscar worthy material but it is Barbara Stanwyck who should have won one by now.
2. Irene Dunne - I Remember Mama - This is an episodic look at an immigrant family. Dunne plays the matriarch who counts every penny and looks after her family. She has a recurring line, "is good" is what she says when something goes her or her family's way. Dunne is incredibly sweet in the role, the movie is fairly forgettable.
1. Jane Wyman - Johnny Belinda - Wyman plays Belinda, a young deaf and mute girl who is treated pretty much as farm equipment by her family. One day she meets a friendly doctor who teaches her how to communicate with the outside world. Wyman is able to communicate everything with her face and her eyes. She doesn't say a word in the whole film but she doesn't need to. When Belinda is happy, Wyman's face lights up, when she is sad, her whole body crumbles. We know everything we need to know about her just through her expressions.
What an incredible category. These are 5 of my favorite actresses of the era. All of them should have won an Oscar at some point in their career. As far as voting goes, I gotta knock of Bergman and De Havilland out of consideration because they've already won. That leaves Dunne, Stanwyck and Wyman. Stanwyck is the first to go just because the movie is so genre specific. Mostly anyone can play the woman in peril, Stanwyck adds some class to the proceedings but not an Oscar level of class. I really want to vote for Dunne but the playing field between her and Wyman is pretty even so I gotta go with strength of performance and this is Wyman's all the way.
Oscar Winner: Jane Wyman
My Vote: Jane Wyman
GABBY Winner: Olivia De Havilland
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actor
5. Jose Ferrer - Joan Of Arc - Ferrer was a respected stage actor, having won the Tony award the year before this, making his screen debut here as the ineffectual dauphin in Joan Of Arc. The part is really inconsequential to the whole movie and Ferrer doesn't do a whole lot with it. He's not bad but I didn't see much that could result in a nomination.
4. Oskar Homolka - I Remember Mama - Homolka is the comic relief of his film. He plays the gruff Uncle Chris. He is a matter of fact man with a sweet heart. At first you think he's an unfeeling man but then he's teaching his nephew swear words. He reminded me a lot of my grandfather, he was a man who worked all day and then came home and didn't joke around much in between but if he was in the right mood his laugh could light up a room. Homolka is very sweet in the role but this isn't something that should result in an Oscar.
3. Cecil Kellaway - The Luck Of The Irish - It's always weird seeing movies like this get Oscar nominations. I'm watching all of these "Oscar" movies and then there's this cute little romantic comedy about a man and a leprechaun. Kellaway plays the leprechaun and he is delightful in the role. There's not much else to say here except that this was a cute performance in a cute movie. It's not something you would expect to see in an Oscar lineup which is why it's refreshing to have it here.
2. Charles Bickford - Johnny Belinda - Bickford is not an actor I know a lot about. I'm only really familiar with his 3 Oscar nominated performances in The Song Of Bernadette, The Farmer's Daughter and this. Based on those 3 films he seems like a likable but limited actor. Here he plays Belinda's father who has no idea how to communicate with his daughter. He is very protective but also confused. When the doctor teaches her how to talk through sign language he is hesitant at first and then relieved. Then when he finds the man who raped his daughter he has a really nice moment. He has a couple nice moments in the film but nothing here really leaped out to me as an Oscar worthy performance.
1. Walter Huston - The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre - Here's your winner, no questions asked. This might be my favorite Oscar winning performance in the history of this category. Huston plays Howard, an old prospector who has seen the evil men can do. He comes along with two other men in a search for gold because he has nothing else better to do. He imparts wisdom on them and is just a damn delight through the whole film. Then there's his iconic dance when he finds the gold.
I'm not sure if this category looks weak because it is or because Walter Huston is far and away the best. Other than him I couldn't see anybody else winning. If he wasn't here then this would have been one of the weakest categories ever and I wouldn't care at all who won. Huston was a terrific actor who should have won an Oscar several times by now but maybe they put off honoring him because they knew this was coming. He got to win an Oscar the same day his son did for directing him. This is one of my all time favorite Oscar decisions.
Oscar Winner: Walter Huston
My Vote: Walter Huston
GABBY Winner: Walter Huston
Best Supporting Actress
Best Supporting Actress
5. Barbara Bel Geddes - I Remember Mama - Bel Geddes plays the oldest daughter of the family who also narrates the film. At the beginning she is writing her memoirs and then the movie flashes back to her teenage years with her family and her mama. There's nothing anything different about her performance than any other young actress at the time. She's playing a stock character of the teenage girl who feels like she's older than she is. It's not that she's bad it's just that numerous actresses could have played this part just as well. I feel like she got the nomination here due to slim pickings.
4. Jean Simmons - Hamlet - Much like Olivier, I can't vote for someone who's playing a part that's been played 1,000 times before. Simmons is fine as the doomed Ophelia but I don't think there's any nuances here that haven't been discovered by the hundred of other actors who have played the part.
3. Ellen Corby - I Remember Mama - I recognized Ellen Corby immediately from her small role in It's A Wonderful Life as the woman who gets just enough money out of her account from the Bailey's Savings And Loan. In I Remember Mama she plays Aunt Trina, a woman in her 40s who is finally getting married. She is so excited about the prospect that she acts like a little girl, worried what her family will think when they are mostly happy that she's finally getting hitched. She's a fun presence in the film and gives a very sweet performance but there's nothing really Oscar worthy about the performance.
2. Agnes Moorehead - Johnny Belinda - Moorehead plays Belinda's aunt who lives in the house with her. She watches over her like a mother and is skeptical about the doctor's intentions. She doesn't do a whole lot in the film but she has some nice moments and she's Agnes Moorehead who was overdue for an Oscar at this point in her career so I'm tempted to vote for her.
1. Claire Trevor - Key Largo - This is the 2nd best John Huston film of the year. A great cast is held up in a hotel because of a hurricane. One of the people is a ruthless gangster played by Edward G. Robinson. Claire Trevor plays Robinson's drunken moll. She was a singer but is now just a useless lush. She blames him for giving her the first drink and making her into what she has become. It's a really good performance that stand out from an excellent ensemble that includes Robinson, Lionel Barrymore, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.
This is one of the weakest years, not just for this category but for female supporting performances in general. When I was putting my nominees together I had to resort to some filler and it looks like the Academy did too. Anyone here whose name isn't Agnes Moorehead or Claire Trevor didn't really need to show up. The Academy picked Trevor and I have to agree. Agnes Moorehead is one of the best actresses never to win an Oscar so that makes me want to vote for her here but there's really not much to her character. Trevor is really the only performance that earned a nomination. Luckily they also gave her the win.
Oscar Winner: Claire Trevor
My Vote: Claire Trevor
GABBY Winner: Claire Trevor
Best Director
Thankfully they were smart enough to give John Huston the win. He won for The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre but he also had Key Largo this year which definitely cemented him as the Best Director of 1948.
Best Motion Picture Story/Screenplay
The Search wins Best Motion Picture Story and is also nominated for Best Screenplay. So, I'm completely confused as to what the difference is between these categories. The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre wins Best Screenplay. Hamlet doesn't get nominated in either category which makes it the 2nd Best Picture winner to not get a writing nomination.
Best Music Score Of A Dramatic or Comedy Picture/Musical Picture
None of the nominated scores are very memorable so I like the decision to give The Red Shoes the win seeing as it has so much to do with music and ballet. Easter Parade wins for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture beating fellow musicals The Emperor Waltz, The Pirate, Romance On The High Seas and When My Baby Smiles At Me.
Best Song
Buttons And Bows from The Paleface is the only memorable nominated song and it won. Also nominated was The Woody Woodpecker Song from Woody's 29th animated short.
Best Sound Recording
No musicals were nominated this year so they gave the win to The Snake Pit. I don't remember the sound being anything memorable in the film but then again I also don't remember the sound in fellow nominees Johnny Belinda and Moonrise.
Best Art Direction (Black And White)/Art Direction (Color)
Hamlet and The Red Shoes split these awards. They really could have combined these categories seeing as how there were only 4 films nominated all together. Johnny Belinda and Joan Of Arc were the two runners-up.
Best Cinematography (Black And White)/Cinematography (Color)
The Naked City wins a pretty unimpressive black and white category. Not sure why The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre wasn't nominated. The real outrage is the absence of The Red Shoes in the color category. It could be a touch of colonialism among the cinematography branch as Hamlet didn't get a nomination either. Joan Of Arc wins instead which is also pretty impressive in it's color and camerawork.
Best Costume Design (Black And White)/Costume Design (Color)
Again, only 4 nominated films between both categories. Hamlet wins in the black and white category over B.F.'s Daughter, which I've never seen. Joan Of Arc wins in the color category over The Bing Crosby/Billy Wilder musical The Emperor Waltz, which I saw a long time ago and don't remember.
Best Film Editing
Don't know why The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre wasn't nominated. In it absence The Naked City wins. This is an interesting film, it's your basic police procedural but stars kindly old Barry Fitzgerald as the detective and has an unseen narrator who talks to the audience like they've never seen a movie before.
Best Special Effects
The Portrait Of Jennie wins over Deep Waters. Not sure what was so special about the effects in either film.
Up Next
Best Director
Thankfully they were smart enough to give John Huston the win. He won for The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre but he also had Key Largo this year which definitely cemented him as the Best Director of 1948.
Best Motion Picture Story/Screenplay
The Search wins Best Motion Picture Story and is also nominated for Best Screenplay. So, I'm completely confused as to what the difference is between these categories. The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre wins Best Screenplay. Hamlet doesn't get nominated in either category which makes it the 2nd Best Picture winner to not get a writing nomination.
Best Music Score Of A Dramatic or Comedy Picture/Musical Picture
None of the nominated scores are very memorable so I like the decision to give The Red Shoes the win seeing as it has so much to do with music and ballet. Easter Parade wins for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture beating fellow musicals The Emperor Waltz, The Pirate, Romance On The High Seas and When My Baby Smiles At Me.
Best Song
Buttons And Bows from The Paleface is the only memorable nominated song and it won. Also nominated was The Woody Woodpecker Song from Woody's 29th animated short.
Best Sound Recording
No musicals were nominated this year so they gave the win to The Snake Pit. I don't remember the sound being anything memorable in the film but then again I also don't remember the sound in fellow nominees Johnny Belinda and Moonrise.
Best Art Direction (Black And White)/Art Direction (Color)
Hamlet and The Red Shoes split these awards. They really could have combined these categories seeing as how there were only 4 films nominated all together. Johnny Belinda and Joan Of Arc were the two runners-up.
Best Cinematography (Black And White)/Cinematography (Color)
The Naked City wins a pretty unimpressive black and white category. Not sure why The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre wasn't nominated. The real outrage is the absence of The Red Shoes in the color category. It could be a touch of colonialism among the cinematography branch as Hamlet didn't get a nomination either. Joan Of Arc wins instead which is also pretty impressive in it's color and camerawork.
Best Costume Design (Black And White)/Costume Design (Color)
Again, only 4 nominated films between both categories. Hamlet wins in the black and white category over B.F.'s Daughter, which I've never seen. Joan Of Arc wins in the color category over The Bing Crosby/Billy Wilder musical The Emperor Waltz, which I saw a long time ago and don't remember.
Best Film Editing
Don't know why The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre wasn't nominated. In it absence The Naked City wins. This is an interesting film, it's your basic police procedural but stars kindly old Barry Fitzgerald as the detective and has an unseen narrator who talks to the audience like they've never seen a movie before.
Best Special Effects
The Portrait Of Jennie wins over Deep Waters. Not sure what was so special about the effects in either film.
Up Next
2003
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