Category: Best Music

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You’ll Never Get Rich (1941)

Robert Benchley enlists his friend Fred Astaire to help throw his wife off the scent of his womanizing ways by setting Fred up with Rita Hayworth. Rita is attracted to Fred , but understandably finds both men suspicious. Since the country’s in the middle of a war, all the action then has to move to an Army base after Fred is drafted. I enjoyed it somewhat better than the other Astaire-Hayworth pairing, but it’s also rather lazy in its story telling. There’s two very similar solo dance sequences with Astaire in Army jail. Fred grossly tricks Rita into marrying him. And, there’s a truly bizarre dancing extravaganza involving weird choreography and wedding dress costumes all while dancing on a tank. It’s lovely to see them dance together, but I don’t think I’ll be revisiting either film any time soon.   Musical

Oscar Nominations: Best Music, Original Song; Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture

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Dear Heart (1964)

I’m generally not a fan of Glenn Ford, but this film is so wonderfully delightful that I can ignore all previous issues I have with him. Geraldine Page is a middle-aged postmaster visiting New York from Ohio for a postmasters convention. She is overly friendly, completely open, and brutally honest, completely the opposite of Ford’s fiancé. The two have a number of random run-ins in their shared hotel and despite Ford’s reticence, they fall in love. I am a sucker for middle-aged romances and Page is so incredible in her role. I felt like all the random New Yorkers she met, overwhelmed by her purity at first and completely mesmerized in the end.  Romance

Oscar Nomination: Best Music, Original Song

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Dark Victory (1939)

Bette Davis, as a flighty, young heiress who eventually changes her ways after receiving a fatal diagnosis, does what she can with the material here, but the story is exceptionally melodramatic and threadbare. George Brent plays her incompetent doctor who is unable to remove the tumor, then outright lies to Bette about her prognosis, and unethically falls in love and marries his patient. Humphrey Bogart also has a completely unnecessary role as a horse trainer.  Best Picture Nomination

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Actress in a Leading Role; Best Music, Original Score

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The Prisoner of Zenda (1937)

An Englishman on a Ruritanian holiday finds himself caught up in courtly intrigue. Ronald Colman is delightfully genteel in duel lookalike roles as both the Englishman and the soon-to-be coronated king. He’s helped along the way by David Niven and C. Aubrey Smith. It’s a quick adventure tale filled with romance, moats, fencing, and evil usurpers (one gleefully played by Douglas Fairbanks Jr.).

Oscar Nominations: Best Art Direction; Best Music, Score

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Bells are Ringing (1960)

The first time I watched a Judy Holliday movie, it took me awhile to like her. Her voice and dumb blonde act that can be grating. But her bubbly personality is infectious and it’s nay impossible to eventually root for her in whatever predicament she gets herself in. I have not had the same epiphany with Dean Martin. Here, Holliday is an operator for a phone answering service who can’t help but get involved in the lives of her customers, Martin being one of them. The romance between them is hammered in, especially since Dean seems like he’d rather be anywhere but in this picture. The production feels like the stage adaptation it is, with sets that swallow the actors. The songs lackluster and forced into the narrative, but the story itself is cute particularly when all the customers’ lives entangle.   Musical

Oscar Nomination: Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture

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Michael Collins (1996)

I don’t know a whole lot about the fight for Irish independence, nor how accurate this film is to the life of the revolutionary leader, but even if he might have been too old to portray the titular character, Liam Neeson brings quite the Irish spirit to the role. He joined by Aidan Quinn form such a bromance that Julia Roberts, as their mutual love interest, fades into the background, a supremely uncommon feat. There is plenty of intrigue and tension in the battle for independence and Alan Rickman is great as always in the main antagonist (aside from the British) role. The beautiful Irish countryside and soundtrack do their best to encourage patriotic fervor to even casual viewers.

Oscar Nominations: Best Cinematography; Best Music, Original Dramatic Score

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You Were Never Lovelier (1942)

I love Fred Astaire. I love Rita Hayworth. Their dancing together is uniquely breezy compared to all of Astaire’s other partnerships. This story on the other hand is a feeble rehash of The Taming of the Shrew, set in Argentina. For reasons, Hayworth’s younger sisters aren’t allowed to get married until she does, so her father played by Adolphe Menjou invents a secret admirer to warm her ‘ice princess’ demeanor. The costuming choices are questionable, including oddly placed doily-like details on dresses and hats. Though I did discover that ‘fancy dress’ meant costumes. Apologies to Jerome Kern, but many of the songs felt rather shoehorned in, though I did enjoy the role of Xavier Cugat. It’s all generally harmless, but I really hope the other Astaire-Hayworth pairing is better than this one.

Oscar Nominations: Best Sound, Recording; Best Music, Original Song; Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture

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The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

I started this thinking that I really don’t get much out of the legend of Robin Hood and its many iterations. Watching this version, I finally understood why the story has been adapted so many times, though people should probably just watch this one. This has adventure, romance, humor, and even some dark bits. It doesn’t even overstay its welcome. The scenery and costumes are absolutely gorgeous. I imagine the budget in tights for the men was a tidy sum just in itself. Errol Flynn is excellent as Robin of Locksley: attractive, athletic, and light spirited. Olivia de Havilland captures Maid Marian wonderfully. Claude Rains, Basil Rathbone, and the rest of the supporting cast elevate the already great production.   Best Picture Nomination

Oscar Wins: Best Art Direction; Best Film Editing; Best Music, Original Score

Oscar Nomination: Best Picture

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Marie Antoinette (1938)

There are some actors that I wish I liked more than I do. Norma Shearer is one of those. There are a couple of roles that I have enjoyed her in, but they are few and far between. Marie Antoinette is not one of them. A lavish, excessively long costume drama that surely takes liberties with Marie Antoinette’s actual life history, Shearer leads the cast with histrionics and overacting every other scene. Robert Morley’s Louix XVI is the opposite, dull and mostly forgettable. John Barrymore is underutilized, Joseph Schildkraut is over the top malicious, Tyrone Power’s entire role could be cut from the film. The costumes and sets are beautiful. I imagine they took up the majority of the movie’s expense. I’m sure they would have been ravishing if the film had been in Technicolor.

Oscar Nominations: Best Actress in a Leading Role; Best Actor in a Supporting Role; Best Art Direction; Best Music, Original Score

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Aliens (1986)

I believe there are some who feel that Aliens is superior to Alien. For me, the two don’t compare. They illustrate the stark contrast between films of the 1970s and what was made in the mid-1980s. Where Alien was more shadowy and dark in portraying the same location, Aliens is all bombastic, large, and in your face. Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley, dragged along on a mission to supposedly annihilate the xenomorphs for good, is completely shoehorned into a mother role, though it does create a nice parallel for the big ending. Bill Paxton and Jenette Goldstein are both massively over the top as part of the Marine crew. Paul Reiser is spectacularly oleaginous portraying the ultimate in capitalistic greed. Again the moral of the story is you should really listen to Ripley.  Scifi  Horror

Oscar Wins: Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing; Best Effects, Visual Effects

Oscar Nominations: Best Actress in a Leading Role; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration; Best Sound; Best Film Editing; Best Music, Original Score

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