Category: Oscar Winner

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Now, Voyager (1942)

While just as melodramatic as Dark Victory, Now Voyager entails the much more compelling story of Bette Davis as a woman who has been completely trampled by her mother to the point where she’s close to a nervous breakdown. With the intervention of a psychiatrist, she manages to find herself and a real purpose to her life. Gladys Cooper is truly a piece of work in role of the controlling mother. Bette does a magnificent job transforming from the bitter, closed-off young woman to a warm and open guardian and her acting is ultimately what makes the story a success.

Oscar Win: Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture

Oscar Nominations: Best Actress in a Leading Role; Best Actress in a Leading Role

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More About Nostradamus (1941)/Penny Wisdom (1937)

Here I go again combining two short film Oscar nominations together. I highly doubt either of these would ever be considered for nominations in modern times, but we also don’t get to see shorts like these to watch before each movie anymore either. More About Nostradamus is a sequel of sorts to 1938’s Nostradamus focusing on various predictions that could be construed as relating to World War II, making it an odd propaganda piece as well.

Penny Wisdom is a Pete Smith-narrated short about a stupid housewife (this is reiterated multiple times) who is a failure at cooking dinner, so help in the form of advice columnist Penny Prudence saves the day. There are at least a couple of interesting home economics tips thrown in for good measure.

Oscar Nomination: Best Short Subject, One-reel (More About Nostradamus)

Oscar Win: Best Short Subject, Color (Penny Wisdom)

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Cruella (2021)

I mostly avoid these Disney live-action money grabs for good reasons. They throw lots of money at the production (How many rock songs can we fit? Buy them all!) and little care for actually addressing the origin story (How exactly does Cruella become a wannabe dog killer?). The purpose seems to be to distract with lavish visuals and to touch as many points from the original film as possible with no actual direction or purpose. The Emmas put their all into their characters for sure and I enjoyed the casting of Horace and Jasper, but there’s no explanation as to why anyone goes along with the machinations of someone clearly suffering from a mental illness nor how that extra neatly wrapped up ending even comes to pass.

Oscar Win: Best Achievement in Costume Design

Oscar Nominations: Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling

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Come Back, Little Sheba (1952)

At the beginning of this film, Shirley Booth is annoying. She’s pushy and needy and seems oblivious to the people she bulldozes over. But she’s more than that. She’s desperately lonely, she has suffered more rejection than she can bear, and she loves fully, her recently recovered alcoholic husband played by Burt Lancaster. Lancaster is a little less fully realized. He’s conservatively close-minded and unhappy with the direction his life took after an unexpected pregnancy forced him to marry, allowing these things to cause him to spiral. There’s quite a bit of this that ends up feeling like an AA advertisement, but these two performances, especially Booth’s, elevate it to something stronger.

Oscar Win: Best Actress in a Leading Role

Oscar Nominations: Best Actress in a Supporting Role; Best Film Editing

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Curfew (2012)

While I haven’t yet seen any of other nominees from the year, I have no idea why this would be nominated for an Oscar, let alone win. A suicidal man reconnects with his family when he’s asked by his sister to watch his precocious nine-year-old niece for a few hours. It’s decently made (acting not bad, visually appropriately gritty, etc.) but the story comes across as a misguided PSA for a suicide helpline.

Oscar Win: Best Short Film, Live Action

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Paradise (1984)/Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase (1992)

With my blog reformatting, I’ve pondered what to do with regards to the short films I watch. Thus far, I’ve decided to at least include the Oscar nominated ones. I recently caught these two on YouTube and figured I’d pair them together. Ishu Patel’s Paradise didn’t mesmerize me quite as much as my recent viewing of his The Bead Game. Though employing some interesting techniques and beautiful colors, the story of a black bird who temporarily covets a caged, glamorous life is a much more standard animated affair.

Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase on the other hand doesn’t offer much in terms of a narrative, but is an impressive montage of famous works of art shown through clay stop motion animation. It comes off as a blending of Loving Vincent and the face morphing parts of Michael Jackson’s Black or White video.

Oscar Nomination: Best Short Film, Animated (Paradise)

Oscar Win: Best Short Film, Animated (Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase)

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The Robe (1953)

By coincidence, one of the special features to the DVD of Titanic was a newsreel detailing how The Robe and Cinemascope won multiple Oscars in 1954. Indeed Cinemascope used in this film, supposedly the first ever, is absolutely gorgeous. It looks like a moving version of Raphael’s The School of Athens. I sadly maintain little interest in Biblical epics and this one about early followers of Jesus, focused on one of the Roman Tribunes at the crucifixion and his slave , definitely overstays its welcome. The acting is fine: Richard Burton is only slightly hammy as the Tribune, Jean Simmons is solid but only appears sporadically, and Victor Mature looks like he just walked off the set of Samson and Delilah.   Best Picture Nomination

Oscar Wins: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color; Best Costume Design, Color

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Actor in a Leading Role; Best Cinematography, Color

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Titanic (1953)

What makes a movie about the Titanic interesting is watching the change of experience for people excitedly sailing on an exotic vessel to the horrors of fearing for their lives as the ship begins sinking. Unfortunately, this movie forgoes showing much of that and instead devotes almost all of its runtime to a melodramatic family story that could literally be set anywhere. I generally enjoy Barbara Stanwyck and Clifton Webb, but I was really hoping to see more of the ship. The best parts are played by Thelma Ritter and the iceberg itself.

Oscar Win: Best Writing, Story and Screenplay

Oscar Nomination: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White

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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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Reap the Wild Wind (1942)

Perhaps not surprisingly, I haven’t seen many films set amongst marine salvagers in 1840s Key West. Cecil B. DeMille directs an absolutely stacked cast including John Wayne, Ray Milland, Louise Beavers, Robert Preston, Susan Hayward, and a bawdy sea shanty singing Paulette Goddard. It’s a bit long and drawn out for the story, but it culminates with an amazing underwater battle scene that might make it all worthwhile. There is also an incredibly creepy ongoing bit where Ray Milland speaks for his dog Romulus. Cutting out that alone would have done wonders for the length.

Oscar Win: Best Effects, Special Effects

Oscar Nominations: Best Cinematography, Color; Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Color

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