Classic Movie Countdown: Best Picture #’s 18 and 17 — Grand Hotel (1932) and Midnight Cowboy (1969)

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Josh Kaye

18. Grand Hotel (1932)

Other Nominated Films:
Arrowsmith, Bad Girl, The Champ, Five Star Final, One Hour with You, Shanghai Express, The Smiling Lieutenant

One of the first films to feature an ensemble cast in the history of cinema, Grand Hotel succeeds on all levels. Grand Hotel features Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Joan Crawford, Wallace Beery, Lionel Barrymore, and Lewis Stone — and, as you would expect, none of them disappoint. In a way, this could also be considered one of the earliest anthology films since there are numerous stories taking place at the same time. So, you could say that Grand Hotel is a movie of a grand scale (I was getting that phrase in here one way or another.) The film begins and ends in the same way: with Doctor Otternschlag (Stone) saying, “Grand Hotel. People come and go. Nothing ever happens.”  But, in between the two times this statement is made, a whole bunch does go on in the Grand Hotel: love, friendship, thieving, murdering, but most of all, laughing. Let’s see now…there is Baron Felix von Geigern (John Barrymore), who lost his fortune gambling and supports himself by playing cards and stealing jewelry, who befriends Otto Kringelein (Lionel Barrymore), who discovers he’s dying and decides to spend his remaining days having fun, who used to work for industrialist General Director Preysing (Wallace Beery), who is at the hotel to close an important deal, who hires stenographer Flaemmchen (Joan Crawford) to assist him in doing so. Oh! And then there’s Russian ballerina Grusinskaya (Greta Garbo), whose career is slowly declining and who is on the verge of a breakdown when she utters one of the most famous lines in movie history, “I want to be alone.” Whew! Now, that’s a lot! And that’s only the first 20 minutes or so. Grand Hotel is the only film to win Best Picture without it, or anyone involved with it, being nominated in any other category.

Nominated and Won 1 Oscar
Best Picture – M-G-M

Baron Felix von Geigern: [looking down from the sixth-floor balcony over the front desk] You know, I’ve often wondered what’d happen to that old porter if somebody jumped on him from here.
Flaemmchen: I’m sure I don’t know. Why don’t you try it and find out?

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Classic Movie Countdown: Best Picture #’s 20 and 19 — All The King’s Men (1949) and From Here to Eternity (1953)

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Josh Kaye

20. All The King’s Men (1949)

Other Nominated Films:
Battleground, The Heiress, A Letter to Three Wives, Twelve O’Clock High

I’m not someone who is very knowledgeable when it comes to the world of politics. While I may watch a large amount of political movies, I don’t exactly understand a majority of the jargon that’s being spoken. But for the most part, they always make for good dramatic and suspenseful films, which is the case here for All the King’s Men. The film is loosely based on the life of 1930’s Louisana Governor Huey Long. Starting off as a self-taught lawyer who is aiming to do the right thing, Willie Stark (Broderick Crawford) fights a long, hard battle to reach the governor’s chair. But while fighting his way to the top, he loses his innocence and becomes even more corrupt than the politicians he fought so hard to conquer. All of this is seen through the eyes of Stark’s right-hand man Jack Burden (John Ireland), who sticks with Stark even when he knows the truth behind the monster. Crawford doesn’t just act as if he’s Stark; he lives and breathes the role. He’s like a flame that starts off extremely small, but in time just grows larger and larger until it is out of control. This film could have easily turned out very differently since director Robert Rossen originally offered the lead role to John Wayne. Wayne declined the role since he felt that the script was unpatriotic (he wasn’t wrong.) Ironically enough, Crawford would go on to beat Wayne for the Best Actor Oscar (Wayne was nominated for his role in Sands of Iwo Jima.) All The King’s Men, which was originally a novel written by Robert Penn Warren, was the last Best Picture winner to be based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.

Nominated for 7 Awards, Winner of 3
Best Actor in a Leading Role – Broderick Crawford (WON)
Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Mercedes McCambridge (WON)
Best Picture – Robert Rossen Productions (WON)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role – John Ireland
Best Director – Robert Rossen
Best Film Editing – Robert Parrish, Al Clark
Best Writing, Screenplay – Robert Rossen

Jack Burden: I tell you there’s nothing on the judge.
Willie Stark: Jack, there’s something on everybody. Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption.

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Classic Movie Countdown: Best Picture #’s 22 and 21 — Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) and Hamlet (1948)

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Josh Kaye

22. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

Other Nominated Films:
Alice Adams, Broadway Melody of 1936, Captain Blood, David Copperfield, The Informer, The Lives of a Bengal Lancer, A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Les Misérables, Naughty Marietta, Ruggles of Red Gap, Top Hat

It was a few years ago when I first watched Mutiny on the Bounty and I still remember the experience as if it was yesterday. In fact, it’s one of the films that got me interested in Classic films.  Mutiny on the Bounty is a magnificent and thrilling film that chronicles the real-life mutiny aboard the HMS Bounty and its aftermath. It features powerful performances by its three stars: Charles Laughton as the sadistic Captain Bligh, Clark Gable as the rebellious Fletcher Christian, and Franchot Tone as the humane Midshipman Byam. Interestingly, all three actors were nominated for the Best Actor Oscar, but lost to Victor McLaglen for his role in The Informer (the only nominee not from Mutiny on the Bounty). This helped spark the subsequent creation of the Best Supporting Actor Oscar. To date, Mutiny on the Bounty is the last film to win Best Picture without winning in any other category. It is also interesting to note that James Cagney, David Niven and Dick Haymes had uncredited roles as Extras in the film. Producer Irving Thalberg may have had an ulterior motive when casting both Gable and Laughton in the same film.  It’s been said that, Thalberg purposely cast Laughton, who was overtly gay, against Gable, a notorious homophobe, in the hopes that some ‘real life’ tension between the two actors would create an even more powerful and authentic on-screen intensity. Stacking the deck even further, it is also said that Thalberg thought Gable would be intimidated working with Laughton who was a classically trained British actor, and that Laughton believed that he, himself, should have been nominated in 1935 for his performance in The Barretts of Wimpole Street rather than Gable who won Best Actor for It Happened One Night.

Nominated for 8 Oscars, Winner of 1
Best Picture – M-G-M (WON)
Best Actor in a Leading Role – Clark Gable
Best Actor in a Leading Role – Charles Laughton
Best Actor in a Leading Role – Franchot Tone
Best Director – Frank Lloyd
Best Film Editing – Margaret Booth
Best Music, Score – Nat W. Finston (head of department)
Best Writing, Screenplay – Jules Furthman, Talbot Jennings, Carey Wilson

Lt. Fletcher Christian: When you’re back in England with the fleet again, you’ll hear the hue and cry against me. From now on they’ll spell mutiny with my name.

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Classic Movie Countdown: Best Picture #’s 24 and 23 — West Side Story (1961) and Wings (1927)

Posted on February 11, 2012 by Josh Kaye

24. West Side Story (1961)

Other Nominated Films:
Fanny, The Guns of Navarone, The Hustler, Judgment at Nuremberg

Please…no one hurt me for having West Side Story this far down on the list. I enjoyed the film, I won’t deny that at all. But compared to films 1 through 23, I had no choice. West Side Story is based on the William Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet, which is actually my least favorite Shakespearian play…so maybe that played a role in my decision. I will say this about the movie: it’s got some pretty catchy songs (thanks to Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim) and it’s not a bad romance. It’s definitely something I would recommend for a date night. I was perplexed when I saw the cast list and realized that the majority of the actors and actresses cast as Puerto Ricans in the film were, in fact, white. While their depiction of Puerto Ricans may have been…well…not that great, their acting in general was pretty solid. The basic plot of West Side Story focuses on two lovers who could never be together due to their race difference. Tony (Richard Beymer) is co-founder of the Jets, who are white Americans, and he begins to fall for Maria (Natalie Wood), the sister of Bernardo (George Chakiris). Bernardo is the leader of the Sharks, a rival gang of Puerto Rican immigrants. The film begins with a free-for-all throughout the streets of Manhattan between the two rival gangs, and the violence only progresses as the film goes on towards its extremely thriller climax, which is one of the redeeming qualities of watching the film. West Side Story holds the distinction of being the musical film with the most Academy Award wins (10).

Nominated for 11 Oscars, Winner of 10
Best Actor in a Supporting Role – George Chakiris (WON)
Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Rita Moreno (WON)
Best Art Direction – Set Decoration, Color – Boris Leven, Victor A. Gangelin (WON)
Best Cinematography, Color – Daniel L. Fapp (WON)
Best Costume Design, Color – Irene Sharaff (WON)
Best Director – Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins (WON)
Best Film Editing – Thomas Stanford (WON)
Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture – Saul Chaplin, Johnny Green, Sid Ramin, Irwin Kostal (WON)
Best Picture – Robert Wise (WON)
Best Sound – Fred Hynes (Todd-AO SSD), Gordon Sawyer (Samuel Goldwyn SSD) (WON)
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium – Ernest Lehman

The Jets: [singing] Here come the Jets, like a bat out of hell – Someone gets in our way, someone don’t feel so well.

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Classic Movie Countdown: Best Picture #’s 26 and 25 — Gentleman’s Agreement (1947) and Ben-Hur (1959)

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Josh Kaye

26. Gentleman’s Agreement (1947)

Other Nominated Films:
The Bishop’s Wife, Crossfire, Great Expectations, Miracle on 34th Street

Elia Kazan really has a knack for directing some pretty amazing films. He’s directed classics such as A Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront, East of Eden, and America, America. But the first film to win him Best Director and Best Picture was Gentleman’s Agreement. And this didn’t come without controversy. Given the film’s overtly anti-semetic themes, some Hollywood Execs (many Jewish) were concerned about potential backlash. Some Execs even tried to convince producer Darryl F. Zanuck not to make the film. But Kazan and Zanuck forged ahead with this socially significant film anyway. And, as it turned out, the ‘Jewish-friendly’ (liberal) themed film did, in fact, grab the suspicious attention of the House Un-American Activities Committee.  As a result, Kazan, Zanuck, John Garfield and Anne Revere were called to testify before the committee.   Now, putting aside what was happening off-screen…The film’s plot revolves around the character, Philip Green (Gregory Peck), a journalist that goes undercover as a Jew to conduct research for an article he is writing about anti-semetism.   Green encounters explicit prejudice along the way including professional bias and personal relationship issues, as well as name-calling, discrimination by hotels, etc. Gentleman’s Agreement is a great film that would pave the way for future filmmakers. Kazan took a huge risk in directing a movie of such sensitive nature, and in taking that risk, he created one of the most important films of all time.

Nominated for 8 Oscars, Winner of 3
Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Celeste Holm (WON)
Best Director – Elia Kazan (WON)
Best Picture – 20th Century Fox (WON)
Best Actor in a Leading Role – Gregory Peck
Best Actress in a Leading Role – Dorothy McGuire
Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Anne Revere
Best Film Editig – Harmon Jones
Best Writing, Screenplay – Moss Hart

Mrs. Green: You know something, Phil? I suddenly want to live to be very old. Very. I want to be around to see what happens. The world is stirring in very strange ways. Maybe this is the century for it. Maybe that’s why it’s so troubled. Other centuries had their driving forces. What will ours have been when men look back? Maybe it won’t be the American century after all… or the Russian century or the atomic century. Wouldn’t it be wonderful… if it turned out to be everybody’s century… when people all over the world – free people – found a way to live together? I’d like to be around to see some of that… even the beginning. I may stick around for quite a while.

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Classic Movie Countdown: Best Picture #’s 28 and 27 — The Lost Weekend (1945) and A Man for All Seasons (1966)

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Josh Kaye

28. The Lost Weekend (1945)

Other Nominated Films:
Anchors Aweigh, The Bells of St. Mary’s, Mildred Pierce, Spellbound

The Lost Weekend is an extremely tough film to watch since it’s extremely accurate in its portrayal of the disease known as alcoholism. The Lost Weekend is a haunting film, and it’s so well done by Billy Wilder that you can’t take your eyes off of the screen. The film focuses on the struggles of Don Birnam (Ray Milland), who is an alcoholic New York writer. We’re brought into this man’s life at his most vulnerable point, when he is desperate for a drink and must escape the watchful eyes of his girlfriend and brother — and it’s terrifying for us to experience his torment and degradation. We follow Don for four days as he gives in to his alcoholic urges by stealing money, pawning his possessions, and borrowing money from a woman who he lied to earlier in the film. Ray Milland is truly amazing in his role and is a well deserving recipient of the Best Actor Oscar. Milland brought a realistic element to the role which is the only way a movie like this would work. It should be noted that the “character walking toward the camera as neon signs pass by” camera effect was made famous by this movie. The Lost Weekend would go on to win four Oscars, one being the Best Director Oscar that Wilder should have won for Double Indemnity.

Nominated for 7 Oscars, Winner of 4
Best Actor in a Leading Role – Ray Milland (WON)
Best Director – Billy Wilder (WON)
Best Picture – Paramount (WON)
Best Writing, Screenplay – Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder (WON)
Best Cinematography, Black-and-White – John F. Seitz
Best Film Editing – Doane Harrison
Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic of Comedy Picture – Miklós Rózsa

Nat: One’s too many an’ a hundred’s not enough.

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Classic Movie Countdown: Best Picture #’s 30 and 29 — An American in Paris (1951) and Gigi (1958)

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Josh Kaye

30. An American in Paris (1951)

Other Nominated Films:
Decision Before Dawn, A Place in the Sun, Quo Vadis, A Streetcar Named Desire

There are very few films that are as vibrant and lavish as An American in Paris. There are also very few (if any other) films that feature an uninterrupted 16-minute dance sequence. The dance sequence. a ballet set to Gershwin’s An American in Paris  is well choreographed (I would hope so since this sequence cost over $500,000), and I believe this is the primary reason that An American in Paris won the Best Picture Oscar. An American in Paris is an exciting, stand-up-and-move-your-feet type of film, but A Streetcar Named Desire and A Place in the Sun are the truly the more superior films. But let’s not focus on what probably should have happened, let’s focus on what did happened. While the plot of An American in Paris may not be the strongest, what keeps the film from failing is the immerse star power of Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron, the classic Gershwin songs, and the colorful direction of Vincente Minnelli. I will say that what truly kept me hooked was Leslie Caron. I’m unsure of what it is about her, but when she’s on screen, she demands your attention. When she wasn’t on screen however, it felt to me as if the movie was just slowly dragging. Although I will give credit to Gene Kelly for one of the most memorable dances of all time in I Got Rhythm. The man can really dance, and I have no problem admitting that I wish I could dance like that. An American in Paris would go on to win Academy Awards that year.

Nominated for 8 Oscars, Winner of 6
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color – Cedric Gibbons, E. Preston Ames, Edwin B. Willis, F. Keogh Gleason (WON)
Best Cinematography, Color – Alfred Gilks, John Alton (WON)
Best Costume Design, Color – Orry-Kelly, Walter Plunkett, Irene Sharaff (WON)
Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture – Johnny Green, Saul Chaplin (WON)
Best Picture – Arthur Freed (WON)
Best Writing, Story and Screenplay – Alan Jay Lerner (WON)
Best Director – Vincente Minnelli
Best Film Editing – Adrienne Fazan

Jerry Mulligan: She’s one of those third year girls who gripe my liver… You know, American college kids. They come over here to take their third year and lap up a little culture… They’re officious and dull. They’re always making profound observations they’ve overheard.

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Classic Movie Countdown: Best Picture #’s 32 and 31 — Tom Jones (1963) and Going My Way (1944)

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Josh Kaye

32. Tom Jones (1963)

Other Nominated Films:
America America, Cleopatra, How The West Was Won, Lilies of the Field

There hasn’t been a comedy quite like Tom Jones in a very long time, which is unfortunate since it’s such a unique film in so many ways. When I first watched the film, I actually thought it was a throwback to the silent classics since the entire opening sequence is performed with no sound at all. What also makes this comedy different is the fact that the characters in the film break the fourth wall. A lot. There’s even a moment where Tom Jones (Albert Finney) notices the camera and covers the lens with his hat. I previously saw Finney in films such as Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, Big Fish, and Miller’s Crossing, but this is the best Albert Finney film I’ve seen so far (doesn’t say all that much since I’ve seen very few.) Playing the title character with great flair, Jones is a dashing young man with a heart of gold, which makes him the perfect love-’em-and-leave-’em lady charmer. Finney was nominated for the Best Actor award for this role, but didn’t come out the winner. In fact, this film had five Oscar nominations in the acting categories: Best Actor (Albert Finney), Best Supporting Actor (Hugh Griffith), and Best Supporting Actress (Diane Cilento, Dame Edith Evans, and Joyce Redman.) Tom Jones is the only film in the history of the Academy in which three actresses were nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar, which makes it all the more shocking to see that none of them won the award. If you’re a fan of comedy films, then Tom Jones is a must-see.

Nominated for 10 Oscars, Winner of 4
Best Director – Tony Richardson (WON)
Best Music, Score – Substantially Original – John Addison (WON)
Best Picture – Tony Richardson (WON)
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium – John Osborne (WON)
Best Actor in a Leading Role – Albert Finney
Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Hugh Griffith
Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Diane Cilento
Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Edith Evans
Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Joyce Redman
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color – Ralph W. Brinton, Ted Marshall, Jocelyn Herbert, Josie MacAvin

Tom Jones: [Drunkenly shouting the news of Mr. Allworthy’s miraculous recovery from his carriage accident] Mr. Allworthy has recovered! It’s over! The fever’s gone! He’s sitting up. He’s well again! The Squire’s recovered! It’s over!
Narrator: It’s not true that drink changes a man’s character. It can reveal it more clearly. The Squire’s recovery brought joy to Tom, to his tutors, sheer disappointment.

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Classic Movie Countdown: Best Picture #’s 34 and 33 — Oliver! (1968) and How Green Was My Valley (1941)

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Josh Kaye

34. Oliver! (1968)

Other Nominated Films:
Funny Girl, The Lion in Winter, Rachel Rachel, Romeo and Juliet

A twist on the Charles Dickens classic Oliver Twist (see what I did there), Oliver! is an exciting tale about an orphan who runs away from an orphanage and gets caught up in a gang of child thieves. The twist? (I can’t seem to help myself!) They sing and dance their way happily through their sordid, miserable little lives! I actually have a personal experience with one of the songs from the film. For one of my assignments in a class, my group had to create a pitch for a restaurant idea, and we found this wonderful YouTube video featuring the song Food, Glorious Food. Unfortunately, I can’t find the clip, but it was a perfect fit. When I watched the film and heard the familiar music start playing, I sat up with a smile on my face for two reasons: A) I found the source of the YouTube song; and B) I knew that this would be an enjoyable movie — which it was, although there were some pretty sad moments throughout the film, especially towards the end. There were two characters that really stood out over the rest: Fagin (Ron Moody) and the Artful Dodger (Jack Wild). Fagin can be considered a foster father for a bunch of the young, abandoned boys. He cares for the children and teaches them to make a living by doing what he does best: pickpocketing. And the Artful Dodger is his #1 go-to-guy. Both of the actors were nominated for Oscars, but neither one came out as the winner. I also would like to point out that Oliver Reed, who played Bill Sikes, is terrifying, and that’s all I have to say about that. Since the development of the MPAA rating system, Oliver! is the only G-rated film to receive the Academy Award for Best Picture, which is ironic since the following year Midnight Cowboy became the only X-Rated film to win Best Picture. Onna White also received an Honorary Award for her outstanding choreography achievement for Oliver!.

Nominated for 11 Oscars, Winner of 5
Honorary Award – Onna White – For her outstanding choreography achievement for Oliver!.
Best Art Direction-Set Direction – John Box, Terence Marsh, Vernon Dixon, Ken Muggleston (WON)
Best Director – Carol Reed (WON)
Best Music, Score of a Musical Picture (Original or Adaptation) – Johnny Green (WON)
Best Picture – John Woolf (WON)
Best Sound – Shepperton SSD (WON)
Best Actor in a Leading Role – Ron Moody
Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Jack Wild
Best Cinematography – Oswald Morris
Best Costume Design – Phyllis Dalton
Best Film Editing – Ralph Kemplen
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium – Vernon Harris

Fagin: [sings] I’m reviewing the situation / Can a fellow be a villain all his life? / All the trials and tribulations. / Better settle down and get myself a wife! / And a wife would cook and sew for me, / And come for me, and go for me, / And go for me, and nag at me, / The fingers, she would wag at me. / The money she would take from me. / A misery, she’ll make from me… I think I’d better think it out again!

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Classic Movie Countdown: Best Picture #’s 36 and 35 — The Life of Emile Zola (1937) and Mrs. Miniver (1942)

Posted on February 5, 2012 by Josh Kaye

36. The Life of Emile Zola (1937)

Other Nominated Films:
The Awful Truth, Captains Courageous, Dead End, The Good Earth, In Old Chicago, Lost Horizon, One Hundred Men and a Girl, Stage Door, A Star is Born

I’m going to be completely honest, there are just some films that are harder to write about than others. Previous films on my countdown list, such as Around the World in 80 Days and The Broadway Melody, were easy to write about since, as films that are full of excitement, they’re fun to watch. Then, a film such as The Life of Emile Zola comes up, and I find myself struggling. It’s not because it’s a bad movie, since it really isn’t. In fact, it’s a very, very good film. I find the difficulty in writing about it is because…well…it’s just one of those movies. We’ve all seen them before — we watch and admire what’s on the screen, but when it comes to actually discussing the movie, our whole vocabulary is thrown out the window. That’s how I feel about The Life of Emile Zola. Since I’m having my own trouble coming up with the words to say, I’m just going to have to steal from someone who can say them better. Here are a few quotes from the original New York Times review that was published on August 12, 1937:

“The Warners, who have achieved the reputation of being Hollywood’s foremost triflers with history, paid their debt to truth last night with the presentation of The Life of Emile Zola at the Hollywood Theatre. Rich, dignified, honest, and strong, it is at once the finest historical film ever made and the greatest screen biography, greater even than The Story of Louis Pasteur with which the Warners squared their conscience last year.”

“…[The Life of Emile Zola] has followed not merely the spirit but, to a rare degree, the very letter of his life and of the  historically significant lives about him. And, still more miraculously, it has achieved this brilliant end without self-consciousness, without strutting glorification, without throwing history out of focus to build up the importance of its central figure.”

Thank you Frank S. Nugent for letting me borrow your words. I couldn’t have said it any better myself. The Life of Emile Zola is an honest depiction of the man in its title. William Dieterle is able to keep the spirit of Zola alive without having to fabricate many details. Paul Muni, who was nominated for his portrayal of the French author, is astonishing, and not just for his extraordinary performance, but because he looked exactly like the man. There really couldn’t have been a better choice for the role. The Life of Emile Zola would become the second biographical film to win Best Picture and the first film to receive 10 Academy Award nominations.

Nominated for 10 Oscars; Winner of 3
Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Joseph Schildkraut (WON)
Best Picture – Warner Bros. (WON)
Best Writing, Screenplay – Heinz Herald, Geza Herczeg, Norman Reilly Raine (WON)
Best Actor in a Leading Role – Paul Muni
Best Art Direction – Anton Grot
Best Assistant Director – Russell Saunders
Best Director – William Dieterle
Best Music, Score – Leo F. Forbstein (Warner Bros. Studio Music Department – Score by Max Steiner)
Best Sound, Recording – Nathan Levinson (Warner Bros. SSD)
Best Writing, Original Story – Heinz Herald

Émile Zola: What does it matter if an individual is shattered – if only justice is resurrected?

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