1947--Gentleman's Agreement, Elia Kazan

 

1947--Gentleman's Agreement, Elia Kazan
Nominated: The Bishop's Wife, Crossfire, Great Expectations, Miracle on 34th Street
Should have won: Gentleman's Agreement
Be sure to see: The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
"That's a statue of Atlas carrying carrying the world on his shoulders," --Phil Green
"No kidding? That's what grandma says you're doing. She says she wishes you'd leave the world alone once in a while."--Tommy Green

   Though To Kill a Mockingbird is widely (and perhaps rightfully so) considered Gregory Peck's best movie, Gentleman's Agreement, fifteen years earlier, is right on par with that classic in its ability to show bigotry toward a selected group; in this case sometimes it is incidental and other times purposeful.

     Phil Green is a writer who is asked to do a piece on antisemitism. He takes on the job but goes the extra mile. For the purpose of an authentic experience, he pretends to be Jewish to see if he is treated any differently. He changes his name from Green to Greenberg and lives his life as a Jew for half a year. His best friend, Dave (who is Jewish) goes along with it and his girlfriend, Kathy, is supportive too but is also taken aback by her thoughts on his being Jewish, and even admits it is wrong for her to care. When she wants to introduce him to her family, many of the family members are suddenly “unable to attend” the get together upon finding out his faith. 

     Though the message of acceptance is a familiar one (like Mockingbird) I liked how this one panned out in different situations. Phil talking to his son about accepting everyone and his son being beaten up at school because his father is Jewish is a touching and frighteningly true scene, but it comes and goes. It didn't seem like it was supposed to be poignant to the plot when, in real life, it probably would be. I was angered just by watching the proceedings of how “Greenberg” was treated once people found out he was Jewish, particularly when he tried to stay in a hotel for the night. 

    He has his secretary send out letters; some as Green and some as Greenberg. In this day and age I wonder how much of a difference that would make. It is an interesting experiment to try though. I wonder how much of the movie would pass today. If it were remade (even loosely) I wonder if a different religion would cause the same uneasiness with people he meets. When a movie of such a serious topic is seen, something comical shouldn't typically be the first thing that comes to mind. But I was reminded of the old “Saturday Night Live” skit where Eddie Murphy spends the day as a white man. Some of his experiences were over the top like white people give other white people things for free or when the final black guy gets off the bus a party ensues. I don't know how much of that would be at least a little true, even beyond the comical purpose. But I also never thought about how members of the Jewish faith had been or, perhaps, still are treated today. The key moment for me was when Kathy reflected on her own reaction when she found he was Jewish felt ashamed. There is an interesting discussion between Kathy and Dave about whether or not it is okay to do nothing when a bigoted joke is told. Maybe what Phil does in this movie would be a good experiment someone should try today. How much has really changed in people's views on the Jewish faith? I have no answer to that. 

 

1946--The Best Years of Our Lives, William Wyler

1946--The Best Years of Our Lives, William Wyler
Nominated: Henry V, It's a Wonderful Life, Razor's Edge, The Yearling
Should Have Won: Notorious
Be Sure to See: Baseball Bugs, Racketeer Rabbit, Song of the South
"Your folks will get used to you and you will get used to them. Then everything will settle down nicely unless we have another war. Then none of us will have to worry because we'll all be blown to bits the first day. So cheer up, huh?"--Butch Engle

      There have been many war movies so consequently many movies focusing on soldiers' methods of coping with battle. The Best Years of our Lives focuses on how men cope with their home lives after the war is over. 

 

       Fred, Homer, and Al (why do I keep thinking Flintstone, Simpson and Bundy?), are flying home. Upon their arrivals, each has his own struggles of coping with home life. Fred has vivid dreams of war and is a little uptight. Not to mention his wife seems to have become more distant and self centered, caring more about Fred's income than happiness. Homer lost his hands and has almost mastered the hooks that have replaced them, but his family and fiance are struggling to accept them. And Al takes a job at a bank but struggles too. By the way, he makes $32.50 a week. This is 1946 money but is still significantly less than Ralph Kramden made driving a bus ten years later. I guess people wanted to help the veterans by giving jobs but not too much with the wages.

 

     The movie does a good job of distributing the stories. None of the characters really seem to be the “main” character. Each has his own struggles and story lines. Homer has accepted his hooks but there are moments when they clearly bother him like when he drops a glass or when he sees his friend playing a piano. I thought the prop department did a good job of hiding the actor's hands when putting on the hooks but later in the movie he takes his prosthetic off. Come to find out, the actor really was a double amputee. 

 

     It is a good movie and I cared about all the characters but they really overdo the sap, particularly on Homer's hands, or lack thereof. But the best scene does involve Homer's hooks. Fred punches a man in Homer's defense, jeopardizing his job. It is truly a great stunt fall, if nothing else, but a key moment in the movie about defending a friend and a civilian's take on whether or not the war was necessary. I thought the scene took the subject just far enough without being preachy. Others might not think so. 

 

     The title was curious to me until late in the movie when a character delivers it. I was surprised who says it and in the context. The title seems to be a sweet and positive message but the way it is delivered puts a nasty spin on it, but perhaps it still rings true. My take is it might mean something different to everyone. There is a wedding in the last scene and the movie could have easily ended with the line again in a different context. I'm kind of glad it didn't. Not everything can be roses when returning from war, I would imagine. The Best Years of our Lives was not afraid to express that. I should also note that the director is responsible for two other best picture winners, Ben-Hur being one of the best and Mrs. Miniver being one of the worst. 

 

1945--The Lost Weekend, Billy Wilder

 

1945--The Lost Weekend, Billy Wilder
Nominated: Anchors Aweigh, The Bells of St. Mary's, Mildred Pierce, Spellbound
Should Have Won: The Lost Weekend
Be Sure to See: Dead of Night
"I'm not a drinker; I'm a drunk."--Don Birnam

     A recovering alcoholic who has been on the wagon (or is it off the wagon? Remember when Jerry and George discuss that on “Seinfeld”?) for 10 days is planning on a weekend getaway with his friend to a farm (I guess that's as good as a getaway to a lake). He stays home instead and begins drinking again. It begins to control his life. 

 

     Pretty simple synopsis for such a deep movie. Alcohol controls Don Birnam's life. When the people in his life think the apartment is free of booze, they don't realize he's tied one to a string to dangle out the window or has hidden one in the umbrella stand. At one point he hides one in the ceiling lamp and later forgets where he has hidden it. In my favorite shot in the movie, we see Don in the foreground, lying down in agony from desiring a drink, while above him we see the lamp and remember what he doesn't. 

 

     The Lost Weekend is a very depressing movie. Maybe not to the extreme of Kevin Bacon's The Woodsman but it made me feel gloomy. I've met some people in my life who enjoy the bottle but nothing like how Don does. He wanders the streets looking for open bars that are locked. He finds out the reason the bars are closed despite it being Saturday is for Yon Kapur. 

 

     One thing I found odd, and am not sure how many others will, is early on his friends lock him in the apartment to keep him from leaving to drink. How can you be locked in a room?It reminds me of how Lawrence Talbot asks Wilber to lock him in in Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein, but since he's a werewolf I guess he can't figure out locks. It reminds me of that riddle. You are in a car. The doors are locked. The windows are up. There is a brick on the seat beside you. How do you get out of the car? The answer: Unlock the door and step out. I just don't get how you can be locked inside. If you ever leave and lock the door not knowing someone is still home, are they stuck in there until you get back? I don't get it. 

 

     Anyway, he finds some money intended to go to the maid but takes it for alcohol. Even though I just ranted about him being locked in I should say when this happens he is now roaming the street. So I guess my theory is correct; I mean he got out right?

 

     Speaking of Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein I thought the score sounded just like it. I thought the composers were the same but they are not. It is kind of a scary score for a non-horror movie but in its own way it is rather scary. Ray Millard did a great job as the lead but I'll always think of him in my favorite Alfred Hitchcock movie Dial M for Murder. He plays a desperate drunk so well. At one point, Don enters a liquor store before it is open for a quart of rye and has a fight with the employee. And in the flashback scene of how he meets Helen, his coat gets mixed up at the opera. It has booze in it and he has to wait to see who has his ticket and whose ticket he has. It makes for an awkward first impression. And the oddest scene is after he escapes from the alcoholic's ward in the hospital. He hallucinates that a bat and a mouse come out of the wall. It was uncomfortably creepy.

 

     The Lost Weekend was a very good movie that was deep and honest. Along with the scenes in the institution for alcoholics there was a potential suicide. I read that didn't sit well with original audiences but it copped best picture and best actor wins anyway. But the message goes beyond the screen. Millions of people in the real world suffer from alcoholism, too. Do they go to the lengths Don Birnam does for one more drink?

 

1944--Going My Way, Leo McCarey

1944--Going My Way, Leo McCarey
Nominated: Double Indemnity, Gaslight, Since You Went Away, Wilson
Should Have Won: Double Indemnity
Be Sure to See: Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears, Laura, Lifeboat, Little Red Riding Rabbit
"You know, at one time I had quite a decision to make. Whether to write the nation's songs or go my way," --Father Chuck O'Malley

      I would never have guessed going into a best picture winner starring Bing Crosby that it wouldn't be a musical. Oh, there was some music in it. Bing tickles the ivory a few times and there is a subplot where he teaches local kids to sing chords to keep them out of trouble, but the heart of Going My Way is far from any music. 

 

    Crosby plays Father Chuck O'Malley, newly arrived priest to a financially downtrodden St. Dominics Catholic Church. The aged priest at the church is Father Fitzgibbon who is wary of Chuck's updated ways of singing and playing golf, etc. Right off the bat, he seems to ruffle feathers when he joins a pick up game of stick ball, misses a fly ball which breaks a window. Nothing is mentioned, however, that the ball was totally out of his reach. The movie is mainly about his antics in the church, getting along with Father Fitzgibbon, and eventually getting him to loosen up. But there is a subplot where some of the local kids (a few of whom are also troublemakers, stealing turkeys) organize a chorus. It was an interesting turn from the rest of the movie but it ended up going nowhere. Same thing with Carol, a girl who aspires to be a singer. There is a nice moment where she sings “The day after forever” with Father O'Malley. Maybe the filmmakers just used it to find a chance to let the great Bing Crosby sing because it wasn't overly important. I did like the moment though. And it sets up a scene where she returns to ask Father Fitzgibbon for a job singing in the church, but he sends her away.

 

     Because Father O'Malley and Father Fitzgibbon butt heads with their morals, Father Fitzgibbon sees the bishop about sending Father O'Malley away. This is the main plot I was interested in, more than the music part which isn't typical for me because I love musicals. But this movie is not a musical, it is about a church in financial crisis. The movie wants to be a musical because Crosby is in it so it slides songs in it here and there, but ultimately it doesn't belong in that genre. 

    Through the priests' differences, Chuck tries to get Father Fitzgibbon to play golf and lighten up a bit. There is a tragedy toward the end but the main point, I think, is whether these priests can accept each other. 

 

     An interesting thing about the movie (which had a sequel the following year called The Bells of St. Mary's where Crosby returns in the same role) is something occurred that changed a rule the Oscars previously had. While Bing Crosby won the Oscar for best actor, Barry Fitzgerald (who plays Father Fitzgibbon) was nominated for both best actor and best supporting actor, which he won. After the ceremony, it was decided, and rightfully so, that for one character to be both lead and supporting in the same movie is absurd and the rule was immediately changed. 

 

     I'd say skip Going my way unless you are a Bing Crosby fan. The story is okay but there are too many plots going on and not enough music. But when there is music, the movie does not disappoint. 

 

1943--Casablanca, Michael Curtiz

 

1943--Casablanca, Michael Curtiz

Nominated: For Whom the Bell Tolls, Heaven Can Wait, The Human Comedy, In Which we Serve, Madame Curie, The More the Merrier, The Ox-Bow Incident, The Song of Bernadette, The Watch on the Rhine

Should have won: Casablanca

Be sure to see: Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, Shadow of a Doubt, Tortoise Wins by a Hare

"If you stop breathing, you will die; if we stop fighting our enemies, the world will die."--Victor Laslo

      If this had been an American Film Institute blog instead of an Academy Awards blog, Casablanca would bombard all the other movies right off the page. In 1998, it took AFI's runner up spot on the all time greatest movies list (just behind Citizen Kane and ahead of The Godfather) and found its way to their love stories, thrillers (which is insane since it isn't a thriller and the scariest movie ever made didn't make that list); was number two on the best songs list with “As Time Goes By,” put Rick on their 50 greatest heroes list, made their biggest cheers list (whatever that is), and had six lines on their greatest lines of dialogue list. It is clearly an adored film that I merely liked a lot. 

       Based on a stage play “Everybody comes to Rick's,” Casablanca is set during World War II in a fancy nightclub and gambling hall in Casablanca, Morocco, where Rick's customers range from every walk of life. The Nazis tell him he must keep one Victor Laslo from leaving Morocco to return to America. Laslo enters his club later with Ilsa, the woman Rick loves and had a tryst with in Paris. There are all kinds of aspects of the story. An official named Louis (that's pronounced Lewy which I only mention because it is in one of the most famous final lines in movie history) gets involved in trying to retrieve deporting papers. The goings-on in the night club and the Nazi involvement are all important but the movie revolves around the romantic interest between Rick and Ilsa. A key character in the movie is Sam, Rick's faithful piano player. He keeps the club's spirits up with his playing, but one song Rick forbids Sam to play is “As time goes by” because that was his and Ilsa's song. By the way, one of the biggest misquotes in movie history is from this movie. “Play it again, Sam” is never uttered and is certainly on par with “Frankly, Scarlet, I don't give a damn” and “Luke, I am your father” as the biggest misquotes of all time. Personally, I'd go with the latter as taking the top spot. And I'll say this, and I'm sure most will disagree, I got sick of that song. I get tired of the theme to the Indiana Jones movies because it runs the entire film; I got tired of “Everybody's Talking'” in Midnight Cowboy after six minutes; and since “As time goes by” is played 13 times by my count, I got tired of that one, too. Also one of the most famous lines in movie history “Here's looking at you, kid” is spoken four times. I don't know, I just got burned out on that and, for me, the song and line lost their meanings. 

    Louis gives Laslo permission to leave the country on one condition, to reveal the names of the underground movement from the concentration camps. I know this is the greatest love story of all time and all but I found Laslo's predicament a more interesting story than Rick and Ilsa's. 

      A pretty tense moment is when the Nazis go  to Rick's sing their song and Rick orders the house band to play to cover up the Nazi's singing. It was a good scene, but I think that scene might be the reason it made that thriller list, and the tension is ruined by a line of comic relief about gambling. I guess that passed with a zillion people but I'm not one of them. I've never been a fan of comic relief. Let tension be tense.

     But I really did like a great deal of the movie, though it seems like I didn't. Rick's love for Ilsa is very strong. Even though that line about the enemies is my favorite I think the most important line in the movie, the one that sums up Rick, is “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.” I liked this because we've all felt it. Whoever made up the term “It is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all” deserves a serious beating. 

 

      I enjoyed the ending a lot, so much that I'd say the final fifteen minutes or so are among the best ending scenes of all time (though not THE best—see 1968's Planet of the Apes). What Rick does, and how the movie wraps up, shows some of the most selfless love any character has ever had in movie history. I wonder how many people would make the decision he makes. Hell I wonder if I could do that. I also wonder (and I'll try not to spoil the end here) if Rick had made the alternate decision if this would still be considered as timeless as it is. This ending is discussed in When Harry met Sally..., if you recall. Of course now that I learned a little about the movie I'm not sure if I could take that final scene as seriously. The plane in the background was a model and so it wasn't full size and looked fake (since it was). So the producers got some midgets to walk around it to give it scale. Also, Ronald Reagan was up for the roll of Rick. I'm not sure if The Gipper could have delivered Bogey's lines the same way. Look, it seems like I'm picking at this movie as though I didn't like it. I did like it. A lot. And I do agree that it should have won best picture, though Shadow of a Doubt comes highly recommended. But two all time? Above Gone with the Wind and Lawrence of Arabia? Luckily this is an Oscar blog and not an AFI blog. I'd tear those voters to pieces on all of their lists. 

1942--Mrs. Miniver, William Wyler

1942--Mrs. Miniver, William Wyler

Nominated: 49th Parallel, King's Row, The Magnificent Ambersons, The Pied Piper, Pride of the Yankees, Random Harvest, The Talk of the Town, Wake Island, Yankee Doodle Dandy

Should Have Won: Cat People
Be Sure to See: Bambi, Ghost of Frankenstein

“She was a good cook as good cooks go. And as good cooks go, she went.”--Clem Miniver

 

     In one of the many war movies to win best picture, Mrs. Miniver is also one of the worst best picture winners. Some of the story is fine, but some of the circumstances were head-scratching. I'm still wondering how Vin became a pilot in the army a few months after enlisting. Or why, after their house was bombed while hiding in the bomb shelter, the family just moved right on in with a hole in the roof. The best thing about the movie is the younger son, Toby; Christopher Severn who plays him is certainly the best actor of the bunch and he was only 6 while filming. And the plane crash was pretty cool. As was the sequence of the pilot shooting at a car.

     Clem and Kay Miniver have three children, two are young and one (Vin) joins the army. Kay is well-liked by everyone and a store owner names a rose after her (a plot point I thought was going to be the main focus). Vin is attracted to Carol, granddaughter of Lady Beldon who usually wins the rose competition (yeah I know, the plot is all over the place). When war is declared, Vin is put into action leaving the family concerned about his well-being. A high point is when Mrs. Miniver comes upon an escaped German soldier who, at gunpoint, forces her to feed him. The scene was going great and I was relieved because, finally, something in this mess caught my attention...until the man fainted for no reason. I guess from hunger, I don't know and I really don't care. 

 

     When the war hits the town, the family huddles in the bomb shelter. The house gets hit but the kids sleep through this. I guess they took NyQuil or something. Then there is a scene where the flower competition takes place and the whole town is there, rather than cleaning up the destruction from the bombings. The shopkeeper's rose, which he named after Mrs. Miniver, is going head to head with Lady Weldon's flower, which is important because she is Vin's new mother in law.. Who will win? After all, the Beldons have never lost in this competition. Forget about the giant hole in the roof, there is a flower competition to be won. Are you interested yet?  I will say this, the young kid who played Toby gave a great performance, the plane crash was decent, and this is the only movie I've seen where someone gets word of a spouse's death during wartime...and it is the civilian at home who died and the soldier is getting the news.

 

     My advice is to watch this only if you are an Oscar winner completest.. I probably left out some plot points but it doesn't matter. Mrs. Miniver is certainly one of the worst best picture winners but for what it is worth, it isn't THE worst.

1941--How Green Was My Valley, John Ford

1941--How Green Was My Valley, John Ford
Nominated: Blossoms in the Dust, Citizen Kane, Here Comes Mr. Jordon, Hold Back the Dawn, The Little Foxes, The Maltese Falcon, One Foot in Heaven, Sgt. York, Suspicion
Should Have Won: Citizen Kane
Be Sure to See: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dumbo, Wabbit Twouble, The Wolf Man
"Strange that the mind will forget so much of what only this moment has passed, and yet hold clear and bright the memory of what happened years ago," --Hue Morgan

    Perhaps after the ceremony for 1941's movies in is where we laid the groundwork when realizing there is a difference between “best” and “greatest”. Though, now, Citizen Kane is consistently considered the greatest movie ever made, back in the early '40s I guess the greatest picture didn't beat the best picture.

 

    This movie has one of the most curious decisions I've ever seen in a movie. It shouldn't have worked and yet it slides right on by: The youngest child never ages. Yet at the same time, this is never brought to attention to either us, the viewer, nor the other characters. As other characters age over the years, Hue stays the same.

    Told in reminiscing style (ala Stand By Me), How Green Was My Valley is the story of a mine-working family with news that the mine owners are lowering wages, causing the workers go on strike. The father does not support the strike though his sons do, and he banishes them from his house for being rude at the dinner table. Young Huw (played by Roddy McDowall, a quarter century before his iconic Planet of the Apes role of Cornelius) is a child picked on at school. A near tragedy occurs when he falls into icy water and nearly dies. He is bedridden until the following spring. The entire movie, particularly the first 45 minutes, I was depressed with the family's struggles and how Huw was bedded up for months. Then, when he can finally walk, it reminded me of the scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory when Grampa Joe starts dancing around after years in bed. That didn't happen here but I smirked.

 

    The family doesn't believe in banks so they keep all of their money pooled in a box. When the sons want to leave for America because they've had enough, they have to split up the box. The fact they want to leave is an interesting enough plot point but the fact they keep all of their money on a box in lieu of a bank seems like both a good and bad idea to me.

 

    Hew continues to be picked on at school and even the teacher himself beats him. So when he comes home with bruises, his brothers (who by the way are much older now) want to know how it happened. Hew says he fell in mud but they know better. His father gives him money for each black eye and bloody nose he gives and the brothers go to the school and beat up the teacher. Nice to know this family has its priorities straight. 

 

    Huw becomes a scholar and his parents want him to strive for better things like a doctor or lawyer (why is it always those two professions parents want?) but he'd rather work in the mines. Eventually one of the older brothers dies and Huw courts his widow. Odd because courting a dead brother's widow seems wrong enough but also he is still 10 years old...kind of. This storyline is like a comic strip or cartoon. The kid just never ages yet nobody ever mentions it. The only time Huw is seen as an adult is at the beginning as he is telling his story. Even at the end it doesn't go back to bookend the front. We never really know why he left home. Maybe he was looking for the mystery of Rosebud.

 

    In all, How Green Was My Valley is a decent movie but it really seemed like a knockoff of the superior The Grapes of Wrath. It is a little dull in parts though not necessarily boring. I don't recommend it unless you are a completist. How the “greatest movie ever made” didn't win best picture is one of film history's greatest mysteries.