1917-18
The Blue Bird (March 1918 – Director: Maurice Tourneur)
Nominees: The Outlaw and His Wife (Jan 1918), Blue Jeans (Dec 1917), Thomas Graal's Best Film (Aug 1917), The Narrow Trail (Dec 1917)The aptly titled, The Outlaw and his Wife from Victor Sjöström is sentimental fare, but a strong contender for the Felix due to its powerful story of two people huddled against man and the wilds cruel nature. Sjöström was also seen in Mauritz Stiller's Thomas Graals bästa film (or Best Film), which is marked by an energetic comedic performance from Karin Molander.
But the movie that I liked best was the kooky Blue Bird, a fairy tale about 2 kids who go off on a magical quest to find the bluebird of happiness (sadly, they did not bump into Sinbad while on their journey). The film –which anticipates the Wizard of Oz- isn’t without its flaws: While I liked the elements of the macabre (The Palace of Night), I struggled to get through the twee moral lessons. Never the less, Tourneur has a good sense of humor and a flair for visuals: The realms the children visit are a mixture of expressionism and art nouveau, and they are rendered in ways that are both beautiful and frightening.
Honorable Mentions:
Victor Sjöström, The Outlaw and His Wife
Harry Carey, Straight Shooting, Hell Bent & Bucking Broadway
William S. Hart, The Narrow Trail
Supporting Actor: Theodore Roberts, M'Liss
Best Actress: Mary Pickford, Stella Maris (also, Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley)
Honorable Mentions:
Viola Dana, Blue Jeans
Karin Molander, Thomas Graal's Best Film
Supporting Actress: Dorothy Gish, Hearts of the World
Blossoms tells the story of a disillusioned Buddhist, who wiles away his life in an opium den. He soon meets and tends to a young woman (Lillian Gish) who was cruelly beaten by her abusive father – and while interracial romance was forbidden in this era, a (chaste) love blooms.
Gish is an actress who does innocence undone quite well, and the scene with her hiding in a closet, trapped, insane with fear as her father hacks away at the door with an ax, is harrowing. Blossoms can be difficult viewing; the Asian fellow (played by a Caucasian) isn't even given a name (he's called the yellow man). We can only thank our lucky stars they didn’t title this thing after the book it was based on (The Chink and the Child). Still, as Roger Ebert pointed out, as naive as the movie seems today, it did help nudge a xenophobic nation towards racial tolerance.
Despite some dragginess, this is Griffith at his most poetic (Billy Bitzer's soft golden photography contributes to that), and the film's message of acceptance and love makes it worthy of a Felix.
Best Actor: Lars Hanson, Song of the Scarlet Flower
Honorable Mentions:
William S. Hart, Wagon Tracks
Richard Barthelmess, Broken Blossoms
Victor Sjöström, Ingmarssönerna
Supporting Actor: Theodore Roberts, M'Liss
Honorable Mentions:
Viola Dana, Blue Jeans
Karin Molander, Thomas Graal's Best Film
Supporting Actress: Dorothy Gish, Hearts of the World
1918-19
Broken Blossoms (May 1919 – Director: D.W. Griffith)
Nominees: J'accuse (April 1919), Song of the Scarlet Flower (April 1919), The Oyster Princess (June 1919), Ingmarssönerna (Jan 1919)Blossoms tells the story of a disillusioned Buddhist, who wiles away his life in an opium den. He soon meets and tends to a young woman (Lillian Gish) who was cruelly beaten by her abusive father – and while interracial romance was forbidden in this era, a (chaste) love blooms.
Gish is an actress who does innocence undone quite well, and the scene with her hiding in a closet, trapped, insane with fear as her father hacks away at the door with an ax, is harrowing. Blossoms can be difficult viewing; the Asian fellow (played by a Caucasian) isn't even given a name (he's called the yellow man). We can only thank our lucky stars they didn’t title this thing after the book it was based on (The Chink and the Child). Still, as Roger Ebert pointed out, as naive as the movie seems today, it did help nudge a xenophobic nation towards racial tolerance.
Despite some dragginess, this is Griffith at his most poetic (Billy Bitzer's soft golden photography contributes to that), and the film's message of acceptance and love makes it worthy of a Felix.
Honorable Mentions:
William S. Hart, Wagon Tracks
Richard Barthelmess, Broken Blossoms
Victor Sjöström, Ingmarssönerna
Supporting Actor: Adolf E. Licho, The Yellow Ticket
Honorable Mentions:
Ossie Oswalda, I Don't Want to Be a Man & The Oyster Princess * Pola Negri, The Yellow Ticket * Gloria Swanson, Don't Change Your Husband * Harriet Bosse, Ingmarssönerna
Supporting Actress: Kathleen Kirkham, The Married Virgin (pictured left)
1919-20
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Feb 1920 – Director: Robert Wiene)
Nominees: Blind Husbands (Nov 1919), When Clouds Roll By (Dec 1919), Sir Arne's Treasure (Sept 1919), The Doll (Dec 1919), The Sentimental Bloke (Oct 1919), The Valley of the Giants (Aug 1919), Behind the Door (Dec 1919)A traveling hypnotist (Werner Krauss) sends out his somnambulant, Cesare (Conrad Veidt), to commit murder… though there just might be more to this story than meets the eye. This is strange, experimental psychological horror and one of the quintessential examples of German expressionism. Visually arresting, with skewed, abstract sets. Caligari's a seminal achievement and its impact and influence reverberated throughout the film world.
While Lubitsch's The Doll was cute, and Mauritz Stiller's Sir Arne's Treasure a masterpiece, the Felix for Best Picture could go to no other.
Honorable Mentions:
John Barrymore, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde * Douglas Fairbanks, When Clouds Roll By * Sessue Hayakawa, The Dragon Painter * Arthur Tauchert, The Sentimental Bloke * Wallace Reid, The Valley of the Giants * Hobart Bosworth, Behind the Door
Supporting Actor: Conrad Veidt, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Honorable Mentions:
Gloria Swanson, Male and Female & Why Change Your Wife? * Constance Talmadge, The Love Expert * Kathleen Clifford, When Clouds Roll By * Lottie Lyell, The Sentimental Bloke * Jane Novak, Behind the Door * Nell Shipman, Back to God's Country
Supporting Actress: Bebe Daniels, Why Change Your Wife?
1920-21
The Kid (Jan 1921 – Director: Charlie Chaplin)
Nominees: The Phantom Carriage (Jan 1921), The Parson's Widow (Oct 1920), The Golem (Oct 1920), The Penalty (Aug 1920), Hamlet (Jan 1921)No matter how allergic I am to excessive sentimentality, there’s no denying Chaplin’s talent. As a performer, he’s a master pantomime, and behind the camera –here, doing everything from directing, cutting and screenwriting- he’s just as accomplished. The edits and camerawork are impeccable. It’s a tightly told tale that rarely loses focus (the exception might be the dream sequence – which, while it does feel out of place, was well executed and magical).
The story –about a tramp that takes care of a child left abandoned in an alley- pulls on the heartstrings, but Charlie and young Jackie Coogan have undeniable chemistry. They work their scenes together like a well-oiled machine - and because it was a personal story for Chaplin, it rings honest and true.
My nominees include The Penalty which features Lon Chaney at his scariest (well, one of his scariest), if not for a weak finish it might have won the Felix. Asta Nielsen's gender changing Hamlet, and Victor Sjöström's Phantom Carriage, which mixes Victorian sentimentality and modern psychology to tell a tale that echoes Dickens "A Christmas Carol".
Honorable Mentions:
Charlie Chaplin, The Kid * Victor Sjöström, The Phantom Carriage * Max Linder, Seven Years Bad Luck * Ralph Lewis, The Conquering Power * Einar Röd, The Parson's Widow
Supporting Actor: Jackie Coogan, The Kid
Honorable Mentions:
Lillian Gish, Way Down East * Asta Nielsen, Hamlet * Mary Pickford, The Love Light * Alice Terry, The Conquering Power * Priscilla Dean, Outside the Law
Supporting Actress: Greta Almroth, The Parson's Widow
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