Nominees: The Lady Eve, The Maltese Falcon, Ball of Fire, Blind Venus, The Devil and Daniel Webster, Little Foxes
Oscars pick: How Green Was My Valley
Nominees: Blossoms in the Dust, Citizen Kane, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, Hold Back the Dawn, The Little Foxes, the Maltese Falcon, One Foot in Heaven, Sergeant York, Suspicion
Are you kidding me? This is a no brainer. How Green Was My Valley is a fine film, but fine vs. timeless all world classic one of a kind masterpiece? I wouldn't even rank the overly maudlin "How Green" as one of John Ford's top 5 or 7 movies, and its win reeks of Oscar politics. Since he lost for the ‘much superior’ Grapes of Wrath last year, they gave it to the lesser film the following ceremony. Again, not a bad film, but not as good a film as John Huston's Maltese Falcon, or Preston Sturges' delightful The Lady Eve, or even Howard Hawk's snappy Ball of Fire.
And none of them -no matter how wonderful they are- can hold a candle to the colossus that is Citizen Kane – not only for its breadth of technical achievement but for the wise and resonating human story that is as poignant and perceptive today as it was 70 years ago.
Citizen Kane. Nuff said!
Acting! Bette Davis was killer in Little Foxes, it's one of my favorite performances from the actress. But Stanwyck owned 1941 with a pair of delightful comedic femme fatale roles. And while Bogart is incredible in Falcon - with that amused, confident smile - I prefer Welles as my lead actor, simply because I think he's asked to do more. He ages from 25 to 70; which he convincingly conveys both physicality and emotionally. We see him arrogant, tender, playful, cruel, and regretful.
Supporting is where it gets interesting. I had some difficulty finding a lone, standout actress. And there was a crowded field at actor, with Arnold & Huston in The Devil and Daniel Webster, Lorre & Greenstreet in the Maltese Falcon. And the troubling Van Helfin in Johnny Eager. Troubling? Oh, it's stellar work from the actor, but where do you place him? Oscar gave him the award in '42. But a few sources (IMDB) say it had a premiere in L.A. in Dec '41 (if true it must have been that single showing, and didn't include the minimum weeks run. Which would have made it eligible in '41 instead of '42).
Regardless, Lorre and Huston have their Felix's. So I'll go with the magnetic Greenstreet, making his film debut at age 62. He's a real character among characters.
Honorable Mentions: Carole Lombard, Mr. & Mrs. Smith * Jean Arthur, the Devil and Miss Jones * Betty Field, The Shepherd of the Hills * Viviane Romance, Blind Venus * Bette Davis, Little Foxes * Ida Lupino, Ladies in Retirement
Supporting Actress: Patricia Collinge, Little Foxes
Honorable Mentions: Humphrey Bogart, The Maltese Falcon, High Sierra * Edward G. Robinson, The Sea Wolf * Charles Coburn, The Devil and Miss Jones * Henry Fonda, The Lady Eve * John Wayne & Harry Carey, The Shepherd of the Hills * Cary Grant, Suspicion * Peter Lorre, The Face Behind the Mask
Supporting Actor: Sydney Greenstreet, The Maltese Falcon (pictured left)
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