1921 to 1924: And the Felix for Best Picture goes to...

1921-22

Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror (3/22 – Director: F.W. Murnau)

Nominees: Tol’able David (Dec 1921), Nanook of the North (June 1922), Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (April/May 1922), Miss Lulu Bett (Nov 1921), Foolish Wives (Jan 1922), Love's Crucible (Jan 1922), El Dorado (Oct 1921)

Bram Stoker’s widow was so upset over the theft of her husband’s story, that she demanded that all prints of Murnau’s classic be destroyed. Thank goodness she didn’t get her wish, as we all would have been the poorer.

German Director F.W. Murnau was an artist who brought a distinct style and look to the feature. He was also a man who understood how powerful subtlety and atmosphere could be within the realm of horror. The gothic vampire story is boosted by the look of the piece, the shadows are every bit a character here - plus there’s the memorably chilling performance from Max Schreck as Count Orlok.

There were several notable films to pick from in 1921-22: Fritz Lang’s Dr. Mabuse, and one of the first documentaries (Nanook), but the story of Orlok trumps them all. I've written a fuller review of the picture here at... Letterboxd

Best Actor: Erich von Stroheim, Foolish Wives
Honorable Mentions:
Richard Barthelmess, Tol’able David * Wallace Reid, The Affairs of Anatol * Conrad Veidt, The Indian Tomb * John Barrymore, Sherlock Holmes * Armand Bour, La Terre

Supporting Actor: Max Schreck, Nosferatu (pictured top)

Best Actress: Lois Wilson, Miss Lulu Bett
Honorable Mentions:
Gloria Swanson, Beyond the Rocks & The Affairs of Anatol * Lillian Gish, Orphans of the Storm * Edith Roberts & Leatrice Joy, Saturday Night * Norma Talmadge, Smilin' Through * Ève Francis, El Dorado

Supporting Actress: Maude George, Foolish Wives

1922-23

La Roue (Feb 1923 – Director: Abel Gance)

Nominees: Safety Last (April 1923), Häxan (Sept 1922), Robin Hood (Oct 1922), Salomé (Dec 1922), Downfall (May 1923)

One of Kurosawa's favorites... Abel Gance's La Roue is a flawed, but ingenious slice of French impressionistic cinema. At times I nearly choked on the syrupy melodramatics of it all. But it’s such a technical achievement, a trendsetter of edits and style, that I feel compelled to award it the Felix on those merits alone. From the memorable train sequence to a moment where we see a man in the last moments of life, having a flashback of his true love that is shown in a succession of rapid-fire images, it’s a visual marvel if nothing else.  Jeffery M. Anderson said it best when he wrote, "Gance took this moldy, soapy story about a railroad man who adopts a young orphan girl and turned it into a sprawling, half-mad, 4-1/2 hour masterpiece."

Acting: While my leads were obvious (at least to me), supporting took some study - with both ultimately coming from the same film. Zenda featured a strong ensemble cast, and a breakout turn from Roman Novaro, who -as the baddie- chews the scenery with relish. But I felt Edeson gave a fuller and more grounded performance as the Kings right-hand man. I also preferred Alice Terry's heartfelt and gentle charismatic acting over Barbara La Marr's slightly more theatrical work.

Best Actor: Séverin-Mars, La Roue
Honorable Mentions:
Harold Lloyd, Safety Last
Douglas Fairbanks, Robin Hood
Matheson Lang & Victor Sjöström, Eld ombord (The Hell Ship)
Ivan Mosjoukine, The Burning Crucible

Supporting Actor: Robert Edeson, The Prisoner of Zenda

Best Actress: Anna May Wong, Toll of the Sea
Honorable Mentions:
Leatrice Joy, Manslaughter
Alla Nazimova, Salomé
Asta Nielsen, Downfall

Supporting Actress: Alice Terry, The Prisoner of Zenda

1923-24

Sherlock Jr. (April 1924 – Director: Buster Keaton)

Nominees: Why Worry (Sept 1923) Die Nibelungen pts 1 & 2 (Feb & April 1924), Thief of Bagdad (March 1924), Scaramouche (Sept 1923), The Great White Silence (month unknown, 1924), The Saga of Gösta Berling (March 1924)

Comedy was king in the 20s, led by the brilliant trinity: Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd. Comedians understood the importance of timing better than anyone. While some of the silent era dramas can come off dated, too theatrical and melodramatic, with scenes that go on longer than they should. Silent comedies hold up to the test of time. Two good examples of that are Why Worry? Harold Lloyd's tale of a hypochondriac on vacation, who winds up caught in the middle of a revolution, is as fresh and funny as ever. It's a shamefully overlooked gem, deserving of more respect than it receives.

Better than that is Sherlock Jr. in which Buster Keaton plays a film projectionist who longs to become a great detective. After being wrongly accused of theft, he falls asleep on the job and dreams himself into the movie he’s playing. 

Some critics at the time said this lacked creativity and ingenuity. Were they high? This film is one of the most imaginative and ingenious I’ve ever seen. The technical hurdles tackled when Buster enters the actual movie showing at the theater, is enough on its own to level those critics’ claims as spurious.

This classic is loaded with memorable moments. From Buster leaping from a window and coming out the other end dressed as a woman (and this is done is a full frame shot with the building cutaway, so you see it all seamlessly, it’s a not an edit- job) to the bit where Buster keeps handing out dollar bills. Sherlock Jr. is a wonderful picture, with a sweetness to it as well.  

Apart from the comedies, I've nominated Walsh's expansive The Thief of Bagdad staring Douglas Fairbanks and Fritz Lang's sweeping 2 part epic, Die Nibelungen. Though between them, I prefer the first part, "Siegfried".

🎭 Note: Anna May Wong becomes the first, and so far, only performer to win back-to-back acting awards, first as the lead, then in support. 

Best Actor: Douglas Fairbanks, The Thief of Bagdad
Honorable Mentions:
Gregori Chmara, Raskolnikow * Buster Keaton, Sherlock Jr * Ronald Colman, The White Sister * Harold Lloyd, Why Worry? * Lon Chaney, The Hunchback of Notre Dame * Ramon Novarro, Scaramouche

Supporting Actor: John Aasen, Why Worry?

Best Actress: Marion Davies, Little Old New York
Honorable Mentions:
May McAvoy, The Enchanted Cottage * Lillian Gish, The White Sister * Gloria Swanson, Manhandled * Jobyna Ralston, Girl Shy * Colleen Moore, Flaming Youth * Betty Compson, The White Shadow * Marie Prevost, The Marriage Circle

Supporting Actress: Anna May Wong, Drifting



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1917 to 1921 - And the Felix for Best Motion Picture goes to...

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.

Best Actor: Raymond Hatton, The Whispering Chorus
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

Asta Nielsen, In Turmoil

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.

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: Adolf E. Licho, The Yellow Ticket

Best Actress: Lillian Gish, Broken Blossoms (picture top)
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 * Asta Neilsen, So Ends My Song

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 a quintessential example 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.

Best Actor: Werner Krauss, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
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

Best Actress: Ossie Oswalda, The Doll
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".

Best Actor: Lon Chaney, The Penalty
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 * George Arliss, The Devil

Supporting Actor: Jackie Coogan, The Kid

Best Actress: Hildur Carlberg, The Parson’s Widow
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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The Felix's: Intro and Index

Articles and debates about who should or shouldn’t have won a particular Oscar have always made an interesting read. Especially when such pieces point me to great motion pictures I'd never seen or heard of. I thought it might be fun to try my hand at the exercise and share my choices in a blog.

Notes: In the Academy’s formative days, the film season went from August 1 to July 31 the following year. In 1934 it was changed to cover a standard calendar year. For the hell of it, I’m going start my list earlier than Oscar did, using the same model - starting with 1913-14.

I'm stretching the Academy's rules of eligibility, most notably in regard to foreign fare. The Oscar rule was that any film that played in Los Angeles by Dec 31 of a given year and ran for at least a week was eligible. That rule has kept some foreign films out of the running, as several took years, even decades before they played in the States. The Felix's rule of eligibility broadens its scope. If you had an extended run somewhere, you’re good to go.

Also: I prefer to use first wide release, general public showings as my release date, rather than test screenings, film fests or critic only showings. (Miles Ahead, for example, had 1 festival showing in 2015, but its premiere was in Beverly Hills on March 29, 2016, followed by a limited run in the States starting April 1st, 2016. Which is why I have it as a 2016 release). And, since starting this Blog (the research stage began in 2011), someone at IMDB has posted new release years for films like The King of Comedy, The Ox-Bow Incident and The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, which is maddening - and in these cases, I've decided against changing or taking away awards. I had a date and I'm sticking with it. They are grandfathered in there.

This page will act as the index

UPDATES!

🎦 6/18/2017: I've added best actor/actress to the pages. I've also added links to several Letterboxd reviews on certain pages, for select films or performers.

Rules:
* The Fassbinder Exception: So named after my frustration of finding several of my Fassbinder favorites were made for TV (which would make them eligible for an alt-Emmy but not an alt-Oscar). Therefore... TV movies (not miniseries, I'm working on a separate category for them) can be included if they were shown theatrically at some point.

* I used the Cannes model on occasion and awarded multiple actors/actress in certain years, where it felt right.

🎦 9/1/2017: I've picked my favorite short films for each year. You can see the list here.

🎦 10/2018: Added Supporting Awards... which can be difficult to ascertain. Some folks give weight to screen time, for others it's about importance to the story, and of course, there's the side-kick factor - where you can have plenty of screen time and dialogue and such but still are labeled a supporting player (see Huston in Sierra Madre). At times I struggled with this category - to the point where it was becoming a hassle. Then I told myself to just have fun with it. So yes, some of my picks are unconventional, but they made me happy, which made the undertaking less of a drag.

🎦 9/2019: Added new awards for Best Miniseries or Television Film: Part I: 50s through 80s * Part II: 90s to 2019 * Part III: 2020 to current

🎦 5/2022: Added my picks for Best Original Song

🎦 5/2024: New page, Most Wins

1913 to 1917 * 1917 to 1921 * 1921 to 1924 * 1924 to 1927 * 1927-1928 * 1928-1929 * 1929-1930 * 1930-1931 * 1931-1932 * 1932-1933 * 1934 * 1935 * 1936 * 1937 * 1938 * 1939 * 1940 * 1941 * 1942 * 1943 * 1944 * 1945 * 1946 * 1947 * 1948 * 1949 * 1950 * 1951 * 1952 * 1953 * 1954 * 1955 * 1956 * 1957 * 1958 * 1959 * 1960 * 1961 * 1962 * 1963 * 1964 * 1965 * 1966 * 1967 * 1968 * 1969 * 1970 * 1971 * 1972 * 1973 * 1974 * 1975 * 1976 * 1977 * 1978 * 1979 * 1980 * 1981 * 1982 * 1983 * 1984 * 1985 * 1986 * 1987 * 1988 * 1989 * 1990 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1994 * 1995 * 1996 * 1997 * 1998 * 1999 * 2000 * 2001 * 2002 * 2003 * 2004 * 2005 * 2006 * 2007 * 2008 * 2009 * 2010 * 2011 * 2012 * 2103 * 2014 * 2015 * 2016 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2020 * 2021 * 2022 * 2023 *

The Directors


The Felix's were born on March 8, 2012