Nominees: Grand Hotel, Marius, Vampyr, Frankenstein, Freaks, Mädchen in Uniform, Shanghai Express
Oscars pick: Grand Hotel
Nominees: Arrowsmith, Bad Girl, The Champ, Five Star Final, One Hour with You, Shanghai Express, The Smiling Lieutenant
I actually liked the episodic Grand Hotel quite a bit, it's melodramatic but I enjoyed the stories, and it has a great cast. Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, John, and Lionel Barrymore… that’s a dream team. So, I won’t give Oscar a hard time over picking it. Plus, I'm selecting Crawford as my best actress. While there is some difference of opinion on whether an ensemble cast is filled with leads or supporting actors... for me, it's up to the individual. It's your website or blog or book, you do whatever you want. And I want to give Joan my Felix, as she was head and shoulders above any other actress IMHO. Real and very natural (in a film full of theatrical performances). Next year, with Dinner at Eight's ensemble I'll switch my position and hand them out as supporting awards.
Of the Academy's nominees: Arrowsmith (marked by thoughtful work from John Ford) and Bad Girl (which won Frank Borzage his second directorial Oscar) were decent; I enjoyed Five Star Final, which is lifted by Edward G. Robinson's blistering performance as a newspaper publisher who does a bad thing in order to boost sales. Lubitsch's The Smiling Lieutenant was ok, One Hour with You, was better. And while I haven't seen The Champ in ages, I don't remember being overly thrilled with it.
For my nominees, I went with Oscar's Grand Hotel and Shanghai Express, but gave some love to three classic horror flicks, James Whale’s Frankenstein, Tod Browning’s Freaks and the weird, experimental Danish film, Vampyr from Carl Theodor Dreyer. Dreyer’s movie is a talkie that’s more like a silent, full of shadow and atmosphere.
I also greatly enjoyed the first film in the 3-part “Fanny” series, Marius. Based on a play by Marcel Pagnol, which is about a guy who loves this small-town girl, but aches to be out on the high seas. Which of these loves will he choose? Marius isn't about direction or interesting camera work; it’s about the actors and the dialogue.
One worth mentioning that ranks high with others is René Clair’s À nous la liberté, a musical farce about dehumanization caused by the industrial revolution, which might have inspired Chaplin’s Modern Times (Charlie said no, but he was sued for the similarities anyway). Clair’s take on the subject is more lyrical and lacks Chaplin’s self-aggrandizing and cloying sentimentalism, though it is not as engaging.
The movie that stands far and above the rest is Howard Hawk’s visually expressionistic Scarface. A brutal gangster film that must have inspired Scorsese when he made Goodfellas, as in each the Mobsters aren't the savvy, organized Mafia family seen in Coppola’s Godfather series. They are instead - crude, stupid, immature thugs. Despite studio interference (Ala the forced scene where a newspaperman gives a leaden lecture about civic duty), the movie retains its violent edge (and a hint of an incestuous relationship between brother and sister). Hawks also works in some humor. Unsurprisingly the controversial film didn't receive a single nomination from the Academy.
Actor Paul Muni is superb in the title role, but I was impressed with the cast across the board. From George Raft (with his famous coin-flipping move) to Anne Dvorak, Karen Morely, and Boris Karloff
Oh, and keep an eye open for the "X" - Hawks used this visual motif to signal an upcoming murder. You'll see it in shadows, facial scars, wooden crossbeams, the straps of a woman's gown and others.
Best Actress: Joan Crawford, Grand HotelHonorable Mentions:
Marlene Dietrich & Anna May Wong, Shanghai Express * Estelle Taylor & Sylvia Sydney, Street Scene * Dorothea Wieck & Hertha Thiele, Madchen in Uniform * Lingyu Ruan, Peach Girl * Wang Renmei, Wild Rose * Mae Clarke, Waterloo Bridge
Supporting Actress: Ann Dvorak, Scarface & Three on a Match
Honorable Mentions:
Boris Karloff, Frankenstein * Fredric March, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde * John Barrymore, Grand Hotel * Edward G. Robinson, Five Star Final * Robert Williams, Platinum Blonde
Supporting Actor: Tatsuo Saitô, I Was Born, But... (pictured left)
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