1935

The 39 Steps (Director: Alfred Hitchcock)

Nominees: Ruggles of Red Gap, The Good Fairy, Captain Blood, Top Hat, The Passing of the Third Floor Back, Sazen Tange and the Pot Worth a Million Ryo, Wife! Be Like a Rose!

Oscars pick: Mutiny on the Bounty
Nominees: Alice Adams, Broadway Melody of 1936, Captain Blood, David Copperfield, The Informer, The Lives of a Bengal Lancer, A Midsummer Nights Dream, Les Misérables, Naughty Marietta, Ruggles of Red Gap, Top Hat

My mother loved Clark Gable, my father liked Marlon Brando, so there was always this good-natured argument about which version of Mutiny on the Bounty was the better one. Most critics sided with my mother and the Academy; I gotta go with my dear old dad. Brando’s take is full of depth and layers, Gable's is pretty straight forward, with his Fletcher Christian a man’s man, who walks with a manly purposeful stride. Charles Laughton is a delightful scenery chewing Bly. But it's all pretty cut and dry and truly, the original Bounty doesn’t do a whole lot for me. Saying that I can understand why it won the Oscar. It carries itself with a certain prestige and it is well made.

For me though there was one, and only one deserving of the year’s top prize. While I adored the hilarious Ruggles of Red Gap with Charles Laughton, Fred and Ginger's Top Hat, and the swashbuckling spectacle that was Captain Blood (all Oscar noms). Alfred Hitchcock's suspenseful romance, The 39 Steps, is a God among mortals. Others might argue for The Bride of Frankenstein. And while I agree its a masterful production and I like many of the performances, Bride is undone by a thick slice of camp and the unbearably broad antics of Una O’Connor - whereas the twists and turns and humor, as well as the look and pacing and performances to be had in 39 Steps, is pure bliss and perfection.

The grandfather of North by Northwest, this tightly woven spy story establishes many of the themes we’ll see in future Hitchcock tales. There’s the paranoia, the man on the run, and the humor nestled side by side with nail-biting suspense. And of course, the camera work is distinct and eye-catching. This is Hitch's first truly great film, the best of his early British era... and it is very British - More understated and urbane than his American films, it never the less shows the director in full stride.

Unflappable Robert Donat (Mr. Chips) was a delight in the leading role. Madeline Carroll was Alfred's first "cool blonde" and became an in-demand star after this picture.

Best Actress: Sachiko Chiba, Wife! Be Like a Rose!
Honorable Mentions: 

Katharine Hepburn, Alice Adams * Greta Garbo, Anna Karenina * Ginger Rogers, Top Hat * Margaret Sullavan, The Good Fairy * Jeanette MacDonald, Naughty Marietta

Best Actor: Robert Donat, The 39 Steps (pictured top)
Honorable Mentions: 

Peter Lorre, Crime and Punishment * Charles Laughton, Mutiny on the Bounty & Ruggles of Red Gap * Takeshi Sakamoto, An Inn in Tokyo * Karloff & Clive, Bride of Frankenstein * Edward G. Robinson, Whole Town's Talking

Supporting Actress: Elsa Lanchester, The Bride of Frankenstein
Runner up: Yoshiko Okada, An Inn in Tokyo

Supporting Actor: Ernest Thesiger, The Bride of Frankenstein (pictured above)

Special Award - Best Ensemble: The Passing of the Third Floor Back
Conrad Veidt, René Ray, Frank Cellier, Beatrix Lehmann, Anna Lee, Ronald Ward, Mary Clare, Cathleen Nesbitt, John Turnbull

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