Nominees: Modern Times, Sabotage, The Story of a Cheat, Dodsworth, Fury, Sisters of the Gion, Mr. Thank You, My Man Godfrey, The Only Son, Rembrandt
Oscars pick: The Great Ziegfeld
Nominees: Anthony Adverse, Dodsworth, Libeled Lady, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Romeo and Juliet, San Francisco, The Story of Louis Pasteur, A Tale of Two Cities, Three Smart Girls
Hindsight is 20/20, but I find it curious that the overstuffed Great Ziegfeld, was given 7 noms, and won Oscar's best picture. While the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers’ classic, Swing Time received barely a nod in its direction (it received 2 nominations, winning 1 for Best Song). Of the two, the effervescent Swing Time has better music, better dancing, is a funnier comedy and has a captivating romance.… plus it doesn't go on forever.
Swing Time had some stiff competition from the likes of Hitchcock's underrated Sabotage, Wyler's Dodsworth with its amazing cast, and Fritz Lang's intense Fury, which features superb performances from Spencer Tracy and Sylvia Sidney. For many a film buff, the season's best was Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times. Chaplin’s gooey sentimentality has always been his Achilles heel, but he doesn’t let it get too messy in this flick. It is, of course, funny and Chaplin is a brilliant pantomime. Its story of a man and a young woman (Paulette Goddard) trying to get by in this impersonal industrial age is a winner.
But so too is Swing Time, which is flawless -from the Jerome Kern score to the Art deco sets- simply flawless, I think it's Fred and Ginger's very best, surpassing even their superlative Top Hat. While the story is slight (a performer and gambler travels to New York City to raise the $25,000 he needs to marry his fiancée, only to become entangled with a beautiful aspiring dancer - imdb) the musical numbers are incredible. Director George Stevens wanted his dancer's to work their magic and have them, not the camera, be the focus. He used a minimum of edits and only 1 or 2 camera setups in their numbers, and this proves to be a wise decision. Especially in the memorable, "Never Gonna Dance", which shows off the duo at their finest (Many feel this is Ginger at her peak -and most fluid- form)
Highlights? Fred sings the Oscar-winning Kern/Field's number "The Way You Look Tonight", which would go on to become his biggest hit. And the supporting characters are a joy, especially Victor Moore as the addled Pops. Overall the movie is like bottled happiness; a special confection that allows me –for an hour or so- to leave all my cares behind.
Note: This was the first year the Academy handed out awards for supporting performances - they were won by Gale Sondergaard (Anthony Adverse) and Walter Brennan (Come and Get It).
Honorable Mentions:
Charles Laughton, Rembrandt * Charlie Chaplin, Modern Times * Spencer Tracy, Fury * William Powell, My Man Godfrey * Louis Jouvet & Jean Gabin, The Lower Depths * Paul Robeson, Song of Freedom * Oscar Homolke, Sabotage
Honorable Mentions:
Jean Arthur, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town * Ingrid Bergman, Intermezzo * Greta Garbo, Camille * Jean Harlow, Libeled Lady * Carole Lombard, My Man Godfrey * Ginger Rogers, Swing Time * Ruth Chatterton, Dodsworth * Rosalind Russell, Craig's Wife * Irene Dunne, Theodora Goes Wild
Supporting Actor: Paul Robeson, Show Boat
