Oh, Mrs. Miniver, how do I hate thee? Let me count the ways… I may not be alone in my dislike for this movie. The curmudgeonly book The Real Oscar: The Story Behind the Academy Awards, by Peter H. Brown, indicates a great deal of politics are behind the Oscar picks (what a surprise!) and […]
Entries Tagged as 'Clara Bow'
Mrs. Miniver
September 3rd, 2009 · 2 Comments · 1942, Adaptation, Black and White, Clara Bow, Composer: Herbert Stothart, Drama, M-G-M Studios, Mrs. Miniver, Walter Pidgeon, War, William Wyler
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Gone With the Wind
August 31st, 2009 · 1 Comment · 1939, Adaptation, Clara Bow, Clark Gable, Color, Composer: Max Steiner, Drama, Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell, Olivia de Havilland, Swearing, Victor Fleming, Vivien Leigh, War, Warner Bros. Pictures
Rhett Butler. Scarlett O’Hara. Melanie Hamilton-Wilkes. Mammy. Prissy. Ashley Wilkes. Gowns as big as Tara. A cause as lost as the Robinson family in space. Gone With the Wind is the first Oscar-winning movie in color – and a darn good thing, too. No movie yet (not even The Great Ziegfeld) so demanded to be […]
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Cimarron
August 23rd, 2009 · 1 Comment · 1930-1931, Adaptation, Black and White, Cimarron, Clara Bow, Edna Ferber, Irene Dunne, RKO Radio, Stuttering, Western
I’m always amazed by what people used to be able to accomplish before the advent (and over use) of Computer-Generated Graphics. Like All Quiet On the Western Front before it, Cimarron is vast. The opening scene of hundreds of people in covered wagons and on horseback screaming across the plain is priceless. It looked like […]
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All Quiet On the Western Front
August 22nd, 2009 · 1 Comment · 1929-1930, Adaptation, All Quiet On the Western Front, Black and White, Carl Laemmle Jr., Clara Bow, Drama, Universal Pictures, War
War is hell. That’s the theme of the 1930 Oscar-winning movie All Quiet On the Western Front. Film historian Robert Osbourne introduces the movie in a brief DVD featurette by saying this: What you’re about to see is one of the most powerful anti-war films ever made…one critic wrote about it, ‘This is a movie […]
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Broadway Melody, The
August 21st, 2009 · 1 Comment · 1928-1929, Black and White, Broadway Melody, The, Clara Bow, M-G-M Studios, Musical, Original Screenplay, Stuttering, The 1920s, Unofficial Academy Award Nomination
My hopes aren’t very high for this movie. According to most of the books I consulted, The Broadway Melody is just not that hot of a film. Charles Matthews in his book Oscar A to Z: A Complete Guide to More Than 2,400 Movies Nominated For Academy Awards writes, The years have not been kind […]
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Wings
August 20th, 2009 · 7 Comments · 1927-1928, Black and White, Clara Bow, Gary Cooper, Not Released In United States, Original Screenplay, Paramount Studios, Silent Film, The 1920s, War, Wings
FADE IN: Popcorn. Movie candy. A darkened room. A wide-screen TV. I could say “Lights! Camera! Action!” But I won’t. What I will say (er, write) echos the beginning of Charles Dicken’s classic book, A Christmas Carol: There is no doubt that Marley was dead. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come […]
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Hi Oscar. My Name is Bill. Let’s Get Started, Shall We?
August 20th, 2009 · No Comments · Clara Bow, Silent Film, Wings
Today, I begin my journey through all 81 Oscar-winning movies, the first of which is the 1927 film Wings – the only silent movie to win an Academy Award.
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