Speakeasy: Oscar Version

Alfred Hitchcock was nominated five times for Best Director and once for Best Picture for his work with Rebecca, Suspicion, Lifeboat, Spellbound, Rear Window, and Psycho.

Gregory Peck was nominated five times in his career for Best Actor for his roles in The Keys of the Kingdom, The Yearling, Gentleman's Agreement, Twelve O'Clock High,  and To Kill a Mockingbird. He won the Best Actor Award for Mockingbird.

James Cagney was nominated three times in his career for Best Actor for his roles in Angels with Dirty Faces, Love Me or Leave Me, and Yankee Doodle Dandy for which he won.

Burt Lancaster was nominated for the Best Actor award four times in his career for From Here to Eternity, Elmer Gantry, Birdman of Alcatraz, and Atlantic City. He won for his role in Elmer Gantry.

Gary Cooper received five Academy Award nominations for Best Actor, winning twice for Sergeant York and High Noon. He also received an Honorary Award in 1961 from the Academy which was accepted by his friend Jimmy Stewart.

Groucho Marx received an Honorary Academy Award in 1974 for his body of work.

Danny Kaye was awarded an honorary Academy Award in 1955 for his humanitarian work.

Frank Sinatra won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in From Here to Eternity, and also had a nomination for Best Actor for his role in The Man with the Golden Arm.

At age 80, George Burns was the first oldest recipient of the Academy Award (for Best Supporting Actor) for his role in The Sunshine Boys.

Robert Montgomery earned two Academy Award nominations for Night Must Fall and Here Comes Mr. Jordan.  Sadly, Tallulah was overlooked.

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Camera Shot!

John Cromwell and Claudett Colbert on the Set of Since You Went Away.

Claudette Colbert remains the only actress in the history of cinema to star in three films in the same year to be nominated for Best Picture Academy Award, those films being Cleopatra, Imitation of Life, and It Happened One Night which were all made in 1934. She won for her role in It Happened One Night.

Rita Hayworth on set of Affair in Trinidad.

Despite appearing in 61 films over 37 years, including leading roles in successful, classic films like Gilda, she never received an Academy Award nomination.

Edward G. Robinson and Marian Marsh on the set of Five Star Final.

Robinson was never nominated for an Academy Award, but in 1973 he was awarded an honorary Oscar in recognition that he had "achieved greatness as a player, a patron of the arts, and a dedicated citizen ... in sum, a Renaissance man". He died two months before the award ceremony.

Joan Crawford was nominated for Best Actress three times in her career for her roles in Mildred Pierce, which she won, Possessed and Sudden Fear.

Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan in Tarzan and his Mate. Neither O'Sullivan or Weissmuller were ever nominated for the Academy Award.

Norma Shearer and Sam Wood on set of The Latest from Paris.

Norma Shearer was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress on six occasions, winning once for her role in The Divorcee. She was nominated for her roles in Their Own Desire, A Free Soul, The Barretts of Wimpole Street, Romeo and Juliet, and Marie Antoinette.

Sam Wood was nominated for Best Director three times in his career for Goodbye Mr. Chips, Kitty Foyle and Kings Row.

 James Wong Howe and  Betty Bronson on set of Peter Pan. 

James Wong Howe was nominated for ten Academy Awards for cinematography for Algiers, Abe Lincoln in Illinois, Kings Row, Air Force, The North Star, The Rose Tattoo, The Old Man and the Sea, Hud, Seconds, and Funny Lady. He won the award twice for Hud and The Rose Tattoo.

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Tuesdays with The Screen Guild Magazine

CONFESSIONS OF A WRITER-ACTOR

By Robert Benchley

[Reprinted from The Screen Guilds’ Magazine, 1934]


It is seldom that a writer for motion pictures gets a chance to hoist himslef on his own petard, but several times I have found myself in that humiliating position. I have been called upon to act the lines that I have written. Boys, it’s a living hell, that’s what it is!

In the technical matter of supplying “toppers” (gag lines which cause hard feeling among other members of the cast) I need hardly remind readers of this esoteric sheet that there are certain subterfuges, certain tricks of illusion, which make it look as if a gag had been written when, in reality, all that has been done is dig a space for a gag.

For example, when Mirabelle says to Toots: “Say, what’s the matter with you? You look as if you had been riding a panther,” there us obviously a good chance for Toots to come back with a quick one. After considerable pipelighting, the author of the dialogue compromises as follows: “Toot’s expression speaks volumes, as we FADE OUT.”

Or, when Reilly from Headquarters says to Muggs: “Come on, come on! Whader yer think this is—a flag-pole-sittin’ contest?” the writer is not really polishing off the job in tip-top fashion when he puts down: “If looks could kill, Muggs would have murdered Reilly.” However, in the script, it looks like a complete job.

I must admit that, on such occasions as it has been decided to save an actor’s salary and use me in a bit, I have not know in advance that I was writing for myself. Otherwise, I might have seen my way clear to clean up a few pay-offs which did not involve “experssions which speak volumes.” They might not have been exactly wows, but they would at least, have given me a chance to say something besides “Oh, yeah?” or “Sez you!”

However, it has been too late when I found myself on the set. (I am not one of those boys who can think up a topper on set. I have to have my pipe and a couple of other things—including the topper). I have been in the position of Mark Twain, who on being informed of the report of his death, said: “This is my story, and I’m stuck with it.”

I would like to have some of my little writing-friends get up and try to give an “expression which speaks volumes” by way of answering a gag from somebody else. It is a pretty sickening business. You can raise your eyebrows or lower them, you can purse your lips as if you were going to kiss someone, or you can blow out your cheeks like a comic in the Chave Souris. You can also place your thumbs in your ears and wiggle your fingers. But somehow it never seems to be exactly what the director wants. The only thing to do seems to be to say “Oh, yeah?” and fall over backwards.

This year they seem to have plenty of real actors to go around, and so I am devoting myself exclusively to “the writing end.” But, as I sit with a page of dialogue in my machine in front of me, I think back on the days when I used to be stuck with my own lines (or lack of lines) and try to give the actor a break. I have evolved a new bit of stage direction which avoids putting it up to the actor to kill someone “with a look.” If the Captain has made some crack at Lefty which obviously calls for a returnshot, I write:

“Lefty apparently does not hear.”

Robert Benchley, was a twentieth century humorist, a charter member of the infamous Algonquin Round Table, and a theatre critic for both LIFE and The New Yorker. He was also a wonderful co-star to have in your movie. Though he participated in films, both writing and acting, from 1925 until his death, he is best known for his short subject work. Indeed, that’s how I discovered him. Benchley’s short film How to Sleep was a popular success and won Best Short Subject at the 1935 Academy Awards. This eventually led to a contract for short subject work that produced 48 short films...all of which you should check out.

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The Thin Man Collection

Before this month is over I want to feature two stars and their best collaboration, The Thin Man series, who are basically the inspiration for this blog. Back in 2009 I wrote a blog about these two wonderful creatures who, despite being extremely talented both with and without one another in their films, never received an Oscar for any single performance they were in.

Nick you clever, sly one. You get 'em every time! Here one thinks they may be dealing with a a incompetent detective and frankly, a bit of a drunk, and then Wham! case solved and you're on your way back to the bar. I honestly thought you'd never quit solving crime and was sad to realize after Song of the Thin Man, you finally were.

Having watched these movies several times throughout my life, I have come to appreciate them even more. My love for Asta's tricks and Nick's and Nora's silly facial expressions evolved into a love for the quick, witty banter and the obvious on-screen chemistry of William Powell and Myrna Loy.

What's not to love?

The Thin Man (1934)

Reporter"Say listen, is he working on a case? "
Nora Charles
"Yes, he is. "
Reporter
"What case? "
Nora Charles
"A case of scotch. Pitch in and help him."

After the Thin Man (1936)

Nick Charles
"You see, when it comes to words like that, an illiterate person-- "
Polly Byrnes
"Whaddaya mean "illiterate"? My father and mother were married right here in the city hall!"

Another Thin Man (1939)

Nora Charles"I got rid of all those reporters. "
Nick Charles
"What did you tell them? "
Nora Charles
"We're out of scotch. "
Nick Charles
"What a gruesome idea."

The Thin Man Goes Home (1945)

Nick Charles

"A couple of weeks on this cider and I'll be a new man."

Nora Charles

"I sort of like the old one. "

Nick Charles

"Why, darling, that's the nicest thing you've said to me since the time I got my head caught in that cuspidor at the Waldorf."

Did you know?

The characters of Nick and Nora are often thought to reflect the personalities of Hammett and his long-time lover, Lillian Hellman.

Because the "Thin Man" title was used for the subsequent movies, it's often mistaken that the term refers to Nick Charles himself; in fact it refers to Clyde Wynant, the mysterious and eccentric patriarch around whom the plot of Dashiell Hammet's book revolves.

The first Thin Man was shot in 16 days.

Myrna Loy's Thin Man salary was reportedly half of the $3,000 a week earned by Powell and she felt that if the studio publicized the two as a team, they should pay them accordingly. Loy held out and L.B. Mayer finally relented -- a record event in the history of a man well known for his threats and tricks to get his own way.

Audiences had trouble separating fact from fiction when it came to Powell and Loy's relationship.

The public was determined to have them married in private life as well. When the two stars showed up in San Francisco (where most of After the Thin Man was shot) at the St. Francis, the hotel management proudly showed "Mr. and Mrs. Powell" to their deluxe suite. This was an especially uncomfortable moment as Jean Harlow, who was engaged to Powell, was with them, and the couple had not made a public statement about their relationship. Harlow saved the day by insisting on sharing the suite with Loy while Powell took another room elsewhere.


Why I love them!



William Powell and Myrna Loy, such a wonderful combination. He was never afraid to act a fool and she was never afraid to call him out on it. Such a wonderful couple with obvious on screen magic, they did thirteen films together and Myrna had a cameo in The Senator Was Indiscreet.

Manhattan Melodrama (1934)

The Thin Man (1934)

Evelyn Prentice (1934)

The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

Libeled Lady (1936)

After the Thin Man (1936)

Double Wedding (1937)

Another Thin Man (1939)

I Love You Again (1940)

Love Crazy (1941)

Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)

The Thin Man Goes Home (1944)

Song of the Thin Man (1947)

The Senator Was Indiscreet (1947)




Oscar trivia:

William Powell was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor three times, for The Thin Man, My Man Godfrey, and Life with Father.


Myrna Loy was never nominated for an Academy Award for any single performance, however, in 1991 she received an Honorary Award for “Career Achievement”.

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Love Affair (1939)

French painter and renowned playboy Michel Marnet (Charles Boyer) is on his way to America to meet with his fiance heiress Lois Clarke (Astrid Allwyn). He meets American singer Terry McKay (Irene Dunne) who is involved with a rich man herself, Kenneth Bradley (Lee Bowman). Since Michel’s escapades are always newsworthy, Terry tries to avoid him on the ship but when they stop at Madeira, she agrees to go with Michel to visit his grandmother Janou (Maria Ouspenskaya). Janou approves highly of Terry, she reveals that Michel is a great artist and needs the right kind of woman to lead him in the right direction.

As they resume their cruise, Michel and Terry, through clandestine meeting aboard, eventually fall in love. Michel and Terry agree on a six month time limit to prove to themselves and one another that they can make it on their own. They make an appointment to meet six months later on top of the Empire State Building. Michel goes on to become a great painter and Terry works in a nightclub as a singer.

Six months later, as Terry is hurrying to get to her destination, she is struck by a car and informed that she may not be able to walk again, that the doctors won’t know for certain for several months. Not wanting to be a burden to Michel, she does not contact him, preferring to let him think the worst.

Meanwhile, Michel goes back to Madeira to find that Janou has passed away but left a beautiful lace shawl for Terry. The same shawl that Michel painted her in from his memory of that day in Madeira with Terry. Back in America six months later, he meets Terry by accident at the theater. Though he does not really speak to her, he finds out where she lives and confronts her. Through their conversation it is revealed that the painting of her was given to a woman who had little money and was crippled. Finally putting two and two together, Michel goes into the next room and finds the painting on the wall. He then assures Terry that no matter what the diagnosis, he will be by her side.

I will have to compare it against McCarey's later version An Affair to Remember however, I thought Love Affair was mildly entertaining. There are some very interesting cinematographic shots in the film and Dunne even stepped outside of her realm of operatic singing and to perform Sing My Heart, a wonderfully modern song for it's time. Other than that, I wasn't really moved by any of the performances or even the story.

Oscar Trivia:

Irene Dunne was nominated five times for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performances in Cimarron, Theodora Goes Wild, The Awful Truth, Love Affair, and I Remember Mama.


Charles Boyer received four Academy Award nominations for Best Actor for his performances in Conquest, Algiers, Gaslight, and Fanny. However during WW II he became active in encouraging French-American relations and established the French Research Foundation, for which he was awarded a special Academy Award for "progressive cultural achievement".

Maria Ouspenskaya was nominated for Best Supporting Actress twice in her career for her performances in Dodsworth and Love Affair.

Leo McCarey was nominated seven times in his career for various categories: Best Music, Best Writing, Best Original Story, and Best Director. He won twice for Best Director for the films The Awful Truth and Going My Way.

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Room at the Top (1959)

Joe Lampton (Laurence Harvey) is an ambitious man. Having just moved from the factory town of Dufton where he grew up, to Warnley, he accepts a secure, but poorly-paid position in the Treasurer's Department. Determined to get the finer things in life despite the warnings of a colleague, Soames (Donald Houston), Joe is not above seduction and social climbing to gain them. He is drawn to Susan Brown (Heather Sears), daughter of the local industrial magnate, Mr. Brown (Donald Wolfit). She is attractive and so is her father’s money. Seeing him for what he really is, Susan’s family closes ranks by sending her abroad and her current beau Jack (John Westbrook) constantly insults him. Joe turns to Alice Aisgill (Simone Signoret), an unhappily married older woman for solace. She is aware of his plans to try and win over Susan but realizes that she and Joe have a strong connection. With her, he does not have to pretend, he openly admits his shortcomings to her and vice versa. However, they eventually split over clashing opinions of each others past.

When Susan returns from her holiday, Joe seduces her but realizes that he is no longer interested in money or position, that he was truly happy with Alice. After they reunite, they make plans for Alice to divorce her husband, George (Allan Cuthbertson). George refuses the divorce and threatens Joe with a public scandal should he persist. Since Warnley is a small town, he would lose his position and not be able to support Alice. Later that day he is invited to lunch by Mr. Brown who fails at trying to buy Joe off as a sort of test. He then admits to Joe that Susan is pregnant and demands he give up Alice and marry Susan. Though Joe will have all the things he’s dreamed, he will have to pay the ultimate price.

LeAnn Rimes could totally be Simone Signoret if they did a biopic on her!

Laurence Harvey, what a hunk! I actually haven’t seen the movie Domino but had to call my sister, who really likes the film to tell her about the connection. She’s twenty-seven, she wasn’t really impressed. Meh.

Harvey and Signoret are wonderful in the film. Considered quite racy for it’s time, their love scenes are refreshingly genuine and honest. Harvey plays his part with intensity; this movie is as much about social class as it is an illicit love affair, Joe is constantly reminded of his position in the ranks but you’re never quite sure what will set him off. When he realizes his mistake in seducing Susan and sacrificing real love, you can’t help but feel a bit sorry for him. Signoret plays her role much empathy. She is aware of how cowardly Joe can be however despite his railing against the class system. She also gives Alice, a woman ten years older than Joe, a naïveté, believing that love will conquer all. 

Oscar trivia:

Laurence Harvey has the distinction of appearing opposite three actresses who won the Academy Award for their performances: Simone Signoret in Room at the Top, Elizabeth Taylor in Butterfield 8, and Julie Christie in Darling. he himself was nominated only once for Best Actor for his role in Room at the Top.

Simone Signoret was nominated twice in her career for an Academy Award for Best Actress for Room at the Top and Ship of Fools. She won an Oscar for Room at the Top.

Jack Clayton was nominated once for Best Director for his first full-length feature, Room at the Top.

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The Ruling Class (1972)

Following the death of Ralph Gurney, the 13th Earl of Gurney (Harry Andrews), Jack Gurney (Peter O'Toole) becomes the 14th Earl of Gurney. However, Jack is quite insane. Claiming to be Jesus Christ, he shocks his family with talk of returning to the world to bring it love and charity. He finds solice sleeping upright on a cross when faced with unpalatable facts such as his true identity. His uncle, Sir Charles (William Mervyn) is set on getting him committed and decides to marry him off to his mistress, Grace (Carolyn Seymour), in hopes of producing an heir who will take on the title. However, his plan fails when Jack’s psychiatrist Dr. Herder (Michael Bryant) is persuaded by Lady Clair (Coral Browne), who hates her husband, to cure Jack. Further, Grace has completely fallen in love with Jack and Sir Charles own son Dinsdale (James Villiers) is his ally.


Herder spends nine months trying to cure Jack and it isn’t unitl the night Grace goes into labor with their first child that Herder makes a break through. He introduces Jack to "The Electric Messiah" (Nigel Green) another patient who believes he is Christ. He uses his “electroshock” to jolt Gurney out of his delusions, showing him that the two men could not both be God and so he must really be the 14th Earl of Gurney. The plan works and Jack eventually does claim himself to be Jack.

Unfortunately he now thinks he is Jack the Ripper. Becoming the very opposite of his Jesus Christ character, Jack is now a violent psychopath with a fanatical hatred of women. He murders Lady Claire when she tries to seduce him and frames the Communist family butler, Tucker (Arthur Lowe), for the murder. He will eventually murder Grace for expressing her love for him. He also plans to take his place in the House of Lords, reestablish the death penalty, and bring Britain back to it’s former glory. Ironically, this side of Jack is more accepted in his class of people and they embrace this side of him.

I love Peter O’Toole. I mean seriously, has he ever been in anything terrible, and if so, was he terrible in it? I think not. The man is an amazing talent and it’s a shame that he was nominated eight times (thus far) and never received an Oscar for a singular performance. I remember the beginning of his speech when he did receive the Honorary Academy Award for his body of work in 2003…”Always a bridesmaid, never a bride…” Apparently he balked at the idea of accepting this honor. He wrote the Academy that he wanted more time to “win the lovely bugger outright”. But is children convince him that it was the highest honor one could receive in his field and so he accepted it.

O’Toole was especially wonderful in The Ruling Class because we get to see two opposing sides of him. Thus the film is lighthearted and funny for the first half, dark and sadistic for the second half, all due to O’Toole’s splendid form of acting. I could listen to the man talk all day and The Ruling Class offers up some hilarious and daring soliliquies. Oh, and the film breaks into spontaneous song and dance at the most unexpected moments. O’Toole sings and dances- it’s fantastic!



Oscar trivia:

Peter O’Toole has been nominated eight times for Best Actor for his roles in Lawrence of Arabia, Becket, The Lion in Winter, Goodbye Mr. Chips (Must see this!), The Ruling Class, The Stunt Man, My Favorite Year (Hilarious!), Venus.

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Mon Oncle (1958)

The film centers on the socially awkward yet lovable character of Monsieur Hulot (Jacques Tati) and his quixotic struggle with postwar France's infatuation with modern architecture, mechanical efficiency and American-style consumerism. As with most Tati films, Mon Oncle is largely a visual comedy; color and lighting are employed to help tell the story. The dialogue in Mon Oncle is barely audible, and largely subordinated to the role of a sound effect. Consequently, most of the conversations are not subtitled. Instead, the drifting noises of heated arguments and idle banter complement other sounds and the physical movements of the characters, intensifying comedic effect. The complex soundtrack also uses music to characterize environments, including a lively musical theme that represents Hulot's world of comical inefficiency and freedom. –Wikipedia

 I LOVED this opening sequence!

 That fish should have gotten second billing.

One of the more hiliarious moments in the film.

Mon Oncle is a visually stunning film that does (ingeniously) rely on sound effects to accentuate the comedy. There are quite a few laugh-out-loud moments in the film. I adore French comedy, well French cinema in general, Amélie, Delicatessen, Sheitan, The 400 Blows, The Discrete Charm of the Bougoisie, The City of Lost Children. I think they are the tops when it comes to fantasy, horror, and black comedy. Mon Oncle simply adds light comedy to the list for me.
If your ever in Paris, go check out the Mon Oncle modern house they recreated!



Oscar trivia:
Mon Oncle, Jacques Tati’s first film in color, won him the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He was nominated once before for Best Original Screenplay for Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot (Mr. Hulot's Holiday).

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