1950 - Born Yesterday

Last week marked one year since Kat and I left our home in Sydney to try our luck in the Big Apple. The opportunities for an actor in New York are certainly greater than back home and these past twelve months have definitely brought some great opportunities my way. But this week, in an ironic twist of fate, my biggest opportunity yet came knocking ... via my Australian agent. It appears the Australian casting director of The Hobbit wanted to see me for a role. The wonders of the modern age allowed me to record my own audition here in New York and send it back to them online. Now we wait...

And considering the accolades received by The Lord of the Rings trilogy, it's a fairly safe bet to assume that The Hobbit will also garner a Best Picture nomination in the year of its release. If so, and if I manage to score a role in it, then this project will have come full self-referential circle.

This morning, I rounded out the 1950 Best Picture nominees with a viewing of...

Born Yesterday

Director:

George Cukor

Screenplay:

Albert Mannheimer

(based on the play by Garson Kanin)

Starring:

Judy Holliday, Broderick Crawford, William Holden

Academy Awards:

5 nominations

1 win, for Best Actress (Holliday)

Cranky and corrupt millionaire Harry Brock (Crawford) arrives in Washington to broker a shady deal with a congressman. Along for the ride is his fiancée Billie Dawn (Holliday), an ex-chorus girl with the social graces and intelligence of a lamp-post. In order to prevent any embarrassing incidents, Brock hires local journalist Paul Verrall (Holden) to give her some learnin'. But Billie's newfound knowledge causes problems for Brock when she begins to question his business activities.

Along with its fellow Best Picture nominee Father of the Bride, Born Yesterday is a pleasantly clever comedy. It hits all the right notes - witty dialogue, strong characters, some romance, a little drama and plenty of laughs. It is, however, quite clear that this film's source material is a play, perhaps more so than other stage adaptations. The vast majority of the story takes place in the same suite, containing several lengthy scenes of dialogue. Still, none of that really detracts from the film's enjoyment, thanks mostly to one Judy Holliday.

After originating the role on Broadway, Holliday (pictured) absolutely shines here, bringing to life one of the quirkiest characters ever written. She manages to successfully avoid caricature by imbuing Billie with great sincerity despite her hilarious stupidity. Such superb comic timing and so incredibly endearing. For her efforts, she took home the Oscar for Best Actress, beating out two classic screen performances by Bette Davis and Gloria Swanson. That's no mean feat and, for my money, I think she earned it.

Broderick Crawford, fresh from his own Oscar win the year before, leans a bit more towards caricature in his performance as the temperamental tycoon. Then again, all that blustering does suit the character and, when you think about it, the audience isn't supposed to like him very much anyway, so mission accomplished. William Holden rounds out the starring trio with a subtle portrayal of Paul, the only normal man amongst a band of crazies. The swift way in which he falls for Billie is a little tough to buy, but slow romances are not common on the big screen, especially in the olden days, so we'll let that slide.

1950 - Father of the Bride

You really haven't lived until you've witnessed first-hand the Christopher Walken mid-sentence pause. He is currently starring on Broadway in Martin McDonagh's new play A Behanding in Spokane, which I saw during the week. I lost count of how many times he surprised me by adding more words to a sentence that I had thought was conclusively over. His relaxed, dry delivery is so intensely entertaining that he hardly needs to speak for the audience to erupt with glee. Add Sam Rockwell to that equation and you've got yourself a very fine show, I assure you. Granted, the story is a little weird but with actors like that, they could be reading the nutritional information on the back of a cereal box and I'd be enthralled.

This evening, I watched nominee number four from the Best Picture shortlist of 1950...

Father of the Bride

Director:

Vincente Minelli

Screenplay:

Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett

(based on the novel by Edward Streeter)

Starring:

Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett, Elizabeth Taylor, Don Taylor, Billie Burke

Academy Awards:

3 nominations

0 wins

Father of the Bride opens with Stanley Banks (Tracy) sitting pensively in the aftermath of the wedding reception for his daughter Kay (Elizabeth Taylor) and her beloved Buckley Dunstan (Don Taylor). Stanley then recollects the trials and tribulations that led to this special day: the casually shocking engagement announcement, the not-too-formal talk with his soon-to-be son-in-law, the nerve-wracking first meeting with the in-laws, the chaotic wedding rehearsal. And while Stanley worries himself into a knot about the expense of the wedding preparations, his real anxiety stems from his inability to say goodbye to his only daughter.

1950 sure was a stellar year for witty dialogue. In Goodrich and Hackett's script of Father of the Bride, we have yet another Best Picture nominee filled with humour. Of course, that is entirely unsurprising in this case since it is clearly a comedy. Nonetheless, clever writing is always worth mentioning, especially when it contributes to such a pleasant viewing experience. And 'pleasant' is an apt way to describe this sweet and funny film. Just like the recently discussed King Solomon's Mines, Father of the Bride is also well aware of its own genre and is successful precisely because it is simple and straightforward.

With the release of the 1991 Steve Martin remake, the comparisons are inevitable, especially considering both were big hits at the box office. Having the benefit of a modern sensibility, the newer version might be considered more accessible to a modern audience. However, the original stands up very well. For a film from 1950, it doesn't feel as old-fashioned as it could. Plus, the original garnered three Oscar nominations - three more than the remake.

Spencer Tracy carries the film superbly. From the opening monologue, his casual style creates an incredibly affable character which makes it that much easier to take this journey with him. It also accentuates the 'aww' factor when Stanley recognises that he is losing his daughter. At eighteen, Elizabeth Taylor was already an experienced actress and she is charmingly sweet as daddy's little girl. And yes, that's Glinda the Good Witch, Billie Burke, as Buckley's mother.

1950 - King Solomon's Mines

Am I wrong to assume that, when I order a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Sundae from Dunkin' Donuts, the server will know what ingredients to use without having to ask me? I mean, I didn't come up with it. It's on the menu. Is there not some kind of training that you are given when you are hired? Training that shows you how to make each menu item? ... It might also help if you gave me a spoon.

Rant aside, don't forget to be counted in the vote for Matt vs. the Academy's next year of review. The poll can be found over there on the right hand side of the page.

Today, I took a look at another nominee from 1950's Best Picture race...

King Solomon's Mines

Director:

Compton Bennett & Andew Marton

Screenplay:

Helen Deutsch

(based on the novel by H. Rider Haggard)

Starring:

Deborah Kerr, Stewart Granger, Richard Carlson

Academy Awards:

3 nominations

2 wins, including Best Color Cinematography

H. Rider Haggard's literary creation Allan Quatermain (Granger) is an intrepid adventurer who has been working as a safari guide in Africa for the past fifteen years. Ready to throw in the towel, Elizabeth Curtis (Kerr) persuades him to go on one final expedition in order to find her missing husband, who disappeared eighteen months ago in search of a legendary diamond mine. Quatermain leads the expedition, which includes Elizabeth and her brother John Goode (Carlson), into uncharted territory, where they encounter stampedes, heat exhaustion and unfriendly natives.

I find it especially exciting to know very little about a film before I sit down to watch it and that was the case with King Solomon's Mines (which, sadly, betrays my shameful lack of literary knowledge). Being entirely unfamiliar with the story, I was pleasantly surprised. A simple, straightforward adventure, this picture is very easy to watch. There is no dilly-dallying. Within a few minutes, the excitement and adventure have begun.

Part nature documentary, the film is given an enormous advantage by being shot on location in Africa. The crew must have endured hell during some of the scenes but it is all worth it to see the amazing array of animals - elephants, giraffes, rhinos, tigers, lions, zebras, snakes, monkeys, hedgehogs, anteaters, gazelles, crocodiles. The over-sized tarantula crawling onto Deborah Kerr's jacket was the only obvious fake, but as an arachnophobe, even fake spiders send shivers down my spine, so it still had the desired effect on me.

Like any good adventure flick, a decent dose of humour is provided in the clever script. My favourite line comes when Quatermain tells the others not to worry about the pride of lions passing nearby because they're not hungry. When Elizabeth asks him how he knows this, he replies, "Well, if they eat you, they're hungry." Along with humour, the other necessary element of an adventure story is romance, and King Solomon's Mines is not lacking in that, either. It even includes the obligatory sequence of sexual tension when the hero catches the damsel as she stumbles down a steep rocky incline, ending up face to face with each other, tantalisingly close, with their lips in prime kissing vicinity.

Deborah Kerr fights hard to play a woman who is part princess, part tough as nails. Stewart Granger is ideal as the great adventurer, providing the perfect amount of nonchalance and an impressive handle on African dialects. Plus, the large number of African tribesmen that appear lends another air of wonderment to an already breathtaking picture.

1950 - All About Eve

There is a discussion among two characters in the film I have reviewed below about "blowing one's own horn" and I trust you will forgive me as I do just that. Yesterday, just under a year after arriving in the country, I am proud to say I officially became a member of the Screen Actors Guild, the distinguished union representing actors working in film and television. Quite a milestone, I assure you. Even though I have been a member of the Australian performers' union for almost 20 years, joining SAG still feels like an accomplishment. Of course, in Australia, there is only one union covering actors in all areas of their careers. Americans like to do things bigger, so there are at least three unions that an actor can join here - SAG for film & TV, Equity for theatre and AFTRA for TV & radio. One down, two to go...

Today, I watched another classic Best Picture nominee from 1950...

All About Eve

Director:

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Screenplay:

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Starring:

Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders, Celeste Holm, Gary Merrill, Hugh Marlowe, Thelma Ritter, Marilyn Monroe

Academy Awards:

14 nominations

6 wins, including Best Picture and Best Director

Eve Harrington (Baxter) is a seemingly sweet, innocent yet strangely obsessed fan of Broadway star Margo Channing (Davis). After hanging out at the stage door one night, Margo's best friend Karen (Holm) invites Eve inside to meet her idol. Soon, Eve is working as Margo's assistant and buddying up to the playwright (Marlowe) and the director (Merrill), who also happens to be Margo's beau. Those close to her don't seem to recognise Eve's manipulative ways, and with the help of consummate theatre critic Addison DeWitt (Sanders), Eve slyly wheedles her way up the ladder of success.

Despite intriguing opening narration (by two separate narrators!), All About Eve's first act is just short of bland. It is only when we receive the first indication of Eve's sneakiness - she arranges a birthday party for Margo's lover without her knowledge - that things really start to get interesting. From that point on, what once we saw as sweet and lovely becomes annoyingly coy. Eve's false modesty and sly tricks, subtle as they are, make for some delicious anticipation. I kept waiting to see Eve secretly allow a suspiciously evil smile to cross her face. But all credit to Anne Baxter as she keeps the facade going almost to the very end.

Like Sunset Boulevard, All About Eve features an aging actress at the forefront of its story, but that's where the similarity ends. Although Margo Channing succumbs to several prima donna moments, she is nowhere near as maladjusted as Norma Desmond. That role is taken up by Eve. Still, it could be argued that Margo's jealousy and paranoia, justified though they may be, allowed Eve's cunning tactics to succeed. But at least Margo learns her lesson, graciously bowing out of competition at the film's conclusion.

Writer/director Joseph L. Mankiewicz must be commended on his clever script, despite the disarming nature of the double narration - both Karen and Addison alternately act as narrator throughout the length of the film. All of the performances are superb, five of them receiving Oscar nominations. The only winner was George Sanders for his supporting performance as the sharp-tongued critic, but Bette Davis (pictured) is particularly excellent here as Margo. I also enjoyed Thelma Ritter's performance as Margo's cynical maid. Plus, as a wannabe actress, relative unknown Marilyn Monroe comes into her own, giving us a peek at the persona that would make her famous.

All About Eve set a new record by garnering fourteen nominations at the 1950 Academy Awards, tied only by Titanic 47 years later. It also shares the record (with eight other films) for the most acting nominations.

1950 - Sunset Boulevard

Last week, I accompanied Kat and her parents, who are in town visiting, to take in a Broadway show. We chose A Little Night Music, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury. One of them was making her Broadway debut. The other decidedly was not. Five-time Tony Award winner Lansbury (whose screen debut, incidentally, has already featured in this project) was an absolute delight to watch. Although all her stage time was in a wheelchair, she was spirited and sprightly, bounding out of the chair for her curtain call. Not bad for an 84-year-old. I can only hope I am as prolific at her age.

You can now vote for the next year of review for Matt vs. the Academy by selecting one of the options in the poll on the right.

Meanwhile, we begin taking a look at the Academy's contenders for Best Picture in 1950, starting with...

Sunset Boulevard

Director:

Billy Wilder

Screenplay:

Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder & D.M. Marshman, Jr.

Starring:

William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim, Nancy Olson

Academy Awards:

11 nominations

3 wins, including Best Writing, Story & Screenplay

A classic amongst classics, Sunset Boulevard tells the tragic tale of down-and-out screenwriter Joe Gillis (Holden), who reluctantly accepts a writing assignment from fading silent film star Norma Desmond (Swanson). Norma is desperate to make her return to the big screen in an adaptation of Salomé, once Joe has fixed up her poorly written first draft. In return, she provides him with a room to stay in, a wardrobe full of expensive suits and all the champagne and caviar a man could ever want. Joe becomes the definition of a kept man, and as Norma's delusions grow, so too does Joe's desire to escape from her confining clutches.

Joe serves as the narrator for the film and, in the opening scene, he introduces us to his own bullet-ridden body floating face down in a swimming pool. We then flashback to several months earlier as Joe narrates the story of how he came to such a violent end. Interestingly, when I first saw Sunset Boulevard - on late-night television many years ago - I missed this opening scene, understandably resulting in a somewhat different viewing experience. Seeing Joe's murder at the end of the picture was quite a shock, to say the least. I mean, how was he narrating if he was dead? (American Beauty had not yet been released.) Anyway, I learnt my lesson and so began my near obsessive habit of refusing to watch a movie unless I see it from the very beginning.

On the subject of Joe's narration, it would be easy to criticise the film for having too much of this film noir device. At times, the narration seems to stretch on for pages and pages, linking scenes and just being generally expository. But it also has an oddly engrossing effect. By constantly hearing Joe's voice, we get the eerie feeling that we are experiencing the whole story right there alongside Joe himself. Undoubtedly, this quality is in large part attributable to the sharp script.

Now a cinematic icon, the character of Norma Desmond is a fascinating study. Gloria Swanson (pictured), herself a silent film star, portrays Norma with such wide-eyed melodrama that it is abundantly clear why Swanson never quite made the transition to talkies. As Swanson gets more and more histrionic, Norma seems more and more crazy. Therein lies the genius of the casting.

William Holden is also perfectly cast as the smart and decent man in a desperate situation. Erich von Stroheim is just shy of creepy as Norma's stoic butler, Max, who is rather complicit in Norma's deterioration - after all, when Norma finally gets her close-up, it is Max who is her director again. I also enjoyed Nancy Olson's performance as the sweet but determined script reader, Betty. A handful of cameos litter the film, too. Famed director Cecil B. DeMille is more than competent in front of the camera as well. And look out for Buster Keaton, also playing himself.