1935 - Mutiny on the Bounty

With so much going on in the world right now, this silly little movie blog seems somewhat insignificant (even more insignificant than it did before, if that's possible), but maybe it'll be a welcome distraction for somebody. And with all the big film releases getting delayed again and again, next year's Oscars may be a little light on eligible content if things don't pick up soon, so maybe reading about Oscar history will be all that's left. In any case, with the next Academy Awards ceremony shifted back a couple of months, I'll see if I can catch up a bit by getting a few more of these reviews done before then.

So, here are my thoughts on the eventual Best Picture winner from 1935...

Mutiny on the Bounty
Director:
Frank Lloyd
Screenplay:
Talbot Jennings, Jules Furthman, Carey Wilson

(based on the novel by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall)
Starring:
Charles Laughton, Clark Gable, Franchot Tone, Herbert Mundin, Eddie Quillan, Dudley Digges, Donald Crisp, Movita, Mamo
Academy Awards:
8 nominations
1 win, for Best Picture

The HMS Bounty leaves 18th century England's shores on a two-year mission to Tahiti. Serving as the ship's captain is the tyrannical William Bligh (Laughton), famed for issuing inhumane and often unjust punishments to his crew. His lieutenant, the kind Fletcher Christian (Gable), finds himself at odds with Bligh on several occasions, leading to an eventual ... well, take another look at the film's title.

For its era, Mutiny on the Bounty contains some epic production values. While there are still many obvious studio sets with an ocean image merely projected onto the background, there are just as many shots of actual ships on the actual ocean. Similarly, while much of the action was shot along the Californian coastline, the production also utilised Tahiti itself for some scenes.

Historically speaking, it seems the film hits all the major plot points in a relatively accurate fashion, though from my admittedly brief research, it's unclear whether Captain Bligh was truly as horrible as he is portrayed here. Likewise, the real Fletcher Christian may not have been as charming and compassionate as Clark Gable. And while it's true that Christian married a native Tahitian woman, it seems unlikely the courtship was the love-at-first-sight romance presented in this film. This was the height of British colonialism, after all. Still, being a Hollywood movie, there had to be a love interest, so there was no way the studio would have left that part out, but considering the bulk of the movie consists of a bunch of men confined together at sea for months on end, there was limited opportunity for a leading lady. As such, the relationship between Christian and Maimiti is glossed over quite considerably.

Comprising mostly British characters, it's not surprising the film's cast includes a decent number of British actors, led by Charles Laughton, who nails the pompous, heartless megalomaniac. Clark Gable (pictured with Laughton) and Franchot Tone, on the other hand, don't even attempt British accents, though at least they both speak with a theatrically eloquent American sound. And if you look very closely at the ship's crew, you might catch two unexpected faces. Future star David Niven appears as an uncredited extra, as does James Cagney, who was already well-known at the time, but apparently sweet talked his way into the background one day when he unintentionally stumbled across the set.

Mutiny on the Bounty is one of only three films (along with The Broadway Melody and Grand Hotel) to boast Best Picture as its sole Oscar win. It also holds the record for the most Best Actor nominations for a single film with Laughton, Gable and Tone all competing in the same category due to the fact that the Supporting Actor category didn't exist yet. Indeed, it's entirely possible the supporting awards were introduced (only one year later) as a result of this film's domination of the leading category.

1935 - Top Hat

I'm ba-aack!

First, let me gloat about my Oscar predictions from this year. I correctly picked 21 of the 24 winners, the best result I've ever achieved in the more than two decades I've been making predictions. I only missed Sound Editing and the two big ones, Director and Picture. Perhaps the most miraculous part, though, is that I managed to ace all the short film categories!

Now, after the longest period of inactivity (not counting Oscar predictions) in this blog's history, I've returned with a new review. And a lot has happened since my last post almost two years ago. The biggest of those happenings is that I said goodbye to Los Angeles late last year and moved the family back to Sydney. Though, as a dual Australian-US citizen, I'll still travel back to LA a couple of times a year for my career, so it's not a permanent goodbye.

In fact, I was there a couple of weeks ago right before everything got serious in the world. Within a few days, the entertainment industry all but shut down, so I cut my intended trip short and returned to Australia, just in time it seems. A 14-day self-isolation imposed on all returning international travellers had already come into effect by the time I arrived, so with not much else to do, it was the perfect opportunity to watch the next film for this blog. I don't expect it will continue like that, though, because now the kids are staying home from school, meaning the days are full for me once more.

Before we get to the review, there's one piece of exciting news that I've been saving for some time. I had discovered this a while back, but wanted to wait for this film's review to bring it up. Through a genealogy site, I found out that I'm (distantly) related to none other than Frederick Austerlitz, better known as Fred Astaire! We're 11th cousins, to be precise. Our common Czech ancestry dates back to the 17th century, where we apparently share great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandparents.

So at long last, let's pick back up where we left off with yet another musical from the Best Picture race of 1935...


Top Hat
Director:
Mark Sandrich
Screenplay:
Allan Scott, Dwight Taylor
Starring:
Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton, Erik Rhodes, Eric Blore, Helen Broderick
Academy Awards:
4 nominations
0 wins

American dancer Jerry Travers (Astaire) arrives in London in preparation for producer Horace Hardwick's (Horton) next big show. At his hotel, Jerry loses himself in a tap dance, oblivious to how noisy it is for society girl Dale Tremont (Rogers), who is trying to sleep in the room directly below. The two meet cute and Jerry begins his romantic pursuit of Dale, hindered by the fact that Dale thinks he's the married Horace.

Top Hat is a wonderful example of the big budget musical of the 1930s. Snappy tunes from the incomparable Irving Berlin - including a bunch of time-tested classics like "Top Hat, White Tie and Tails" and "Cheek to Cheek" - are complemented by some snappy tap dancing. In fact, as one would expect from a Fred Astaire flick, there's an abundance of tap numbers, but they avoid a sense of repetition thanks to some highly innovative choreography. Each dance feels distinctive with several moments eliciting an audible "wow" from me. Not to mention that it's the greatest dance pair in movie history that are performing the routines so, of course, it's immensely visually pleasing.

Now, it wouldn't be a big budget musical without big budget sets, and the production design on display here is nothing short of extravagant. Art director Van Nest Polglase's outdoor Venice set (pictured) is particularly stunning, even though it may sacrifice realism for the sort of polished bigger-is-better ostentation that makes Las Vegas hotels such a magnificent sight. Indeed, it wouldn't surprise me if the architects of The Venetian used this film as inspiration.

Perhaps, though, the picture's weakest point is the paper-thin storyline. While the dialogue is witty and entertaining, the plot is about as contrived as you can get. It pins itself entirely on the farcical case of mistaken identity that subsists literally for the entire film. That makes for a lot of scenes in which characters speak in terms that are just vague enough to maintain the misunderstanding between them.

Despite the flimsy plot, the witty words are buoyed by a greatly comic supporting cast, including the always affably innocent Edward Everett Horton, whose double takes are sublime. And unless you're looking out for it, you'll almost certainly miss (I did!) a young Lucille Ball as a flower shop clerk.

Oscar Winner Predictions 2019

My nomination predictions a few weeks ago turned out to be some of my best ever, particularly in the major categories. I suspect a similar pattern will follow regarding my winner predictions since the main races are shaping up to be quite predictable. The acting categories, in particular, all seem like foregone conclusions. And while I wouldn't be too surprised if Parasite takes one or both of Picture and Director, I'm putting my (metaphorical) money on 1917 taking the top prizes.

The craft and technical categories, on the other hand, are a different kettle of fish altogether. Almost all of them (save for International Feature and Makeup) have at least two nominees that could reasonably be named the winner. It's going to be an interesting Oscar night, that's for sure.

To take a look at my official picks, just click here.

Oscar Nomination Predictions 2019

Despite letting this blog gather dust (not forever, I promise), I'm back briefly to share my annual predictions for the Oscar nominations, due to be announced in a little over 24 hours. It seemed a tad easier to predict certain categories this year than it has been in recent memory, though I guess that remains to be seen. I've generally played it safe, picking fairly traditional candidates, though that's resulted in a final tally that has four different films each receiving 10 nominations, which seems a bit unlikely. So, in most categories, I suspect that at least one of those traditional selections will be replaced by a less expected film that could be earning its only nomination.

If you'd like to take a look at my picks, you can find them here.

Oscar Winner Predictions 2018

Well, my Oscar nomination predictions turned out to be fairly average, especially considering how well I did with the nominations last year. Maybe I can save face with some decent winner predictions, though I'm not sure that's going to happen either. The trend of the Oscar winners becoming harder and harder to predict continues. It feels like there are even fewer sure things this year than there were last year, and last year there were hardly any.

So, without further ado, here are my predictions for who's going to take home Oscars on Sunday night. Happy Oscars weekend!