My 7th Movie, "All Quiet on the Western Front"

All Quiet on the Western Front was released in 1930.  It won the best production Oscar for that year.  It starred Louis Wolheim, Lew Ayres, Arnold Lucy, Ben Alexander, and John Wray.  It was directed by Lewis Milestone, who won best director for the movie.  The movie was based on the book of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque.  The movie tells the story of several young, idealistic German youths being persuaded to enlist in the army during World War I to defend the father land, Germany.  They are implored by an older professor who gives an impassioned speech that preys upon the naivete of the German lads to join the war effort.  In a nicely filmed sequence, we see what each of the German youths see as their future as an army recruit, including the possibility of being a hero.  Upon signing up for the army, the young men are shipped off to boot camp and must report to a commander whom many of them know as their post man.  They realize who the commander is and begin talking with him with the level of familiarity of having known someone for some time.  However, the commander is an absolute dictator and the young men can't believe the change in his personality.  This scene was meant to evidence how some people react to gaining sudden power.  Prior to this scene, Himmelstoss was a civil servant.  He now commands the young recruits and does so with an iron fist.  This was the young German's first indication that the romantic notion of defending one's country was over-rated. After boot camp, the young men are shipped off to the front lines to fight.  They can't believe what they've gotten themselves into.  War is not the pretty picture that was painted for them by their professor.  As the film goes on, some of the young men are killed or wounded.  There are many remarks made about the atrocities of war.  There is one scene where the recruits (what was left of them) were moving on and they passed a stockpile of fresh wooden coffins.  Paul, the movie's hero, wryly comments that those coffins are for them.  One character, Stanislaus Katczinsky, so deftly played by Louis Wolheim comments that if the leaders of a country want to fight another country, they should be put in a barricaded field and fight it out amongst themselves.  He makes this comment because nobody knows why they are even fighting; they are simply doing what they were told. 
     This story and movie was a great condemnation of the war and was banned in many countries at the time of its release.  The story was told through the eyes of German soldiers, but because the actors were, for the most part, Americans and had American accents, it was hard to envision them as Germans.  Throughout most of the film I sympathized with the characters.  They didn't follow the stereotype of what people think of as being German really is.  I think this may have been done purposely to show the individuality of the people who are fighting in a war.  Paul is forced to kill a Frenchmen who comes into his trench.  He then regrets that he had to kill the man and vows that he will write to his wife and express his grief.  As the man is dying, Paul remarks that they are not different at all and could be brothers if it were not for the war.  A powerful message.  I think the director wanted to make the characters seem like they could be anyone and therefore did not employ German accents.  It was a good effect. 
     I thoroughly enjoyed this film.  The film's message was a bit preachy and heavy handed, but it is still true today.  I would recommend anyone to see this movie.  There isn't a great deal of action, but the battle scenes are spectacular, especially for the period.  I remember being so emotionally moved when I first saw Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan" because of the point of view of the camera; it made you actually feel that you were in the battle scene.  This movie, which was released in 1930, did the same thing.  Lewis Milestone's directing and the director of photography did a remarkable job with the shooting of the battle scenes.  It was a bit graphic at times, including depicting a man who is blown apart by a bomb and the only remains of him were his arms which were still grasping the barbed wire.  In 1990, the film was selected and preserved by the United States Library of Congress' National Film Registry as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

My Sixth Movie, "In Old Arizona"

My sixth movie is "In Old Arizona".  The movie starred Warner Baxter as The Cisco Kid, a Robin Hood of the west created by O. Henry.  The movie focused on the rivalry between the The Cisco Kid and Micky Dunne (played by Edmund Lowe), a mounted law man.  They were both vying for the affections of a deceitful Tonia Maria (played by Dorothy Burgess).  Both men meet each other when the Cisco Kid comes into town, however, Micky Dunne does not realize that he is befriending the bandit for whom there is a 5000.00 reward.  The Cisco Kid prepares to leave to go see his girlfriend, Tonia Maria.  As he is leaving, Micky finds out that the Cisco Kid was indeed the same person he was talking to in the barber shop.  He begins to go after him.  In the mean time, the Cisco Kid knows that he is wanted and wants to stay ahead of the law, so he leaves Tonia Maria, telling her that he will return.  Micky then appears and meets Tonia at a local tavern.  He falls in love with her and goes to her home.  She falls for him as well.  She leaves with Micky Dunne the next day and realizes that he is actually gunning for the Cisco Kid after she finds the wanted poster that Micky was carrying.  She felt betrayed that she was being used solely to get the reward.  Micky convinces her that he was getting the reward for her and vows to take her to New York where he will provide her with all the luxuries she desires.  They both plot to trick the Cisco Kid upon his return to see Tonia Maria at her home.  She composes a note to be delivered to Micky telling him when the Cisco Kid was going to leave so that Micky can shoot him and they will collect the reward.  However, the Cisco Kid finds out their plan and tricks them.  He confiscates the note and changes it to tell Micky she will accompany the Cisco Kid, however they will switch clothes (the Cisco Kid will wear Tonia Maria's clothes and vice versa) so that Micky will shoot the one wearing the dress (which, unbeknownst to Micky, will actually be Tonia Maria.)  A nice plot twist.

The movie is a bit corny but well done for its day.  I have been a little harsh on my reviews of this period but I have to realize that it was the infancy of the movie industry of the day and be a little less critical.  Warner Baxter played a good part, however his accent was a little over the top.  Dorothy Burgess as Tonia Maria sounded more Italian than Latina, but she was convincing as a duplicitous lover who meets her comeuppance.  Overall, an enjoyable movie.

My Fifth Movie, "Alibi"

Alibi is a crime/detective movie released in 1929.  It is credited as being the first film of the crime genre.  Roland West directed and was nominated for an Oscar, as was Chester Morris for best actor.  It was also nominated for best art direction.  I enjoyed the movie, although the actors took such long pauses that it seemed like they forgot their lines.  For some reason, I've always loved the era of the twenties.  It seemed like such a fun time.  This movie had a lot of plot twists and suspense.  It involved a criminal who had a perfect alibi for a crime he committed; he was with his girlfriend and eventual wife at the time of the crime (which was the murder of a police officer).  However, there were 5 minutes that he was unaccounted for, so the police were honing in on the possibility that his alibi was faked.  To complicate matters, he was married to the daughter of the policeman who was investing the case.  I believe he married the woman to help complicate matters.  This was a fine movie that contributed to the development of all movies of this genre.

My fourth movie, "The Broadway Melody"

"The Broadway Melody", released in 1929, was the first talkie and the first musical to win an Academy Award for Best Production (today's best picture.)  Some critical reviews said that this film only won due to 1929 being one of the weakest years for motion pictures ever and there wasn't really a clear choice for a winner.  I loved it!  It was campy and over-acted (in a good way).  Anita Page and Bessie Love, who was nominated for an academy award for best actress, were great.  The acting was over the top and the portrayal of the people of the theatre was so stereotypical.  It was a fun musical and the story, although extremely melodramatic, was engaging.  Having watched several movies from the twenties really has demonstrated to me the loose morals of the day.  It seems that innuendo and brassy woman and men who make brazen remarks were the norm of the day back then.  The movie tells the story of 2 sisters; Hank who is the go getter and the smart one, and Queenie, who is rather naive and somewhat intellectually challenged.  They arrive in New York to embark on a show biz career on broadway.  They meet up with Eddie Kerns (Charles King) who is a song and dance man.  He promises to get them in the Zanfield Revue, for which he wrote the music.  Hank is in love with Eddie and at first Eddie is in love with her.  However, Eddie begins to fall in love with Queenie, who spurns Eddie's advances because she knows that Hank is in love with Eddie.  Queenie meets a rich supporter of the theatre named Jacques Warriner who woos her and lavishes her with expensive gifts.  Queenie thinks she is in love with him because he gives her such expensive gifts, plus she wants to part from Hank and Eddie because she knows she has feelings for Eddie and doesn't want to hurt her sister Hank , who has done so much for her.  Hank doesn't want Queenie to be with Jacques because she knows what Jacques is after.  Eddie doesn't want Queenie to be with Jacques either because he wants Queenie for himself.  A huge argument between Hank and Queenie erupts with Eddie getting involved.  Queenie says she hates Eddie (after having told him she loved him earlier) and storms off to be with Jacques.  Hank realizes that Eddie is in love with Queenie and decides to give him up for the sake of her sister.  She then makes Eddie feel like a ham and lies to him, saying that she was just using him.  She then shames him into going after Queenie.  Eddie saves the day and he and Queenie end up getting married.  Hank partners up with another girl and continues with show business, which is her passion.

I really enjoyed this movie.  It was corny and dated, but it was fun!

My third movie, "7th Heaven"

Ok. For anyone following my progress of watching every Oscar nominated movie for all the major categories: My most recent one is "7th Heaven" (not to be confused with the tv series of the same name). The movie starred Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell. The story is about a sewer worker named Chico who rescues a young woman from her absinthe riddled sister's abuse. He then has to pretend to be ma

rried to the woman, named Dianne, so that he won't get in trouble with the law. Of course, reluctantly, he begins to fall in love with Dianne. Just as he confesses his love, he gets called to war. Even though they are separated by the war, he calls to her every day at 11 am. Not by telephone, but by calling to the wind. She somehow senses him because of their true love for one another. This is one of the most contrived movies I have ever seen. Charles Farrell was such a ham that I fear he had to hide himself at Easter time so he wouldn't be confused for Easter dinner. The movie won miss Gaynor the first Oscar for best actress and frank borsage the first director Oscar. I don't know why movies of the twenties relied upon so many plot devices to tell the story. There were so many comic relief scenes that the romance of the two lead characters was so under-developed. The story had its merits, however. In some ways, the story reminds me of James Cameron's titanic. My next movie is "Broadway Melody"

My second movie, "Wings"

ok, for anyone interested in the progress of my project of watching every Oscar nominated film, here goes. My second movie was "Wings" released in 1927 (I mistakenly said 1928 in a previous post). This movie featured Clara Bow, Charles "Buddy" Rogers and Richard Arlen. There was a very brief cameo by Gary Cooper. The movie has the distinction of being the first movie to win an Oscar for Outsta

nding Production (today's best picture). Clara Bow was in the movie because she was a big star in that era. She didn't really fit into the plot until the end (save for an extended scene when she was in Paris). I found the film to be ground breaking as far as effects go. It was too hokey for me. There were far too many plot devices and scenes thrown in that didn't really move the story. However, today's films owe a lot to that film in as much as it was really inventive as far as visual effects go. I believe that this film won for outstanding production because of its groundbreaking effects and because of the patriotic sentiment that the film portrays. I believe my next film will be 7th Heaven, also released in 1927.

My first movie, "Sadie Thompson"

One of my goals has always been to see every movie that has won an Oscar for all the major categories, i.e. best actor, best actress, etc. I finally started watching my first movie. The first movie I watched was "Sadie Thompson" featuring Gloria Swanson and Lionel Barrymore It is a silent movie and Gloria Swanson was nominated, but did not win best actress. She gave a wonderful performance. I will keep you updated as I see the movies. Btw, the year was 1928. My next movie is "Wings", also 1928.  I loved this movie.  Gloria Swanson starred in this movie and was nominated for an academy award for her performance.  She lost to Janet Gaynor who gave a far less superior performance in "7th Heaven".  I thought that there wasn't enough focus on her transition from a coquettish harlot to a religious zealot, however it was a gut wrenching performance.  

Welcome to my Oscar Adventure Blog

Welcome to my Oscar blog!  Just as Julie attempted to cook all the recipes in Julia Child's cookbook in a year, I am going to attempt to view every Oscar nominated movie for all the major categories for both winners and losers.  However, it will take me longer than a year.  I am going to attempt to do it chronologically, however, I may not be able to see every movie in order if the movie is difficult to find. I will also blog my progress and capsulate the film and give my critique.  I am not a professional film critic and will probably be a little opinionated about my feelings about any particular film, but I think this will be fun!

Please feel free to comment as much as you like and offer suggestions as well.