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.