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Ranking 1936 Best Picture Nominees

There were ten nominees for the 1936 Academy Award for Best Picture. The number was thankfully reduced from the previous year, but the slate is still pretty weak, much inferior to the previous one. Though the movies themselves are somewhat diverse in terms of their genres, their overall quality is far from great with only a couple being great, and a couple being downright mediocre. They snubbed some true classics in this particular year, and the end slate is thus much weaker.

My Ranking of the Nominees:

10. Three Smart Girls

The last spot easily belongs to this very odd picture that is among the strangest to have ever been nominated for the big prize. Yes, Three Smart Girls is a very mediocre movie which is technically well made and it has its charming scenes, but most of it felt very odd, unappealing in musical numbers and very silly in many of its scenes. Deanna Durbin herself was a big star during this period, but now she seems very annoying above all else. This whole film is antiquated and timely in a very bad way.

9. Anthony Adverse

Anthony Adverse is by far one of the most forgettable Best Picture nominees of this decade, maybe even of all time. After watching it, I very quickly forgot about it. Yes, it has a great cast of whom everyone did a good job in their respective roles, and the whole flick is well admittedly so. However, the storyline is very poorly adapted, the pacing is incredibly sluggish and the end result is an incredibly boring book adaptation that never at all felt memorable or interesting in any shape or form.

8. The Great Ziegfeld

Upon second viewing, I admittedly liked The Great Ziegfeld a bit more. There is no denying the power of William Powell’s central performance, and all the actresses did a good job as well. The musical numbers are also epically mounted. But the film’s plot is mediocre to say the least, the movie is bloated in runtime and consequently it felt very slow and never particularly engaging. It’s also way too clichéd in some scenes while also being very obvious, overly epic in others. It ended up winning Best Picture, and setting a precedent for mediocre biopics’ rule from here on.

7. The Story of Louis Pasteur

A lot of the same problems that plagued the above entries also plagued this flick. Personally, I find the scientific storyline behind this movie fascinating, and of course undeniably hugely important. But unfortunately it was an ill-fitted project as it’s not a story made for movies. The result is a picture that is never at all cinematic. It’s also too short and failing to pick up momentum. I did, however, appreciate its central performance, and I found its dialogue terrific throughout.

6. San Francisco

Unlike ‘The Great Ziegfeld’, San Francisco definitely was inferior upon second viewing. I still find it solid, but not as good as I had thought it was before. The musical numbers are simply not interesting, and those elements overall grind the film to a halt. The overall story is not great, but its historical drama elements are terrific, in particular the movie’s iconic third act which recreates this tragic event with great sound editing and special effects. It’s an interesting example of an early disaster flick in a way.

5. A Tale of Two Cities

This French Revolution story adapted from the famous Charles Dickens novel is solid, especially in its terrific technical aspects. The sets alone here are worth watching with such stunning, meticulous production design. The whole movie is very competently made, but it’s also not well paced nor well-structured whatsoever with its two halves feeling utterly disjointed from one another. I did like many moments here and individual scenes, but as a whole, it left a lot to be desired.

4. Romeo and Juliet

I actually really liked this version of Romeo and Juliet. Yes, it could never possibly compare to the much superior 1968 version, but it does benefit from amazing cinematography, and such beautiful sets and costumes. The film is also quite emotional in some stretches, and overall very well adapted and faithful. It does have its more tedious stretches, though, and Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer were simply too old to play these roles, but they were both great in my opinion, and the whole film is needlessly maligned nowadays because of that one issue.

3. Libeled Lady

Libeled Lady easily takes the third spot how funny it is. It’s the first truly good movie on this list, and the one which is easily the most entertaining. It’s phenomenally acted with its amazing ensemble cast all working with each other stupendously. I particularly liked its sophisticated dialogue, especially some rather provocative, hilarious lines. But, the movie is very convoluted and rather implausible in what is a very silly storyline. Still though, it’s a blast to watch as most screwball comedies usually are.

2. Dodsworth

Dodsworth is one of the most underappreciated movies from the 1930s. Its script and dialogue are so sophisticated as the film explores a failing marriage in such a grounded, very effective manner. It’s a very moving, rich and complex film that benefits from William Wyler’s expectedly terrific direction and an absolutely outstanding, effortless performance from Walter Huston. It’s a gem of a film that deserved all of its Oscar nominations, especially Best Picture as it’s a rare true drama from this decade that is still potent after all this time.

1. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

Immensely charming, funny and at times even hilarious, heartwarming and wonderfully inspirational and optimistic, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town is predictable and it lacks a unifying structure, but the direction from Frank Capra is expectedly stellar. The performances from Jean Arthur and Gary Cooper are phenomenal, and he in particular shamefully lost at the Oscars as his performance here is just amazing. The film has such a strong humor, especially in those courtroom scenes, the romance is so good and the movie is touching and just beautiful. Thus, it’s by far the greatest Best Picture nominee from this year, and overall one of 1936’s classics.

Films That Should Have Been Nominated:

Modern Times – This is one of the worst years for this category when it comes to snubbing. The first of two amazing movies they snubbed is a Charlie Chaplin masterpiece that is Modern Times. This classic deals with the emerging industrialization in such a heartwarming manner while being visually masterful throughout.

My Man Godfrey – The Academy does not appreciate comedies. That’s a fact. But how they managed to snub one of America’s most brilliant genre films still remains baffling to me. William Powell here is a master at what he does which is pure comedy gold. The entire screenplay is phenomenal and smart, the dialogue is fabulous and the humor is top-notch.

Swing Time – Swing Time is very thinly and predictably plotted while the comedy elements could have been emphasized more as well, but Astaire and Rogers are amazing and all of their scenes steal the show, especially their terrific dancing. The two best numbers – The Way You Look Tonight and A Fine Romance – are both wonderful.