Review and Analysis of the 10th Academy Awards

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Review and Analysis of the 10th Academy Awards

The 10^th Academy Awards were actually quite good, much better in comparison to the previous weak year. The slates were infinitely better, and they did manage to nominate most worthy movies and people. But still, some choices here were puzzling to say the least. Let’s now take a look at each category from this year’s ceremony.

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OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION

This year’s BP slate was very strong with many well respected, still classic movies being included. I would say that The Awful Truth is clearly the best of the bunch, though Lost Horizon, Captains Courageous, A Star Is Born and Stage Door were all very good and highly interesting movies. Unfortunately, one of the weakest movies from the slate ended up winning the award, leading to The Life of Emile Zola being one of the most problematic Oscar winners in my opinion. You can read the full ranking of the nominees here.

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BEST DIRECTOR

William Dieterle had no business being nominated as his work was very weak. Gregory La Cava and William Wellman most definitely deserved their nominations for their great directing. Leo McCarey ended up taking this one despite the film not winning Best Picture. And I respect the Academy for honoring him as he truly deserved it this year.

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BEST ACTOR

Spencer Tracy won this year and it was such a dumb decision from the Academy. His performance in Captains Courageous is quite hammy, and I personally would have nominated Freddie Bartholomew over him. His performance in that film is so fantastic and probably my favorite of this entire year. Of the nominees, I would have to give it to Fredric March as his performance in A Star Is Born is very believable and strong.

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BEST ACTRESS

Wow, words cannot express my amazement at this slate of nominees. While the male acting category was rather weak this year, the female counterpart just goes to show how underappreciated and truly fantastic women’s roles were in this decade. This slate has all very different women and all great stars. Irene Dunne is per usual hilarious in The Awful Truth and so damn fun; Greta Garbo steals the show with a powerhouse turn in otherwise messy Camille; Janet Gaynor is reliably terrific in A Star Is Born. My pick would have to be Barbara Stanwyck whose turn in Stella Dallas ranks among her greatest achievements as this role was just so much different from all of her other roles, and she killed it with a moving, amazing performance. Luise Rainer ended up winning for The Good Earth, and although I disagree with the Academy’s pick, I still respect it as she’s so sweet and emotional in that movie.

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BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

This slate was pretty solid overall with Ralph Bellamy being quite memorable in The Awful Truth. I most certainly have to agree with the Academy on this one. Joseph Schildkraut is so good in his role that he made the entire movie more tolerable. He deserved his Oscar win as all of his moments in the film are very memorable.

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BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Alice Brady is fine in In Old Chicago, but her performance is hardly worthy of a freaking Oscar. Of the nominees, I would have to go with Andrea Leeds who was so stupendous and tragic in Stage Door, so much in fact, that she ended up stealing the show from much more famous Katharine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers.

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BEST ORIGINAL STORY

A Star Is Born took this one and I would have to agree on this pick. This story ended up being hugely influential and inspiring no less than three sequels, so obviously it struck a chord with audiences. And this is the best version of this story. It was also the only worthy screenplay nominated in this category this year.

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BEST ADAPTATION

This was a much better slate per usual as the thirties were a decade of adaptations and not original stories. The Awful Truth’s story is amazing, Captains Courageous itself is so well adapted and Stage Door is also well written. But A Star Is Born’s double inclusion is silly, and The Life of Emile Zola winning when its script is so mediocre is incredibly annoying. I personally would give it to Snow White as that adaptation improves so much upon the original tale.

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BEST SHORT SUBJECT, CARTOON

The Old Mill took the Oscar for best animated short film this year and deservedly so as it’s the best one of the nominees. But the slate itself is only solid and not great as the Academy per usual snubbed many great Popeye the Sailor shorts from this year. You can read my full ranking of the nominees here.

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BEST SCORING

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has the best soundtrack of the thirties and certainly one of the best scores of the decade as well. It stood the test of time with its grandiose, sweeping orchestral pieces that never cease to move me. The fact that it lost to finely scored, but mediocre One Hundred Men and a Girl is baffling. It’s one of the Academy’s most shameless choices this year.

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BEST SONG

This may even be a bigger travesty. Sweet Leilani is a charming, but utterly forgettable song that did not deserve to win. Again, Snow White features such amazing, timeless songs. Whether talking about the impossibly catchy and fun Heigh-Ho or hopelessly romantic Someday My Prince Will Come or top-tapping Whistle While You Work and all others, the movie’s soundtrack is one of the quintessential in Hollywood history. And I know that the Academy was back then (and unfortunately even now to a degree) puzzled and not as appreciative of animation, but still its exclusion even from the nominations slate was simply inexcusable.

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BEST SOUND RECORDING

I have not seen the winner for this category. Among the nominees, the best one is probably In Old Chicago. I personally would have gone with technically brilliant Snow White both for the nomination and for the win.

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BEST ART DIRECTION

Yes, Dead End recreated the slums of New York City from this period famously well, but the Academy’s choice to honor Lost Horizon remains the right one as that film is gorgeous throughout in its many interesting, even striking set pieces and location work.

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BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Lost Horizon and Captains Courageous were definitely snubbed for their wonderful visuals, but I have to say that the winning Good Earth is an excellent-looking film that perfectly utilizes the many plights of its farmer characters in terms of both camera movements and imagery.

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BEST FILM EDITING

Lost Horizon was an okay choice for this award, but I personally would have picked The Awful Truth. That movie is a timeless classic. It’s a screwball comedy that is quick, consistently engaging and fun, and certainly some of that stems from excellent pacing and editing.

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BEST DANCE DIRECTION

This was a pretty weak year when it comes to the genre of musicals which were past their peak by this time, so of course the Academy discontinued this silly award the very next year.

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BEST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

The same goes for this puzzling award. It never made any sense to award assistant directors having in mind that it’s such a difficult to define job, so they ought to have gotten rid of it even before.

In the end, this was a fine showcase of movies in my opinion. Again, we got too many biopics and standard Oscar fare that is dated nowadays, but at least they ended up including many great movies as well. Most of the winners are actually deserving, and it was a clear step in the right direction that would result in a couple of great years to come afterward for these awards.