Review and Analysis of the 23rd Academy Awards
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Review and Analysis of the 23rd Academy Awards
The 23rd Academy Awards were fantastic. This just might be my favorite year for the Oscars as they honored one of my favorite films of all time with six awards and 14 nominations. All About Eve ended up winning many big categories deservedly so, but Sunset Boulevard was also nominated in many categories, which was wonderful to witness. Most of the slates here were quite strong, especially the BP one, and that Best Actress race remains iconic to this day. Even the technical categories fared pretty well this year.
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OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION
The Best Picture slate for 1950 is exceptionally strong, ranking among the best in the history of this award. Two dramas, two comedies and one adventure flick comprise this very interesting list of nominees. King Solomon’s Mines is the weakest of the five films, but it’s still a solid adaptation of the eponymous work with particularly strong technical aspects. Father of the Bride is a lovely rom-com that featured Spencer Tracy at his best. Born Yesterday is an underrated comedy gem that is so well acted and immensely charming. But of course the two powerhouses are Sunset Boulevard and All About Eve, the former a noir drama classic that is unforgettable in imagery and dialogue and the latter an undeniable masterpiece that features some of the best writing, acting and dialogue ever witnessed on the big screen. All About Eve is one of my favorite films of all time and I am so glad that it went home with six Oscars. You can read my full ranking of the nominees here.
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BEST DIRECTOR
Joseph L. Mankiewicz won his second consecutive Oscar for directing his biggest masterpiece and deservedly so. Although his writing is even more impressive, his directing was also top-notch and not awarding him for his magnum opus would have been very wrong. This was a very strong field of nominees with everybody deserving their inclusion. Akira Kurosawa was snubbed, but Billy Wilder’s inclusion was of course highly earned. Cukor, Huston and Reed were also worthy nominees as every single one of them did something unique with their films.
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BEST ACTOR
Cyrano de Bergerac has a pretty good central performance from Jose Ferrer. He is believable and charismatic in the role. With that being said, I wouldn’t really call his performance Oscar-worthy. It was an obvious choice for the Academy, but not the greatest one. This made him the first Hispanic winner in the category, but he didn’t earn it as he was overly theatrical at times. Of the other nominees, William Holden would have been a much better choice as his turn in Sunset Boulevard is one of his best and most memorable. I, however, would personally pick Spencer Tracy for this year for his work in Father of the Bride. He was moving, complex and just absolutely fantastic in one of his career-best roles in that wonderful flick. He should have won for this film instead of the two much inferior movies from the thirties that they honored him for.
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BEST ACTRESS
Wow, was this a race or what! What is there left to say at this point about this iconic Best Actress race that hasn’t already been said, but I will give my two cents about it nonetheless. Eleanor Parker was wonderful in Caged, but she was just happy to be nominated. All of the rest could have honestly taken it in this stacked field of nominees. What happened is obvious to me – not only did Gloria Swanson and Bette Davis split votes, but Anne Baxter also split votes with Davis, which all led to Judy Holiday winning the big award for her strong turn in Born Yesterday. I have to say that I’m not too mad about this development as Holiday was just lovely in that underrated flick and so effortlessly charming. Anne Baxter was incredible in such an iconic villainous turn and Bette Davis has never been better than she was as Margo Channing, but both actresses had their Oscars, so if anything, this was a sad turn of events for Swanson, who never won this award. All in all, it was a truly incredible race and it remains the most thrilling one of all time.
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BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
George Sanders took this one and deservedly so as he was just superb as the devilish snake that is Addison DeWitt. He was perfectly cast and he stole the movie whenever he was on screen, which was no easy task against all those masterful actresses. It was a role that was pretty much written for him and he delivered in spades. I am, however, sad that this win came at the expense of Erich von Stroheim who was so raw and touching in his very important supporting turn in Sunset Boulevard. It’s sad that this iconic film went away with no major wins, but it was just the case of very, very bad luck.
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BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Similarly to the leading actress race, the supporting one also went to a comedic performance for a lesser-known film. Yes, Josephine Hull won for her turn in Harvey, which is this very quirky comedy starring James Stewart. It’s unfortunate that she won over Celeste Holm, who really should have taken it this year as she was just wonderful as Margo’s best friend. But Hull was great herself in a very difficult role that she sold effortlessly well. This was an incredible slate with all the other nominees being deserving as well – Thelma Ritter was so endearing, Nancy Olson was excellent herself, and Hope Emerson killed it in a despicable villainous role.
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BEST SCREENPLAY
Has there ever been a better Hollywood screenplay than All About Eve’s? Hardly. This film fired on all cylinders, but Mankiewicz’s script was one of its standout elements. It was so well written in dialogue and characters while being perfectly structured and thematically relevant and nuanced. This was the only legitimate choice for the win here and the Academy thankfully took notice.
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BEST STORY AND SCREENPLAY
The above category is supposedly one for adapted screenplay while this one is for original scripts. Sunset Boulevard won this award and I am so happy that it did. That masterpiece clearly has a phenomenally told story that remains one of the best and most complex inside baseball Hollywood tales ever put on screen.
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BEST MOTION PICTURE STORY
I haven’t seen the winning movie here or the other nominees. This third screenplay category remains an elusively mysterious and odd one for me as I simply cannot decipher its purpose.
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BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
The Titan: Story of Michelangelo is a strikingly artistic, modern and effective documentary about this famous artist that still feels awfully contemporary, which cannot be said for most docs from this period. It was, thus, very much a deserved Oscar winner.
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BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
1950 was a strong year for animated shorts, but the Academy sadly snubbed some of the best films of the year. This is the first year when the number of nominations went down from five to three. The Tom and Jerry film nominated here is quite good and the Mr. Magoo flick is also solid. But the winning movie ended up being Gerald McBoing-Boing, which is this lovely little film from UPA that has a great message and a strong visual style to it. This movie finally broke the huge winning streak for Disney, Hanna-Barbera and Warner Bros. studios. You can read my full ranking of the nominees here.
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BEST SCORING OF A DRAMATIC OR COMEDY PICTURE
Sunset Boulevard is a technical masterpiece all-around and it clearly deserved to win in this category as its score is suitably intense and highly atmospheric. In a very weak slate this was the only legitimate choice for the win.
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BEST SCORING OF A MUSICAL PICTURE
Cinderella easily could have taken this too and it would have obviously been a worthy winner, but Annie Get Your Gun was awarded and I am happy for that wildly underrated movie that featured such a strong soundtrack.
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BEST ORIGINAL SONG
This was a good year for movie songs unlike the last couple of years. Annie Get Your Gun was based on preexisting material, so none of the songs could get in here. Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo represented Cinderella and they chose well as that is the most iconic number from that classic Disney flick. But the winning song ended up being Mona Lisa, which is from a movie that I haven’t seen, but I know the song well. Who doesn’t know this absolutely beautiful, highly melancholic and just incredible number that I am so glad won here.
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BEST SOUND RECORDING
All About Eve took sound this year even though it’s not the most cinematic picture of the year. Sunset Boulevard would have probably been a better choice here, but this decision was hardly a bad one. It’s the only win for this film in the technical categories.
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BEST ART DIRECTION, BLACK-AND-WHITE
The dilapidated mansion in its full glory was so perfectly conveyed and explored in the masterful noir that is Sunset Boulevard, a perfect choice to win for this category.
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BEST ART DIRECTION, COLOR
I watchedtwo of the nominated movies here and this slate is so oddly diverse. Destination Moon could have taken it for the sheer ambition of its SF sets and Annie Get Your Gun would have been a lovely choice too as that movie had wonderful production design, but it ended up being Samson and Delilah, which was a boring choice.
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BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY, BLACK-AND-WHITE
There were a couple of movies here that had a legitimate chance to take this one, but undoubtedly Sunset Boulevard deserved its win. It is after all the strongest part of this otherwise flawed noir. The camera moves so freely and uniquely in this unusually modern-looking film that aged wonderfully in that regard.
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BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY, COLOR
The Technicolor cinematography in King Solomon’s Mines was an absolute delight to witness. The film being shot on actual location made it look astonishing. Thus, this was pretty much a deserved win.
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BEST COSTUME DESIGN, BLACK-AND-WHITE
All About Eve took home the Oscar for costumes too, which was undeniably deserved. Margo Channing’s costumes were particularly exquisite in a film populated with opulent garments.
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BEST COSTUME DESIGN, COLOR
Everything that I’ve already stated above for production design also applies here – this was a tedious choice for this category, but at least that epic looked pretty good. This was a weak slate, so it easily ended up winning.
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BEST FILM EDITING
I do not love this choice unfortunately. King Solomon’s Mines isn’t particularly well edited or paced. All About Eve and Sunset Boulevard were clearly miles better and I could see either one of these masterpieces take this one, but sadly that did not happen.
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BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS
Destination Moon undoubtedly deserved its VFX Oscar as it looks fantastic for its time. It sold the look of the Moon particularly well and in a surprisingly grounded fashion. I am glad that Samson and Delilah lost this particular category as this SF flick is a much better choice for it.
