Ivanhoe (1952)

Academy Awards, USA 1953

Nominee Oscar	Best Picture Pandro S. Berman
	Best Cinematography, Color Freddie Young
	Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture Miklós Rózsa

MGM
Directed by Richard Thorpe
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Warner Bros.)

Robert Taylor is a knight in medieval England. He is devoted to his king, Richard the Lionheart, held prisoner in Austria. Taylor returns to England hoping to raise the ransom money to free him. England is divided between Saxons and Normans and ruled by Richard's brother. Taylor goes to his estranged father hoping to get money, but encounters a group of unfriendly Norman knights. He also secretly meets with Rowena, played by Joan Fontaine. His father refuses, but when he rescues an old Jewish man who was also staying at his father's castle, he agrees to help raise the ransom money. Taylor enters a lively jousting competition incognito where he defeats all but one of the Norman knights. He comes under the protection of none other than Robin Hood, who also help him in the final climactic battle with King John and his men. Taylor gets to choose between Fontaine and Elizabeth Taylor, poor guy, in the romantic subplot. Dated adventure nonsense that somehow garnered a Best Picture nomination, but it is fun. 

My Wild Irish Rose (1947)

Academy Awards, USA 1948

Nominee Oscar

Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture Ray Heindorf Max Steiner

Warner Bros.
Directed by David Butler
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)

Dennis Morgan plays Irish-American singer Chauncey Olcott in a fictionalized biography. He leaves the farm, and his dear old mom, to pursue a career as a singer on Broadway. He makes money singing at weddings and what-not, eventually earning enough money to buy a job as a bartender in a swanky hotel, hoping to get recognized by a traveling musical troupe. It works, and he is soon touring around the country with them. Unsatisfied, he conspires to meet another famous Irish singer, William Scanlan (played by William Frawley!), and become his understudy. The aging Scanlan soon loses his voice giving Olcott the break he needs to become famous. Redheaded beauty Arlene Dahl is the romantic interest. Good songs, but strictly by-the-numbers plot. 

When Ladies Meet (1941)

Academy Awards, USA 1942

Nominee Oscar

Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White Cedric Gibbons Randall Duell Edwin B. Willis

MGM
Directed by Robert Z. Leonard
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)

Novelist Joan Crawford is having an affair with her married publicist Herbert Marshall. She also spends quite a bit of time with Robert Taylor in the local nightclubs, but refuses to admit it is anything serious. Taylor wants to marry her, and when he finds out about Marshall he concocts a plan to set them up with the unwitting help of Marshall's wife. They show up unannounced at a summer cottage of a mutual friend, where he knows Crawford and Marshall are visiting. He gets Marshall away on a wild goose chase, leaving his wife and his lover alone, neither knowing the other's identity. It doesn't go well. The whole plot feels like a gimmick, and Crawford's rationalizations are naive at best. Worse yet, she has no chemistry with the older Marshall, without which the whole premise collapses. 

Flight for Freedom (1943)

Academy Awards, USA 1944

Nominee Oscar

Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White Albert S. D'Agostino Carroll Clark Darrell Silvera Harley Miller

RKO Radio Pictures
Directed by Lothar Mendes
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)

Rosalind Russell gives a poor imitation of Amelia Earhart, the famous American flyer. She is picked up by playboy Fred MacMurray, who whisks her away on his private airplane for romantic dinners. He's soon off to another part of the world, though, and when he returns years later he expects her to be waiting. However, she is now engaged to her flight instructor, though secretly is still in love with MacMurray. Her plans to be the first woman to circumnavigate the globe are interrupted by the Navy. She is asked to fake a crash so they can send out a search party, which will really be searching for the Japanese fleet. She agrees, and so, it turns out, does MacMurray. The plans are discovered at the last minute and she has to decide if she will sacrifice herself for her country. Since this is mostly WWII propaganda, she does, in a rather depressing ending. 

Angels Over Broadway (1940)

Academy Awards, USA 1941

Nominee Oscar

Best Writing, Original Screenplay Ben Hecht

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Ben Hecht and Lee Garmes
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Columbia Tri-Star)

John Qualen plays a Kafkaesque accountant caught embezzling and on the verge of suicide. He decide to live it up one last time at a swanky New York City nightclub. Con man Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., targets him for a phony poker game upstairs with some gangster friends, hoping to skim some money off the top for himself. He enlists showgirl Rita Hayworth to help him. They meet alcoholic playwright Thomas Mitchell, who accidentally finds Qualen's suicide note when he gets his jacket by mistake and wants to convince him life is worth living. This odd ensemble is quite entertaining, with Mitchell spouting off philosophy, Fairbanks romancing Hayworth, and Qualen meekly submitting to whatever he is told. The poker game upstairs is quite tense. Another Ben Hecht gem. 

Cowboy (1958)

Academy Awards, USA 1959

Nominee Oscar

Best Film Editing William A. Lyon Al Clark

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Delmer Daves
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Twilight Time)

Boisterous, hard-living cowboy Glenn Ford unwittingly becomes partners with meek, untrained hotel clerk Jack Lemmon after accepting his money for a poker game. They set off to Mexico to buy cattle, with Lemmon also hoping to make up with the daughter of a cattle baron he is in love with. They have various misadventures, with Lemmon learning that life on the trail is nothing like he pictured. Lemmon finds his girl married and combined with his disillusionment with the cowboy life becomes bitter. When the opportunity to take over as boss of the cattle drive when Ford is injured saving him from Indians, he drives the men into the ground. However, after Ford saves his life a second time they reconcile. Ford and Lemmon are both cast against type. It might have been better with the roles reversed, better suiting their natural personalities. Instead, it is often awkward and loses credibility. 

Gone with the Wind (1939)

Academy Awards, USA 1940

Winner Honorary Award	William Cameron Menzies For outstanding achievement in the use of color for the enhancement of dramatic mood in the production of Gone with the Wind (plaque).
Winner Oscar	Best Actress in a Leading Role Vivien Leigh
	Best Actress in a Supporting Role Hattie McDaniel Hattie McDaniel became the first African American to be nominated for and win an Oscar.
	Best Director Victor Fleming
	Best Writing, Screenplay Sidney Howard Posthumously. Sidney Howard became the first posthumous Oscar nominee and winner.
	Best Cinematography, Color Ernest Haller Ray Rennahan
	Best Art Direction Lyle R. Wheeler
	Best Film Editing Hal C. Kern James E. Newcom
	Best Picture
Winner Technical Achievement Award	R.D. Musgrave For pioneering in the use of coordinated equipment in the production Gone with the Wind.
Nominee Oscar	Best Actor in a Leading Role Clark Gable
	Best Actress in a Supporting Role Olivia de Havilland
	Best Sound, Recording Thomas T. Moulton (Samuel Goldwyn SSD)
	Best Effects, Special Effects Jack Cosgrove (photographic) Fred Albin (sound) Arthur Johns (sound)
	Best Music, Original Score Max Steiner

MGM
Directed by Victor Fleming
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Warner Bros.)

Vivien Leigh plays southern belle Scarlett O'Hara, a stubborn, high-strung, spoiled girl living on a cotton plantation in 1861 Georgia. She falls in love with an older gentleman who lives at a neighboring plantation, or at least tells herself she does, then spends the rest of her life, and the movie, regretting it. She ignores the initial overtures from visiting playboy Rhett Butler (Clark Gable, in his iconic role), despite their obvious mutual attraction, even when the other man announces he is engaged. Civil War breaks out, and as the men go to war the women are left to take care of the plantations. Scarlett impulsively marries another departing soldier, but he soon dies. Ostensibly in mourning, she travels to Atlanta to recover, but really is hoping to meet the other man. She helps her family doctor tend to the wounded, becoming more and more involved, and is eventually overwhelmed, in perhaps the film's most powerful scenes. She returns to her plantation home with the the help of Rhett, in a memorable carriage ride in the wake of Sherman's March to the Sea. The war ends and she is left to try to put the plantation back together mostly alone. She marries a shop owner in Atlanta for money, and proves to be better than him at business. He dies, leaving her alone again. Rhett comes to the rescue and she marries him, again for his wealth. The film quickly devolves into a turgid melodrama chronicling their unhappy marriage, beautifully filmed in Technicolor, but still turgid melodrama. By the fourth hour, I was relieved to hear those magic words from Rhett: "frankly my dear, I don't give a damn", signalling at long last the end. 

How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)

Academy Awards, USA 2015

Nominee Oscar

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year Dean DeBlois Bonnie Arnold

Twentieth-Century Fox
Directed by Dean DeBlois
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Fox)

Hiccup and his dragon friend Toothless stumble upon a society of dragon-trappers with plans to take all of the dragons from his Viking village. His father the King overreacts and prepares for battle, while Hiccup decides to find their leader and negotiate a peaceful solution. Instead, he is greeted by their evil leader who was an "alpha" dragon capable of hynpnotizing all other dragons into doing his bidding. Hiccup, Toothless and friends are captured, but his father arrives to try save them, leading to an unexpected tragedy. Hiccup must find the strength to defeat the trappers and save the dragon. Enjoyable if over-baked, loud action film fairly similar to the original movie, which suffered from the same problems.

Balalaika (1939)

Academy Awards, USA 1940

Nominee Oscar

Best Sound, Recording Douglas Shearer (M-G-M SSD)

MGM
Directed by Reinhold Schunzel
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)

Nelson Eddy is a singing Cossack captain who falls in love with saloon singer Ilona Massey. He disguises himself as a music student to overcome their differences in social stature. He impresses her father and the other students with his musical abilities, not realizing they are also political revolutionaries who want to overthrow the government of his own father. He uses his connections to get her an audition at the national opera, but it turns out she sings well enough not to need his help. Their true motives are revealed at her premier performance where an assassination attempt occurs. leading to her arrest. He goes off to war and they are separated for several years. After the war, he is employed at a Paris cafe where, quite improbably, they meet again. Enjoyable if contrived propaganda which can't escape the political realities of its time. 

Princess O'Rourke (1943)

Academy Awards, USA 1944

Winner Oscar

Best Writing, Original Screenplay Norman Krasna

Warner Bros.-First National
Directed by Norman Krasna
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)

Olivia de Havilland is a European princess exiled in America by the war. Charles Coburn is her chaperone who tries to set her up with royalty, to no effect. Instead, she falls for pilot Robert Cummings when she wakes up in his bed after an overdose of sleeping pills on a cross country flight. She pretends to be a common maid and slums around with Cummings and his annoying friend Jack Carson. They are both about to join the Air Force and Cummings is worried about being single, so fast tracks a marriage proposal, which she declines. After she convinces Coburn of the political advantages of marrying a commoner, she accepts the proposal. However, Cummings changes his mind when he finds out he has to give up his American citizenship. She has to get intervention from none other than FDR's dog to get around the citizenship problem and they get married in the middle of the night in the White House! Absurd romantic comedy with propagandist patriotism and no chemistry between Cummings and de Havilland. 

Flying Down to Rio (1933)

Academy Awards, USA 1935

Nominee Oscar

Best Music, Original Song Vincent Youmans (music) Edward Eliscu (lyrics) Gus Kahn (lyrics) For the song "Carioca".

RKO Radio Pictures
Directed by Thornton Freeland
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Warner Bros.)

Band leader Gene Raymond can keep away from Latin beauty Dolores del Rio, despite warnings from the management of the club in which they are playing and fellow musician Fred Astaire. They end up getting fired, but are able to get a new gig in del Rio's native Brazil. He flies her down personally in his small plane, but they end up crash landing on a tropical island and spend the night together. Fred and the band eventually catch up, including singer Ginger Rogers. They dance together for the first time at a Brazilian club, complete with a huge rotating piano. The club gets into trouble for not having a licence, so Raymond comes up with a hair-brained idea featuring dancing girls on the wings of flying airplanes, which must be seen to be believed. Unfortunately it isn't, with obvious back projection making the whole thing absurd. That more or less sums up the whole movie. 

Pieces of April (2003)

Academy Awards, USA 2004

Nominee Oscar

Best Actress in a Supporting Role Patricia Clarkson

United Artists
Directed by Peter Hedges
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, MGM)

Katie Holmes plays a young woman living in a run-down apartment in New York City. She is estranged from her suburban family, but invites them to Thanksgiving dinner since her mother has cancer. This sets in motion the events for Thanksgiving Day. She buys a turkey but at the last minute finds out the oven doesn't work. She goes door-to-door in her tenement building meeting various odd people while searching for an oven. Meanwhile, her boyfriend leaves in search of a suit to wear, and has his own misadventures on the streets. Finally, her family journeys by car and reveals their own set of problems, played mostly for comic effect. Therein lies the problem, the comedy never really works, and tends to undercut the more serious themes of the film. The final Thanksgiving meal scene is a real winner, though. 

Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943)

Academy Awards, USA 1944

Nominee Oscar

Best Music, Original Song Arthur Schwartz (music) Frank Loesser (lyrics) For the song "They're Either Too Young or Too Old".

Warner Bros.
Directed by David Butler
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Warner Archive Collection)

Threadbare plot of two theater producers putting on a charity show is all that holds together this 2 plus hour variety show. The unbearable Eddie Cantor actually has two roles, as himself and as a slightly more subdued version of himself. Aspiring singer Danny Morgan and romantic interest/aspiring songwriter Joan Leslie try anything to get into the show. Bette Davis has an embarrassing number singing and dancing. As does John Garfield. And Humphrey Bogart. 

Lovers and Other Strangers (1970)

Academy Awards, USA 1971

Winner Oscar	Best Music, Original Song Fred Karlin (music) Robb Royer (lyrics) Jimmy Griffin (lyrics) For the song "For All We Know".
Nominee Oscar	Best Actor in a Supporting Role Richard S. Castellano
	Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium Joseph Bologna David Zelag Goodman Renée Taylor

Cinerama Releasing

Directed by Cy Howard

My rating: 3 stars out of 4

IMDb Wikipedia

(Blu-ray, Kino Lorber)

An impending wedding forms the framework for this comedy-drama about relationships set during the confusing social landscape of 1970. Mike and Susan (Michael Brandon and Bonnie Bedelia) have been living together for over a year, but hide it from their parents. Mike gets cold feet, but she convinces him to go through with it. Meanwhile, his brother is thinking about divorcing his wife (Diane Keaton in her debut). His parents (Richard S. Castellano and Bea Arthur) try desperately to talk him out of it. Their frank discussions, particularly with his father, are a real highlight. Meanwhile, her parents are having problems, as is her older sister. Comic relief is provided by bridesmaid Marian Hailey and groomsman Bob Dishy, who can't decide whether or not they want to have sex. Manages to avoid the usual pitfalls associated with a film based on a play by strong characters and stellar performances from the ensemble cast. A real gem.

The Life of Emile Zola (1937)

Academy Awards, USA 1938

Winner Oscar	Best Picture
	Best Actor in a Supporting Role Joseph Schildkraut
	Best Writing, Screenplay Heinz Herald Geza Herczeg Norman Reilly Raine
Nominee Oscar	Best Actor in a Leading Role Paul Muni
	Best Director William Dieterle
	Best Writing, Original Story Heinz Herald Geza Herczeg
	Best Art Direction Anton Grot
	Best Sound, Recording Nathan Levinson (Warner Bros. SSD)
	Best Assistant Director Russell Saunders
	Best Music, Score Leo F. Forbstein (head of department) Score by Max Steiner.

Warner Bros.
Directed by William Dieterle
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Warner Bros.)

The life of French author and activist Emile Zola, portrayed by Paul Muni, traces his history from a struggling writer living in a decrepit attic with artist Paul Cezanne. A chance encounter with a prostitute inspires him to write Nana, which brings him fame. He follows it up with more than a dozen novels, eventually settling in his middle age for a comfortable life of wealth and leisure. He is lured into defending a man framed for spying and writes a treatise exposing the French generals responsible. They vigorously defend themselves in libel trial which is little more than a farce. Zola flees to London rather than face prison time. Eventually the truth comes out but Zola dies accidentally at about the same time. Another long, predictable Hollywood biopic, with the so-called "Dreyfus affair" consuming far too much running time. 

The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

Academy Awards, USA 1937

Winner Oscar	Best Picture
	Best Actress in a Leading Role Luise Rainer
	Best Dance Direction Seymour Felix For "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody".
Nominee Oscar	Best Director Robert Z. Leonard
	Best Writing, Original Story William Anthony McGuire
	Best Art Direction Cedric Gibbons Eddie Imazu Edwin B. Willis
	Best Film Editing William S. Gray

MGM
Directed by Robert Z. Leonard
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Warner Bros.)

William Powell plays the famous entrepreneur and Broadway producer Florenz Ziegfeld. The story traces his origins from a sideshow at the Chicago World's fair where he successfully lures customers away from competitor Frank Morgan. On a trip to Europe, he steals Morgan's new discovery by lying about his wealth. He does however eventually make her a star. Later he comes up with the idea to reproduce the French follies around handpicked American beauties. The lavish productions, which are reproduced here in vivid detail, are a hit. However, when their popularity eventually declines he has as string of misses while his personal life falls apart. He makes a strong comeback on Broadway, but loses everything in the stock market crash of 1929. He never really recovers, and dies a broken man, in the particularly bad, cliched final scene. Overlong by at least an hour, this is a real chore to sit through, with a standard biopic plot, mugging by Fannie Brice and overacting by Luise Rainer.

Vacation from Marriage (1945)

Academy Awards, USA 1947

Winner Oscar

Best Writing, Original Story Clemence Dane

MGM
Directed by Alexander Korda
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)

Deborah Kerr and Robert Donat are a typical married couple living boring, predictable lives in London. He works as an accountant in a large office, she stays at home in their small flat with a perpetual cold. He enlists in the Navy and their lives are changed forever. He becomes a hardened seaman and officer. She joins the women's branch of the Navy and comes out of her shell with the help of young Glynis Johns. Both flirt with affairs but manage to stay faithful. After three years of separation they finally get leave at the same time. They both dread the reunion, and initially bicker and decide to divorce. However, as the night progresses they manage to find common ground. Good British war drama, originally titled Perfect Strangers which is much better than the horrible American title. Atmospheric final scenes take place in a bleak, damaged London landscape, symbolizing the broken state of their marriage. 

Kon-Tiki (1950)

Academy Awards, USA 1952

Winner Oscar

Best Documentary, Features Olle Nordemar

RKO Radio Pictures
Directed by Thor Heyerdahl
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Image Entertainment)

A group of Norwegians sets out to prove that it was possible for ancient peoples to cross the Pacific by boat from South America to distant islands. They build essentially a large raft out of balsa wood in Peru using nothing but ropes to hold it together. The men chronicle their voyage by 16mm black and white film. They easily survive the long journey by catching fish and rain water. Sharks are their primary threat, and they regularly catch and kill them. One harrowing encounter with a whale shark almost goes wrong. They have problems navigating the reefs once they reach the islands, but eventually make it ashore. Rather crude film, with boring narration, and some of the footage of the shark kills is difficult to watch. 

Arizona (1940)

Academy Awards, USA 1941

Nominee Oscar	Best Art Direction, Black-and-White Lionel Banks Robert Peterson
	Best Music, Original Score Victor Young

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Wesley Ruggles
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Sony)

In the pioneer town of Tucson, Jean Arthur is an independent and resourceful woman who recognizes the opportunity to start a freight company to bring food and supplies into the growing town. She catches the eye of a young William Holden who has just arrived by stagecoach. Their burgeoning romance is cut short by his desire to see California, and he soon departs. She partners with a local shopkeeper and starts up the freight business. The Civil War breaks out, and another visitor takes advantage of the confusion to secretly conspire against Arthur and her business under the guise of helping, and romancing, her. Luckily Holden returns in an Army uniform to straighten everything out. Holden's character is just too good to be true, and his "oh gosh" persona while romancing Arthur is just plain embarrassing. Arthur is a little better, but their lack of chemistry is a hindrance.

Music in My Heart (1940)

Academy Awards, USA 1941

Nominee Oscar

Best Music, Original Song Chet Forrest Bob Wright For the song "It's a Blue World"

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Joseph Santley
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Columbia Tri-Star)

Tony Martin is and understudy on Broadway who gets his big break when he the lead actor fakes sickness when Martin is threatened with deportation. After the play, he is rushed to a boat but his taxi collides with another one, where he meets Rita Hayworth, also on her way to the boat, but to be married to a wealthy, older man. They miss the boat and he sweet talks his way into staying with Rita. Naturally, a romance develops and they become engaged practically overnight. This upsets her former fiance who, along with his valet, scheme to get her back. Formula fluff with a few interesting songs.