Almost There: Cary Grant in "The Awful Truth"

by Cláudio Alves

Since last month, the Criterion Channel has hosted a curated collection of screwball comedies, spanning the subgenre's pre-Code genesis to its postwar decline. Among the many screwy delights, you'll find The Awful Truth, Leo McCarey's 1937 classic, and a Best Director Oscar winner to boot. Indeed, the movie was most beloved by the Academy, scoring five additional nominations, including for Picture, Actress, and Supporting Actor. According to contemporary publications, that last honor was a relative surprise, especially since the movie's leading man was left off the ballot altogether.

You would think a major star associated with such an awards juggernaut would have an easy time nabbing themselves a coattails nomination, but Cary Grant was out of luck in 1937. Well, when it comes to the AMPAS, he was often unfortunate, only ever getting their seal of approval in the early 40s with a couple of dips into melodrama-land. Though much of the star's legacy relies on comedies, Old Hollywood voters seemed perpetually unimpressed by Grant's funny business. In that regard, The Awful Truth stands out as his most egregious snub…

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Oscar Completism: Unfinished Business and Happy Endings?

Baby Clyde's Oscar Completist Diaries -- Part 2
(If you missed part one read that first!)

When COVID hit I happened to be in Colombia. I wasn’t frolicking on the beach in 90-degree heat or scuba diving in the beautiful clear blue Caribbean Sea but watching the Best Actress nominees of 1969 (That’s what holidays are for right?). Jean Simmons and Liza Minnelli had somehow passed me by over the years and with my new Russian pal I was able to fill in all the gaps. By the time I was back in London and lockdown had kicked in, I’d decided to make a project of it. Using Kevin Jacobson’s And The Runner-Up Is podcast as my companion I started watching every nomination in reverse order from 1969 down to 1927. I rewatched everything I’d already seen and added in the first-time watches along the way, noting everything down on a colour coded spreadsheet as I went and listening to the corresponding podcast episode (I promise I’m really not as sad as this suggests. I used to be a cool 90’s Club kid, remember!!!). This made for some very interesting stats on my Letterboxd Most Watched List – The best place on the entire internet.

2020 was full of stars of the 50’s and 60’s (Sophia Loren won) whilst 2021 was made up of the biggest names from the 30’ and 40’s (And Beulah Bondi). Cary Grant came out on top. By the end of the year Kevin had invited me on the podcast to discuss the Best Picture race of 1935. I waffled on for 2 hours and 20 minutes...

The further I went the harder it became...

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Split Decision: "All Quiet on the Western Front"

No two people feel the exact same way about any film. Thus, Team Experience is pairing up to debate the merits of each of the awards movies this year. Here’s Eric Blume and Cláudio Alves on Germany's Oscar contender.

ERIC:  Claudio, let's get down and dirty on Edward Berger's All Quiet on the Western Front.  I'm in camp "love" and I think you're in camp "don't love"?  The only real dissent I've heard from folks is that "it says nothing new about war" (which I look forward to addressing).  But let's start with overall impressions of the film.

CLÁUDIO:  Well, it's adapting a seminal anti-war novel – maybe THE anti-war novel pre-WWII – already made into a Best Picture Oscar winner before. So it's not like it had much hope of saying something new about its subject. Nevertheless, Edward Berger and company bring plenty of "new things" to the narrative presented in the literary work and its previous adaptations, so there's that...

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Almost There: Myrna Loy in "The Thin Man"

by Cláudio Alves

A story of revisits and returns. The Criterion Channel's current Myrna Loy Collection provides us with an ideal opportunty to discuss the the Old Hollywood star. This marks her as the first performer to have three episodes in the Almost There series. So it's time to delve into two of my favorite subjects: The Thin Man franchise and the chaotic Best Actress category of 1934. For the latter, you can check out the analysis of Bette Davis' historical snub in Of Human Bondage. For the former, I once reviewed the first Thin Man movie, describing its star power and alluding to the sequels' decreasing merits, all eminently entertaining despite their drop in quality.

After reading those pieces for some added context, come back to explore the specificities of Myrna Loy's rightfully legendary turn as Nora Charles…

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Almost There: Jean Gabin in "Grand Illusion"

by Cláudio Alves

The Almost There series continues its exploration of the Criterion Channel's May programming. It's time to shine a light on Jean Gabin, currently celebrated in a 10-film collection named "France's Everyman". From 1936's The Lower Depths to 1963's Any Number Can Win, this tenfold serves as a sample of the Gallic actor's extensive career, dramatic prowess, and on-screen persona. Gruff and disaffected, with a cynic's soul and a mischievous twinkle in the eye, Gabin came to embody the French working classes in a myriad of roles from romantic heroes through charismatic scoundrels. Even before the Nouvelle Vague rocked the foundations of France's film industry, the actor had already become something bigger than life. Gabin turned from man into symbol, the personification of his nation's cinema. No wonder he never found a home in Hollywood despite a 1940s detour. Maybe he was just too French! 

Still, American audiences embraced Gabin's movies. In 1938, Jean Renoir's Grand Illusion made Oscar history and brought the actor close to a nomination…

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