Friday, April 5, 2013

1939 CinSpec Awards


Starting today, I'll be completing my Decades series (or starting a My Ballot one?) by posting a full lineup of nominees every week. (So, these ballots will be linked on the Awards page with the winner posts.)

The order will be like this: 1939 this week, 1949 next week, 1959 the following week, and so on. Once I do 2009, I'll go back and start at 1938 and so on. This will allow me to catch up on the early 1930s (and some other odd years) before posting.

I've taken the liberty of marking the winners (*), so you don't have to go back and check. I've also posted some additional categories for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

The Rules of the Game

BEST PICTURE:
Beau Geste
Gone with the Wind
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Only Angels Have Wings
The Rules of the Game*

BEST DIRECTOR:
Marcel Carne, Port of Shadows
Victor Fleming, Gone with the Wind
Howard Hawks, Only Angels Have Wings
Jean Renoir, The Rules of the Game*
William A. Wellman, Beau Geste

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

BEST ACTOR:
James Cagney, The Roaring Twenties
Jean Gabin, Le Jour Se Leve
Clark Gable, Gone with the Wind
Burgess Meredith, Of Mice and Men
James Stewart, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington*

BEST ACTRESS:
Claudette Colbert, Midnight
Irene Dunne, Love Affair
Greta Garbo, Ninotchka
Judy Garland, The Wizard of Oz
Vivien Leigh, Gone with the Wind*

Only Angels Have Wings

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Lon Chaney Jr., Of Mice and Men
Brian Donlevy, Beau Geste
Cedric Hardwicke, The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Thomas Mitchell, Only Angels Have Wings*
Jean Renoir, The Rules of the Game

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Jean Arthur, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington*
Olivia de Havilland, Gone with the Wind
Gladys George, The Roaring Twenties
Margaret Hamilton, The Wizard of Oz
Hattie McDaniel, Gone with the Wind

Beau Geste

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
Beau Geste*
Gone with the Wind
Of Mice and Men
Port of Shadows
The Wizard of Oz

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Midnight
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Only Angels Have Wings
The Roaring Twenties
The Rules of the Game*

Gone with the Wind

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Beau Geste
Gone with the Wind*
Port of Shadows
The Rules of the Game
The Wizard of Oz

BEST FILM EDITING:
Beau Geste*
Gone with the Wind
Gunga Din
Only Angels Have Wings
The Roaring Twenties

The Wizard of Oz

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:
Gone with the Wind*
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Of Mice and Men
The Wizard of Oz
Wuthering Heights

BEST ORIGINAL SONG:
"Oh, Give Me Time for Tenderness", Dark Victory
"Over the Rainbow", The Wizard of Oz*
"We're Off to See the Wizard", The Wizard of Oz

Additional Categories

BEST ART DIRECTION:
Beau Geste
Gone with the Wind*
Gunga Din
The Roaring Twenties
The Wizard of Oz

BEST COSTUME DESIGN:
Beau Geste
Gone with the Wind*
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Wizard of Oz
Wuthering Heights

Gunga Din

BEST MAKEUP:
Gone with the Wind
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Wizard of Oz*

BEST SOUND (MIXING AND EDITING):
Beau Geste
Gone with the Wind
Gunga Din*
Stagecoach
The Wizard of Oz

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:
Gone with the Wind
Only Angels Have Wings
The Wizard of Oz*

Updated: 6/24/13

10 comments:

  1. I LOVE THIS!!!! I can't wait to see all of them :-D

    Love the Beau Geste and Rules of the Game wins and nominations, and Jean Arthur's win is amazing (even if I give her the win in lead).

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    1. Thanks! :) Yeah, it's a fine line on Arthur's performance, but I think it could go either way. Of course, in a film like Mr. Deeds, I have her as lead.

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  2. Always found The Rules Of The Game overrated, although it's in my top 200. I guess I have a love/hate relationship with it. Probably my expectations were too high.
    Some great choices here, especially considering how revered 1939 is in the film industry.

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    1. Thanks. Yeah, I can see that, and I have had it happen with other films.

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  3. The infamous year that is one of the greatest if not the greatest in Hollywood with so many choices. I think that shows in how different our selections, save one category, are.

    Picture:
    Dark Victory
    Dodge City
    Gone With the Wind-Winner
    Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
    The Wizard of Oz
    I had to eliminate so many films/people in each category but as much as I love the other four films GWTW is so epic that even at its extended length it catches you at the beginning and carries you right through to the conclusion holding the viewers interest for its entirety.

    Director:
    Frank Capra-Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
    Michael Curtiz-Dodge City
    Victor Fleming-The Wizard of Oz
    Edmund Goulding-Dark Victory
    William Wyler-Wuthering Heights
    If I could have nominated David O. Selznick as oversight director of GWTW since his supervision of the four or five different directors the film went though enabled it to emerge a cohesive whole rather than the patchwork it would seem it should have been I would have given him the prize. I still selected Fleming but for his work on Oz. He directed the bulk of that film before being pulled off and reassigned to GWTW and its magical.

    Actor:
    George Brent-The Rains Came
    Clark Gable-Gone With the Wind-Winner
    Charles Laughton-The Hunchback of Notre Dame
    Laurence Olivier-Wuthering Heights
    James Stewart-Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
    I know Robert Donat won this category and I like him as an actor but I've always been rather immune to the charms of Goodbye, Mr. Chips. Laughton and Stewart are customarily excellent and this is the one Brent performance that I think ever came close to any kind of award notice but my choice was between Olivier and Gable. Olivier's gets under the skin of Emily Bronte's Heathcliff somehow transforming that revenge fueled psychopath into an incredibly sensual tortured anti-hero but Gable and Rhett Butler are another of those unions of perfect actor and ideal part, I'll never understand how he lost.

    Actress:
    Jean Arthur-Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
    Bette Davis-Dark Victory
    Vivien Leigh-Gone With the Wind-Winner
    Myrna Loy-The Rains Came
    Merle Oberon-Wuthering Heights
    I see you have Arthur in support and she's right on the line but I think her part is so integral to Mr. Smith that she's really a lead. As with Olivier Oberon makes the selfish, thoughtlessly cruel Cathy a romantic anti-heroine. Myrna handles the by that point atypical role of a society slut transformed by love with aplomb getting more from it than would be expected. Bette's performance as Judith Traherne is my favorite Davis performance ever so it pained me not to award her but it's impossible to consider the prize going to anyone but the extraordinary Vivien Leigh in GWTW. Maybe the ultimate performance to compete in Best Actress.

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    1. I go back and forth between Beau Geste and GWTW for my #2. Laughton and Donat just missed my Best Actor lineup. I'm a big fan of Donat's performance, actually. Arthur could go either way, so I can't argue with placing her in lead. Davis goes too overboard for me sometimes, and Dark Victory is one example. I really need to see The Rains Came.

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    2. Bette is very big at the beginning of Dark Victory I agree but I think it was a choice she made to illustrate the depth of Judy's maturation by the end. Her work in the last half of the film is beautifully delicate.

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    3. That's a good point. She's not bad in the film, but I wasn't as wowed by the performance as others are.

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  4. Supporting Actor:
    Lon Chaney Jr.-Of Mice and Men-Winner
    Sam Jaffe-Gunga Din
    Thomas Mitchell-Stagecoach
    Claude Rains-Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
    C. Aubrey Smith-Five Came Back
    I see you have Mitchell too but for a different film, he also could have been here for GWTW. These people worked so much! In a packed field, I hated to leave off Frank Morgan for his various roles in Oz, I had to go with Chaney for his wonderful work, a fine journeyman actor this was truly his one chance to shine and he delivered beautifully.

    Supporting Actress:
    Olivia de Havilland-Gone With the Wind
    Kay Francis-In Name Only-Winner
    Gladys George-The Roaring Twenties
    Margaret Hamilton-The Wizard of Oz
    Hattie McDaniel-Gone With the Wind
    This turned out to be the most difficult field for me to chose from. I noticed that we matched up almost exactly except for Arthur who I put in lead. I love the work of both GWTW ladies and what more can be said about Margaret Hamilton's witch but really my choice was between Gladys George's off-key canary in Roaring 20's and Kay Francis's malevolent Maida in In Name Only. George is immensely moving as the lovelorn Pamana, her last line kills me every time but this total about face of a role was the underrated Francis's last really decent part and she goes for broke, unafraid to appear totally unsympatheic as an almost completely heartless woman.

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    1. I need to check out In Name Only. Lon Chaney Jr. is a brilliant choice. Thomas Mitchell had an AMAZING year. Originally, I gave him a win for Stagecoach, but I switched to OAHW shortly after.

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