Shanghai Express (1932) Director: Josef von Sternberg In Shanghai Express, Marlene Dietrich delivers a highly memorable and seductive performance in her fourth of seven films with Josef von Sternberg. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Cinematography (winner). It outperformed the famous Grand Hotel at the box office … Continue reading Shanghai Express
academy award
Grand Hotel
Grand Hotel (1932) Director: Edmund Goulding Grand Hotel is a wonderful film released by MGM, a winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture. It is the only film to win Best Picture without any other individuals involved being nominated in another category. The film stars Greta Garbo as the dancer, John Barrymore, Joan Crawford, … Continue reading Grand Hotel
A Farewell To Arms
A Farewell to Arms (1932) Director: Frank Borzage This interpretation of Hemingway's famous novel starrs Gary Cooper -who also starred in the 1943 version of Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls- and Helen Hayes, and is directed by Frank Borzage. The film won Academy Awards for Best Cinematography and Sound. A retelling of the plot will not … Continue reading A Farewell To Arms
Scarface: The Shame of the Nation
Scarface: The Shame of the Nation Director: Howard Hawks (1932) A United Artists film, Scarface is one of the greatest gangster films ever made. Following from Little Caesar and The Public Enemy, Scarface details the rise and fall of a Chicago gangster clearly modeled on the life of Al Capone. The film was infamously later remade in … Continue reading Scarface: The Shame of the Nation
I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang
I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang Director: Mervyn Leroy (1932) This haunting film, based on the true story of Robert Elliott Burns, is an early thriller produced with the intention of exposing the harsh southern chain gang prisons of the early 20th century. Starring Paul Muni, already famous for his portrayal of Tony in Scarface: … Continue reading I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang
The Idea of Revenge in the Iliad and the Odyssey
In both the Iliad and the Odyssey we encounter vengeance exacted by the protagonists. In the Iliad, a poem explicitly about the "rage" or "wrath" of Achilles, we discover the rage that follows from the sorrow for the death of a loved one. In Books XV and XVI, the beloved companion, Patroclus, is killed by Hector … Continue reading The Idea of Revenge in the Iliad and the Odyssey
Fourth Academy Awards (1931)
The Fourth Academy Awards ceremony for motion pictures was held at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. A young Jackie Cooper, nominated for Best Actor, memorably fell asleep during the ceremony. He was nine year old. For the ceremony, the Academy recognized films released from August 1930 and July 1931. Cimarron won three awards, including Outstanding Production, … Continue reading Fourth Academy Awards (1931)
Cimarron
Cimarron (1931) Director: Wesley Ruggles Named after the novel of the same name, Cimarron is the oscar-winning film that was RKO studio's most expensive film to date. It was the first film to receive more than six academy award nominations. It was the first western to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards, and it was filmed on … Continue reading Cimarron
Third Academy Awards (1930)
Third Academy Awards (1930) 1930 was the only year in which there were two award ceremonies. It took place at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, hosted by Conrad Nagel. The Love Parade received a record of six nominations, but won zero, and this was the first year that the Award for Best Sound Recording was … Continue reading Third Academy Awards (1930)
All Quiet on the Western Front
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) Director: Lewis Milestone The first great anti-war film based on Erin Maria Remarque’s novel of the same name (1929). Remarque had experience first-hand as a German soldier during the war. The film was made on a budget of $1.25 million for Universal Pictures, under the leadership of Carl Laemmie, … Continue reading All Quiet on the Western Front
