by Allan Fish
As usual, straight to the results…a tie and several landslides…
Best Picture All Quiet on the Western Front, US & Earth, USSR (4 votes each)
Best Director Alexander Dovzhenko, Earth (4 votes)
Best Short A Propos de Nice, France, Jean Vigo (4 votes)
Best Actor Edward G.Robinson, Little Caesar (6 votes)
Best Actress Marlene Dietrich, The Blue Angel (12 votes – UNANIMOUS)
Best Supp Actor Louis Wolheim, All Quiet on the Western Front (8 votes)
Best Supp Actress Beryl Mercer, All Quiet on the Western Front (7 votes)
—
And straight on to my choices…can I just reiterate in response to a couple of emails, that Short films have to be under 40m in length. So 38m is short, 45m is a feature.
Best Picture L’AGE D’OR, France/Spain
Best Short HOG WILD, US, James Parrott
Best Director Lewis Milestone, All Quiet on the Western Front
Best Actor Edward G.Robinson, Little Caesar
Best Actress Marlene Dietrich, The Blue Angel
Best Supporting Actor Louis Wolheim, All Quiet on the Western Front
Best Supporting Actress Marie Dressler, Anna Christie
—
So on to 1931…
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Best Picture/Director
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Á Nous la Liberté (France…René Clair)
An American Tragedy (US…Josef Von Sternberg)
Ariane (Germany…Paul Czinner)
Bad Girl (US…Frank Borzage)
Beau Hunks (US…James W.Horne)
Before Dawn (Japan…Teinosuke Kinugasa)
Berlin Alexanderplatz (Germany…Phil Jutzi)
The Big Christening (Norway…Tancred Ibsen)
The Big Gamble (US…Fred Niblo)
Blonde Crazy (US…Roy del Ruth)
The Champ (US…King Vidor)
La Chienne (France…Jean Renoir)
City Lights (US…Charles Chaplin)
City Streets (US…Rouben Mamoulian)
Congress Dances (Germany…Erik Charrell)
The Criminal Code (US…Howard Hawks)
Daphnis and Chloe (Greece…Orestis Laskos)
Dishonored (US…Josef Von Sternberg)
Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde (US…Rouben Mamoulian)
Dracula (US…Tod Browning)
Dracula (Spanish version) (US…George Melford)
Die Dreigroschenoper (Germany…G.W.Pabst)
Emil and the Detectives (Germany…Gerhard Lamprecht)
Enthusiasm (USSR…Dziga Vertov)
Five Star Final (US…Mervyn le Roy)
Frankenstein (US…James Whale)
From Saturday to Sunday (Czechoslovakia…Gustav Machaty)
The Front Page (US…Lewis Milestone)
Girls About Town (US…George Cukor)
Golden Mountains (USSR…Sergei Yutkevich)
The Guardsman (US…Sidney Franklin)
Hell on Earth (Germany…Viktor Trivas)
Illicit (US…Archie Mayo)
Kameradschaft (Germany…G.W.Pabst)
The Last Flight (US…William Dieterle)
Limite (Brazil…Mario Peixoto)
Lonely Wives (US…Russell Mack)
Love and Duty (China…Bu Wancang)
M (Germany…Fritz Lang)
Mädchen in Uniform (Germany…Leontine Sagan)
The Maltese Falcon (US…Roy del Ruth)
Marius (France…Alexander Korda)
Mata Hari (US…George Fitzmaurice)
Millie (US…John Francis Dillon)
Le Million (France…René Clair)
The Miracle Woman (US…Frank Capra)
Monkey Business (US…Norman Z.McLeod)
Muñequitas Porteñas (Argentina…José A.Ferreyra)
The Murderer Dimitri Karamazov (Germany…Fedor Ozep)
My Past (US…Roy del Ruth)
The Neighbour’s Wife and Mine (Japan…Heinosuke Gosho)
Night Nurse (US…William A.Wellman)
Odna (USSR…Leonid Trauberg, Grigori Kozintsev)
On purge Bébé (France…Jean Renoir)
One Night (Sweden…Gustaf Molander)
Le Parfum de la Dame en Noir (France…Marcel l’Herbier)
The Peach Girl (China…Bu Wancang)
Peach-O-Reno (US…William A.Seiter)
Platinum Blonde (US…Frank Capra)
The Public Enemy (US…William A.Wellman)
Quick Millions (US…Rowland Brown)
Resurrectio (Italy…Alessandro Blasetti)
Safe in Hell (US…William A.Wellman)
Seven Seas (Japan…Hiroshi Shimizu)
Silver Stream (Japan…Hiroshi Shimizu)
The Smiling Lieutenant (US…Ernst Lubitsch)
Street Scene (US…King Vidor)
The Struggle (US…D.W.Griffith)
Tabu (US…Friedrich W.Murnau)
Terra Madre (Italy…Alessandro Blasetti)
The Theft of the Mona Lisa (Germany…Géza von Bolváry)
Tokyo Chorus (Japan…Yasujiro Ozu)
Transatlantic (US…William K.Howard)
The Trunks of Mr O.F. (Germany…Alexis Granowsky)
Waterloo Bridge (US…James Whale)
Working Girls (US…Dorothy Arzner)
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Best Short
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Autumn Fire (US…Herman G.Weinberg)
Bimbo’s Initiation (US…Dave Fleischer)
Come Clean (US…James W.Horne)
Dizzy Red Riding Hood (US…Dave Fleischer)
Egyptian Melodies (US…Wilfred Jackson)
Flunky, Work Hard (Japan…Mikio Naruse)
Industrial Britain (UK…Robert J.Flaherty, Basil Wright, Arthur Elton)
Laughing Gravy (US…James W.Horne)
Mother Goose Melodies (US…Bert Gillett)
The Ugly Duckling (US…Wilfred Jackson)
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Best Actor
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John Barrymore Svengali
Lionel Barrymore A Free Soul
Richard Barthelmess The Last Flight
Wallace Beery The Champ
James Cagney Blonde Crazy
James Cagney The Public Enemy
Charles Chaplin City Lights
Maurice Chevalier The Smiling Lieutenant
Ricardo Cortez The Maltese Falcon
Rudolf Forster Die Dreigroschenoper
Heinrich George Berlin Alexanderplatz
Edmund Gwenn The Skin Game
Walter Huston The Criminal Code
Boris Karloff Frankenstein
Fritz Kortner The Murderer Dimitri Karamazov
Peter Lorre M
Jacques Louvigny On Purge Bébé
Bela Lugosi Dracula
Alfred Lunt The Guardsman
Fredric March Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Adolphe Menjou The Front Page
Robert Montgomery Private Lives
Pat O’Brien The Front Page
Tokihiko Okada Tokyo Chorus
Raimu Marius
Edward G.Robinson Five Star Final
Hal Skelly The Struggle
Michel Simon La Chienne
Spencer Tracy Quick Millions
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Best Actress
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Elisabeth Bergner Ariane
Helen Chandler The Last Flight
Virginia Cherrill City Lights
Mae Clarke Waterloo Bridge
Marlene Dietrich Dishonored
Irene Dunne Cimarron
Sally Eilers Bad Girl
Lynn Fontanne The Guardsman
Greta Garbo Mata Hari
Lilian Harvey Congress Dances
Helen Hayes The Sin of Madelin Claudet
Ruan Lingyu Love and Duty
Ruan Lingyu The Peach Girl
Dorothy Mackaill Safe in Hell
Magda Maderova From Saturday to Sunday
Marguerite Pierry On Purge Bébé
Norma Shearer Private Lives
Sylvia Sidney City Streets
Sylvia Sidney Street Scene
Barbara Stanwyck The Miracle Woman
Barbara Stanwyck Night Nurse
Anna Sten The Murderer Dimitri Karamazov
Hertha Thiele Mädchen in Uniform
Dorothea Wieck Mädchen in Uniform
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Best Supporting Actor
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Walter Catlett The Front Page
Fernard Charpin Marius
Dwight Frye Dracula
Boris Karloff Five Star Final
Frederick Kerr Frankenstein
Harry Myers City Lights
Elliott Nugent The Last Flight
Paul Olivier Le Million
Charles Ruggles The Smiling Lieutenant
Michel Simon On Purge Bébé
Edward Van Sloan Dracula
Edward Van Sloan Frankenstein
Conrad Veidt Congress Dances
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Best Supporting Actress
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Joan Blondell Night Nurse
Mae Clarke The Front Page
Claudette Colbert The Smiling Lieutenant
Orane Demazis Marius
Miriam Hopkins Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Miriam Hopkins The Smiling Lieutenant
Lotte Lenya Die Dreigroschenoper
Aline MacMahon Five Star Final
Marian Marsh Svengali
Una Merkel The Maltese Falcon
Sylvia Sidney An American Tragedy
Lilyan Tashman Girls About Town
Estelle Taylor Cimarron
Lupita Tovar Dracula (Spanish version)
Cora Witherspoon Peach O-Reno
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A truly exceptional year with gems from Rene Clair, Jean Renoir, William Dieterle, James Whale, Wancang Bu among others. Chaplin’s supreme masterpiece and the greatest German film of all-time take the top two prizes from me.
Best Picture: City Lights
Best Director: Fritz Lang (M)
Best Actor: Fredric March (Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde)
Best Actress: Ryan Lingyu (Love and Duty)
Best Supporting Actor: Dwight Frye (Dracula)
Best Supporting Actress: Sylvia Sydney (An American Tragedy)
Best Short: Bimbo’s Initiation
I vote “Frankenstein” for best film in 1931.
I vote Fritz Lang for best director (“M”) in 1931.
I vote “The Ugly Duckling” for best short in 1931.
I vote Peter Lorre for best actor in “M” in 1931.
I vote Dwight Frye for best supporting actor in “Dracula” in 1931.
I vote Lupita Tovar for best supporting actress in “Dracula (Spanish Version)” in 1931.
No Best Actress?
haven’t seen any of those, sorry.
That’s what the Madchen You Tube link is for above, Jaime! Although now it may be too late, as Allan tabulates in a few hours…
Picture: M
Director: Chaplin (City Lights)
Short: Dizzy Red Riding Hood
Actor: Fredric March Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Actress: Barbara Stanwyck The Miracle Woman
S.Actor: Dwight Frye Dracula
S.Actress: Miriam Hopkins Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Great to have you here sirrefevas!!
Tough, tough choices, especially for Best Actor. I notice that you don’t have the year’s Oscar winner, Wesley Ruggles’s Cimarron, on your “short” list — but after watching it this weekend I can’t quarrel with you. So….
Picture: Frankenstein
Director: Whale
Actress: Stanwyck, Night Nurse
S. Actor: Frye — but where are Harry Meyers for City Lights and Van Sloan for Dracula?
S. Actress: Hopkins, Jekyll & Hyde
Short: Bimbo’s Initiation
Actor: Damn…let’s reduce this to an Academy-friendly top five. Not so easy this year, but my favorites are Cagney, Karloff, Lorre, Lugosi and Menjou — four making career-defining breakthroughs, the fifth in a transformative character turn. I feel bad leaving J. Barrymore, Chaplin and March off but we all have to make choices. 1931 has more of my favorite male acting performances than any other year but my ultimate choice is Cagney, if only because I anticipate returning to Karloff later.
Samuel—
I agree with you that this year is loaded with great turns by lead actors. To illustrate this further, my own runner-up choice to March would be Michel Simon for Renoir’s LA CHIENNE, another to add to your defining list. And the way you will wait for Karloff for later, is precisely what I am doing with Cagney, even though I honestly believe March was tops. I believe Karloff’s greatest performance was in 1945’s THE BODY SNATCHER for Val Lewton as Cabman Grey.
But who could argue with you on his work in the film you voted tops here?
I;ll stick them on for you, Samuel.
What a year!
Feature: The Public Enemy
Short: Dizzy Red Riding Hood
Director: Fritz Lang (M)
Actor: Boris Karloff (Frankenstein) (this was the toughest category of all, maybe the most competitive of any category any year so far for me; in any other year Lorre, Chaplin, Cagney, or Beery could win – those are some of my favorite performances of all time)
Actress: Hertha Thiele (Madchen in Uniform)
Supporting Actor: Dwight Frye (Dracula)
Supporting Actress: Cora Witherspoon (Peach-O-Reno)
Screenplay: City Lights
Cinematography: Tabu
Editing: Berlin Alexanderplatz
honorable mention: The Struggle (I kept going back and forth between this & Public Enemy; it’s extremely underrated, but ultimately I think the Cagney is my favorite of the year; and White Heat will be edged out by Third Man in ’49 – though Cagney’s sure to get my nod for Actor that year – so this’ll be the year one of his films gets my top vote. But man, it was tough to choose)
Joel—
I say this humbly and with only engaging discussion in mind, but 1949 is another year where the lead actor reigns supreme. Cagney is certainly strongly in the mix (his greatest performances for me were in ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES and YANKEE DOODLE DANDY) but I will probably be voting for:
Dennis Price (Kind Hearts and Coronets)
Then we have:
Robert Ryan (The Set-Up)
Chishu Ryu (Late Spring)
Gérard Philipe (Une si Jolie Petit Plage)
Edmund O’Brien (D.O.A.)
Ray Milland (Alias Nick Beal)
Joseph Cotten (The Third Man)
Broderick Crawford (All the King’s Men)
Kirk Douglas (Champion)
Toshiro Mifune (Stray Dog)
Spencer Tracy (Adam’s Rib)
Anton Wolbrook (The Queen of Spades)
Jean Marais (Orphee)
John Wayne (She Wore a Yellow Ribbon)
Gregory Peck (Twelve O’Clock High)
You see the dilemma we are in? But I’m sure you are well aware of it, and that Cagney for WHITE HEAT remains a superlative choice regardless. There are actually a few more too we can add like Richard Todd for THE HASTY HEART and John Dahl for GUN CRAZY. An incedible year for acting.
Some tough challengers, but it’s not like ’31 for me because Cody Jarrett is probably one of my top 10 favorite film characters of all time. Luckily Harry Lime, possibly another top 10 or top 20, will be in the Supporting category and not provide competition – what an impression to make in just 3 scenes, only one of which he speaks in! Here comes Mr. Wu…
And three others are haunting me here:
Zhao Dan (Crows and Sparrows)
Edouard Dermit (Les Enfants Terribles)
James Mason (The Reckless Moment)
God, not Dhermitte. I love Les Enf, but it’s universally recognised that Edouard was only in those films because he was Cocteau’s gay toyboy and he had the acting ability of a log. It was all about the two girls in Enfants.
It may well be “universally acknowledged” that Dermithe was Cocteau’s boy toy, and it is true that the girls were excellent there, but neither revelation has anything to do with the excellence of Dermithe’s performance, a position that far more than I have confirmed. A good number of Melville scholars and critics have issued praise for his work here.
“A good number?” OK, quote me three reputable critics who praise Dermithe’s work in the film…
I’d have to research it, but be rest assured when I was studying Melville and this particular film I read opinions that felt Dermithe was impressive. Sadoul for one. And some of the Melville scholars. If I have time later today I will attempt to locate the sources.
The only people who could have considered Dermithe impressive were those impressed by the emoting of the zombies in the mall in Dawn of the Dead. Infact they were probably better, they felt more real.
Now I will have 1949 on my mind all day! LOL! Ironically enough, while Alec Guiness is the best choice that year for Best Supporting Actor (again for KIND HEARTS) how do you choose between KIND HEART’s Joan Greenwood and WHITE HEAT’s Margaret Wycherly for Best Supporting Actress?
I’ll take the Fifth.
Greenwood, though I’ll admit unfair factors are coming into play. 😉
Yes, nobody would want to sleep with Wycherley.
Well, Freud might say Cagney did, haha…
Yes Greenwood rates a slight edge for me, hence my listing her first. But Wycherly was terrific, Freudian implications and all.
On a side note I’m kind of bummed not to see more love for the Madchen gal pals, though I don’t think the film’s on Netflix. But it is in its entirety here:
I guess Stanwyck will walk away with it here – I haven’t seen Night Nurse myself but barring some major upset I’m forgetting right now, she’ll walk away with the prize for Baby Face in ’33, at least as far as I’m concerned. Next year belongs to Joan Bennett for Me & My Gal. So many great female performances from this era, especially in the fast-talking, hard-edged category.
Oops:
Amazingly, Thiele and Wieck were actually the exact same age!
The Madchen girls are excellent I quite agree Joel, and I LOVE the film as well. But Ryan Lingyu’s performance in LOVE AND DUTY and the same year’s THE PEACH GIRL eclipses them narrowly in my humble opinion. I know Allan feels the same way.
But posting the film here is a great move.
Well she’s on target to get my ’34 award for The Goddess…at the rate I’m going on here I’ll have declared all my future winners and can go home haha.
LOL Joel!!!!!!!
Yes we are definitely moving ahead of ourselves here! haha. I do agree with you on Lingyu once again carrying the day in 1934 for THE GODDESS.
PICTURE: CITY LIGHTS
DIRECTOR: Charlie Chaplin (City Lights)
SHORT: BIMBO’S INITIATION (Max and Dave Fleischer)
ACTOR: Boris Karloff (Frankenstein)
ACTRESS: Ryan Lingyu (Love and Duty)
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Dwight Frye (Dracula)
****NOTE: NO HARRY MYERS in CITY LIGHTS???? If he were in the running I’d have voted for him in a heartbeat!!!!!!! FOUL!!!!!!!!!!
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Sylvia Sidney (An American Tregedy)
He is now Dennis, calm down.
Then change my vote to MYERS for BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR and scrap Frye…
Best Picture: M
Best Director: Fritz Lang
Best Actor: Fredric March
Best Actress: Virginia Cherill
Top Five: 1. M 2. City Lights 3. Dr Jeckyll And Mr Hyde 4. A Nous La Liberte 5. Frankenstein
Great choices as always Maurizio.
1931 – well, it’s all downhill from here anyway…
Best Picture: M (all downhill from there, for that matter)
Director: Fritz Lang
Lead Actor: Peter Lorre (M)
Supporting Actor: Dwight Frye (Dracula) – this also might be my favorite supporting performance of all time…
Lead Actress: Barbara Stanwyck (Miracle Woman, if I have to choose one)
Supporting Actress: Joan Blondell (Night Nurse)
Short: shouldn’t Flunky! Work Hard be an option? I’m not sure exactly how long it is, or how long it should be, though… I’m also tempted to nominate Douro, Working River – which has the added distinction of being the only film from 1931 directed by someone still active today
Playing with other categories:
Cinematography = Joseph Walker, Platinum Blonde
Screenplay = Thea von Harbou & Lang for M
Sound design = M – though this is a great year for sound. Before everyone figured out how films were supposed to sound, they were all making it up as they went, and the results are exhilarating. M, Enthusiasm, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Platinum Blonde, etc. are all endlessly inventive and surprising.
Editing = Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Tremendous comment Weeping Sam! Your weekly appearances here are exceedingly appreciated!
One of the best years of the 30s!
Best Picture: City Lights
Best Director: Fritz Lang (M)
Best Actor: Peter Lorre (M)
Best Actress: Marlene Dietrich (Dishonored)
Best Supporting Actor: Dwight Frye (Dracula)
Best Supporting Actress: Miriam Hopkins (Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde)
Film: City Lights
Director: Chaplin
Actor: March
Actress: Stanwyck -The Miracle Woman-
Supporting Actor: Frye
Supporting Actress: Hopkins – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde-
Picture / La chienne
Director / Charlie Chaplin / City Lights
Actor / Peter Lorre / M
Actress / Mary Astor / Other Men’s Women
Supporting Actor / Dwight Frye / Dracula
Supporting Actress / Marian Marsh / Svengali
If Flunky! Work Hard is eligible for short as weepingsam has suggested then I’ll go with that–otherwise I got nothing.
I’m probably going with La chienne over City Lights only because I saw it for the first time last month and I can’t get it out of my head, but I don’t think I’m hurting Chaplin any–and it’s certainly as accomplished a film.
Peter–
Truth be told I envy you for that vote for LA CHIENNE. It’s a masterpiece without a doubt, methinks.
It’s eligible so has been added.
I did not know it was eligible, or didn’t bother to do the research beyond your practically all-encompassing list. I will now follow Weepsam’s and Peter’s lead and change my vote above through word press, as I am extremely fond of this title, and first saw it at the Naruse Festival at the Film Forum five years ago. BIMBO’S INITIATION remains a seminal and influential work that is really even with the Naruse, but I will go with the Japanese master.
Well, it’s added, but it really shouldn’t be as it’s a 38m surviving version of a partly lost film. It was a feature, so I’m uncomfortable with regarding it as a short. A short should be the length it is, end of story.
You know what, that is a compelling point. As a result I will go back now to my original choice of BIMBO’S INITIATION.
I figured that was the reason (it being a truncated feature)…
Yes, I mean taken to extremes we could include the 10 surviving seconds of Bara’s Cleopatra as a nominee as a short film.
“M” and Lang ad infinitum. Nobody wake me when it loses.
Interesting to see the Bimbo vs. Dizzy dynamic here. I wonder if Dizzy is hurt by its mental connection to other, perhaps superior Riding Hood take-offs, particularly Avery’s? But it’s pretty strong on its own. Personally, watching them both I feel the concept and catchy “Wanna be a member, wanna be a member?” of Bimbo’s Initiation probably stand out more, but that Dizzy has the faster, more entertaining pace and some cleverer bits. Interesting to watch the Ugly Duckling one too – the difference between that and the ’39 version shows so much about how quickly Disney evolved in the 30s, though part of me prefers their cruder cartooning of the early sound era for some reason (though they had a wonderfully lush color palette in the later Sillie Symphonies).
What I find most surprising here is that the short seems all bout Bimbo vs Betty. I mean, what about poor Laughing Gravy, you can’t all be Laurel and Hardy philistines.
At the risk of outting myself, I don’t generally find L&H laugh out loud funny. I smile, occasionally chuckle, but for the most part they don’t quite hit me – I suppose it’s the pacing; I prefer less time to ancitipate the gags, personally (humor is so subjective…one reason I can’t see my way to joining the comedy countdown). I haven’t seen this one though so I’ll take a look and maybe change my vote. I don’t find any of the shorts this week particularly masterpiece-level – as against, say, a ’33 (3 Little Pigs v. Snow White v. Zero de Conduite, Betty will get my vote but it will hurt both to snub the Vigo and to see it, inevitably, beat my favorite cartoon in the general poll) or ’43 (where the forced decision between Red Hot Riding Hood and Meshes of the Afternoon makes me want to imitate the wolf in that first film and put a gun to my head – Deren will get it, but man how I wish I could mentally move the Avery to another year).
Felt the same with Big Business against The Skeleton Dance.
This is a tough one. I’m tempted to go with all City Lights here, but I feel it’s not quite the film that Modern Times is and I’ll spread the love for Modern Times when 1936 comes around. M to me is better than City Lights in the end.
Pic- M, Dir- Lang, Actor-Chaplin, Actress- Cherrill, Supp Actor-Frye, Supp Actress- Colbert
Oh and wait….no Animal Crackers on the nominees list???? 😉 I guess that’ll be my guilty pleasure favorite of 1931.
Animal Crackers was 1930, Jon. Monkey Business was the Marx dose for 31.
Oh no you’re right!!! Haha! Sorry.
Film – City Lights
Director – Charlie Chaplin
Actor – Charlie Chaplin
Actress – Barbara Stanwyck
Supporting Actor – Dwight Frye
Supporting Actress – Miriam Hopkins (Lubitsch)
Short – Bimbo’s Initiation
A very difficult decision between ‘City Lights,’ ‘M’ and ‘Frankenstein.’
I’ll go with Chaplin, but like Sam will opt for Fritz Lang for director.
Best Film: City Lights
Best Director: Lang
Best Actor: March
Best Actress: Cherill
Best Supporting Actor: Frye
Best Supporting Actress: Sydney
Frankenstein
Charlie Chaplin
Frederic March
Barbara Stanwyck for Miracle Woman
Dwight Frye
Miriam Hopkins for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. hyde
Stanwyck for Capra’s forgotten masterpiece would be my choice if done in the way of the academy, Davis – ie. foreign performance out – as she was the best of the US.
On a tangent, we can probably start to discuss best original scores now, if for amusement purposes only. I imagine it would be Chaplin in a walk this year, but I’d be interested in alternatives.
It is Chaplin in a walk for sure Samuel.
I was very tempted to include scores as a category, but it’s too much, but whoever wants to vote for one can vote. Yes, Chaplin would win for 1931, but Auric for A Nous la Liberte and Le Million makes sure it’s hardly a walk.
The Clairs are the ones I was indeed thinking of as the runners-up.
I would strongly recommend you reconsider at this point to include scores, as I for one will be voting on them.
It’s another category for me to list. You guys don’t believe in giving me a rest, do you?
The Academy didn’t start until 1934 and there are very little scores of note prior to then, bar a couple, but if you want a couple of years’ choices where it’s just two or three nominees, then fine. 1932 and 1933 should be walkovers anyway much more than 1931.
Alan, I’ll be watching A Nous la Liberte shortly and look forward to testing that proposition.
Yep that is absolutely right, there are few to none of any worth before 1934. That is is why I was reluctant to add runner-up to Samuel for 1931.
Steiner’s KING KONG of course is for 1933.
And his The Most Dangerous Game for 1932, which may even be a better score than Kong. 1933 had a few more scores, I suppose, one recalls Stothart’s work for Queen Christina and Steiner again for Little Women, but not a great deal. From 1934 I’ll add it as a category and I now kick myself as Sam will be relistening to his scores again instead of watching Game of Thrones.
Ha, not quite! I will be watching Game of Thrones. I listen to scores and other music when I’m on the PC, like now in fact!
THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME does boast a great Steiner score that comes close to the one for KONG, and bother are beautifully preserved on the Marco Polo CDs,
I am woefully ignorant of much of the work posted here for 1931, so —
Film: ‘M’
Director: Lang (‘M’)
Actor: Lorre (‘M’)
Actress: No vote
S. Actor: No Vote
S. Actress: Lotte Lenya (‘Threepenny Opera’)
Pic M
Dir Chaplin
Act Karloff
Actress Barbara Stanwyck
Supp Frye
Supp Hopkins
Which Stanwyck, Phil? TMW or NN?
Oh sorry. Night Nurse
Picture: The Public Enemy (though I’m torn between this, M and City Lights)
Director: Wellman
Actor: Cagney
Actress: Stanwyck (The Miracle Woman)
Supporting actor: Conrad Veidt
Supporting actress: Hopkins (Jekyll and Hyde)