#oscars 14

In my career, I thought I've never wanted to get anywhere in particular. I just wanted to work with interesting people on interesting projects.

I applaud Women in Film - not only for celebrating the successes of women, but for providing a safety network to mentor women and to discuss the particular issues that arise in a very male-dominated industry.

Oscars Year 14 Best Actor winner, Gary Cooper, Sergeant York and nominees, Walter Huston, All That Money Can Buy, Orson Welles, Citizen Kane, Robert Montgomery, Here Comes Mr. Jordan and Cary Grant, Penny Serenade. 

The late thirties and early forties loved a strange monster movie, and this is a pretty fun one about a woman sick of her life who volunteers for a scientist to experiment on her and try to turn her invisible. It’s short, which helps, and a pretty cute little film, albeit a slight one. 6/10.

This movie took me by total surprise. Not only does it touch on subjects rare for film to devote time to even today - miscarriage being the big one, but it provides a wonderful story for the wonderful Irene Dunne and Cary Grant to sink their teeth into. They’re honestly at their best in this film, both tragic and hopeful, desolate and charming, and their losses are felt so desperately from the beginning. It also has the benefit of a stint of it set in Japan without yellowface which is pretty remarkable in and of itself. 8/10.

Greer Garson really delivers in this moving film about a woman trying to provide a future for children usually ignored by the state. I totally cried. More than once. My main criticism though is that the first half is too long, and the story sags under the love story between Edna and Sam and soars with  Edna’s career. If they’d cut some of the former this movie could’ve been straight up magic. 7/10.

Gary Cooper mugs pleasantly at the camera in this rags-to-riches story about a small town boy who becomes a formidable soldier. It’s a slow starter, but develops to a satisfying enough conclusion, albeit a cliche one. You got to wonder how much this film was tinted by the Second World War which the world was in the midst of when this was made, and it comes through in the way it romanticises the life of a soldier. 6/10.

It’s so weird to think that these films were being made during World War II - it’s not that it makes light of what was happening in Germany, not at all, but it feels thin on the ground, with caricatures for villains and strange, shouldered romance. I don’t necessarily think that these sorts of events always need to be approached in a way that tackles them seriously, but the timing is just so strange for this small film. The cast is charming though, and the leads have palpable chemistry. It helps that it is directed so well by Carol Reed too. 7/10.