The Oscar Project Interlude #2: Best of the 1940s

by Chris Marshall:

But what about the movies themselves? There were pros and cons to the 1940s. On one hand, there wasn’t a Great Ziegfeld moment where I absolutely hated the movie and couldn’t wait for it to be over. On the other hand, only two of the films seemed truly great. Granted, Casablanca is one of the greatest movies ever made, regardless of decade, so I should be grateful that was one of them.

Without further ado, my rankings for the 1940s:

1.       Casablanca (1943)

2.       Rebecca (1940)

3.       The Lost Weekend (1945)

4.       The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

5.       All the King’s Men (1949)

6.       Hamlet (1948)

7.       How Green Was My Valley (1941)

8.       Gentleman’s Agreement (1947)

9.       Going My Way (1944)

10.   Mrs. Miniver (1942)

See what I mean? If you’ve been reading every post, as I know you have, you’ll remember that I didn’t say anything particularly negative about any of those movies. The worst comment I made about Mrs. Miniver was that it was forgettable (true enough), but I have no animosity toward it. I don’t regret the time we spent together.

The Oscar Project #16: Casablanca (1943)

by Chris Marshall:

Amazingly, Casablanca was the earliest Best Picture winner I had ever seen before starting this project. I think I’ve watched it twice previously all the way through, and I was amazed even when I first saw it as a middle schooler. There’s absolutely nothing bad to say about it.

You know the story already. Rick runs a successful restaurant/café in Casablanca at the beginning of the Second World War. He is not a political man; he doesn’t stick his neck out for anybody. He has no interest in showing favoritism toward either the French or the Germans. He’s in exile from the United States for unspecified reasons, but this helps him remain neutral. He isn’t burdened by patriotism.

There’s no reason to go through all the details of the story, as they are already well known. The story itself is only one reason why this film is so revered, but that fact should not obscure its brilliance. It’s a love story, a morality tale, and a character study all rolled into one. If Rick, Ilsa, and Laszlo weren’t so well developed, the story would have lost all its power.

The Oscar Project #15: Mrs. Miniver (1942)

by Chris Marshall:

We are now into the heart of World War II. Mrs. Miniver was the first Best Picture winner produced after the United States became involved in the war, and it was also the first winner to mention the war at all. Casablanca and The Best Years of Our Lives will also involve the war, but they are set before and after American involvement.

Mrs. Miniver, on the other hand, takes place right in the middle of wartime London. Miniver herself is a housewife, her son is in the Air Force, and her husband was an architect who volunteered his boat (and himself) to evacuate some troops from Dunkirk. As you might expect, the son is called off to war and thus separated from his girlfriend, who is the daughter of a rich person they know somehow or another.

Is any of this sounding familiar? It’s very different in form and tone, but the storyline of middle-class child (whose family still somehow has its own maid and cook) falling in love with the child of rich family is basically the same thing as You Can’t Take It With You. Yes, the genders are reversed, and neither actor has the charm of Jimmy Stewart or Jean Arthur, but the similarities are still striking, right down to the feelings of superiority displayed by the wealthy parent(s).