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 #13: Rebecca (1940)

by Chris Marshall:

Ah, Rebecca. I knew a little bit about it going in, but it was only at the most superficial level. It was Alfred Hitchcock’s only Best Picture winner. It was based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier. It was something of a melodrama.

Other than the Hitchcock connection, none of those tidbits made me particularly excited about watching it. Then I learned it co-starred Laurence Olivier. Ok, he’s pretty good. Then I found out that it was more of a psychological thriller than a straight drama. All right, even better. Then I actually watched the thing.

And it was really good! The true star of the film, Joan Fontaine, turned in an immaculate performance as the brand new bride of the recently widowed Maxim de Winter (Olivier). As I started to write this, I realized I could not remember what her character’s name was; when I looked it up, I discovered that she was never given one, despite being in almost every scene. If she needed to be spoken to directly, it was always “Mrs. de Winter.”

Oh, and Rebecca’s dead. That’s important. The film’s namesake was Maxim’s first wife, who died in a drowning accident. According to some of her family members, the circumstances were quite suspicious indeed.