Success or Snub? The Broadway Melody (2nd Academy Awards Review Pt. 2)
The 2nd Academy Awards are interesting as it’s the only awards ceremony to not have a formal nominees list: they just said whoever won each category and that was that. Despite this, however, several scholars have gone back and looked at the records of what Academy members were considering to create an impromptu nominees list (good work there, fellas). According to these records, the other 4 nominees for Outstanding Picture were In Old Arizona, The Patriot, The Wind and The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (which I won't be reviewing because it's just 2 hours of all the biggest stars of MGM talking about how awesome they are; it's seriously the most self-indulgent thing I’ve ever watched in my life).
Of those four, apparently In Old Arizona was the biggest competition, as evidenced by Warner Baxter (the lead) winning the Oscar for Best Actor. As mentioned previously, it was also the first movie to record dialogue scenes outdoors (in other words, no controlled environment for sound). The movie’s more boring than The Broadway Melody but much less repugnant (minus some good old-fashioned Hollywood whitewashing) so make of that what you will. Not really much more to say on this one.
The Patriot is an interesting piece of history as it’s the only Best Picture nominee to have ever become a lost film, which is a damn shame as it seems like it was a good movie. That’s actually why writing these earlier Oscar reviews has been difficult as I am unable to be as thorough in my research as later reviews due to the large number of lost films. For those not knowing what a lost film is, it’s basically a film that is believed to be gone forever. Back in the day, producers would frequently destroy films once they’ve finished their theatrical runs to save on storage space. Also, movies were shot on silver nitrate, which is a highly flammable and dangerous compound that would combust into plumes of Hellfire unless they were stored properly in a low-heat, low-humidity environment. Producers stored them in sunbaked storage sheds in the middle of Los Angeles. Countless old films have been lost to fires.
So many old movies have been lost that Martin Scorsese's Film Foundation estimates that 75% of all movies from the silent era are gone forever. That's a scary number. Numerous foundations and causes are constantly trying to find all these old films and restore them for history's sake. In fact, Wings (1927) was thought to be lost for a long time before spare negatives were discovered in the 70s. Sadly, the same fate has yet to befall The Patriot. All that remains of it is a trailer. So if you click on the link and it looks like that old film reel your grandpa keeps in his attic, send it to the Library of Congress because they've been looking for it.
Before we move on to our proper snubs, I also have to acknowledge another three minor pieces of film history, one of those being Lights of New York.
While this isn’t lost, it’s extremely rare and is only available on a DVD that costs an outrageous amount of money. If I see it between the draft and the final publishing, I’ll acknowledge it but it appears that I have not done so. Lights of New York is significant because it was the first full-on, feature-length talkie. The Jazz Singer just had talking segments, this is the first movie where the characters are talking non-stop from beginning to end. That makes this one of the most noteworthy films of all time.
It came out in July of 1928 which you may notice is outside of the eligibility brackets for both of the first two Academy Awards: the first one ended in May and the second began in August. Now, you might think that I’m about to criticize them for this decision and failing to even acknowledge a film as noteworthy as Lights of New York but, well, here’s the thing. From the critical reviews I could dig up on this movie and the few clips that I saw, this movie isn’t very… um… what’s the word I’m looking for here…. good. By all accounts, it’s nothing more than a really crappy B-movie that made a ton of money because it happened to have the characters talking.
Our second piece of historical significance is On with the Show! which was the first ever color film…
Sort of… kinda… let me explain.
This would not have been the first time audiences had seen color on the big screen. The first usage of color actually goes back to 1903 with a French short called Vie et Pasion du Christ (Eng. Title: Life and Passion of Christ). From there, color had been used sporadically throughout the next twenty-something years, culminating in the development of a process called Technicolor. The process used to develop the film using Technicolor involved putting a beam splitter in the lens of the camera itself in conjuction with using a special solution to develop the film. Both of these were very difficult and expensive, so it was used sporadically and rarely. The alternative was stenciling in color to the film negatives themselves, which is why Life and Passion of Christ looks like crap.
As a result, this process was usually reserved for documentary films like With Our King and Queen Through India (1912). This is considered closer to the first real color film though it’s actually a series of short films, not really what you would call a full motion picture. In the rare case that color was used in a full motion picture, it would be used sparingly and saved for a big scene. So in The Phantom of the Opera (1925), it was used during the masquerade ball or in The Hollywood Revue of 1929, where it was saved for the finale.
On With the Show! was the first film to be fully in color, although it was still only a two-strip Technicolor process. What this means is that of the three primary colors that the human eye sees (red, green, blue), they could only process two. In this film's case, it’s red and blue, which gives the color a very strange look. Still, like Lights of New York, it is a first. All of this is ultimately irrelevant, however, since the color version is believed to be lost (outside of a short clip), the black-and-white version is very rare and, like Lights of New York, the film is by most accounts nothing special.
Our final piece of historical significance in cinematic history is the winner for the Academy Award for Best Actress which went to Mary Pickford in Coquette (a melodrama about a Southern belle who has to pick between 2 boys that actually has a nice and dark twist in the third act, film's not half-bad).
If you remember from chapter 1, Mary Pickford was one of the founding members of the Academy Awards ceremony and was one of the first Hollywood starlets to try out this newfangled “talkie” thing. She’s also the first instance on record of lobbying in Academy history, where she invited the judges over to her house to wine and dine and charm them into giving her the award, while other actresses weren’t even made aware of their consideration.
So, yes, this is the first time in Academy history that someone straight-up lobbied and played dirty for a glorified popularity award. This will be a running theme throughout this blog and is usually responsible for the most egregious snubs. In this case, while her performance in Coquette is good, it’s nothing special. It also allows me to segue into our five main snubs of today and, wouldn’t you know it, four of them happen to have been led by women (and yes, I think all four of them deserved the award more than Mary Pickford)?
As talkies were gaining more and more of a foothold in Hollywood, this time period saw the last hurrah of the silent era as some of the best silent films ever made came out and/or made their Stateside release. Three of them also happen to be foreign which one would argue made them ineligible for the Academy Awards. We’ll cover this more later on but, for now, let’s check out the snubs.
Going down the list, we’ve got Nosferatu, eine Symphonies des Grauens (Eng. Title: Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horror), The Wind, The Desert Song, The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog, and La Pasion de Jeanne d’Arc (Eng. Title: The Passion of Joan of Arc).
Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horror was originally released in Germany in 1922 but didn’t make its way over to the United States until 1929. Nosferatu is basically a rip-off of the Dracula tale (so much so that that’s the reason why it took so long to reach abroad; the film was mired in lawsuits from Bram Stoker’s estate): telling of a young real estate agent named Thomas Hutter (Gustav von Wangenheim) being told by his boss to sell a house to the mysterious Count Orlok (Max Schreck). Unfortunately, Orlok turns out to be a vampire known as Nosferatu who wishes to feast on an unsuspecting populace.
Besides being considered one of the very few silent movies that your average person today would have heard of, Nosferatu is also the first ever horror icon. Before Freddy Krueger, before Michael Myers, before Frankenstein’s Monster, there was Nosferatu. (Although if we’re going by American release dates, then the first horror icon would’ve been Lon Chaney’s Phantom of the Opera in 1925, which is also a great movie that I highly recommend.) It’s interesting as most other interpretations of the Dracula story tend to portray the Count as very regal and refined. Here, however, Max Schreck’s Nosferatu looks a lot more animalistic and feral.
What this movie really pioneered, though, were the shadows. There are so many cool shots of Nosferatu’s fangs and pointy nose pointing out of the darkness of his castle. As the sun goes down and the shadows lengthen, the creature only gets closer and closer. The climactic scene where Nosferatu stalks Thomas’ wife, Ellen (Greta Schröder) and you see his lengthy shadow silhouetted against the walls of the house as he rises the stairs is one of the most iconic shots in movie history and scared the crap out of audiences back in the day.
The atmosphere all throughout the movie is legendary and was a big influence on the silent era. By the time this movie hit the States for a wide release, it was already well known. You’d think that this would make it an easy shoe-in for the movie of that year but apparently not though, if we’re being totally fair, it was also at least 7 years old by this point so maybe we can let this one slide.
While I realize that The Wind was nominated for Outstanding Picture, I'm still putting it on the snub list. Both because nominees weren't announced and also because this is ten times the movie that The Broadway Melody is. The Wind revolves around a young woman named Letty (Lillian Gish) who moves out to a town in the Mojave Desert. There she exists as a fish out of water and must navigate the entourage of characters she meets, not all of whom are as friendly as they appear. (Hey, it’s like they always say, Mojave, mo’ problems, amirite?)
This movie uses its environment to its fullest advantage, turning the windswept desert into as much of a villain as the actual villain. The limited sets only add to the sense of claustrophobia and, as a result, the last act is a big step forward in the psychological horror genre.
Sadly, because it was released against the dawn of talkies, The Wind was doomed to a weak box office and was a moderate failure. It hasn’t been until recent years that it has come to be looked on as one of the best silent movies ever made. If you’re into the psychological horror films and want to see one of the big granddaddies of the genre, definitely give this one a watch.
The Desert Song stands out as one of the biggest snubs if we’re going just by American releases. Along with The Broadway Melody, this was one of the first ever musicals. In fact, there’s rumors that there was actually a competition between MGM (producers of The Broadway Melody) and Warner Bros. (producers of The Desert Song) to see who could make the first all-talkie musical. Warner Bros., eager to upstage MGM, also shot the film with the aforementioned two-strip Technicolor process. As a result, the post-production dragged on which inadvertently meant that The Broadway Melody beat The Desert Song into theaters and gained the title of first ever musical. If the shoe was on the other foot, it’s quite conceivable that The Desert Song would’ve won the Oscar.
And it would’ve been a more deserved win as this is a much better film. While it has some of the same stodginess, stationery cameras and clearly spliced-in audio that plague The Broadway Melody, The Desert Song has much more ambition to it. For one thing, it’s not a backstage musical, it’s an actual musical featuring characters singing about the story and their emotions. The Desert Song is a Robin Hood-esque tale about Moroccan rebels led by the mysterious Red Shadow (John Boles) rebelling against the cruel French army. Thus, instead of generic songs, the songs actually tend to reflect the setting somewhat.
The characters are likable, it does have a bit of a fun wit and the scale is much larger and more impressive, containing sweeping shots of the desert, horseback riders and grand operatic voices. Granted, it still shows its age in some areas as most of the film takes place in one location and it does drag but, in comparing the two films that were trying to bring Broadway plays to the silver screen, The Desert Song is far superior.
It honestly almost feels a little cheap that The Broadway Melody was given more respect by the Academy than The Desert Song. They were being worked on at the same time and ultimately came out within only 2 months of each other. You think that this would be nominated for something at least but apparently not.
The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog was the third movie made by Alfred Hitchcock and is often considered the first true Hitchcock film. If you’re familiar with his body of work and you go back to watch this movie, you can definitely see many of his isms already starting to shine through such as a serial killing villain, dark humor, a third-act twist and attractive blonde women being placed in mortal peril. Though this isn’t the only reason to watch The Lodger. I’m not joking when I say that this is one of Hitchcock's most overlooked movies and I think it’s in the upper half of his filmography.
London is in a panic as a serial killer known only as Jack the Ripper the Avenger is prowling the streets at night, murdering young women. Amidst this, a couple called the Buntings (Arthur Chesney and Marie Ault) rent out their spare room to a lodger (Ivor Novello) who seems to have a peculiar interest in both the case and their daughter, Daisy (June Tripp). Daisy, of course, fits the profile of most of the Avenger’s victims and, much to her parent’s chagrin, hits it off pretty well with the lodger and begins spending most of her free time with him. But is he a serial killer or just an oddball?
This is a great set-up and it features a great look as well as the nice twists and dark humor that made Hitchcock the oft-called “master of suspense.” The look of the London fog really comes through on the silver nitrate and also was a step forward with horror in the establishment of a sort of safe zone. Every time the characters are indoors, you know that they’re not going to get attacked by the Avenger. But, every time they go outside, you immediately get afraid because you never know what’s waiting in that fog.
This is also the film that helped bring the legend of Jack the Ripper to the silver screen. Granted, the character is called the Avenger but it’s pretty obviously based off of the Jack the Ripper killing spree and shows the most iconic version of the serial killer. The image of the bowler hat and long coat-wearing gentleman that haunts the foggy London streets, always at such a distance that you can only make out his vague shape. It’s easy to see the influence from Nosferatu here, as the Avenger fits right in with the great horror icons of the silent era (if interested in others, see also The Man Who Laughs (1928)).
And last, but not least, there’s The Passion of Joan of Arc, which was released in Denmark in April 1928 and France in October 1928 before coming to the States in early 1929. It tells the story of the last days of Joan of Arc (Renée Jeanne Falconetti), specifically her trial by the British clergy for heresy. Like Nosferatu before it, however, what people remember about this movie is its style and how unconventional and revolutionary it was.
The Passion of Joan of Arc pioneered the usage of close-ups in movies. Almost every single shot is a close-up and it helps create a very hostile and tense atmosphere and it instinctively puts you on the edge of your seat. Very little make-up was used on the actors and they were shown in harsh lighting. On top of that, Joan of Arc is often shown from high-angle shots while the judges are shown from a low angle. This all combines to really make the judges seem much more monstrous and threatening when you can see all their wrinkles and warts up close and personal while they loom over the camera.
The acting is also far more subtle than people were used to, especially for a silent film. Whenever Joan of Arc cries, it’s far more subdued which makes it a lot more realistic which makes it a lot more powerful. Compared to the big, grandiose expressions that any other silent movie would’ve made, it really stands out here. This is a style of acting that wouldn’t become more popular until much, much later in the 1960s and 70s. This movie was very ahead of its time in that way.
All of this combines to make one of the last great silent films that was instantly hailed as a masterpiece when it came out. In terms of holding up today, your mileage may vary on that front. Like I said, almost every single shot in the movie is a close-up and it makes for an interesting experiment, but I don’t think it always works. Sometimes the continuity between shots can feel a little jumpy and weird but, then again, maybe that’s the idea. If you’re into arthouse movies, maybe give this one a shot.
(Also, fun fact: this was considered a lost film for a long time too before an old reel was discovered in an abandoned insane asylum in Norway. Isn't that amazing to think about?)
So, yeah, that’s our five big movies on the snub list, all of which are far, far superior films to The Broadway Melody. This is a tough call in the fact that The Broadway Melody was somewhat revolutionary in its own right but, from my understanding, almost none of them were considered (excepting The Wind). Granted, three of them are foreign, but they were still beloved back in their day.
Taking the impact out of the equation, however, Nosferatu, The Wind, The Desert Song, The Lodger and The Passion of Joan of Arc are all much, much better movies than The Broadway Melody. More well-made, stronger themes and better conflicts. Hell, Renée Jeanne Falconetti’s performance as Joan of Arc is often studied by film scholars as one of the greatest performances in cinematic history. Kinda earned a Best Actress nod in that category, wouldn’t it? We’ll be going more into how the Academy has a long and tired record of snubbing foreign films in later installments but, for now, we can give them the benefit of the doubt and say that this was just a cute thing in Hollywood circles and wasn’t yet considered to be the caretaker of the arts that they pass themselves off as nowadays.
But even if we’re limiting the choices to just American ones, then both The Desert Song and The Wind were far superior films. But, on the other hand, The Desert Song did miss the boat and The Wind was a silent movie in a time where sound was becoming more and more popular so maybe it was already being seen as a little outdated at the time of the awards. But on the other (third, mutated) hand, they had the awards made specifically to stop sound movies and deem the most outstanding films of the year so why did they change their minds? But on the other (fourth, Goro from Mortal Kombat is counting for us) hand, it’s not like The Broadway Melody had no influence. But on the other (fifth, Goro’s also mutated) hand, it’s still a pretty crappy, sexist film. But-
I don’t know, I’m going around in circles at this point. I’m just going to defer to their mindset at the time and how they wanted to see Broadway musicals on the big screen. So, even by those standards, The Desert Song did it better. This was a…
SNUB!
Favorite Movies of 1928/29:
- La Pasion de Jeanne d'Arc (The Passion of Joan of Arc) (dir. Carl Theodor Dreyer)
- Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horror) (dir. F. W. Murnau)
- The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
- The Wind (dir. Victor Sjöström)
- White Shadows in the South Seas (dir. W. S. Van Dyke and Robert Flaherty)
Favorite Heroes:
- Gwynplaine (Conrad Veidt) (The Man Who Laughs)
- Joan of Arc (Renée Jeanne Falconetti) (La Pasion de Jeanne d'Arc (The Passion of Joan of Arc))
- Letty (Lillian Gish) (The Wind)
- Pierre/The Red Shadow (John Boles) (The Desert Song)
- The Cisco Kid and Sergeant Dunn (Warner Baxter and Edmund Lowe) (In Old Arizona)
Favorite Villains:
- Bishop Pierre Cauchon (Eugéne Silvain) (La Pasion de Jeanne d'Arc (The Passion of Joan of Arc))
- Captain Warwick (Camille Bardou) (La Pasion de Jeanne d'Arc (The Passion of Joan of Arc))
- Dr. Besant (John St. Polis) (Coquette)
- Nosferatu/Count Orlok (Max Schreck) (Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horror))
- The Avenger (The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog)
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