And the Winner Is — 1935

Our family is working our way through Oscar winners and whichever nominees take our fancy. Also as they are available, since these early films continued to be hard to find.

For the 1935 Oscars we were able to see a lot of movies and were struck again by the variety of nominees, with a lot of light hearted films included.

WINNER

A rogue reporter trailing a runaway heiress for a big story joins her on a bus heading from Florida to New York and they end up stuck with each other when the bus leaves them behind at one of the stops along the way.

I love the fact that the stars' names were bigger than the movie name on the poster. Directed by Frank Capra during his most prolific period, this is a movie that is practically perfect in every way ... it's hard to believe this movie is 85 years old! It holds up so well! It was the first screwball comedy and has a lot to say about class distinctions, albeit in such an entertaining fashion that you don't realize it until later. 

I've seen this many times and it never disappoints. I suspect this will be my favorite Oscar winner for some years to come as we proceed.

I will add that Imitation of Life gave this a run for its money as a household favorite. Do try it.

 NOMINEES

A husband and wife detective team takes on the search for a missing inventor and almost get killed for their efforts.

We've seen this enough times that we didn't want to repeat it. Overall funny and enjoyable. Worthy of nomination but not as good as It Happened One Night.

Seeking a divorce from her absentee husband, Mimi Glossop travels to an English seaside resort. There she falls in love with dancer Guy Holden, whom she later mistakes for the corespondent her lawyer hired.

It was a real pleasure to watch Astaire and Rogers shine in this gorgeous piece of comic fluff. Their chemistry is undeniable and they are supported by talented comedic actors who enjoy their own minor scenes now and then. The ordering of tea, the silhouettes fooling the corespondent who I loved so much, the whistling with the bellboy - these all add richness to the movie.

The queen of Egypt barges the Nile and flirts with Mark Antony and Julius Caesar.

Here's Claudette Colbert again! (I think she made 6 movies that year.) This was a much grander spectacle than I expected and it could hold up today on that basis alone. However, I also liked Colbert's performance which is what I was really curious about since I've only seen her in It Happened One Night. Very enjoyable as an addition to our Oscar nominees viewing.

A struggling widow and her daughter take in a black housekeeper and her fair-skinned daughter. The two women start a successful business but face familial, identity, and racial issues along the way.

We were all surprised at how much we liked this tale of two mothers — one black, one white — who become good friends as they struggle together against the world in raising their daughters and earning a living. It tackled surprising issues when you consider everyday life for black Americans in 1934.

I really love the 1935 winner - It Happened One Night - but we thought Imitation of Life was robbed by not winning. I was especially interested to see Claudette Colbert in her third movie nominated for a 1935 Oscar. She was red hot that year and her performance here was good.

However, it was Louise Beavers who really stood out. We'd seen her previously in She Done Him Wrong, the Mae West film that was nominated for the 1934 Oscars. In that film Beavers played a stereotypical, giggling, joking maid. Here she was allowed a role that was very unusual for any black actor of the time. Most definitely she was robbed by having no Oscar nomination for her performance, most probably because she was black as newspapers at the time pointed out.

I especially liked the portrayal of the friendship between the two women after reading that the book from which the story was adapted was inspired by a road trip to Canada the author took with her friend, the African-American short-story writer and folklorist Zora Neale Hurston.

This is one worth watching for a lot of reasons.

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All the Oscar viewing is here.