Friends, there are very few injustices that can be cured by blog but I think the Oscars is one of them. In this ongoing many-part series I will re-do the Oscars such that the appropriate people are recognized for their categories. You might ask me, why? Well, good question, but excuse me if I ask you a question: why not? EH?
Anyway, I was inspired to begin with the Best Original Song category because I happened upon the Wikipedia page for that award and was struck by a number of injustices over the years, and, well, it's an easy one to begin with since songs are about 1/50th as long as a feature film. So I can knock a whole decade of nominees off in a single evening, which is what I've done for the 1930s.
I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed going through this selection of music. Everything is charming in an old timey sort of way and there was only one song that was so awful that I just couldn't get through it. There is a certain sameness to it all, but that makes listening to them all sort of engrossing. The songs generate an atmosphere and your computer slowly morphs to to one of those old antique radios. It helps that almost all are of a very high quality; there was clearly love and sweat that went into these things. Unlike today, when the Best Original Song nominee is usually played over the closing credits as an afterthought, these were the centerpieces of movies. Often it seems like they served to ennoble cookie cutter fare that was pumped out of the studio system in those days. That's not so bad though, I wish we had something to make our trash a little shinier.
Let's get to it:
1934
Nominees: "The Continental" from The Gay Divorcee, "Caricoa" from Flying Down to Rio, "Love in Bloom" from She Loves Me Not.
Winner: "The Continental"
Who Should Have Won: It's an odd little bunch of nominees from the first year they gave out the award. "The Continental" is a peppy swinging number that Ginger Rogers sings to Fred Astaire. "Caricoa" is a sort of atmospheric piece from another Rodgers and Astaire movie: Flying Down to Rio (SPOILER ALERT: They get there.) "Love in Bloom" is treacly nonsense from Bing Crosby that sounds like an old Looney Toons parody of a crooner singing.
This one isn't even close. The Academy got it right. On it's own "The Continental" is a charming song that makes you want to dance in one of those old fancy night clubs while FDR fixes you a martini. But the way it's deployed in the movie is simply charming. I mean try not to smile through this scene between Rodgers and Astaire.
1935
Nominees: "Lullaby of Broadway" from Gold Diggers of 1935, "Lovely to Look at" from Roberta, "Cheek to Cheek" from Top Hat.
Winner: "Lullaby of Broadway"
Who Should Have Won: Three nominees and two of them are sung by Fred Astaire! If these Oscars were held today, he'd be a very busy man and would have to duck several poorly written jokes from Neil Patrick Harris. Luckily it was 1935 so the Oscars were held in Clark Gable's suite at the Los Angeles Hilton and nobody was yet tired of Herbert Hoover wisecracks.
As for the songs, "Lovely to Look at" is a quiet, nice, but sort of bland song from Astaire, so we can set it aside. "Lullaby of Broadway," the winner from that year, has stood the test of time. You'll find it in the 1980s musical about the 1930s, 42nd Street and many other places. In its 1930s context, it's featured in an extremely wonderful and bizarre scene in Gold Diggers of 1935 that almost makes me want to give it the retrospective Oscar.
As for the songs, "Lovely to Look at" is a quiet, nice, but sort of bland song from Astaire, so we can set it aside. "Lullaby of Broadway," the winner from that year, has stood the test of time. You'll find it in the 1980s musical about the 1930s, 42nd Street and many other places. In its 1930s context, it's featured in an extremely wonderful and bizarre scene in Gold Diggers of 1935 that almost makes me want to give it the retrospective Oscar.
But "Cheek to Cheek" is an all time classic. If you distilled Old Time Hollywood down to a single musical number you would probably get the concentrated essence that is "Cheek to Cheek." Woody Allen just stuck it in Purple Rose of Cairo to establish "THIS IS WHY MIA FARROW'S CHARACTER LIKES MOVIES." The lyrics to "Cheek to Cheek" are sweet without being sickly and are delivered so elegantly by Astaire. The warm glow present in the scene in Top Hat is unlike anything we currently have in movies. Today we'd have to load that scene up with layers of irony and humor to get the audience to accept a genuinely beautiful moment like the one between Rodgers and Astaire here (think "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow"), but somehow, in the long vanished Hollywood of the Great Depression musicals, it just works. Marvelous.
1936
1936
Nominees: "The Way You Look Tonight" from Swing Time, "I've Got You Under My Skin" from Born to Dance,"Pennies from Heaven" from Pennies from Heaven, "When Did You Leave Heaven" from Sing, Baby, Sing "Did I Remember" from Suzy, "A Melody from the Sky" from The Trail of the Lonesome Pine.
Winner: "The Way You Look Tonight"
Who Should Have Won: This was a really strong year. Of course there's "I've Got You Under My Skin" which became so famous as a Sinatra standard, here featured in the Jimmy Stewart musical, Born to Dance. And then there's "Pennies from Heaven" a nice Bing Crosby song about the sweet things in life needing some sadness to accentuate their flavor, a relevant message during the Depression. "When Did You Leave Heaven" and "A Melody from the Sky" are fine songs as well if nothing truly special.
"Did I Remember" may be my favorite discovery so far in doing this review (or whatever I'm doing). The recorded version I was able to find was from Billie Holliday, and it is a fantastic jazzy number that has an ever so slightly sardonic tone, lending a dose of irony to the relatively straightforward romantic lyrics. The portion of the film version in Suzy I was able to find online looks like it's broadly similar to the Holiday recording, and, even better, it features a very cute interaction between Jean Harlow and a young Cary Grant.
All that said, and as good as all of those songs are, "The Way You Look Tonight" absolutely deserved to win this Oscar. It is obviously a very familiar song, but it actually stunned me when I heard it again. It is a beautiful, haunting, and ever so slightly mournful in its acknowledgement of impermanence of a desirable present. It's even more poignant heard across the many eventful years since 1937 where Rodgers and Astaire grew old and died and became plaster legends. The scene in Swing Time is just as satisfying and sweet, and brought tears to my eyes.
1937
"Did I Remember" may be my favorite discovery so far in doing this review (or whatever I'm doing). The recorded version I was able to find was from Billie Holliday, and it is a fantastic jazzy number that has an ever so slightly sardonic tone, lending a dose of irony to the relatively straightforward romantic lyrics. The portion of the film version in Suzy I was able to find online looks like it's broadly similar to the Holiday recording, and, even better, it features a very cute interaction between Jean Harlow and a young Cary Grant.
All that said, and as good as all of those songs are, "The Way You Look Tonight" absolutely deserved to win this Oscar. It is obviously a very familiar song, but it actually stunned me when I heard it again. It is a beautiful, haunting, and ever so slightly mournful in its acknowledgement of impermanence of a desirable present. It's even more poignant heard across the many eventful years since 1937 where Rodgers and Astaire grew old and died and became plaster legends. The scene in Swing Time is just as satisfying and sweet, and brought tears to my eyes.
1937
Nominees: "Sweet Leilani" from Waikiki Wedding, "Whispers in the Dark" from Artists and Models, "Remember Me" from Mr. Dodd Takes the Air,"They Can't Take That Away from Me" from Shall We Dance ,"That Old Feeling" from Vogues of 1938 .
Winner: "Sweet Leilani"
Who Should Have Won: Well, certainly not "Sweet Leilani." I might just not be a huge Bing Crosby fan, but this one is terrible. Plodding and maudlin, it's actually difficult to get through. And the scene where it's featured is awkward Hawaiiansploitation complete with grass skirts, hammocks, and leis. This is a weak year though and I'm struggling to find a song that's not Fred Astaire singing to Ginger Rodgers like the last 2 I've picked. "Whispers in the Dark," "That Old Feeling," and "Remember Me" are all forgettable and of a type with many of the songs nominated during the 30s. There is a long intriguing long big band introduction, followed by a crooner belting for about 10 seconds, followed a few more minutes of big band action. It's hard to separate them! At least "Sweet Leilani" is something different, which may have been why it was picked for this year. They, like me, didn't want to give everything to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers.
But I really can't help it. While it's not as good as "The Way You Look Tonight" and "Cheek to Cheek," "They Can't Take that Away from Me" is a lovely George and Ira Gershwin number performed beautifully by Fred Astaire. Of the crop here, it's the best and so it should get my alternate universe Oscar. I don't like to give all these prizes to the Astaire and Rodgers musicals, but I can console myself with the fact that I'm giving George Gershwin his only Oscar by making the switch. He was posthumously nominated at the time, so I guess this is a double posthumous fake award. Congratulations(?), Mr. Gershwin.
1938
Nominees: "Thanks for the Memory"from The Big Broadcast of 1938, "Always and Always" from Mannequin, "Change Partners" from Carefree, "The Cowboy and the Lady" from The Cowboy and the Lady, "Dust" from Under Western Stars, "Jeepers Creepers" from Going Places, "Merrily We Live" from Merrily We Live, "A Mist over the Moon" from The Lady Objects, "My Own" from That Certain Age, "Now It Can Be Told" from Alexander's Ragtime Band.
Winner: "Thanks for the Memory"
Who Should Have Won: The most nominees ever! And this will start a trend that will go through the Forties of extremely bloated nomination lists until they got the category under control after the War. Irving Berlin makes it on the list twice here for two very different songs. "Change Partners" is a very sweet, quiet song sung by Fred Astaire in his penultimate film with Ginger Rodgers. It's the kind of song that would be sung by a lonely piano-man near closing time, or by Rowlf the Dog, for that matter. It seems of a piece with Berlin's earlier nominated work, the lovely "Cheek to Cheek." That's why it's so surprising that this is the same songwriter who gave us the puffed up "Now It Can Be Told" about the self-proclaimed "great love story" that can now be talked about (show, don't tell, Irving). Of course, this Berlin would go on to give us the hideous "God Bless America" in the 40s. I wish the Berlin of "Cheek to Cheek" and "Change Partners" had written the patriotic song so that good Americans attending baseball games would not be subjected to so much horror in the 7th inning.
"Jeepers Creepers" is a great song from the horse racing film, Going Places. That film is mostly notable for being a B-movie with two icons of the 20th century (Ronald Reagan and Louis Armstrong) in supporting roles. Armstrong's name isn't even on the movie posters for the film, and he performs "Jeepers Creepers as a racially stereotyped trainer singing to a horse. I'm not kidding. It's pretty awkward to watch from the 21st century. Despite all that, though, it's a very nice song, and it's the runner up, in my mind, to the Academy's correct choice of "Thanks for the Memory."
"Thanks for the Memory" is sung by Bob Hope in the variety musical movie Big Broadcast of 1938, which also starred WC Fields. Incidentally, the plot of the movie is insane. Here, read it. I've tried to do it justice in a sentence or two but I just keep failing. The song itself is about the lost relationship between Hope and one of the ex-wives that sent him to "alimony jail." (Seriously, read the plot.) Despite it's presence in a zany cash-grab variety musical, it actually feels very true and sad. The lyrics are clever and beautiful, and it makes for a magical movie moment. I can see now why it became Hope's signature song for the rest of his life.
1939
Nominees: "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz, "Faithful Forever" from Gulliver's Travels, "I Poured My Heart into a Song" from Second Fiddle, "Wishing" from Love Affair.
Winner: "Over the Rainbow"
Who Should Have Won: "Over the Rainbow." With apologies to the other nominated songs, not only is "Over the Rainbow" clearly the best original song of the epochal movie year of 1939, but it lays a strong claim to being the greatest movie song of all time. There are a number of reasons for this. First, is the high quality of the song itself. Ostensibly about a 16 year old girl from Kansas' daydreams, the combination of Judy Garland's haunting voice and the symbolic, archetype-laden lyrics lend the song a transcendent quality that has made it meaningful to every generation that's heard it. Second, is the song's presence in the most beloved, iconic film in American history. If this song had been in Gold Diggers of 1939, it would have still been a well known song, and probably Garland's signature (as "Thanks for the Memory" was to Bob Hope). But it's "Over the Rainbow's" presence in the Wizard of Oz that made it one of the touchstones of American culture.
These two characteristics have helped "Over the Rainbow" age very well; it's only become more poignant as the years have passed. The sad, hopeful song became synonymous with the tragic life of Judy Garland, whose time on the planet seemed one long hopeless search for the place she sang about in her youth. It is the deep sadness in Garland that made the song great. One could imagine a less talented or less troubled performer making the place over the rainbow sound like something that would be almost inevitably be found, rather than something that would always be slightly out of reach. (In fact, you don't have to imagine it....here it is) That interpretation isn't true to life, even if it is literally true for Dorothy. It's the sadness that makes the song so deeply true.
It's also the sadness that lent the song it's other major place in history: the unofficial anthem of Gay America. It's true that this is a cliche. For me, and perhaps for every gay man, the song began as a cliche. But if you've lived the unique sadness of being young and gay, the song stops being a joke and turns into a strange hopeful lament. Gays, as a rule, are among the most cynical members of the population, because even the most spoiled among us has had a little bit of emotional hardship to toughen us up. But when "Over the Rainbow" is played on the piano or sung by a Karaoke singer or blasted over a loudspeaker, it is listened to with great sincerity. At particular pregnant moments, you may see a tear pass down the face of someone that was just bragging about their threesome in graphic detail. That, my friends, is a song.
But I really can't help it. While it's not as good as "The Way You Look Tonight" and "Cheek to Cheek," "They Can't Take that Away from Me" is a lovely George and Ira Gershwin number performed beautifully by Fred Astaire. Of the crop here, it's the best and so it should get my alternate universe Oscar. I don't like to give all these prizes to the Astaire and Rodgers musicals, but I can console myself with the fact that I'm giving George Gershwin his only Oscar by making the switch. He was posthumously nominated at the time, so I guess this is a double posthumous fake award. Congratulations(?), Mr. Gershwin.
1938
Nominees: "Thanks for the Memory"from The Big Broadcast of 1938, "Always and Always" from Mannequin, "Change Partners" from Carefree, "The Cowboy and the Lady" from The Cowboy and the Lady, "Dust" from Under Western Stars, "Jeepers Creepers" from Going Places, "Merrily We Live" from Merrily We Live, "A Mist over the Moon" from The Lady Objects, "My Own" from That Certain Age, "Now It Can Be Told" from Alexander's Ragtime Band.
Winner: "Thanks for the Memory"
Who Should Have Won: The most nominees ever! And this will start a trend that will go through the Forties of extremely bloated nomination lists until they got the category under control after the War. Irving Berlin makes it on the list twice here for two very different songs. "Change Partners" is a very sweet, quiet song sung by Fred Astaire in his penultimate film with Ginger Rodgers. It's the kind of song that would be sung by a lonely piano-man near closing time, or by Rowlf the Dog, for that matter. It seems of a piece with Berlin's earlier nominated work, the lovely "Cheek to Cheek." That's why it's so surprising that this is the same songwriter who gave us the puffed up "Now It Can Be Told" about the self-proclaimed "great love story" that can now be talked about (show, don't tell, Irving). Of course, this Berlin would go on to give us the hideous "God Bless America" in the 40s. I wish the Berlin of "Cheek to Cheek" and "Change Partners" had written the patriotic song so that good Americans attending baseball games would not be subjected to so much horror in the 7th inning.
"Jeepers Creepers" is a great song from the horse racing film, Going Places. That film is mostly notable for being a B-movie with two icons of the 20th century (Ronald Reagan and Louis Armstrong) in supporting roles. Armstrong's name isn't even on the movie posters for the film, and he performs "Jeepers Creepers as a racially stereotyped trainer singing to a horse. I'm not kidding. It's pretty awkward to watch from the 21st century. Despite all that, though, it's a very nice song, and it's the runner up, in my mind, to the Academy's correct choice of "Thanks for the Memory."
"Thanks for the Memory" is sung by Bob Hope in the variety musical movie Big Broadcast of 1938, which also starred WC Fields. Incidentally, the plot of the movie is insane. Here, read it. I've tried to do it justice in a sentence or two but I just keep failing. The song itself is about the lost relationship between Hope and one of the ex-wives that sent him to "alimony jail." (Seriously, read the plot.) Despite it's presence in a zany cash-grab variety musical, it actually feels very true and sad. The lyrics are clever and beautiful, and it makes for a magical movie moment. I can see now why it became Hope's signature song for the rest of his life.
1939
Nominees: "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz, "Faithful Forever" from Gulliver's Travels, "I Poured My Heart into a Song" from Second Fiddle, "Wishing" from Love Affair.
Winner: "Over the Rainbow"
Who Should Have Won: "Over the Rainbow." With apologies to the other nominated songs, not only is "Over the Rainbow" clearly the best original song of the epochal movie year of 1939, but it lays a strong claim to being the greatest movie song of all time. There are a number of reasons for this. First, is the high quality of the song itself. Ostensibly about a 16 year old girl from Kansas' daydreams, the combination of Judy Garland's haunting voice and the symbolic, archetype-laden lyrics lend the song a transcendent quality that has made it meaningful to every generation that's heard it. Second, is the song's presence in the most beloved, iconic film in American history. If this song had been in Gold Diggers of 1939, it would have still been a well known song, and probably Garland's signature (as "Thanks for the Memory" was to Bob Hope). But it's "Over the Rainbow's" presence in the Wizard of Oz that made it one of the touchstones of American culture.
These two characteristics have helped "Over the Rainbow" age very well; it's only become more poignant as the years have passed. The sad, hopeful song became synonymous with the tragic life of Judy Garland, whose time on the planet seemed one long hopeless search for the place she sang about in her youth. It is the deep sadness in Garland that made the song great. One could imagine a less talented or less troubled performer making the place over the rainbow sound like something that would be almost inevitably be found, rather than something that would always be slightly out of reach. (In fact, you don't have to imagine it....here it is) That interpretation isn't true to life, even if it is literally true for Dorothy. It's the sadness that makes the song so deeply true.
It's also the sadness that lent the song it's other major place in history: the unofficial anthem of Gay America. It's true that this is a cliche. For me, and perhaps for every gay man, the song began as a cliche. But if you've lived the unique sadness of being young and gay, the song stops being a joke and turns into a strange hopeful lament. Gays, as a rule, are among the most cynical members of the population, because even the most spoiled among us has had a little bit of emotional hardship to toughen us up. But when "Over the Rainbow" is played on the piano or sung by a Karaoke singer or blasted over a loudspeaker, it is listened to with great sincerity. At particular pregnant moments, you may see a tear pass down the face of someone that was just bragging about their threesome in graphic detail. That, my friends, is a song.
1 comment:
"Lullaby" still won't get out of my head. Not complaining. But that face...that face...
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