I love Alfred Hitchcock and I am not alone, since he is considered one of the best auteur directors ever! So we are left, dumbfounded, knowing he never won an Oscar for the many great films he directed. I could choose more than one year, but I decided to go with 1951 the year of one of my all time favourite films…
1. STRANGERS ON A TRAIN DIRECTED BY ALFRED HITCHCOCK
I think this film was badly overlooked because it deserved Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography and Best Editing but, alas, it was grossly overlooked. This film stars Stewart Granger as a tennis pro who boards a train to visit his ghastly wife to ask her for a divorce. He meets Bruno, played to perfection by Robert Walker, who ingratiates himself with Guy and suggests to swap murders…he’ll kill Guy’s slutty wife and Guy can kill Bruno’s dad. Guy doesn’t believe Bruno until his wife ends up dead. Now the police believe Guy is the murderer and Bruno is a psychopath. The cat and mouse game begins and you are swept up into their lives that take place in the shadows. Along for the ride is the exquisite Ruth Roman as Guy’s love interest and Patricia Hitchcock( Hitchcock’s daughter) as Roman’s younger sister who steals every scene. You need to see this film. Hitchcock deserved the Oscar, in my humble opinion.
2. A PLACE IN THE SUN DIRECTED BY GEORGE STEVENS
This is an excellent film, that stars 2 of the most beautiful people of the time, Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift. Clift plays a poor man who wishes to climb the ladder of success and at a party, he meets the beautiful Liz Taylor and they both fall for each other. The problem, Monty has started an affair with a fellow worker, played by Shelley Winters, who informs him that she is pregnant. What is Monty to do with 2 women who love him? This is an American Tragedy which was the title of an earlier film, from 1931 and based on the 1925 book of the same title. It is an excellent film with great performances by the main cast. George Stevens won the Oscar and I understand why but Alfred should have won but he wasn’t even nominated.
3. THE AFRICAN QUEEN DIRECTED BY JOHN HUSTON
Talk about a great movie with Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart as 2 very different people caught up in Word War 1 and falling in love in the process. It’s so much fun, comedic timing is perfect as is the dramatic parts but this is one of the best films ever done and, to be honest, I wouldn’t have minded if Huston won because it is well directed. The acting is top notch as is the cinematography, editing and writing. Hepburn plays a prim and proper missionary who must leave immediately since the Germans will overrun the place very soon. The only way she can get out is by boat owned and run by Bogie, playing a Canadian mail carrier. You are not sure when Bogie last took bath, has a rough and ready style that makes Hepburn’s nose sniff in arrogant disagreement. Before long, they must fix the boat getting covered in leeches, blow up a German boat and fall in love. It is a must see adventure, romance that had just as much adventure off screen as on that books have been written about it. The leeches were real, they did film on location with crocs in the water and everyone getting dysentery except for Bogart and Huston because they only drank whiskey. Poor Hepburn, at the beginning of the film, is playing the piano but you can see she looks a bit pekid because she was so sick that a bucket was placed by the piano so she could throw up between takes. It’s a great film but my heart belongs to Strangers:). At least Huston was nominated.
Do you agree with me or do you believe Huston should have won? Do you think Vincent Minelli should have won for Am American in Paris which won Beat Picture?
I agree with you! I enjoyed all of these films, more than I did An American in Paris. So many worthy folks who never won Oscars and so many pictures that won that I did not like! (Don't get me started on The English Patient.)
ReplyDeleteI've only seen Strangers. I think. Maybe, I haven't seen it, just heard so much about it... I know I haven't seen the other two. I mean, some of it was political, as the voters all knew the nominees... Well, anyway, interesting year.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many - SO MANY!!! - overrated artists (of every genre) that I hardly know where to start.
ReplyDeleteHitchcock was great... but also overrated.
Jimi Hendrix was great... but also overrated.
Johnny Cash sucked... and was vastly overrated!
George Stevens didn't have even a clue about what he was after (absolutely ZERO internal vision), so he shot every single scene from every imaginable viewpoint, and tried to figure out how the movie should look much later, with the help of smart editors. Stevens sucked! With a limitless budget, any director in the history of Hollywood could have done as well as George Stevens did. (Frankly... I would be a better director than Stevens was, and at 1/100th of the budget!)
'Strangers On A Train' was a good movie, and well made in every way. Hitchcock used a lot of gimmicks that were very effective for that story. HOWEVER!... without a doubt, 'The African Queen' was the best (and best directed) of the three aforementioned films.
~ D-FensDogG
American In Paris is a really good film that I do think was worthy of Best Picture, but Strangers on a Train is really good as well and one of my favorite Hitchcock films. Alfred should have won Best Director though. For one of his pictures at least.
ReplyDeleteLee
Tough picks. Bougart and Hepburn are classics as is anything by Alfred Hitchcock. Hope you are soon feeling better. Cheers,
ReplyDeleteSandra sandracox.blogspot.com
Hitchcock all the way. I doubt anyone at the time fully appreciated the lasting value of his films.
ReplyDelete