Who Should have Won the Oscar— Cinematography 1941

 

1941 was a volatile year because it was the year of Citizen Kane. Orson Welles and Herman Mankiewicz created a portrait of a newspaper tycoon who becomes a bloated narcissist dying in his huge mansion all alone with his last word being, “Rosebud.” To say William Randolph Hearst was livid was an understatement and he, along with Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM, tried to buy up the film rights to have it destroyed. Ya see, Hearst was the biggest Newspaper tycoon in the States who built his mansion with the largest zoo that was privately owned and who tried to make his mistress, the lovely Marion Davies, into a star like Garbo. He never could see Marion’s gift for comedy but, unlike the film, she did have talent and did care for the old goat. Today, it’s considered, arguably, the greatest film made but it did not win best film, that went to “How Green Was My Valley”. I do like this film and don’t like all the disparaging remarks it receives but  it gets dissed because it was up against and won the Oscar instead of Kane. I am not choosing  best picture, but best cinematographer.

1. CITIZEN KANE- GREGG TOLAND

Gregg Toland is a master of his craft and nothing shows that more than in the film, Citizen Kane. From the very beginning when Kane dies to the shots when Kane is walking through his mansion, you can’t help but love how the camera is used to create emotions and depth of the characters. One of my favourite scenes is the montage of his marriage to his beautiful wife. In a few short moments, we see them loving and happy to distant, cold and so finished. The deep focus photography, viewing image from the bottom up to the ceiling and so much more unique shots were just not done in that style  and so it confounds me that he did not win the Oscar. I can only assume it was due to the powers at be making sure it would not win. This film should have won for the best cinematography but it didn’t and Gregg Toland was robbed.

2. HOW GREEN IS MY VALLEY- ARTHUR MILLER

This film won for Best cinematograph for Arthur Miller and, if it was for another year, I would say he deserved it but not this year. To be clear, I love this film about a miner’s family and the travails they endure including their only daughter falling in love with the local priest. The black and white photography is used to such great effect from the miners leaving their work to walk back into the nearby town to the home of the miner and his many kids. The home feels small, but cozy and the great expanse of the sky against the village just creates a warmth for the people that live and work there. I just believe that Gregg Toland deserved the Oscar over Miller.

3. SUSPICION- HARRY STRADLING JR.

From the glowing milk that Cary Grant is bringing to his wife to the opulent home he and his wife, Joan Fontaine, live in, you enjoy all the nuances that the look of the film creates the tension that Hitchcock was wanting. I am surprised that this film was not even nominated but “The Chocolate Soldier” was. I just don’t get it, because the scene, when they are playing scrabble, is a great moment in tension heightened by the cinematography. Poor Hitchcock never won an Oscar either but Joan Fontaine won her Oscar for this performance and I can’t help but feel that the way she was filmed helped her attain this award ( much to her sister’s chagrin ( Olivia DeHavilland). 

What do you think? Do you agree or would you choose another film or do you agree with the Academy for this year?