The 15th Academy Awards were held in the heat of World War II. For that reason, the statuettes were made of plaster and the dinner was less elegant and focused on the military. In fact, this was the final time the Awards ceremony would be held during an industry dinner party. In light of the hardships of war, Oscar would shy away from the lavish banquet and move into the theater. The ceremony is also famous for a lengthy speech by Best Actress winner Greer Garson. Exaggerations over the years had this acceptance speech clocked at nearly an hour. It was really only five and half minutes but it did change up the tradition of simply saying "thank you" and moving on. Whether it was five minutes or an hour, Garson is the grandmother of winners being played off the stage during the modern ceremonies. She had an incredible five year streak of being nominated as Best Actress but this win for Mrs. Miniver (1942) was her only win. Miniver was the big winner of the night with six awards as well as the most nominations at twelve. It was only the second film to receive nominations in all four acting categories as well as the first movie to have five such nominations. James Cagney became the first man to win Best Actor in a musical role, which is odd due to him being cast against type in that case. Another odd moment came when presenter Irving Berlin awarded the Best Song Oscar to himself. There were four winners in the Best Documentary category but the following year would see the two categories we currently have, with shorts and features separated. There is one film I left out of my 15th Awards batch (you can follow that progress on my Letterboxd); Noel Coward was awarded an Honorary certificate for his production achievement in In Which We Serve (1942). This was then nominated for Best Picture for 1943 so I will be visiting that as my first entry for the 16th Awards. And the results are:
Best Picture nominees:
49th Parallel
Kings Row
The Magnificent Ambersons
Mrs. Miniver
The Pied Piper
The Pride of the Yankees
Random Harvest
The Talk of the Town
Wake Island
Yankee Doodle Dandy
What won: Mrs. Miniver
The film with the most Academy Awards of the night with six as well as the highest-grossing film of 1942, Mrs. Miniver shows how the war can affect everybody - the young, the old, men, women, children, families, politics, social classes, property - this does it all with nary a battle sequence in sight. Joseph Goebbels, the head of Nazi propaganda, nailed it on the head when he said the film "shows the destiny of a family during the current war, and its refined powerful propagandistic tendency has up to now only been dreamed of. There is not a single angry word spoken against Germany; nevertheless the anti-German tendency is perfectly accomplished."
What should have won: Mrs. Miniver
In a year with a handful of war pictures in this category, William Wyler's felt the most apt and had the most class. Wake Island takes the more bombastic approach, The Pied Piper shows us how dangerous it could be traveling through Europe, and 49th Parallel projects what could have been in North America, but Mrs. Miniver is the all-encompassing anti-war story that feels the most genuine. Garson may have deserved her Oscar for Random Harvest (1942) instead of this, but this is no substitute to scoff at. She's delightful as the central character in this English town ravaged by the war. Her supporting cast is phenomenal as well. The affected homefront is also beautifully shot, especially the final scene in which a damaged church stands out as the location of a rousing speech that caps off this appropriately sentimental film. With all of this being said, I'm not sure if this would have been my pick if World War II wasn't raging on. But the combination of the war as well as how superb all aspects of the filmmaking is makes this my Best Picture of 1942.
My Best Picture nominee rankings:
1. Mrs. Miniver (8/10)
2. Random Harvest (8/10)
3. The Magnificent Ambersons (8/10)
4. Yankee Doodle Dandy (8/10)
5. The Talk of the Town (8/10)
6. 49th Parallel (7/10)
7. The Pride of the Yankees (7/10)
8. Kings Row (7/10)
9. The Pied Piper (7/10)
10. Wake Island (6/10)
Best Picture nominees:
49th Parallel
Kings Row
The Magnificent Ambersons
Mrs. Miniver
The Pied Piper
The Pride of the Yankees
Random Harvest
The Talk of the Town
Wake Island
Yankee Doodle Dandy
What won: Mrs. Miniver
The film with the most Academy Awards of the night with six as well as the highest-grossing film of 1942, Mrs. Miniver shows how the war can affect everybody - the young, the old, men, women, children, families, politics, social classes, property - this does it all with nary a battle sequence in sight. Joseph Goebbels, the head of Nazi propaganda, nailed it on the head when he said the film "shows the destiny of a family during the current war, and its refined powerful propagandistic tendency has up to now only been dreamed of. There is not a single angry word spoken against Germany; nevertheless the anti-German tendency is perfectly accomplished."
What should have won: Mrs. Miniver
In a year with a handful of war pictures in this category, William Wyler's felt the most apt and had the most class. Wake Island takes the more bombastic approach, The Pied Piper shows us how dangerous it could be traveling through Europe, and 49th Parallel projects what could have been in North America, but Mrs. Miniver is the all-encompassing anti-war story that feels the most genuine. Garson may have deserved her Oscar for Random Harvest (1942) instead of this, but this is no substitute to scoff at. She's delightful as the central character in this English town ravaged by the war. Her supporting cast is phenomenal as well. The affected homefront is also beautifully shot, especially the final scene in which a damaged church stands out as the location of a rousing speech that caps off this appropriately sentimental film. With all of this being said, I'm not sure if this would have been my pick if World War II wasn't raging on. But the combination of the war as well as how superb all aspects of the filmmaking is makes this my Best Picture of 1942.
My Best Picture nominee rankings:
1. Mrs. Miniver (8/10)
2. Random Harvest (8/10)
3. The Magnificent Ambersons (8/10)
4. Yankee Doodle Dandy (8/10)
5. The Talk of the Town (8/10)
6. 49th Parallel (7/10)
7. The Pride of the Yankees (7/10)
8. Kings Row (7/10)
9. The Pied Piper (7/10)
10. Wake Island (6/10)