1953 had only been familar to me in one way. It was when my undying love for Audrey Hepburn began with her great breakthrough (oscar winning) turn in Roman Holiday. RH was the only film I'd seen from 53 prior to this revisit which is why the prospects looked promising going in because there was bound to be a lot of new cinema for me to discover. The academy conservation that year seemed to be dominated by Fred Zinnemann multiple award winning war romance drama From Here to Eternity. My feelings on the film are not what I would've expected as a usual fan of torn romance tales. Something about this felt off and my conclusion is that each of the romances is lacking that something special to make each section of the film as worthwhile as it could've been. I consider the fact that our two central females were miscast from the very beginning and the possibility of the two switching roles more suited to their gifts might've made the entire film work for me. The saving grace of the film however is Montgomery Clift who shines in everything I see him in and this being his peak of everything for me. Just A-Class acting that was sadly looked over because of how effortless his work is. The other nominees for picture that year were Julius Caesar, The Robe, Roman Holiday and Shane. The former two outside of some captivating elements are dated by the time they are made and don't trensend time like the best films should. I am a giant fan of Roman Holiday and find it to be one of the cutest romance films from this decade. Hepburn is winning in the role of the princess and deservedly won her academy award. Shane marks the final film performance by the legend that is Jean Arthur and she's great in it but the film aside from her also is great directed by George Stevens a director who I adore.
While these film nominated are good there are two film which being snubbed is a crime because if you ask most cinephiles these are the two discussed more then any of the academy's choices. The first being my favourite of the year and easily one of the most fun and enjoyable films I've ever seen is Howard Hawks' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Hawks is a director known for his willingness to direct what he wants and do it to the best of his ability. This film is quintasential Marilyn Monroe and made her the icon she became for the rest of the decade. Monroe and Russell as our central pair of great chemistry that the vision of just women trying to achieve a rich husband through any means necessary one of the cinematic pleasures I seek to relive over and over again. My runner up then is Fritz Lang's The Big Heat. One of the classic crime films of this decade I could take pleasure for all time in watching all these actors in their prime directed by the visually strong director that Lang is. Whether it's Gloria Grahame as the put upon girlfriend of Lee Marvin's Victor Stone both are so iconic in their roles that they make everything in this film rise even higher to greatness. The actors and director clearly went to make the greatest film did that which is why I consider it a worthy runner up to Blondes. The other three films come from the academies lineup with my order running 3. Shane, 4. From Here to Eternity and 5. Roman Holiday. While I have a few quibables with Eternity I can't knock that it is a good film and in a year that I have to admit was probably the weakest in the history of these lineups so far it became difficult for me to nail down a solid 10 films that I see as standing the test of time.
28 was the amount of films I was able to see from 53 and maybe there are some major omssions I'm missing that where released in the states during this year but overall this was the worst lineup of films to consider of any year which is why I guess I don't hold much anger to the academies choice like I would had it been a stronger year. Below is my list of winners and nominees.
OUTSTANDING PICTURE:
1. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Produced by Sol C. Siegel)
2. The Big Heat (Produced by Robert Athur)
3. Shane (Produced by George Stevens)
4. From Here to Eternity (Produced by Buddy Adler)
5. Roman Holiday (Produced by William Wyler)
6. Calamity Jane
7. Stalag 17
8. All I Desire
9. Pickup on South Street
10. Niagara
OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR:
Howard Hawks for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Fritz Lang for The Big Heat
George Stevens for Shane
Fred Zinnemann for From Here to Eternity
Billy Wilder for Stalag 17
OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTOR:
Marlon Brando as Johnny Strabler in "THE WILD ONE"
Montgomery Clift as Private Robert E. Lee "Prew" Prewitt in "FROM HERE TO ETERNITY"
Glenn Ford as Det. Sgt. Dave Bannion in "THE BIG HEAT"
Burt Lancaster as First Sergeant Milton Warden in "FROM HERE TO ETERNITY"
James Mason as Brutus in "JULIUS CAESAR"
OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTRESS:
Doris Day as Calamity Jane in "CALAMITY JANE"
Audrey Hepburn as Princess Ann (Anya "Smitty" Smith) in "ROMAN HOLIDAY"
Marilyn Monroe as Lorelei Lee in "GENTLEMAN PREFER BLONDES"
Jane Russell as Dorothy Shaw in "GENTLEMAN PREFER BLONDES"
Barbara Stanwyck as Naomi Murdoch in "ALL I DESIRE"
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Marlon Brando as Mark Anthony in "JULIUS CAESAR"
Jack Buchanan as Jeffrey Cordova in "THE BAND WAGON"
Brandon deWilde as Joey Starrett in "SHANE"
Lee Marvin as Vince Stone in "THE BIG HEAT"
Otto Preminger as Colonel von Scherbach in "STALAG 17"
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Nanette Fabray as Lily Marton in "THE BAND WAGON"
Allyn Ann McLerie as Katie Brown in "CALAMITY JANE"
Jeanette Nolan as Bertha Duncan in "THE BIG HEAT"
Thelma Ritter as Moe in "PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET"
Teresa Wright as Annie Jones in "THE ACTRESS"
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Betty Comden, Adolph Green & Alan Jay Lerner for The Band Wagon
James O'Hanlon for Calamity Jane
Sam Rolfe & Harold Jack Bloom for The Naked Spur
Samuel Fuller & Dwight Taylor for Pickup on South Street
Dalton Trumbo, Ian McLellan Hunter & John Dighton for Roman Holiday
OUTSTANDING ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
Screenplay by Robert Blees, James Gunn & Gina Kaus Bases on Stopover by Carol Ryrie Brink, All I Desire
Screenplay by Sydney Boehm; Based on the Saturday Evening Post serial by William P. McGivern, The Big Heat
Screenplay by Daniel Taradash; Based on From Here to Eternity by James Jones, From Here to Eternity
Screenplay by Charles Lederer; Based on Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos and Joseph Fields, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Screenplay by A.B. Guthrie Jr. & Jack Sher; Based on Shane by Jack Schaefer for Shane
OUTSTANDING ART DIRECTION:
Art Direction by Preston Ames & Cedric Gibbons; Set Design by Keogh Gleason & Edwin B. Willis for The Band Wagon
Art Direction by Robert Peterson; Set Design by William Kiernan for The Big Heat
Art Direction by John Beckman; Set Design by G.W. Berntsen for Calamity Jane
Art Direction by Lyle Wheeler & Joseph C. Wright; Set Design by Claude Carpenter for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Art Direction by Edward Carfagno & Cedric Gibbons; Set Design for Hugh Hunt & Edwin B. Willis for Julius Caesar
OUTSTANDING BREAKTHROUGH/DEBUT:
Brandon De Wilde (Shane)
Audrey Hepburn (Roman Holiday)
Lee Marvin (The Big Heat)
Allyn Ann McLerie (Calamity Jane)
Gerladine Page (Hondo)
OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Carl Guthrie for All I Desire
Charles Lang for The Big Heat
Burnett Guffey for From Here to Eternity
Harry J. Wild for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Loyal Griggs for Shane
OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN:
Rosemary Odell for All I Desire
Mary Ann Nyberg for The Band Wagon
Howard Shoup for Calamity Jane
Travilla for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Edith Head for Roman Holiday
OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE OF THE YEAR:
The Band Wagon (Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Oscar Levant, Nanette Fabray, Jack Buchanan, James Mitchell)
Calamity Jane (Doris Day, Howard Keel, Allyn Ann McLerie, Philip Carey, Dick Wesson, Paul Harvey, Chubby Johnson, Gale Robbins, Francis McDonald, Monte Montague, Bess Flowers)
From Here to Eternity (Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra, Philip Ober, Mickey Shaughnessy, Harry Bellaver, Ernest Borgnine, Jack Warden, John Dennis, Merle Travis, Tim Ryan, George Reeves, Claude Akins, Alvin Sargent, Robert J. Wilke, Carleton Young, Arthur Keegan, Barbara Morrison)
Shane (Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin, Brandon deWilde, Walter Jack Palance, Ben Johnson, Edgar Buchanan, Emile Meyer, Elisha Cook, Jr., Douglas Spencer, John Dierkes, Ellen Corby, Paul McVey, John Miller, Edith Evanson, Leonard Strong, Nancy Kulp)
Stalag 17 (William Holden, Don Taylor, Otto Preminger, Robert Strauss, Harvey Lembeck, Peter Graves, Sig Ruman, Neville Brand, Richard Erdman, Michael Moore, Peter Baldwin, Robinson Stone, Robert Shawley, William Pierson, Gil Stratton, Jay Lawrence, Erwin Kalser, Paul Salata)
OUTSTANDING FILM EDITING:
Charles Nelson for The Big Heat
William Lyon for From Here to Eternity
Hugh S. Fowler for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
William Hornbeck & Tom McAdoo for Shane
Everett Douglas for The War of the Worlds
OUTSTANDING MAKEUP:
Clay Campbell for The Big Heat
Gordon Bau for Calamity Jane
Clay Campbell for From Here to Eternity
Ben Nye & Allan Snyder for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Alberto De Rossi & Wally Westmore for Roman Holiday
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL/MUSICAL SCORE:
Adolph Deutsch for The Band Wagon
Ray Heindorf for Calamity Jane
George Duning for From Here to Eternity
Lionel Newman for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Victor Young for Shane
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG:
Calamity Jane, "I Can Do Without You" (Music by Sammy Fain; Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster)
Calamity Jane, "Secret Love" (Music by Sammy Fain; Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster)
From Here to Eternity, "Re-Enlistment Blues" (Music and Lyrics by James Jones, Fred Karger, Robert Wells)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, "Anyone Here for Love?" (Music by Hoagy Carmichael; Lyrics by Harold Adamson)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, "When Love Goes Wrong" (Music by Hoagy Carmichael; Lyrics by Harold Adamson)
OUTSTANDING PERFORMER OF THE YEAR:
Montgomery Clift (From Here to Eternity, I Confess, Terminal Station)
Lee Marvin (The Big Heat, Gun Fury, The Wild One)
James Mason (Botany Bay, Charade, The Desert Rats, Julius Caesar, The Man Between)
Marilyn Monroe (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire, Niagara)
Jean Simmons (The Actress, The Robe, Young Bess)
OUTSTANDING SOUND RECORDING:
Dave Forrest & Stanley Jones for Calamity Jane
Lodge Cunningham for From Here to Eternity
Roger Heman & E. Clayton Ward for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Loren L. Ryder for The War of the Worlds
George Cooper for The Wild One
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS:
Calamity Jane
From Here to Eternity
Niagara
Farciot Edouart & Gordon Jennings for Shane
Ivyl Burks, Jan Domela, Gordon Jennings, Wallace Kelley, Paul Lerpae & Irmin Roberts for The War of the Worlds
Now having gone back to my favourite decade I will next travel just over 45 years in the future to 1999 one of the best cinematic years in modern cinema history. The year ended with Sam Mendez' American Beauty seemingly came out of nowhere and won the top prizes at that years academy awards. Did it deserve the praise or was there something better.
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