Snugglecub – Page 2 – Academy Award Best Picture Winners

1943 – J Carrol Naish

1943 – J Carrol Naish

Sahara

Honestly, I have never heard of this actor before. I have no idea what other films he’s been in, even though Wikipedia says he was in over 200 films in the Golden Age of Hollywood. But I have to say, he did a fine job in this movie. He played an Italian POW during WWII named Giuseppe. The actor was American-born, but he seemed to be able to speak fluent Italian, and his heavy Italian accent, when he spoke English, was constituent and believable.

Even though he was a supporting character, he had a few pretty dramatic moments that made him stand out. He even had the movie’s big anti-war speech. Despite what Mussolini tells us, I have no hate in my heart for Americans, which is a great sentiment to remember. He delivered that little monologue with a fair amount of passion and it sounded honest. After he delivers his speech to an evil Nazi who says he will denounce him as a traitor, he says he’d rather spend his remaining days as a POW in a prison than kill men he does not hate. He is murdered for his principles, but before he dies, he warns the movie’s heroes about the escaping Nazi, saving all their lives. That was definitely his big moment, but it wasn’t his only moment. I liked the one where he begs not to be left in the desert to die.

Naish really seemed to take his role seriously. This must have been a difficult movie to film. Everything took place in a desert and you could tell it wasn’t a set. You could practically feel the heat through the screen. Apparently, the makeup artist were able to make the men appear to be heavily perspiring by coating the actors’ faces with Vaseline and spraying them with water. Naish had a great close-up where the sweat looked real. But he, like all the dedicated actors, had to deal with sunburns and sandstorm, typical of filming in a desert location.

So despite being an Italian, who was supposed to be one of the enemies in the war, Naish did his job well and created a likeable character that probably helped to show Americans that the Italians were not the real bad guys. They were just ordinary people who happened to be on the wrong side of the fighting, most of whom were just obeying their leader. I appreciated the different perspective, and I liked Naish.

1943 – Joan Fontaine

1943 – Joan Fontaine

The Constant Nymph

I’m sorry, but I didn’t particularly care for Fontaine in this film. It dealt with a few things that generally bother me, and sometimes leave me with an icky feeling. It was about a young country bumpkin of a girl named Tessa Sanger, who is around sixteen years old. She is desperately in love with an older man who is a composer. When he marries the girl’s relative, she and her sister go under the guardianship of his new father-in-law and are sent off to finishing school. But her love for the man is so intense and needy that she unwittingly gets his feelings to change from those of a dear family friend, to a decidedly romantic nature.

First of all, Fontaine was too old for the part, and while they did their best to make her appear young and bubbly, there were times when her real age of around twenty-six became very obvious. Second, assuming she was a teenager, here we have Charles Boyer falling in love with an underage girl… again. And finally, even if the character was a more appropriate age, her love was desperate and needy, even to the point of her dying of a broken heart because she could not have him. You could tell right from Fontaine’s first appearance on the screen that her love for Lewis was unhealthy, even hungry. Her feelings went beyond simple love or desire, and bordered on absolute need. It was unnerving to watch in a teenage character.

But I think I was supposed to be swept away by the intensity of her emotions, the purity of her affection. But the way Fontaine played it was just a bit creepy in its own way. Still, she did a good job playing the undisciplined, unrefined country girl. And when she left behind the unkempt hair and bare feet for the smart boarding school uniform, Fontaine did a very good job of acting more mature. She played the part as a little more sensible and a little less excitable. But I still didn’t really like Tessa. I guess it was just the way she was written.

And something else that bothered me. I kept hearing what I sometimes call the “please don’t hit me” voice that was appropriate for the Second Mrs. DeWinter in Rebecca, but just didn’t fit the character in the same way here. This one was a miss for me. And I think it may have been because Fontaine was miscast.

1943 – Gladys Cooper

1943 – Gladys Cooper

The Song of Bernadette

Gladys Cooper had a small but powerful part in this wonderful movie. She played Sister Marie Therese Vauzou. She was a nun who believed that true salvation could only come through self-denial and suffering. She doubted Bernadette’s miraculous visions, not because the girl was crazy or lying, but because she was innocent and knew nothing of true suffering. She was actually incredulous that God would choose such a simple young girl as his vessel, rather than someone like herself who had spent a lifetime torturing herself to attain a state of spiritual worthiness.

At first, Cooper just played the woman as a strict and pitiless Catholic nun, a schoolteacher in the village of Lourdes, but later she goes on to be the Mistress of Novices for the Sisters of Charity of Nevers. This was one of the films few departures from reality, as the real Sister Vauzou was never a schoolteacher in Lourdes. But I suppose when you have an actress of Gladys Cooper’s caliber, you use her as much as you can.

I think she wasn’t so much a doubter of Bernadette’s visions, but she was jealous of them, and so denied them on principle. Her most powerful scene was the one in which she finally confronts Bernadette. Her powerful monologue was captivating, and Cooper was incredible. “In all our sacred history, the chosen ones have always been those who have suffered. Why then should God choose you? Why not me? I know what it is to suffer. Look at my eyes. They burn like the very fires of Hell. Why? Because they need sleep. They need rest which I will not give them. My throat is parched from constant prayer. My hands are gnarled from serving God in humiliation. My body is pain-wracked from stone floors. Yes, I have suffered because I know it is the only true road to Heaven. And if I, who have tortured myself, cannot glimpse the Blessed Virgin, how can you, who have never felt pain, dare to say you’ve seen her?”

Cooper was so good, and also, the penitent prayer she utters in the next scene was great, too. This is definitely a movie to watch, not just because of the incredible script, but because of the intense performances of actors like Gladys Cooper.

1943 – Anne Revere

1943 – Anne Revere

The Song of Bernadette

I really liked Anne Revere’s performance in this movie. She played Louise Casterot Soubirous, Bernadette’s mother. She was a peasant woman who began her character arc as a doubter of her daughter’s miraculous visions. And by the end, it never made any specific references to her being an actual believer, but through everything, she never stopped being the girl’s mother, despite all the ridicule and hardships she and the family had to endure. Like when the police would stop the family in public to take Bernadette in for questioning, her righteous anger was real.

There was real sympathy when Bernadette was in distress and needed a mother’s love to turn to for comfort. She played the parental care and unconditional love the part required perfectly. She was not a beautiful woman, but that was entirely appropriate. Indeed, she had a remarkably plain face, a feature that was intentionally enhanced with makeup and lighting. After all, she was a poor peasant woman, not a glamorous socialite. To her credit, she really looked the part.

She had several scenes that really stood out to me. One was where she is called to the doctor’s because Bernadette has fainted. But when she arrives, Bernadette seems to be just fine. The anger and embarrassment she displayed were palpable. What will the townspeople think of the mother of the girl who was faking illness to garner sympathy, lying about visions to get attention? Revere’s acting was particularly good in that scene. Another that stands out is the one where Bernadette can’t sleep because she is worrying about her visions of the Lady. The sweet motherly care with which she comforts her daughter was touching.

And then there was the scene where Bernadette is leaving to join the Sisters of Charity of Nevers. I loved the way Revere handled that scene. Yes, there was sadness in her face, but also a hint of pride as well, seeing that her daughter was doing a noble thing, fulfilling the calling of one who had been touched by divinity. It was a very tender scene and Revere handled it with grace and care. I am totally behind her Oscar nomination, though looking at her competition, I can see why she didn’t win. Katina Paxinou just had a more powerful performance.

1943 – Charles Bickford

1943 – Charles Bickford

The Song of Bernadette

This movie had an incredible script, so much so that no matter what character you look at, it was kind of hard to go wrong. But if that’s true, then why do I have so many misgivings about Charles Bickford’s performance? Was he good? Yes, but he was not great. I’d call his performance adequate. He only had one facial expression in the entire film. He was stoic, and that was it. Even when he needed to be skeptical, unsure, loving, kindly, angry, or even priestly and forgiving, he was nothing more than stoic. I don’t know if he deserved his Oscar nomination.

I mean, I looked up a photo of the actor in a publicity picture, one where he is wearing a suit and tie instead of the robes of a clergyman. The expression on his face in that pic is exactly the same as in this film. No smile, no expressive emotion, nothing but sternness. But then I have to ask, did this lack of emotion serve the character, or did it detract from the performance? And I suppose, in certain scenes, it did. But there were times I wanted more.

Bickford played Abbé Dominique Peyramale, the parish priest of Lourdes. At first he is a doubter of Bernadette’s visions, then a curious skeptic, then a believer, and finally a true advocate. I’m not saying the actor did a terrible job. I wouldn’t say he stood out as a bad actor. He did just fine. He looked the part, seemed to be age appropriate, and had a good speaking voice. But if I’m being picky, then I’ll also say that there was no softness to him. There was very little about him that felt inviting or intimate. I wasn’t drawn in by his fatherly relationship with Bernadette.

I think his best scene was the one where he says goodbye to Bernadette as she is leaving to join the Sisters of Charity of Nevers. But I think this had just as much to do with the script as it did with the actor. But here, at least, he displayed a modicum of kindness, and perhaps even sympathy for the girl, though you wouldn’t know it looking at Bickford’s face. It was exactly the same as it was every other time he was on the screen. And just as an interesting note, his character embodied one of the few historical inaccuracies in the movie. The real Peryamale never visited Bernadette on her deathbed. He’d actually died several years before her.

1943 – Jennifer Jones

1943 – Jennifer Jones

The Song of Bernadette

Jones turned in an incredible performance, there’s no doubt about that. And the Academy agreed. She won the Best Actress Oscar. This was the perfect marriage of a great actress and a well-written script. The character of Bernadette Soubirous, a poor peasant girl who has a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary, performs a few miracles, and eventually becomes Saint, though the movie didn’t actually cover her canonization. Jones’s inspired performance had a wonderful innocence about it that seemed to perfectly capture the extremely humble nature reportedly possessed by the real Bernadette of Lourdes.

Jones was only 23 years old when The Song of Bernadette was filmed, so she had youth on her side. She was actually quite beautiful, but they made her look plainer and more like a girl of peasant stock. But the simple-minded, uneducated nature of the character was all Jones. She never acted too clever or too wise. Some of her best scenes were ones in which even she seemed confused by what was happening to her. But the core of her performance, which Jones played to perfection, was the unwavering faith of the young girl, and the honesty with which she spoke of it.

There were very few scenes where Jones was able to show a smile or display happiness, which was actually one of the prominent themes of the film. Several times, Bernadette reported that the Lady in her visions told her “I cannot promise to make you happy in this world, only in the next.” And the actress held true to that idea. She rarely smiled. The one scene where she did was when the visions were over and she looked forward to the prospect of working as a maid and marrying a young man who loved her. But the notion of an ordinary life was quickly squelched by the priest, telling her that her duty was to become a nun and spend the rest of her life in a convent.

Jones really turned in an inspired and inspiring performance and I’m glad she won the Oscar. The Academy made the right decision. And kudos to whoever cast her in the role. She was perfection. She captured the innocence and humility of the Saint and elevated the already wonderful script to a higher level.

Spider-Man: Far From Home Character Posters

Spider-Man: Far From Home Cast Photos

Spider-Man: Far From Home

Cast Photos

Character Posters

23 – Spider-Man: Far From Home

This was a fun movie, but not one of my favorites in the MCU franchise. And as I think about it, I have to admit that it isn’t about the film itself. It’s that it feels a little superfluous. That doesn’t mean I don’t like the movie. I really do. But the first three phases of the MCU were all gearing up to the climax of Endgame. And Endgame was so good that what else was there to say before moving on to Phase IV? But apparently, Kevin Feige thought there was one more story to tell to close out the Infinity Saga. But to me, it feels too much like an afterthought.

There was a brief scene that dealt with the return of the general populace after The Hulk’s snap, and then we were off to the races with a new story that didn’t seem to have much to do with the Saga at all. I mean, what did it do except tell a cool Spider-man story that was mostly self-contained. Yes, the whole premise of the story takes its cue from the death of Tony Stark, so maybe it is like a coda to the larger tapestry to date. I guess my point is that I think it might have fit better as a great opening to the Multiverse Saga rather than an end to the Infinity Saga.

Anyway, Tom Holland, who is absolutely my favorite Spider-Man, did a fantastic job. The narrative is about Peter Parker just trying to be a normal teenager, going on a trip to Europe with his classmates, and trying to tell MJ how he feels about her. The conflict comes when Nick Fury gives Peter a pair of super-tech-AI sunglasses, left to him by Stark, that give him, and only him, complete control over very powerful weapons and intelligence technology, something a child should really not have. Peter just wants to be a teenager. And I found that I was just as interested in those mundane parts of the narrative as I was in the superhero aspects of the story.

But there were a few things I noticed that supports my assertion that this should have been a Phase IV movie. For example, they talked about the concept of a multiverse. In several scenes, they explored the possibility of Peter Parker becoming the new Iron-Man, before settling on the fact that he should just be himself, and use the powers that already belong to him. Sure, Happy Hogan is still there to provide Parker with Stark technology for new and personalized Spider-suits, but Peter finds that he is stronger when he’s not trying to be something he is not.

Of course, once again, Marvel knows how to give us great actions sequences. They are big and fast-paced, flashy and intense. Yes, maybe they are a little heavy on the CGI, but when it’s this good and hyper realistic, who cares? Everything looked incredible. There is one mind-bending scene that comes to mind where Spider-Man is trapped inside Mysterio’s illusions and the scenes and environments change so rapidly, even the viewer begins to lose track of what is real and what isn’t. And Beck nearly kills Peter, getting him hit by a speeding train. The only two elementals we spend any time with are fire and water, but both the battle scenes were incredible to watch. Holland did such a great job and apparently did many of his own stunts.

Jon Favreau is always great as Happy Hogan, and I liked his relationship with Peter’s Aunt May. But I also really liked the actors who played Peter’s classmates, MJ, Ned, and even Flash Thompson. And I have to give a big shout out to Martin Starr as Roger Harrington. He was funny in just about every scene in which he appeared. I also liked the teenage romance between Ned and Betty Brant. But the best teenage romance was the one between Peter and MJ, played by Zendaya. And lastly, Samuel L. Jackson was still fantastic as Nick Fury, even though a post-credit scene revealed that it was really Talos, the Skrull operative we met in Captain Marvel. So there were plenty of ties to the rest of the MCU, but I don’t know. I still think it would have been a better beginning to the Multiverse Saga, then an ending to the Infinity Saga. But that’s just me, and what do I know? Clearly, Feige knows what he’s doing without my input.

Top 10 Favorite Parts

Peter finds out something is going on between Happy and Aunt May. And “You do not ghost Nick Fury!”
The fight with the water elemental. And the arrival of Mysterio
Nick Fury tranquilizes Ned and Peter’s meeting with S.H.I.E.L.D.
The appearance of Night Monkey and the fight with the fire elemental.
The reveal that Mysterio is actually a bad guy and the meeting of the disgruntled ex-Stark employees.
Peter tells MJ that he is Spider-Man
Spider-Man has to fight the illusions of Mysterio.
Happy talks with Peter and helps him build a new Spider-Man suit.
Beck’s drone strike against London, and Spider-Man’s battle to save the city and his friends. Also, when Spider-Man takes down Quinten Beck.
The ending where Peter confronts Happy and May about their relationship. Also, Spider-Man gives MJ a wild ride through the city.

1943 – Charles Coburn

1943 – Charles Coburn

The More the Merrier

I have mixed feelings about Charles Coburn in this film. For one thing, I don’t particularly care for the film. I didn’t like the character Coburn played, Mr. Dingle. And yet, he played it the way the script demanded. He was a bully, a manipulative old con-artist, and yet, I think I was supposed to like him. Yes, I get that it was a silly romantic comedy, but the character of Mr. Dingle just raised my hackles, and it was partly the fault of the script, and partly the fault of the actor.

Mr. Dingle is a businessman who is in Washington for a short time. He lies to a crowd of strangers so that they won’t be competition for occupancy of the spare bedroom in Miss Milligan’s apartment. And we’re supposed to like how clever he is. Then when she tries to tell him no, that she wanted a female roommate, he brushes past her into the apartment and completely ignores her protestations. I keep trying to tell myself that it’s just supposed to be a silly comedy, but my modern sensibilities are offended by the very premise of the movie in the character of Mr. Dingle. She should have called the police and had him arrested, but against her better judgement, she agreed to let him stay, instead.

Then the very next day, he invites a complete stranger into her home as another tenant, because he thinks he will make Miss Milligan a good husband, as if he had any right to arrange her life in that way. And the rom-com nature of the film says that I’m supposed to like the match-making old meddler because he has good intentions and the attractive young couple are obviously meant to be together.

But here’s the thing. Coburn played it just like the script said he needed to. So was he a good actor, in that respect? Yes, he was. But I didn’t like the character that was created, and I think I was supposed to. So what does that say about the actor? Did he do a good job? On the one hand, yes, because he did what the script needed. But on the other hand, a good actor should have made me like Mr. Dingle, despite him being a bully and a charlatan, and in this, Coburn failed, and I really don’t know if any actor could have done it. But the Academy voters clearly didn’t agree with me. Coburn took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.