Back to Golden Days

In anticipation to the 93rd Academy Awards ceremony, which will be held on April 25, I have decided to write a series of articles related to the most prestigious awards in the movie industry. Two weeks ago I talked about the birth of the Academy Awards , and last week I wrote about Wings (1927), the first ever film to win the statuette for Best Picture. For this week, I bring you 10 interesting facts about the Academy Awards, plus some bonus facts. (All of these stand true as of the writing of this post; changes may occur in the future. )   1. The least and most expensive Best Picture winners Moonlight (2017), directed by Barry Jenkins, is the lowest-budgeted film to win the Oscar for Best Picture, with a cost of $1.5 million. In contrast, James Cameron's Titanic (1997) is the most expensive winner, with a budget of $200 million. Bonus fact: Moonlight is also the first film with an all-black cast to win the same award.     2. Dual nominations for the same role Barry F...

Since today is Laurence Olivier's 108th birthday, I thought I would tell you about one of his films for this week's "Film Friday." I believe this was the fi rst of his films I saw . Theatrical release poster Directed by Robert Z. Leonard , Pride and Prejudice (1940) opens with the arrival of wealthy bachelors Mr. Cha rles Bingley (Bruce Lester) and Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy (Laurence Olivier) in the rural English town of Meryton . They caus e quite a stir among all the mothers in the village, who hasten to introduce their ummarried daughters to them. The most enthusiastic of them all is Mrs. Bennett (Mary Boland), with her brood of five : Jane (Maureen O'Sullivan) Elizabeth (Greer Garson), Lydia (Ann Rutherford), Kitty (Heather Angel) and Mary (Marsha Hunt). Mr s. Bennett worries that her husband's estate will fall into the hands of his supercilious cousin, Mr. Collins (Melville Cooper), unless a male heir is produced.  The delicate Jane im...

This week on "Film Friday", I bring one of the most romantic films of all time and a personal favorite of mine. It's a proper tearjerker this one. Theatrical release poster Directed by Mervyn LeRoy , Random Harvest tells the story of Charles Rainier (Ronald Colman), a British officer confined to an asylum in the English countryside under the name of "John Smith", following a gas attack in the trenches during the First World War, which left him shell shocked and amnesiac. With the jubilation of Armistice Day, the asylum is left unguarded and he is able to escape. When he arrives in town, he meets a vivacious showgirl called Paula Ridgeway (Greer Garson), who nicknames him "Smithy" and nurses him back to health. The two soon fall in love and marry, settling in a cozy little cottage in the country where they live in blissful happiness for a few years. On a business trip to Liverpool, Smithy is hit by a taxicab and his early memory is re...