So far, 1936 has been the worst year for the Best Picture nominees. I know I’ve complained about other years before, but when I don’t like a single nomination from this year, you know you’ve done something wrong. There isn’t a single good film that I would ever want to revisit again on this list. And just because the movie in first place is where it is, doesn’t make it a good movie. This is going to be rough so strap in for mediocrity and misery.
1.The Great Ziegfeld (1936):
The winner for this year was The Great Ziegfeld and the movie was anything but great. Like I said, just because it’s number one, doesn’t mean it was good. It means it was slightly better than the other movies on this list. The story loosely follows the story of the great stage producer Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. and his rise and fall to stardom. I say loosely because it barely covers a tenth of Ziegfeld and who he was. The story the film focuses on is the love stories he has with several women; which is the most boring part of the film. The acting is ok, the sets and costumes are really good, and it’s nice to see people like Fannie Brice on screen just to see what their performances were like on stage. Other than that, this movie is nothing special and it doesn’t help that it has a run time of over three hours. Three hours! That was unheard of in 1936 and because of this it’s a real slog to get through.
2.A Tale of Two Cities (1935):
If you were forced to read this book in school, chances are you know this story of a French aristocrat being charged with treason during the French Revolution. This is a pretty faithful adaptation of the novel. The sets and costumes are well done, the acting is good, and the writing quotes all the famous lines from the book. I haven’t read the book yet so this movie is basically all I know of the story. And from what I’ve seen it drags in the middle and doesn’t get interesting until the end. It drags even more than The Great Ziegfeld and it’s a lot shorter. But I guess period pieces like this just don’t stand the test of time unless something different is done with them. I do recommend this one if you’re forced to read the book at all. But man, the middle really does drag and that’s over half the run time of the movie.
3.Libebled Lady (1936):
This screwball comedy about love is just ok. I got a few chuckles out of it. The cast is good too. I can’t really say much more than that as it was a simple comedy that didn’t offend me. There isn’t much of a plot but screwball comedies are not known for having deep plots. It was just fine.
4.The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936):
We have another bio pic about Louis Pasteur and his many accomplishments in the field of science. It’s nothing grand. It over-exaggerates things to a comical level and Paul Muni as Pasteur is way over-the-top as he is in most movies. It gets boring hearing all the technical terms and leans hard on you knowing about Pasteur’s scientific methods that I couldn’t care less about. This poster makes him look more menacing than he actually was.
5.Three Smart Girls (1936):
I honestly don’t even know why this was nominated for best picture. It’s a musical/comedy about three sisters who fall in love with the same man. It’s fine. Not offensive in anyway as the writing, acting, and direction are fine. But for the life of me I can’t understand how this little film made it as a Best Picture nominee.
6.Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936):
This movie is corny as hell, and not in a good way. A quirky man inherits millions of dollars and several people try to scheme their way into getting his money. If you’ve seen any Frank Capra movie, then you know what to expect. Quirky yet relatable leading characters, seeing the good in people, having a very happy ending where everything turns out for the good guys, and “comedy”. None of these things work in a 21st century gaze as all the characters are annoying, the acting sucks, the main character is obnoxious, it’s not funny, and the main conflict could be resolved in so many smart ways that are never even thought about by the main character. I find this movie annoying and I find Capra movies to age like milk.
7.Dodsworth (1936):
Why doesn’t the leading man just divorce his bitchy wife in the first 20 minutes of the film? That’s what I have to ask myself as this movie about a retired couple who travel to Europe went on. It’s clear the wife doesn’t love her husband anymore and wants to go out with the younger European and her husband knows that. So why not divorce? I know they try to divorce towards the end of the movie, but by that point you’ll have thought the husband is a spinless wimp and his wife is a big bitch. Not to mention it has a rushed ending where the wife doesn’t get her way, but it’s rushed along to the point you don’t feel anything for her or her wimpy ex-husband. This is the only interesting thing about this movie as the rest of it is boring as hell.
8.San Francisco (1936):
This is a bad melodrama of two people who fall in love during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. It is sort of like Titanic (1997) where real and fake characters interact with each other during a disaster. But the disaster portion only happens at the end and it doesn’t really effect the characters. The majority of the film is a bad love story with really bad melodrama.
9.Romeo and Juliet (1936):
Oh boy, another bad Hollywood version of a Shakespeare classic. Outside of the good costumes and set design, this movie sucks. The acting sucks as most American actors can’t deliver Shakespearian lines. The direction is lifeless. You know this story since you were either forced to read it or know the story beats via cultural osmosis. This isn’t even the 10th or 20th version of this story I would tell you to go check out as there are so many films that have done this story better.
10.Anthony Adverse (1936):
What a boring historical drama this is! It takes place during Napoleon’s time and centers on an orphan who rises to the top while also falling in love. Nothing exciting or interesting happens in this movie. While the production design and costumes are good looking, everything else is boring. It’s not even worth a deep dive, it’s just that boring. What a waste of a year in film!
Movies for 20 Somethings 