This should just be considered the 1931 Academy Awards as every movie this year that was nominated was from 1931. I don’t know why the Academy didn’t change the rules to just one year for this year, but I will never know what is in the mind of an Academy voter. Anyway, this was a boring year for the Oscars. Not for movies themselves as this was the year classics like Dracula, Frankenstein, The Public Enemy, Monkey Business, Night Nurse, Blonde Crazy, and a whole host of great Pre-Code movies came out. But the Academy decided to play it safe by nominating really boring films that most people have forgotten existed. Outside of one of these films, they are all very forgettable and, honestly, are films you don’t need to see; including the actual Best Picture winner.
1. The Front Page (1931):
Set in the world of newspaper publishing, an investigative reporter named Hildy Johnson (Pat O’Brien) sees the story of a lifetime in an escaped convict convicted of killing a police officer. At first he sees dollar signs, but as he digs deeper into the story, he sees there might be more to the convicts story. This is a sharply written satirical comedy about the newspaper industry and how they will tell any story to sell papers. The clever writing and spot-on acting from the cast really sells this plot as almost a dark comedy about how far people will go just to sell newspapers. This story would later inspire the remake of His Girl Friday (1940) and a plethora of other remakes based on this story. If you like witty dialogue, quick one-liners, and a sharp storyline, then I would recommend this movie.
2.Skippy (1931):
This is a cheesy, feel good film that is also very forgettable. It’s a story about a plucky young kid who makes friends with poor kids, dogs, plays in junkyards, has a strict dad, and does things kids would do in the 1930s like selling bottles and lemonade to stop the dogcatcher from killing his friends dog. Yeah this movie takes a dark turn half way thru as a dogcatcher wants to kill his friends dog because he broke his windshield. But don’t worry, because they’ll save the dog in the end… right? Outside of that dark turn it’s a pretty standard boy and his life story. His dad is a hard-ass but becomes less so as the film goes on. Jackie Cooper is cute and knows how to play a loveable, yet scrappy kid very easily. It’s a movie meant to tug at your heart stings and play it like a violin.
3.East Lynne (1931):
Another boring romantic/period piece about a married couple who live in Victoria era England and their relationship has its ups and downs as the years go by. There really is nothing special about this movie. It’s a standard romantic/drama where the main couple is boring, the direction is lifeless, ok acting, and subpar writing. I don’t know why this was nominated over the many other films that came out in 1931, but as you will see the Oscars don’t have the best track record.
4.Trader Horn (1931):
Nothing special about this action/adventure movie either. It’s about a trader in Africa who goes on adventures and encounters a white woman who is considered a white jungle queen. Yeah, it’s no stretch to say this movie handles race relations pretty poorly. What with it’s depiction of black people as backwards and the only white woman is treated as a rare, exotic creature. Outside of this stunningly racist stereotype, the movie is still dull. The action scenes are bland, the dialogue sucks, the acting is terrible, and is extremely dated. Skip it.
5.Cimarron (1931):
The actual Best Picture winner is also the worst picture nominated for this year. It’s a western set during the Oklahoma land rush of 1889 and centers around a family living their lives throughout the years in the old west. You’ll notice this pattern of sprawling family epics either winning or getting nominated for Best Picture. And most of them suck, like this movie. This movie is boring, poorly written, has aged like milk with it’s depiction of black and Native American people, and the sound design is so bad you can’t hear much of the dialogue; which is fine since the dialogue is ass. The only interesting thing about this film is that it’s one of the first to depict the land rush scene in an epic fashion with thousands of extras and horses heading out into Oklahoma. But that’s in the first 10 minutes and the rest of the film is a boring melodrama. Hopefully the next years of 1931/1932 will yield better results.
Movies for 20 Somethings 