Faithful reader Erik Beck (of the Boston Becks) has demanded a poll on the question of the best drama of 1932-33 and we here at the Monkey aim to please. I promise the results of the poll will be binding on my choice of best picture in the category of a drama, providing of course that the results jibe with the essay I'm already writing. Otherwise, we'll just call it another frustrating exercise in democracy, what in America is known as an "election."I'm working on a new project for the blog and have been very distracted lately. As soon as I post the essay on the best drama of 1932-33 and then a brief recap of the year's Katie Award winners, I plan to spend the rest of 2010 writing capsule summaries of each movie year from 1915 to 1927, retroactively awarding Katies to the best movies and performances of the silent era, the "Silent Oscars," if you will.
Which means fans of Harold Lloyd, Theda Bara and Musidora should be very happy.
Then because I like this drama-comedy split I've been using for 1932-33 so much, I'm going to fill in those years I've already covered (1927-1932) with my picks in the categories of drama, comedy-musical and foreign language—e.g., it looks like Luis Buñuel will finally pick up a long overdue award. (Don't worry, it'll make more sense when you see it in action. Or not.)
Finally, I've been out of town a lot lately and have been playing catch-up, blog-wise. If you've recently become a follower of the Mythical Monkey and for some reason I'm not following your blog, drop me a line in the comment section and let me know. I enjoy following the blogs of those following me, whether you write about movies, fashion, music or the rain in Spain that stays mainly in the plain, and I don't want to miss out on the action.
Looking forward to seeing who wins the poll centered right on my own favorite film years!
ReplyDeleteNote sure if you're following me or not at Immortal Ephemera, but I included a link to the blog page which includes all of my means of subscription in my name above. Hope you enjoy it, thanks!
Thanks for the head up -- I'm now following Immortal Ephemera. I was particularly interested in reading that Roland Young, one of my favorite supporting actors, had an obsession with penguins.
ReplyDeleteWhich, philosophically speaking, is probably no more odd than an obsession with old movies, but which is, you have to admit, pretty unique.
Thanks very much!
ReplyDeleteWhen I spotted a throwaway reference to Young's penguin obsession in an old magazine I thought it was interesting. Now I'm probably actually a little stranger than him in deciding to follow that info, but I was surprised how often it was mentioned throughout his career in the old press clippings.
So what's this movie Birth of a Nation?
ReplyDeleteYou sound like you have a big project. I hope you have been watching TCM "Mogals and Movie Stars". It's every Mon. nite. Chapter 4 and There are a few more chapter's every week.
yvonne
I hope you have been watching TCM "Mogals and Movie Stars". It's every Mon. nite.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great series -- I meant to blog about it before the month started to give everybody a heads-up but I was on the road. The timing has been perfect for me including showing some movies that were going to fall through the cracks like Traffic in Souls.
As for The Birth Of A Nation, I plan to write about it when I cover 1915. It's the skeleton in the closet of film history, the crazy aunt you put at the end of the table at Thanksgiving, that incident in college you never talk about. It was a major step in the evolution of film language, but it has been (rightly) dogged by controversy since the day it premiered.
Fortunately, there's a movie -- or movie serial, actually -- from that year I really do love, and love as a 21st century film fan stuffing popcorn into his face, not just as a film buff or amateur historian. Louis Feuillade's Les Vampires, a 10-part serial about a criminal organization called "The Vampires," led by the infamous Irma Vep (played by Musidora). Les Vampires influenced directors as diverse as Luis Bunuel, Fritz Lang and Alfred Hitchcock, and is one of the few films of the early sound era (1888-1918) where I find myself wondering what will happen next.
Which means fans of Harold Lloyd, Theda Bara and Musidora should be very happy.
ReplyDeleteFuck you.
Fuck you very much. . . . .
I know that you try to keep this place "high-brow" and "literate" and all that jazz, but sonny jim, I'm here to tell you that leaving me out of that list would be like leaving Lincoln out of Leaders.
ReplyDeleteOr despots, come to think of it.
Lincoln; not me. . . .
I'm here to tell you that leaving me out of that list would be like leaving Lincoln out of Leaders.
ReplyDeleteNot to worry, Doug -- between acting, producing and writing, I count four awards headed your way, which puts you in pretty select company. There was a reason you, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin and D.W. Griffith formed United Artists in 1920 -- you were the four biggest names in Hollywood. Griffith by that time was pretty much tapped out, but you were just getting started.
Alright, Monk -- you're forgiven.
ReplyDeleteI would have expected to be in your original list, but better late than never.
btw, Griffith was a raving douchenozzle -- but he knew how to stitch together a flick!
And he chose actors, writers, and production men like nobody's business. . . .
Alright, Monk -- you're forgiven.
ReplyDeleteI would have expected to be in your original list, but better late than never.
btw, Griffith was a raving douchenozzle -- but he knew how to stitch together a flick!
And he chose actors, writers, and production men like nobody's business. . . .
Good luck on the year summaries. I've seen 239 films from those years, so I look forward to reading what you have to say.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to reading what you have to say.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to seeing what I have to say, too -- and more to the point, whether I can say it without making a complete fool of myself!
and more to the point, whether I can say it without making a complete fool of myself!
ReplyDeleteclimbing the ziggurat
without making a complete fool of myself!
ReplyDelete... cause, you know, there's a first time for everything.