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Februrary usually belongs to the hype of the Academy awards, and rather than swim against the tide, we're happy to go with the flow.
While we won't be showing much interest in this year's winners for another 30 years, looking back on the history of the awards, and of the winners (and the many also-rans) is a rich vein worth tapping.
Sthis month we'll be profiling the actresss who most frequently carried home an Oscar, as well as reflecting on all those nominated films that didn't win in the year they were nominated, but films which were still worthy and of course deserve a second look. We'll also give you the chance to vote for which of those over-looked films you'd like us to screen this year
We're sure there is something of interest in this month's eZine, and as always we look forward to seeing you at an upcoming screening.
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Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracey
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Katherine Hepburn has the record for the winningest actress at the academy awards, having won Best Leading Actress 4 times from 12 nominations (won for: On Golden Pond, The Lion in Winter, Guess who's coming to Dinner, and Morning Glory). She has the record for the longest time between her first win (1932) and her last win (1982). She however isn't the most nominated actress... that gong goes to Meryl Streep with 20 nominations (for 3 wins).
And... in 2005 Cate Blanchett won a best supporting actress gong for playing Katherine Hepburn in The Aviator.
A unique set of achievements which make her worthy of profiling in this month's eZine.
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Kate was born on May 12, 1907 in Hartford, Connecticut, to a doctor and a suffragette, both of whom always encouraged her to speak her mind, develop it fully, and exercise her body to its full potential. And Hepburn’s parents had all their wishes fulfilled
She grew up an athletic tomboy who very close to her brother, Tom, and was left devastated at age 14 when she found him dead after accidentally hanging himself while practicing a hanging trick their father had taught them. For many years after Katharine used his birthdate, November 8, as her own and became very shy, finishing her schooling at home. She did attend Bryn Mawr College and it was there that she decided to become an actress, appearing in many of their productions.
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After graduating, she began getting small roles in plays on Broadway and elsewhere. She always attracted attention in these parts then finally broke into stardom with the starring role in "A Warrior's Husband" (1932). The inevitable film offers followed, and after making a few screen tests, she was cast in A Bill of Divorcement (1932), opposite John Barrymore. The film was a hit, and after agreeing to her salary demands, RKO signed her to a contract. She made five films between 1932 and 1934. For her third, Morning Glory (1933) she won her first Academy Award. Her fourth, Little Women (1933) was the most successful picture of its day.
But stories were beginning to leak out of her haughty behavior off- screen and her refusal to play the Hollywood Game, always wearing slacks and no makeup, never posing for pictures or giving interviews. Audiences were shocked at her unconventional behavior instead of applauding it, and so when she returned to Broadway in 1934 to star in "The Lake", the critics panned her and the audiences, who at first bought up tickets, soon deserted her. When she returned to Hollywood, things didn't get much better. From the period 1935-1938, she had only two hits: Alice Adams (1935), which brought her second Oscar nomination, and Stage Door (1937). Among the many flops was Bringing Up Baby (1938), a film now considered a classic.
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Hepburn was at this time considered to be "box-office poison." And went back to Broadway to star in "The Philadelphia Story" (1938). It was a smash and she quickly bought the film rights, and with them was able to negotiate her way back to Hollywood on her own terms, including her choice of director and co-stars. The film version of The Philadelphia Story (1940), was a box-office hit, and Hepburn, who won her third Oscar nomination for the film, was bankable again. For her next film, Woman of the Year (1942), she was paired with Spencer Tracy and received her fourth Oscar nomination. The chemistry between them lasted for eight more films, spanning 25 years, and a romance that lasted that long off-screen. Their films included the very successful Adam's Rib (1949), Pat and Mike (1952), and Desk Set (1957).
With The African Queen (1951), Hepburn moved into middle-aged spinster roles, receiving her fifth Oscar nomination for the film. She played more of these roles throughout the 50s, winning Oscar nominations for many of them, including her roles in Summertime (1955), The Rainmaker (1956) and Suddenly, Last Summer (1959).
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Her film roles dried up in the 60s, as she devoted her time to her ailing partner Spencer Tracy. For one of her film appearances in this decade, in Long Day's Journey Into Night (1962), she received her ninth Oscar nomination. After a five-year absence from films, she then made Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), her last film with Tracy and the last film Tracy ever made; he died just weeks after finishing it. It garnered Hepburn her tenth Oscar nomination and her second win. The next year, she did The Lion in Winter (1968), which brought her eleventh Oscar nomination and third win.
In the 70s, she turned to making made-for-TV films, with The Glass Menagerie (1973), Love Among the Ruins (1975) and The Corn Is Green (1979). She still continued to make an occasional appearance in feature films, such as Rooster Cogburn (1975) and On Golden Pond (1981). This brought her twelfth Oscar nomination and fourth win - the latter currently still a record for an actress.
She made more TV-films in the 80s, and wrote her autobiography, 'Me', in 1991. Her last feature film was Love Affair (1994) and her last TV- film was One Christmas (1994). With her health declining she retired from public life in the mid-nineties and died at the age of 96 at her home in Old Saybrook, Connecticut in 2003.
Katherine Hepburn has featured in a number of films screened by Classic films in years gone by, including Bringing up Baby and The Philadelphia Story. Given the wonderful array of films she has appeared in, we’re sure it won’t be long before Katherine Hepburn features at another Classic Films screening
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There are two big conversations which take place around Academy Awards time. Before the ceremony most people are talking about the film they think deserves to win. And after the ceremony they are focused on the film they think should have won. This month we're going to buy into that second discussion by looking back on past winners (and losers) from the 1930s to the 1980s and asking you if a different film should have won. We'll also give you the cahnce to nominate one of those also-rans and have that film screened later in the year.
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1935 - And the winner was... Mutiny on the Bounty,
But for many people Top Hat is one of he best musicals ever made, and just as many believe it was one of Fred Astaire's best films.Fred Astaire was a Hollywood legend, but was only ever given a lifetime achievement award and was only ever received one nomination... for Best Supporting actor in The Towering Inferno (1974).
You can right this wrong by voting for Top Hat at the bottom of this article.
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1948 - And the Winner was....Hamlet (starring Laurence Olivier)
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is a film that makes many lists of the best films ever made. This includes the AFI's !00 years.... 100 films - where it came in at number 30. It was also selected by the Library of Congress among the first 100 films to be preserved for being Culturally, Historically and Aesthetically significant.
If it is the most worthy of our selection... vote for it by clicking the link at the bottom.
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1952 - And the Winner was.... The Greatest show on Earth,
Although High Noon won 4 academy awards, it didn't win for Best Picture. In 1989 it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress joining The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (among other great titles). The AFI ranked the film at number 33 of all time great films, and rated it as the 2nd best Western ever made (coming in behind The Searchers).
If High Noon is the most worthy of our runner-ups... vote for it at the bottom of this article
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1966 - And the Winner was.... A Man for all seasons,
Not only was Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf a popular and award winning play, it was also an award winning film, winning 5 Oscars (though not for Best Picture). It was nominated in every eligible category in the Academy Awards, won Best film at the BAFTAs and was ranked at number 67 by the AFI for all time great films.
It also has a perhaps uncomfortable connection with reality given Richard Burton's issues with alcohol and the often acrimonious marriage he had to Elizabeth Taylor (twice)
If you're up for what is a sometime harrowing film experience, you can vote for this film by following the link at the bottom of this article
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1974 - And the Winner was.... The Godfather Partt 2,
Chinatown is considered by many to be perhaps the only film that recaptures the feel of the Film Noir in the post-noir period. It did win an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, and the AFI has ranked the film at number 19 on its list of all time great films.
If this is a film you'd like to see on the big screen, vote for it by following the link at the bottom of this article.
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1987 - And the Winner was...The Last Emperor
While Hope and Glory was nominated for five Academy Awards, it didn't win any. But it did win Best Picture at the BAFTAs and the Golden Globes. On rotten Tomatoes it scores 8.3 out of 10 and on IMDB it gets a 7.4 out of 10.
It is a remarkable film which only just qualifies for our 30 years or older screening window. If it's the most worthy of the film choices and you'd like us to screen it, vote for it by clicking the link at the bottom of the article
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To vote for the film which you think was the most hard done by, and a film you'd like to see us screen later this year, follow this link.
The Survey is open until the end of the Month
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Screening at Cafe Nova
Sunday, 26th of February
7.00pm start
Annie Hall (1977)
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Neurotic New York comedian Alvy Singer falls in love with the ditzy Annie Hall.
Comedy/Romance Rated: PG 93 min
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