The Oscar-winning Songs Countdown: 1937

Today in our Oscar-winning Songs Countdown, we go further back in time that we've ever gone so far. A time of favorites that fail to win and a time of important rule changes, one of which came about because of the choice of the Oscar-winning song.

The sudden and unexpected death of wunderkind producer Irving Thalberg in 1936 made his final, yet-to-be-released films more keenly anticipated than any in his lifetime. One of these movies was Camille with Greta Garbo. Thalberg had instructed his three screenwriters to update Dumas' antique plot. "The problem of a girl's past ruining her marriage doesn't exist anymore," Thalberg told them. "Whores can make good wives, that has been proven."

So the writers and director George Cukor made it all about Armand's (Robert Taylor) jealousy and concentrated on Garbo's performance instead. And what a performance it was! The New York Times raved, "She's as incomparable in the role as legend tells us that Bernhardt was." Camille made more money than any Garbo film. She followed it up with Conquest, which didn't make much money in the US, but made enough in Europe to turn a profit. The New Yorker observed that, with Charles Boyer playing Napoleon, for the first time "Garbo has a leading man who contributes more to the interest and vitality of the film than she does."

The other posthumous Thalberg film exceeded the cost of (the silent) Ben-Hur: It was the film adaptation of Pearl Buck's The Good Earth with Paul Muni and Luise Rainer, both of whom had won the acting awards during the previous year. MGM head Louis B. Mayer was worried: "Irving, the public won't buy pictures about American farmers and you want to give them Chinese farmers?" he said.

He needn't have worried. "The greatest photographic miracles in the history of motion pictures," extolled the Los Angeles Evening Herald. The movie turned out to be a box-office winner, and a lot of the credit went to Luise Rainer for her tour de force performance.

Paul Muni's talents were better showcased elsewhere: Jack Warner was used to give his prestige actor and recent Oscar winner what he wanted, so when Muni said that after Louis Pasteur he wanted to impersonate Emile Zola, Warner immediately set the wheels in motion: William Dieterle, the director of Louis Pasteur, was set to direct, while last year's Supporting Actress winner, Gale Sondergaard, was given the role of Mrs. Dreyfuss. For the pivotal part of Alfred Dreyfuss, Broadway actor Joseph Schildkraut was hired. Time magazine declared it "the outstanding prestige picture of the season," and The New York Film Critics bestowed their Best Picture and Best Actor awards on the movie and its star. The Life Of Emile Zola was also Warner's top moneymaker of 1937. The soundtrack was by the great Max Steiner:

Greta Garbo won her second New York Film Critics for Camille and the Best Director was Gregory La Cava for the immensly popular Stage Door, RKO's adaptation of the Ferber-Kaufman play about struggling actresses, starring every female name at the studio: Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Lucille Ball, Eve Arden, Andrea Leeds and Ann Miller.

Meanwhile back at MGM, a million dollar vehicle for child star Freddie Bartholomew was launced, an adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's Captains Courageous. MGM assigned Spencer Tracy to play a Portuguese fisherman, but he was uncomfortable with the accent. He didn't like his curled hairdo either, especially after Joan Crawford ran into him on the Metro lot and roared, "Oh my God, it's Harpo Marx!"

Tracy felt better when Captains Courageous went on to become the studio's top moneymaker of the year and the winner of Photoplay's readers' poll for the year's most popular film. Photoplay said of Tracy, "In this difficult role, Tracy does masterful work."

Samuel Goldwyn, who had produced a silent version of the tearjerker Stella Dallas in 1925, dusted off the property for Barbara Stanwyck in 1937. Director King Vidor pulled out all the melodramatic stops and Stanwyck threw herself into the role of the working-class mother who sacrifices her child to high society. "Miss Stanwyck's portrayal is as courageous as it is fine," opined the New York Times.

Janet Gaynor, the first actress to ever win the Oscar, 9 years earlier, had her share of suffering too in A Star Is Born. Producer David O. Selznick and director William Wellman came up with the story about a fading Hollywood matinee idol, played by Fredric March, who marries rising star Gaynor. Dorothy Parker and her husband Alan Campbell were called in to add polish to the script. The film, as well as the lead actors, received great reviews, and later became a vehicle of such superstars as Judy Garland, Barbra Steisand, and recently Lady Gaga.

Leo McCarey worked for less than his usual salary to direct Make Way For Tomorrow, a drama about an elderly couple and their uncaring children. The movie, despite great reviews, bombed at the box-office - so badly that Paramount bought out the rest of McCarey's contract. The unemployed director had to think of something to sell, so he went to Harry Cohn at Columbia with the idea of a comedy about divorce.

Cohn gave McCarey a chance, and almost anything he wanted: Irene Dunne, the star of Cimarron, Cary Grant, the former Mae West co-star who was on his way of becoming a star of his own, and Ralph Bellamy as Dunne's would-be second husband.

"A rollicking comedy that should delight anyone," was the verdict of the New York Sun. "Mr. McCarey's direction has skillfully eluded all problems of cencorship, concocting a comedy that is sometimes naughty but always nice." The box-office returns made Cohn very happy.

Robert Montgomery rebelled and asked to be assigned to Night Must Fall, based on the hit Broadway thriller. Mayer thought Montgomery was crazy for wanting to play a psychopathic murderer roaming the English countryside, but the actor was the president of the Screen Actors Guild, so the mogul let him have his way. The critics reacted the way Montgomery had hoped they would; the New York Daily News said the film "lifts the actor out of the lower brackets, into an eminent position among the top-notchers of Hollywood players." The bad news: the movie flopped.

Frank Capra, last year's winning director, became president of the Academy and brought about a lot of changes. The Academy would no longer be the studios' strong arm to settle labor disputes, that were tarnishing its prestige; it would now be solely a means to celebrate the best in Hollywood. Also, in a final effort to win over members of the directors', actors', and writers' organizations, Capra got rid of the fifty-man nominating committee and invited all guild members to vote, whether they were members of the Academy or not. Even the extras got to vote on the final ballot for Best Picture, Best Acting, and Best Song awards. This meant a jump from last year's 800-odd voters to 15 000, with the extras representing 12 000 of these votes. He even had time to make a movie, an adaptation of the James Hilton best-seller Lost Horizon. The film, starring Ronald Colman, ended up costing twice it's already big budget, so it didn't make a profit. It was, however, writer J.D. Salinger's favorite film. The score was by the great Dimitri Tiomkin:

William Wyler, who had received his first Best Director nomination the year before, on his way to twelve, had a new film out. Dead End was a gangster film, it starred Sylvia Sidney, Joel McCrea and a bunch of kids who would become widely popular: As the "Dead End Kids" they would appear in 7 movies in the next 2 years. But it was the supporting actors that caught the critics' attention; a young Claire Trevor, and a rising star who played the bad guy - Humphrey Bogart.

Another director who was in the process of building his reputation, and already an Oscar winner for The Informer, was John Ford. This year's offering was lighter fare, what would be termed today as a blockbuster. The Hurricane had half-naked flesh, both from Jon Hall and Dorothy Lamour, exotic locales, the necessary romance, and an impressive - for then - hurricane. It made a lot of money at the box-office.

The score was by Alfred Newman. Here's Dorothy Lamour with Moon of Manakoora (lyrics by Frank Loesser):

Over at Fox, Darryl F. Zanuck was envious of the success that MGM had with their San Francisco earthquake movie, which cleaned up at the box-office and had its fair share of Oscar nominations. Therefore, he decided to do the story of the Great Fire of Chicago. In Old Chicago had experienced director Henry King at the helm and starred a trio of Fox stars: Tyrone Power, Alice Faye, and Don Ameche. It was character actress Alice Brady, however, who stole the show as Molly O'Leary. The success of the film would prompt Zanuck to use the same combination in the following year (King as director - Power, Faye and Ameche as leads) in Alexander's Ragtime Band. The film's score was quite pleasant:

Universal, on the other hand, had discovered a box-office treasure in Deanna Durbin. The singing teenager had made 1936's Three Smart Girls a box-office smash and a Best Picture nominee. This time it was One Hundred Men And A Girl, once again directed by Henry Koster, and once again Durbin was surrounded by great character actors. The film grossed three times its budget. The film's score, mainly classical music conducted by Hollywood's favorite conductor, Leopold Stokowski, impressed:

The Nominations

The Life Of Emile Zola led the pack with 10 nominations (Best Picture, Director, Actor (Muni), Supporting Actor (Schildkraut), Assistant Director, Screenplay, Story, Art Direction, Sound and Score for Max Steiner).

A Star Is Born had 7 (Best Picture, Director, Actor (March), Actress (Gaynor), Assistant Director, Screenplay, Story).

Lost Horizon also had 7 (Best Picture, Supporting Actor (H.B. Warner), Assistant Director, Art Direction, Editing, Sound and Score).

The Awful Truth followed with 6 (Best Picture, Director, Actress (Dunne), Supporting Actor (Bellamy), Screenplay, Editing).

In Old Chicago also had 6 (Best Picture, Supporting Actress (Brady), Assistant Director, Story, Sound and Score).

The Good Earth received 5 nominations (Best Picture, Director, Actress (Rainer), Cinematography, Editing).

One Hundred Men And A Girl also had 5 (Best Picture, Story, Editing, Sound and Score).

Stage Door had 4 (Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actress (Leeds), Screenplay).

Captains Courageous entered the race also with 4 (Best Picture, Actor (Tracy), Screenplay, Editing).

Also with 4 was Dead End (Best Picture, Supporting Actress (Trevor), Art Direction, and Cinematography).

The Hurricane only managed 3 (Supporting Actor (Thomas Mitchell), Sound and Score).

In the Best Actor category, Muni, March, and Tracy were joined by Montgomery for Night Must Fall and Boyer for Conquest. In the Best Actress category, Rainer, Dunne, and Gaynor were joined by Stanwyck for Stella Dallas and the favorite, Garbo, for Camille.

In the Best Supporting Actor category, Schildkraut, Bellamy, Warner, and Mitchell were joined by Roland Young in Topper, as the conservative banker who has to deal with a couple of mischievous ghosts (Cary Grant and Constance Bennett).

In the Best Supporting Actress category, Brady, Trevor and Leeds were joined by Anne Shirley as Stanwyck's daughter in Stella Dallas, and Dame May Whitty for Night Must Fall.

In the Best Music, Score category there were 14(!) nominees. We've already heard music from nominees The Life Of Emile Zola, Lost Horizon, In Old Chicago, One Hundred Men And A Girl, and The Hurricane. We can't play all the rest, so here's some of them:

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs:

The Prisoner of Zenda (Alfred Newman):

Quality Street (Roy Webb):

Something to Sing About:

The rest are Make A Wish, Maytime, Portia On Trial, Souls At Sea, and Way Out West.

What about the Best Song nominees? These were indeed five. They were:

Sweet Leilani from Waikiki Wedding • Music and lyrics: Harry Owens. A huge hit for Bing Crosby.

Remember Me from Mr. Dodd Takes the Air • Music: Harry Warren • Lyrics: Al Dubin. Sung by Kenny Baker:

That Old Feeling from Vogues of 1938 • Music: Sammy Fain • Lyrics: Lew Brown. Sung in the film by Virginia Verrill. This version, by Shep Fields and his Rippling Rhythm Orchestra, vocal by Bob Goday, went all the way to #1:

They Can't Take That Away from Me from Shall We Dance • Music: George Gershwin • Lyrics: Ira Gershwin. Sung by the star of the film, Fred Astaire, who took the song all the way to #1:

Whispers in the Dark from Artists and Models • Music: Friedrich Hollaender • Lyrics: Leo Robin. Sung by Connee Boswell:

Remember three weeks ago when all the nominated songs were also US #1s? Well, guess what, so are this week's. The difference is, with the exception of Sweet Leilani (which was also the biggest of them all - 10 weeks at #1), and They Can't Take That Away from Me, the rest went to #1 in cover versions, not the original film versions. Other songs that could've been nominated where:

Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off from Shall We Dance • Music: George Gershwin • Lyrics: Ira Gershwin. Sung by Fred Astaire:

From the same film, They All Laughed:

A Foggy Day from A Damsel in Distress • Music: George Gershwin • Lyrics: Ira Gershwin. Sung by Fred Astaire:

From the same film, Nice Work If You Can Get It:

In The Still Of The Night from Rosalie • Music and lyrics: Cole Porter. Sung by Joan Whitney:

The Folks Who Live On The Hill from High, Wide, and Handsome • Music: Jerome Kern • Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II. Sung by Irene Dunne:

Hooray for Holllywood from Hollywood Hotel • Music: Richard A. Whiting • Lyrics: Johnny Mercer. Sung by Johnnie Davis and Frances Langford, accompanied by Benny Goodman and his orchestra:

I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm from On The Avenue • Music and lyrics: Irving Berlin. Sung by Dick Powell:

From the same film, This Year's Kisses, sung by Alice Faye:

September in the Rain from Melody for Two • Music: Harry Warren • Lyrics: Al Dubin. Sung by James Melton:

Too Marvelous For Words from Ready, Willing and Able • Music: Richard A. Whiting • Lyrics: Johnny Mercer.

Whistle While You Work from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs • Music: Frank Churchill • Lyrics: Larry Morey.

From the same film, Heigh Ho:

From the same film, Someday My Prince Will Come:

So many good songs!

The Winners

The Life Of Emile Zola received 3 Oscars, including Best Picture. The other two were for the Screenplay and to Joseph Schildkraut for Supporting Actor. Schildkraut was at home and asleep, because his agent had told him that he had no chance of winning. It's a good thing he didn't live far, because when the Academy called him to announce his win, he got dressed and hurried to the theater to accept his award. Also absent - in the hospital with a broken ankle - was Supporting Actess winner Alice Brady for In Old Chicago. Alice Brady's trophy was swiped by an impostor who came onstage to accept the award on the absent actress' behalf. It has never been recovered and the imposter could never be tracked down. Before the Academy could do justice and issue a copy of the award, Alice Brady passed away. In Old Chicago also won for Best Assistant Director.

Spencer Tracy was also in the hospital with appendicitis, and his Oscar for Captains Courageous was picked up by his wife and Louis Mayer, who said "Tracy is a fine actor, but he is most important because he understands why it is necessary to take orders from the front office." "Was that a compliment or a threat?" Tracy later wondered.

There was an upset in the Best Actess category. The favorite Greta Garbo lost to Luise Rainer for The Good Earth. It was the first time that an actor won the Oscar two years in a row. Academy officials had called the actress at home and she rushed to the ceremony with husband Clifford Odets (the playwright). Within a year, her marriage was ruined and she was fed up with her career, because all the parts she was offered after the Oscars were insignificant. She fled to England and later married a publisher in London.

The bad turn of Rainer's career after her two Oscars gave rise to the Oscar jinx myth, even though Rainer herself later dismissed the Oscar jinx as "nonsense".

The Best Director award went to Leo McCarey for The Awful Truth. "Thanks, but you gave it to me for the wrong picture," said McCarey, who hadn't forgotten his passion project, Make Way For Tomorrow. The Best Cinematography award went to The Good Earth, Best Sound went to The Hurricane, Best Story went to A Star Is Born, while Best Art Direction and Best Editing went to Lost Horizon.

Best Music, Score, went to One Hundred Men And A Girl, which caused a few disturbed conversations, because a score which was basically adapted classical music shouldn't have to compete with original scores. The Academy took notice, and starting from next year we had two score categories, one original and one not.

What about the Best Song? Everyone expected that the Gershwin song would win. It is my favorite too. The winner, however, was Sweet Leilani. It is a sweet enough song, Crosby croons just right, and I love the Hawaii vibe. (We've discussed this, haven't we, Record Man?) But this was the Oscars' chance to honour one of 20th century's greatest composers - and they missed it. The Academy governors were annoyed; they believed that it was the extras' low brow taste in music that propelled the more obvious pop hit to the winner's dais. From the following year onwards, the extras were not allowed to vote for the Best Song anymore.