Let's soak in some 1943 since the Smackdown is but one week ago. Here's a look into what was hot hot hot that year in many fields and categories for context...
This is the Army (1943)
Great Big Box Office Hits
- For Whom the Bell Tolls
- This is the Army
- The Song of Bernadette
- Thousands Cheer
- Star Spangled Rhythm
- Casablanca
- Air Force
- Destination Tokyo
- A Guy Named Joe
- Coney Island
Oscar's Best Picture List
- Casablanca ★ (8 noms, 3 wins)
- For Whom the Bell Tolls (9 noms, 1 win)
- Heaven Can Wait (3 noms)
- The Human Comedy (5 noms, 1 win)
- In Which We Serve (2 noms)
- Madame Curie (7 noms)
- The More the Merrier (6 noms, 1 win)
- The Ox-Bow Incident (1 nomination, yes, Best Picture only)
- Song of Bernadette (12 noms, 4 wins)
- Watch on the Rhine (4 noms, 1 win)
Films that Endured in Some Way That Did Not Win Oscars / Weren't Box Office Smashes
Stormy Weather, Girl Crazy, Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Preston Sturges The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, Lassie Come Home, Vincente Minnelli's Cabin in the Sky, Luchino Visconti's Ossessione, and Carl Theodor Dreyer's Day of Wrath
Nathaniel's Favs
I still have a lot left to see to make a best of 1943 list but my favorite pictures from that year are (to date at least): Casablanca, Presenting Lily Mars, Shadow of a Doubt, and The Miracle of Morgan's Creek.
Magazine Covers for Context
In 1943 the front page subjects were World War II, pin-up girl/actresses (especially Betty Grable and Rita Hayworth), and Ingrid Bergman in For Whom the Bell Tolls.
click to enlarge
Mix Tapes (Hits of '43)
"Why Don't You Do Right?" Benny Goodman with Peggy Lee, "As Time Goes By" Rudy Vallee, "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart" Judy Garland, "Stormy Weather" Lena Horne, "That Old Black Magic" Glenn Miller,
Other Arts
The Little Prince, Johnny Tremaine, The Fountainhead, were all published. The Pulitzer went to Dragon's Teeth by Upton Sinclair (novel) and The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder (play). The musicals Oklahoma! and Carmen Jones opened on Broadway. In 1943 Jackson Pollock began work on one of his key paintings "Mural" for Peggy Guggenheim. In comic books, Wonder Woman's arch-nemesis Cheetah made her debut and the butler Alfred was added to the Batman mythology.
Vintage '43 - Happy 75th to All
Oscar nominees or winners denoted by asterisks
ACTORS: Klaus Maria Brandauer*, Chevy Chase, Blythe Danner, Catherine Deneuve*, Robert De Niro*, Conchata Ferrell, Gil Gerard, Sharon Gless, Veronica Hamel, Elizabeth Hartman*, Edward Herrmann, Wai Ching Ho, Lauren Hutton, Ben Kingsley*, Malcolm McDowell, Martin Mull, Michael Palin, Valerie Perrine*, Joe Pesci*, Lynn Redgrave*, Hanna Schygulla, Wallace Shawn, Sam Shepard*, Sharon Tate, Holland Taylor, Joan Van Ark, Hervé Villechaize, Christopher Walken*, JT Walsh, and Tuesday Weld*.
DIRECTORS: Roy Andersson, Jean-Jacques Annaud, Martin Campbell, David Cronenberg, Jan de Bont, Richard Eyre, Tobe Hooper, Mike Leigh*, Terrence Malick*, Penny Marshall, Michael Mann, Alan Rudolph, and André Téchiné.
BEHIND THE SCENES: Steven Bochco (tv writer/creator), Jerry Bruckheimer (producer), Dante Ferretti* (production designer), J Roy Helland* (makeup artist), Walter Murch* (sound), Gabriella Pescucci* (costume design), Michael Phillips* (producer), Aggie Guerard Rodgers* (costume design), Bruce Joel Rubin* (screenwriter), Eduardo Serra* (cinematography), Dante Spinotti* (cinematography), and Vangelis* (composer).
MUSICIANS/SINGERS: Toni Basil, Jim Croce, John Denver, Fabian, George Harrison, Julio Iglesias, Mick Jagger, Janis Joplin, Barry Manilow, Christine McVie, Joni Mitchell, Anita Morris, Randy Newman*, Keith Richards, Bobby Sherman, Ronnie Spector, Leslie Uggams, and Roger Waters
OTHER CELEBRITIES: David Geffen (producer), Bobbie Fischer (chess pro), Billie Jean King (tennis champ), Geraldo Rivera (tv personality), Joe Namath (football star), Edie Sedgwick (celebutante), and Zouzou (celebutante).
Showtune to Go
It was a big year for 26 year-old Lena Horne who had 5 (!) films released including the historic Cabin in the Sky and as the headliner of Stormy Weather