On this day, March 16th in 1934, the 6th annual Academy Awards were held honoring the films of 1933. The event was little like it is today, not yet televised, and with only 13 categories (3 of them for short films). There were only six acting nominees. Cavalcade won Best Picture and it shared the "most nominations" stat, four in total, with the war drama A Farewell To Arms and the Capra comedy Lady for a Day...
Have you ever seen Cavalcade? We'd rank it as one of the very worst winners in Oscar history but apparently people thought it profound at the time!
Today in 2021 we can look back on this for a more actressy reason. This was the first time Katharine Hepburn snubbed the Academy who ever after couldn't get enough of her. She won her first of four Best Actress Statues for Morning Glory (1933). Despite the studio system reigning at the time (a system which was more controlling of its A list stars) and this being being her very first nomination, she didn't bother to show at the ceremony. She stubbornly stayed home for each of her 12 nominations.
We haven't ever done a deep dive on '33 but of our three favourite pictures of that year King Kong, 42nd Street, and The Invisible Man... only 42nd Street scored with Oscar nabbing Best Sound Recording and Best Picture nominations.