TCM Film Festival: Day Three - Bogey in Africa and Musicals Galore

Christopher James continues his coverage of the 2023 TCM Film Festival. Check in for daily...

If the first two days of the TCM festival were dominated by bad boys fighting the establishment, day 3 was all about the movie musical. Out of the four films I screened today, three were musicals from different eras. It was a fantastic example of the breadth and depth the genre has to offer.

Today was also the day of big stars. For the first screening, Shari Belafonte had a discussion with TCM host and Academy Museum programmer Jacqueline Stewart. Later on in the  same room, Ann-Margret arrived and blew out a birthday cake inspired by her legs. Then, right before a screening of Carmen Jones, legendary film historian Donald Bogle was awarded the Robert Osborne award for achievement in classic film preservation... 

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Counter-Point: The 50 “Best” Rom-Coms (Pre-’90s)

by Mark Brinkerhoff

That sound you heard this week? It likely was #FilmTwitter collectively reeling from reading The Ringer staff’s list of the 50 “best” romantic comedies of all time. What prompted such a breathless response, however, was that only one of the films on the instantly infamous list pre-dated the 1980s, and it *wasn’t* Annie Hall. No, that Best Picture-winning, genre-redefining classic didn’t make the top *50*, Harold and Maude did. 

Now far be it for me to quibble about anything the late, great Hal Ashby made (namely Harold and Maude) but the otherwise ignorance of literally more than half a century of not only the very best rom-coms, but some of the finest films of all time—period—can’t go unnoticed. So with that, here’s a non-exhaustive, chronological list of the “best” rom-coms from the genre’s Golden Age in the ’30s through its modernization in the ’70s/’80s with links to where you can watch them...

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Oscar Trivia: When the Academy Nominates Lovers Together

by Cláudio Alves

Love is in the air…at the Oscars. Both lead and supporting acting categories feature a nominated couple. Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem are on the hunt for their second statuette with Parallel Mothers and Being the Ricardos, respectively. Then, there are Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons, who played a married couple in the movie that finally earned them long-deserved Oscar nods. The Power of the Dog stars are the first real-life romantic partners to earn nominations for playing an on-screen couple since Michelle Williams and Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain – though, of course, the Burbanks have a better marriage than the doomed Del Mars. 

But how often do couples get nominated together at the Academy Awards? As it happens, much more often than you'd think...

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1933 Flashback: Kate vs. May vs. Diana

by Cláudio Alves

For the last few years, Kevin Jacobsen's And the Runner-Up Is has been one of my favorite movie podcasts. After examining every Best Picture race, from 2020 to 1927, the podcast will now focus on the Best Actress category, exploring the nominated performances, the actresses' legacy, and how each race turned out. Who were the likely runners-up?

It's with great pleasure that I announce that I guested on the 1932-33 episode - a dream come true. The nominees were Katharine Hepburn's Oscar-winning turn in Morning Glory, May Robson in Frank Capra's beloved Lady for a Day, and Diana Wynyard in the much-maligned Best Picture-champion Cavalcade. While the trio isn't AMPAS' most inspired selection, there's a lot to talk about. In the episode, Kevin and I unravel Hepburn's major Rachel Berry energy and drunk acting mastery. We talk about the short story that inspired Robson's awards bid and her unlikely stardom. There's also much to analyze in Wynyard's misbegotten flick, including bizarre adaptation choices and the art of performing listening. If you're a Wynyard fan, you might want to avoid this. That being said, I did see some of her other movies, so it's not all hate. I'd go so far as to say that she's as good as Ingrid Bergman in the original 1940 Gaslight. Please give it a listen!

Who would you vote for in this lineup? Also, if you have a dream 1933 Best Actress ballot, please share that too.

3 days til Oscar. Who is the best three time winner?

Best Actress predictions change daily but where are we in regards to Frances McDormand's third Best Actress Oscars? Happening or not? I'm tentatively saying it will. That's where my brain is today at least. Frances would be only the seventh actor to manage three Oscars for acting in the 93 years of Academy history and become only the second woman to win three leading Oscars (after Katharine Hepburn).

The others who've won three acting statues:

Fargo (96), Three Billboards (17), Nomadland (20)

1. Walter Brennan -Come and Get It (36), Kentucky (38), The Westerner (40) - all in supporting
2. Ingrid Bergman -Gaslight (44), Anastasia (56), Murder on the Orient Express (74)
3. Katharine Hepburn - Morning Glory (34), Guess Who... (67), Lion in Winter (68), On Golden Pond (81) - all in leading 
4. Jack Nicholson - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (75), Terms of Endearment (83), As Good As It Gets (97)
5. Meryl Streep - Kramer vs Kramer (79), Sophie's Choice (82), The Iron Lady (11)
6. Daniel Day Lewis - My Left Foot (89), There Will Be Blood (07), Lincoln (12) - all in leading 

COMMENT PARTY QUESTION: Removing all other performances and movies from your brain (I know it's difficult) how would you rank these six packages of performances? 

COMMENT PARTY QUESTION 2: Are there any two-time winners not in the race this year that you could see winning a third?