July 11, 2014

Best Actor: 1927-1928



Oscargasms now turns to the very first batch of Best Actor nominees. I've already watched and reviewed Chaplin and Jannings sometime back in 2010, but I suppose that's an extended enough time to warrant some rewatches. Showing just how sloppy a mess they were back in the day, the Academy nominated Chaplin for Best Actor and then took away that nomination, instead giving him a special award "for versatility and genius in acting, writing, directing and producing The Circus." Because Oscargasms is a glutton for punishment, I'm just going to go ahead and honor it like a real nomination.

and the nominees were:
Richard Barthelmess, The Patent Leather Kid 
Charlie Chaplin, The Circus
Emil Jannings, The Last Command

plus...
Richard Barthelmess, The Noose

The only print of The Noose apparently exists at MoMA in New York City. I'm actually going to be in New York City next month, and as luck would cruelly have it, August is also coincidentally the month that MoMA's film library is closed off from the public. So....I'll have to postpone this one and get around to him another day in the distant future. 

and...
Emil Jannings, The Way of All Flesh

(which is presently a lost film. Oscargasms prays to the Movie Gods that someday the film will be found, but until then...RIP to what could have been.)

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