DAYTIME THEME-THRILLERS
NIGHT MUST FALL
OSCAR NOMINATIONS: Robert Montgomery (Best Actor); Dame May Whitty (Best Supporting Actress)
Robert Montgomery has a hatbox in his room? What’s in it?
ALFRED HITCHCOCK TRIPLE FEATURE
OSCAR NOMINATIONS FOR STRANGERS ON A TRAIN: Best B&W Cinematography
OSCAR NOMINATIONS FOR SUSPICION: Best Picture; Joan Fontaine (Best Actress-WON); Best Score
OSCAR NOMINATIONS FOR NORTH BY NORTHWEST: Best Orignal Screenplay; Best Art Direction; Best Film Editing
MATCHUP # 1: BEST VISUAL EFFECTS-FANTASTIC VOYAGE VS. DOCTOR DOLITTLE
OSCAR NOMINATIONS FOR FANTASTIC VOYAGE: Best Art Direction (WON); Best Visual Effects (WON); Best Color Cinematography; Best Editing; Best Sound Effects
OSCAR NOMINATIONS FOR DOCTOR DOLITTLE: Best Picture; Best Visual Effects (WON); Best Original Song (WON); Best Cinematography; Best Sound; Best Editing; Best Art Direction; Best Score; Best Scoring of Music
THE CASE FOR FANTASTIC VOYAGE: Recreating the insides of someone’s body.
THE CASE FOR DOCTOR DOLITTLE: A giant snail.
THE VERDICT: Fantastic Voyage
MATCHUP #2: BATTLE WITH THE BOTTLE-DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES VS. THE LOST WEEKEND
OSCAR NOMINATIONS FOR DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES: Best Original Song (WON); Jack Lemmon (Best Actor); Lee Remick (Best Actress); Best Art Direction; Best B&W Costume Design
OSCAR NOMINATIONS FOR THE LOST PICTURE: Best Picture (WON); Ray Milland (Best Actor-WON); Billy Wilder (Best Director-WON); Best Screenplay (WON); Best B&W Cinematography; Best Editing; Best Score
THE CASE FOR DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES: The co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, Bill Wilson was a technical adviser on the set. Lemmon and Remick both went to AA meetings in order to prepare for their roles. Lemmon also spent evenings at a local jail and watched inmates in the drunk tank.
THE CASE FOR THE LOST WEEKEND: Ray Milland who has one of the worst IMDB pictures ever (look at it, I dare you), checked himself into Bellvue Hospital in order to experience what it was like in the drunk ward. He also stopped eating regularly. This was the first film to seriously deal with alcoholism.
VERDICT: The Lost Weekend for being the breakthrough film so that films like Days of Wine and Roses could be made.
Mariah's Musings 