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From The Warner Archive: Forbidden Hollywood Vol. 6
The Forbidden Hollywood collections have been bringing us some of the greatest pre-code films to DVD for the first time for almost a decade. Originally released through the TCM Vault Collection, the last few editions have come from the Warner Archive Collection. Vol. 6 has been out for a few weeks now, but I was finally able to sit down and watch the four films included: The Wet Parade, Downstairs, Mandalay and Massacre. It’s a pretty great collection – all of films I hadn’t heard of before. Vol. 7 will be coming out shortly (and I will hopefully report on that collection as well). After the cut, I’ll briefly discuss the four films that are included in this excellent manufactured on demand set.
Oscar Vault Monday – Dodsworth, 1936 (dir. William Wyler)
I first saw this film as part of TCM’s 31 Days of Oscar in 2011 when I was living in the back of my parents’ house in the midst of a post-college life crisis. I cried a lot. After watching this film, I mean, but also in general. I rewatched it last night and I think I love it more than I had thought possible. It’s such an expertly executed film, from Wyler’s direction, to the script (adapted from Sinclair Lewis’s novel by Sidney Howard, who would go one to write the adapted script for Gone With The Wind), to the performances by the film’s entire cast. It’s just plain perfect. The film was nominated for seven Oscars, winning one: Best Art Direction (won), Best Sound, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress Maria Ouspenskaya, Best Actor Walter Huston, Best Director and Best Picture. The other films nominated for Best Picture that year were: Anthony Adverse, Libeled Lady, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Romeo and Juliet, San Francisco, The Story of Louis Pasteur, A Tale of Two Cities, Three Smart Girls and The Great Ziegfeld.
the diary of a film history fanatic 