Best Original Story 1940

1927/28 through 1997
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What was the Best Original Story of 1940?

Arise, My Love (Banjamin Glazer, Hans Székely)
1
20%
Comrade X (Walter Reisch)
0
No votes
Edison, the Man (Hugo Butler, Dore Schary)
0
No votes
My Favorite Wife (Leo McCarrey, Bella Spewack, Sam Spewack)
4
80%
The Westerner (Stuart N. Lake)
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 5

Mister Tee
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Re: Best Original Story 1940

Post by Mister Tee »

I’ve done much catch-up for this category – seeing two nominees only in the past few months – yet I’m still unable to vote, because I haven’t been able to track down the winner, Arise My Love. YouTube says it will be available next week; it doesn’t say if that’s a pay site, but I’ll give it a try, and update if I manage to see it.

Edison the Man is a thoroughly mediocre biopic. Watchable but with nothing to distinguish it from any other film based on any other inventor’s life.

Comrade X is interesting historically, for the time during which it was made— the period of the Nazi/Soviet pact, when Russia was officially evil (after having been an object of sympathy among many Hollywood writers). The country would soon ally with the US and thus become indisputably good, then turn full-on evil again with the onset of the Cold War. This in-between period yields a movie that doesn’t seem quite to know where it stands either as political document and as film – the early rom-com banter doesn’t mix real well with the hint of Stalinist tortures near the end. An odd, unsatisfying film.

The Westerner is much enlivened by the character of Judge Roy Bean – Walter Brennan’s most controversial Oscar (because it was his 3rd), but to my mind maybe his most deserved. The rest of the film doesn’t really stick in my memory, suggesting it isn’t especially notable.

My Favorite Wife isn’t the best of Cary Grant’s comedies in the era, but it’s a reasonably funny one, and would get my vote of the four. But I’ll hold off, pending a viewing of Arise My Love.
Big Magilla
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Re: Best Original Story 1940

Post by Big Magilla »

The competition here isn't bad, but the only one of these films that I will watch over and over again is My Favorite Wife and that is both because of the story and the at it is carried out, which makes it an easy choice for me.
Big Magilla
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Best Original Story 1940

Post by Big Magilla »

It seems I jumped the gun last week when I said 1941 was the last year (going backwards) with three writing categories. 1940 also had three categories. This will be the last year for Original Screenplay. To avoid further confusion, I will keep separate threads for Original Story and Screenplay until we come to the end, but I will post them simultaneously.
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