Best Cinematography 1944

1927/28 through 1997
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What were the best photographed B&W and Color nominees for Best Cinematography of 1944?

Double Indemnity (John F. Seitz)
2
11%
Dragon Seed (Sidney Wagner)
0
No votes
Gaslight (Joseph Ruttenberg)
2
11%
Going My Way (Liionel Lindon)
0
No votes
Laura (Joseph LaShelle)
5
28%
Lifeboat (Glenn MacWilliams)
0
No votes
Since You Went Away (Stanely Cortez, Lee Garmes)
0
No votes
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (Robert Surtees, Harold Rossen)
0
No votes
The Uninvited (Charles Lang)
0
No votes
The White Cliffs of Dover (George J. Folsey)
0
No votes
Cover Girl (Rudolf Maté, Allen M. Davey)
0
No votes
Home in Indiana (Edward Cronjager)
0
No votes
Kismet (Charles Rosher)
0
No votes
Lady in the Dark (Ray Rennahan)
0
No votes
Meet Me in St. Louis (George J. Folsey)
8
44%
Wilson (Leon Shamroy)
1
6%
 
Total votes: 18

Big Magilla
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Re: Best Cinematography 1944

Post by Big Magilla »

Wilson was the most expensive Hollywood movie made up to that time. It cost more than Gone With the Wind and opened at New York's Roxy Theatre to the highest gross of any movie in a single theatre up to that time, but failed to repeat that single day success and became one of the biggest flops of all time. "Zanuck's folly", though, was not an uninteresting film even if was a bit long.

It paints Wilson as the Washington and Lincoln of his day, which he wasn't. It doesn't mention his Jim Crow advocacy or his support of Birth of a Nation and ignores the controversy of his remarriage so soon after the death of his first wife even to the point of fabricating a scene in which the first Mrs. Wilson tells her daughters on her death bed their father needs a woman. Still, Alexander Knox is good in the lead and Ruth Nelson and Geraldine Fitzgerald are both first-rate as his two wives.

Cedric Hardwicke stands out in the supporting cast as Henry Cabot Lodge, the Mitch McConnell of his day, and Thomas Mitchell, Charles Coburn and Vincent Price lend their usual stalwart support.

The film's main reason for being was to advocate for the League of Nations (or United Nations as it became) which was something Wilson was unable to push through in his lifetime.
dws1982
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Re: Best Cinematography 1944

Post by dws1982 »

Given my thoughts about Woodrow Wilson the man (and the President), I can't imagine Wilson being anything but torture to sit through.
Reza
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Re: Best Cinematography 1944

Post by Reza »

Big Magilla wrote:There was nothing about Wilson's cinematography that really stood out, but it was an "important" film that Zanuck pushed to ten nominations and five wins.
Wilson was such a boring film.
Big Magilla
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Re: Best Cinematography 1944

Post by Big Magilla »

I can't complain about any of these nominees.

Black-and-White

Laura, Double Indemnity, Gaslight and The Uninvited are just stunning films noir with the breathtaking Laura the best of the bunch.

Going My Way, Since You Went Away, The White Cliffs of Dover and Dragon Seed capture the look of their time and place perfectly although the latter suffers from blatant miscasting.

Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo is one of the more incisive war films of the era and Lifeboat does wonders with its confined space.

Color

Meet Me in St. Louis has the most eye-popping color cinematography of any film this year but Cover Girl is almost as fine. It's been a while since I've seen Lady in the Dark and Kismet neither of which were great films, but had some great moments in them.

Home in Indiana was innocuous but pretty to look at.

There was nothing about Wilson's cinematography that really stood out, but it was an "important" film that Zanuck pushed to ten nominations and five wins.
dws1982
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Re: Best Cinematography 1944

Post by dws1982 »

I haven't seen a lot from years before 1960--even in years before 1980, there always seems to be at least one nominee that I've either never been able to track down or just never got around to.
Reza
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Re: Best Cinematography 1944

Post by Reza »

My top 5 b/w

1. Laura
2. Since You Went Away
3. Gaslight
4. Double Indemnity
5. The White Cliffs of Dover

Voted for the Minnelli in the colour category
Big Magilla
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Re: Best Cinematography 1944

Post by Big Magilla »

Nice conversations I'm having on these things, mostly with myself.

Voted for Laura and Meet Me in St. Louis.
Big Magilla
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Best Cinematography 1944

Post by Big Magilla »

Sixteen nominated films - 10 in Black-and-White and 6 in Color.

Surely, we can all find something to like here!
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