Ah, the 40s! For most of the decade, the world was at war and the Academy’s nominations reflected that fact. The best picture lineups alternated between patriotic films that encouraged the battle against evil and darker films that contemplated both the mistakes of the past and what threats might be waiting in the future.

1940

All This, and Heaven Too

Foreign Correspondent

The Grapes of Wrath

The Great Dictator

Kitty Foyle

The Letter

The Long Voyage Home

Our Town

The Philadelphia Story

Rebecca

Won: Rebecca

Should Have Won: Rebecca was the only Hitchcock film to win Best Picture and while I hate to take that honor away from him, it simply cannot compare to the power of John Ford’s adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath. Considering that people nowadays tend to assume that FDR just waved a magic wand and ended The Great Depression as soon as he was elected, The Grapes of Wrath is still an important historic document of just how bad things truly were in the 1930s. (World War II ended the Great Depression for more effectively than the New Deal ever did.)

1941

Blossoms in the Dust

Citizen Kane

Here Comes Mr. Jordan

Hold Back the Down

How Green Way My Valley

The Little Foxes

The Maltese Falcon

One Foot in Heaven

Sergeant York

Suspicion

Won: How Green Was My Valley

Should Have Won: Citizen Kane. Was there ever any doubt?

1942

49th Parallel

Kings Row

The Magnificent Ambersons

Mrs. Miniver

The Pied Piper

The Pride of the Yankees

Random Harvest

The Talk of the Town

Wake Island

Yankee Doodle Dandy

Won: Mrs. Miniver

Should Have Won: Mrs. Miniver was a heartfelt tribute to the strength of the British people and it’s certainly understandable why the Academy honored it. That said, today, the over-the-top melodrama of Kings Row is a lot more fun to watch.

1943

Casablanca

For Whom The Bell Tolls

Heaven Can Wait

The Human Comedy

In Which We Serve

Madame Currie

The More The Merrier

The Ox-Bow Incident

The Song of Bernadette

Watch on the Rhine

Won: Casablanca

Should Have Won: Casablanca. The Academy got it right.

1944

Double Indemnity

Gaslight

Going My Way

Since You Went Away

Wilson

Won: Going My Way

Should have Won: The Academy went from nominating ten films to only nominating five this year. (Decades later, it would go back to nominating ten.) Darryl F. Zanuck launched an all-out blitz to convince the Academy to honor Wilson, a film about one of our worst presidents. The Academy instead went with Going My Way, a pleasant crowd-pleaser. I would have voted for Double Indemnity, a film that was perhaps too cynical to win at a time when America was at war.

1945

Anchors Aweigh

The Bells of St. Mary’s

The Lost Weekend

Mildred Pierce

Spellbound

Won: The Lost Weekend

Should Have Won: I agree with the Academy. The Lost Weekend is an underrated winner but it’s still undeniably effective.

1946

The Best Years of Our Lives

Henry V

It’s A Wonderful Life

The Razor’s Edge

The Yearling

Won: The Best Years Of Our Lives

Should Have Won: The Best Years Of Our Lives was one of the first films to deal with the struggle of returning veterans. It’s a great film. That said, I still have to vote for It’s A Wonderful Life, a film that is far darker than its reputation as a holiday favorite might suggest.

1947

The Bishop’s Wife

Crossfire

Gentleman’s Agreement

Great Expectations

Miracle on 34th Street

Won: Gentleman’s Agreement

Should Have Won: Crossfire. Like Gentleman’s Agreement, Crossfire deals with anti-Semitism. Crossfire, though, does so in a far more direct, angry, and effective manner.

1948

Hamlet

Johnny Belinda

The Red Shoes

The Snake Pit

Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Won: Hamlet

Should Have Won: Hamlet is an excellent film but The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is one of the best ever. John Huston’s look at the power of greed gets my vote.

1949

All the King’s Men

Battleground

The Heiress

Letter To Three Wives

Twelve O’Clock High

Won: All The King’s Men

Should Have Won: In this case, I think that Academy got it right. All The King’s Men is a film that seems rather prophetic today.

Up next, get ready to like Ike and hate commies because we’re heading into the 50s!

Ah, the 1930s. America was mired in the Great Depression. FDR was plotting to pack the courts. In Europe, leaders were trying to ignore what was happening in Italy, Spain, and Germany. As for the Academy, it was still growing and developing and finding itself. With people flocking to the movies and the promise of an escape from reality, the Academy Awards went from being an afterthought to a major cultural event.

1930–1931

Cimarron

East Lynne

The Front Page

Skippy

Trader Horn

Won: Cimarron

Should Have Won: This is a tough year. None of the nominees are really that great. The two main contenders were Cimarron and Trader Horn but neither one has aged particularly well. Of the film that were nominated, The Front Page probably holds up the best. The best of the film eligible for these split-year Oscars — Little Caesar and The Public Enemy — were not nominated for Best Picture.

1931–1932

Arrowsmith

Bad Girl

The Champ

Five Star Final

Grand Hotel

One Hour With You

Shanghai Express

The Smiling Lieutenant

Won: Grand Hotel

Should Have Won: Of the nominees, Grand Hotel deserved its victory. If only Frankenstein had been nominated!

1932 — 1933

Cavalcade

42nd Street

A Farewell to Arms

I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang

Lady For A Day

Little Women

The Private Life of Henry VIII

She Done Him Wrong

Smilin’ Through

State Fair

Won: Cavalcade

Should Have Won: Cavalcade is one of the more forgotten best picture winners and for good reason. It’s just not that interesting. Of the other nominees, I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang is the most powerful and 42nd Street is the most entertaining. In the end, my vote would have gone to 42nd Street. The original King Kong was eligible but not nominated.

1934

The Barretts of Wimpole Street

Cleopatra

Flirtation Walk

The Gay Divorcee

Here Comes The Navy

The House of Rothschild

Imitation of Life

It Happened One Night

One Night of Love

The Thin Man

Viva Villa!

The White Parade

Won: It Happened One Night

Should Have Won: Oh wow. I really love The Thin Man but seriously, nothing beats Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert in It Happened One Night. For the first time this decade, the Academy got it right.

1935

Alice Adams

Broadway Melody of 1936

Captain Blood

David Copperfield

The Informer

The Lives of Bengal Lancer

Midsummer Night’s Dream

Les Miserables

Mutiny on the Bounty

Naughty Marietta

Ruggles of Red Gap

Top Hat

Won: Mutiny on the Bounty

Should Have Won: Mutiny on the Bounty isn’t bad but my vote has to go to Top Hat, a film that is pure joy.

1936

Anthony Adverse

Dodsworth

The Great Ziegfeld

Libeled Lady

Mr. Deeds Go To Town

Romeo and Juliet

San Francisco

The Story of Louis Pasteur

A Tale of Two Cities

Three Smart Girls

Won: The Great Ziegfeld

Should Have Won: The Great Ziegfeld is a good example of a film that won because it was big. It was a spectacle. It overwhelmed audiences and voters with how overproduced it was. Seen today, it’s entertaining but overlong. My vote would have gone to the far more low-key (but also far more intelligent) Dodsworth.

1937

The Awful Truth

Captains Courageous

Dead End

The Good Earth

In Old Chicago

The Life of Emile Zola

Lost Horizon

One Hundred Men and a Girl

Stage Door

A Star is Born

Won: The Life of Emile Zola

Should Have Won: The Life of Emile Zola isn’t a bad film but it’s not the best of the nominees. Dead End features one of Humphrey Bogart’s best pre-Casablanca performances and The Awful Truth is a classic screwball comedy with Cary Grant and Irene Dunne. In the end, my vote would have gone to The Awful Truth.

1938

The Adventures of Robin Hood

Alexander’s Ragtime Band

Boys Town

The Citadel

Four Daughters

Grand Illusion

Jezebel

Pygmalion

Test Pilot

You Can’t Take It With You

Won: You Can’t Take It With You

Should Have Won: Damn. As much as I hate to vote against any movie starring Jimmy Stewart, there’s no way that I can take You Can’t Take It With You over either The Adventures of Robin Hood or Grand Illusion. Robin Hood is the most entertaining of the nominees but Grand Illusion is the most important. My vote goes to Grand Illusion.

1939

Dark Victory

Gone With The Wind

Goodbye, Mr. Chips

Love Affair

Mr. Smith Goes To Washington

Ninotchka

Of Mice and Men

Stagecoach

The Wizard of Oz

Wuthering Heights

Won: Gone With The Wind

Should Have Won: This is such a difficult year because I can make a case for all of the nominees, with the exception of the creaky Love Affair. In the end, my vote goes to …. argh! This is so hard. I’m juggling Gone With The Wind, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, Wuthering Heights, Stagecoach, Ninotchka, and The Wizard of Oz in my head. Can I pick all of them? No? Okay, I’ll go with …. Hell, I have to go with Jimmy Stewart holding the Senate hostage. Sorry, Wizard of Oz. I vote for Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, which has Jimmy Stewart and no munchkins.

And that’s it for the 30s. Up next, in about an hour, it’s time for the 40s!

The Oscars started out as an afterthought.

When Louis B. Mayer first proposed setting up what would become the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1927, he wasn’t really that interested in giving out awards. Instead, he saw the Academy as an organization that would mediate labor disputes between the studios and the unions. He also felt that the Academy could basically be used to improve the film industry’s image, which had taken a hit from the rape trial of Fatty Arbuckle, the overdose of Wallace Reid, and the murder of William Desmond Taylor. When he and the other 35 founders of the Academy met to draw up the organization’s charter, the idea of giving out awards was mentioned only in passing. A committee would be set up to give out yearly awards to honor the best that Hollywood had to offer.

The first Academy Awards ceremony was held in a hotel ballroom in 1928. It occurred at the end of a private dinner and the awards were handed out in 15 minutes. The 2nd ceremony was the first to be broadcast on the radio. It was only when the Academy got around to the third ceremony that the Oscars started to transform into the spectacle that we know today. It was only then that people started to really pay attention to what was and was not nominated for Best Picture.

Today, for Oscar Sunday, we’re taking a a decade-by-decade look at the Best Picture races of the past. We start with those first three ceremonies.

1927–1928

Uniquely, the very first Academy Awards saw the presentation for two best picture trophies. Best Production went to the most entertaining film. Unique and Artistic Production went to the most artistic film.

Production

The Racket

Seventh Heaven

Wings

Unique and Artistic Production

Chang

The Crowd

Sunrise

Won: Wings and Sunrise

Should Have Won: The first time out, the Oscars got it right. People tend to be a bit dismissive of Wings but it has that one amazing tracking shot and it also features the wonderful Clara Bow. Sunrise, meanwhile, is a triumph in every way. Among the eligible films not nominated: Buster Keaton’s The General and Fritz Lang’s Metropolis.

1928–1929

Uniquely, only the winners were announced for the 2nd awards ceremony. The “nominees” listed below are taken from a list of notes that were taken while the judges were discussing who and what to honor.

Alibi

The Broadway Melody

The Hollywood Revue of 1929

In Old Arizona

The Patriot

Won: The Broadway Melody

Should Have Won: The Broadway Melody was the first musical to win but it’s aged terribly. I actually prefer The Hollywood Revue of 1929, which has no plot but which does feature a bunch of MGM stars singing, dancing, and showing off that they were having no problem transitioning for silent cinema to sound films. Or, at least, that was the idea. Poor John Gilbert.

1929–1930

All Quiet On The Western Front

The Big House

Disraeli

The Divorcee

The Love Parade

Won: All Quiet On The Western Front

Should Have Won: All Quiet On The Western Front. Third time out, the Academy got it right.

Up next, the Stock Market crashes and we enter a scary new decade in American history. In about an hour, we’ll be taking a look at the 1930s!