Oscar-Connected Lost Films, Part 1

As it is 31 Days of Oscar, the only true holiday that happens in February in my humbled opinion, it is time to note a few of the films that are missing in the world of cinema.  As (quite often) presumably lost films are found in the attics of the children and grandchildren of studio heads, long-ago cinematographers and producers and directors, I figured I'd put together a list of twenty standout films that either are missing and are Oscar-nominated, or are connected to an Oscar-nominated star or director.  This list isn't complete, but more focused on twenty films that stand out to me as missing because of their Oscar connections-share some more in the comments!

Note: For the sake of the article I stuck to feature-length films, though I'm aware there are some short films that have been nominated for Oscar and are missing.  If you find those, we'll be just as excited-I promise!

Second Note: I'm not counting films that might be partially lost (A Star is Born, The Dove, and Sorrell and Son come to mind).  If I'm missing a feature-length film that was nominated for an Oscar that is considered lost, please let me know and I shall amend this article.

10. The Magic Flame (1927)

A weird entry on the list, as it's not exactly clear if this is just partially lost or completely lost.  Nominated for Best Cinematography at the first Academy Awards, the film stars future Oscar-winner Ronald Colman as a clown.  It's unclear whether the George Eastman House actually has a copy of this (or a partial copy of this) or not based on what I've found online.  Any representative from the organization want to clear things up?

9. The Devil Dancer (1927)

This one seems to be confirmed to be lost, so I put it one higher.  George Barnes was nominated for Best Cinematography for a number of films at the first Oscars, two of which are considered lost, including this one which starred Clive Brook and Anna May Wong.

8. The Awakening (1928)

Not related in any way to the novel by Kate Chopin, The Awakening is one of those 1929-30 nominees that's not "actually a nominee" so it's hard to tell how it stands here, but considering AMPAS Database lists it, I am keeping it on the list.  The film was directed by Victor Fleming, who eleven years later would have his Oscar glory realized, directing both The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind.

6 (tie). The Case of Sergeant Grischa (1930) and Song of the Flame (1930)

I'm grouping these together as they were both nominated the same year for Best Sound Recording, and both lost.  Sergeant Grischa starred Oscar nominee Betty Compson and Jean Hersholt, the latter of which got a statue named after him by AMPAS, while Song of the Flame was the first color film ever to feature a widescreen sequence.

5. The Private Life of Helen of Troy (1927)

The Private Life of Helen of Troy was nominated for Best Title Writing (the first and only time that was a category), and also was the first time that someone (in this case, Gerald Duffy), was nominated posthumously.  I put this slightly higher than the Sound nominees as I really want to see what set apart this film's Title Writing.

4. 4 Devils (1928)

In terms of seeing an actual quality picture and not just crossing a line off of a list, the movie I most want to see of this run-up is 4 Devils, and that's thanks to the magic brought about by its director and star in a film from the previous year.  4 Devils features Janet Gaynor and is helmed by FW Murnau, both of whom made Oscar magic the year prior for the masterpiece Sunrise.  The film was cited for its Cinematography by AMPAS.

3. The Rogue Song (1930)
Again, my penchant for the Oscar Viewing Project comes around, though this one makes it higher as it's one of only three films (that I'm aware of-correct me in the comments if I'm wrong) that feature Oscar-nominated performances that are considered lost.  In this case, it's Lawrence Tibbett's Best Actor performance in a film that also features Laurel & Hardy in a series of comic guest bits.

1 & 2. The Way of All Flesh (1927) and The Patriot (1928)
I couldn't pick between these two films, both of which star controversial actor Emil Jannings (also a Nazi sympathizer, he purportedly waved his Oscar to Allied troops to prove his association with Hollywood).  Jannings won his Oscar in part for The Way of All Flesh, making it the only Oscar-winning performance in a lost film.  The Patriot, on the other hand, is the only Best Picture nominee to be lost, and it also features Lewis Stone in an Oscar-nominated performance.  In fact, of the five films that Jannings made in Hollywood before his thick accent ended his career in the Sound Era, only The Last Command (the other film for which Jannings won his Best Actor Oscar) remains.

There you have it-the ten lost feature-length films of Oscar's past.  Did I miss any others?  If not, which would you most like to see?  And anyone who is related to a film producer or studio head, get to thy attic and start searching!

100 Things I Love Most About the Movies

Considering that I did a rant on Friday and a link round-up on Saturday, I figured it was highly appropriate for me to continue my streak of doing what I say I'm going to do on the day I say I'm going to do it by having a GTKY Sunday article!  Recently Nathaniel over at the Film Experience (one of my favorite blogs) wrote an article about the 100 Things He Loved Most at the Movies after Allyson over at The Best Picture Project wrote a similarly-themed article.  I am enamored with this idea, and so I figured I would do the same, largely stream-of-consciousness (these are not in order, not definitive, are largely what first came to my head in a swirl of movie magic-love, and not all-inclusive, but they should give a bit of an indication of my adoration of the cinema).  Without further adieu:

1. Movie marquees-it's the world's greatest menu board.
2. Medium popcorn, M&M's, and a bottled-water, aka the greatest meal of the week.
3. That humming sound when the projector switches from the trailer to the actual movie.
4. The American Film Institute specials-the way that I learned about the cinema for the first time.
5. Oscar nomination morning
6. The Oscars themselves.
7. The scene where Ilsa talks to Sam about playing it "for old times sake."
8. Barbara Stanwyck in sunglasses.
9. Marlon Brando's arms in A Streetcar Named Desire
10. The costumes in Ran
11. Marilyn Monroe in a pink dress in Gentleman Prefer Blondes
12. Jeff Bridges downward gaze

13. Lauren Bacall's eyes
14. Michael Fassbender's neck
15. Trying to figure out what Bill Murray whispers in Scarlett Johansson's ears.
16. "Oh Jerry, let's not ask for the moon-we have the stars."
17. That moment when a new acquaintance realizes that I love movies not in the way normal people love movies.
18. The look on someone's face when they are describing their favorite movie memory...usually after I have to beg them to talk and then they cannot stop.
19. Jesse & Celine-sunrise, sunset, midnight.
20. "I wanted a killer from a world filled with killers."
21. The barn-raising scene in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
22. Sean Connery shooing the birds in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
23. The dance scene in Waterloo Bridge
24. The train scene in The Hours
25. Celia Johnson in Brief Encounter
26. Cate Blanchett's narration in Lord of the Rings

27. The dinosaurs in The Tree of Life
28. The scene in the woods in The Conformist
29. The title scene of Celine & Julie Go Boating
30. "You're wearing the thimble"
31. A guy you like taking your hand for the first time in a darkened movie theater.
32. "Open the pod bay doors Hal"
33. Janet Gaynor in Sunrise
34. The opening tracking shot of Touch of Evil...really all tracking shots
35. "Tradition!"
36. "John Doe has the upper hand"
37. The library in Beauty and the Beast
38. Every time I see the words "Composed by John Williams"
39. Zuzu Petals
40. When people clap sporadically at the end of a movie
41. "I wish I knew how to quit you"
42. Jean Hagen in Singin' in the Rain

43. "The Ludlows" theme from Legends of the Fall
44. When Jill comes home in Once Upon a Time in the West
45. The Annie Hall lobsters
46. Teaser trailers
47. "Hero" in Boyhood
48. The first trip to Neverland in Peter Pan (the 2003 version)
49. Lois Smith's scene in Minority Report
50. "Forget it Jake, it's Chinatown"
51. Deborah Kerr's giant skirt in The King and I
52. Gloria Grahame in Crossfire
53. The moment of "I feel so in-the-moment and alive" every time I saw Titanic on the big screen as a teenager...and as an adult.
54. Orson Welles furiously clapping in Citizen Kane.
55. "Dr. Grant, my dear Dr. Sattler, welcome to Jurassic Park."
56. Offenbach in Life is Beautiful

57. "Edelweiss"
58. Rooftop fighting in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
59. The scene in the woods in House of Flying Daggers
60. Barbra Streisand adjusting Robert Redford's hair in The Way We Were
61. Kissing in the rain...with an orange cat.
62. Nat King Cole singing "Starlight" in Sleepless in Seattle
63. The way that Maggie Smith says "succession of the Stuarts" in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
64. The walk down the stairs in Children of Men
65. Gregory Peck's ears
66. Shirley MacLaine's legs
67. Meryl Streep on the sea wall in The French Lieutenant's Woman
68. Frederick A. Young

69. The lights outside the Edina Landmark
70. "I'm Easy"
71. Kim Novak's hair in Vertigo
72. "I am big, it's the pictures that got small"
73. "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night"
74. The wood-chopping scene in Shane
75. John Wayne in a doorway in The Searchers
76. The way that my mom cries every time we watch Hoosiers together
77. My dad taking me to my first R-rated movie (Traffic)
78. The way that I caught my grandfather crying during Apollo 13
79. My brother and my annual awards shows
80. The reunion scene in White Fang

81. The title scene in Blow-Up
82. Kelly MacDonald's voice
83. The Pixar lamp
84. Faye Dunaway reading the "tale of Bonnie and Clyde"
85. Gene Tierney in Laura
86. Peter O'Toole blowing up the train
87. Audrey Hepburn's press conference in Roman Holiday
88. Ruth Hussey in The Philadelphia Story
89. Rouge City
90. Hogwarts
91. The words "Directed by Ingmar Bergman" in the opening credits
92. Brad Pitt, shirtless, in Thelma & Louise
93. "I had a farm in Africa"
94. The crispness of the night air after you've left a Saturday evening movie
95. The way that the weekend feels extra long when you see a movie on a Thursday night.
96. The Godfather Waltz
97. Lampwick's transformation
98. Kate Hepburn's lilt
99. Judith Anderson and Joan Fontaine by the window in Rebecca
100. "If I have to lie, cheat, steal, or kill, as God as my witness, I'll never be hungry again!"

Those are mine (as of this moment)-what are yours?  Share yours in the comments (or share a link to your list on a different blog and I'll include it here!).  And make sure to check out Allyson and Nathaniel's links and blogs up-top: they're awesome too!!!!