S6E1: 6th Academy Awards, 1934

Shea Cinema: The Best Picture Project

Welcome to our Season 6 Premiere! We took a two-month break, and we never want to be away for that long again! (Please scroll to the bottom for chapter timestamps.)

Sara and Dad cover the 6th Academy Awards ceremony. This is the longest eligibility period to date: honoring the best in films released in the United States between August 1, 1932 and December 31, 1933. We discuss the context of these films being made during the pre-code era, and what the implications are for filmmaking moving forward. (Frank Capra has a very interesting influence on the structure of the Academy and voting moving forward.)

Last season we had eight nominees for Outstanding Production. This season we have even MORE with ten nominees. In addition, we are also going to be covering a record number of bonus episodes (movies that were not nominated for Outstanding Production but still fall on our historical timeline).

Of course, we give an overview of the ten films nominated for the top honor, and speculate on our interests.
The Movies:

• Smilin’ Through (1932)
• I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)
• A Farewell to Arms (1932)
• Cavalcade* (1933)
• She Done Him Wrong (1933)
• State Fair (1933)
• 42nd Street (1933)
• Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)
• Lady for a Day (1933)
• The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933)
• Little Women (1933)

Books mentioned by Dad:

• Capra, Frank. The Name Above the Title: An Autobiography. MacMillan, 1971.
• Schulman, Michael. Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears. HarperCollins, 2023

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Shea Cinema and the Oscars

02:23 The Sixth Academy Awards Overview

08:02 Will Rogers, Frank Capra, and the Ceremony

18:34 Category Capers and Changes in the Academy

28:21 Exploring the Nominees: Smilin' Through to Little Women

1:15:24 Dreading/Looking Forward To

1:18:16 Historical Context, the Pre-Code Era, the Impact of the Hays Code, and Labor Strikes

1:29:27 Looking Ahead: Bonus Episodes and Future Discussions
Additionally, Sara created Top-Song-of-the-Day Playlists for each season on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@SheaCinema/playlists

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פרקים

1. Intro to Shea Cinema and the Oscars (00:00:00)

2. The Sixth Academy Awards Overview (00:02:23)

3. Will Rogers, Frank Capra, and the Ceremony (00:08:02)

4. Category Capers and Changes in the Academy (00:18:34)

5. Exploring the Nominees (00:28:21)

6. Dreading/Looking Forward To (01:15:24)

7. Historical Context, the Pre-Code Era, the Hays Code, and Labor Strikes (01:18:16)

8. Looking Ahead: Bonus Episodes and Future Discussions (01:29:27)