THE MONTIES: 1943 - Without a Shadow of a Doubt, Hitchcock wins his first Montie..as well as a couple of women named Anne

Back with another year of the Monties, my version of the Oscars. These are the films and performances I would have given an award to as being best in show for that given year. So let's get to it.

BEST FILM
winner: Shadow Of A Doubt
nominees: The More The Merrier; The Ox-Bow Incident; Casablanca; Edge of Darkness;
A Guy Named Joe; Old Acquaintance; Five Graves To Cairo; I Walked With A Zombie
Thoughts: Shadow Of A Doubt becomes the first Hitchcock film to pick up a Montie. Rebecca and The Lady Vanishes were the only previous Hitch films to receive a Best Film nomination but lost out to my favorite films of all time, His Girl Friday and Bringing Up Baby respectively. There were plenty of excellent films in 1943 such as The Ox-Bow Incident and Old Acquaintance. Some people may be surprised to see I Walked With A Zombie making the nominee list but if you have never seen this film, it is really, really good. A standout.

Nothing like a little celebratory feast, eh Teresa?

BEST DIRECTOR

winner: Alfred Hitchcock (Shadow Of A Doubt)

nominees: George Stevens (The More The Merrier); William Wellman (The Ox-Box Incident);

Billy Wilder (Five Graves To Cairo); Vincent Sherman (Old Acquaintance)

Thoughts: It was only a matter of time before I would give Hitch a Montie for Best Director. And we haven't even hit his most creative and rich period yet of the 50's. Expect plenty more Monties to go his way by the time it's all said and done.

Hitch doing a little dance after his win

BEST ACTOR

winner: Henry Fonda (The Ox-Bow Incident)

nominees: Errol Flynn (Edge Of Darkness); Joseph Cotten (Shadow Of A Doubt); Humphrey Bogart (Casablanca); Spencer Tracy (A Guy Named Joe)

Thoughts: As much as an iconic role that Bogie had in Casablanca, I was more impressed with the subtle performance of Henry Fonda in The Ox-Bow Incident as drifter Gil Carter who tries to be the sensible voice among a furious mob who wants justice on the men they think are guilty. Fonda shows you don't have to have a showy role to convey how talented an actor can be. He is excellent and worthy of a Montie. And honorable mention goes to Joseph Cotten as Uncle Charlie from Shadow Of A Doubt. Any other year, he would probably would have walked away with a Montie himself.

Ya'll hear that...I just won a Montie!

BEST ACTRESS

winner: Ann Sheridan (Edge Of Darkness)

nominees: Bette Davis (Old Acquaintance); Teresa Wright (Shadow Of A Doubt); Jean Arthur (The More The Merrier); Frances Dee (I Walked With A Zombie)

Thooughts: Proving there is more to her than being known just as the Oooomph Girl, Ann Sheridan was really, really good in Edge Of Darkness. Cast as a young Norwegian woman named Karen Stensgard, who along with her fishing village try to stand up German rule. She endures quite a lot in a very strong and moving performance. Powerful. Side note: some might be surprised to see Frances Dee here nominated for her performance in I Walked With A Zombie, but trust me, she is really good in this underrated film. As the nurse who comes to take care of a woman going through some problems, she winds up in the middle of voodoo and other things. This is quite a classic as is Dee's performance.

Ann looking a little tense before I announce her as the winner for Best Actress

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

winner: Anne Baxter (Five Graves To Cairo)

nominees: Esther Williams (A Guy Named Joe); Kim Hunter (The Seventh Victim); Lena Horne (Cabin In The Sky); Carmen Miranda (The Gang's All Here)

Thoughts: Well, well another Anne wins a Montie. This time being Anne Baxter in Five Graves To Cairo. She is terrific as Mouche, who helps a British soldier escape the clutches of German Field Marshall Rommel. I don't think Anne was ever better than here..maybe All About Eve. But she gives a truly outstanding performance. The other nominees are quite varied with Esther Williams, Lena Horne and Carmen Miranda.

Really, you boys think you can do better than Monty? I doubt that...he just thought

I gave a performance worthy of one of his awards.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

winner: Claude Rains (Casablanca)

nominees: Charles Coburn (The More The Merrier); Erich Von Stroheim (Five Graves To Cairo); Hume Cronyn (Shadow Of A Doubt); Harry Morgan (The Ox-Bow Incident)

Thoughts: Claude Rains wins his second Montie for his wonderful performance as Captain Louis Renault in Casablanca. He earns that film's only award from me and he deserves it. I acutally find his relationship with Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) far more interesting than Rick's and Ilsa. Louis and Rick have that type of relationship of give and take and is a joy to watch.

This Monty chap is a man of good taste I see...

So that wraps up the 1943 Monties..final tally..Shadow Of A Doubt is a multiple winner with two awards; Fives Graves to Cairo gets one; Casablanca gets one; Edge of Darkness gets one and The Ox-Bow Incident gets one. I spreaded the wealth around for this year. Be back shortly with 1944 and maybe a few more categories I'm thinking of adding.