THE MONTIES: 1947 - A little bit of something for everyone as the Monties get spread around

Wow, it's been 10 months since I last did a Monties post. Sorry about that. Been busy with work and actually doing more on my FB page for All Good Things than on here. Plus it gave me time to see more movies made for the year of 1947. So let's get started with a year that saw my Monties get spread around all over the place.

BEST FILM:
Winner: The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer
Nominees: The Farmer's Daughter, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Gentlemen's Agreement, Black Narcissus, The Bishop's Wife, Smash-Up: The Story Of A Woman, Miracle on 34th Street, Out Of The Past
Thoughts: One of the most diverse years ever with comedies, dramas, and film noir all mixing it up. Now while Gentlemen's Agreement, Black Narcissus and Smash-Up are definitely the type of films that get the Academy's attention I went with one of my favorite comedies of all time, The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer. Seeing veterans Cary Grant and Myrna Loy do their screwball thing brought back memories of the great comedies of the 30's. I have seen this film a gazillon times and it's still funny and fresh as seeing it for the first time.

Smile Cary..your film just won another Montie!

BEST DIRECTOR:
Winner: Jacques Tourneur (Out Of The Past)
Nominees: George Cukor (A Double Life); Michael Powell (Black Narcissus); Elia Kazan (Gentlemen's Agreement); Joseph L. Mankiewicz (The Ghost and Mrs. Muir)
Thoughts: Tourneur crafted one of the best film noirs in history with the excellent Out Of The Past. The other four nominees were no slouches but I felt Tourneur was the man to beat.

Jacques lining up a shot 

BEST WRITER:
Winner: Moss Hart (Gentleman's Agreement)
Nominees: Sidney Sheldon (The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer); Valentine Davis (Miracle on 34th Street); Dorothy Parker (Smash-Up); Eleazar Lipsky (Kiss Of Death)

A happy Moss Hart

BEST ACTOR:
Winner: Robert Mitchum (Out Of The Past)
Nominees: Rex Harrison (The Ghost and Mrs. Muir); Gregory Peck (Gentlemen's Agreement); Ronald Colman (A Double Life); Danny Kaye (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty); Cary Grant (The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer)
Thoughts: Bobby Mitchum was terrific as the private eye involved in double crosses and corruption. He denies Cary Grant for what would have been Grant's 4th Montie.

The man of the hour..Robert Mitchum

BEST ACTRESS:
Winner: Gene Tierney (The Ghost and Mrs. Muir)
Nominees: Loretta Young (The Farmer's Daughter); Susan Hayward (Smash-Up); Dorothy McGuire (Gentlemen's Agreement); Jane Greer (Out Of The Past); Deborah Kerr (Black Narcissus)
Thoughts: Gene Tierney gets her first Montie after losing out two years ago for Leave Her To Heaven. Her performance as Lucy Muir in the Ghost and Mrs. Muir is a wonderful one, mixing romanticism, strong willingness, and determination. Kudos to Gene.

Gene Tierney wins her first Montie

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: 
Winner: Ava Gardner (The Hucksters)
Nominees: Jean Simmons (Black Narcissus); Celeste Holm (Gentleman's Agreement); Natalie Wood (Miracle on 34th Street); Shirley Temple (The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer)

Thoughts: Ava scores a Montie on her first nomination. She missed out last year being nominated as Kitty Collins in The Killers by a hair as that year was top heavy with lots of strong female performances but she would not be denied this year. I loved her performance here and she had wonderful chemistry with Clark Gable. They would re-team again for Mogambo.

As does Ava

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: 
Winner: Edmund Gwenn (Miracle on 34th Street)
Nominees: Kirk Douglas (Out Of The Past); David Niven (The Bishop's Wife); Richard Widmark (Kiss Of Death); John Garfield (Gentleman's Agreement)
Thoughts: As good as Richard Widmark as crazed killer Tommy Udo in Kiss Of Death was, Edmund Gwenn was just awesome as the man named Kris Kringle who claims to be Santa with a sentimental and wonderful performance.

The delightful Edmund

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Winner: BLACK NARCISSUS
Nominees: The Ghost and Mrs. Muir; Sinbad the Sailor; Lady In The Lake
Thoughts: One beautiful looking film..period.

The beautiful looking Black Narcissus

BEST FILM SCORE:
Winner: Max Steiner (Life With Father)
Nominees: Miklos Rozsa (A Double Life); Hugo Friedhofer (The Bishop's Wife)
Thoughts: This is actually Steiner's first Montie as I didn't start recognizing film scores until just recently. So it is a given he would have won for Gone With The Wind, Casablanca and a few more. But as he was still scoring films thru the 60's I wager he will pick up one or two more.

Life With Father

So the final tally is really spread out as Out Of The Past is the only film to pick up multiple Monties, with two (Best Director and Best Actor). The Bachelor and The Bobby-Soxer became the 6th Cary Grant film to win Best Film. Wow! Cary also still has the most Monties with three Best Actor trophies. I was glad to see Ava Gardner and Gene Tierney pick up statues for their work and I won't be surprised if Ava wins another Montie before I'm done. And speaking of which I hope to be back with the 1948 edition much sooner than 11 months.