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Please read the Supporting Actress Smackdown of 1944 before listening please!

After voting in the Smackdown Nathaniel and the panel which included Mark Harris, Loren King, Farran Smith Nehme, Molly Pope, and Matthew Rettenmund got together to talk about the five films we watched and that era in Hollywood during World War II. We hope you enjoy the conversation!

Index (62 minutes)

00:01 Introductions of the Panel

03:00 Dragon Seed, yellowface, production trouble, and Oscar theories

11:50 Since You Went Away, war propaganda, and acting styles

24:00 None but the Lonely Heart, Cary Grant, Barrymore and "great lady" acting

38:50 Gaslight and Mrs Parkington

51:30 Our favorites of 1944 including Meet Me in St Louis and Double Indemnity

57:30 The forgotten Wilson, final Oscar notes and goodbyes.

You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you?

Gladys Cooper downing the drinks!

Presenting the Supporting Actresses of '44. A low class maid, a French baroness, a patriotic nurse, a weary shop-owner and a "Chinese" village woman battled it out for Oscar gold. We're here to re-judge that contest. 

The Nominees 

from left to right: Barrymore, Jones, Lansbury, MacMahon, Moorehead

Oscar was still besotted with recent nominees Jennifer Jones & Agnes Moorehead (both on their quick second nominations) but joining the party were two veterans who'd never been honored (Ethel Barrymore & Aline MacMahon) and one very fresh face who would go on to an enviably long cross-platform showbiz career, now in its 73rd year (!) -- Angela Lansbury in her film debut! 

Notable supporting roles for women that the Academy passed over in 1944 were Mary Astor (Meet Me in St Louis), Shirley Temple (Since You Went Away), Dame May Whitty (Gaslight), and Joseph Hull & Jean Adair (Arsenic & Old Lace). Can you think of any others?...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences called an urgent board of governors meeting Saturday to decide what to do about one of their most storied members, Harvey Weinstein, who perhaps more than anyone in Hollywood today is identified with the Oscars.

This week the Weinstein Company’s ousted co-owner landed on the cover of Time Magazine after revelations in the New York Times, The New Yorker and beyond about his 30-odd years of bad behavior as an alleged sexual predator, abuser, harasser and rapist. His own brother Bob has gone on the record calling him “sick and depraved.”

While the London and New York police departments have opened up cases on Harvey Weinstein, he has yet to be arrested, charged, or indicted. The Producers Guild of America postponed a recent meeting to give them privacy in their deliberations over his ongoing membership. BAFTA suspended him. UK politicians urged...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences called an urgent board of governors meeting Saturday to decide what to do about one of their most storied members, Harvey Weinstein, who perhaps more than anyone in Hollywood today is identified with the Oscars.

This week the Weinstein Company’s ousted co-owner landed on the cover of Time Magazine after revelations in the New York Times, The New Yorker and beyond about his 30-odd years of bad behavior as an alleged sexual predator, abuser, harasser and rapist. His own brother Bob has gone on the record calling him “sick and depraved.”

While the London and New York police departments have opened up cases on Harvey Weinstein, he has yet to be arrested, charged, or indicted. The Producers Guild of America postponed a recent meeting to give them privacy in their deliberations over his ongoing membership. BAFTA suspended him. UK politicians urged...

There was more than enough narrative complexity for editors to tackle in Emmy contenders “The Crown,” “American Gods,” “This Is Us,” “Fargo,” and “Five Came Back.” But through skill and finesse, they helped make these shows compelling and relevant by cutting through the multiple strands of history, mythology, melodrama, and black comedy.

“The Crown” focused on the public and private personas of Queen Elizabeth II (Claire Foy) in post-war England; “American Gods” explored how Old and New Gods fight for attention in modern society; “This Is Us” chose a non-linear structure to show the influence of the past on millennial siblings; “Fargo” dealt with twin brothers (Ewan McGregor) in a third season of absurd crime shenanigans; and “Five Came Back” revealed how the World War II propaganda campaign changed the lives of directors Frank Capra, John Ford, John Huston, George Stevens, and William Wyler.

“The Crown”

In “Hyde Park Corner,...

After two consecutive casting announcements from Amblin Entertainment, it’s official: Steven Spielberg and Mark Rylance are, like, totally BFFs! As if collaborating their way to a Best Supporting Actor Oscar and finally bringing the Roald Dahl classic The Bfg to the big screen weren’t enough, it looks like this dynamic duo – what are we calling them - Stark? Ryberg? Spylance? – are gonna shack up for two more big screen ventures. You won’t see us complaining. If Bridge of Spies was any indication, this fusing of sensibilities has the makings of a director-actor partnership for the ages.

While we’re on the subject of theatre and film titans merging, the plot thickens. As spilled on Twitter by Mark Harris, the entertainment industry’s atom-splitter emeritus, Lincoln’s dream team of Spielberg and Pulitzer Prize (and, in a just world, Oscar) winner Tony Kushner is triangulating with Rylance to...