Come Back a Star: A Movie Award Podcast

This will be our last episode for a bit while we retool the show a little. It is also, however, our most intense competition for the Notscar yet! We nominated 6 out of 10 of the movies we watched for this season, and we were honestly undecided until the very last moment. Listen in as we quickly cover the highs and lows of 1932-33 and then agonize over who was truly the top movie of the season.

The official Best Picture winner of 1932-33! We've had a lot of good ones this season - ones we've heard of and are still watched. Cavalcade is less known. It was interesting to see what came out on top compared to Little Women, 42nd Street, A Farewell to Arms, I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, or The Private Life of Henry VIII. Does this all sound kind of mysterious? Listen to the episode! You'll quickly learn our verdict on the movie and why it may have claimed the prize back in 1899, I mean 1932-33.

"You keep your feet on the ground and your head on those shoulders of yours and go out, and Sawyer, you're going out a youngster but you've got to come back a star!"

Whooo! It's the source of our podcast's title! That doesn't mean we'll go easy on it though. The movie has its flaws, but so much of it is so iconic that its motifs have become tropes in our stories about showbusiness. Will it win a nomination for a Notscar? Tune in to see if whether or not we'll give our own award to the movie that gave us Come Back a Star's title.

"Beautiful movie hamstrung by censorship and the studios" could apply to a lot of movies as we enter into the era of the Hays Code, but A Farewell to Arms puts this on display in a very meaningful way. The movie seems to sway back and forth between an earnest romance and a critical realist anti-romance. The studio clearly wanted the tried and true box office romance. How badly did they want it? They originally had a different ending. Listen in to find out what they almost did!

More movie titles should just be what the movie is about from the perspective of the main character. I Am a Dinosaur in a Themepark. I Am a Mobster Taking Over for My Father. I Am a Fugitive from a  Chain Gang. This movie is a devastating look at the penal system of the US during the 20s and 30s. It sets you up with high hopes for the protagonist with the title, but things rapidly go downhill. Is the quality of the film a similar roller-coaster ride? Listen in to find out!

Ever want to rise from your apple selling existence and become a "Lady for a Day" for about a week? It's a happy wish fulfillment good time with gangsters, pool sharks, and apple vendors! Just ignore the many plot holes. IGNORE THEM! Just let the Depression audience have this, okay?

Listen in to hear if this Katherine Hepburn film lives up to the very long book. How does one cram that much story into a 2 hour movie? How does it compete with the more recent adaptations of Little Women from 1994 and 2019? None of these movies expanded into 6 hour epics, so what they decide to cut is always fascinating.

If you're looking for the real story about Henry VIII check out the Rex Factor podcast. Their episodes on the subject are fantastic! If you're looking for a movie that has the most fun with Henry VIII, check out The Private Life of Henry VIII. This dark comedy features Charles Laughton playing the titular Henry VIII in his most awful and boorish interpretation. The result works better than you might think. The movie is the first British film to be nominated for Best Picture and is a rare anti-Tutor drama presented in English! While few retellings of Henry VIII's story can be flattering, this movie goes out of its way to really hammer home a horrific yet buffoonish character.

"Oh dear heart!" said the ghost of his beloved Moonyeen.

Smilin' Through is a goofy goofy melodrama, but hey. At least it doesn't say anything wildly offensive! Jason's also just a little bit here for it when it come to the goofy melodrama. If you're going to do melodrama might as well have ghosts and a lust for revenge that transcends generations in it.

Mae West at her Mae West-y-est dominates the screen in this filmed play that she wrote. It also a features a young fellow by the name of Cary Grant. He's pretty dull and overshadowed by West here, but I think he has potential.