Shea Cinema: The Best Picture Project

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Shea Cinema: The Best Picture Project

Shea Cinema

57 episodes

1 week ago

(Episode recorded October 26, 2024) It's our ninth review of the season, and our sixth nominee for Outstanding Production at the Sixth Academy Awards. State Fair is based on the bestselling 1932 novel by Phil Stong, and was the first of three film adaptations of the novel; the others were both musical adaptations made in 1945 and 1962. This family adventure at the local fair boasts the return of Janet Gaynor (our first time seeing her in a talkie since our first season where she starred in tw...

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(Episode recorded October 26, 2024) It's our ninth review of the season, and our sixth nominee for Outstanding Production at the Sixth Academy Awards. State Fair is based on the bestselling 1932 novel by Phil Stong, and was the first of three film adaptations of the novel; the others were both musical adaptations made in 1945 and 1962. This family adventure at the local fair boasts the return of Janet Gaynor (our first time seeing her in a talkie since our first season where she starred in tw...

Show more...

Episodes (20/57)

Shea Cinema: The Best Picture Project

S6E10: State Fair, 1933

(Episode recorded October 26, 2024) It's our ninth review of the season, and our sixth nominee for Outstanding Production at the Sixth Academy Awards. State Fair is based on the bestselling 1932 novel by Phil Stong, and was the first of three film adaptations of the novel; the others were both musical adaptations made in 1945 and 1962. This family adventure at the local fair boasts the return of Janet Gaynor (our first time seeing her in a talkie since our first season where she starred in tw...

4 months ago

1 hour 52 minutes

Shea Cinema: The Best Picture Project

S6E9: She Done Him Wrong, 1933

(Episode recorded October 25, 2024) It's our eighth review of the season, but only our fifth nominee for Outstanding Production at the Sixth Academy Awards. In fact, She Done Him Wrong is the shortest film nominated for the top prize...and the top prize was it's only nomination. The film was adapted from the successful 1928 Broadway play Diamond Lil, penned by and starring Mae West. Despite it's success on the stage, the play was actually banned, which led to multiple issues once production o...

7 months ago

1 hour 47 minutes

Shea Cinema: The Best Picture Project

S6E8: Cavalcade, 1933

(Episode recorded October 19, 2024) It's been three months since our last episode, but it's been even longer since we recorded this one! In our seventh review of the season, we are exploring the actual winner of the Oscar for Outstanding Production at the Sixth Academy Awards, Frank Lloyd's Cavalcade, based on Noel Coward's play. This smash hit was nominated for four Oscars, and won three. The film covers 30 years, following two British families starting from the Boer War, through several oth...

7 months ago

2 hours 3 minutes

Shea Cinema: The Best Picture Project

S6E7: A Farewell to Arms, 1932

WE ARE BACK! In our sixth review of the season, we are back on track with an actual Outstanding Production nomination. We dive into A Farewell to Arms, based on Ernest Hemingway's 1929 novel (which supposedly had 47 different endings!) We discuss the film's historical context, character dynamics, the challenges of censorship and adaptation, and the themes of love and war. Did you know Hemingway had a tiny feud with Mussolini? We also speculate that this might be the most sexua...

10 months ago

2 hours

Shea Cinema: The Best Picture Project

S6E6: The Sign of the Cross, 1932 BONUS EPISODE!

This is our third bonus episode and our fifth review of the season! We are covering one of Dad's childhood favorites: Cecil B. DeMille's notorious tale of forbidden love and Roman Empire decadence, The Sign of the Cross. With scandalous scenes such as the Dance of the Naked Moon and an over-the-top extravaganza in the Roman Colosseum (naked women! elephants trampling gladiators! lions mauling Christian traitors!), Sara and Dad discuss whether this movie is a hidden treasure or a gui...

11 months ago

2 hours 10 minutes

Shea Cinema: The Best Picture Project

S6E5: I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang, 1932 (feat. Kieran B)

For our second regular nomination review of the season, we are excited to welcome Kieran B. from Best Picture Cast as our first official guest host! Kieran, Dad and Sara take a deep dive into this classic Warner Brothers prison flick, making connections to Les Misérables, Ben Hur, The Shawshank Redemption (of course), and even Stranger Things. As a special treat, our history timeline includes a game-by-game look at the 1932 World Series, which features some surprises of its own. Please leave...

1 year ago

2 hours 45 minutes

Shea Cinema: The Best Picture Project

S6E4: Smilin' Through, 1932

We are finally diving into our standard nomination reviews! This time we are covering Smilin' Through, starring Norma Shearer and Fredric March. This fascinating film has love triangles, murder, intrigue, tragedy, revenge...and GHOSTS. (And some neat camera tricks and flashbacks and double-roles.) Is it just an old-timey Hallmark movie, or is it something more? The historical timeline has some scientific revelations! And while we have top song of the day, we also have an extra song at the en...

1 year ago

1 hour 53 minutes

Shea Cinema: The Best Picture Project

S6E3: The Most Dangerous Game, 1932 BONUS EPISODE!

This is our 50th episode! For our second review of the season, we have another bonus episode! We are covering The Most Dangerous Game, based on a 1924 short story by Richard Connell. This film was made by the same crew who made King Kong, even filming on the same sets, and using several of the same actors. We also welcome guest (and family member) Jerry Shea, a retired English teacher who used the short story and movie in his classroom. Our history timeline includes some fun bas...

1 year ago

1 hour 26 minutes

Shea Cinema: The Best Picture Project

S6E2: White Zombie, 1932 BONUS EPISODE!

Welcome to our first film review of the season! We are kicking off with a special BONUS EPISODE! And what better super surprise than the very first zombie story ever told on celluloid! This obscure movie stars Bela Lugosi fresh off his success as Dracula, and offers up a zombie origin unfamiliar to the average movie-lover (we’ve got Haitian voodoo and mind-control to contend with). We explore its historical context, cultural significance, and the evolution of zombie films. Of course, we dis...

1 year ago

1 hour 40 minutes

Shea Cinema: The Best Picture Project

S6E1: 6th Academy Awards, 1934

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 for...

1 year ago

1 hour 38 minutes

Shea Cinema: The Best Picture Project

S5E11: Season 5 Finale

In this episode we wrap up the 5th Academy Awards, giving a quick rundown of all 8 films nominated for the top award, Outstanding Production. Walt Disney's Parade of the Award Nominees short: https://youtu.be/6PoSjUf1j7k?si=cWueX5ngKIiGbW58 Including our bonus film, we give our personal favorites and personal worsts. We also view the nominees as Oscar Bridesmaids, and bestow runner-up awards. Alternate Ending review of Grand Hotel: https://www.alternateending.com/2015/05/people-come-peopl...

1 year ago

2 hours 8 minutes

Shea Cinema: The Best Picture Project

S5E10: Grand Hotel, 1932

This is our last film review of the season, and we cover Outstanding Production winner, Grand Hotel. This movie is unique in that, while it did win the top prize at the 5th Academy Awards, it did not receive a nomination in any other category, a feat that has never been repeated. This is our most star-studded cast to date, featuring Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, John AND Lionel Barrymore, Wallace Beery, and Lewis Stone. Oh, and it also features an adorable dog named Adolphus. Tune...

1 year ago

2 hours 34 minutes

Shea Cinema: The Best Picture Project

S5E9: One Hour With You, 1932

Welcome to our episode on One Hour With You, our fourth Ernst Lubitsch film for the project, and our THIRD Lubitsch musical...which also means our third Maurice Chevalier vehicle. Chevalier is joined once again by Jeanette MacDonald. How is this film any different from the others we have reviewed? Well, this one doesn't feature fantasy royalty, and is grounded quite firmly in hoity-toity French upper-crust 1930s society. It's a frivolous little romp through the ups and downs of on...

1 year ago

1 hour 45 minutes

Shea Cinema: The Best Picture Project

S5E8: Shanghai Express, 1932

Today we go over director Josef von Sternberg's Shanghai Express, starring Marlene Dietrich, Clive Brook, Anna May Wong, and Werner Oland. Based on a real-life incident of train passengers taken hostage in China, the story vacillates between a dramatic action film and a searing love story. Rife with plenty of intrigue (prostitution, drug smuggling, civil war, rape, murder), Shanghai Express is a feast for the eyes. It also grapples with racial tension/prejudice, some of it unintentional...

1 year ago

1 hour 58 minutes

Shea Cinema: The Best Picture Project

S5E7: Arrowsmith, 1931

In our fifth regular film review of the season, we cover director John Ford's Arrowsmith, adapted from Sinclair Lewis's Pulitzer Prize winning novel. No, this is not the origin story of a 20th Century rock band, but it is the story of a young doctor who is determined to follow the scientific method no matter the cost. The story also has some unsettling implications for us now in the 21st century, as it grapples with an outbreak of plague and the uncertainty of using an untested vaccine. The f...

1 year ago

1 hour 51 minutes

Shea Cinema: The Best Picture Project

S5E6: Frankenstein, 1931 BONUS EPISODE!

That's right! It's a BONUS EPISODE, and today we are covering 1931's Frankenstein. Everyone thinks they know this classic monster movie whether they've seen it or not, and we take a deep dive as it falls right on our regular timeline. We covered Dracula last season, and we thought it would be unforgivable if we didn't cover this Universal Pictures horror film too. Joining us again for our final thoughts is Kid Keely, weighing in with her own fantastic insights. Pl...

1 year ago

1 hour 58 minutes

Shea Cinema: The Best Picture Project

S5E5: The Champ, 1931

Please leave us a review wherever you are listening! Email us rants as well as raves: sheacinema@gmail.com You can also find us on Instagram (and now Twitter/X): @sheacinema

1 year ago

1 hour 56 minutes

Shea Cinema: The Best Picture Project

S5E4: Five Star Final, 1931

THIS IS OUR FORTIETH EPISODE!! This third film review of the season covers Five Star Final, starring Edward G. Robinson in a non-gangster role. This tale of yellow journalism gone horribly wrong showcases the horrifying consequences when a newspaper decides to resurrect a long-forgotten murder case, and then does the unthinkable in order to make it happen. This screenplay has several literary allusions, and a stellar cast. Of course we have our history timeline, top song of the ...

1 year ago

2 hours 32 minutes

Shea Cinema: The Best Picture Project

S5E3: Bad Girl, 1931

Here is our second film review for the season! Frank Borzage, who won Best Director at the first Academy Awards for Seventh Heaven, is back, with ANOTHER win for Best Director of this film, Bad Girl. Newcomer James Dunn dominates the screen in this Academy Award-winning adaptation of the novel of the same name. That's right, this pre-code gem won two out of three nominations, losing out only on Outstanding Production. We try to figure out why. Give a listen as we dive into sexual harassment, ...

1 year ago

2 hours 48 minutes

Shea Cinema: The Best Picture Project

S5E2: The Smiling Lieutenant, 1931

In our first film review for the season, we cover The Smiling Lieutenant, another Ernst Lubitsch musical comedy. Starring Maurice Chevalier, Claudette Colbert, and newcomer Miriam Hopkins, this jaunty, suggestive film focuses on a love triangle between a lieutenant, his violin virtuoso girlfriend, and a naïve princess. There is lots of innuendo, lots of sexual banter, and ridiculous songs comparing sex to jazz and, yes, breakfast foods. We cover several months on our history timeline, top so...

1 year ago

1 hour 50 minutes