We came to 1945 for the same reason we came to 1944: to explore all the years where Alfred Hitchcock was nominated for Best Director. This was his third nomination overall, for his second film under the auspices of producer David O. Selznick. The two admired each other, but both laid heavy hands in their work, so it's little surprise that, despite technically working for Selznick, Hitch made more films on loan to other studios during their seven years "together." Spellbound, fortunately, was a huge hit, the third greatest earner of the year in the US, while breaking box office records twice over in London.
Hitchcock found himself up for Best Director in a rare 3/5 repeat of the previous year's Best Director lineup:
Clarence Brown, National Velvet
Alfred Hitchcock, Spellbound
Leo McCarey, The Bells of St. Mary's
Jean Renoir, The Southerner
Billy Wilder, The Lost Weekend
The year before, Hitchcock, McCarey, and Wilder were all nominated, with McCarey winning; this year, Wilder would come out the winner. Hitchcock and Wilder were up against each other twice more, which we'll get into next month. In the meantime, my rankings, from fifth to first:
5. Leo McCarey for The Bells of St. Mary's
two-time winner, third and final Director nomination
Solid work, McCarey is returning to familiar territory. Of his other work I’ve seen, he shines with actresses, so once again I must spotlight Bergman’s performance; her presence and the whole nun thing seems to have inspired him. Still can’t massage the tonal whiplash.
4. Jean Renoir for The Southerner
only nomination; National Board of Review's Best Director of 1945
I don’t know what Renoir was responding to between this and Swamp Water, but the man loves a Southern story. Great visual moments, fine supporting performances, and an overall sense of Sisyphean determination. The man loves hard-scrabble people!
3. Alfred Hitchcock for Spellbound
Dream sequences (devised by Salvador Dali, at Hitchcock's insistence)! Metaphorical hallways! Windswept romance! Hitchcock puts the inner passions of his protagonists on full display, keeping the psychological thriller-melodrama-romance at an exciting pitch throughout. Another director might have leaned too self-seriously, but Hitch knows there's more than a bit of nonsense here, so why not have fun?
2. Billy Wilder for The Lost Weekend
second of eight Best Director nominations; Golden Globe winner for Best Director, NYFCC Awards winner for Best Director
Determined to make a horror film of addiction, Wilder effectively uses shadows and distortion to create an endless night - and also an inescapable, hot afternoon - that blends and bends the time alcoholic Don is losing track of. Effective, though the style occasionally endangers the narrative. But he knows what he's doing, and his gift with actors, his instinct for when to lean on realism, his balance of tone, all keep everything grounded.
1. Clarence Brown for National Velvet
fifth of six nominations
He gets a marvelous performance from child star Liz Taylor, but even vets like Mickey Rooney, Donald Crisp, and Anne Revere seem newly invigorated. Brown makes an old formula feel fresh and look beautiful. He’s sentimental without becoming saccharine, and he knows the race isn’t the climax, but just part of a larger story of forgiveness and growing up. The most surprising film from this year, perhaps.
Tomorrow, my Top Ten films of 1945!
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