14th Academy Awards: choose your alternate nominees (1941)
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Classic Film
sheetsadam1 — 1 month ago(February 24, 2026 05:17 PM)
The idea is this: what if the nominees for Best Picture each year weren't nominated? Which films should have taken their place in that scenario? Pick your alternate selections for Best Picture and, if you wish, mention anybody who you feel was overlooked in any other category. No need to confine yourself to the types of films which typically get nominated or to English-language cinema. If you missed the previous years, they can be found on the classic film board.
All films released in 1941 are eligible. The nominees were:
How Green Was My Valley- John Ford
Blossoms in the Dust - Mervyn LeRoy
Citizen Kane - Orson Welles
Here Comes Mr. Jordan - Alexander Hall
Hold Back the Dawn - Mitchell Leisen
The Little Foxes - William Wyler
The Maltese Falcon - John Huston
One Foot in Heaven - Irving Rapper
Sergeant York - Howard Hawks
Suspicion - Alfred Hitchcock
A great list of films (at least the seven I've watched).
Citizen Kane
should have won and I'd put
Suspicion
and
The Maltese Falcon
over
How Green was My Valley
as well. Maybe
Sergeant York
too, but that's a bit of a closer call.
My alternate nominees:
Sullivan's Travels - Preston Sturges
The Lady Eve - Preston Sturges
High Sierra - Raoul Walsh
The Devil and Daniel Webster - William Dieterle
Meet John Doe - Frank Capra
The Wolf Man - George Waggner
I'd still go with
Citizen Kane
, but
Sullivan's Travels
would probably take my number two slot.
"Praise be to Allah." - President Donald J. Trump, Easter Sunday 04/05/2026
- John Ford
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PygmyLion — 1 month ago(February 25, 2026 03:26 AM)
I probably should avoid responding to 1941 as it is not a good year for movies that I really like. The last time I watched
Citizen Kane
, I turned it off halfway through because I was bored with it. Hollywood seems to be in a World War 2 denial mode.
I really like
How Green was My Valley
and I like
Sergeant York
.
Suspicion
is fairly good.
From your list, I really like
Sullivan's Travels
, and
High Sierra
and
Meet John Doe
are pretty good.
I like
Underground
quite a bit.
So Ends Our Night
is another of my favorites.
49th Parallel
is interesting.
Come Live with Me
is amusing.
Out of the Fog
is good. ED -
Man Hunt
is another nice WWII drama, with Walter Pidgeon taking a shot at Hitler.
I'll go with:
How Green Was My Valley- John Ford
Sullivan's Travels - Preston Sturges
Sergeant York - Howard Hawks
High Sierra - Raoul Walsh
Meet John Doe - Frank Capra
Underground - Vincent Sherman
So Ends Our Night - John Cromwell
x
49th Parallel - Michael Powell
Suspicion - Alfred Hitchcock
Man Hunt - Fritz Lang
I guess
How Green Was My Valley
is my favorite of these, but
Sullivan's Travels
and
Sergeant York
are close. I am tempted to pick
Underground
or
So Ends Our Night
because World War 2 is going on - time to start worrying about the Nazis.
Note: I see that
49th Parallel
is on the 15th Academy Awards list as it wasn't released in the USA until 1942.
- John Ford
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sheetsadam1 — 1 month ago(February 25, 2026 04:01 AM)
Yeah, now that you mention it there is a notable lack of WWII here. I did consider mentioning Fritz Lang's
Man Hunt
and probably should have.
"Praise be to Allah." - President Donald J. Trump, Easter Sunday 04/05/2026 -