The Fifth Annual Academy Awards: 1918

Posted on August 20, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

A scene from Tarzan of The Apes

1918 was a year of dominated by war and pestilence. As the world seemed to be intent on destroying itself, both the Academy and American filmgoers embraced escapism.

Overseas, the Great War continued to drag on. With no end to the fighting in sight, there were fears that the American public would turn against the war and their elected leaders would withdraw American soldiers from the fighting. The British government, realizing the potential of film as a propaganda tool, contacted director D.W. Griffith and offered to help him make a film. The end result was Hearts of the World, an epic war film that starred Lillian Gish as a French girl who struggles to survive and find true love as the Germans raid her village.

Though Gish would later say that Griffith was displeased with the pro-war tone of Hearts Of The World, the film was a great success at the box office. Or, at least it was until the fighting finally ended on November 11, 1918. Following the signing of the Armistice, war-weary film goers were ready to escape the grimness of conflict.

For Hollywood, 1918 was a year of tragedy. On June 29th, cinematographer John van den Broek, who had just received considerable attention for his work on Paramount’s The Blue Bird, drowned while shooting the film Woman. His body was never recovered.

The first cases of the Spanish flu were reported in January and, by the end of the year, it would spread to every corner of the civilized world. Before the pandemic ended two years later, over 500 million people would be infected and 100 million — 5% of the world’s population — would die as a result. However, because of wartime censorship, it’s debatable how aware most people were of this deadly killer.

The film industry would not hit by the deadly flu until the sudden death of the popular young actor, Harold Lockwood. As a previous nominee for Best Actor, Lockwood was the first Academy Award nominee to pass away. On October 22nd, just three days after Lockwood’s death, actor Julian L’Estrange would also pass away from the flu. Though L’Estrange was never as big a star as Lockwood, he was married to popular actress Constance Collier and the young film industry was hit hard by his death.

With reality so grim, can we be surprised that filmgoers embraced comedy? Among the most popular films of the year was Mickey, in which Mabel Normand played an orphan who, after being raised by coal miners, ended up finding love in New York City. Also searching for love in New York was Mary Miles Minter in The Eyes of Julia Deep.

Mary Pickford returned to the screen in several films. The melodrama Stella Maris featured Pickford in two roles, playing both a paralyzed rich girl and an orphaned servant girl. For those who preferred Pickford in a light-hearted mood, there was Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley, a take on Pygmalion that featured Pickford as a poor girl learning how to be a refined lady.

However, the most popular film of the year was Tarzan of the Apes, the first film to be made about the legendary king of the jungle. Starring Elmo Lincoln in the title role, Tarzan of the Apes was a huge box office success and provided eager audiences with an escape from reality.

When the Award nominations were announced, Tarzan of the Apes received 7 nominations. Following with 5 nominations were Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley, The Eyes of Julia Deep, Hearts of The World, and Mickey. Coming in with three nominations was Stella Maris. For the first time, there were two posthumous nominations, John van den Broek for The Blue Bird and Julian L’Estrange, who was nominated for best actor for his performance in the comedy Daybreak.

The Awards Ceremony was held on February 20th, 1919 at the Hollywood Hotel. For the third time in a row, the ceremony was hosted by comedian Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle. A speech was also given by Academy President Thomas H. Ince, who earlier that year had been elected without opposition to a second term.

Tarzan of the Apes won awards for best picture, director, and cinematography. Mabel Normand won best actress for Mickey. According to most contemporary reports, the emotional highlight of the evening came when Constance Collier accepted Julian L’Estrange’s posthumous award for best actor.

Constance Collier, widow of Julian L’Estrange

The Fifth Annual Academy Awards

(Honoring films released in the U.S. between January 1st and December 31st, 1918.

Winners are starred and listen in bold.)

Best Picture

Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley. Produced by Adolph Zukor. Directed by Marshall Neilan. Artcraft.

The Eyes of Julia Deep. Produced and Directed by Lloyd Ingraham. American Film.

Hearts of the World. Produced by and Directed by D.W. Griffith. Paramount.

Mickey. Produced by Mack Sennett. Directed by F. Richard Jones and James Young. FBO.

Stella Maris. Produced by Mary Pickford. Produced by Marshall Neilan. Artcraft.

*Tarzan of the Apes, produced by Williams Parsons. Directed by Scott Sidney. First National.

A scene from Tarzan of the Apes

Best Director, Comedy

Allan Dwan for Bound in Morocco. Artcraft.

Lloyd Ingraham for The Eyes of Julia Deep. American Film.

F. Richard Jones and James Young for Mickey. FBO.

*Marshall Neilan for Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley. Artcraft.

Marshall Neilan

Best Director, Drama

D.W. Griffith for Hearts of the World. Paramount.

Marshall Neilan for Stella Maris. Artcraft.

*Scott Sidney for Tarzan of the Apes. First National.

Maurice Tourneur for The Blue Bird. Paramount.

Scott Sidney

Best Actor

Edmund Burns in Under the Greenwood Tree. Paramount.

Douglas Fairbanks in Arizona. Artcraft.

*Julian L’Estrange in Daybreak. Metro Pictures.

Elmo Lincoln in Tarzan of the Apes. First National.

Julian L’Estrange

Best Actress

Lillian Gish in Hearts of the World. Paramount.

Mary Miles Minter In The Eyes of Julia Deep. American Film.

*Mabel Normand in Mickey. FBO.

Mary Pickford in Stella Maris. Artcraft.

Mabel Normand

Best Writing

Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley. Frances Marion. Artcraft.

*The Eyes of Julia Deep. Kate L. McLaurin. American Film.

Mickey. J.G. Hawks. FBO.

Tarzan of The Apes. Fred Miller. First National.

The Eyes of Julia Deep

Best Cinematography

The Blue Bird. John van den Broek. Paramount.

Hearts of the World. G.W. Bitzer. Paramount.

*Tarzan of the Apes. Enrique Juan Vallejo. First National.

Under the Yoke. John W. Boyle. Fox Film.

Tarzan of the Apes

Best Art Direction

Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley. Wilfred Buckland. Artcraft.

*Hearts of the World. Frank Wortman. Paramount.

Huck and Tom. Homer Scott. Paramount.

Tarzan of the Apes. F.I. Wetherbee. First National.

Hearts of the World

Best Engineering Effects

*The Ghost of Slumber Mountain. Willis O’Brien. World Film.

The Heart of Humanity. Allen Holubar. Universal.

Hearts of the World. D.W. Griffith. Paramount.

Tarzan of the Apes. Scott Sidney. First National.

The Ghost of Slumber Mountain

Best Title Writing

The Blue Bird. Charles Maigne. Paramount.

The Eyes of Julia Deep. Elizabeth Mahoney. American Film.

*Mickey. J.G. Hawks. FBO.

Tarzan of the Apes. Lois Weber. First National.

A scene from Mickey

Films By Number of Nominations:

7 Nominations — Tarzan of the Apes

5 Nominations — Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley, The Eyes of Julia Deep, Hearts of the World, Mickey

3 Nominations — The Blue Bird, Stella Maris

1 Nomination — Arizona, Daybreak, Bound in Morocco, Ghost of Slumber Mountain, The Heart of Humanity, Huck and Tom, Under the Greenwood Tree, Under The Yoke

Films By Number of Awards Won

3 Awards — Tarzan of the Apes

2 Awards — Mickey

1 Award — Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley, Daybreak, The Eyes of Julia Deep, Ghost of Slumber Mountain, Hearts of the World

Studios By Number of Nominations

11 Nominations — Paramount

10 Nominations — Artcraft

7 Nominations — First National

5 Nominations — American Film, FBO

1 Nomination — Fox Films, Metro Pictures, Universal, World Film

Studios By Number of Wins

3 Nominations — First National

2 Nominations — FBO

1 Nomination — Artcraft, American Film, Metro Pictures, Paramount, World Film

Trivia:

Tarzan of the Apes is the first adventure film to win best picture.

John van den Broek and Julian L’Estrange are the first two people to be posthumously nominated for an Award.

Julian L’Estrange is the first person to posthumously win an Award.

The Third Annual Academy Awards: 1916

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Thomas H. Ince, the 2nd President of AMPAS

In the long history of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 1916 was dominated by one man: Thomas H. Ince.

Today, Ince is a largely forgotten figure and his many accomplishments have been overshadowed by the mysterious and potentially sordid circumstances of his death in 1924. However, in 1916, Ince was one of the most popular figures working in the film industry. He was the first producer to build his own studio in California and, with D.W. Griffith and Academy President Mack Sennett, founded the Triangle Motion Picture Company. When, following the 2nd Academy Awards ceremony, Sennett announced the he would not be running for a second term as president of the AMPAS, Ince was the obvious choice to replace him.

As President, Ince immediately launched a recruiting drive to bring more industry professionals into the organization and set about restructuring the AMPAS, dividing membership into five separate branches — Producers, Actors, Directors, Writers, and Technicians.

Thomas Ince directing

Ince also changed the method by which the Academy Awards were determined. Abandoning the previous method of using a “jury of distinguished citizens,” each branch would now make their own nominations. After the nominations had been determined, each branch would elect one representative to sit on the committee that would select the actual winners.

Along with being the President of the Academy, Ince was also the producer and co-director of one of the leading award contenders. Civilization told the story of Count Ferdinand (Howard C. Hickman), a nobleman in a fictional European kingdom. Assigned to command a ship in battle, Ferdinand refuses to fire a torpedo at a civilian ocean liner and loses his life as a result. After descending to purgatory, Ferdinand is recruited by Jesus himself and sent back among the living to preach world peace Released at a time when Europe was at war and President Woodrow Wilson was running for reelection on a platform of international neutrality, Civilization was a critical and box office success. When Wilson was narrowly reelected over Charles Hughes, the Democratic National Committee publicly praised the role played by Civilization.

Woodrow Wilson and Charles Evans Hughes

Civilization‘s main competition came from D.W. Griffith’s epic Intolerance. Ironically enough, both Intolerance and Civilization were distributed by Triangle Film and both featured Jesus as a supporting character. However, in Intolerance, the story of Jesus was just one of four separate storylines, all of which were meant to portray the role of intolerance throughout human history. (The film itself was largely designed as a response to what Griffith viewed as being unfair criticism of his previous epic, Birth of a Nation.) At that point in cinematic history, Intolerance was the most extravagant and expensive film ever made. Unfortunately, it was also a failure at the box office.

Intolerance

Other contenders included Universal‘s abortion-themed melodrama, Where Are My Children?, Paramount‘s adaptation of Oliver Twist, Fox Film‘s A Daughter of the Gods (which received a lot of attention for star Annette Kellerman‘s nude scene), and a British class drama called East is East.

When the nominations were announced, Intolerance led with 7 nominations, followed by Civilization with 5. Overall, the nominations were dominated by films released by Triangle Film. Film distributed by Triangle received a total of 17 nominations. 2nd place Universal received seven.

Lillian Gish in Intolerance

The Awards Committee consisted of the following representatives:

Former Academy President Mack Sennett, serving in place of Thomas Ince, who disqualified himself after being nominated for best producing and directing Civilization.
Lewis J. Selznick, representing the Producer’s Branch
Oscar C. Apfel, representing the Director’s Branch
Charles Ogle, representing the Actor’s Branch
Roy L. McCardell, representing the Writer’s Branch
George Schniederman, representing the Technician’s Branch

As an indication that the American film industry was abandoning New York City and heading out west, the ceremony was held, for the first time, in California. The Awards Ceremony was held on February 20th, 1917, at the Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles. The ceremony was hosted by popular comedian Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle.

Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, host of the Third Annual Academy Awards

For the first time, the winners were not announced ahead of time. All of the nominees were present at the ceremony but there are no records as to whether or not they were surprised by either the success of Civilization or the total failure of Intolerance. Out of 7 nominations, Intolerance won zero awards. Civilization picked up three awards, including best picture. Perhaps the most popular winner was cowboy star William S. Hart, who won best actor for Hell’s Hinges and defeated the presumed favorite, Where Are My Children‘s Tyrone Power.

The Third Annual Academy Awards

(Honoring film released in the U.S. between January 1st and December 31st of 1916. Winners are starred and listed in bold.)

Best Picture

*Civilization. Produced by Thomas H. Ince. Directed by Reginald Barker, Thomas H. Ince, and Roland West. Triangle Distributing.

A Daughter of the Gods. Produced by William Fox. Directed by Herbert Brenon. Fox Film Corporation.

East is East. Produced by Florence Turner. Directed by Henry Edwards. Mutual Film.

Intolerance. Produced and Directed by D.W. Griffith. Triangle Distributing.

Oliver Twist. Produced by Jesse L. Lasky. Directed by James Young. Paramount.

Where Are My Children? Produced and Directed by Lois Weber and Phillips Smalley. Universal.