And the Oscar Goes to... (1943) Quiz

Answer: Bob Hope

Bob Hope had already set the record the previous year with three consecutive times hosting the Academy Awards (and being the first person to host a third time, overall), so this year just extended his record to four.

With American servicemen entering their third year of fighting in World War II at this time in 1943, Bob Hope was revered for his support of the serving members, and even hosting the Oscars, maintaining some semblance of normality on the home front, was part of it.

Answer: Yankee Doodle Dandy

James Cagney (1899-1986) was an American actor and dancer who began in vaudeville in the 1920s before entering the film industry with his first role in 1930. It wasn't long before he made a name for himself with tough-guy roles. His first Best Actor Oscar nomination came for 1938's "Angels With Dirty Faces", but it was in breaking out of the tough guy typecasting with "Yankee Doodle Dandy" that earned Cagney the win.

"Yankee Doodle Dandy" is a biographical musical film wherein Cagney played George M. Cohan, who was considered the father of the American musical comedy (and 'The Man Who Owned Broadway') in the decade before World War I.

Answer: Van Heflin

Emmett Evan "Van" Heflin Jr. (1908-71) began his acting career on Broadway in the late 1920s before taking his first film role in 1936's "A Woman Rebels" with Katharine Hepburn. Stardom for Heflin came largely as a result of his Oscar win in "Johnny Eager", and he was given more prominent roles with his MGM contract. He even briefly left acting to serve as a US Army combat cameraman from 1943 until the end of the war.

The film noir "Johnny Eager" follows Robert Taylor as the title character, a hardnosed gang leader who seems to have no friends other than Heflin's character, alcoholic Jeff Harnett. They are caught up in a scheme involving the daughter of the district attorney (who put Johnny in jail) that ends up going off the rails when Johnny realizes he actually has feelings for the girl.

Answer: Greer Garson

Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson was a British actress who was a late bloomer when it came to acting, starting out at the age of 27 in theatre and television (BBC) before being 'discovered' by MGM's Louis B. Mayer. Her first film role was in 1939's "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" and it also garnered her first nomination for Best Actress!

But it was her role as Kay Miniver in "Mrs. Miniver" that earned her the Oscar. Greer portrayed a housewife living in a (fictional) village outside of London, with the story revolving around her experiences during the war, and how significantly it affects her family and their 'normal' life.

Her acceptance speech was five and a half minutes long! Shortly afterwards, a time limit of 45 seconds was instituted for acceptance speeches.

Answer: Teresa Wright

Teresa Wright (1918-2005) was an American actress who began her acting career in the theatre in the late 1930s. She was 'discovered' in 1939 by MGM's Samuel Goldwyn, who signed her for the 1941 film "Little Foxes", a debut that earned her a nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Wright played Carol Beldon, a young lady who meets Vin Miniver as he returns home from University with the start of World War II looming in the near future. Vin joins the air force as a pilot, and even with the danger to his life, he and Carol wed (and Carol becomes another Mrs. Miniver). But ironically, it is Carol who is killed by random aircraft gunfire from a dogfight overhead.

Answer: Woman of the Year

Michael Kanin (1910-93) and Ring Lardner Jr. (1915-2000) shared the Oscar for their screenplay of "Woman of the Year", a romantic comedy about two journalists at the fictional "New York Chronicle" newspaper. Katharine Hepburn played Tess Harding, an international affairs correspondent who has been named 'Woman of the Year' for her dedication to her work and her excellent articles. Spencer Tracy portrayed Sam Craig, a sportswriter who takes exception to Harding's suggestion that baseball be cancelled for the duration of the war.

When they are brought together by the editor to ensure that there is no feud between his journalists, they are immediately attracted to one another. But relationships between dedicated professionals are not easy.

Answer: Mrs. Miniver

Jan Struther (1901-53) was the pen name of the writer commissioned to write a series of articles in the British newspaper, "The Times" in 1937. The articles were were vignettes from the daily routine of life through the eyes of the fictional Kay Miniver, and largely based on the life experiences of Struther. As it looked like war was coming, however, the columns started to reflect the uncertainties of the future.

The Kay Miniver columns were published in book form in 1939, and it was from that book that the screenplay was adapted by George Froeschel, James Hilton, Claudine West, and Arthur Wimperis, who accepted the Oscar(s) together.

Answer: Irving Berlin

Why he was chosen to present an award for which he was also nominated, I'm not sure, but when he opened the envelope and saw his name, he said "I'm glad to present the award. I've known him for a long time."

Irving Berlin (1888-1989) was already a well-established composer and lyricist by the time he wrote "White Christmas", having published his first song in 1907 and making his first international hit in 1911 with "Alexander's Ragtime Band". In 1940, he was commissioned by Paramount to write all seven songs for "Holiday Inn", in which the inn only opened on public holidays.

"White Christmas" was first performed in public at Christmastime in 1941, months before the "Holiday Inn" soundtrack was released on July 30th (three weeks ahead of the movie release. In the movie, the song is initially performed by Bing Crosby (as Jim Hardy) and then at the end of the film by Marjorie Reynolds (as Linda Mason) and Bing together.

Answer: William Wyler

William Wyler (1902-81) was a young Swiss-German living in Paris when he came to America in 1921 to work for Universal Studios in New York (through a family connection) where he spent a couple of years before moving out to Los Angeles. Before too long he got his chance to prove himself and in 1925 he was the youngest director working for the studio. He eventually expanded that role to include producing and screenwriting, as well.

Wyler made a reputation for himself as a perfectionist, putting together a string of successful films and becoming one of Hollywood's most successful directors. He was also credited directly by actors such as Laurence Olivier and Bette Davis for making them better actors through his direction.

With "Mrs. Miniver", Wyler created a masterpiece film that walked the fine line of entertainment and war propaganda. It was written with the mind of making America less isolationist and more supportive of British war efforts by showing the hardship that British citizens were undergoing.

Answer: Mrs. Miniver

Sidney Franklin (1893-1972), the producer of "Mrs. Miniver", accepted the Academy Award for Outstanding Motion Picture on behalf of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

The film was the first to receive five acting nominations: Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and TWO for Best Supporting Actress. It was a commercial and critical success, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1942 and an incredible help to the war effort.

Winston Churchill sent the studio a telegram that said, ""Mrs. Miniver" is propaganda worth 100 battleships." (wikipedia)

Joseph Goebbels, minister of Nazi propaganda, wrote that the film "shows the destiny of a family during the current war, and its refined powerful propagandistic tendency has up to now only been dreamed of. There is not a single angry word spoken against Germany; nevertheless the anti-German tendency is perfectly accomplished." (wikipedia)

In 2009, "Mrs. Miniver" was named to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being 'culturally, historically, or aesthetically' significant for the following stated reason:

"This remarkably touching wartime melodrama pictorials the classic British stiff upper lip and the courage of a middle-class English family (headed by Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon) amid the chaos of air raids and family loss. The film's iconic tribute to the sacrifices on the home front, as movingly directed by William Wyler, did much to rally America's support for its British allies." (wikipedia)