Oscar Got It Wrong!: Best Actress 1928-1929

The Contenders:

Betty Compson: The Barker
Bessie Love: The Broadway Melody
Mary Pickford: Coquette (winner)
Corrine Griffith: The Divine Lady
Jeanne Eagels: The Letter
Ruth Chatterton: Madame X

Fickle

Film: Coquette
Format: Turner Classic Movies on rockin’ flatscreen.

When I first started working specifically on Oscar films, it seemed like such a good idea. For the most part, it has been a pretty good idea. And then I come across something like Coquette, and I wonder what the hell I was thinking about. Sitting through Coquette was like a root canal without painkillers. And to think, Mary Pickford won a statue for this thing.

So here’s our paper-thin plot. Norma Besant (Mary Pickford) is the sort of girl who won’t commit to a guy but instead revels in collecting multiple bouquets of flowers every day. This is despite the fact that she has been almost constantly pursued by Stanley (Matt Moore), an allegedly young man (the actor was in his 40s) who has her father’s approval. That father (John St. Polis) is the local doctor and wants Norma to marry someone with some potential. Sadly for him, Norma has decided that she’s got a thing for Michael Jeffery (Johnny Mack Brown), who her dad thinks of as a ne’er-do-well.