SCFZ poll: George Cukor

[flip]

Polling the films of director George Cukor

The rules:

- your list can include no more than half of the Cukor films you've seen, up to a maximum of 5. So if you've seen seven of his films, for example, you can list only a top 3. It's only if you've seen ten or more of his films than you can list the maximum of five.

- i'll assume ballots are ranked unless you tell me otherwise. unranked ballots are fine.

- deadline for ballots: next Tuesday, in seven days, whatever day that is

- if anyone is watching films for these polls, then i'll extend the deadline three days, if someone requests an extension

- next poll: whoever posts the first ballot in this thread is free to nominate the director we poll next, unless you've nominated in this round already (everyone should get a chance). Already nominated this round: brian d, greennui, ofrene, kanafani, bure, greg x, oscarwerner, silga, dt, umbugbene, roscoe, rischka, wba, thoxans, mesnalty, caracortada, joks, zulawski, nrh

umbugbene created an index on letterboxd of all of our previous polls here: letterboxd.com/umbugbene/list/index-of-all-scfz-director-polls/

one rule for nominees: at least 3 scfzers need to have seen 10+ of a nominee's films, or at least 4 scfzers need to have seen at least 8 of the nom's films, so if it isn't clear if that will be the case, we'll confirm that's true before moving forward

if 24 hours pass after a poll opens, and no one eligible to nominate has posted a ballot, then i'll nominate someone, and then we'll start over, and everyone will be able to nominate again

[flip]

we didn't get quite enough replies about a kim ki-duk poll (we had three people with 8+ seen, so we only needed one more), but maybe he'll work at some point in the future.

we're back to our regular nomination process, so if you're the first to post a ballot here and have yet to pick a director this round, feel free to make a nomination!

[flip]

What Price Hollywood?
The Philadelphia Story
Born Yesterday
A Double Life
Holiday

seen twelve

[Evelyn Library P.I.]

My favourite queer artist of studio-era Hollywood. The titles of Cukor's films alone suggest and resonate with an alterity of sexual and gender expression and an interesting alignment of the closet with theatrical performance (What Price, Hollywood; Two-Faced Woman; Her Cardboard Lover; A Double Life; A Life of Her Own; The Actress, etc.). Looking forward to exploring that angle on his work more one day.

For now, seen 11. All the films I'm voting for have flaws in my view, save perhaps #1, but their grace notes of beauty and queer resonance make up for their portentous Katharine-Hepburn-soapbox moments or hard-to-watch little kid sadness.

1. Sylvia Scarlett (1935)
2. Adam's Rib (1949)
3. The Women (1939)
4. Little Women (1933)
5. Holiday (1938)

[Evelyn Library P.I.]

Humphrey Jennings would be my first choice, re: nomination.

[Roscoe]

DINNER AT EIGHT

Seen enough to rate more. Not worth it. The good stuff is okay (PHILADELPHIA STORY gets by on the strength of most of its cast), the bad is simply abominable -- THE WOMEN, MY FAIR LADY, TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT are bloated nightmares of unfunny would-be comedy. A STAR IS BORN features the magnificent "The Man That Got Away" and then sinks under its own leaden weight.

[rischka]

16

sylvia scarlett
holiday
dinner at eight
girls about town
a woman's face

i quite like the women and philadelphia story is all right too

[mesnalty]

Seen 6:

1. A Star Is Born
2. The Philadelphia Story
3. Holiday

[Curtis, baby]

Seen 18

Born yesterday
Holiday
Manhattan melodrama
The Philadelphia story
Sylvia Scarlett

[...]

I was late in taking to Cukor since I somehow had seen more of his lesser movies first and missed most of his better ones, at least by my accounting, some of the lessers are more favored by others it seems. Anyway, I've come to really like Cukor a lot, even finding more to like in the movies I didn't much care for as part of a body of work now that the body actually amounts to something more pleasing. (Actually, to be even more specific my earlier issues with Cukor had good deal to do with my mixed feelings about Katherine Hepburn as well since her films with him are some of his most well regarded, but that's a matter for another time.)

A Woman's Face
The Marrying Kind
It Should Happen to You
Les Girls
Little Women

The last selection could have been a number of different movies and I might switch it later, but the top four will likely stay. Oh, and One Hour With You is purposefully excluded due to the argument over its parentage between the Cukor and Lubitsch factions. I don't want to take sides in that dispute.
31 Cukors viewed

[wba]

Seen very few, but I love 2 of those, so that works perfect:

01. Gaslight (1944)
02. The Philadelphia Story (1940)

Cukor seen: 4

[flip]

Humphrey Jennings would be my first choice, re: nomination.

i think we should check jennings has the views for a poll - if anyone has seen 8+ jennings films, please post here!

[Lencho of the Apes]

/11. Zip for Jennings.

Holiday
Sylvia Scarlett
Gaslight
Philadelphia Story
Th Women

[Evelyn Library P.I.]

Right-o, I have 32 for Jennings and love many of 'em to bits, so hopefully there are some other Jennings fans about. Failing that, William A. Wellman would be my second choice and one that's probably a safer bet on views.

[oscarwerner]

Seen 16. Many entertaining movies, but my votes go to:
1-The Philadelphia Story (1940)
2-A Star Is Born (1954)
3-My Fair Lady (1964)
4-The Women (1939)
5-Holiday (1938)

[kanafani]

Seen 10. Not a fan. Cukor-Minnelli-Mankiewicz is the Hollywood triangle of deathly boredom for me. I was going to vote for One Hour with You, but that's really Lubitsch, isn't it? That would explain why I liked it. I'll vote for the only one that got an above-tepid response from me:

The Women

[wba]

You all need to watch Gaslight (1944) ! It's fantastic! Something like a more feminine Hitchcock.

[rischka]

gaslight is great

[greennui]

Sylvia Scarlett

[flip]

wellman will definitely work, so i'll use that as our fallback - still hoping to find a few people who have seen 8+ jennings films (if so, please post here!) but if we don't, i'll start a wellman poll on friday.

[nrh]

wish I found cukor movies anywhere near as interesting as some of the auteurist discussion around them. am fond of some but will just vote for

Edward, my son

which is one of the oddest of all Hollywood movies from that period...

[Umbugbene]

Seen 14

1. Born Yesterday
2. A Double Life
3. Dinner at Eight
4. No More Ladies (co-directed)

I only have 4 Jenningses but 14 Wellmans.

[john ryan]

Seen 23

1. A Star is Born
2. Les Girls
3. The Marrying Kind
4. Bhowani Junction
5. The Philadelphia Story

have 8 jennings

[rischka]

1 jennings/20 wellman

[St. Gloede]

Seen 11, but will only vote for 3:

Dinner at Eight
A Double Life
Gaslight

Seen 3 by Jenning, 18 by Wellman.

[St. Gloede]

Seen 10. Not a fan. Cukor-Minnelli-Mankiewicz is the Hollywood triangle of deathly boredom for me.

Interesting to see Mankiewicz counted among them, I always saw him as a separate entity from the majority of studio directors, and closer to the likes of Hawks and Wyler, in that he, despite being a jack of all trades had a far more developed expression, and would often go to far darker/harsher places emotionally, i.e. No Way Out, Suddenly Last Summer.

I can broadly agree on Cukor and Minnelli though both made great films.

[...]

Heh. That and Mankiewicz being a serious misogynist when Minnelli and Cukor were two of the most sympathetic directors for women kinda stands out as a significant difference too. But boring is always an individual thing, not really a provable component of any film, so it can be judged as one likes.

[wba]

Yeah, haven't seen a boring Minnelli and Cukor yet, and Mankiewicz, well... I wouldn't know what he has in common with them other than being an american director working in the studio system at a similar time.

[kanafani]

Heh. That and Mankiewicz being a serious misogynist when Minnelli and Cukor were two of the most sympathetic directors for women kinda stands out as a significant difference too. But boring is always an individual thing, not really a provable component of any film, so it can be judged as one likes.

Ya, they have wildly different styles and themes and worldviews, but they get the exact same reaction from me.

[Caracortada]

Seen 14

1. Gaslight
2. My Fair Lady
3. The Women
4. A Star Is Born
5. Dinner at Eight