The First Oscars- Silence Wins Gold

The mighty slap of Wills Smith on the mirthful cheeks of Chris Rock, may still be reverberating in the Hollywood and the world of cinema round the globe, but the majesty of silent movies in the first ever Oscars held 93 years ago, continues to be the most graceful and eloquent image of this glamorous galaxy of glitterati. Because it laid the foundations of a tradition, unmatched in style, magnificence, grandeur and dazzle.
The Academy Awards popularly known as Oscars began in 1929 and its first edition was held on May 16. It took place as part of a private dinner party with 250 guests in attendance in the Blossom Room of Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood. The event was not recorded.
No one can say with authority how the term Oscar came to become synonymous with Academy Awards. Likely apocryphal, it is said that Margaret Herrick, an executive director of the academy, mentioned that the statuette looked like her Uncle Oscar. And the name stuck. But only 10 years later in 1939.
Louis B. Mayer, head of the powerful MGM film studio, had set up the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1927 to advance and improve the film industry. Douglas Fairbanks Sr., the celebrated star of silent movies then, remembered for his roles in films like ‘Robinhood’ and ‘The Thief of Baghdad’ , became its first President.
Fairbanks was also the first Host of the Award ceremony, though, he never received an academy award himself.
The First Oscars, where Silence was Golden
Why were only silent movies considered for the awards in its inaugural edition? Because by then the ‘Talkies’ had very much made their appearance with overwhelming response and lure. The organisers deemed it unfair for movies without sound to compete against those that benefitted from the new enticing, exciting technology that made films leap frog into a new era. The losers were films like ‘The Jazz Singer’, one of the first talkies starring Al Jolson. But the decision brought immense acclamation and approbation and established Award’s reputation and credibility.
Thus, the silent film “Wings” won the Best Picture award – called “outstanding picture” in 1929. Directed by William Wellman and starring movie sensation of the time, Clara Bow, it is the story of two American airmen who are both in love with the same woman.
But by the time the Award ceremony was held, another bright star had appeared on the Hollywood firmament, and she was Janet Gaynor, an extremely talented actress, who could perform with equal ease and finesse a variety of roles. Three of her films, – “7th Heaven”, “Street Angel” and “Sunrise” had already become a sensation. She won the Best Actress Award; in fact, the only actress to have won the Best Actress Award for more than one performance. This feat has never been repeated in the history of Oscars.
Janet Gaynor’s fame and recognition further got established when she made a colour version of ‘A Star is Born’ in 1937. It was well received and since then three more remakes of the same film were attempted successfully, in 1954 featuring Judy Garland, in 1976 featuring Barbara Streisand, and in 2018 featuring Lady Gaga.
Since 1929, silent movies had to wait for long 82 years till in 2011 another silent movie “The Artist” won the Best Picture Award.
The Oscar Statue
The Oscar statue is a figure of a knight standing on a reel of film gripping a crusader’s sword. It is 13.5 inch (34.3cm) tall, is made of bronze, and is plated in 24-carat gold. And it weighs 8.5 pounds (3.8kg).
Cedric Gibbons, the celebrated art director of MGM designed the statue. It was brought to three dimensional life by the Los Angeles sculptor George Stanley.
“Academy Award of Merit” was thus born.
Charlie Chaplin and Oscars
An enduring enigma associated with the Oscar Awards is the incredible fact that Charlie Chaplin, the ultimate actor of silent era never received an Oscar. What he received was a ‘Special Award’ instead in the first award ceremony. 42 years later he was again conferred an award, another honorary award but not an Oscar.
It is understood that he was originally nominated for Best Actor, Best Writer, and Best Comedy Director for his film The Circus at the first award ceremony. However, apparently because of his unpopularity in Hollywood, Chaplin was removed from those three categories and received a “special award” for his work instead. He would have to wait until 1971 before receiving another honorary award.
So who got the Best Actor Award instead? It was Emil Jannings who won the inaugural Academy Award for Best Actor for his roles in the films “The Last Command” and “The Way of All Flesh”.
He remains till today the only German to have won the Best Actor award..

The Greatest Show on Earth

Since 1929, with a guest gathering of 250 honouring the best of the time, in a low profile 15-minute ceremony, the Oscar today is one of the most publicised, coveted, watched and glittering extravaganzas in the globe. There are 24 Award categories presented before an audience of about 3,400 and the show lasts for about three and a half hours, televised live across the globe.
Indeed, the greatest show on earth.