Lost Horizon
US (1937): Fantasy/Adventure
James Hilton's novel Lost Horizon proposes a perfect hidden community within the uncharted Himalayas, a land where peace reigns and the inhabitants live for hundreds of years. So indelible is this mythical land that its name has entered the culture: Shangri-La. Director Frank Capra, riding high during his mid-'30s hot streak, spared no expense in creating Hilton's paradise onscreen, taxing the coffers of Columbia Pictures and the patience of mogul Harry Cohn. The results, however, are magical: shimmering, seductive, and maybe a bit foolish, truly the creation of an idealist (understandably, the spectacular art direction won an Oscar). And Capra's hero is an idealist, too. Ronald Colman, at his most marvelously elocutionary, plays a wise diplomat whose plane crashes in the snows of Tibet. He and the other survivors are guided to Shangri-La, where they wrestle with the invitation to stay. The young Jane Wyatt plays Colman's love interest, but leaving a more lasting impression are H.B. Warner, as the benevolent Chang, and Sam Jaffe, in great old-age makeup, as the wizened High Lama. Lost Horizon was remade, notoriously and hilariously, as a big-budget musical by Ross Hunter in 1973; it was a complete flop. (Amazon.com)
7 nominations, 2 Awards
· Best Interior Decoration 1937: Stephen Goosson - Art Direction
· Best Film Editing 1937: Gene Havlick, Gene Milford
· Best Picture 1937: Frank Capra, producer (Columbia)
· Supporting Actor 1937: H.B. Warner
· Assistant Director 1937: C.C. Coleman Jr.
· Music Scoring Awards (Best Score) 1937: Morris Stoloff (Columbia Studio Music Department), Departmental Head, Dimitri Tiomkin - Score
· Sound Recording 1937: John P. Livadary