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31 Days of Oscar: ‘War’
TCM, Beginning at 7:15 a.m.
Epic war films have frequently been favorites when it comes to Academy voters, and Turner Classic Movies’ 31 Days of Oscar has 10 of them in today’s lineup. Nine of them feature World War II as their backdrop (and a few were even produced during the war), while another brilliantly chronicles the horrors of World War I. The lineup features Beyond the Line of Duty (1942), which won its only nomination, Best Short Subject, Two-Reel; Air Force (1943) — four nominations, including Best Original Screenplay (Dudley Nichols), and one win: Editing (George Amy); Battleground (1949) — six nominations, including Best Picture, Supporting Actor (James Whitmore) and Director (William A. Wellman), and won two awards: Screenplay (Robert Pirosh) and Cinematography, Black-and-White (Paul Vogel); Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) — won for its special effects, also nominated for its cinematography; 1967’s The Dirty Dozen (pictured) — four nominations, including Best Supporting Actor (John Cassavetes), and a win for Sound Effects (John Poyner); Twelve O’Clock High (1949) — four nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor (Gregory Peck), and two wins: Best Supporting Actor (Dean Jagger) and Best Sound, Recording (Thomas T. Moulton); The Longest Day (1962) — five nominations, including Best Picture, and two wins, for its cinematography and special effects; From Here to Eternity (1953) — won eight of its 13 nominations, including Best Picture, Supporting Actor (Frank Sinatra), Supporting Actress (Donna Reed) and Director (Fred Zinnemann), with other nominations including Best Actor (Montgomery Clift and Burt Lancaster) and Best Actress (Deborah Kerr); All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), which won Best Picture and Director (Lewis Milestone), and was also nominated for its writing and cinematography; and 49th Parallel (1941) — nominated for Best Picture and Best Writing, Screenplay (Rodney Ackland and Emeric Pressburger), and won for Best Writing, Original Story (Pressburger).