They were nominated?

There are a lot of movies I've already blogged about before, so from time to time I'm stuck just posting to mention something I posted about a long time ago is going to be back on TCM. At least in February, I can look up to see what Oscars these repeats were nominated for, as it can sometimes be surprising that a movie was nominated. (Then again, considering the song and score categories, maybe it's not such a surprise.) With that in mind, there are a few films coming up in the next 24 hours that deserve being mentioned again. I first blogged about Them! back in May 2008; it received on Oscar nomination, for its special effects. (Back then, the category was called "Special Effects", while it's now "Visual Effects".) Them! lost to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which certainly does have pretty good special effects. I'm mildly surprised that the Academy didn't have separate categories for black-and-white and color effects, the way they had with set design and costumes. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, in fact, won the Oscar for its color sets; technically the category is Art Direction. It's probably a well deserved Oscar, too, considering the sets on the Nautilus. Unfortunately, I don't think that TCM currently has the broadcast rights to the Disney live-action films, so it won't be showing up on TCM any time soon. As for Them!, it's showing up overnight at 2:30 AM.

TCM moves to San Francisco on Saturday morning and afternoon, with several very famous movies, and the lesser-seen The House on Telegraph Hill, which I blogged about back in April 2008, at 2:15 PM tomorrow. This one received only one nomination, for its black-and-white art direction, losing to A Streetcar Named Desire -- I suppose recreating New Orleans is more Oscar-worthy. Another interesting nominee from that year is Fourteen Hours, a movie I don't recall having too much in the way of sets largely because a good portion of it is set on the ledge of a hotel and in the hotel room.