Oscar Revisionism: 1953

While 1954 appeared to be cut and dried as far as a Field of Ten might go, 1953 proved to be quite the opposite.  Part of the reason had to do with the disparity in high nomination count.  Save Lili, only Best Picture winner From Here to Eternity and nominees Roman Holiday, Shane, The Robe, and Julius Caesar received more than three nominations.  In the technical fields, there was a definitive split between the color and black and white submissions, with neither medium being dominated by the frontrunners and showing any kind of great competitiveness.  Additionally, the aforementioned films were the only ones to score multiple wins.  The genres in the existing nominees couldn't have been more different, however.  We had a war romance drama, western, biblical epic, greek tragedy, and rom-com.  Lili was another whimsical rom-com musical that probably would have gotten in, as well as the war film Stalag 17.  Both films were singled out by NBR, DGA (both quarterly winners), and WGA.  Billy Wilder's Stalag did very well at the box office and has held up over time.  Both films received their share of nominations, including major BP indicators.

But, what other films would have made the cut?

Mogambo
Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly were both nominated for their roles in this John Ford adventure romance set in Kenya which also starred Clark Gable and Donald Sinden.  Adapted from a play by John Lee Mahin (Captains Courageous, The Bad Seed, Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison).  NBR.  Box Office: $5.2M (it was a hit).  [IMDb: 6.6; RT: 82%]

The Moon Is Blue
Nominated for Actress, Song, and Film Editing, this rom-com starring William Holden (who won for Stalag 17) and David Niven vying for the attention of Maggie McNamara would seem a safe bet were it not in the shadow of Roman Holiday and Lili.  F. Hugh Herbert adapted his own play for Otto Preminger to direct.  WGA.  Box Office: $3.5M.  [IMDb: 6.7]

The Cruel Sea
Screenwriter Eric Ambler received the war drama's only nod in what was a pretty competitive field for adapting Nicholas Monsarrat's novel.  Director Charles Frend had previously directed Goodbye, Mr. Chips.  [IMDb: 7.4]

The War of the Worlds
H.G. Well's sci-fi thriller certainly stands out as adding something different to the pot its year of release.  Director Byron Haskin had a history with being recognized for his special effects work by The Academy.  It won for visual effects here, as well as being nominated for sound recording and film editing.  Box Office: $2M.  [IMDb: 7.1; RT: 85%]

Young Bess
In this George Sidney historical romance, Jean Simmons played Queen Elizabeth I in her formative years.  Also starring Stewart Granger, Deborah Kerr, and Charles Laughton.  Arthur Wimperis, one of the screenwriters, received double nominations back in 1942.  Simmons was also in The Robe.  Box Office: $4.1M.  DGA.  [IMDb: 6.6]

Titanic
Before there was James "King of the World" Cameron, there was Jean Negulesco's (Johnny Belinda) domestic version of the doomed luxury liner starring Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyk.  Nominated for black and white Art Direction, it won for story/screenplay by writers Charles Brackett, Walter Reisch, and Richard L. Breen, who have a slew of awards/nominations between them.  DGA.  Box Office: $2.3M.  [IMDb: 7.0]

Martin Luther
Nominated for two black and white technical awards, Irving Pichel directed this historical biography of the Christian reformer who stood up against the Catholic Church.  NBR.  [IMDb: 6.7]

Above and Beyond
Action biography about Paul W. Tibbets, Jr, pilot of the Enola Gay, the plane which dropped the bomb on Hiroshima.  DGA, WGA.  Box Office: $2.5M.  NBR (1952).  [IMDb: 6.8]

Call Me Madam
Nominated for Color Costume Design and winning for Musical Score over The Band Wagon and Calamity Jane, would this Irving Berlin/Lindsay and Crouse musical starring Ethel Merman have been the most competitive musical for a Best Picture nomination, besides Lili?  Walter Lang, who would go on to direct The King and I, helmed this film.  DGA, WGA.  Box Office: $2.9M.  [IMDb: 6.7]

The Band Wagon
Out of the three strongest contenders for a musical Best Picture nominee, this MGM production starring Fred Astaire is collectively thought of to have aged the best.  It received the same amount of nominations as Madam and Jane, only not winning anything, but picking up a story/screenplay nod.  Vincent Minnelli directed, who had just received a nomination two years previously for An American in Paris.  WGA.  Box Office: $2.6M.  [IMDb: 7.5]

Calamity Jane
Perhaps Madam won for Score, but this western musical got nominated for Sound Recording and won for Song as well.  David Butler directed Doris Day and Howard Keel.  Was this just an Annie Get Your Gun knockoff?  Box Office: $2.5M.  [IMDb: 7.0]

The Knights of the Round Table

An unofficial sequel to Richard Thorpe's Best Picture nominee Ivanhoe from the previous year, this action drama focuses on the love triangle between Arthur (Mel Ferrer), Guinevere (Ava Gardner), and Lancelot (Robert Taylor).  Box Office: $4.4M.  [IMDb: 6.2]

Little Fugitive
This story about a young boy who runs away to Coney Island is considered a precursor to the French New Wave movement.  NBR, WGA.  [IMDB: 7.4; RT: 92%]