Lights Camera Accolade

This is the full release of 2025’s May bonus celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, where we watched the 1930 Japanese film What Made Her Do It? -- a movie that takes the concept: “life is suffering and then you die” to the next level. But who's to say that you can't choose how you go out? If you don't want to wait an entire year before listening to our full bonus episodes, consider supporting us on patreon

This episode spoils 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Join us alongside a special guest as we discuss the movie that birthed a dynasty (of princesses). Snow White convinced Hollywood that animation was a viable medium for full length movies and propelled Disney animation and similar studios into a golden age of animation. Heigh-ho! If you don't want to wait a year before listening to our full bonus episodes, support us on patreon and get access to monthly bonus content.

This episode spoils 1942’s nominees 49th Parallel, King's Row, Yankee Doodle Dandy, The Magnificent Ambersons, The Pride of the Yankees, The Talk of the Town, The Pied Piper, Wake Island, Random Harvest, and winner Mrs. Miniver. America officially joins World War 2 which means Hollywood officially endorses it. This year's movies universally deal with the question of being steadfast and determined in a time of stress or change (for better or worse). Yes, there's a lot of rugged patriotism on display. Yes, there's a lot of talk about ethics and justice. Yes, checks notes, Ronald Reagan is here?? For bonus content find us on Patreon For contacting us about our totally correct takes, reaching out for collaboration, or for fulfilling our Test Pilot/Talk of the Town fanfiction request— you can email us at [email protected]

This is the full release of 2025’s April bonus and spoils the movie Misery (1990). For our April bonus, we let Chrysantha pick a birthday movie. What better than a feel good movie about a writer connecting with his number one fan? If you don't want to wait an entire year before listening to our full bonus episodes, consider supporting us on patreon

This episode spoils Dorothy Arzner’s 1932 film Merrily We Go to Hell starring Frederic March and Sylvia Sidney. We’re back to pre-Code movies as we celebrate Women's History Month this year, so of course that means the movie is going to tackle themes of infidelity; stooping down to the level of your philandering, alcoholic spouse; and recognizing when it's time to cut your losses. Technically the full episode also spoils Alice Guy-Blache’s 1902 short La Fée aux Choux (The Cabbage Fairy) and its … interesting YouTube comment section. If you don't want to wait a year before listening to our full bonus episodes, support us on patreon and get access to monthly bonus content.

This episode spoils 1941’s nominees Sergeant York, Blossoms in the Dust, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, The Little Foxes, Citizen Kane, Hold Back the Dawn, One Foot in Heaven, The Maltese Falcon, Suspicion and winner How Green Was My Valley. This year had a little bit of everything: patriotism, biopics, scheming families, biopics, ghosts, biopics, private investigators, biopics, important discourse about religion and immigration, and biopics. Join us as we re-litigate the 14th Academy Awards and whether or not the Academy was right to snub what is now considered the best movie of all time. For bonus content find us on patreon For contacting us about our totally correct takes, or for fulfilling our Test Pilot or The Philadelphia Story fanfiction request— you can email us at [email protected]

This is the full release of 2025’s Women's History Month bonus and spoils the movies Suspense (1913) and The Blot (1921). Did you know women were directing Hollywood films years before they gained the right to vote? Neither did most of us, until we were introduced to Lois Weber. Listen to this preview of our bonus episode where we take a look at two of this trailblazer's most famous films. If you don't want to wait an entire year before listening to our full bonus episodes, consider supporting us on patreon

This episode spoils 1929's Hallelujah. For Black History Month, we’re revisiting King Vidor’s 1929 film Hallelujah (one of the first major studio productions to feature an all-Black cast). Celebrated for groundbreaking performances and sound design, yet complicated by stereotypes and studio-era framing, Hallelujah sits at a crossroads of representation, exploitation, and opportunity. We unpack its legacy, its music, and what it meant for Black performers navigating early Hollywood. If you don't want to wait a year before listening to our full bonus episodes, support us on patreon and get access to monthly bonus content.

This episode spoils 1940’s nominees The Grapes of Wrath, Our Town, All This and Heaven Too, Foreign Correspondent, The Long Voyage Home, The Great Dictator, The Letter, The Philadelphia Story, Kitty Foyle and winner Rebecca. This year brings us some of the highest highs and the lowest lows. It’s the year in which the looming world war becomes more real and Hollywood has to start acknowledging it. Meanwhile, two movies break Jake this year, and it’s not necessarily the ones you’d expect. For bonus content find us on patreon For contacting us about our totally correct takes, or for fulfilling our Test Pilot or The Philadelphia Story fanfiction request— you can email us at [email protected]

This is the full release of 2025’s February bonus and spoils the movie Within Our Gates (1920). We honored Black History Month by viewing the oldest existing feature film from a black American director; Oscar Micheaux's 1920 classic: Within Our Gates, a landmark of early Black cinema that confronts racism, violence, and hypocrisy in Jim Crow America head-on. Unfortunately, the type of narrative that we don't see in mainstream media for almost another century after its release. If you don't want to wait a full year before listening to our full bonus episodes, consider supporting us on patreon

This episode spoils the pre-code movie Baby Face (1933). Join us as we discuss one of the movies credited with causing the enforcement of the Hays Code. A woman sleeps her way to the top, and gets away with it relatively unscathed? Can't say the same for the men she leaves in her wake or William Hays's ghost. If you don't want to wait a year before listening to our full bonus episodes, support us on patreon and get access to monthly bonus content.

This episode spoils 1939’s nominees Dark Victory, Goodbye Mr. Chips, Love Affair, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Ninotchka, Of Mice and Men, Stagecoach, The Wizard of Oz, Wuthering Heights, and winner Gone With the Wind. Widely regarded as the strongest year for movies in Academy history, the lingering effects of the nominees and winners can still be felt to this day— for good and for bad. It’s the year of toxic romance, ugly hats, questionable medical ethics, and maybe the best teacher we’ve ever seen. Several of these movies were absolutely foundational for their genres, and had they come out in any other year they may have even stood a chance at taking home the grand prize. For bonus content find us on Patreon For contacting us about our totally correct takes, or for fulfilling our Test Pilot fanfiction request— you can email us at [email protected]

This is the full release of 2025’s January bonus and spoils the movie M (1931). The otherwise cinematically dismal year (1931) is salvaged by the 11th hour intervention of a groundbreaking German thriller: M. Listen to us discuss the morality of capital punishment and the potential origins of true crime in film. If you don't want to wait a full year before listening to our full bonus episodes, consider supporting us on patreon

This episode spoils Netflix’s hit Christmas movie My Secret Santa (2025). Join us as we yet again take a simple, feel-good movie way too seriously and dissect every part of the movie worth talking about. We also may or may not go down a rabbit hole looking at Netflix’s version of manifest destiny and how monopolization and the corporatization of the internet ruined everything. Normal Christmas conversations. Happy holidays and happy new year! This is a preview. Become a subscriber to find the full episode at patreon.com/lightscameraaccolade

This episode spoils 1938’s nominees The Adventures of Robin Hood, Alexander’s Ragtime Band, Boys Town, The Citadel, Four Daughters, La Grande Illusion, Jezebel, Pygmalion, Test Pilot, and winner You Can’t Take it With You. It’s a confusing year for the Oscars. Big Opera is officially overtaken by Big Tobacco, America shields its eyes to tensions continuing to rise in Europe, Robin Hood is a confirmed sociopath, Boys Town is a PR nightmare, white people invent ragtime, and we all turn on Frank Capra. For bonus content find us on Patreon For contacting us about our totally correct takes, or for fulfilling our Test Pilot fanfiction request— you can email us at [email protected]

This is the full release of 2024’s December bonus— join us as we discuss our most technologically advanced movie yet: Hot Frosty (2024). If you don't want to wait a year before listening to our full bonus episodes, consider supporting us on patreon

This episode spoils 1922’s silent film Nanook of the North. This is a preview. Become a subscriber to listen to the full episode at patreon.com/lightscameraaccolade This proto-”documentary” helped invent documentaries… and also helped invent faking them. The movie vividly portrays elements of Inuit life as it follows “Nanook” and his “family” through many of their traditions and survival tactics. It ultimately raises several questions about authenticity versus narrative— like did Nanook actually solo hunt seven polar bears with just a harpoon? Was the family in danger of freezing to death if they didn’t build the igloo in one hour? ARE THOSE EVEN HIS REAL WIVES? Probably not. Did we have a great time watching it anyway? Absolutely.

You asked, we answered. In this episode, we all learn a little bit more about the origins of film, the structure of the Academy, what the Hays Code was, and some (fun?) trivia about Hollywood's most and least expensive films up to 1930. We also get to share what each of our favorite eras of film is-- and it turns out there might be a right answer to that question. This will be a recurring bonus segment, so if you have any questions about film history or movies or Hollywood drama-- reach us on any of our socials or email [email protected] If you don't want to wait a year before listening to our full bonus episodes, consider supporting us on Patreon

This episode spoils 1931’s Dracula and Frankenstein. It's alive! Or, technically, undead. This episode we're spoiling the movies that launched Universal's cinematic Monsters universe which defined what cinematic horror could be. Find the full episode at patreon.com/lightscameraaccolade

This episode spoils 1937’s nominees The Awful Truth, Captains Courageous, Dead End, The Good Earth, In Old Chicago, Lost Horizon, One Hundred Men and a Girl, Stage Door, A Star is Born and winner The Life of Emile Zola. We’ve finally made it to the double digits! We’re still in the 30s, but we’re already starting to see big changes in Hollywood this year— primarily the swan song of Big Opera’s chokehold on nominees (possibly in favor of a larger, more formidable foe?? (Big Tobacco)). Despite this year hitting some new lows, the highs were significant enough to give us the first year in which we all had different opinions on which movie should have taken home the top prize. For contacting us about our totally correct takes, you can email us at [email protected] And for full bonus content, find us on Patreon

Join us for the full re-release of our very first October bonus episode where we shared our unique relationships with scary movies and discussed three of 1920s' finest horror films: Haxan (1922), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), and Nosferatu (1922). The scariest thing about this episode was probably Jake's mic quality. Additionally, if you want the full experience of new bonus episodes without having to wait an entire year-- visit us and subscribe to our Patreon

This episode spoils 1933’s La mujer del puerto (The Woman of the Port). The Hays Code would never have approved of the film picked for our first foray into the beginning of Mexico’s Golden Age of Cinema. The main character of this movie truly cannot catch a break, and this movie certainly doesn't shy away from taboo subjects and shock value. Find the full episode at patreon.com/lightscameraaccolade

This episode spoils Slow West (2015). For Abby’s (not) birthday month, she decides to abuse her power and force us all to make an impossible choice: a choice between two westerns. Some would potentially consider a contemporary western as taking the easy way out-- but the consequences of that decision would weigh heavily on Jake for at least 24 hours after credits rolled. Find the full episode at patreon.com/lightscameraaccolade

This episode spoils 1936's nominees Anthony Adverse, Dodsworth, Libeled Lady, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Romeo and Juliet, San Francisco, The Story of Louis Pasteur, A Tale of Two Cities, Three Smart Girls, and winner The Great Ziegfeld. This year gave us some of the best comedies so far (intentionally and unintentionally). Despite the Hays Code seemingly influencing movies to include more tidy, happy(ish) endings-- there are still some standouts this year. Or, at least one. Additionally, a couple of conspiracy theories crop up in this episode, and since no one is alive anymore to tell us whether or not we're wrong-- we can safely call them facts now.

This episode spoils Paul Schrader’s First Reformed (2017). Join us for Jake’s birthday celebration (preview) as we watch a surprisingly bleak film for the only optimist in our group. We got layers, folks Find the full episode at patreon.com/lightscameraaccolade

This episode spoils 1935's nominees Alice Adams, Broadway Melody of 1936, Captain Blood, David Copperfield, The Informer, Les Miserables, The Lives of a Bengal Lancer, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Naughty Marietta, Ruggles of Red Gap, Top Hat, and winner Mutiny on the Bounty. 1935 was a year of dueling themes: loyalty vs. betrayal, old vs. new, dark vs. light, pirates vs. pirates-- and we were treated to a collection of films with as much range as Charles Laughton's acting ability.

This episode spoils 1919's German film Anders als die Andern ("Different from the Others"), a film that challenged Germany’s anti-gay laws and feels as relevant as ever as it explores our understanding of sexuality, gender, and the harm that legal and social oppression inflicts on queer lives. Find the full episode at patreon.com/lightscameraaccolade

This episode spoils the 1930 Japanese film What Made Her Do It? -- a movie that takes the concept: “life is suffering and then you die” to the next level. Find the full episode at patreon.com/lightscameraaccolade

This episode spoils 1934's nominees The Barretts of Wimpole Street, Cleopatra, Flirtation Walk, The Gay Divorcee, Here Comes the Navy, The House of Rothschild, Imitation of Life, One Night of Love, The Thin Man, Viva Villa!, and winner It Happened One Night. The White Parade gets an honorable mention by thankfully deciding to (mostly) be a lost film and saving us the watch time. 1934 delivered epic spectacle unlike anything we've seen so far. This year had everything from painful portrayals of conflicts over identity and family dysfunction to extremely questionable portrayals of historical figures. But the humblest and most human entries won us over this year (and the Academy too apparently) in the first Oscars sweep in history.

This episode spoils 1932/33's 42nd Street, A Farewell to Arms, Cavalcade, I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, Lady for a Day, Little Women, The Private Life of Henry VIII, She Done Him Wrong, and State Fair Prohibition ended and the Academy decided to celebrate by nominating basically every movie that came out. Join us as we discuss some good movies and some terrible movies-- with almost no consensus on which are which. Unless it's a Paul Muni or Mae West movie.

This episode spoils 1931/32's Arrowsmith, Bad Girl, The Champ, Five Star Final, Grand Hotel, One Hour With You, Shanghai Express, and The Smiling Lieutenant Battlelines are drawn as the gang is split by differences of opinion over taste and content. What makes a film truly great -- fashion, cinematography, story, vibes? We get closer to the answer as we discuss the largest pool of Best Picture nominees (so far). 

This episode spoils 1930/31's Cimarron, East Lynne, The Front Page, Skippy, and Trader Horn. Jake struggles to pronounce names while the Academy struggles to nominate a good movie. 1931 was a terrible year for the economy, and an even worse one for the movies. Problematic doesn’t begin to describe some of these films.

This episode spoils 1929/1930's All Quiet on the Western Front, The Big House, Disraeli, The Divorcee, and The Love Parade. A new challenger arrives! Join us as we cover the third year of the Academy Awards.

This episode spoils 1928/29's Alibi, Hollywood Revue, In Old Arizona, and The Broadway Melody. Hollywood hits some highs and lows as 1929’s nominees grapple with the introduction of sound, and we gain a newfound respect for quality sound design. 

The movies were silent, but we are not. This episode spoils 1927/28's 7th Heaven, The Racket, and Wings. Join us as we discuss the first ever Academy Awards, and some of the history around why they came about. 

Amateur film buffs - Sarah, Jake, and Chrysantha - discover podcasting and talk a little about early Hollywood, and a lot about themselves in the inaugural episode of Lights, Camera, Accolade.