The Case of Sergeant Grischa, another lost film, stars Chester Morris and Betty Compson, both of whom had been nominated for acting Oscars the year before. It was apparently not a financially successful film upon its release, but it was remembered by Academy voters for its use of sound. It is apparently the only sound film to be nominated for an Oscar that was later completely lost. The plot, according to IMDB, goes like this: “Sergeant Grischa Paprotkin, a simple-minded Russian soldier, escapes from a German prisoner-of-war camp. He hides out for a while with a peasant girl named Babka, but finally his longing for his homeland overcomes him. Wearing the identity of a dead Russian spy, he is soon recaptured by the Germans and sentenced to death. The German ruthlessness and disdain for justice is driven home when proof of his innocence of being the spy is brushed aside.” They sure could come up with some wild plot twists back then, couldn’t they? Much like All Quiet on the Western Front, released the same year, The Case of Sergeant Grischa was based upon a novel by a German author and was set during World War I. No copies of the film are known to exist, a sad fate shared by many earlier films.
Oscar Nomination: Best Sound Recording
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