The Oscar (film)
| The Oscar | |
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 film poster |
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| Directed by | Russell Rouse |
| Produced by | Clarence Greene |
| Written by | Harlan Ellison Clarence Greene Russell Rouse |
| Starring | Stephen Boyd Elke Sommer Jill St. John Milton Berle Eleanor Parker Joseph Cotten |
| Music by | Percy Faith |
| Cinematography | Joseph Ruttenberg |
| Editing by | Chester W. Schaeffer |
| Distributed by | Embassy Pictures Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 1966 |
| Running time | 119 min |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Oscar is a 1966 American drama film, written by Harlan Ellison, Clarence Greene, Russell Rouse and Richard Sale, directed by Rouse and starring Stephen Boyd, singer Tony Bennett (in his film debut), comedian Milton Berle (in a dramatic role), Elke Sommer, Ernest Borgnine, Jill St. John, and Eleanor Parker. The film also features Bob Hope, Hedda Hopper, Merle Oberon, Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra as themselves.
The film features an impressive cast and crew, including several real Academy Award winners: eight time costume design winner Edith Head (who would also be nominated, but not win, for The Oscar); best actor winners Ernest Borgnine and Broderick Crawford; best supporting actor winners Ed Begley, Walter Brennan (three wins), James Dunn, and Frank Sinatra. Also in the cast were Merle Oberon and Eleanor Parker, who had been nominated for Oscars but did not win.
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[edit] Plot
As movie star Frankie Fane (Boyd) is about to hear if he won a best acting Oscar, his friend Hymie Kelly (Bennett) reminisces about Fane's struggle to the top, beginning as a spieler for his stripper girlfriend Laurel (St. John). After moving to New York, Frankie dumps Laurel for a budding fashion designer, Kay Bergdahl (Sommer), which sets up a chance meeting with talent scout Sophie Cantaro (Parker). Sophie arranges for him to be signed with agent "Kappy" Kapstetter (Berle) and brings Frankie to Hollywood, where he quickly becomes a rising star.
At each turn, however, Fane is an unprincipled heel, using and hurting others and causing them to recoil from him. His life into a tailspin, he unexpectedly receives an Oscar nomination, which Kappy believes is the result of Fane's portrayal of a "man without morals", therefore portraying himself. In order to ensure his victory, he secretly employs the services of a crooked private investigator (Borgnine), who leaks information that should influence voters to support Fane's Oscar candidacy. The moment of truth comes as presenter Merle Oberon (playing herself) announces the winner. As she states the name "Frank," Fane rises instantaneously, prepared to bolt to the stage; she then immediately follows with "Sinatra." As Frank Sinatra moves towards the stage, Fane is left with a completely stunned, crestfallen look, clapping his hands robotically, while everyone in the assemblage whom he has wronged enjoys the comeuppance for this wholly self-absorbed, unfeeling individual.
[edit] Cast
- Stephen Boyd - Frankie Fane
- Elke Sommer - Kay Bergdahl
- Milton Berle - Alfred 'Kappy' Kapstetter
- Eleanor Parker - Sophie Cantaro
- Joseph Cotten - Kenneth H. Regan
- Jill St. John - Laurel Scott
- Tony Bennett - Hymie Kelly
- Edie Adams - Trina Yale
- Ernest Borgnine - Barney Yale
- Ed Begley - Grobard
- Walter Brennan - Orrin C. Quentin
- Broderick Crawford - Sheriff
- James Dunn - Network Executive
- Peter Lawford - Steve Marks
- Jack Soo - Sam
- Jean Hale - Cheryl Barker
Cameos:
[edit] Reaction
While the film is technically a drama, many consider it to be an unintentional comedy, with critics skewering the script and performances.[1][2] Others consider it most likely to be a burlesque, given the stature of the actors involved. Tony Bennett "won" a Golden Turkey Award in the "Worst Performance By a Popular Singer" category;[3] Bennett never played another dramatic role on film. The Oscar also marked the near-endpoint of Clarence Greene's and Russell Rouse's careers; they each made just one more feature afterwards.
The film was nominated for two Academy Awards:[4]
- Best Art Direction (Hal Pereira, Arthur Lonergan, Robert R. Benton, James W. Payne); lost to Fantastic Voyage
- Best Costume Design (Edith Head, who also has a brief cameo); lost to A Man For All Seasons
The Oscar made its network television debut on February 12, 1969, on ABC's Wednesday Night Movie. ABC moved the film up a half-hour, to 8:30 Eastern, due to cancelling the comedy show Turn-On after only one episode. TBS later included The Oscar in a film series called "Bad Movies We Love".
The Oscar was parodied on Second City Television as The Nobel with Dave Thomas playing the role of a street tough who uses and discards people as he becomes a famous surgeon, later disgraced.
This film was produced by Embassy Pictures, and distributed by Paramount Pictures. In later years, full rights to the film would revert to Embassy, and are now owned by StudioCanal.
[edit] References
- ^ Levy, Emanuel (2003). All About Oscar: The History and Politics of the Academy Awards. Continuum. ISBN 9780826414526. http://books.google.com/books?id=dH2Lb_YhIhAC&pg=RA1-PA371#v=onepage&q=&f=false. "As a movie, The Oscar was the worst publicity that Hollywood could have devised for itself. Panned by all the critics, it was also a fiasco at the box office. "Obviously the community doesn't need enemies as long as it has itself," wrote The New York Times 's Bosley Crowther."
- ^ "The Oscar - Review". TV Guide. http://movies.tvguide.com/oscar/review/108408.
- ^ Medved, Michael; Medved, Harry (1980). The Golden Turkey Awards. Putnam. ISBN 0-399-50463-X.
- ^ "NY Times: The Oscar". NY Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/36688/The-Oscar/awards. Retrieved 2008-12-27.
[edit] External links
- The Oscar at the Internet Movie Database
