The Oscar
film poster
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.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Reaction 4 References 5 External links

[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 (and "cougar") 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, and everyone in the assemblage whom he has wronged enjoying 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:

• Johnny Grant
• Edith Head
• Bob Hope
• Hedda Hopper
• Merle Oberon
• Hal Pereira
• Frank Sinatra
• Nancy Sinatra

[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); lost to A Man For All Seasons

The Oscar made its network television debut on February 12, 1969, on ABC's Wednesday Night Movie. Ironically, ABC moved the film up a half-hour (to 8:30 Eastern) due to the quick cancellation of another notorious flop: Turn-On, a comedy show axed after just one episode. (Interestingly, one of the few TV critics to give Turn-On even limited praise was Harlan Ellison, who co-wrote The Oscar.) Other TV airings have been sporadic at best: TBS once included it in a film series called "Bad Movies We Love".

The 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

[edit] External links

• The Oscar at the Internet Movie Database
• Review on Jabootu's Bad Movie Dimension