The Oscar (1966)

Director:

Russell Rouse

Writers:

Richard Sale (novel)
Harlan Ellison (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

8 July 1966 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

This is the story of...The Dreamers and The Schemers...The Hustlers and The Hopefuls...The Free-loaders and The Phonies...The Fakers and The Famous...All Fighting for the Highest Possible Award!!

Plot:

Snotty Hollywood actor becomes even more full of himself after he's nominated for Best actor at the Academy Awards.

Plot Keywords:

Actor | Award | Hollywood | Oscar | Academy Award

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Stephen Boyd	...	Frank Fane
Elke Sommer	...	Kay Bergdahl
Milton Berle	...	Kappy Kapstetter
Eleanor Parker	...	Sophie Cantaro
Joseph Cotten	...	Kenneth 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
Edith Head	...	Herself
Hedda Hopper	...	Herself

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

West Germany:16 | UK:X | USA:Approved | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Finland:K-16

Company:

Greene-Rouse Productions

Trivia:

Bob Hope, who plays the Master of Ceremonies in this film's Oscar sequences, hosted more Academy Awards shows than anyone else in Hollywood history.

Goofs:

Continuity: The scene of Frankie getting hit in the head by Cheryl Barker doesn't match with the photo the newspapers later run.

Quotes:

Kay Bergdahl: Do you know what I do, Hymie? I count nights. I found a Freudian substitute for counting sheep. I count empty nights.

Movie Connections:

References Sunset Blvd. (1950)

Soundtrack:

Carmen Carmela

The best terrible movie of all time

This expose of a Hollywood heel plays like a bush-league attempt at the baroque language of SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS, but man, does it work. Stephen Boyd is the absurdly mannered amoral punk who'd screw over his mother and steal her shoes to make it to the top. Among those with his shoeprints on their neck are Milton Berle (horny, melancholy, used-up agent), Jill St. John (tragic "roundheels broad"), Tony Bennett (as Hymie Kelly, the tragic Jewish-Irish second banana) and Elke Sommer (Swedish zaftig-bomb with a conscience). As directed by Russell Rouse, THE OSCAR has the feel of Sam Fuller doing overbright TV. The movie is way beyond "campy" or "good-bad;" nearly every scene is a diamond-plated jaw-dropper.