The Oscar (1966)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

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:

Final film of James Dunn.

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: Bye Frankie! And I hope the Oscar keeps you warm on cold nights!
Frankie: Yeah, go on and run! You're too stupid to understand!

Movie Connections:

References The Big Knife (1955)

Soundtrack:

Carmen Carmela

Gloriously bad

Did Harlan Ellison really contribute to the screenplay of this film? Did he really script the scene at the end when Oscar nominations are read and we find that Richard Burton is a nominee for something called "Grapes In Winter"? Worse than "Valley of the Dolls," even worse than "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls," this one deserves a permanent place in the video library of all those who love deplorably bad movies. It's impossible to decide who gives the worst performance in this film, but Stephen Boyd has the most screen time so he deserves the prize even more than the laughably inept Tony Bennett. The movie is incredibly naive about the importance of the Oscar. Sure, it can make a career, but losing one isn't likely to end one either. Like they say, it is an honor just to be nominated, but when Boyd learns he will not go home with the gold, well, the movie suggests it's all over for him. But for all its glorious badness, this movie's greatest contribution to popular culture came in the 80s when SCTV produced a memorable spoof called "The Nobel" that is even more side-splitting.