The Oscar

The Oscar

Stephen Boyd leads an impressive cast (Milton Berle, Edie Adams, Ernest Borgnine, Joseph Cotten, Jill St John, Eleanor Parker, Tony Bennet, Peter Lawford, Jack Soo, Elke Sommer) in this flawed Hollywood expose for the masses. The biggest flaw being that he's supposed to be an unscrupulous guy (which he is) who steps over everyone (which he does) in order to get to the top echelon of Hollywood actors. Once he gets a taste of life at the top, problems arise, because of all the people he's used and disposed of to get there. It sounds bad, however, the way his part is written doesn't do justice to how bad he's supposed to be. He's just another aggressive lout, with at least episodes of decency, who's self-blinded by the unreasonable purpose to reach the top. Anyone who's watched a few movies has seen characters who are much worse. Nonetheless, he gets a great comeuppance towards the end of the film that is worth waiting for, not that you have to suffer through a terrible film in the meanwhile. There's more than enough to string the viewer along, with pretty good performances by Milton Berle as Boyd's agent, and Joseph Cotten as the head of the studio. Granted, Tony Bennet is no actor, but there are nifty parts for Jill St John, Edie Adams, and Ernest Borgnine, as well as Peter Lawford.

source: The Oscar

Perhaps the most notable thing about "The Oscar," aside from the fact that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences probably wishes it didn't allow the filmmakers to use its award as a part of their turkey, is that the opening credits of the film give away two key elements that really shouldn't be revealed, one of which laughably gives away the ending! This really goes to the point that nobody in this film seemed to know or care about the process of making it and were more enamored with the concept of setting their film on Oscar Night than in having the story make any sense, and were more about getting names to list, hoping to increase the Box Office receipts. Bad move. I was hoping for an over the top, completely ridiculous, scenery chewing melodrama, and I was rather disappointed. Granted, Stephen Boyd definitely does have some ludicrous dialog and plays bigger than he should for what he's doing, but it really isn't "fun" to watch. Even more to the point, there's no one in the film who can challenge him. Milton Berle comes the closest as his agent. But Berle doesn't get to crack wise, as we would expect him to do with a knucklehead client like this one. He plays it straight up. What was the point of that? And Elke Sommer is such a conflicted character, it's difficult to understand what she brought to the film, aside from the obvious eye candy intended. The other oddity is in seeing Tony Bennett play his one and only acting role. Clearly, he wasn't ready for this sort of challenge and I can't blame him for begging off film for the safety of his music career after this disaster. Wasted were Oscar Winner Ernest Borgnine who plays some two bit private eye and Edie Adams who actually seems the most realistic character in the entire film. Also, Edith Head, the multiple Oscar winning Costume Designer, who was seen on screen in three different scenes, and uttered half a word. But I'm seriously still reeling over the credit spoilers. If you do watch this film (and I don't recommend you do because it definitely isn't good and it unfortunately isn't bad enough to be amusing) don't read the opening credits!

If the name Harlan Ellison doesn`t mean anything to you let me point out that he is one of the most respected science fiction authors of the 20th century . Ellison also wrote a couple of episodes of the original OUTER LIMITS series in the early 60s which James Cameron seemed to have borrowed for THE TERMINATOR . In fact Cameron borrowed so heavily that Ellison won a succesful court battle for plagerism and latter prints of THE TERMINATOR acknowledge the works of Harlan Ellison . Seeing as Ellison co wrote this screenplay you wonder if Harold Robbins didn`t think about doing something similar at one point !!!! SPOILERS !!!! This screenplay has Harold Robbins ugly signature written all over it . It`s a melodramatic pot boiler along the lines of THE CARPET BAGGERS set in the movie world . The story opens at the Oscars where Frankie Fane is rubbing his hands in anticipation of getting his hands on the academy award for best actor . The story then flashes back to Frankie`s younger days and for the rest of the movie we`re shown he`s an amoral manipulative S.O.B from the mean streets . In a rather contrived manner we`re shown how he got into movies ( His knife skills served him well ) then once he got his foot in the door he walked all over everybody , he exploited everybody , he used everybody to make it to the top of the movie world . Duh isn`t that how everyone makes it Hollywood ? I think Tom Hanks and a few other people may be genuinely nice human beings but can you say that about most players and movers in Hollywood ? So it seems rather rich Frankie Fane should be condemned for exploiting people And there`s a confusing morality message to all this . All the way through the movie we`re wanting to see Frankie fall on his face which happens in the end since the best actor Oscar goes to Frank Sinatra , but think about it , Frankie is an amoral shark , he`s no scruples and he`basically a ruthless thug but he`s become a major movie star , he has lots and lots of money and there`s no certainty that he will never win an Oscar in the future . Is this actually the fate you would want to see happen to a movie villain ? If having a movie career as a film star with loads of cash in the bank and an Oscar nomination is failure I`d sure like to how success is defined ? I suppose it`s open to conjecture if Mr Sinatra invited Frankie to the after show party where he was never seen again but I`d better not comment on that in case I wake up with a horse`s head in my bed THE OSCAR isn`t all bad despite it being a bad movie . It`s one of those movies that has a watchable quality mainly down to its schlock value . If you like Harold Robbins novels you`ll like this though perhaps fans of Harlan Ellison`s work should stick with THE TERMINATOR

Above and beyond all the semi-enjoyable camp and melodrama of "The Oscar" is this...and it doesn't surface until the final scene, and final bit of dialogue: Frank Sinatra is shown to be the "good guy"...the role model for Frank Fane and other actors, regardless of whether they actively are seeking The Oscar. In reality, according to many who were there in Hollywood and Vegas during Sinatra's heyday and fell inside his considerable orbit of influence, 'Ol Blue Eyes was more full of himself, and could be even more difficult to be around, than the character of Fane, as created by author Richard Sale in the novel and effectively portrayed here by Stephen Boyd. Sinatra, in fact, would have been a more realistic Fane than Boyd...because the character he was playing was not too far off himself. Yet, when Oscar presenter Merle Oberon, at the film's conclusion, says, "...Frank.....SINATRA (not Fane)...!" as the winner for Best Actor, everyone stands and applauds. For all his iconoclasm throughout his career and life, Sinatra suddenly has become Establishment. As for "The Oscar" itself, it's like watching an accident. We're filled with a kind of shocked fascination, so we continue to watch. A major question here is why all those excellent professionals---Joseph Cotten, Ernest Borgnine, Eleanor Parker, Broderick Crawford, Walter Brennan---chose to be a part of this trite, unrealistic tale of Hollywood. As Fane, Boyd projects a sarcastic, sometimes vicious---though at times curiously vulnerable---persona. Elke Sommer is at her physically charismatic best. And her acting is surprisingly good. Tony Bennett, though, is the metaphor for all that is laughable in "The Oscar". He portrays Fane's pal, Hymie Kelly, with cartoonish over-acting. Milton Berle, as agent Kappy Kapsetter, shows how solid a straight actor he could be. All those prominent people who have smaller roles here do creditable jobs. About the same time "The Oscar" came out, in 1966, Broadway was doing the Budd Schulberg story, "What Makes Sammy Run?" Its theme, and that of "The Oscar", are similar: sooner or later, those who step on others on the way up will get smacked back down. After what was done on the screen to "The Oscar", Schulberg probably was happy his story never was made into a film.

It starts with some really bad chunks of dialogue - and it gets worse! However, it is weirdly watchable and by the end I was quite enjoying it. A larger collection of ott performances you probably won't find. Some review I read called it 'The Bad and the Beautiful crossed with Harold Robbins'. Approach it as a kind of weird comedy and you'll have fun. It doesn't really deserve to be out-of-print - it's an interesting cast (set of misfires), and has a kind of odd historical value ...

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.

I just saw this film and I had to go out to buy it. Why? it's so bad its good! This film was supposed to show all the nasty side of how an Oscar nomination goes to the head of its nominee and what he would do to win -- and in a way it does. But the acting is so over the top...you can't help but laugh. The hair styles are big, the performances are big..come on, it's just one of those fun little 60's 'soap opera' films that you'd never watch for serious sake, but mindless fun with you and your friends. (Remember the soap opera 'General Hospital' in the early, early 60's with the obviously over the top acting, silly drama situations, the real organ playing, etc.? Well this is even funnier!) It grabs ya, but you cannot help but laugh, laugh laugh, it's SO over the top. If anyone wants to know what makes a "campy" film, don't rent "Mommie Dearest", rent this one. There isn't any way you could hate this film, you'd be laughing too hard. I'd watch it on rainy days, or if I'm feeling blue, or I just want to get together with a bunch of friends and just point out just how over the top this is. This is a 10+ on the campy scale, a 5 regular. Go out and rent it, just to have a ball. It's fab-u-lous!

There is no other way to concieve of this film getting made other than being the by-product of extraterrestrials intercepting tv signals of DYNASTY, MELROSE PLACE and the like and recreating them as a realistic depiction of the way Earthlings behave. This gets my vote as the most unintentionally fall-on-your-ass hilarious movie ever made; you simply can't write comedy this good! The dialogue must have turned John Waters chartreuse with envy, and the performance by Steven Boyd is akin to what if one of the THUNDERBIRDS marionettes had been cast in WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLFE?. His body language is quite like some poor puppet being randomly jerked around while the puppeteer tries to shake off LSD-conjured spiders. And the incredibly strange dialogue from a knife-wielding strip joint owner:(attempting to be intimidating, with a crazy gleam in his eye and tossing his switchblade between both of his hands) "Pretty? Pretty?" No one in the history of civilization has ever talked like any of the characters in this film. If you are fortunate enough to have this unjustly out-of-print film at your local video store, not only should you rent it immediately, but you should invite over all of your friends and let them stare at this mess in slack-jawed amazement. A solid 10 on the laughs scale! And you will pee your pants at Tony Bennet's narration/ performance!!! RENT IT RIGHT NOW, FOR GOD'S SAKE!