There was a time when the Oscars was the be all to end all
of entertainment awards shows. It was a festive night with tons of fans
gathered along the red carpet to get a glimpse of stars, of spotlights igniting
the skies and of the best of the best receiving high praise from fellow
craftsmen. Somewhere along the way that got lost. Instead of the best of the
best money got involved and advertising took over in an effort to milk out
every dollar possible from a film once it won an award. Then politics dropped
in and suddenly films were praised more for the stands they took on issues than
on the quality of the film itself. It’s gotten to the point that if you asked
an average person to name 3 of the best film winners from the last 10 years the
odds are they couldn’t do it.
The thing is that this sort of maneuvering has been going on
for years but never as blatantly as it is now. But there were some who tried to
get the word out. Back in 1966 the movie THE OSCAR was released. It was based
on the novel by Richard Sale, featured a star studded cast and had several
impressive names to its credit for writing the film (Harlan Ellison, Clarence Greene, Russell Rouse and
Richard Sale). Released as a drama the film was panned by critics and
faded into obscurity. Until now.
Kino Lorber has just released the film on blu-ray and for
fans of unintended campy films this is your chance to add it to your
collection. Since its release that’s the category that the film has been tagged
with by so many. One watch and you’ll understand why with a ton of over the top
performances and cringe worthy dialogue. But in spite of that you may find it
more entertaining than the actual Oscars these days.
The story revolves around Frankie Fane (Stephen Boyd), a
scummy grafter who starts the film off promoting his girlfriend Laurel (Jill St. John) as a stripper in dive
bars. But his mouth rubs people the wrong way and he ends up losing her as many
jobs as he gets. Along with the pair is his best friend Hymie (Tony Bennett), a
sidekick that is there for him throughout the movie. Frankie lives off of
Laurel and her earnings until she finally kicks him out.
Not one to want hard labor, Frankie gets work in a sweat
shop where he meets and woos fashion designer Kay
Bergdahl (Elke Sommer). He goes with her to a play rehearsal and speaks openly
about how terrible the actors are. When asked if he could do better, he takes
the stage and shows them how to play the part, one he is familiar with since it
mimics his own early life. Talent scout Sophie Cantaro (Eleanor Parker) is
there to see it all and it isn’t long before Frankie dumps Kay and hooks up
with Sophie. She brings him out to Hollywood and along with an agent named
Kappy Kapstetter (Milton Berle) it isn’t long until Frankie becomes a star.
But Frankie remains true to his
roots. He spends too much money, takes advantage of people and steps on those
beneath him without caring about them at all. He sets himself up for a fall
when his films begin to die at the box office. As the offers begin to dwindle
and he finds himself forced to do the unthinkable, work in a TV series, he gets
a last ditch chance of success once more. He’s nominated for an Oscar for best
actor. This is when the worst characteristics of Frankie Fane come to light as
he hires a sleazy private investigator to help released dirt on his sordid
past, pretending his competitors are responsible. But will it be enough to push
him over the top and reclaim his fame and fortune as the Oscar winner?
With enough soapy moments to
make the best daytime drama cringe the film is reminiscent of the novels of
Harrold Robbins and Jackie Collins without the talent involved in their
writings. The dialogue is filled with clichés and the performances reek of
actors and actresses behaving as if they’ve had no direction or ignored any
provided. Surprisingly the worst of them here is Boyd who was a big enough star
at the time to know better. With major star making roles in films like BEN-HUR,
GENGHIS KHAN and THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE his career would never quite
recover from this film. His acting here is so overblown and his accent so
muddled as to be near incomprehensible that it’s no wonder.
In spite of all of this the
film was ironically nominated for two Oscars, best production design and best
costume design, winning neither. The only award the film has won is the Golden
Turkey Award for worst performance by a popular singer for Bennett. Bennett too
didn’t walk away unscathed from the experience, never appearing in another film
as an actor again.
One would think that all of
this would make for a terrible movie viewing experience. But it ends up being
just the opposite. Granted it feels a little long at just a minute under 2
hours, the movie is still fun viewing if for nothing else the complete lack of self-restraint
on hand. There is also the fact that the film holds a large number of
well-known actors who should have known better. Including the aforementioned
stars the cast includes Joseph Cotton, Ernest Borgnine, Edie Adams, Ed Begley,
Walter Brennan, Broderick Crawford, Edith Head, Hedda Hopper, Bob Hope, Nancy
Sinatra and Peter Crawford, many in cameo roles. No doubt many felt this would
be a top notch movie but sad to say it is little more than the camp classic
it’s been praised as. But if you love movies and the movie making business,
then this is one worth checking out.
Kino Lorber is releasing this
with a few extras and in the best condition it’s ever had beginning with a new
4k restoration of the film. It features a new audio commentary track by Patton
Oswald, Josh Olson and Erik Nelson, another new audio track commentary by film
historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell and Nathanial Thompson and trailers
as well.
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