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Monday, February 10, 2020

The Oscar (1966)

The story of a heel (Stephen Boyd) and how he rises from a front man for a stripper (Jill St. John) to a famous Hollywood movie star using and stepping on others in his climb to success. Based on the novel by Richard Sale and directed by Russell Rouse (NEW YORK CONFIDENTIAL). In the annals of bad moviesTHE OSCAR is in a class all by itself. Featuring bad actingbad direction, bad dialoguebad script and all done in the most earnest manner which is what makes it deliciously irresistible. In the lead rolea severely miscast Boyd is not merely badhe's jaw dropping bad. If you hadn't seen him in other moviesyou'd never know the man can actually act. The part needed a young Steve McQueen type. Watching itone can't help but think"What the hell were they thinking?". Did someone not read the screenplay before giving this the greenlight? How did so many talented people get roped into this? Adjectives like luridsleazy and sordid come to mind. I don't much care for the term guilty pleasure but if any movie defines the termit's THE OSCAR. Ironicallythe one actor who emerges unscathed is comedian Milton Berle in a dramatic role. Everyone else sinks. The kind of movie that needs to be seen to be believed. The massive cast (including several actors playing themselves) includes Frank SinatraBob HopeEleanor ParkerJoseph CottenErnest Borgnine, Elke Sommer, Edie AdamsBroderick CrawfordNancy SinatraWalter BrennanEd BegleyPeter LawfordEdith HeadJames Dunn and in his one and only film roleTony Bennett.

2 comments:

  1. Great review. I actually liked parts of the Oscar. And I enjoyed Boyd's snarling over-the-top performance. The only real stinker is Tony Bennett, who wins the "Glen Campbell Award" for worst acting by a singer. You wonder why he was hired. Was he given a screen test? Or did he work for peanuts?

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    1. Amazingly, Glen Campbell got a second chance with Norwood (1970) before he wisely abandoned an acting career. That was probably because TRUE GRIT was a huge hit. THE OSCAR wasn't so Tony Bennett never got a second chance to embarrass himself.

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