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 movies, THE OSCAR is in a class all by itself. Featuring bad acting, bad direction, bad dialogue, bad script and all done in the most earnest manner which is what makes it deliciously irresistible. In the lead role, a severely miscast Boyd is not merely bad, he's jaw dropping bad. If you hadn't seen him in other movies, you'd never know the man can actually act. The part needed a young Steve McQueen type. Watching it, one 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 lurid, sleazy and sordid come to mind. I don't much care for the term guilty pleasure but if any movie defines the term, it's THE OSCAR. Ironically, the 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 Sinatra, Bob Hope, Eleanor Parker, Joseph Cotten, Ernest Borgnine, Elke Sommer, Edie Adams, Broderick Crawford, Nancy Sinatra, Walter Brennan, Ed Begley, Peter Lawford, Edith Head, James Dunn and in his one and only film role, Tony Bennett.