The Oscar (film)

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The Oscar
film poster
Directed by	Russell Rouse
Produced by	Clarence Greene
Written by	Harlan Ellison Clarence Greene Russell Rouse
Starring	Stephen Boyd Elke Sommer Jill St. John Milton Berle Eleanor Parker Joseph Cotten
Music by	Percy Faith
Cinematography	Joseph Ruttenberg
Distributed by	Embassy Pictures
Release date(s)	1966
Running time	119 min
Country	United States
Language	English
IMDb profile

The Oscar is a 1966 drama film starring, written by Harlan Ellison, Clarence Greene, Russell Rouse and Richard Sale , directed by Rouse and starring Stephen Boyd, singer Tony Bennett (in his film debut), comedian Milton Berle (in a dramatic role), Ernest Borgnine, Jill St. John, and Eleanor Parker. The film also features Bob Hope, Hedda Hopper, Merle Oberon, Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra as themselves.

The film features an impressive cast which includes several actual Oscar winners: eight time costume design winner Edith Head; best actor winners Ernest Borgnine and Broderick Crawford; best supporting actor winners Ed Begley Sr., Walter Brennan (three wins), James Dunn, and Frank Sinatra. Merle Oberon and Eleanor Parker were nominated for Oscars but did not win.

While the film is technically a drama, many consider it to be an unintentional comedy, with critics skewering the script and performances. Others consider it most likely to be a burlesque, given the stature of the actors involved. TBS once included it in a film series called "Bad Movies We Love."

[edit] Plot

As movie star Frankie Fane (Boyd) is about to hear if he won a best acting Oscar, his friend Hymie Kelly (Bennett) reminisces about Fane's struggle to the top, beginning as a spieler for his stripper girlfriend Laurel (St. John). After moving to New York, Frankie dumps Laurel for a budding fashion designer, Kay Bergdahl (Sommer), which sets up a chance meeting with talent scout (and "cougar") Sophie Cantaro (Parker). Sophie arranges for him to be signed with agent "Kappy" Kapstetter (Berle) and brings Frankie to Hollywood, where he quickly becomes a rising star. At each turn, however, Fane is an unprincipled heel, using and hurting others and causing them to recoil from him. His life into a tailspin, he unexpectedly receives an Oscar nomination, which Kappy believes is the result of Fane's portrayal of a "man without morals," therefore portraying himself. In order to ensure his victory, he secretly employs the services of a crooked private investigator (Borgnine), who leaks information that should influence voters to support Fane's Oscar candidacy. The moment of truth comes as presenter Merle Oberon (playing herself) announces the winner.