- The Oscar (film)
Infobox Movie
name = The Oscar
image_size= 200px
caption= film poster
imdb_id = 0060801
producer = Clarence Greene
director =Russell Rouse
writer =Harlan Ellison Clarence Greene
Russell Rouse
starring =Stephen Boyd Elke Sommer Jill St. John Milton Berle Eleanor Parker Joseph Cotten
music =Percy Faith
cinematography =Joseph Ruttenberg
editing
distributor =Embassy Pictures Paramount Pictures
released = 1966 | runtime = 119 min
language = English
country = USA
"The Oscar" is a 1966drama film , written byHarlan Ellison ,Clarence Greene ,Russell Rouse andRichard Sale , directed by Rouse and starringStephen Boyd , singerTony Bennett (in his film debut), comedianMilton Berle (in a dramatic role),Elke Sommer ,Ernest Borgnine ,Jill St. John , andEleanor Parker . The film also featuresBob Hope ,Hedda Hopper ,Merle Oberon ,Frank Sinatra andNancy Sinatra as themselves.The film features an impressive cast which includes several actual Oscar winners: eight time costume design winner
Edith Head ; best actor winnersErnest Borgnine andBroderick Crawford ; best supporting actor winnersEd Begley ,Walter Brennan (three wins),James Dunn , andFrank Sinatra .Merle Oberon andEleanor 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".
The film was produced by
Embassy Pictures , and distributed byParamount Pictures . In later years, full rights to the film would revert to Embassy, and are now owned byStudioCanal .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.
External links
*imdb title|id=0060801|title=The Oscar
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