In Pursuit of the Golden Oscar

Now that the quest for Olympic gold is over, we can turn our attention to another golden pursuit: the Oscar. Like their Olympic athlete counterparts, those who vie for the ultimate prize on Academy Awards night are hard working, determined and exceptionally talented. As in the Olympics, the field of competition plays a major part in who goes home with the gold. While the quality of the film and acting performance are obviously key factors, winners (and therefore losers) are often determined by which other films and actors happened to be nominated that year. And, like subjectively judged events such as Olympic figure skating, the Academy Awards voting process doesn’t always produce the “right” result.

The list of ‘great ones’ who never won an Oscar is both long and surprising. It includes actors Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Cary Grant, Claude Rains and Peter O’Toole. And actresses Greta Garbo, Gloria Swanson, Lauren Bacall and Judy Garland. Directors who never got an Oscar include Robert Altman (who will receive an honorary Oscar this year), Hitchcock, Fellini, Truffaut, Renoir, Kubrick and Scorsese. The problem was obviously not talent, but timing.

In no year was timing more significant than in 1939, undoubtedly the greatest year in American film history. While it is hard to argue with the decision to name “Gone With The Wind” best picture, in any other year, any one of the other nominated films could have taken home the big prize. The other films up for best picture that year were “The Wizard of Oz,” John Ford’s classic western “Stagecoach,” “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” and the haunting “Wuthering Heights.” Several other outstanding films were not even nominated that year—the classic adventure film “Gunga Din,” “Only Angels Have Wings” with Cary Grant and Jean Arthur, “Destry Rides Again” with feisty saloon singer Marlene Dietrich, and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” with Charles Laughton’s unforgettably heart wrenching portrayal of Quasimodo.

Vivien Leigh’s Scarlett nabbed best actress that year, leaving Bette Davis ironically less than victorious in “Dark Victory,” and Garbo anything but laughing in the romantic comedy, “Ninotchka.” Robert Donat shocked all by winning best actor for “Goodbye Mr. Chips,” beating out three of Hollywood’s most famous and talented leading men in some of the best performances of their careers: Clark Gable as Rhett Butler, Jimmy Stewart as Jefferson Smith and Laurence Olivier as Heathcliff. Talk about a packed field!

Many times the Academy is asked to choose between entirely different films, with sometimes surprising results. There was “How Green Was My Valley” winning over “Citizen Kane” (1941), “Rocky” over “Taxi Driver” (1976), “Annie Hall” over “Star Wars” (1977), “Ordinary People” over “Raging Bull” (1980), “The English Patient” over “Fargo” (1996) and “Shakespeare in Love” over “Saving Private Ryan” (1998). It hardly seems fair, pitting such different but equally exceptional films against each other. It’s a classic case of apples vs. oranges—like asking us to choose between Michelle Kwan and Bonnie Blair.

Sometimes the problem isn’t a packed field, but a disgraceful mistake, like the Academy’s failure to even nominate Chaplain’s greatest film, “City Lights” (1931), the original “King Kong” (1933), the brilliant Cary Grant—Rosalind Russell newspaper flick “His Girl Friday” (1940), or Hitchcock’s “Rear Window” (1954). And perhaps the worst blunder in the history of film, when the entertaining but frivolous “The Greatest Show on Earth,” won best picture over “High Noon” (1952). It was enough to make Gary Cooper leave town for good, even if he did walk away with the best actor award.

This year is an interesting one, with the best picture nominees having more in common than in recent years. Four of the five films up for the top award are either biopics or based on real life events. As has been the case in recent years, I’ve been slow to see new films, having seen only two of those nominated—“Goodnight, and Good Luck” (terrific) and “Crash” (had some good moments, but a bit too neatly tied up). I suppose when choosing between venturing out into the cold and sitting at home curled up on my couch, I’ll choose home, even with the considerably smaller screen. And, being the old movie buff that I am, it’s likely I’ll watch something filmed in black & white. Unless of course, it’s “Gone With the Wind.”

(This column was originally published on townonline.com March, 2006)