Lively, entertaining reviews of, and essays on, old and newer films and everything relating to them, written by professional author William Schoell.

Thursday, November 11, 2021

THE OSCAR

THE OSCAR
(1966). Director: Russell Rouse.

Frankie Fane (Stephen Boyd) is a low-level garment worker who sort of falls into acting because he "impresses" a lady talent scout named Sophie (Eleanor Parker). Sophie gets him a top agent in "Kappy" Kapstetter (Milton Berle), who manages to convince studio head Kenneth Regan (Joseph Cotten) to sign him to a contract even though Regan senses something off about the guy. Fane becomes a star, but keeps biting the hand that feeds him -- even though some of his remarks to those who helped him have a point. When his career starts slipping badly, he has nightmares of going back to being nobody, and hitches upon a desperate plan to nab an Oscar and put himself back on top. The Oscar does show how undeserving louts can become movie stars simply because somebody has the hots for them -- which has happened more often than anyone imagines. The movie might have had more bite had Fane been someone desperately committed to the art of acting, but this can't be confused with the far superior Career -- it's basically entertaining trash with mostly one-dimensional characters and often hokey dialogue -- and not a few tedious moments. Once Fane begins to slide, however, the pic picks up. The fact is that the narcissistic, ambitious, self-absorbed Fane is all too typical of most Hollywood actors.

Elke Sommer and Boyd
Although miscast as some low-bred tough guy, Boyd is not at all bad as Fane, and has his best moment at the very end of the movie (you almost feel sorry for him). As his pal and procurer, Hymie, Tony Bennett seems amateurish until he has some powerful moments at the climax. Jill St. John gives it a good try, but she hasn't the real acting chops to make the most of her scenes as the girlfriend Fane stole from Hymie. Elke Sommer is okay as Kay Bergdahl, a designer Fane makes a play for and eventually marries, and Berle is at least flavorful as Kappy. Eleanor Parker gives the sauciest performance as Sophie, and makes St. John and Sommer look like a couple of kittens in comparison. But Edie Adams and Ernest Borgnine almost walk off with the movie as a husband and wife who are celebrating their divorce in Mexico when they encounter Fane and Kay and re-enter their lives in an unexpected fashion. Peter Lawford has a small but significant scene where he plays a once-famous actor who is now a headwaiter at a Hollywood restaurant; Lawford is excellent and this is probably the best scene in the movie. There are some celebrity cameos and Hedda Hopper as well. One of the screenwriters was Harlan Elison, who became better known as a science fiction writer.

Verdict: Not exactly Eugene O'Neill but fun. ***.

4 comments:

Neil A Russell said...

1966 still seems like recent history to me. I'm old enough to know better though.
When I saw this movie really the only scene that stuck in my head was Boyd being crestfallen when he's told he lost out on the Matt Helm part to Dean Martin.
Or am I remembering some other picture? That's always a possibility with me!

William said...

Me, too, Neil. Full disclosure: in this busy week I re-posted an older review so I actually haven't seen the movie in some years. I do remember Boyd (who played Frank Fane) being crestfallen, devastated actually, at the very end when Frank Sinatra, who until that point had never even been mentioned, won the Oscar instead of him. But don't quote me, LOL!

angelman66 said...

Hi Bill - LOVED your article on a bad movie that I love too. As you say, often it's much more fun to write about the bad or campy ones! There is a lot of guilty pleasure abotu this movie - the wooden but sexy Stephen Boyd, a great singer like Tony who turns out to be a cringingly mediocre actor (though that one scene is pretty good), the tawdry glamour of Jill St John and the high, high scalloped hairdo of Elke Sommer...along with some always-great actors like Eleanor Parker, Borgnine and Edie Adams giving it their all despite a threadbare soap opera script.
Is this available on DVD?? I want to buy it so I can see it again not once but a hundred more times!
-Bill

William said...

Yes, you'll be happy to know that it is on DVD and you can probably find a copy on ebay or amazon. Fortunately my local library has a few copies of this and I think I'll order it and watch the darn thing all over again -- it is definitely a guilty pleasure. You're right that it's a hoot to watch and review bad or campy movies especially if they're fun enough to hold your attention, as this one definitely does!