Best Picture Winners: 1973-1977

1973
Winner: The Sting
Director: George Roy Hill
Distributed by: Universal Pictures

The story of two con men (Robert Redford and Paul Newman) who team up to take down a criminal banker that murdered Redford's partner. This is another movie that is viewed as more of an apology award than an actual earned one. Many view American Graffiti or Cries and Whispers as better fits for the grand prize, with movies like Serpico, Last Tango in Paris, and The Wicker Man not even nominated. This isn't saying that The Sting isn't a good movie, it's just a little too convenient that a Newman-Redford movie directed by George Roy Hill would win after their last film, Butch Cassidy, would be the favorite, but ultimately lose. I like the movie a lot actually, but maybe that's because I like the song, "The Entertainer." But seriously, it is worth a look, especially if you like Redford and Newman. The Sting won for Best Director, Best Picture, Best Screenplay, and Best Music, among others.This year's Oscar ceremony is best known as the one with the streaker. Robert Opel ran out onto the stage while David Niven was presenting, which led Niven to make a quip about the man's "shortcomings." There is wide speculation that the show's producers set the whole thing up as a publicity stunt.


1974
Winner: The Godfather: Part II
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures

Otherwise known as the greatest sequel of all time, the movie splits its time giving a background of Vito Corleone's (Young Vito played by Robert De Niro) life, and Michael's new life as the Don of the Corleone family. Part II's competition consisted of Chinatown, The Conversation, Lenny, and The Towering Inferno. Again, though the movies may have won in other years, they couldn't win against a powerhouse like Part II. Coppola was given full control over the film, unlike with The Godfather, which made production much smoother. The movie did run into a few bumps though. First off, Pacino hated the script at the beginning and refused to show up. Only after Coppola spent all night rewriting did Pacino agree to do the movie. Early screenings of the movie weren't promising, as critics felt the switches between Michael's and Vito's stories happened too often, thus not letting the audience connect with either. Coppola again changed the movie to make the switches less frequent, but didn't have enough time to finish. Thus, the beginning scenes are a bit poorly timed. It didn't matter, because in the end everyone loved this movie. Too bad it cost twice as much to make and only made a third of what The Godfather did. Besides winning Best Picture, the movie won Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (De Niro), Best Art Direction, and Best Music.


1975
Winner: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Director: Milos Foreman
Distributed by: United Artists

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is the first film since It Happened One Night to win the "High Five." That's Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay for all my newer readers. It deserved it too, as both Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher put on an amazing show. The movie details Randall P. McMurphy's stay in an insane asylum. Instead of being sent to jail for statutory rape, he is instead sent to a mental institution where he can have an easier time of it, instead of doing hard labor. He immediately comes into conflict with Nurse Ratched (Fletcher) the sociopathic nurse in charge of their ward. The film also stars later big names like Christopher Lloyd (his first film) and Danny DeVito. Nest had some pretty stiff competition, but it won over the Academy with its big themes, black comedy, and stellar performance from Nicholson. The other nominees were Jaws, Barry Lyndon, Dog Day Afternoon, and Nashville. This would be a tough choice for me between Jaws and Nest, but I do think Nest is a better movie.


1976
Winner: Rocky
Director: John G. Avildsen
Distributed by: United Artists

Rocky is seemingly one of those Best Picture winners that kind of throws you off. I mean, I was when I saw the Oscar icon on the DVD version at Farmer Jack ten years ago. It's new actor Sylvester Stallone mumbling and boxing. It can't be that great! It's pretty good actually. It's a nice underdog story, which is basically what Stallone was going through getting the picture made. The film was shot in 28 days and only had a budget of $1.1 million. Not exactly Oscar bait, but it went ahead and became a sleeper hit; the academy probably loving the gritty story mixed with sentimentality. I honestly still don't get Rocky and Adrian's relationship. Oh well, all I know is that whenever that name is uttered, I've got to recreate the ending to the movie. Rocky won over All the President's Men, Bound for Glory, Network, and Taxi Driver. That isn't including non-nominated films like Carrie, Marathon Man, or my personal favorite, The Outlaw Josey Wales. That would've been awesome! But no, we have Stallone getting punched repeatedly by Carl Weathers. Oh, I never explained what the movie is about! Rocky is an OK boxer who gets the chance to fight the champion. Then he eats lightning and craps thunder. Somehow this doesn't land him in a hospital.


1977
Winner: Annie Hall
Director: Woody Allen
Distributed by: United Artists

Otherwise known as Woody Allen's masterpiece, people still go crazy for this late 70's staple. Allen plays a neurotic (surprise!) comedian in an up and down relationship with singer Annie Hall (Diane Keaton). The story is told in flashbacks by Allen's character with asides and direct-to-camera conversations. This is another rare win for a comedy, the first since Tom Jones. Annie Hall beat out The Turning Point, Julia, and Goodbye Girl. So it's easy to see why it won....wait....I'm missing one. Oh yeah...a little film called Star Wars. Yes, Annie Hall beat out arguably one of the most epic movies of all time, one that people all over the world still talk about. So, the fan boy in me wants to call shenanigans on Star Wars being snubbed, but the film buff realizes that Annie Hall was just as deserving, and it was a film that appealed to the Academy more than Star Wars. Still, it would've been pretty cool to see Star Wars on the list of Best Pictures. But, really, when do you really see big blockbuster films winning the grand prize anymore? I honestly consider movies like Lord of the Rings to be an exception to the rule and not the rule. More often we see the low grossing movies like Crash and The Hurt Locker winning the grand prize. It's the same reason The Dark Knight was snubbed in 2008. The academy simply has an aversion to popcorn flicks. Anyway, Annie Hall is still listed in a bunch of critics top 50 comedy movies, so you can't say that it's been forgotten.

Best Picture Winners: 1968-1972

1968
Winner: Oliver!
Director: Carol Reed
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures

Oliver! is the film based off the Broadway musical based off the Charles Dickens novel, Oliver Twist. You all know the tale; a orphan boy falls under the influence of pickpockets but longs for a real family. Y'know, Oliver & Company! This film marks the end of the Academy's love affair with musicals, as it probably realized after awarding this one Best Picture that they had made a terrible mistake. Don't get me wrong, it's a fine film, but better than Romeo and Juliet and The Lion in Winter? Not even close. Not even nominated that year was 2001: A Space Odyssey, Night of the Living Dead, Planet of the Apes, and The Producers. I really don't know how to explain Oliver!'s win except by pointing at the Academy's obsession with musicals. My sister completely disagrees with my sentiments on Oliver!, because it holds  a special place in her heart. In other words, she watched it 50 million times when she was little. It was even the first musical that she watched. I can appreciate it too, but please sir, we don't want some more. A funny thing about this Oscar year: Barbara Streisand caused a controversy when she voted for herself for Best Actress, thus causing a tie between her and Katherine Hepburn. Streisand wasn't supposed to be able to vote, but the Academy waived the two year waiting period, thus letting her vote. This was the first and last time that two actresses won the award at the same time.


1969
Winner: Midnight Cowboy
Director: John Schlesinger
Distributed by: United Artists

The Academy apparently regretted its decision from last year and went with a film that was a complete polar opposite to Oliver! Instead of dealing with a lovable orphan looking for a family, this film dealt with a Texas native (John Voight) who moved to New York City to become a male prostitute. Did I mention that this is the only X-rated film to win Best Picture, and probably the last? It was initially given an R rating but when a psychologist analyzed the film, they recommended that it be rated X for the homosexual scenes. Two years later the scope for an R rating was widened and the film became rated R when it was reissued without any scenes being altered. This one still confuses me, because I've always kind of assumed that the Oscar voters were a bunch of old people (they aren't) that had very specific tastes. The Academy will surprise you every once in a while, though it's not always good. Never seen this one personally, so I can't tell you whether or not it was the right call or not. Others will say that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid should have won that year. All that I know is that Hello Dolly didn't win, and that was a sign that musicals were officially dead to the Academy.Oh, and in case you ever wondered where "Hey, I'm walking here!" came from, it's from this movie. It wasn't staged either, Hoffman almost got ran over and he ad-libbed.


1970
Winner: Patton
Director: Franklin J. Schaffer
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox

Patton is another film that I saw in high school history class. In fact, I think every movie my teacher showed us was winner of Best Picture except for Zulu (the others being All Quiet on the Western Front and Amadeus). Patton is a biopic of the effective, yet infuriating general for the U.S. during the Second World War. I can see why the Academy went with this film; it had a remarkable performance by George C. Scott as Patton and and intriguing story to boot (namely the slapping incident). Not to mention it has a ton of iconic scenes (opening in front of U.S. flag) and memorable lines (Rommel, you magnificent bastard, I read your book!). Scott would win the Oscar for his performance but famously refused it, as he disagreed with the whole notion of acting competitions. It didn't stop the Academy from nominating him later for The Hospital. This is a semi-controversial year, as some feel that Altman's M*A*S*H* should have taken home the prize. Other nominees like Five Easy Pieces, Airport, and Love Story weren't as close to the big prize. Wait....they nominated Love Story? Ewwwwwww. You really can't go wrong with either Patton or M*A*S*H*, so if you're in the mood for a war related movie, check both of these out.


1971
Winner: The French Connection
Director: William Friedkin
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox

 Another Oscar winner that I've seen, but don't remember all that much about. Except for the car chase scene. That's probably the most famous part of the whole movie and also what helped it nab the win over A Clockwork Orange, Fiddler on the Roof, The Last Picture Show, and Nicholas and Alexandra. I can't really imagine A Clockwork Orange winning, but they went with Midnight Cowboy, so what do I know? The film deals with two narcotics cops (Gene Hackman and Roy Schnieder) stumbling onto a massive heroin ring with a French connection. Like I said, the chase scene was a first of its kind and is still impressive today. Friedkin edited the whole chase scene while listening to Santana's "Black Magic Woman," giving the whole chase a "sort of a pre-ordained rhythm." Now I'm actually a little curious how it would look with that music playing instead. The film won not only Best Picture, but Best Director (Friedkin), and Best Actor (Gene Hackman) among others. The French Connection had a sequel years later with Hackman, but nobody cares about it.



1972
Winner: The Godfather
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures

What I can I say about the film that hasn't already been said? It's got incredible acting, amazing cinematography, and a great director to boot. You've got Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone, Al Pacino as the reluctant college educated youngest son, Michael Corleone, James Caan as the hot head Sonny Corleone, and Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen, the informally adopted son and family lawyer. I could go on and on with all the big name actors. Do yourself a favor and see this movie if you haven't already. Even if you don't like gangster movies, you can't help but be enthralled by the Corleone family. The Godfather won handily, but don't think it wasn't a competitive year. Cabaret and Deliverance were up for the Oscar too, and they aren't slouches. In fact, they probably could have won in any other year, but instead they faced The Godfather, considered one of the best movies of all time. The film only won three Oscars, however. Best Picture, Best Actor (Brando), and Best Adapted Screenplay. Brando became the second Best Actor winner to refuse his Oscar, and instead sent Sacheen Littlefeather, an aspiring actress and Native American to read why he didn't want the award. Brando had written 15 pages that detailed the wrong-doings of the film industry unto Native Americans. When producers found out, they told Littlefeather to be off in 60 seconds or else she would be physically removed. Roger Moore (who was presenting the award) kept the Oscar until an armed guard from the Academy came by to pick it up. Littlefeather's acting career didn't take off after this point. Brando later claimed that all he wanted to do was bring the plight of the Native American people to public knowledge.

Best Picture Winners: 1963-1967

1963
Winner: Tom Jones
Director: Tony Richardson
Distributed by: Lopert Pictures

Tom Jones is a rare Oscar winner, as it was both foreign (British) and a comedy. Tom Jones is about a man (Albert Finney) who is the biggest player of all time, though he only truly loves one woman. Alas, she is of a different social class than he! He is but a commoner to her, though she shares his affections! So he travels around the world and has sex with everyone. Literally. Well, maybe not everyone, but almost every woman he meets. Did I mention this takes place in the 18th century? Well it does. The only reason this movie was even considered for contention was because the Hays code went out of style. The Hays code was basically Hollywood's censor for a few decades. That is, until TV could show you things movies couldn't. The movie has a funny sense of humor, as the whole beginning is portrayed as a silent movie, and Jones has a habit of breaking the 4th wall and speaking directly to the audience. An unusual comedy that ended up winning Best Picture. I haven't seen this one so I don't know if I can compare it to any comedies these days, but I sincerely doubt the Academy will go for any of the comedies that are around these days. Imagine The Hangover winning Best Picture. Yeah, not gonna happen. Tom Jones went up against some mediocre competition and it apparently had enough class to propel it to the grand prize.


1964
Winner: My Fair Lady
Director: George Cukor
Distributed by: Warner Bros.

My Fair Lady, also known as Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw, also known as She's All That for modern audiences. Yes, they all follow the same basic premise: man is popular or of a higher social class, takes bet from big jerk that he can turn plain girl of lower social class into high class lady, man really falls in love, girl finds out about bet and gets angry at man, they reconcile in the end. The difference between the others and this one? This ones a musical, and not a terrible one at that. My Fair Lady was just the movie the Academy wanted at the time, something colorful and full of songs, not like Becket, Dr. Strangelove, or Zorba the Greek. The one other nomination that was in the same vein as My Fair Lady was Mary Poppins. For whatever reason though, the Academy liked My Fair Lady better. Dr. Strangelove is probably considered the real winner, as its legacy has lasted far longer than My Fair Lady. I guess people really liked Audrey Hepburn, even if someone else had to sing her part for her.


1965
Winner: The Sound of Music
Director: Robert Wise
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox

Wow, the Academy and Hollywood really like musicals for a while there. Don't worry. It'll change. The Sound of Music, starring Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, and Nazis, is the story of a nun who becomes a governess, then marries a Navy man, then takes him and his children and run from Hitler. Oh, and there's a ton of singing. Hitler doesn't sing, though. This isn't Springtime for Hitler. The Sound of Music beat out Docter Zhivago, the epic David Lean film based off the Russian classic. I guess Nazi's attacking is better than Communists? The Sound of Music won five Oscars, including Director and Score and displaced Gone with the Wind as the highest grossing film of all time (though not in the long run). I'm sure the movie making a ton of money didn't hurt its Oscar chances.


1966
Winner: A Man for All Seasons
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures

The biopic of saint and martyr, Sir Thomas More, delves into the predicament he was put into when King Henry VIII (or the ape as I called him when I was young) splits from the Catholic church, thus creating the Church of England. Paul Scofield plays More, a role which nabbed him a Best Actor Oscar. Scofield wasn't the first choice for More, as the producers feared his name wasn't big enough to draw in audiences. They asked Richard Burton but he declined. Laurence Olivier was considered next but Zinnemann was adamant on Scofield. Sometimes the director knows who's right for the part. Another fun fact: this was John Hurt's first major film role, playing the role of Richard Rich (aka Richey Rich). Probably the biggest competition for A Man for All Seasons was Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Here was the problem though; Woolf was nominated for all eligible categories. Yikes. It probably was Scofield's performance, because it beat out Woolf who was the favorite. Not nominated, but probably could have won that year were The Battle of Algiers and The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly. Honestly the western would have had my vote. Love that movie.



1967
Winner: In the Heat of the Night
Director: Norman Jewison
Distributed by: United Artists

Philadelphia Homicide detective Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) is first accused of murder, then asked to help in the murder case in a bigoted town in Mississippi. Police Chief Bill Gillespie (Rod Steiger) is at first wary of the northern detective but by the end of the film, they have a mutual respect for each other. The film is probably best known for the line "They call me, Mr. Tibbs!" Of course, the first time my generation heard any reference to this film was Pumbaa's line in The Lion King, "They call me, Mr. Pig!" The movie was shocking to some audiences, as it should have been. Remember that we are smack dab in the middle of the Civil Rights movement, and this movie showed a black man striking a white man in retaliation. Honestly, the edgy-ness of the movie was probably what got it the Oscar. This is another one of those years where any one could have won and no one would have batted an eye. The other nominees were: Bonnie & Clyde, Dr. Doolittle, The Graduate, and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. Yeah, that's a tough one. Night ended up winning not only Best Picture, but Best Actor (Rod Steiger), Best Film Editing, Best Sound, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Poitier wasn't nominated for either Guess Who or Night, but don't feel too bad, he was awarded Best Actor for his role in Lillies of the Field a few years earlier, becoming the first African-American to win in that category.

Best Picture Winners: 1958-1962

1958
Winner: Gigi
Director: Vincente Minnelli
Distributed by: MGM

Gigi is a musical set in France about a debonair man that falls in love with a teenage girl that is being groomed to be the mistress of a wealthy older man. The Academy app....wait....what? What were they thinking? It's also got a song sung by 69 year old Maurice Chevalier (who plays the wealthy older man) titled....wait for it...."Thank Heaven for Little Girls." I didn't realize I was going to be writing about a Lolita prequel. Boy, the fifties were a weird time for the Academy. I blame the movie's colorful and masterful set design that made people forget the weirdness of it all. Plus it was a musical and the Academy went nuts for that stuff for a while. Do you remember the last time a legit musical won Best Picture besides Chicago? It was Oliver! in 1968. Everything has a season. Lerner-Loewe did the script and music, as they did with My Fair Lady, and apparently they are so similar that it made some critics say that "the authors may want to sue themselves." The movie isn't exactly high on anyone's best Best Picture winners, but is still considered a classic. It beat out such films as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Auntie Mame, but the real contenders weren't even nominated: Touch of Evil and Vertigo. Touch of Evil is classic noir and probably one of my favorites of the genre. Check those two out before you take any time for Gigi. Unless you're dying to see an old man sing about little girls. Yuck.


1959
Winner: Ben-Hur
Director: William Wyler
Distributed by: MGM

The epic story of a Jewish Prince named Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) who is falsely accused of attempted murder. Ben-Hur is sent away to the galleys and vows his revenge via chariot race. It's a tale of redemption more than it is a tale of vengeance and anger. The beginning of the movie shows the birth of Christ, so the studio execs decided that it wasn't appropriate to have Leo the Lion (mascot of MGM) to roar, so this was the first time in history that Leo was not seen roaring. The film is so epic that it even has the longest score of all time. The competition that year really had no chance. Big movies like this one only came around every so often. If you've got three and a half hours to spare, give this movie a watch, if only for the famous chariot race.


1960
Winner: The Apartment
Director: Billy Wilder
Distributed by: United Artists

The controversial movie and Billy Wilder classic starred Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, and Fred MacMurray. Why was it controversial? Lemmon's character rents out his apartment to higher-ups at the company he works for so they can cheat on their wives without going to a motel. Good clean fun, right? Lemmon's character only puts up with it so he can get ahead at his job, but that all changes when he finds the passed out elevator operator girl (MacLaine) that's he's been interested in inside his apartment. The film received mostly glowing reviews, besides the ones that called it "a dirty fairy tale." It is a dramedy, so there's a bit of comedy thrown in, but it also deals with infidelity and suicide, so this is no tame movie. I have personally seen it myself a few months ago, and I really liked it. It's one of the few comedies to win Best Picture, and it's good to see that every so often. The winners can't all be dramas and musicals. The Apartment had an easy time beating out the competition since the picks were rather weak. Had other classics been nominated, like Psycho, Spartacus, and The Magnificent Seven. then it may have been a different story. Are you noticing a trend here? It doesn't matter though, I still feel that The Apartment would have won, even having seen Psycho and The Magnificent Seven.


1961
Winner: West Side Story
Director: Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins
Distributed by: United Artists

The gritty tale of warring Italian and Puerto-Rican gangs in New York's West Side. Oh, and they dance and sing. *Cliche record scratch*. You said what?! OK, everybody knows about this so I'm not fooling anyone. The story is basically a retelling of Romeo and Juliet with more dancing and Irish cops. The movie did incredibly well, winning the most Oscars of any musical and grossing the second highest amount in 1961. The soundtrack for the movie even became the best selling soundtrack of all time at that point. It's probably one of the few musicals that truly deserved the Best Picture Oscar and it's easy to see why. Great set design, great choreography, and songs that will stay in your head until the day you die. The film was so popular that it affected what kind of weapons you could carry around. People were so afraid of the switchblades portrayed in the movie, that it helped hasten laws against them being carried or possessed. It varies state to state if you can have one with you or not. Thanks a lot West Side Story, now I can't hassle shopkeepers!


1962
Winner: Lawrence of Arabia
Director: David Lean
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures

If David Lean is known for anything, it's for putting together epic and masterful films. Lawrence of Arabia is no different. Based on the life of T.E. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole), the film details his exploits in Arabia during WWI. The movie completely steamrolled all the other nominees, the best of the lot being To Kill a Mockingbird. I'm not exaggerating when I say that it is one of the best films ever made. Yes, people think it's that good. I've seen it myself, but I don't think I truly appreciated it at the time. The only controversy surrounding the movie is the historical accuracy of it and how Lawrence is portrayed. That matters little to the average audience member though, so I can see why it's not a huge deal. The movie won seven Oscars, though none were for acting. Sorry, Peter and Omar. This is another one that needs a whole afternoon to tackle, so make sure you're up for a long movie.

Best Picture Winners: 1953-1957

1953
Winner: From Here to Eternity
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures

If you think you don't know anything about this movie, you are probably wrong. This is the movie with the famous scene of the couple making out on the beach as the waves crash over them. It's been spoofed and referenced so many times that I find it unlikely that most people haven't seen something alluding to it. People apparently went back to liking war movies because this is the first of a few in the next decade. This one is about soldier stationed in Hawaii, a few months before the Pearl Harbor attack. It has an all-star cast including: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Cliff, Deborah Kerr, Frank Sinatra, and Donna Reed. There's a legend around Hollywood that Sinatra got the role because of his ties to the mafia, but most dismiss this claim and point towards the fact that Sinatra's then wife, Eva Gardner, was friends with the studio head's wife. The legend, true or not, created another legend. It is said that the rumor of Sinatra using his mafia ties to get a part influenced a similar subplot in The Godfather. Whether they are true or not, it's still interesting. Sinatra was desperate for the part of Maggio, and lucked out when Eli Wallach had to drop out of the role. The film did extremely well in theaters and not only became the highest grossing films of 1953, but one of the highest for the whole decade. The film won over other strong films like: Roman Holiday, Shane, The Robe, and Julius Caesar. With the cast and popularity though, it was the clear favorite that year. It would also win for director, adapted screenplay and best actor and actress in a supporting role (Sinatra and Reed, respectively).


1954
Winner: On the Waterfront
Director: Elia Kazan
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures

Marlon Brando stars as the former fighter and current longshoreman, Terry Malloy, who tries to fight the mafia controlled union that has taken over the waterfront. If you know the line, "I coulda been a contender," but don't know where it's from, well look no further. It's muttered by Brando's character because his brother made him throw a fight so the corrupt union boss could win money betting against him. The movie deserves the win, but film historians look at the snub for A Streetcar named Desire two years earlier as another reason the Academy decided to not only give Waterfront the Oscar, but also Brando and Kazan (both were nominated for Desire). The playing field was surprisingly sparse for this year considering that Seven Samarai, A Star is Born, and Rear Window weren't nominated, but The Caine Mutiny, Three Coins in a Fountain, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and The Country Girl were. Yikes, no wonder On the Waterfront was the clear winner. It does help that they had Brando in his prime, though. The movie is still loved today and is one that I'd really like to watch.


1955
Winner: Marty
Director: Delbert Mann
Distributed by: United Artists

Hey, come on, who doesn't love Ernest Borgnine? Nobody that's who! Especially in the 50's apparently because this film was a huge hit. Based on the teleplay of the same name, it went on to win not only Best Picture, but also the Palme d'Or at Cannes, the only film other than The Lost Weekend to do so. The film is basically about two people who fall in love almost despite themselves. It's a feel good story, and apparently that's what people wanted. Marty is one of those films that definitely should have won in the running that it had. But, when you take into consideration all the classics that were snubbed like East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause, and Night of the Hunter. Yep, none of those got nominated. It seems weird now, but opinions on movies are always different when they first come out. Marty was a first in a few ways; it was the first TV special to be turned into a Oscar winning movie, and it was the first to be shown in the Soviet Union. I guess communists like Ernest Borgnine? Quick! McCarthy! Oh wait....you've been discredited already.


1956
Winner: Around the World in 80 Days
Director: Michael Anderson
Distributed by: United Artists

Adapted from Jules Verne's novel, the story details a bet that Phileas Fogg makes with a bunch of rich skeptical idiots. He takes his valet, Passapa....parsalpa...Snagglepuss with him and they go shooting off in a hot air balloon and go on crazy hijinks. What the film is most noted for, besides the globe-trotting epicness of it all, is the amount of cameos. I'm not talking about a few, this film has basically everyone famous in it. It is basically the first of the Hollywood "makework" films in which a ton of fading personalities from Hollywood appear. Among the cameos are: Frank Sinatra, Peter Lorre, Red Skelton, Buster Keaton, John Carradine, Cesar Romero, and that isn't even counting the main actors. David Niven plays Fogg, Cantinflas plays Snagglepuss, Shirley MacLaine as Princess Aouda, and Robert Newton plays Mr. Fix. The film beat out such films as The Ten Commandments, Friendly Persuasion, Giant, and The King and I. 80 Days had the bigger budget and the most stars so you can imagine it wasn't hard for the academy to choose. This is another year where the best films of the year were not even nominated like The Searchers, The Red Balloon, and The Man that Knew Too Much. This isn't near the top of anyone's best Best Picture winners, so don't run out to see this one. Well, at least don't go see the newer one with Jackie Chan. All of it's cameo's consist of Arnold Schwarzenegger.


1957
Winner: The Bridge on the River Kwai
Director: David Lean
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures

OK, I will try my hardest not to be biased on this one, because this is actually one of my favorite films of all time. Honestly, there was nothing that the other movies nominated could have done. This film is just too good. The only one that even had a chance was 12 Angry Men. The story is about P.O.W.'s from the allies having to build the Burmese Bridge for the Japanese. Alec Guinness plays the British officer determined to follow the rules of the Geneva Convention and keep the men's spirits up by helping the Japanese build the bridge. On the other side of things, you've got William Holden's crew who want to destroy the bridge. I won't go any further into the story, but just know that it is a good one and really worth a look. The film took home the Oscars for Best Director, Best Actor (Guinness), and Best Adapted Screenplay among others. The funny thing about the Screenplay win was that it was awarded to someone who hadn't even been a part of the writing process. The real writers, Micheal Wilson and Carl Foreman, were blacklisted and could only work on the project secretly. The award was instead given to Pierre Boulle, a man that couldn't even speak English. The Academy eventually retroactively awarded the other two with Oscars in 1984. Took them long enough! This goes to show you how incredibly damaging the work of McCarthy and the HUAC was to Hollywood.

Best Picture Winners: 1948-1952

1948
Winner: Hamlet
Director: Laurence Olivier
Distributed by: Rank Film Distributors

Laurence Olivier, the premiere Shakespeare actor of the 20th century wrote, produced, directed, and starred in the title role. OK, that's pretty impressive. Olivier would win Best Actor, along with Best Picture, but interestingly enough, not Best Director. Oh well, you can't win them all! Hamlet is probably Shakespeare's most popular play, next to Romeo and Juliet, so I don't really have to tell you the story. Just know that people love this movie, and this also probably won because Henry V was snubbed two years before. The academy has a funny way of fixing their mistakes, but they are usually not so prompt. Regardless, the movie deserved the win, though it won over the popular Treasure of Sierra Madre and Red Shoes, two movies that could have won in any other year. The movie, like I said, is still popular, but some like Olivier's other works, if only because they don't have Hamlet basically making out with his mother.


1949
Winner: All the King's Men
Director: Robert Rossen
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures

All the King's Men is about the rise and fall of Willie Stark, a politician who goes from crusader against corruption, to corrupt himself once he becomes Governor. It's basically a loose biography of Huey Long, a Louisiana Governor in the 1930's who was later assassinated. Long was murdered in 1935, meaning that Long's memory had yet to fade from the public's mind. This, along with acting Broderick Crawford, gave All the King's Men the momentum to win. That, and the rest of the nominees were pretty bad. Two were war movies, and Hollywood was just realizing the the public was getting tired of seeing war on screen. Funny story: John Wayne was offered the part of Willie Stark but turned it down calling it unpatriotic. Wayne would instead star in Sands of Iwo Jima. Both Wayne and Crawford were nominated for Best Actor. Crawford ended up winning. Sorry, Mr. Wayne, but I guess people like unpatriotic movies more.


1950
Winner: All About Eve
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox

This film deals with the pain of getting older in the entertainment industry. Specifically when you are an actress. Funny enough, another movie that was nominated, Sunset Boulevard, dealt with the same exact issue. What probably propelled this movie above Sunset Boulevard and other such movies like King Solomon's Mine, Father of the Bride, and Born Yesterday,  was the sheer amount of star power in the cast. The cast included Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders, Celeste Holm, Gary Merrill, and Hugh Marlowe. Not too shabby, This was basically Bette Davis' comeback and is considered her best film. Too bad she didn't win an Oscar for it. I guess she'll just have to be happy with her two Oscars and being voted #2 on the list of greatest female stars of all time.


1951
Winner: An American in Paris
Directors: Vincent Minnelli, Gene Kelly
Distributed by: MGM

This is actually one that I saw recently, and it wasn't bad. It had a lot of dancing. I mean what do you expect, it's Gene Kelly. The problem with the end is that it's about twenty minutes straight of dancing. I got up in the middle of it, went to the bathroom thinking it would be done by the time I came back, but no, it was still going strong. If you don't like long dancing numbers than stay away from this film. Gene Kelly plays a painter named Jerry in the film, who falls in love with a girl that is with someone else, but with whom she doesn't love. A wealthy lover of paintings takes Jerry under her wing but is more interested in him than his art. Hilarity ensues. Wait, did I say hilarity? I meant to say dancing. A lot of it. But that's OK because Kelly is a really good dancer and can sing to boot. The story is kind of weak, but I kind of feel like all Kelly wanted was to show audiences a movie filled with nothing but dancing numbers. I guess the academy liked Kelly and his dancing because this movie beat out A Streetcar Named Desire. This is one of those years where the winner didn't deserve to win in the slightest, and everyone knows that now. I'm convinced Kelly has the ability to hypnotize people with his twirling.


1952
Winner: The Greatest Show on Earth
Director: Cecil DeMille
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures

This is another film that basically didn't deserve the award. Not that it's a bad movie per-se, but most believe it's not as good as High Noon or John Wayne's The Quiet Man. Most equate this to a makeup for all times DeMille didn't get an Oscar win, since he did sort of help create Hollywood and all. This was considered his last shot, so to speak, and the Academy probably wanted to make sure he got something. Others claim that the political climate helped the movie win. Joseph McCarthy was making it hard for filmmakers and actors that didn't play his game, which meant that certain movies were getting bad reps because their director/lead actor/lead actress/ producer was under suspicion of being a communist. DeMille was a staunch supporter of McCarthy so it may have helped it along by not being bogged down by communist allegations. Most critics today consider it to be the worst Best Picture of all time, though others go with Crash. Again, this was probably more than anything a lifetime achievement award for DeMille. The movie does boast a ton of stunts, circus acts and more star cameos than you can shake a stick at. Here's the cast list: Betty Hutton, Cornel Wilde, Charlton Heston, Jimmy Stewart, Dorothy Lamour, Gloria Grahame, Henry Wilcoxon, Bob Hope, and Bing Crosby. This cast was loaded with stars, though some, like Hope and Crosby, were just short cameos. Steven Spielberg said that the train wreck scene was part of the reason he became a filmmaker, so there's that! If it weren't for this circus movie, we wouldn't have a ton of really good movies!

Best Picture Winners: 1943-1947

1943*
Winner: Casablanca
Director: Michael Curtiz
Distributed by: Warner Brothers

For all the praise this movie has gotten, it was complete hell for the cast and crew. The stars of the film, Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, were quoted in saying, "this is the worst film we've ever come across"and" it's just a fright"(I'll get into all this fuss later). A story of yet another love triangle and of war. Set during WWII, club/bar owner Rick ( Bogart) must choose between his love for a woman he had a "fling" with in Paris and helping her Czech Resistance leader husband escape from the Vichy-controlled Moroccan city of Casablanca to continue his fight against the Nazis. Oh, what is Rick to do?!? Will Bergman's character leave her husband to hang out in Rick's Bar to hear Sam play "As Time Goes By" again ("Play it again Sam" was never said in the film)? Or will she be faithful to her husband and get on that fake plane? Of course, she gets on the plane. A wife leaving her husband was a big No-No in Hollywood. Now a husband leaving his wife that's a different story. Now, why all the hate on set? Well, for starters the script was not complete- there was constant rewrites and the actors never quite knew what was going to happen next. Next, Bogart was five centimeters shorter than Bergman, so he was forced to stand on blocks to look taller. Yep, that's not degrading at all. The harassing of Bogart didn't stop there; one of his cast-mates (Henreid) said his acting was mediocre. That's OK, because Bergman came back and called Henreid a "Prima Donna." That's right you tell him, Ingrid! Casablanca was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won three. More drama came on Oscar night for the film. When Casablanca was named Best Picture, Watch on the Rhine (one of the other nominees) director Hal B. Wallis said in an interview years later, "I had no alternative but to sit down again, humiliated and furious... almost forty years later, I still haven't recovered from the shock." Drama, Drama, Drama! "Here's Looking At You Kid!"


1944
Winner: Going My Way
Director: Leo McCarey
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures

Going My Way is a musical dramedy about priests. Yes, you heard me correctly. Bing Crosby plays the young priest, and Barry Fitzpatrick plays the old curmodgeon of a priest. Together they drive around the United States exorcising demons and singing classic Bing Crosby tunes the whole time! Oh wait...I've got this movie and some other one mixed up again. No, this one is just about the two butting heads after Crosby's character is supposed to take over the parish. Oh, and they are both incredibly Irish. The filmmakers apparently wanted the audience to know that without a doubt by giving both the main male leads the last names O'Malley and Fitzgibbon. The movie's main competition was Double Indemnity but America was in the middle of a war and the noir film was a little to dark for them at the time. Though Double Indemnity should certainly have taken home the prize, the Academy decided to go with the feel good musical about Irish priests.


1945
Winner: The Lost Weekend
Director: Billy Wilder
Distributed by: Paramount

You may have seen a Billy Wilder film like The Apartment or Some Like It Hot. They're good movies and pretty funny. So seeing that this movie is directed by Wilder may lead you to think that this movie is funny. It isn't It's about a man struggling with alcoholism and the four day binge that he goes on. Ray Milland's Don Birnam is a writer with an alcoholic problem, and Wilder isn't playing it for laughs like drunks usually were. This is probably one of the first films to really look at alcoholism and its effect on the individual and those around them in a serious way. The shocking story beat out movies like Anchors Aweigh, The Bells of St. Mary's, Spellbound, and Mildred Pierce. The Lost Weekend is still considered a quality film and almost achieved the "High Five," had Jane Wyman been nominated for Best Actress.


1946
Winner: The Best Years of Our Lives
Director: William Wyler
Distributed by: MGM

Another film to almost get the "High Five" sans Best Actress, The Best Years of Our Lives details the story of three soldiers as they attempt to piece their lives back together after WWII. Notice the year this was released and when WWII ended. MGM didn't want to waste anytime apparently. The film ends up being extremely popular, becoming the highest grossing film since Gone with the Wind, probably because it was so relateable for all the returning troops. Picture this movie as a big pat on the back for the troops, and you'll see why it ended up winning. I wouldn't go so far as to call this movie Oscar bait, but they certainly knew how to relate to the masses at that point in time. The Best Years of Our Lives beat out It's a Wonderful Life, Henry V, The Razor's Edge, and The Yearling. Yes, it beat out the classic Christmas tale. Seems hard to believe now, but apparently audiences wanted to watch soldiers coming back home and not Jimmy Stewart stammer for three hours.


1947
Winner: Gentleman's Agreement
Director: Elia Kazan
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox

Oh man, it's getting hard to make any jokes with any of these films because they all deal with such serious subject matter. Gentleman's Agreement is about a man that pretends to be Jewish so he can gather research for an expose about antisemitism in New York City and the town of Darien, Connecticut. So yeah, pretty serious. Something that is a bit funny is that there was another film about antisemitism nominated for Best Picture, Crossfire. With the late war realization of the concentration camps, it all of a sudden became very unpopular to be an antisemitic in America. Gentleman's Agreement and Crossfire were part of the proof that America was shifting into a more tolerant mode, at least to the Jewish population. On top of the subject matter, the movie was helped by Gregory Peck taking on the main role. You can't go wrong with Gregory Peck. Audiences loved the film, but the House Un-American Activities Committee felt a little different about it. The political nature of the film led to the HUAC asking several people from the main cast except Gregory Peck to testify before the committee. The HUAC's purpose was to weed out communists, though they did not have any connection with Joseph McCarthy and his "witch hunt." Anne Revere refused to testify and John Garfield refused to "name names" so they were both placed on the Hollywood Blacklist. Yikes.

*Written by Little Orphan Annie.