1967
BEST PICTURE
The Winner: In the Heat of the Night
My Pick: Bonnie and Clyde
BEST DIRECTOR
The Winner: Mike Nichols, The Graduate
My Pick: Arthur Penn, Bonnie and Clyde
BEST ACTOR
The Winner: Rod Steiger, In the Heat of the Night
My Pick: Dustin Hoffman, The Graduate
BEST ACTRESS
The Winner: Katharine Hepburn, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
My Pick: Anne Bancroft, The Graduate
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
The Winner: George Kennedy, Cool Hand Luke
My Pick: Gene Hackman, Bonnie and Clyde
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
The Winner: Estelle Parsons, Bonnie and Clyde
My Pick: Estelle Parsons, Bonnie and Clyde
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Winner: Closely Watched Trains (Czechoslovakia)
My Pick: Closely Watched Trains
This was the year of the revolution in American film, but for best picture the Academy made a predictably conservative choice, In the Heat of the Night. A rewatching of the film awhile back for the first time in many years showed just how shockingly it has dated. With every redneck stereotype and Southern cliché in the book, and its black superman played by Sydney Poitier—not only is he the most brilliant deductive investigator since Sherlock Holmes, but an expert in forensic evidence and a shrewd psychological manipulator of witnesses and suspects—it seems a condescending fantasy cooked up to make white Northerners feel superior. Its message of racial tolerance, an important one even in this questionable context, made it a safer choice for best picture than either of the year's two most important American films—The Graduate, the generation-gap update of the screwball comedy, and the almost New Wavish Bonnie and Clyde with its unprecedented level of graphic violence.
I've never been as big a fan of The Graduate as some. It runs out of steam before the end, about the time the feral Mrs. Robinson fades into the background. So I went with Bonnie and Clyde, for me the key American film of the 1960s, the one that paved the way for what may be the most fecund period ever in American filmmaking. The Oscar for best director went to Mike Nichols for The Graduate, a reasonable choice but not my own. He should have won the year before for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and maybe Academy voters were thinking of that when they chose him. I think of Bonnie and Clyde as much more of a director's movie than The Graduate and therefore more deserving of recognition for its direction by Arthur Penn.
For best actor the Academy went with Rod Steiger as the Southern sheriff in In the Heat of the Night. He's an actor I find hard to like; his ego shows through too much. But I suppose the Academy enjoyed seeing his gum-chewing racist get his comeuppance and felt that giving Steiger the Oscar would make up for his unexpected loss to Lee Marvin in 1965. For best actress the Academy unaccountably chose Katharine Hepburn in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?, a wonderful actress in an insipid role in an abysmal film. For best actor and actress I picked the costars of The Graduate, Dustin Hoffmann and Anne Bancroft. These are two of the most memorable characters in American film played by two actors who inhabit their roles to a tee. For supporting actor and actress I chose Gene Hackman and Estelle Parsons (the latter also the Academy's choice) in Bonnie and Clyde. I concurred with the Academy in its choice of foreign language film. This wasn't because of any great enthusiasm for the film—I find these Eastern European New Wave films of the late sixties charming but lightweight—but because it was the best of a weak field. Biggest omission: Point Blank for best film, director (John Boorman), actor (Lee Marvin), supporting actress (Angie Dickinson), supporting actor (Carroll O'Connor).
1968
BEST PICTURE
The Winner: Oliver!
My Pick: Romeo and Juliet
BEST DIRECTOR
The Winner: Carol Reed, Oliver!
My Pick: Franco Zeffirelli, Romeo and Juliet
BEST ACTOR
The Winner: Cliff Robertson, Charly
My Pick: Peter O'Toole, The Lion in Winter
BEST ACTRESS
The Winner: Katharine Hepburn, The Lion in Winter and Barbra Streisand, Funny Girl (tie)
My Pick: Vanessa Redgrave, Isadora
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
The Winner: Jack Albertson, The Subject Was Roses
My Pick: Jack Albertson, The Subject Was Roses
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
The Winner: Ruth Gordon, Rosemary's Baby
My Pick: Ruth Gordon, Rosemary's Baby
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Winner: War and Peace (Russia)
My Pick: Stolen Kisses (France)
Maybe the shock of 1967 took a bit of time for the industry to recover from, because in comparison to 1967, the next two years in American film seem pretty dull. In 1968, Oscars for best picture and director went to Oliver! and its director, Carol Reed, an overdue honor for a great filmmaker whose best work was long behind him. This was the fourth time since 1961 the Academy had honored the film adaptation of a popular Broadway musical and its director. The only one of the best picture nominees I have unreserved enthusiasm for is Franco Zeffirelli's spirited film version of Romeo and Juliet. Zeffirelli brings his considerable experience staging operas to the film, keeping the youthful fervor, the intense emotions, and the physicality of the story going full tilt the entire time. He wraps the whole in a gorgeous evocation of Renaissance Italy that can only be described as operatic in its richness. The film seems such a product of Zeffirelli's vision that I went ahead and chose him as best director.
Cliff Robertson's win for Charly must surely be one of the biggest Oscar upsets of all time, ranking right up there with Grace Kelly's over Judy Garland in 1954, Lee Marvin's over Rod Steiger in 1965, or Adrien Brody's over Daniel Day-Lewis in 2002. Some have attributed Robertson's surprise win to his extensive ad campaign in industry trade papers. Whatever the reason, the award clearly belonged to Peter O'Toole, his only real competition being Alan Arkin's sensitive performance in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. The real quality acting in the lead category was, for once, by the nominees for best actress. This is the year that race ended in a tie, with the Oscar shared by Katharine Hepburn giving her last great movie performance in The Lion in Winter and Barbra Streisand giving her very first movie performance in Funny Girl as Fanny Brice, a role she seemed born to play. Under the direction of husband Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, who took the NY Film Critics award, was equally noteworthy in Rachel, Rachel. But my choice is Vanessa Redgrave for her inspired and intense performance in Isadora, one of the great film performances by an actress, a performance that was seen by few at the time and isn't remembered today the way it deserves to be.
Jack Albertson's nomination as best supporting actor in The Subject Was Roses was another example of a lead performance being labeled supporting to improve the nominee's chances, but once you accept that, Albertson had no real competition in this category. Nor did Ruth Gordon, both the winner and my own choice for best supporting actress in Rosemary's Baby, one of only two nominations the film received and its only win. For best foreign language film I went with François Truffaut's Stolen Kisses, very good though not great Truffaut, but still the best of the nominees. (Disclosure: I have never seen the highly praised seven-hour long Russian film of War and Peace. I rarely watch movies that are too long for me to watch in one sitting.) Biggest omission: Rosemary's Baby for best picture and director (Roman Polanski), and for best actress Mia Farrow, giving the performance of her career, one of the most incredible Oscar nomination oversights ever.
What are your picks for these years? You can search the Academy Awards Database for a complete list of nominees.
R.D., No disagreement on your 1967 choices at all - the great film of that year, hands-down, was "Bonnie & Clyde." I remember loving "The Graduate" - among other things, it cleverly depicted the "generation gap" of the time. But, you're right, it loses energy in the last half, although the final shot of the two at the back of the bus ends it well. As for 1968, the film that stands apart from the rest for me is "Rosemary's Baby." I don't think I've ever seen "Oliver!" in its entirety, so perhaps I'm missing something. Had Mia Farrow been nominated, my vote would go to her. Given the field, I agree with you on Vanessa Redgrave. I don't quite understand all the Oscars to Katharine Hepburn. She was a great star with incredible presence - a real icon - and I love her in many of her films. But I've never thought of her as an especially great actress - though she was magnificent in "Long Day's Journey Into Night" and would've deserved a Best Actress for her performance (stiff competition that year, though).
ReplyDeleteEve, the only explanation I can think of for "Rosemary's Baby" not getting more nominations is that it was dismissed as just a shocker and thus not as award-worthy as other films of the year. "Vertigo" and "Psycho" among others got the same treatment.
DeleteKatharine Hepburn is near the top of my list of all-time favorite actresses. I picked her in "Long Day's Journey" in 1962, my favorite dramatic performance by her. Her Oscar in 1968 was understandable, but the one for "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" I can explain only as a sentimental award, or maybe in honor of her helping Spencer Tracy make it through his last performance. I don't think the kind of supportive little woman she played in that film was her forte.
R.D., yet another extraordinary analysis of the Oscar nominations and winners, in this instance during the great social upheaval of the late 1960's.
ReplyDeleteI am pretty much on the same page with you in 1967. IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT remains a tout thriller, but yes it has dated badly, and it's nowhere in the same league with the likes of THE GRADUATE nor BONNIE AND CLYDE, of which the former gets my vote narrowly. Both are American masterpieces.
For Best Director I would probably go with Nicholds as well, though both Penn for BONNIE AND CLYDE and Richard Brooks for IN COLD BLOOD are right there.
I fully understand the matter of ego shining through in some of Steiger's work, but I still consider him a very great actor, one of the absolute best of his generation. His performances in THE PAWNBROKER, ON THE WATERFRON and A FISTFUL OF DYNAMITE are legendary. Should he have won his Oscar for IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT? No. I agree that Hoffmann's turn in THE GRADATE was the best of the five. For actress, well, as always I respect Eve's opinions, but I must say that Katherine Hepburn may well be the GREATEST American actress who ever lived (my site colleague the Brit Allan Fish considers here the greatest, period!) and her late-career work, especially in THE LION IN WINTER is quite noteworthy. Still, I do not agree with her win for DINNER either, and would have cast my vote for either Bancroft, Dame Edith Evand or Audrey Hepburn. It's a close, close call for me, and I would need to think on it longer. I am completely with you on Hackman, Parsons and CLOSELY WATCHED TRAINS. (though my top foreign film is the un-nominated MARKETA LAZAROVA)
As far as 1968, it's extremely close between ROMEO AND JULIET and OLIVER! but today I am going to cast my vote for your choice R.D. And I will also give my Best Director prize to Franco Zeffirelli for his brilliant casting of young unknowns. He and his cinematographer Pasqualino De Santis offerred up the most visually ravishing Shakespeare film of all-time, and Nino Rota's score is magnificent. But OLIVER! does come within a hair. Of course the unominated 2001 and THE PRODUCERS would complicate matters. But I adore ROMEO AND JULIET and have used it in classroom units. It deserved to win of the five nominated films, and Zeffirelli should have steeped up to the podium for Best Director. I do also like THE LION IN WINTER quite a bit.
Yes indeed, R.D., Peter O'Toole got robbed here! Robertson really had no business winning, but his role was Oscar bait. I do however, believe myself that Oscar had it right with Katherine Hepburn for THE LION IN WINTER.
In the supporting categories I would have cast by vote for Ruth Gordon, as you have done for ROSEMARY'S BABY (Oscar got this right) but as much as I do love Albertson's moving work here I probably would go with Gene Wilder for THE PRODUCERS of those nominated. I lament the absence of Kenneth Mars as the Nazi playright in the same film on the shortlist.
For 1968 my foreign film vote goes to Milos Forman's Czechoslovakian THE FIREMEN'S BALL.
Really a spectacular post here R.D.!!
Sam, thank you, and thanks for contributing your ideas on this subject. I agree about Rod Steiger's talent; I think his performance in "The Pawnbroker" is one of the greatest of all time by an actor. In a way, I think that smugness that sometimes comes through in his performances worked in his favor as the sheriff in "In the Heat" since it fit the character so well. But he certainly had a high opinion of his abilities. He often claimed that HE, not Brando, was the one who made the "I coulda been a contender" scene in the taxi in "On the Waterfront" great!
DeleteTo be fair, Oscars in the picture, director, and actor categories for 1967 exactly duplicated those of the NY Film Critics, who still had tremendous influence over the Oscars (though this was the last year that would be the case).
R.D., I loved this series last year and it's shaping up to be just as insightful and entertaining this year. Over the years, I have gradually become a big fan of IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT. While there's some truth in your observations, I think Poitier and Steiger are both excellent (especially their key scene in Steiger's house where each character lets down his guard for a second). It may not have been as trendsetting as BONNIE AND CLYDE, but it was an important film at the time (e.g., the slap scene). I think I'd also opt for Nichols as Best Director; his 1960s directorial style seems dated (not his use of music), but think of all the iconic images from THE GRADUATE: Benjamin framed under Mrs. Robinson's leg. Benjamin shouting in the church, etc. I agree with all your other picks!
ReplyDeleteRick, the two scenes you mention in "In the Heat" are two of the three that stayed in my mind the most vividly. (The other was the scene between Poitier and Beah Richards, who played his mother in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" as the abortionist.) I think that scene in Steiger's house you refer to was what clinched Steiger's Oscar because he convincingly showed a totally different side of his character--the guy was secretly intelligent and sensitive and vulnerable! I am surprised, though, that Poitier wasn't nominated as well. I suspect that between "In the Heat," "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" and "To Sir, With Love," his votes got split because there were too many possibilities to choose from.
DeleteNichols did do an impressive job of directing in "The Graduate." As you mentioned, there are many memorable scenes in it. But the one I thought really showed Nichols's skill was the one fairly early in the film when Benjamin is floating in the swimming pool and goes into a stream-of-consciousness reverie. Amazing.
For the 1967 best actress, I would have gone with Edith Evans in "The Whisperers" no contest - She gave a performance of such transcendent depth and delicacy that, many years after seeing the film, I can still recall how her acting affected me. She burrowed so deeply and fearlessly into her character in a way that I think few actors are capable of - but, being elderly, not beautiful and famous, and not 'Hollywood,' there was no way she would have won (that she received a nomination was miracle enough). As for the 1968 best actress, I agree with your choice of Redgrave for "Isadora," one of those performances in which the actress simply "is" her character.
ReplyDeleteGOM, Edith Evans didn't appear in many movies, but when she did she made quite an impression. For me she will always be the definitive Lady Bracknell for her performance in the 1952 film version of "The Importance of Being Earnest." You're not alone in your admiration of her in "The Whisperers." She won the NY Film Critics award and a BAFTA as well.
DeleteI saw "Isadora" in the theater in re-release a number of years ago and rue that it doesn't seem to be available on home video so I can watch it again. It makes quite a contrast with Ken Russell's equally fascinating but less idealized take on Isadora Duncan made for British TV right before the Redgrave film.
IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT was a decent film but not in the same league with BONNIE AND CLYDE, IN COLD BLOOD or THE GRADUATE. It was a good compromise for the Hollywood establishment. I am on board with you for 1967 pretty much though I must admit it’s a tossup for me in the director category between Arthur Penn, Mike Nichols and Richard Brooks. My biggest question is how did DOCTOR DOLITTLE get a Best Picture Nod and IN COLD BLOOD did not??? Hepburn getting the Best Actress award was just a nod to Spencer’s death. The film itself is a bore. I just don’t understand the love for this trite piece of film. Bancroft and or Dunaway were certainly more deserving for Best Actress. Yes, on CLOSELY WATCHED TRAINS! By the way, I know this was not part of your list but I will throw in a nod in the Best Documentary category for THE ANDERSON PLATOON, a film that deserves a video release!
ReplyDeleteROMEO AN JULIET should have won! FUNNY GIRL was a Babs love fest and the IMHO certainly one of Wyler’s lesser works. I would have had ROSEMARY’S BABY up there instead. For Best Actress, I would have gone with Joanne Woodward who I thought was superb though admittedly I have not seen THE LION IN WINTER so I really should not comment.
John, it's always interesting to see the differences between the nominations for best picture and best director. It seems these should match up, but they often don't because the directors branch of the Academy determines the nominations for best director while the membership at large determines those for best picture. For the many years there were five nominations for picture and director, these seldom matched exactly. In some years, 1954 and 1955 for example, only two pictures also got a best director nomination. Some of the nominations for best picture over the years have been absurd, like "Dr. Doolitle."
DeleteJoanne Woodward, a wonderful actress, is fantastic in "Rachel, Rachel." (I thought Paul Newman's direction of the complicated stream-of-consciousness screenplay was also impressive. I never understood the big flap in the NY Film Critics when that group gave him their award for best director. The dissenters wanted John Cassavetes for "Faces," a movie I find unwatchable.) Any of the four nominees for best actress I named would have been a reasonable choice. The fifth, Patricia Neal for "The Subject Was Roses," was a sentimental nomination (it was her comeback after her recovery from that stroke) for a good performance that wasn't quite in the same league as the others. I'm assuming that she got the nomination Mia Farrow should have had. That would have been a race, with five Oscar-worthy performances!
A fabulous post, sir.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen "Romeo and Juliet" and there's really no excuse for that. I love the Rota score, so I need to rectify this soon.
Alas, I've never seen "Isadora" either. Back in the 1980s there was a suburban repertory theater which changed movies, often double features, every two or three days. I saw things there I've never seen anywhere else, like Otto Preminger's last film "The Human Factor."
One night I went to a double feature of "The Ruling Class" and "Isadora." I loved, loved, loved "The Ruling Class" (is this Peter O'Toole's greatest performance?) but was so tired late that evening that I left before "Isadora" started. I told myself I would see it sometime down the road. Yep, I'm still waiting. I'm kicking myself for that now.
I often think the Oscars are as much a baromter for what is happening in society at the time as it is a celebration the year's best in cinema. I think the win for "In the Heat of the Night" was more about what was happening in the country than its merits as a film (I happen to like it quite a bit).
I love "Oliver" too, and think its one of the great film adaptations of a stage musical. While I may have preferred something else to have won that year, such as "Rosemary's Baby", I can't begrudge "Oliver". It's a wonderful film, with probably Oliver Reed's finest hour on film, after "The Devils." After suffering through this year's "Les Miserables", "Oliver" stands as a great example of transferring material from the stage to the screen.
Kevin, I saw "The Ruling Class" at a repertory theater in Berkeley a number of years back, and it is certainly a one-of-a-kind movie. O'Toole IS brilliant in it and so different from his T. E. Lawrence or Henry II, which along with "The Stunt Man" are the performances that immediately come to mind when I think of him. In a way he's like Richard Burton--several Oscar-nominated and Oscar-worthy performances that in another year might have won but for one reason or another were overlooked when the awards were given. He's like Burton in another way too, I think, in that too many years of booze and hard-living took their toll if not on his talent, then on his career.
DeleteOliver Reed is the ideal Bill Sikes. But I quite liked him in "Women in Love" too (as well as Alan Bates), where his rage seemed to be turned inward. I think you're right in saying that the Oscars are usually more about their time than about timeless films and performances. There's always some reason for films and people winning Oscars, and trying to figure out the mood that accounts for these choices is for me a fascinating exercise.
A wonderful idea for a post! Child of the 60s as I am, I enjoyed reading about who your preferred winners would have been during these seminal years of the burgeoning New Hollywood. I wholeheartedly agree with your picks for 1967, my sole deviation being that I would have awarded the Best Actress honors to Audrey Hepburn for the film she wasn't nominated for, "Two for the Road." if Wishes were horses, 1968 would have been a near-sweep for the non-nominated "Rosemary's Baby" in the categories of Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actress. I'd Leave Best Supporting actress alone (of course), but think Gene Wilder in "The Producers" was my favorite for Supporting Actor.
ReplyDeleteVery fun, playing Academy God like this. Now I have to seek out your previous posts on the topic. As I tend to think the Academy gets it right mostly by accident, I much prefer hearing the choices of film enthusiasts. Thanks R.D., for the opportunity to entertain a brief fantasy wherein Mia Farrow's polarizing hippie-kook persona of the 60s played no part in her being recognized for giving the best performance by an actress in a film in 1968!
Yes, Ken, I find these exercises in hindsight most amusing. I'm a big fan of Audrey Hepburn and really liked her in "Two for the Road," a film I've seen only once a few years ago and would love to see again. She seemed quite different, loose and not actress-y at all. It reminded me what a great performance Stanley Donen got from her in "Funny Face." I always thought that she and Albert Finney (another favorite of mine) would be an odd couple, but when I finally saw the film I thought they worked really well together.
DeleteAn interesting comment you made about Mia's flower child image harming her chances for a nomination. This is a year when I imagine most voters had the same four in mind for best actress and for the fifth wavered between Mia and Patricia Neal for her comeback after her stroke. I guess in the end sentiment won out. Didn't about the same thing happen to David Carradine, who was so good in "Bound for Glory" a few years later? His flaky reputation turned voters away from him.
I was only just starting to become interested in movies at the time (1968) but I recall all the bad press Farrow received after her divorce. She was developing a reputation in Hollywood as a kook and I I believe it was columnist Joyce Haber who made the "prediction" that Farrow's outspoken views on drugs and sex were going to cost her an Oscar nomination. around the time of "Rosemary's Baby".
DeleteI hadn't thought of Carradine's situation until you brought it up, but I recall it was much the same...he and Barbara Hershey really rubbed their oddball hippie behavior in the face of those elder Academy voters. So cool of you to remember that!