The Oscar

[Jay Z]

I like this movie quite a bit for some reason.  I like Boyd's performance, hammy elements included.  He was actually perfectly cast as an almost-was star.  I don't actually have a problem with Tony Bennett; his schlubby presence actually worked better for a sad sack character than what a real actor might have done.  Peter Lawford's scene is genuinely well done.

I have less love for Milton Berle as the sanctimonious (!) agent, though I hate Berle in just about everything.  Joseph Cotton is as big a PITA here as he was in Citizen Kane.  The Berle character is particularly ridiculous; he resembles no person who ever existed, even dimly.  One can only imagine the turd after turd that the "legitimate" Hollywood represented by Berle, Cotton, and Frank Sinatra in the film.  Grapes In Winter indeed!

Whenever I watch TV shows or movies where there is a character whom everyone hates, I usually wind up sympathizing with them quite a bit.  Frankie Fane, Frank Burns, Frank Grimes... seems to be a theme.  This movie is strange in that it goes out of its way to make Frankie look bad.  He is somehow supposed to be at fault for the fact that his ex-girlfriend (Jill St. John) died while she was knocked up with his presumed devil spawn, but she never even told him!  Yet for about 1/3 of the movie at various times, Frankie is treated as basically the hero, depending on the situation.  And there's not really anyone else to cheer for.  Really, it's not like his life had a lot going for it otherwise, who can blame Frankie for grabbing all he could.

Boyd said that everything in the film was based upon real life incidents.  Apparently the ending at the Oscar ceremony actually happened to someone (though not so dramatically of  course.)   My favorite scene in the movie (the knife/"lunatic" one) seems implausible as filmed, but who knows, maybe some troupers were dumb enough to use real knives.  The script for this one was by Harlan "City On The Edge Of Forever" Ellison, who could write some unbelievable stuff but had a flair for the dramatic.  This is infinitely more watchable than something like Valley Of The Dolls, or Citizen Kane for that matter!

[zombie no.one]

can't say I've ever heard of this movie but from your review you'd probably want to stick this in the 'Good Movies' board!

oh and it's a pleasure to meet you Jay Z I like your 1st album and some of your 2nd album. 

[Trevor]

oh and it's a pleasure to meet you Jay Z I like your 1st album and some of your 2nd album. 

 

I read the book by Richard Sale when I was in high school: the Frank Fane character is a real SOB who virtually rapes a brothel madam and then is left standing when he thinks he's won an Oscar.

[Trevor]

Apparently the ending at the Oscar ceremony actually happened to someone (though not so dramatically of  course.)  

That happened to Frank Capra at an Oscar ceremony in 1934: the announcer said "Come up and get it, Frank!" and Capra went up, only to find that Frank Lloyd had won the Oscar, not him.