The production values are wonderfully of a piece, with the legendary Hal Pereira pulling out all the stops with every set dressed and lit to a fare thee well with giant lamps, football field size beds, and, of course, giant beehive hair worn by Elke and several other unlucky gals exposed to dangerous levels of hairspray during production. Ms. Sommer's gravity defying hair is fascinating and gives the film a bit more suspense than the race for the coveted Academy Award in this movie.
I was utterly delighted by the depth of badness on display in this movie, though aside from the horrible performances, I was most impressed with the over-decoration of every interior, which clearly sprang from the same over-stuffed imagination of a very good, well stocked art department. Though we went from rags to riches and squalor to alleged splendor, everyone, even in the flophouses, seemed to have used a decorator's refined, well thought-out sensibility when choosing that old rag to hang from the sink, or those swell reproductions of masterpieces (someone liked Rembrandt & Renoir best), that kept popping up on the plush walls of the offices, mansions and dives. I couldn't wait to see what oh, so deceptively casual, beautifully lit touch was going to show up in each scene. Nice to see Boyd in the movie meeting the art director for this flick, the distinguished Hal Pereira in the party scene at mogul Joseph Cotten's house, (guess the director wanted to give him some well-deserved attention since Hal really must've worked his team like oxen to achieve the effects in this movie). Hal's the guy mumbling that he's an "art director" as Stephen Boyd gives him the brush-off after a limp handshake when he greets the actor.
Unbelievably over the top, hilarious and, unfortunately, the death knell for any serious career of Stephen Boyd, the worst acting in The Oscar is probably done by Tony Bennett, who has some great bad lines in this movie. If you just can't wait for this evening's broadcast and you'd like to see a sample of how Tony "burns up the screen" here's a link to his meltdown in the movie. I don't think it's really Mr. Bennett's fault, he's just such a great performer, it's sort of unbelievable to see him take such a tumble in this turkey as an actor. Good thing he had that singing gig to fall back on.
Btw, the best thing in this movie and in any movie he ever appeared in: Jack Soo, who appears as--what else(?)--a wisecracking, worldly wise flunkie for the star, (Mr. Boyd). The other actor who, unbelievably gets through this movie with his reputation in tact, and even, in my eyes, at least, enhanced a bit, is, heaven help me, Milton Berle, who wins the mensch sweepstakes as a Hollywood agent with ethics. Yes, you read that correctly.
It just occurred to me that those of us who have gotten such a kick out of The Oscar might need to see other movies that are almost as loopy. Has anyone else seen Elia Kazan's The Arrangement (1969)?
You can read about this movie here, which has a phenomenal cast, featuring Kirk Douglas, Deborah Kerr, Richard Boone, and Faye Dunaway, immediately after her breakthrough role in Bonnie and Clyde (1967). It was directed by Kazan from his novel, and is a stew of oedipal tensions, identity crises, swinging sixties, women as martyrs-doormats-harridans-muses. Most of the film takes place in Kirk's addled brain, which sometimes makes for a less than coherent film. The author and director might have profited from having his brainchild told by someone else or by following his story in a linear manner to spare the audience his own confusion. The tale of a highly successful ad man whose mistress (Dunaway, as elegantly beautiful as she appeared in The Thomas Crown Affair, and even more enigmatic) leads him to chuck his insulated life, career, wife (Kerr, in an impossible role), and false values. Having been one of those who was just old enough to remember how people's lives were ripped out by the roots after the wave of painful change
One of the things I found most amusing was the fact that everybody in the movie seems to have lots of dough and time to brood about themselves. It is often entertaining and boring at the same time. Although the late sixties, rapid editing style and the cinematography of Robert Surtees helped to buff this movie's gloss of professionalism to a dazzling glare, what once may have seemed"hip" and "racy" at the time of production, now makes me wonder where the storyteller of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Panic in the Streets, On the Waterfront, A Face in the Crowd and Splendor in the Grass had gone. it seems indicative of a good director (Kazan) and a star (Kirk) who have been left in the dust by the tsunami of the counter-culture. That aspect of the movie makes it rather sad, though it is so wrongheaded and self-aggrandizing it is quite funny too.
My favorite scene: Kirk in bed with himself, dressed and undressed, but enjoying a corona corona cigar!!
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| Mr. Douglas, meet Mr. Douglas in The Arrangement (1969). |
Btw, you can watch the entire movie (which is on dvd) at youtube, if you prefer. The Arrangement begins here.
Other films in a similar vein to check out if these aren't tawdry enough for you, are The Legend of Lylah Clare, The Carpetbaggers, and, of course, Valley of the Dolls.
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