Sunday, April 13, 1969
THE DAILYTAR HEEL
Page 3
Place Your Bets On The Oscars Monday Night
By HARVEY ELLIOTT
Arts Editor
The Oscar Awards will
always hold a thrilling
fascination for movie fans
everywhere.
They rarely agree with
Oscar's choices and they often
decry the Awards as a
"worthless popularity
contest." But they're always
back, every April, to watch
"the envelope, please,"
This year, the telecast
(broadcast Monday night at 10
p.m. on channel 5) promises to
be even more exciting.
BEST PICTURE. Probable
winner: "Oliver!" Dark horse:
"Romeo and Juliet."
The Oscar-voters have
heaped ten nominations on
"Oliver!" reinforcing the
popular belief that they are
actually very fond of musical
pictures) good ones, that is.
And "Oliver!" is a very good
picture. (Remember they have
named "West Side Story" and
"The Sound Of Music" as Best
Pictures within the past seven
year.)
There has been, however,
much enthusiasm over "Romeo
and Juliet," the best
Shakespearian translation in
film history. This popular
support could sway the voters
in what would be a landmark
case. (Only one other
Shakespearian film has been
named Best
Oscar's birth.)
"The Lion
Picture since
In Winter" has
garnered more acclaim for its
stars than for itself as a film.
Paul Newman was ignored in
directorial nominations,
indicating that Oscar-voters
wouldn't vote "Rachel.
Rachel" as best film either.
And finally, "Funny Girl"'
would be a mediocre film
without Barbra Streisand. She
MAKES it one of the best of
the year, but certainly not the
best.
BEST ACTOR. Probable
winner: Pecer O'Toole. Dark
horse- Cliff ur,
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tor-nominees has ever won as
Uscar. so there are no statistics
hLClle- But Peter 0Toole has
bn nominated for "Lawrence
f Arabia" and for "Becket,"
pmg superb performances in
both films. Likewise, in wThe
Lion in Winter," he gives a
magnificent portraval of an
o!der Hemy II and will
Probably win his deserved
award.
A reverse situation lies with
Cliff Robertson. Robertson is a
talented man who has never
been given good roles to work
wth. In "Charlv"-now
playing at Durham's Rialto he
is touching and brilliant as a
mental retardate used for
scientific experimentation.
Though he fully deserves the
Oscar, only a "popularity"
award would sway the voters
to his side.
Both Alan Arkin and Alan
Bates (in "The Heart Is A
Lonely Hunter" and "The
Fixer") have been cited by
several critics as "working
beyond their dramatic range,"
and. consequently, floundering
around with their roles as a
deafmute and a Russian Jew.
Ron Moody's role as Fagin in
"Oliver!" is not the sort of
characterization which would
win an award ( . . . and yet
that's what folks said about
Rex Harrison in "Mv Fair
Lady" . . . )
BEST ACTRESS. Probable
winner: Joanne Woodward.
Dark horse: Barbra Streisand.
Miss Woodward is
perfection in "RacheL
Rachel." But then so is
Streisand in "Funnv Girl."
VANESSA REDGRAVE
ALAN ARKIN
your Oscar Ballot
BEST PICTURE OF THE YEAR:
"Romeo and Juliett' (Paramount)
"Funny Girl" (Columbia)
"The Lion in Winter" (Avco Embassy)
"Oliver!" (Columbia)
"Rachel, Rachel" (Warner Bros. -7 Arts)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR:
Alan Arkin ("The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter")
1 Alan Bates ("The Fixer")
Ron Moody ("Oliver!")
Peter OToole ("The Lion in Winter")
Cliff Robertson ("Charly")
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS:
Katharine Hepburn ('The Lion in Winter")
Patricia Neal ("The Subject Was Roses")
Vanessa Redgrave ("Isadora")
Barbra Streisand ("Funny Girl")
Joanne Woodward ("Rachel, Rachel")
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Jack Albertson ("The Subject Was Roses")
Sevmour Cassel ("Faces")
Daniel Massey ("Star!")
Jack Wild ("Oliver!")
Gene Wilder ("The Producers")
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Lynn Carlin ("Faces")
Ruth Gordon ("Rosemary's Baby")
Sondra Locke ("The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter )
Kay Medford ("Funny Girl")
Estelle Parsons ("Rachel, Rachel")
BEST DIRECTOR:
Gillo Pontecorvo ("The Battle of Algiers )
Franco Zeffirelli ("Romeo and Juliet")
Anthony Harvey ("The Lion in Winter )
Carol Reed ("Oliver!")
Stanley Kubrick ("2001: A Space Odyssey )
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These two actresses took full
command of their capabilities
and produced two of the most
honest and sincere
characterizations of the movie
year. Every quiver of Joanne
Woodward's chin was inspired.
But every moment of
Streisand's Fanny Brice was
sheer genius. Because Streisand
is considerably less popular in
Hollywood than Miss
Woodward, Joanne will be the
likely choice Monday night.
But this is the closest race.
Oscar-voters have only once
give an award to a performer in
two consecutive years. (Luise
Rainer in the 30's.) Since Kate
Hepburn won last year for
"Guess Who's Coming to
Dinner," she is an unlikely
choice for "The Lion in
Winter," however marvelous
her Eleanor of Aquitaine was
performed. Patricia Neal's win
would be conceived as a
"sympathy" award, a name the
Oscar-people would like to
escape. And Vanessa Redgrave
would be the surprise of the
year, for her "Isadora" has not
had any major release yet and
most observers thought her
nomination should have been
Mia Farrow's for "Rosemary's
Baby."
BEST SUPPORTING
ACTOR. Probable choice: Jack
Albertson. Dark horse: Daniel
Massey.
Albertson almost stole "The
Subject W7as Roses" away from
Patricia Neal, and his position
as an "old trooper" and
Hollywood veteran never
rewarded places him in a
likely position for an
all-encompassing acting Award.
His chief competitor is
Daniel Massey, son of
Raymond, who plays Noel
Coward in the musical "Star!"
The Julie Andrews
extravaganza got generally
unfavorable notices, with
exceptions going to Massey.
The Oscar-voters often like to
give a newcomer firm support
(and an Oscar), so watch out
for Massey.
BEST SUPPORTING
ACTRESS. Probable choice:
Ruth Gordon. Dark horse:
Lynn Carlin.
Another case of nostalgia
over aesthetics. Miss Gordon
was appropriately macabre in
"Rosemary's Baby," but she
was still more Ruth Gordon
than Minnie Castevet. She has
never won an Oscar, so here's
another good chance to reward
a veteran, at the price of good
judgment.
Lynn Carlin was a marvel in
"Faces." A non-actress, she
was picked by John Cassavetes
from her secretarial job in Los
Angeles to play the role of the
wife who takes a lover for on
night and tries to commit
suicide. But Oscar-voters will
be reticent to give the award to
the low-budget, anti-Hollywood
production. They
should, though.
THE BEST SONG? You
won't believe it. How about
"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,"
"Star," "Funny Girl," "For
Love of Ivy," and "The
Windwills of Your Mind." The
latter is definitely the best, but
anybody who would give an
award to "Chim Chim
Cherree" well, there's no
telling what they'll do with
"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!"
So give up. Don't predict.
Just watch.
MOODY
WOODWARD
ROBERTSON
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SAcacemy of Mot -on P.cu'e Sc e-ces
Which Is Best Picture?
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RACHEL. RACHEL
OLIVER!
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ROMEO AND JULIET
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THE LION IN WINTER
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FUNNY GIRL
ALAN BATES
KATHARINE HEPBURN