The biggest night in Hollywood has always been the presentation of the Oscars. Hope soars and careers go down the drain. Stars are made and many are forgotten.
Back in 1937, European actress Luise Rainer won the Best Actress Oscar for her famous telephone scene in “The Great Ziegfeld,” which also won Best Picture for MGM’s Louis B. Mayer. Miss Rainier’s speech was short: “Thank you very much. I am very glad to get it. I thank everybody who made me capable of getting it.”
The following year Rainer won again for “The Good Earth.” She beat out Greta Garbo in “Camille” for Best Actress, and that became the first time anyone had won the Oscar two years in a row. Rainer was never heard from again.
La Jolla’s own Raquel Welch made her first appearance on the Academy Awards show in 1967. She was dazzling in her early 20s and had created a sensation in her fur bikini in “One Million Years B.C.” Giving the award for Best Sound, co-presenter Dean Jones turned to Rocky and said, “You open the envelope, my eyes are busy,” and brought down the house.
In 1966, British sisters Lynn Redgrave (“Georgy Girl”) and Vanessa Redgrave (“Blow Up”) were both nominated for Best Actress. This was the first time since 1941 that this had happened.
Producer Joe Pasternak of MGM thought it would be fun to invite sisters Olivia deHavilland and Joan Fontaine to present the award. Olivia was willing to fly from her home in Paris, but Joan said it would be too tiring to fly from New York. Sibling rivalry still alive with the two American sisters?
“Whatever Happened to Baby Jane” revived the careers of two iconic divas in 1962. An immediate smash hit, the horror film starred Bette Davis as child star Baby Jane Hudson and Joan Crawford as her glamour-puss sister. The two actresses were rivals during their Hollywood careers. Miss Davis once said, “The difference between Joan and me is that I can act.” She proved it when she was nominated for Best Actress once again. She was nominated 10 times during her career, a record only topped by Katharine Hepburn.
Anne Bancroft was also nominated that year for “The Miracle Worker.” Because she was working in a play on Broadway, she asked Crawford to accept the Oscar should she win. Bette Davis lost the award to Bancroft and Miss Crawford strode on stage in triumph, happy that her rival lost, and gloating that she would be the one who was photographed holding the Oscar. When all the publicity photos were released, everyone thought Joan Crawford had won the award! Bette steamed.
Battle-axe specialist Marie Dressler was a much-loved star. When she was nominated for her part as an old boozer who runs a broken-down flophouse in “Min and Bill,” her seatmate at the awards was 10-year-old Jackie Cooper. He was nominated for “Skippy.” He fell asleep on Dressler’s shoulder just before she collected her award as Best Actress.
Dressler is perhaps best known for her comic role in David O. Selznick’s “Dinner At Eight.” Buxom sex star Jean Harlow says, “I was reading a book the other day.” Dressler does her famous double-take at the startling and unbelievable news. “They say that every profession will be taken over by a machine,” says Harlow in wonderment. To which Dressler replies, “Oh, my dear. That’s something you need never worry about!”
My picks for this year’s Academy Awards:
“¢ Best Picture: “No Country For Old Men,” although it is running neck and neck with “There Will Be Blood.”
“¢ Best Director: Joel and Ethan Coen for “No Country,” but Paul Thomas Anderson might win for “Blood.”
“¢ Best Actress: Julie Christie for “Away From Her,” although I loved Marion Cotillard in “La Vie En Rose.”
“¢ Best Supporting Actress: Amy Ryan in “Gone Baby Gone,” although Ruby Dee might pull a surprise sympathy win.
“¢ Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, “There Will Be Blood.”
“¢ Best Supporting Actor: Casey Affleck in “Jesse James,” but Javier Bardem seems to be the front-runner for “No Country.”
“¢ Best Original Screenplay might go to Diablo Cody for “Juno.”
“¢ Adapted Screenplay could be “There Will Be Blood.”
“¢ Best Cinematography should go to Roger Deakins for “Jesse James,” with Robert Elswit a close second for “Blood.”
“¢ Costume Design is a hard one to call, with great work done on all pictures nominated. My choice: “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” by Alexandra Byrne and “Atonement” a close second by Jaqueline Durran.
“¢ Best Animated Film is “Ratatouille.”
“¢ The Art Direction award should go to Katie Spencer for “Atonement,” but there was some fine work done by Jack Fisk and Jim Erickson on “Blood.”
“¢ The Film Editing prize should go hands down to “The Bourne Ultimatum” by Christopher Rouse.