Last week I Blogged about “Goldfinger” not even being nominated for Best Song in 1964 let alone winning which it deserved in my opinion. My friend Shaun has an even bigger bone to pick with the Academy at his always well written and passionate Blog about the way it snubs hard-working actors in the In Memoriam section. This has been very controversial over the years like showcasing Michael Jackson and not Farrah Fawcett whose movie credits far outnumbered his.
FINALLY FIVE EASY PIECES
I am embarrassed to admit that I saw Five Easy Pieces (1970) starring Jack Nicholson for the first time just recently. I knew it was about a pianist who rejects his talent to be an Everyman and who has a big-haired low-class Southern girlfriend (Karen Black) and falls for the his brother’s more refined piano-playing fiancee (Susan Anspach) when he returns home to visit his ailing father.
I never had a real interest in seeing the movie and then knew I could not bare to watch when I learned about 13 years ago that my fave Carol Lynley revealed in an interview and confirmed with me that she was offered the role Anspach took. Carol said that she was sent the script and wanted the waitress role, but it was already cast. Since they were only paying scale and she had a daughter to support she passed on it. “Big mistake,” she exclaimed. Yessiree. Nicholson was coming off his starmaking turn in Easy Rider and director Bob Rafaelson was one of the most promising directors of this new Hollywood in 1969. The film was a critical smash receiving a slew of Oscar nominations and a box office hit as well. Carol did Norwood with Glen Campbell and Joe Namath instead. Every actress has their horror stories as they say.
I finally decided to face my fear and recorded it on TCM during Oscar month. I liked the movie a lot but did not love it though I can see why many do. Nicholson’s character was hard to like especially in his treatment of Black. Her character could have just been the annoying white trash loud-mouthed waitress but she played it very sympathetic illiciting compassion. For me, Nicholson’s best moment was in his scene where he breaks down talking to his father suffering from dementia. It was very poignant and touched a cord with me.
While Nichols and Black handle the histrionics wonderfully, Susan Anspach did not impress me in the least. Granted it was a much less flashy role, but for me personally she didn’t have the looks or personality required to make Nicholson’s attraction to her believable and warranted. This is not to say Carol Lynley would have been better in the role. I just did not find Anspach any fun. However, Match Game regular Fannie Flagg as a beer-swilling new mother; Sally Struthers topless as a bowling alley tramp; and True Blood‘s grandma Lois Smith as Nicholson’s homely sister hot for her daddy’s caretaker were lots of fun and it was truly surreal watching them play these roles.
The ending took me by surprise and was bittersweet. However, I liked it and know nowadays they could never do that with focus groups and audiences always demanding the obligatory happy contrived ending.
THE GOLDFINGER SNUB
Wonderful news that the Academy Awards will be paying homage to the 50th anniversary of James Bond. There may be a on-stage reunion of most of the actors and a number of Bond Girls (including Fantasy Femme Lana Wood who played Plenty O’Toole in Diamonds Are Forever) were interviewed for a featurette. And best of all Dame Shirley Bassey will be on hand hopefuly to belt out the should-have-been Oscar-winning song for 1964 “Goldfinger.”
Yes, folks not only did one of the most popular title tunes in history, with one of the most recognized beginnings in only a few notes, not receive the Academy Award it wasn’t even nominated! The music branch of the Academy was like the old boys club back then and nominated schmaltz and drivel over and over written by their compadres.
The Oscar in 1964 went to “Chim Chim Cheree” from Mary Poppins. The favorite choice of five year olds nation wide. The other four songs to get the nod over “Goldfinger” were YAWN the title tunes from Dear Heart; Where Love Has Gone: and Hush…Hush Sweet Charlotte plus “My Kind of Town” from Robin and the 7 Hoods. All classics that we remember so well today…NOT!
Also snubbed that year were all the instant classic songs from The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night. And forget about any song from an Elvis or beach movie. The Academy already passed over one of Elvis’s prettiest songs “Can’t Help Falling in Love with You” from Blue Hawaii so “Viva Las Vegas” didn’t stand a chance.
Lets hope this year the Academy makes up for snubbing “Goldfinger” and “For Your Eyes Only” (I thought”Live and Let Die” over rated and hated “Nobody Does It Better”) and finally bestows the little golden man on the well-deserving “Skyfall.”
THERE WERE BOND GIRLS IN SKYFALL?
Click here to read my friend and film historian Shaun Chang’s interesting take on the Bond Girls in Skyfall. He makes some really interesting points on how in this movie, the women’s roles (excepting Judi Dench’s M), were not as important as in practically all the previous Bond films.