The Oscar

The Oscar is a 1966 American drama film directed by Russell Rouse and starring Stephen Boyd, Elke Sommer, Milton Berle, Eleanor Parker, Joseph Cotten, Jill St. John, Tony Bennett, Edie Adams and Ernest Borgnine. The Oscar features several real Oscar winners in its cast and crew: along with Edith Head (who would also be nominated, but not win, for The Oscar), the film features Best Actor winners Borgnine and Broderick Crawford; Best Supporting Actor winners Ed Begley, Walter Brennan (three wins), Frank Sinatra, and James Dunn; and cinematographer Joseph Ruttenberg. Also in the cast were Merle Oberon and Eleanor Parker, who had been nominated for Oscars but did not win. Plot As movie star Frankie Fane is about to hear if he won the best acting Oscar, his friend Hymie Kelly, sitting near Frankie during the ceremony, reminisces about Fane's struggle to the top, beginning as a spieler for his stripper girlfriend Laurel. After moving to New York City, Frankie dumps Laurel for a budding fashion designer, Kay Bergdahl, which leads to a chance meeting with talent scout Sophie Cantaro. Sophie arranges for him to be signed with agent "Kappy" Kapstetter and brings Frankie to Hollywood, where he quickly becomes a rising star. At each turn, Fane is an unprincipled heel, using and hurting others and causing them to recoil from him. He impulsively persuades Kay to marry him in Tijuana but treats her cruelly thereafter. Frankie buys expensive homes and cars while offending the studio chief, Regan, until his life goes into a tailspin when he suddenly becomes "box office poison". At his lowest ebb, he unexpectedly receives an Oscar nomination, which Kappy believes is the result of Fane's portrayal of a "man without morals", essentially portraying himself.