MOST BIZARRE
Oscar Nominations of ALL TIME
Most of these nominations are for for technical "achievements". There are many nominated performers and films over the years that I thought were odd, but these are the most bizarre.
10.
"The Swarm" (1978) nominated for Best Costume Design
Here was a huge bomb of a movie about killer bees, and the Academy paid attention to the clothes.
Bizarre!
9.
"The Portrait of Jennie" (1948) nominated for Best Special Effects
I watched this movie and kept a lookout for special effects, but I didn't notice any.
Bizarre!
8.
Barry Fitzgerald nominated for both Best Actor AND Best Supporting Actor for "Going My Way" (1944)
Nothing against the performance, but this was very bizarre incident when he was nominated twice. After this year the Academy thankfully changed the rules so an actor could never be nominated for the same role twice.
7.
"Day For Night" and "Umbrellas of Cherbourg" nominated in two separate years!
Nothing against these films, but this was truly bizarre: Day for Night won best Foreign Film of 1973 (the year it was released) and in 1974 the same film was nominated again for three more Oscars. Umbrellas was nominated for Best Foreign Film of 1964, and then again in 1965 for 4 more Oscars.
This has never happened again.
6.
"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (1966) nominated for Best Sound
Seriously, what is so special about the sound in this? George and Martha screaming? Weren't any action pictures released that year?
Truly bizarre!
5.
"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (1966) nominated for Best Score
For what music, exactly? A few simple piano chords opening and closing the film?
A little bizarre.
4.
"The Omen" (1976) nominated for Best Song for the song "Ave Satani"
English Lyrics:
We drink the blood. We eat the body
Elevate the body of Satan! Hail!
Hail, Hail Anti-Christ! Hail Satan!
Bizarro!
3.
"Hellzapoppin'" (1941) nominated for Best Song for the song "Pig Foot Pete"
No such song ever appears in the film.
Bizarre? I think so.
2.
"The High and the Mighty" (1954) nominated for Best Song for the song "The High and the Mighty"
No such song is to be heard in the picture.
Bizarre? I smell a rat.
1.
"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (1966) nominated for Best Costume Design (B/W)
This one takes the prize. Not only was this a bizarre nomination, it actually WON the award. (Gasp!) There are only 4 actors in the entire film, which takes place in one night. (It should have won for worst SMELLING clothes) Dick only wears a tie and cardigan sweater and Liz only changes her outfit but a couple of times.
I mean come on. Look at the photo below. Do you think these clothes deserved a stinking Oscar nomination?
I can't believe there were no period films in 1966 more worthy. Thankfully, this was the last year the Academy had separate categories for Color and Black and White costumes.
What do you think? Any more bizarre nominations?
This was hilarious. My favorite part was the bit about 'The Omen' song. That's just plain creepy, looking at those lyrics. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteexcellent post, couldn't stop Laughing. the oscars clearly took awhile to sort themselves out.
ReplyDeleteFunny things certainly happened over the years. BTW, I think the Omen song was memorable.
ReplyDeleteKim, you devil, you! Ha ha ha ha.
ReplyDeleteThe Virginia Woolf costume thing is cracking me up! I guess they were effective in making the characters look pathetic?
ReplyDeleteHaha, lol The Omen! Glad Oscars have changed a couple of thing thru out the years ... Great blog :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for you comments, so glad you found my blog : )
Maria
I happen to be of the opinion that cardigans are oscar worthy. Also any award for Hellzapoppin is okay by me.
ReplyDeleteKC, that's a good point. Yours is the most intelligent defense I've ever heard of that nomination.
ReplyDeleteNow how can we justify Best Sound and Best Score?
Overall, I guess the Oscar standards have been raised for Visual Effects and most of the other technical awards.
C.C., I agree about Hellzapoppin. I love that movie and hope to get around to writing about it soon.
"Portrait of Jennie" what a wonderful picture!. It was magic and strange, it was unforgettable.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the movie, too, but I must have missed the visual effects that were allegedly in the film.
ReplyDeleteHey pallie, thanks for droppin' by the ol' ilovedinomartin Dino-blog...hopes you will be featurin' some Dino-flicks at some time here...woulda be cool to see a series on the Dino and the kid big screen adventures...
ReplyDeleteI absolutely loved this post! In a week where there is so much Oscar talk (with myself included - I'm working on my pics today...) I loved seeing this list. It's a toss-up between the song from The Omen being nominated (did they perform that during the ceremony? And did people run screaming from the theater if they did?) and the Best Sound from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? because while I think that's a great movie now, I really had to gear up for it and actually stopped watching it the first time I tried because of all of the shrillness.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the excellent post!
Shelly
Great post! Those are truly bizarre. Craziness! 2 and 3 are really funny but I think my favorite is 8 - Fitzgerald being nominated twice. That's so wacky!
ReplyDeleteHAHA!!! Bizarre indeed.
ReplyDeletehttp://gentsanddames.blogspot.com
Hi Daniela!
ReplyDeleteHi Sally. They changed the rules after 1944. At the time, people were confused as to how to categorize. I suppose the same thing still happens today, so perhaps not as bizarre as a song getting nominated that wasn't even in the film.
Dino, that sounds like a good idea and I just may do that and was even thinking about a rat pack series. Stay tuned!
Cinemaphile, yes, the chant was performed on the ceremony, and on TV. They had some people dressed up as monks. The lyrics of the chant were in Latin as it's heard in the film:
Sanguis bibimus
Corpus edibus
Sanguis bibimus
Corpus edibus.
Rolle corpus
Satani
Ave
Ave, ave versus Christus
Ave, ave versus Christus
Ave Satani
Sanguis bibimus
Corpus edibus
Rolle corpus
Satani, Satani, Satani
Ave, ave Satani
I imagine the oddball nominations have a lot to do with campaigning by the film makers themselves. The clothes in Virginia Woolf are certainly perfect for the plot, but the actors could have pulled stuff out of their back closets.
ReplyDeleteThe song from the Omen - actually seems a good Oscar winner. If you think of it as a memorable tune and appropriate to the plot, ie OMINOUS & SCARY, then it deserves an Oscar. If the Best Song Oscar is about a tacked on song with the most pop and royalty revenue potential then something else is the appropriate choice.
Special effects in Portrait of Jennie: the effects such as the painterly overlays, the clouds and the color effects in the final storm are very evocative. I don't know how technically difficult they were at the time. But I am sure that someone like Selznick campaigned hard in many categories for that film - maybe it's just the result of good PR. My mother saw the movie in the theatre and said it the effects were very impressive on the big screen. Maybe something is lost on a small screen. Unless Tom has seen it on the big screen?
Tom:
ReplyDeleteRe: Portrait of Jennie (with my typos corrected – please delete my prior)
I am not particularly knowledgeable about special effects but “Jennie,” with or without them, is an important film for me. Perhaps because I have read much Robert Nathan.
“Memo from David O. Selznick” contains a telegram from Selznick to Ernest Scanlon, which concerns Selznick’s idea for the ending. He says “I think this will have a material effect upon plans for the Special-Effects department. Obviously they will have a tremendous job on their hands in miniature and matte work …” And Selznick knew a thing or two.
But to be fair, I would have to watch “Jennie” again. And I do not have a practiced special effects eye. A tangential matter to consider is that if a special effect is well done, might we (the general public) not notice it. I realize those involved in the industry would be more cognizant. These are just reflections on an interesting post.
As to your other nine entries, much of interest and in good humor. And -- I am afraid of Virginia Woolf. I am afraid it might come on again before I can get to my remote.
Gerald
Hi Gerald, thanks for sharing your comments about Jennie. I like the movie too. I'm glad you shared that memo from Selznick; that's really interesting. Shows how much of an impact this storm scene had. I don't remember the scene as being very long when I first saw it. I think I'm going to reconsider this ranking and add something else to my Top Ten now.
ReplyDeleteHi panavia999, very good points. I'm glad you pointed this all out to me. That's interesting that your mom saw the film in person. Did see see it on initial release? Very cool. I may consider this particular ranking because it has been awhile since I saw the picture (and not on a big screen). It just seemed like an unusual nomination, for just a few storm effects and water splashing, etc. You're right about the promotion though.
Those chords at the beginning were magnificent. You know they were! It always puzzled me though, and the costumes. Yeesh. But I love the movie, so don't tell anyone I'm a doubter.
ReplyDeleteI won't tell anyone.
ReplyDelete"Portrait of Jennie" wasn't just nominated for the Best Special Effects Oscar--it WON, and rightly so!! The climactic hurricane is pretty damn impressive, even by today's standards. I'm with you on all of the other bizarre nominations, but "Jennie" probably doesn't belong on this list.
ReplyDeleteBeef, thanks for sharing your beef.
ReplyDeleteI pulled out my tape of Portrait of Jennie and yes, the effects at the end are very impressive. The painting effects throughout are very evocative, so it was quite a job. When I was 9 years old. Portrait of Jennie was my favorite book. A few years later, when the library was having a sale, I bought that copy of the book for 25 cents. Just for sentimental reasons. :-)
ReplyDeleteSo Portrait of Jennie deserved the Oscar, and The Omen song is also a good nomination because it was perfect for the plot. It does linger in the mind even if one is not inclined to hum the tune aloud.
I've only watched the oscars one time in my life and pay no attention to the yearly results so what do I know anyway.
And no, I did not see Jennie in 1948. That's long before I was born. I've only seen it on TV. My mother saw it at the theatre when she was in highschool.