Ellen W. Griswold models her prom Oscar night duds

Libertas’ “Dirty Harry” with an excellent summation of Oscar night…

The show last night was just...bad. I don’t know what anyone else is saying — I haven’t read the other wrap-ups – but it was just bad. Except for a couple of moments, Ellen’s natural charm couldn’t overcome her extremely weak material, too many marginal montages, terrible musical numbers, and awards no one cares about.

But in the end it comes down to the host. The host should be so good that you don’t want the show to end. Billy Crystal was always a joy no matter how long the show. Steve Martin was good and I even remember Johnny Carson’s delicate self-deprecating touch. Does anyone think Jerry Seinfeld shouldn’t be begged to host next year? He was marvelous last night and obviously wrote his own stuff. And we know he wrote his own stuff because it was funny.

Of course, there was something else wrong and that was the Hollywood community itself. The magic is pretty well gone, isn’t it? The gleen is greatly diminished. Who took your breath away? Who did you cheer for? The Immortal last night was Helen Mirren. The Icon was Martin Scorsese. The Star was Will Smith. We can quibble over a few others but they won’t reach more than a handful. The Oscars used to be bursting with Stars and Icons and Immortals. Now it’s what’s she doing presenting? Why is he up there? What happeend to Jack Nicholson, he used to be so cool? The answer: That’s all they got. The awe is mostly gone. The affection replaced mostly with contempt.

And not one mention of the men and women fighting terror. Not a single word. Not a single word from the dozens who spoke. I find it astonishing that we are at war and not a single presenter or winner had a single thing to say about it. Not a single one. Talk about a chill wind. Talk about a fear of reprisal. Hollywood says they’re against the war but support the troops. Really? Hollywood says they’re against the war in Iraq but support the war in Afghanistan. Really? The lunatics who fight global warming armed with Socialism get slobbered over, but not one of our troops? Terrible. Unforgivable. Last night Hollywood did themselves much more harm than good. It’s one thing to put on just another bad show — but even if audeinces can’t quite articulate what was really wrong, they felt it: The error of omission. The sin of the undone.

Flashback to 1944’s 16th Academy Awards ceremony…

Cheers to the Golden Age of Hollywood

Best Picture
Casablanca (Winner)
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Heaven Can Wait
The Human Comedy
In Which We Serve
Madame Curie
The More the Merrier
The Ox-Bow Incident
The Song of Bernadette
Watch on the Rhine

Best Actor
Humphrey Bogart
Gary Cooper
Paul Lukas (Winner for “Watch on the Rhine")
Walter Pidgeon
Mickey Rooney

Best Actress
Jean Arthur
Ingrid Bergman
Joan Fontaine
Greer Garson
Jennifer Jones (Winner for “The Song of Bernadette")

Best Documentary Feature
Baptism of Fire
Battle of Russia
Desert Victory (Winner)
Report from the Aleutians
War Department Report

Best Documentary Short Subject
Children of Mars
December 7th (Winner)
Plan for Destruction
Swedes in America
To the People of the United States
Tomorrow We Fly
Youth in Crisis

Best Song
That Old Black Magic
Change of Heart
Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe
My Shining Hour
Saludos, Amigos
Say a Prayer for the Boys Over There
They’re Either Too Young or Too Old
We Mustn’t Say Good Bye
You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To
You’ll Never Know (Winner)

Best Short Subject (One-reel)
Amphibious Fighters (Winner)
Cavalcade of the Dance
Champions Carry On
Hollywood In Uniform
Seeing Hands

Best Short Subject (Two-reel)
Heavenly Music (Winner)
Letter to a Hero
Mardi Gras
Women At War

Other Notables
Free passes were given out to men and women in uniform and ten tiers of seats rose up at the rear of the stage for the soldiers and sailors invited to attend the show. Their arrival got the most sustained applause of the night.

And contrary to the inconvenient truth of last night’s energy sucking extravaganza… because of war restrictions that year, only one spotlight was used outside Grauman’s Theatre. In addition, no parking service was provided which meant that guests were forced to *gasp* fend for themselves.

No War for Oil

Yannow, all snarking aside, it really does sadden me to see just how far Hollywood has fallen. I’m seriously beginning to wonder if our industry can ever again rise to the standards of ethics and brilliance it once possessed.

Is the Golden Age merely a dream remembered?

At this point, I’m afraid the answer is yes.

Stats and notables courtesy of The Oscar Site and Wikipedia