the Epic Oscar Snub of Robert Preston in "Victor Victoria"

Entertainment-wise, there are just some things I can't see to get over. 

For example, Lucy and Desi's divorce.

Growing up with Lucy and Ricky, I mean Desi, they seemed a lock to be in love forever. Ricky said "I Love Lucy," right? And we all knew Ricky and Desi were one. Until his death I kept hoping for a reunion. 

And then there was the breakup of Sonny and Cher. I guess "I Got You, Babe" was only temporary. 

However, the really big thing that I just can't seem to get over is Robert Preston's loss for Best Supporting Actor for his BRILLIANT performance in 1982's "Victor Victoria." 

Robert Preston had a personality and presence made for the stage. Close up, it was almost a bit too overwhelming for the screen. However, actor and role combined perfectly in Professor Harold Hill, the con man extraordinaire from "The Music Man". 

Once Preston was able to recreate his signature role on film, the audience got to see Preston in his true element - charming, playful, energetic and enthusiastic. Harold Hill freed him from "B" roles in "B" films. He was no longer the baddie or the stooge to the leading man. While he still might be a bit of a baddie, he now added a wink. He was now the star.

After "The Music Man," Robert Preston never failed to fill the screen at the expense of all others. After his early death as the father in "All the Way Home," the loss of his "being" was felt for every remaining moment of the film. 

By 1960, this actor whose first movie career spanned 1938 through the 50s when he headed east to Broadway and appeared in a string of hits, was finally getting his due. He appeared sparingly in films in the 70s, preferring to concentrate on the stage, but his performances were always worthy of the star status of Harold Hill.

In 1981 he hooked up with Blake Edwards for the memorable "S.O.B.," which lead to the role of Carroll "Toddy" Todd in Edwards's 1982 comedy, "Victor Victoria."

Toddy was such a wonderful role for Preston. He of the testosterone plated voice and the uber-masculine hairline, playing a flamboyantly gay man was genius. He jumped in with both feet and gave a fearless and joyful performance. He was audacious and hilarious and never held back. Plus - he looked great in a tux or a gown.

Underscored with a golden and burnished humanity that glowed like a warm fire, it was a performance that lifted the film, capped a long and memorable career and was deserving of that little gold man. No disrespect meant to Lou Gossett, Jr. (the winner that year), but Robert Preston was robbed.

That was the very last time I was emotionally invested in rooting for a winner. Now, I sit back and watch the show and try not to care who wins. This year I will repeat my dispassionate performance in front of the TV. I really do want Leo to win for "The Revenant," but I will allow Oscar (that dirty dog) no more heart breaks for me. 

This is my entry in the Oscars Snubs Blogathon, hosted by The Midnite Drive-In and Silver Scenes. Click HERE for more great overlooked performances by that gold-plated so-and-so.

31 Days of Oscar Blogathon: 2 Oscar Snubs that Really Irk Me

This is my contribution to the massive 31 Days of Oscar Blogathon jointly hosted by Once Upon A Screen, Outspoken and Freckled, and Paula's Cinema Club. Check out the tributes to the big golden man in the 31 days leading up to the big event.

We Wuz Robbed!

The man who was overlooked too many times

Normally, when you are robbed of something valuable you can either call the cops or just go and grab the stolen item back for yourself. If it's a boyfriend you can bitch-slap the thief, but I digress.....

However, when you are robbed of an Oscar you must smile and applaud the thief, thereby proving yet again that your acting talents are truly superior. Criminally overlooked artists include Garbo, O'Toole, Leonardo DiCaprio, Judy Garland (forget that dumb juvenile award), Alfred Hitchcock and Cary Grant (not counting the special award for the perpetually overlooked).

So, while I have a list gripes and grievances a mile long, Ill just share 2 of the snubbed ones that really, really irk me.

1952: 

Jean Hagen as Lina Lamont in Singin' in the Rain

The utterly elegant Lina and the demon microphone

Okay, I have made my ardor for Ms. Lamont abundantly clear here, but let's be honest: Jean Hagen wuz robbed! Here's the roster for the 1952 nominees for Best Supporting Actress:

Gloria Grahame - The Bad and the Beautiful

Jean Hagen - Singin' in the Rain

Colette Marchand- Moulin Rouge

Terry Moore - Come Back Little Sheba

Thelma Ritter - With a Song in My Heart

Colette who? Terry Moore - really? Yes, we love Thlema Ritter (herself among those who were always snubbed), but, gee, we loved her in so many other things. And yes, Gloria Grahame rocked, but her performance simply did not compare to Jean's.

The lovely and Oscarless Jean Hagen

For Jean Hagen, Lina Lamont was the role of a lifetime. Her filmography is short and she spent much of her career on television. This was the big one for Jean. Her Lina is bigger than life and dumber than dirt. She is a colorful soul sister to Norma Desmond (oh, another snub I weep over) and truly a shimmering glowing star.... oh, well, you know the rest. She shudda won!!!!

1982: 

Robert Preston as Toddy in Victor/Victoria

And now to one of my all-time favorite he-mans and actors: Robert Preston. From the intense other man tho the charismatic Professor Harold Hill, Preston always filled the screen 100% with his almost too much personality. From Bs to As to a great career on the stage, Preston had acting power, manly-man power and staying power. Never quite the star until The Music Man, he always delivered and was always the professional. 

Here are the 1982 contenders for Best Supporting Actor:

Lou Gossett, Jr. - An Officer and a Gentleman

Robert Preston - Victor/Victoria

James Mason - The Verdict

John Lithgow - The World According to Garp

Charles Durning - The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

Toddy saves the day

I say NO CONTEST here. Preston's turn as the outrageously gay queen Toddy was made even more winning because of his ultra masculine aura. He was compassionate, wily and a little sad - and truly the heart of the film. His final scene in drag was absolutely fearless. Sorry other nominees, no disrespect, but I demand a recount! To this day this loss still makes me so mad!

How do you NOT honor this performance?

I am sure that Miss Hagen and Mr. Preston behaved like perfect good sports when their names were not called. What else could they do? So, it is up to us fans to cry foul, stamp our feet and tune in next year to see if the Academy agrees with our superior choices.

Happy viewing on March 2nd. Let's hope the 86th Academy Awards get it right!

Broadway Greats Via The Silver Screen

Broadway vs. Hollywood - it's always been a case of apple and oranges. Hollywood stars don't always shine as brightly on the stage and stage legends don't always make the grade on the screen and whichever you prefer,  it's always a matter of taste. However, there is one thing the movies have over the stage and that is permanence. After a great stage show, it all becomes just a memory. Once that performance is filmed it lasts, one hopes, forever. Especially in the early days of sound, many great stage stars tried their hand at movies and, while most didn't achieve great stardom in that medium, we are thankful that their talent is preserved.

Jeanne Eagles - The Letter

The great Jeanne Eagels. She is a stage legend and I was so thrilled to catch her only surviving sound film, 1929's "The Letter," on TCM recently. Yes, it is ancient and the sound technique positively antique, but the vibrancy and ferocity of Jeanne Eagels cannot be denied. Like a raw, jumpy nerve, she vibrates just on the edge of self-control. At the time this movie was filmed, Eagles was was in the throes of drug addiction and would be dead 6 months after the picture's release.

Watching Eagels, it is impossible not to compare her performance to that of Bette Davis in the 1940, slightly more sanitized, version of the same W. Somerset Maugham story. Davis, the film actress supreme, is smoother and much more subtle. But film acting had come a long way from 1929 to 1940 and something about Eagel's performance reminded me of something else - Bette Davis' 1934 breakout performance in "Of Human Bondage."

Here Davis acts in that raw nerve style similar to that of Eagels. Bette Davis was an admirer of Jeanne Eagels and it's fun to see the evolution of great dramatic film acting in such a short period of time. It's even more fun to have a permanent record of the great Ms. Eagels, for her's was an important talent.

Helen Morgan - Show Boat

Helen Morgan was a legendary torch singer who created the role of Julie in the original stage production of "Show Boat." She is an unusual performer for film, as her voice was rather reedy and she was not a traditional beauty. One thing Helen Morgan could do, though, was break your heart. Wildly popular in person, she had a lukewarm film career. She was a sensation in 1929's "Applause," but she was too unusual for film stardom. Luckily, she was asked to play the role of Julie in the 1936 film version of "Show Boat." Anyone who has heard her sing "Bill" can never forget it.

"Show Boat" would be Helen Morgan's last film. Her struggle with alcohol is written all of her face. Sadly, she passed away at age 41 in 1941 from the ravages of that disease. Happily, her great talent is preserved for all to admire.

Marilyn Miller - Sally

How do I love Marilyn Miller? Oh, in just so many ways. The original MM (for who the second MM was named), Marilyn Miller was a huge star and the darling of the Great White Way. A Ziegfeld protege and ex-wife of Jack Pickford, she was a diva deluxe who backed her demands with talent. Her dancing was legendary and she, like so many other stage stars, was courted by Hollywood at the birth of the all talking, all singing, all dancing musical craze.

Marilyn's greatest stage hit, "Sally," was brought to the screen by Warner Brothers in 1929. Filmed in early Technicolor, it only survived for many years in a tattered black and white version. Seeing Marilyn like this it is hard to fathom her appeal. She looks like a painted doll, as the Technicolor make-up looks flat and harsh in black and white. Added to unflattering looks, her singing voice is less than attractive. However, once she starts dancing, well, it all becomes clear. Filmed in full body shots like Fred Astaire a few years later, her love of dancing and entertaining cuts through all of the technical drawbacks of the era.

Some years ago an original Technicolor portion of "Sally" was discovered. Here, she is much lovelier (the make-up now giving her a flattering glow) and her elegance, joie de vivre and enthusiasm is on full display. Filmed on a set that was over 90 degrees, the energy of the dancers is impressive.

After 2 other films, Marilyn Miller headed back to Broadway. Musicals were dying at the box office and this diva was not interested in failure. Sadly, after one last stage triumph, Marilyn Miller would die in 1936 at the age of 38 from complications related to a sinus infection. Her signature song from "Sally," Look for the Silver Lining, is preserved forever and I am grateful.

Robert Preston - The Music Man

I am falling over myself with love for Robert Preston as Professor Harold Hill, but while it seems that absolutely no one else but he could play that part in the 1962 screen adaptation on the stage show, Preston was not Hollywood's first choice. Apparently Frank Sinatra and Cary Grant were considered, but, thankfully, reason prevailed.

Preston took an unusual path to stardom via this film. A well known film actor, Preston never quite made the "A" list during his years in Hollywood (1938 through the 1950s). He was handsome, appealing, a good actor, but a tad intense. There was something larger than life about him and, from 1952 through the 1970s, Robert Preston found his true home on the stage, solidifying his superstar status from 1957-1961 as "The Music Man."

And so, here is is - the only actor we can ever imagine in this role.

Preston's movie stardom was sealed with this film and he went on to have the pick of film and stage roles for the rest of his life. And boy, did he make every film he appeared in better for his presence.

Stage vs. Film: always a debate, always a matter of taste. But, thankfully, the fixed, forever nature of film preserves those legendary artists who, without it, we could only dream about.

I WENT TO SEE A DOUBLE FEATURE AND FELL IN LOVE WITH ROBERT PRESTON.

Ye Gods! I went to see Natalie Wood and fell in love with Robert Preston. Oh, it was an adolescent crush, to be sure, but it just won't go away!

Remember double features? In the world of the less-than-5 minute attention span and no time for anything, it was perfectly normal to go to the movies on a Saturday afternoon for almost 4 hours and see a double feature. Most times, the main feature was the one you wanted to see and the second feature was either a pleasant surprise, tolerable, or a big enough stinker that you didn't feel guilty walking out on. But every once in a while, you were treated to 2 terrific movies; one that you and your friend discussed on a slow walk home.

As soon as I was old enough to steal my big sister's movie magazines I was entranced by Natalie Wood. So, when "Gypsy" hit the theaters in 1962 (probably 1963 in my town), my BFF Jean Marie and I got permission to see it and stay for the second feature, "The Music Man," if we so desired.

I pretty much loved "Gypsy" (though it took me YEARS to get over Rosalind Russell's Mama Rose). Jean Marie and I agreed that Natalie was gorgeous and the music terrific (it remains one of my favorite scores). We agreed to give "The Music Man" a shot, although it looked rather old fashioned, knowing that we could always leave if we didn't like it. Approximately 2 hours later I had forgotten about Gypsy Rose Lee because I was madly in love with Professor Harold Hill as played by Robert Preston.

Movie crushes come and movie crushes go. Actors and characters we once loved morph - seemingly overnight - into ones we despise or at least are ashamed to admit we had a thing for (I'm still not owning up to a crush on Dean Jones). But my love for RP has never wavered.

Naturally, I needed to know everything about my new love and I discovered that he had a reasonably successful, but unspectacular, movie career before migrating to the Broadway stage and achieving true star status there as Harold Hill in Meredith Wilson's "The Music Man." It is said that Jack Warner wanted either Frank Sinatra or Cary Grant to star in the movie version, but that Wilson held out for RP - and boy, am I glad he did. 

As con man Professor Harold Hill, RP charmed the socks off of me (and apparently everyone else who saw the movie). He owns the role and now, as then, I would believe every word he said and follow him anywhere. And may I add that I would not keep him waiting at the footbridge. (Oh, I loved Shirley Jones, Ronnie Howard, Pert Kelton and Hermione Gingold, too, but this is not about them.)


Another RP movie that I love him in is "All The Way Home."

Based on James Agree's "A Death in the Family," this 1963 tells the story of the sudden and accidental death of a father and the affect if has on those who loved him, especially his widow and young son. As the loving father, RP is vibrant and charismatic, and though I love this quiet, compelling film, it all seems empty once he is gone. Just like the lives of those left behind.

After Professor Hill, my favorite RP performance is as Toddy, the gay Parisian cabaret signer who befriends Victoria (aka Victor) in Blake Edward's "Victor/Victoria".

Now, Robert Preston is 100% a manly man. Throughout his career he is nothing less than handsome and virile. And so he is here, just a bit gayer.

It is a charming, bold and hilarious performance and it is one of my major pet peeves that he did not win a best supporting actor for his work in this film.

Some of my other favorite Robert Preston films are:

Act One (before "The Music Man" success):

"Reap the Wild Wind": he and Susan Hayward share a lovely romance

"This Gun for Hire": Veronica Lake's guy, but she has a soft spot for Alan Ladd

"Tulsa": Man enough for a wildcat Susan Hayward

Act Two (after "The Music Man" success):

"The Dark at the Top of the Stairs": commanding as the head of a troubled household

"Junior Bonner": One of my favorites - he wrestles the screen from Steve McQueen's rodeo rider. They are marvelous together.

"Semi-Tough": as team owner Big Ed Bookman, RP gets to play large & loud and he's wonderful.

"S.O.B.": A funny performance in a very funny Blake Edwards film.

I was fortunate to see Robert Preston on stage in "I Do! I Do!" and he was magnificent. I am truly sorry that I did not get to see him, along with Bernadette Peters in the failed "Mack and Mabel," Jerry Herman's musical about Mack Sennett and Mable Normand. Oh, how I wish!

I don't think Robert Preston ever gave a bad performance. His personality was larger than life with an enveloping warmth. Maybe the stage was his true medium, but I am grateful for his cinematic presence and I treasure the joy he brings to the screen. He was always vibrant, vital and very much the male of the tale.