50th Anniversary: The 43rd Oscars name "Patton" king, but the king refuses the crown
Thursday, April 15, 2021 at 8:00AM by Nathaniel R
Fifty years ago today the 43rd Annual Academy Awards were held honoring the films of 1970. It was coronation for Patton which took home 7 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Screenplay (pictured above). One of those Oscars (Best Actor) was rejected by the recipient, George C Scott. The acclaimed actor called the annual event a "meat parade"; this wasn't the last time someone would refuse an Oscar but it was the very first time in 43 years of the beloved... um... meat parade. There was no host that year, but a team of 34 celebrities rotating throughout the night (much like we've seen on zoom awards shows this season). The Best Picture nominees were...
- AIRPORT (10 nominations / 1 win previously discussed)
- FIVE EASY PIECES (4 nominations)
- LOVE STORY (7 nominations / 1 win. Also won the Globe, Drama)
- M*A*S*H (5 nominations / 1 win. Also won the Globe, Comedy)
- PATTON (10 nominations / 7 wins)
That list holds a welcome variety (disaster epic, gritty indie, soap opera blockbuster, risque comedy, and war biography) and the movies were all major box office sucesses but there's still something unsatisfying about it.
My personal "Best Picture" winner of 1970, THE LANDLORD with Pearl Bailey and Lee Grant
Perhaps its our general indifference to Patton or maybe it's a note of "what could have been?" We'd argue that 1970 wasn't the greatest film year , but still. Hal Ashby's The Landlord was decades ahead of its time which accounts for its measly one nomination that year (Best Supporting Actress for the sensational Lee Grant, though you can easily make a case that Pearl Bailey and especially Diana Sands should have been nominated right alongside her in Supporting Actress).
What just missed the list? We think it might have been Ken Rusell's confrontational Best Actress winning Women in Love in the dread sixth spot given its 4 nominations in key categories but can't help wondering if was Woodstock [gasp] which still holds the record of the most Oscar nominations for a Documentary Feature ever with three (editing, sound, and doc feature).
On a more important note for our actressexual purposes, here's a semi-shocking piece of trivia about that year. As hard as it is to believe (you'd think this would be at least slightly more common) this was the last year in Oscar history wherein all five Best Actress nominees were first-time nominees! Despite a half a century passing since then, it hasn't happened since!
Clockwise from top left: Best Actor nominee Jack Nicholson, Best Actress nominee Sarah Miles, Best Actress nominee Ali MacGraw with her then-husband legendary producer Robert Evans, and Best Supporting Actress nominee Lee Grant.
A totally random but fun piece of trivia for that night which makes you wonder why they don't do this more often. All of the performers of the Best Original Song contenders also presented: Oscar-winner Shirley Jones sang "Whistling Away the Dark" from Darling Lili and presented Best Sound; Petula Clarke sang "For All We Know" from Lovers and Other Strangers and presented Best Art Direction; Lola Falana sang "Till Love Touches Your Life" from Madron and presented Visual Effects; Glen Campbell performed the titular song from Pieces of Dreams and presented Original Score; and finally a group including the aforementioned Petula Clark plus Burt Lancaster, Sally Kellerman and Ricardo Montalban sang "Thank You Very Much" from Scrooge... Lancaster presented the Thalberg Award, Kellerman presented Animated and Live Action Short, and Montalban presented Best Foreign-Language Film.
Here were the non-Best Picture multiple nominees that year, listed by nomination count just for the helluva it.
5 nominations
Tora! Tora! Tora! - Pearl Harbor war drama. Craft nods only
4 nominations
Ryan's Daughter - David Lean romantic period drama
Scrooge -Musical based on the oft-told Christmas tale
Women in Love - Ken Russell's bold DH Lawrence adaptation
3 nominations
Darling Lili -Julie Andrews comedy riffing on the Mata Hari legend
I Never Sang For My Father -familial drama
Lovers and Other Strangers - wedding comedy
Woodstock - music doc
2 nominations
Cromwell -historical biopic
The Great White Hope - interracial romance / boxing drama
What are your "top five" Best Picture nominees from 1970? Some other famous movies released in the US that year: The Aristocats, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (Italy), Bloody Mama, Boys in the Band, Catch-22, El Condor, Dorian Gray (Italy), Eugenie (Spain), Fellini Satyricon (Italy), Investigation of a Citizen About Suspicion (Italy), Joe, Kelly's Heroes, Kes (UK), Let It Be (UK), A Man Called Horse, Mississippi Mermaid (France), The Molly Maguires, Multiple Maniacs, My Night at Maud's (France), Myra Breckenridge, On a Clear Day You Can see Forever, The Out of Towners, Owl and the Pussycat, The Passion of Anna (Sweden), Performance (UK), Rio Lobo, Soldier Blue, Swimming Pool (France), They Call Me Mister Tibbs, There's a Girl in My Soup, Tristana (Spain), Trog, Two Mules for Sister Sara , and Zabriskie Point
Reader Comments (38)
"Last year in Oscar history wherein all five Best Actress nominees were first-time nominees!"
That's amazing. Love veterans but I would love to see that happen again. I'm full of contradictions.
I love Ali MacGraw with all my heart. Wish she would have been happier.
the other day I wrote a piece for my blog, about what could/would have won, since 1970, the "Popular Film Oscar" that could be already be existing by now. While "Airport" and "Love Story" could have easily won it, I think "MASH" would have prevailed, given that it was so successful that it spawned a long running TV Series.
I respect "Patton" but I still can't get why it won so many Oscars... I think the natural winner would have been "Love Story", but well, those were other times.
I need to see 'The Landlord', but here is my top 5 from 1970, it is admittedly a touch odd...
1) The Ear
2) Myra Breckinridge
3) The Conformist
4) This Transient Life
5) Dinah East
I've only seen Airport and Five Easy Pieces. Liked all the nominated supporting women, especially Hayes because I have a soft spot for the more comedic performances, and tend to defend their wins in Supporting Actress. Oh the 90's, what a golden age for appreciating supporting comedic women!
Also, Lois Smith Oscar nomination when? If Hal Holbrook can get one in old age, so can Lois. Get to it Academy!
I'd go with FIVE EASY PIECES, THE GREAT WHITE HOPE, I NEVER SANG FOR MY FATHER, MASH and, of course, THE VAMPIRE LOVERS.
@Brenda! At least give her the Tony! What are they waiting for?! Feels like the nominees were announced two years ago.
The Conformist 100%. One of the best movies ever made. Arguable the best cinematography ever imo.
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, The Conformist, Satyricon, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever and ... oh why not Tora! Tora! Tora! (it's very well crafted).
Two of my most aggravating "I still haven't seen that!"s are from 1970 - The Landlord and The Garden of Finzi-Continis.
My ballot:
Film: Five Easy Pieces
Actor: George C. Scott
Actress: Sarah Miles
S. Actor: Gene Hackman (yeah, I agree, it's a lead)
S. Actress: Karen Black
Director: Robert Altman (I'm no longer a fan of the film, but the direction really is quite innovative)
O. Screenplay: Five Easy Pieces
A. Screenplay: I Never Sang for My Father - a really weak category, MASH has not aged well with its vicious misogyny, and the others are no great shakes, either
Foreign Film: Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion
Oh yeah, my Top 5 films of the year: The Passion of Anna, Performance, The Confession, The Honeymoon Killers, Ryan's Daughter
I can see why Patton won but out of this lot I'd say M*A*S*H should have taken it, even if Airport is the one I love the most.
I'd scrap all but M*A*S*H. My five would be:
The Confession
Five Easy Pieces
Investigation of a Citizen About Suspicion-Winner
Little Big Man
M*A*S*H
George C. Scott beat the hell out of Ava Gardner when they were dating, so fuck him.
1970 - year of my birth, but I can't really pick out a stand-out movie from that year. If pushed, I'd maybe go for LITTLE BIG MAN.
I think this is a really strong Best Supporting Actress year.
I haven't seen a whole lot from 1970 and am indifferent to most of the big awards films that year.
1. Gimme Shelter
2. Wanda
3. Donkey Skin (don't know if this would qualify, but I love it)
4. Kes
5. Mississippi Mermaid
Also worth noting, this was the year of 7 Plus 7 and Original Cast Album: Company, both wonderful but also made for tv.
My choices for 1970
1. Fellini Satyricon
2. Ryan's Daughter
3. Goin' Down the Road
4. Tristana
5. Something for Everyone
RIP Carrie Snodgress, who died over 17 years ago now while waiting for a liver transplant. So glad that the rest of the Best Actress lineup from that year is still with us, with Sarah Miles possibly still working on developing a sequel to Ryan's Daughter, Ali MacGraw still brought up primarily when people speak of Love Story, and Jane Alexander and Glenda Jackson thankfully still recognized in recent years for their still strong stage work to which I hope they can return as soon as it is safe to do so!
I'd put Women in Love in contention. It has some of the hottest scenes in the wrestling between Alan Bates and Oliver Reed. I'd also find a way to get some love for The Out of Towners, which had Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis at their best.
My Best Picture would be Five Easy Pieces with I Never Sang for my Father,I like the isolated men with troubled fathers sub genre.
Actor Melvyn Douglas or George C. Scott
Actress Jackson or the unnominated Dunaway in Pzzle of a Downfall Child
Supp Actor Chief Dan George Little Big Man
Supp Actress Karen Black
A weak year. The problem with Patton is that the speech at the beginning makes the rest of the movie unnecessary, At least Coppola won an Oscar and thanks to that we got The Godfather.
The problem with responding to film years later and assessing quality is the absence of the tenor of emotion at the time. Going into the theater to see Patton during the height of the Vietnam War was a remarkable experience.
Any given audience contained war veterans and ardent military supporters who viewed the film as a tribute to heroism and allegiance to the US.
Also present were anti-war protesters who saw the film as an indictment of the military mindset and a castigation of those who supported the US intervention in Vietnam.
Sitting in a sold out theater with men and women who stood at the beginning of the film with George C. Scott's impassioned delivery of the opening monolog while others laughed in parts was unnerving. And exhilarating. It takes a filmmaker like Francis Ford Coppola to write a screenplay so brilliant that it speaks to all.
The only 1970 BP nominee I really love is Five Easy Pieces. Airport and Love Story are pretty dopey (I remember Judith Crist's knock on Airport as "The best picture of 1940")—but very enjoyable nonetheless. Patton is a one-and-done war movie, with an admittedly superb leading performance by Scott. Still have never seen MASH and have a feeling its attitudes towards women would not be fun to watch.
Five Easy Pieces is a masterpiece. Jack should have won.
And kudos to whoever said The Conformist. The cinematography prize would be the bmost deserved ever.
Agree with a weak year, but it did have big war movies all from the same studio in Patton, MASH and Tora! Tora! Tora! All different types and all fasinating.
Acting Choices for 1970
Actor: Alec Guinness "Cromwell"
Actress: Sarah Miles "Ryan's Daughter"
Supp. Actor: Leo McKern "Ryan's Daughter" (just edging out Trevor Howard for the same film)
Supp. Actress: Dorothy Tutin "Cromwell"
The Conformist is really 1971 for Oscar purposes. It was nominated for Adapted Screenplay and was on the shortlist for Cinematography, but wasn't nominated.
"this was the last year in Oscar history wherein all five Best Actress nominees were first-time nominees!"
I don't think this has happened in Best Actor since the 1930s, though 2005 came close with only Joaquin Phoenix having one previous nod (in supporting at that).
Even more surprising is this used to happen with some regularity in both supporting categories but has not since 1999 S. Actress. I wonder if this reflects the emergence of campaigns around higher profile stars vs. voters identifying standout performances.
For those advocating The Conformist: it was a 1971 film for AMPAS (as witness its screenplay nomination that year)/
Kind of amazed some people are choosing Airport or Love Story over Patton. Those two were at the time considered the dregs of old-time Hollywood. In fact, Patton was seen as the Mama Bear not-too-hot/not-too-cold choice poised between those retro pieces and the new Hollywood of MASH and Five Easy Pieces. (It was the same the following year, when The French Connection struck the balance between Clockwork Orange/Last Picture Show on one side and Fiddler/Nicholas & Alexandra on the other.)
James is correct, that the big virtue of Patton was that pro-Vietnam people could say "there's the kind of guy America needs", while the anti's would say "that's the kind of guy America HAS." -- and the film never really lets you know which side it's on. In a divided time, that made for a winner.
I don't think Patton is anything great, but, like Out of Africa 15 years later, it's a decent-quality film in a year where few agreed on what the best was.
George C. Scott announced that he would not accept an Oscar only AFTER the nominations had been published! He had previously rejected his nomination for The Hustler.
Thank you, James, for your recollection of the impact PATTON had on audiences who saw it at the time of its original release. The BP nominees are so bland when you consider what a volatile year they represent. I would have imagined that films like Costa-Gavras' THE CONFESSION and Antonioni's ZABRISKIE POINT and Pontecorvo's BURN! might have had greater traction.
I can't believe nobody has corrected your mistake: PATTON won seven Oscars, not eight!
I’m ashamed to admit that I know Carrie Snodgress as “that Oscar nominated actress who was in Wild Things”
Though I do love that movie, I keep intending to check out more of her work...
Jonathan -- i can't believe it either since usually there are 10 instant comments to show an error ;). Fixed.
Love Story and its nominations (and win) totally discredit that year's Oscars. My Best Pic Five: Five Easy Pieces, The Landlord, M*A*S*H, Women in Love and the winner Catch-22.
Patton is SO boring. I've seen it twice and it's endless.
Love Ali. So charismatic. She became famous in the wrong decade. The 70s were more into more "serious" and intense actresses. She would have worked way more in the 80 or the 90s, probably a lot in TV shows.
Top 10 of 1970:
1. The Wild Child
2. The Conformist
3. M.A.S.H.
4. Woodstock
5. Le Cercle Rouge
6. El Topo
7. Patton
8. The Ballad of Cable Hogue
9. Donkey Skin
10. Zabriskie Point
Peggy Sue, right!? Give the woman a statuette and you're right Tony seems to be the mostblikely with their past nominating of her. For Marjorie Prime it was a tough year to get in, but with her supporting campaign it would have been nice to see some recognition. I haven't seen The Americans but almost every one agrees she should have won the guest actress category, then they snubbed her completely. Infuriating. People crying about whether Close wins this year or her next nom (Three Artful is correct in categorising her as one of his Inevitables) need to worry about the older greats that are severely underlauded.
1. Le Cercle Rouge
2. Le Cercle Rouge
3. Le Cercle Rouge
4. Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion
5. Five Easy Pieces
6. The Landlord
7. Tristana
Patton is really impressively made, but it’s so damn boring zzz
I follow IMDb dates (for my lineups) with any year before 2005 (the year I seriously got into the Oscars), so if I were going by The Academy’s dates, my Best Picture would be Women in Love 100%