1965: Eleanor Parker in "The Sound of Music"

Each month before the Smackdown, Nick Taylor chooses three performances to highlight that weren't Oscar-nominated...

 “And Eleanor Parker as The Baroness” reads the final casting credit of the opening credits of The Sound of Music. Hers is also the only name that appears by itself, positioning the character and the actress as events the film wants you to eagerly anticipate. Hard enough when you're the other woman in a love triangle, especially as a non-singing role in a three-hour musical. Yet Parker, boasting one of the most exciting, chameleonic personas in American cinema, lives up to the hype over fifty years later, emerging with the film's most multifaceted performance.

Baroness Elsa von Schraeder won’t appear until roughly an hour into The Sound of Music, by which time we’ve already watched the indomitably energetic Maria (Julie Andrews) enter the Von Trapp family at the direction of her Abbess, instructing her to work as a governess to see if it’ll suit her better than being a nun...

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The Furniture: The frozen escape of "Doctor Zhivago"

"The Furniture," by Daniel Walber. (Click on the images for magnified detail)

Ten movies were nominated for Best Production Design at the 1965 Oscars, one of the last years before the Academy retired separate categories for color and black & white. There are some striking examples on the list, from the bloated (The Agony & the Ecstasy, Ship of Fools) to the bizarre (Inside Daisy Clover). But when you come down to it, there’s really no looking past Doctor Zhivago.

This was David Lean’s second consecutive film to win the category, after Lawrence of Arabia three years earlier. While their visual scope is similar, the two films actually have very different preoccupations. Lawrence of Arabia is about a man determined to shape history. Doctor Zhivago is about a man trying to escape it. Understanding the difference helps us understand the design.

We begin on the eve of the Russian Revolution, a moment of great social contrasts...

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Where to watch 1965 movies before the next Smackdown

Maggie Smith's first Oscar nominationAs we keep promising you, the Smackdowns are much more fun if you play along at home. Up next is 1965 and there are only four movies to watch (all of which received multiple Oscar nominations) to prepare for the discussion on October 9th. 

SUPPORTING ACTRESS NOMINEES OF 1965

• Ruth Gordon from Inside Daisy Clover (3 Oscar noms) - Amazon
• Maggie Smith and Joyce Redman from Othello (4 Oscar noms) - YouTube
• Shelley Winters from A Patch of Blue (5 Oscar noms)- Amazon
• Peggy Wood from The Sound of Music (10 Oscar noms) - Disney+

Once you're done watching those, send in your votes (1 to 5 hearts for each lady) by October 8th. Easy! You're then part of the Smackdown!

If you REALLY wanna dive into the cinema of 1965 before the event, here are key 1965 movies that are currently streaming for free (provided you have the corresponding services, of course).

OSCAR NOMINATED 1965 TITLES CURRENTLY STREAMING...

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