Golden Globes 77. A Look Back
Tuesday, July 26, 2016 at 9:45PM Editors Note: Nathaniel is running behind on the Cinematography Special - but don't miss yesterday's installment or Tim's huge ongoing post at Antagony & Ecstasy so we'll resume tomorrow night. In the meantime enjoy Eric's look back at the Globes in '77, since its our Year of the Month.
Peter O'Toole with Globe winners Jane Fonda (Julia), Richard Burton (Equus), and Marsha Mason (The Goodbye Girl)
Globe/Oscar comparisons are always fun to see because though the groups have different sensibilities, inevitable industry hype influences both. Yet the Globes are rarely revisited outside of their years since Oscar is the one people obsess on when they look back, "the one that matters" as it were. Let's correct that as we gaze at 1977...
As always with the Globes, the awards are divided between Comedy and Drama categories, so we have ten nominess for Globes with only five slots for Oscars. For Best Actor, the five final Oscar nominees looked like this:
Woody Allen, Annie Hall
Richard Burton, Equus
Richard Dreyfus, The Goodbye Girl
Marcello Mastrioanni, A Special Day
John Travolta, Saturday Night Fever
All of these men were also nominated for Golden Globes. The five gents nominated for Globes who didn’t score the Oscar nod were:
(Comedy or Musical)
Mel Brooks, High Anxiety
Robert De Niro, New York, New York
(Drama)
Al Pacino, Bobby Deerfield
Gregory Peck, Macarthur
Henry Winkler, Heroes
Looking at those ten performances, it seems like the Academy picked well. In retrospect, it’s surprising to imagine Henry Winkler in the race for any lead film acting award. Don’t get me wrong: his acting as The Fonz on Happy Days is miraculous when you consider Winkler was a short (5’6” !) Jewish nerd who convinced a nation that he was THE epicenter of cool in that role. He won the Globe for Comedy TV Actor (tying with Ron Howard) this very night. It was fun to watch his resurgence as a character actor via Arrested Development. Nobody talks about New York, New York these days, a bit surprising since it’s a big-budget Scorsese picture and one his key collaborations with De Niro, but the film is exciting and agonizing in equal measure.
Ultimately, Dreyfus won the Comedy Globe and Burton the Drama Globe, and the two were in a horserace for the Oscar that season. The Goodbye Girl has not, to put it kindly, aged well, and put into historic cinematic terms, it remains preposterous that Richard Burton, one of the greats, never won an Oscar in his lifetime but it wasn't to be that year. The film version of Equus was clumsy and heavy-handed and you can understand why a lot of people didn’t feel compelled to vote for Burton for that particular film when The Goodbye Girl was such a hit in 1977.
The Best Actress Oscar race was stronger:
Anne Bancroft, The Turning Point
Jane Fonda, Julia
Diane Keaton, Annie Hall
Shirley MacLaine, The Turning Point
Marsha Mason, The Goodbye Girl
And these were the women who received Globe nods that year who didn’t make the Oscar cut:
Gena Rowlands in "Opening Night." 1977 was super stacked with worthy leading ladies
(Comedy or Musical)
Sally Field, Smokey and the Bandit
Liza Minnelli, New York New York
Lily Tomlin, The Late Show
(Drama)
Diane Keaton, Looking for Mr. Goodbar
Kathleen Quinlan, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
Gena Rowlands, Opening Night
Interestingly, Shirley MacLaine did NOT make the Globe Actress list at all, so perhaps her Oscar nomination was a mild surprise.
Goodbye Girl was a huge moment in Marsha Mason & Richard Dreyfus's careers
Keaton and Mason actually tied to win the Comedy Globe, and Fonda won in Drama. Keaton famously won the Oscar, a win that's very well regarded historically. Keaton’s performance in Looking for Mr. Goodbar surely would have snared her an Oscar nomination itslef if Annie Hall wasn’t blocking it: they are two colossally different characters and few actors could have soared as high in comedy and tragedy as she does in those two roles. And she did it back to back. Keaton’s poor choices in films and roles these past two decades have unfortunately diminished her reputation, which is a bummer because when she’s at the peak of her powers in a complex role, she's unbeatable.
Finally, let's look at Best Picture
Oscar's Best Picture
Annie Hall
The Goodbye Girl
Julia
Star Wars
The Turning Point
All of them were nominated at the Globes. These were the Globe nominees that didn’t make the cut:
Should they have been Oscar nominated? And instead of what...?
(Comedy or Musical)
High Anxiety
New York New York
Saturday Night Fever
(Drama)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
In hindsight, it feels shocking that Close Encounters didn’t get in over either The Goodbye Girl or The Turning Point, as its classic status has held strong, even grown, and nobody talks much about either of the others. Even Saturday Night Fever remains more relevant today, as much as it’s a total product of its time.
What are your thoughts on the differences between Oscar and the Globes in this particular year?
Reader Comments (24)
Not a big Woody Allen fan here. Never saw the love for Annie Hall, although I find Diane Keaton adorable. But, my choice that year was between the two Turning Point leads. I never did decide who should have won. I've seen the movie several times and each time come away with a different response. Today, if there were to be a re-vote, I'd probably go Bancroft. Over MacLaine. Then Fonda, followed by Keaton and Mason.
As for actor, at the time, I wanted Burton to win. But, after more viewings, if the vote were being held today, I'd vote Dreyfus.
Picture. I was torn between Julia and The Turning Point back then. Now, I realise Star Wars was the most influential movie of that year.
Supporting Actress: Definitely Vanessa Redgrave.
Supporting Actor: Peter Firth in a squeak over Alec Guinness.
Would love a closer look at Goodbye Girl but even more on Marsha Mason.
I eschew Golden Globe coverage now but how fascinating this list of nominees is from a remove of almost 40 years. How will people view GG noms this year in 2056?
The performances the globes nominated but didn't receive actress nominations are incredibly strong and make the actual oscar nominees even worse. I mean Gena Rowlands (Opening Night), Liza Minnelli (New York) and Lily Tomlin (Late Show) wipe the floor with everyone in the actress field other then Diane Keaton. It's interesting to see how even back then globes voted dramas in the comedy field. (e.g. Late Show, Saturday Night, New York)
Keaton's win still confuses me, especially since Sissy Duvall in 3 Women and Sophia Loren in A Special Day (fPS: Una Giornata Particolare) couldn't get attention from either Oscar or the Globes. What a lousy outcome for such a strong Best Actress year.
Oscar's Best Actor lineup on the other hand would have been stronger - to me at least - if you replace Allen and Travolta with Art Carney in The Late Show, Gregory Peck in MacArthur and Fernando Rey in That Obscure Object Of Desire (fPS: Cet Obscur Objet Du Désir). Although that's bad math on my side.
1977 was ano competitive year for Best Actress!! IMO, I wld've replace MacLaine nom w Duvall considering the relevance of both pix now & the sad fact that Duvall hits her career peak in 1977 and slowly fades into obscurity. Annie Hall was a crowd pleaser and Keaton was the "it" gal then...it wld've been betta if she had won for Mr Goodbar instead, which show-casts her dramatic range and potential. but its still a good win for her
Actor-wise, everyone was of the opinion it was Burton's time...Of cos Equus is a poor choice if you compared it w his other nom works...but hey if Leo could collect his long o/due Oscar for a pic that so many pple hated, Y can't Burton get his?? He certainly shld've won it for just for Equus, but for all his past nom works.
Best Supp Actress - V Redgrave reminded us what a brilliant & fearless actress she was, & how she was never afraid to speak her own mind!! Its a pity tt her acceptance speech got so politicalized & deeply misunderstood. Although the Academy nom her a further two times, they never see fit to give her a 2nd one (IMO, she shld've won over "U really really like Me!!" Field in 1984).
Best Supp Actor - Jason Robards was a good choice, although to be fair, he has the showier part compared to Maximilian Schell who was also nom for Juila.
Annie Hall was vintage Woody Allen. It was arguably his best work, although many r gonna disagreed, but its certainly not one of his mediocre later projects. And I like the fact that a small lit comedy won over those big studio, bug budget, huge blockbusters...etc
Nobody talks about New York, New York these days...
Ahem.
Still my favorite Minnelli screen performance and her most skillful work as a vocalist on the soundtrack. Arguably one of the most recurring film titles at this blog.
Gena Rowlands wipes the floor with every other performance in this year. I mean, really. And I love (LURVE) some of the contenders, specially Keaton and Minnelli.
Her work in Opening Night is so transcendental that some people even prefer it to her towering achievement in A Woman Under The Influence.
A movie like Almodóvar's All About My Mother wouldn't exist without Opening Night and Rowlands' performance. He molded Marisa Paredes' Huma Rojo after Rowlands.
@ cal roth
Although Almodovar dedicated that film in part to Romy Schneider's Cesar-winning performance (one of my top 5 Oscar-eligible performances of 1977) in That Most Important Thing: Love.
Cal -- I prefer it!
I love New York New York. It should have been nominated in many categories: Liza, the costumes, the production design, the cinematography...
I'm surprised that Sophia Loren had no traction for her inspired duet with Mastroianni in Una giornata particolare. I think it's her best work.
@Paul Outlaw
He dedicated the movie to Bette Davis, Romy Schneider and Gena Rowlands.
You can read the final credits:
"To Bette Davis, Gena Rowlands, Romy Schneider... To all actresses who have played actresses, to all women who act, to all men who act and become women, to all the people who want to be mothers. To my mother."
And yes, that Schneider performance also belongs to my top 20 ever. I was enraged when I learned that Isabelle Adjani didn't win thar Cesar for Adele H. Then I saw That Most Important Thing: Love and I was devastated by Schneider's since that first close-up to the ending. Flawless. The good part for Adjani is that the same Zulawski that got that performance from Schneider did the same for her, in Possession, for which she won best actress in Cannes and her first César.
I just didn't know The Most Important Thing: Love was released in USA two years after its original release in France.
So, my best actress line-up would be something like this:
Gena Rowlands, Opening Night - winner
Romy Schneider, That Most Important Thing: Love
Diane Keaton, Annie Hall
Liza Minnelli, New York, New York
Sophia Loren, Una Giornata Particolare
Okay, time to watch Opening Night this week. But it will probably mean bad news for Fonda or Mason as far as my best actress list goes, since Romy, Liza and Lily are rock solid.
New York, New York, my love.
Bancroft was more supporting to me but she was a big star then.
Oops, Fonda already fell out of my top 5, so if consensus is any indication, Rowlands will be replacing Mason shortly. (I really need to do a Cassavettes retrospective.)
New York, New York "is exciting and agonizing in equal measure"? I find it far more agonizing than exciting - which is why I'd likely be inclined to favor Liza for Best Actress this year, not simply because she's extraordinary in it, but because of how the film lights up around her. Though I can certainly see the case for Rowlands and Keaton (who I'd say was the right winner, given the final 5).
I think the most interesting thing about the year, and something the Globes system allows for greater appreciation of, is how the year's most highly-regarded films are such a mix of drama and comedy and musicals (and hey this year there's even a ballet-themed film). That's fairly rare.
This year was truly an embarrassment of riches. I still think the final lineup was perfect.
Also, one of only three times there were two women nominated for Best Actress from the same film.
It saddens me I had to leave out Liza from the final cut. This is her greatest film performance, and that scene where she sings The World Goes Round--that is devastating. And the singing--perfection.
I do think it's borderline, but I would still place Anne in lead. That scene where she sees her godchild for the first time in years--just wow.
Marsha does so many little things with that character. Simply sublime.
Diane deserved the win, but her work in Goodbar definitely figured into that decision. What a brilliant range in one year.
@ brookesboy (and all)
See this week's Judy post, just posted. ;-)
I'm always a little surprised to remember I won the GG over DK for comedy. The perseverance of Annie Hall as a great film has magnified that performance, but it was probably a close vote at the time. I wonder how close I was to winning the Oscar, and if we'd remember another film as Allen's masterpiece if that one hadn't swept and dominated 1977 in retrospect. (You could make a case for Manhattan, Hannah and Her Sisters, or Crimes and Misdemeanors as equally good.)
*tied with
Remember when The Goodbye Girl was remade with Patricia Heaton (ugh) and Jeff Daniels? Anyone ever see that? Now Marsha Mason plays a recurring role as Heaton's mother on her new show.
Marsha is great on The Middle. She and Patricia Heaton really seem like mother and daughter. The Mother's Day episode from Season 1 is a classic.
I vividly remember this Oscar race (yes, I"m that old) because it happened when I was 15 going on 16. I saw Annie Hall when I was 15 and just didn't get it. I thought it was marginally good. I saw it again about six months later and laughed non-stop. Ah, what a little, er, sexual experience can do to open a good (not so good) Mormon boy's eyes.
I think that Richard Dreyfuss AND Diane Keaton won their Oscars because of their other movies. I think they both won for the better performances, but it helped immensely that they both had dramatic movies out to offset the comedic flair they showed in their movies (how often have two lead comedy roles won the two main Oscars?). Fonda, MacLaine, and Bancroft were all established stars at the time, but Mason was relatively new. If she had that second movie out there (for instance if Cinderella Liberty came out the same year), I think she would have won. Heck, Jane Fonda winning the next year might have been in part because of Julia.
I remember that most people were thinking that Close Encounters would get the fifth spot that probably went to The Goodbye Girl. I think it came in sixth in the voting. Goodbye Girl is ALL about the two performances not the movie itself.
The CE3K Oscar snub still hurts a little, yes, but at least it got a ton of other nominations (including Directing and one for Acting) and one should not forget Star Wars monopolized the sci-fi/fantasy slot that year.
I think the HFPA chose better that year.
<I think that Richard Dreyfuss AND Diane Keaton won their Oscars because of their other movies.>
I agree, though I disagree that they won for the better performances, especially Diane.
<Goodbye Girl is ALL about the two performances not the movie itself.>
GG is really about three performances. Quinn is so natural and endearing. The wrong child actor won the Oscar during that decade.
Marsha: You deserved that Globe. Brava!