Oscar History
Film Bitch History
Welcome

The Film Experience™ was created by Nathaniel R. All material herein is written by our team. (This site is not for profit but for an expression of love for cinema & adjacent artforms.)

Follow TFE on Substackd

Powered by Squarespace
Keep TFE Strong

We're looking for 500... no 390 SubscribersIf you read us daily, please be one.  

I ♥ The Film Experience

THANKS IN ADVANCE

What'cha Looking For?
Subscribe
« There Will Be Link | Main | Doc Corner Goes to Slamdance »
Tuesday
Jan312017

26 Days Until Oscar. Sing-along with Sammy Cahn 

On this 26th day before Oscar, why not sing along to classic tunes co-written by Sam Cahn who received an incredible 26 Oscar nominations. He was so popular in his time that he even posed for pictures like this! Hee.

Yes, dear reader, there are people with more Oscar nominations than Meryl Streep.  Not many of them, mind you, and the bulk of them seem to be from the sound or music branches...

MOST NOMINATIONS

 

  1. Walt Disney (producer) 56
  2. John Williams (composer) 50
  3. Alfred Newman (composer) 45
  4. Cedric Gibbons (art director) 40
  5. Edith Head (costume designer) 35
  6. Edwin B Willis (set decorator) 32
  7. Lyle Wheeler (art director) 29
  8. [tie] Sammy Cahn (composer), Max Steiner (composer), Sam Comer 26
  9. [tie] Hans Dreier (art director), Gordon Hollingshead (producer), Nathan Levinson (sound), Hal Pereira (art director), Dimitri Tiomkin (composer) 23
  10. Victor Young (composer) 22
  11. [tie] Woody Allen (writer/director), Thomas Little (set decorator), Andy Nelson (sound), Kevin O'Connell (sound), Walter M Scott, Billy Wilder (writer/director)
  12. [tie] Meryl Streep (actor), Richard Day (art director), Randy Newman (composer), Douglas Shearer (sound)

 

Sammy Cahn's most famous song is undoubtedly "Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!" but he had many hits with people like Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, and so on. He won four Oscars for the following movie songs.

"Three Coins in the Fountain" from Three Coins in the Fountain (1954)

"All the Way" from The Joker is Wild (1957)

"High Hopes" from A Hole in the Head (1959) - I didn't think I knew this song but I do. It definitely lasted well beyond the 50s.

"Call Me Irresponsible" from Papa's Delicate Condition (1963) - There are so many versions of this online so why not a little Dusty Springfield?

 

But he was also nominated for two of the all time best opening credit song sequences from Written on the Wind (1956) and Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967)

And yes we will be celebrating Thoroughly Modern Millie's 50th anniversary next month. 

 

PrintView Printer Friendly Version

EmailEmail Article to Friend

Reader Comments (8)

Laverne and Shirley would sing "High Hopes" to each other all the time, whenever one wasn't sure about doing something.

The other would sing, and voila! Zaniness!

January 31, 2017 | Unregistered Commenterforever1267

My wife and I took a film critic's class last year and Written on the Wind was one of the selected films to be seen... as a youngster I remember falling in love with Dorothy Malone in this film... I have seen it a few times in the last few decades... at the time it was VERY provocative..

Anyway, the point is ... when the film ended in this class . the whole audience booed it.. I stood up for it as the film does not hold up well, but at the time. it was groundbreaking.

January 31, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterMax

Sammy Cahn is truly a genius.
Some songs work better in the movies, others outlive them.
Funny songs, dramatic songs.
They don't make them like they did one day (films, songs, stars, credits at the beginning ).
I wonder if Meryl will tie with Edith, the most nominated woman with 35 indications.

January 31, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterIngrid_Essex

Nathaniel: Wody has 24 nominations overall.

Ingrid_Essex: I know, right? Opening credits, opening song. Let's have more of 'em! (Thank goodness James Bond films still do it!)

January 31, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterEdward L.

Woody, even... Typing too fast for my keyboard!

January 31, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterEdward L.

Ingrid -- i doubt that. if Meryl kept at the pace of the first 20 nominations, it wouldn't be until well into her 90s when she could reach 35 ;)

Max -- i would have hated that class. I LOVE Written on the Wind. Modern audiences are so damn unadventurous when it comes to tone and style.

January 31, 2017 | Registered CommenterNATHANIEL R

I love this post.

January 31, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterPeggy Sue

'three coins in the fountain' beating 'the man that got away' still annoys me [yet, not the worst fiasco at that year's oscars]

yay for the upcoming '...millie' celebration. the late great mary tyler moore is so fantastic in it [as is julie, obviously...]

January 31, 2017 | Unregistered Commenterpar
Member Account Required
You must have a member account to comment. It's free so register here.. IF YOU ARE ALREADY REGISTERED, JUST LOGIN.