Happy Alan Jay Lerner Centennial!

by Nathaniel R

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Alan Jay Lerner, one of the most crucial figures in the American songbook. The lyricist, librettist, and screenwriter was born in New York City. That's where he first made his mark, too, on Broadway with his first big hit Brigadoon in 1947. Soon he went Hollywood, working on original movie musicals as well as transfers of his famous work from the stage, and garnering 7 Oscar nominations and 3 wins (for his screenplays to Gigi and An American in Paris, and songwriting for"Gigi"). His career ended with The Little Prince (1974) but at the time of his death in 1986 he was working on a musical adaptation of My Man Godfrey and had started work on Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera, though his only efforts are in the song "Masquerade" (uncredited).

Earlier this summer I had the opportunity to moderate a screening of My Fair Lady (1964) and my guest was Amy Asch who co-edited/annotated the book you see to your left here. So for fun today I thought I'd share a handful of favorite lyrics from his vast repertoire. 

You can sing along as you read...

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Blueprints: "Jackie"

In this week’s edition of Blueprints, Jorge takes a trip to the brief shining moment known as Camelot to look how a script can transmit mood.

There can sometimes be a common misconception that what a writer contributes to a script is limited to story structure, action description, and dialogue. These are in no way small feats; after all, it’s the creation of an entire world, the people who inhabit it, and what they do. But it is often thought that his or her job stops there, and it is everyone else's job to fill in the blanks with textures.

Many of cinema’s most deep, emotional, and transcendental moments are a marriage of sound, image, and performance; devoid of any substantial plot or dialogue. So much of what makes cinema powerful is about mood. And while there may be the belief that this is the work of the director, cinematographer, actors, and musicians, mood is also born on the page.

 

Let’s take a look at Jackie, a movie that is more a collection of feelings, images and sounds than a straight forward narrative...

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The Furniture: Camelot, a Silly and Furry Place

"The Furniture," by Daniel Walber, is our weekly series on Production Design. You can click on the images to see them in magnified detail.

Back in August, I wrote about two dramatically different ways of portraying Arthurian Legend on screen. To recap: the bright silliness of Knights of the Round Table (1953) looks like psychedelic compared to the bland grit of King Arthur (2004) and the gruff, imperial fantasia of King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017). But even these at least share a mild interest in engaging with English historical design. Camelot (1967), on the other hand, is a flighty fantasy of utter nonsense.

Of course, this is why it’s such a delight to watch. It’s a furry, oversexed epic that sends its glamorous cast out into magical forests to sing Lerner and Loewe songs at the top of their extravagantly-adorned lungs. The film won Oscars for production designer John Truscott, art director Edward Carrere and set decorator John Brown, with Truscott taking home a second statuette for the costumes. Lavishly made and lavishly awarded, it’s a classic of committed inspiration.

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3 Days Until Oscar -- multiple wins without a Best Picture Nod

With the seismic shift of the expanded best picture field in 2009, certain forms of Oscar trivia seem dead or at least on life support. Foxcatcher proved you could still be a "lone director" nominee for a non Best Picture player, and Carol proved you could still get a big swath of nominations but miss out on placing in the top category. But nearly all the records involving films that weren't nominated for Best Picture will not be broken now; when Oscar notices you in a big way these days, you're also likely to achieve that highest distinction of being a Best Picture nominee.

But with 3 being the magic number today, let's take a look back at the rare cases of films that won 3 or more Oscars that were not nominated for Best Picture. The only film that could theoretically join this list this year is Jackie (the most nominated film that isn't up for Best Picture) but it would have to win all three of its bids! 

The 18 Biggest Oscar Winners That Were NOT
Nominated for Best Picture
(current titles for categories used in this list though some have changed) 

01 Five Oscar wins from six nominations
The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) Supporting Actress, Original Screenplay, Cinematography, Production Design, Costume Design. It lost only Best Actor but mysteriously wasn't nominated for Picture or Director despite obvious widespread love for it. But then, 1952 was among the very strangest of Oscar years for multiple reasons. 

Curiously Kirk Douglas also leads one of the three films tied for runner up in this particular list...

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Beauty Break: Vanessa Redgrave, Bewitching in Any Season

♪ if i ever i would leave you
how could it be in springtime?
knowing how in Spring, I'm bewitched by you so?
oh, no, not in Springtime...

Summer...

Winter...

...or Fall 

No never would I leave you.... at all ♫.

Sigh.

So excited to see Vanessa again in Coriolanus, aren't you? And potentially at the Oscars?

Just recently I was suddenly remembering how perfect she's been in virtually all the seasons of her career. I love her in Camelot (1967) but mostly for her gorgeousity and because the Arthurian Legends have bewitched me since I was a kid. My favorite Vanessa performances are off the top of my head..

1. If These Walls Could Talk 2 (2000)
2. Julia (1977 -Oscar win)
3. The Devils (1971) 

Share yours, please! Is it from the spring, summer, winter or fall of her career?