1972: The founding fathers musical "1776"

We're looking back at the 1972 film year before the Smackdown.

by Anna

Peter H Hunt's 1776, based on the stage musical of the same name, chronicles the many woes that went into the Declaration of Independence’s creation. At the forefront of its writing are the “obnoxious and disliked” John Adams (William Daniels), the dry-witted Benjamin Franklin (Howard Da Silva), and the homesick Thomas Jefferson (Ken Howard). Amid the clash of words and egos of the other delegates of Congress, will they succeed?

Recruiting many of the names involved with the original Broadway production (Producer Jack L. Warner’s attempt to atone for casting Audrey Hepburn over Julie Andrews for My Fair Lady), 1776 had the misfortune of being released the same year as another period piece musical. 

Would 1776 have won more acclaim had it been released a different year?

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Smackdown '72: Meet the Panelists!

Our summer series "Supporting Actress Smackdown" returns on Sunday April 28th with a deep dive into the 1972 Oscar lineup:

• Jeannie Berlin, The Heartbreak Kid
• Eileen Heckart, Butterflies Are Free
• Geraldine Page, Pete N' Tillie
• Susan Tyrrell, Fat City
• Shelley Winters, The Poseidon Adventure

That's just two weeks away! So make sure to get your votes in (1 to 5 hearts for each of those performances that you've seen) since readers are the final collective panelist.

Want to meet the other panelists? Yeah, you do! 

PLEASE WELCOME...

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1972: Soaked in Booze with "The Ruling Class"

TFE will be periodically looking back at the 1972 film year before we hit the Supporting Actress Smackdown at month's end. Here's Anna from Defiant Success

Adapted from the play of the same name by Peter Barnes (who also serves the film’s writer), Peter Medak’s The Ruling Class establishes its bizarre nature early on. The plot kicks off after Ralph Gurney, the 13th Earl of Gurney (Harry Andrews) accidentally hangs himself while performing autoerotic asphyxiation. Upon his death, his only surviving son Jack (Peter O’Toole) becomes the 14th Earl of Gurney. One problem with this new arrangement: Jack firmly believes that he’s Jesus Christ...

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Showbiz History: Star Wars' Oscar Ceremony & Matthew Goode's Birthday Suit

8 random things that happened on this day in history (as it relates to showbiz). Happy April 3rd!

1882 Jesse James is Assassinated by the Coward Robert Ford (Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck recreating that for you above circa 2007).

1930 The 2nd Oscars are held with Broadway Melody taking Best Picture. (No film won more than 1 Oscar at that ceremony but that's less crazy than it sounds since there were only 7 categories then.)

1942 Zoltan Korda's The Jungle Book opens in movie theaters. It certainly won't be the last film adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's wild boy and jungle animals adventure but it receives the most Oscar nominations of any of them by far in four categories (Cinematography, Production Design, Visual Effects, and Original Score)

After the jump the historic 50th Oscar ceremony. So much good trivia awaits you...

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Showbiz History: Faye's win, Winona's debut, Gaga's birth, and Angelina's first nuptials

7 random things to celebrate on this day in showbiz history...

And the winner is... Faye Dunaway in Network

1920 Silent superstars Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford marry. Their marriage last only 16 years but their only child together is still going strong: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences! We kid sort of. They were the two most famous of the 36 founding members of the Academy, originally the brainchild of producer Louis B Mayer though the Oscars were not initially the main idea of the group...

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