| 45th Academy Awards | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Date | March 27, 1973 |
| Site | Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Los Angeles,California |
| Hosted by | Carol Burnett, Michael Caine, Charlton Heston andRock Hudson |
| Produced by | Howard W. Koch |
| Directed by | Marty Pasetta |
| Highlights | |
| Best Picture | The Godfather |
| Most awards | Cabaret (8) |
| Most nominations | Cabaret andThe Godfather (10) |
| TV in the United States | |
| Network | NBC |
| Duration | 2 hours, 38 minutes |
The45th Academy Awards were presented Tuesday, March 27, 1973, at theDorothy Chandler Pavilion inLos Angeles,California, honoring the best films of 1972. The ceremonies were presided over byCarol Burnett,Michael Caine,Charlton Heston, andRock Hudson.
The ceremony was marked byMarlon Brando's boycott of the Oscars, and his sending ofSacheen Littlefeather to explain why he could not show up to collect his Best Actor award forThe Godfather; and byCharlie Chaplin's only competitive Oscar win, forBest Original Dramatic Score for his 20-year-old filmLimelight, which was eligible because it did not screen in Los Angeles until 1972.[1][2] Prior to this ceremony, Chaplin had received 2Academy Honorary Awards: in 1972 for his lifetime of work; and in 1929 (after having revoked his nominations for Best Director, Actor, and Writing (Original), thereby presenting him witha special award celebrating his multifaceted achievements).
With eight wins forCabaret, adapted from theBroadway stage musical byBob Fosse, the film set a record for most Oscar prizes without winningBest Picture. Best Picture winnerThe Godfather received three Academy Awards.
This year was the first time that twoAfrican American women received nominations forBest Actress:Cicely Tyson andDiana Ross.[3] Minnelli accepted her Oscar despite a slight scrape she had incurred while riding a motorcycle. Ross was criticized for running a promotional ad campaign demanding that she win the Best Actress Oscar.[4] Meanwhile,Edward G. Robinson, who died two months before the ceremony, became the second actor to receive his honorary Oscarposthumously, afterDouglas Fairbanks (d. 1939) in 1940.
This was also the first year when all Oscar winners were brought on stage at the end of the ceremony.[5] The show drew a television audience of85 million viewers.[6][7]
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Nominees were announced on February 12, 1973. Winners are listed first inboldface.[8][9]
| Nominations | Film |
|---|---|
| 10 | Cabaret |
| The Godfather | |
| 8 | The Poseidon Adventure[a] |
| 5 | Lady Sings the Blues |
| 4 | The Emigrants[§] |
| Sleuth | |
| Sounder | |
| Travels with My Aunt | |
| 3 | Butterflies Are Free |
| Deliverance | |
| Young Winston | |
| 2 | The Candidate |
| The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie | |
| The Heartbreak Kid | |
| Pete 'n' Tillie |
^§ Was also nominated in theprevious year forBest Foreign Language Film.
| Awards | Film |
|---|---|
| 8 | Cabaret |
| 3 | The Godfather |
It was initially announced, on February 12, 1973, thatThe Godfather received 11 nominations, more than any other film that year.[11][12] This was reduced to 10 nominations (tied withCabaret for the most) after a new vote by the academy's music branch, following a controversy over whetherNino Rota's score forThe Godfather was eligible for the nomination it received.[10][13] For the re-balloting, members of the music branch chose from six films:The Godfather and the five films that had been on the shortlist for best original dramatic score but did not get nominated.John Addison's score forSleuth won this new vote, and thus replaced Rota's score on the official list of nominees.[14] The controversy arose, according to Academy President Daniel Taradash, because the love theme inThe Godfather had previously been used by Rota inFortunella, an Italian movie from several years earlier.[15] Pacino also did not attend the ceremony; he was allegedly insulted at being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, when he had more screen time than his co-star and Best Actor-winner Brando, and thus should have received the nomination for Best Actor.[16] Pacino denies this, saying in his memoir,Sonny Boy, that he was "scared" of his sudden fame and never heard the rumor until much later in his life.[17]
The nominations in the category of Best Original Song were not announced in February with the rest of the nominations, reportedly because of "a mixup in balloting".[18] It was later reported that the academy had been considering whetherCurtis Mayfield's song "Freddie's Dead" from the filmSuper Fly should be eligible. The song was ruled ineligible for a nomination because its lyrics were not sung in the film. (The song was released as a single with lyrics, but the version in the film was an instrumental.) Academy governor John Green was quoted as saying: "Times have changed. In the old days, Hollywood made 30 or 40 musicals a year, and there were plenty of songs to choose from. Now there are hardly any, and most of the eligible songs are themes. Both the lyric and the music must be heard on the sound track to be eligible."[19]
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Sacheen Littlefeather was an American actress, model, and activist ofNative American civil rights whoMarlon Brando chose to represent him at the ceremony.[20] Littlefeather took the stage and spoke on Brando's behalf as a form of protest, representing Native Americans.[21]
The audience in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion was divided between applause and jeers.[22] "I was distressed that people should have booed and whistled and stomped, even though perhaps it was directed at myself," Brando later toldDick Cavett. "They should have at least had the courtesy to listen to her."[22] Her appearance prompted theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to rule out future proxy acceptance of Academy Awards. (Oscars for winners unable, or unwilling, to accept in person are now accepted in their behalf by the presenters.)[23]
Both Sacheen Littlefeather andMarty Pasetta, who directed the Academy Awards telecast, claimed thatJohn Wayne had to be restrained by six security guards to prevent him from assaulting Littlefeather.[24] The story was later refuted as having "never happened" by film historian Farran Nehme. She characterised Pasetta's account as "getting more exciting each time it was told".[25]
The following individuals, listed in order of appearance, presented awards or performed musical numbers.
Notably, Charlton Heston was late for his role presenting the voting rules, reportedly due to a flat tire. Clint Eastwood, who was slated to present for Best Picture, was asked to fill in. Heston's written dialogue leaned heavily on his role in the movieThe Ten Commandments, leading Eastwood to quip, "Come on, flip the card, man. This isn't my bag." Eastwood also famously said on filling in at the last minute, "...They pick the guy who hasn't said but three lines in 12 movies to substitute for him [Heston]". Heston arrived part of the way through the bit, allowing Eastwood to escape.[26]
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Hank Simms | Announcer for the 45th Academy Awards |
| Daniel Taradash (AMPAS President) | Giver of opening remarks welcoming guests to the awards ceremony |
| Clint Eastwood Charlton Heston | Explainers of the voting rules to the public |
| Eddie Albert Edward Albert | Presenters of the award forBest Sound |
| Merle Oberon | Presenter of the Special Achievement Award forBest Visual Effects |
| Bea Arthur Peter Boyle | Presenters of the Short Subjects Awards |
| Robert Duvall Cloris Leachman | Presenters of the award forBest Supporting Actress |
| Elke Sommer Jack Valenti | Presenters of the award forBest Foreign Language Film |
| John Gavin Katharine Ross | Presenters of the award forBest Film Editing |
| James Coburn Diana Ross | Presenters of the award forBest Supporting Actor |
| Richard Walsh | Presenter of the Honorary Award to Charles S. Boren |
| Robert Wagner Natalie Wood | Presenters of the Documentary Awards |
| Marisa Berenson Michael Caine | Presenters of the award forBest Costume Design |
| Greer Garson Laurence Harvey | Presenters of the award forBest Art Direction |
| Dyan Cannon Burt Reynolds | Presenters of the Music Awards |
| Candice Bergen Billy Dee Williams | Presenters of the award forBest Cinematography |
| Sonny & Cher | Presenters of the award forBest Song Original for the Picture |
| Charlton Heston | Presenter of the Honorary Award toEdward G. Robinson |
| Frank Sinatra | Presenter of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award |
| Jack Lemmon | Presenter of the Writing Awards |
| Julie Andrews George Stevens | Presenters of the award forBest Director |
| Roger Moore Liv Ullmann | Presenters of the award forBest Actor |
| Sacheen Littlefeather | DeclinedMarlon Brando's Academy Award on his behalf |
| Gene Hackman Raquel Welch | Presenters of the award forBest Actress |
| Clint Eastwood | Presenter of the award forBest Picture |
| John Wayne | Introducer of the performance of "You Oughta Be in Pictures" |
| Name | Role | Performed |
|---|---|---|
| John Williams | Musical arranger and conductor | Orchestral |
| Angela Lansbury | Performer | "Make a Little Magic" |
| Disney characters | Performers | A musical salute toWalt Disney Productions' 50th anniversary |
| Michael Jackson | Performer | "Ben" fromBen |
| Springfield Revival | Performer | "Come Follow, Follow Me" fromThe Little Ark |
| Glen Campbell The Mike Curb Congregation | Performer | "Marmalade, Molasses & Honey" fromThe Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean |
| Connie Stevens | Performer | "The Morning After" fromThe Poseidon Adventure |
| Diahann Carroll | Performer | "Strange Are the Ways of Love" fromThe Stepmother |
| Academy Awards Chorus | Performers | "You Oughta Be in Pictures" |
The film, withdrawn from U.S. movie theatres in the bitter controversy over Chaplin's political views and private life, qualified by being released for the first time in Los Angeles last year.
The Godfather score, composed by Nino Rota, was originally announced as one of the five official nominees. It was later pointed out that portions of the score and the main theme were composed by Rota for his score to the 1958 Italian film, Fortunella. The Music Branch was given this information and re-balloted to determine the fifth nomination. The list of six films they were to choose from were the remaining five of the top ten preliminary listings, plus The Godfather score. The results of the re-balloting was that the fifth nomination became Sleuth, composed by John Addison.
Because of a mixup in balloting, the nominations for best song won't be announced until March 5.
