What Movie Won Best Picture in 1971
George Scott and 'Patton' Win Oscars
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April 16, 1971
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LOS ANGELES, April 15—"Patton," the titanic study of a man at war, swept the 43d Academy Award presentations tonight by winning seven Oscars, including best picture of the year.
George C. Scott, who played the title role, won the Oscar as best actor, even though he had said repeatedly that he would not accept the award. But the Academy gave it to him anyway. Even his fellow nominee, James Earl Jones, for "The Great White Hope," had said publicly that Mr. Scott deserved the award, and most critics agreed.
The statuette was accepted by Frank McCarthy, the picture's producer.
War and Peace Picture
The third major award for "Patton" went to the director, Franklin J. Schaffner. In accepting his award, Mr. Schaffner said he hoped the audience would understand his film "not only as a war picture but as a peace picture."
The best‐actress award went for the second straight year to a British woman. Glenda Jackson, who had never been nominated before, won it for her role in "Women in Love," Maggie Smith won it last year for "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie."
One of the surprises of the evening was that the two biggest box‐office its of the year, "Love Story" and "Airport," won only one trophy apiece, and those were minor ones. Hollywood has often been accused of caring more about profits than performance, but that was not so tonight.
Hailed by Critics
"Patton" also won Oscars for sound, art direction, editing and screenplay. Not only was this film hailed by professional critics but by amateur ones as well. President Nixon said it was his favorite and he showed it several times at the White House for friends and advisers.
The award for best‐supporting actor went to John Mills, for "Ryan's Daughter," probably the most heavily promoted film of the year. Its large public relations budget undoubtedly helped garner it an award for cinematography.
Mr. Mills, a veteran actor who was nominated for the first time, is the father of the actress Hayley Mills.
Helen Hayes, the "first lady of the theater," won her second Oscar for her supporting role in "Airport," fulfilling the academy's usual habit of giving at least one award for sentiment. Miss Hayes's first Oscar came for "The Sin of Madelot Claudet," in 1932, which is not so long considering the fact that she began her theatrical career more than 60 years ago.
The best foreign‐film award was won by "Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion," an Italian story about a police detective who commits murder and dares his men to find him out.
Following the pattern of the Emmys, which often honor television shows after they are canceled, the Academy gave the Oscar for best original song score to the Beatles, for "Let It Be," the last movie they made before dissolving in acrimony.
Frank Sinatra, a famous retiree, was given the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for his many charitable activities, including a new hospital in Palm Springs named for his father.
As much a part of the show as any award was the procession of stars into the theater, a melange of flashbulbs and press agents and fixed smiles, trying to look nonchalant. Two performers 'who lost out in the Oscar race won unofficial awards from sidewalk observers.
Evening of Contradictions
Sally Kellerman, nominated for her supporting role in "M*A*S*H." wore the night's most daring dress, which revealed considerably more than the nurse's uniform she donned in the film. Chief Dan George, who was a contender for best‐supporting actor for "Little Big Man," easily had the longest hair—which may indicate that the many hirsute young actors here tonight were behind, not ahead of the times.
The evening was filled with contradictions. Orson Welles, for instance, received a special award for his contributions to the film industry. But Mr. Welles has been virtually blackballed by the industry for years and finds it almost impossible to raise money to finance his pictures.
Bob Rafelson, who won the New York Film Critics Award as best director for "Five Easy Pieces," was not even nominated for an Oscar. He thus joins Paul Newman and Mike Nichols, two other in novative directors, who were snubbed by their Hollywood colleagues in previous years.
The awards ceremony itself was, as always, a tribute to a certain kind of sequined glamour. But many of the most successful films recently have stressed rough‐hewn simplicity. There were many more blue jeans than evening gowns on the screen last year.
The biggest contradiction was that the film industry's annual evening of self‐celebration occurred in the middle of one of its gloomiest periods.
Unemployment in many crafts exceeds 50 per cent. Most of the major studios reported large losses. Many of the old back lots are on the market.
Both Metro‐Goldwyn‐Mayer and 20th Century‐Fox found it necessary, in the last year, to sell off some of their bestknown props. Everything, from the shoes Judy Garland wore in "The Wizard of Oz" to Marilyn Monroe's bed from "Let's Make Love," went to pay the bills.
The main villain, of course, is television, but ironically, the Oscar ceremony has become so popular primarily because of the home screen.
Most of the millions of viewers who watched the show tonight probably did not see many of the movies everyone was talking about.
Moreover, the man most associated with the Oscar telecasts — Bob Hope, who made his 16th appearance this year—is one of tetevision's biggest attractions and has not made a major movie in years.
In addition to television, Hollywood has been crippled by the recesssion and the growing preference for productions outside the studios, even outside the country. Many observers blame the complex rules and wage scales demanded by the local craft unions as much as the quest for authentic locations.
Mel Shavelson, a wellknown writer and director, gave a speech last month that almost amounted to an epitaph for Hollywood. "The town itself," he said, "the collection of artists and craftsmen who have made Hollywood unique in the world, is breaking up."
What Movie Won Best Picture in 1971
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/1971/04/16/archives/george-scott-and-patton-win-oscars-glenda-jackson-is-honored-as.html