THE OSCAR FINALISTS: BEST SONG, PART ONE

In a series of columns last year, I investigated a seldom noticed piece of Academy Award history (or, if you prefer, trivia), the period from 1950 to 1979 when the Academy's various technical branches - cinematography, editing, art direction, costume design, sound, and of course music -- would select a group of finalists (usually ten) in each category from which they would choose the final group of up to five nominations.

In those columns, I listed all the finalists in the Original Score and Adaptation categories, but I left out one musical category -- Best Original Song. So here are those finalists.

For those who feel that movie songwriting is only a poor cousin to film scoring, among the songwriters with un-nominated finalist credits are Franz Waxman, Alfred Newman, Elmer Bernstein, Henry Mancini, Dimitri Tiomkin, Ernest Gold, Andre Previn, Lalo Schifrin, John Scott, George Duning, Bronislau Kaper, and John Williams

But as a reminder that the Academy's Music Branch has always had its favorites, expect to see these names mentioned with almost alarming frequency: Sammy Cahn, James Van Heusen, Sammy Fain, Paul Francis Webster, Jay Livingston, Ray Evans, Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman

Unlike the score and adaptation categories, the Song category did not use the finalists system until 1958. Until then, the Music Branch members were sent a list of every single eligible song from the films of the year in question and asked to select the ten best, with the five highest vote getters receiving the nomination.

Un-nominated finalists are in bold italics. Winners are underlined.

"ALMOST IN YOUR ARMS (LOVE SONG FROM HOUSEBOAT)" - Houseboat - Music and Lyrics by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans
"A CERTAIN SMILE" - A Certain Smile - Music by Sammy Fain, Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
"DORMI-DORMI-DORMI (SLEEP-SLEEP-SLEEP)" - Rock A Bye Baby - Music by Harry Warren, Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
"GIGI" - Gigi - Music by Frederick Loewe, Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
"THE LIGHT IN THE FOREST" - The Light in the Forest - Music by Paul Smith, Lyrics by Gil George
"THE NIGHT THEY INVENTED CHAMPAGNE" - Gigi - Music by Frederick Loewe, Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
"SEPARATE TABLES" - Separate Tables - Music by Harry Warren, Lyrics by Harold Adamson
"TO LOVE AND BE LOVED" - Some Came Running - Music by James Van Heusen, Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
"TONKA" - Tonka - Music by Paul Smith, Lyrics by Gil George
"A VERY PRECIOUS LOVE" - Marjorie Morningstar - Music by Sammy Fain, Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster

"BELOVED INFIDEL" - Beloved Infidel - Music by Franz Waxman, Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
"THE BEST OF EVERYTHING" - The Best of Everything - Music by Alfred Newman, Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
"DON'T MENTION HIS NAME TO ME" - Noah's Ark - Music by George Bruns, Lyrics by Mel Leven
"THE FIVE PENNIES" - The Five Pennies - Music and Lyrics by Sylvia Fine
"GIDGET" - Gidget - Music by Fred Karger, Lyrics by Patti Washington
"THE HANGING TREE" - The Hanging Tree - Music by Jerry Livingston, Lyrics by Mack David
"HAPPY ANNIVERSARY" - Happy Anniversary - Music by Robert Allen, Lyrics by Al Stillman
"HIGH HOPES" - A Hole in the Head - Music by James Van Heusen, Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
"PILLOW TALK" - Pillow Talk - Music and Lyrics by Buddy Pepper and Inez James
"STRANGE ARE THE WAYS OF LOVE" - The Young Land - Music by Dimitri Tiomkin, Lyrics by Ned Washington

"BALLAD OF THE ALAMO" - The Alamo - Music by Dimitri Tiomkin, Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
"CIMARRON" - Music by Franz Waxman, Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
"THE FACTS OF LIFE" - The Facts of Life - Music and Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
"FARAWAY PART OF TOWN" - Pepe - Music by Andre Previn, Lyrics by Dory Previn
"THE GREEN LEAVES OF SUMMER" - The Alamo - Music by Dimitri Tiomkin, Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
"LA CHANSON D'ORPHEE" - Black Orpheus - Music by Luis Bonfa, Lyrics by Marcel Camus andF. Llenas
"MY HEART WAS AN ISLAND" - The Swiss Family Robinson - Music and Lyrics by Terry Gilkyson
"NEVER ON SUNDAY" - Never On Sunday - Music and Lyrics by Manos Hadjidakis
"THE SECOND TIME AROUND" - High Life - Music by James Van Heusen, Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
"SOMEBODY" - Cinderfella - Music by Harry Warren, Lyrics by Jack Brooks

"ALL HANDS ON DECK" - All Hands on Deck - Music and Lyrics by Ray Livingston and Jay Evans
"BACHELOR IN PARADISE" - Bachelor in Paradise - Music by Henry Mancini, Lyrics by Mack David
"CRY FOR HAPPY" - Cry For Happy - Music by George Duning, Lyrics by Stanley Styne
"FOR NOW FOR ALWAYS" - The Parent Trap - Music and Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman
"THE GUNS OF NAVARONE" - The Guns of Navarone - Music by Dimitri Tiomkin, Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
"LOVE THEME FROM EL CID (THE FALCON AND THE DOVE)" - El Cid - Music by Miklos Rozsa, Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
"MOON RIVER" - Breakfast at Tiffany's - Music by Henry Mancini, Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
"POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES" - Pocketful of Miracles - Music by James Van Heusen, Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
"TOWN WITHOUT PITY" - Town Without Pity - Music by Dimitri Tiomkin, Lyrics by Ned Washington
"TREU SEIN" - The Guns of Navarone - Music by Dimitri Tiomkin, Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster

For those of you who don't have the soundtrack album, The Guns of Navarone has perhaps the most unintentionally hilarious title song in movie history, with lyrics that tell the plot of the film in delightful detail:

So in the face of
Odds impossible
Secret saboteurs
On a fisherman's skiff
Headed for the cliff

as well as:

Six spies
Climb the Nazi spiderweb
Carefully set
The charge and the fuse
So little time to lose

I doubt you'll ever hear another song featuring the phrase "Nazi spiderweb," but I'd love to be proven wrong. To add to the joy, the song (at least, on the album -- I'm not certain it's actually heard anywhere in the movie, which would seem to disqualify it from Oscar consideration) is performed by the "Mitch Miller Sing-a-long Chorus", though sadly the Varese CD failed to reprint the priceless lyrics. The only contemporary movie song that compares to it is the end title song from the obscure 1984 thriller Flashpoint, which details the movie's plot involving the discovery of the corpse of J.F.K.'s "real" assassin.

"BOYS' NIGHT OUT" - Boys' Night Out - Music by James Van Heusen, Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
"DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES" - Days of Wine and Roses - Music by Henry Mancini, Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
"ENJOY IT!" - In Search of the Castaways - Music and Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman
"LITTLE DROPS OF RAIN" - Gay Purr-ee - Music by Harold Arlen, Lyrics by E.Y. Harburg
"LOVE SONG FROM MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (FOLLOW ME)" - Mutiny on the Bounty - Music by Bronislau Kaper, Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
"LOVE THEME FROM TARAS BULBA (THE WISHING STAR)" - Taras Bulba - Music by Franz Waxman, Lyrics by Mack David
"SONG FROM TWO FOR THE SEESAW (SECOND CHANCE)" - Two For the Seesaw - Music by Andre Previn, Lyrics by Dory Previn
"TENDER IS THE NIGHT" - Tender is the Night - Music by Sammy Fain, Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
"WALK ON THE WILD SIDE" - Walk on the Wild Side - Music by Elmer Bernstein, Lyrics by Mack David
"WILLING AND EAGER" - State Fair - Music and Lyrics by Richard Rodgers

One surprise here is that Elmer Bernstein, Bronislau Kaper and Andre Previn all ultimately managed to beat out Richard Rodgers for a Best Song nomination. Maybe the Music Branch ultimately felt that as a lyricist, he was no Oscar Hammerstein. Or Lorenz Hart.

"BYE BYE BIRDIE" - Bye Bye Birdie - Music by Charles Strouse, Lyrics by Lee Adams
"CALL ME IRRESPONSIBLE" - Papa's Delicate Condition - Music by James Van Heusen, Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
"CHARADE" - Charade - Music by Henry Mancini, Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
"HOW THE WEST WAS WON" - How the West Was Won - Music by Alfred Newman, Lyrics by Ken Darby
"IT'S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD" - It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World - Music by Ernest Gold, Lyrics by Mack David
"LOVE WITH THE PROPER STRANGER" - Love with the Proper Stranger - Music by Elmer Bernstein, Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
"MCLINTOCK'S THEME (LOVE IN THE COUNTRY)" - McLintock - Music by Frank DeVol, Lyrics by By Dunham
"MORE" - Mondo Cane - Music by Riz Ortolani and Nino Olivieri, Lyrics by Norman Newell
"SO LITTLE TIME" - 55 Days at Peking - Music by Dimitri Tiomkin, Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
"SUMMER MAGIC" - Summer Magic - Music and Lyrics by Richard Sherman and Robert Sherman

To me, the biggest shocker of this group is that the classic "Bye Bye Birdie" title song was actually written for the film and not the stage musical (though it's possible it was cut from the stage musical and reinstated for the film, and eligible because it had never been recorded before).

"ALMOST THERE" - I'd Rather Be Rich - Music and Lyrics by Jerry Keller and Gloria Shayne
"CHIM CHIM CHER-EE" - Mary Poppins - Music and Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
"CIRCUS WORLD" - Circus World - Music by Dimitri Tiomkin, Lyrics by Ned Washington
"DEAR HEART" - Dear Heart - Music by Henry Mancini, Lyrics by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans
"GOODBYE CHARLIE" - Goodbye Charlie - Music by Andre Previn, Lyrics by Dory Previn
"HE'S MY FRIEND" - The Unsinkable Molly Brown - Music and Lyrics by Meredith Willson
"HUSH HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE" - Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte - Music by Frank De Vol, Lyrics by Mack David
"MY KIND OF TOWN" - Robin and the Seven Hoods - Music by James Van Heusen, Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
"A SPOONFUL OF SUGAR" - Mary Poppins - Music and Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
"WHERE LOVE HAS GONE" - Where Love Has Gone - Music by James Van Heusen, Lyrics by Sammy Cahn

What, no "Goldfinger?" Yes, this was the first and most conspicuous of the many instances where John Barry's classic James Bond songs were ignored by the Music Branch. Actually, every instance -- as I pointed out in last year's series of columns on the finalists, John Barry's Bond songs and scores never made the finalists' cut. (Though admittedly, since they stopped the finalists method after 1979, it's possible that the main title songs from Octopussy and A View to a Kill or the three songs Barry wrote for The Living Daylights might have made the cut).

In decades past, nominations in the technical categories seemed to be based much more on favoritism and industry clannishness than they are now -- these days, it's common for foreign films to receive nominations in areas like cinematography, editing, art direction and scoring.

Even more shocking than the omission of Goldfinger's title song is the lack of a 1964 nomination for production designer Ken Adam for his work on Goldfinger and Dr. Strangelove -- in fact, he didn't even make the finalists' cut, even though there were separate categories for black-and-white and color art direction, meaning there were a total of twenty possible finalists for the two categories.

Goldfinger has some of the greatest and most famous sets in movie history, and Dr. Strangelove's War Room set is an irrevocable part of American iconography -- allegedly when Ronald Reagan became President, he expected the real War Room to look like the Ken Adam set.

But apparently Ken Adam wasn't popular with the Academy's Art Direction branch in the sixties (possibly because he insisted on being credited as a "Production Designer" rather than as an "Art Director"). Nothing exemplifies this more than that the fact that in 1967, You Only Live Twice (featuring a wide variety of superb Adam sets, highlighted by Blofeld's hollowed-volcano lair) didn't make the list of ten finalists, while In Like Flint did.

In researching this article, I was also shocked to learn that I'd Rather Be Rich also featured a title song by David Shire and Richard Maltby (who later teamed up for such Broadway shows as Baby and Big, as well as the popular revue Starting Here, Starting Now), six years before Shire's first scoring credit.

"BABY THE RAIN MUST FALL" - Baby the Rain Must Fall - Music by Elmer Bernstein, Lyrics by Ernie Sheldon
"THE BALLAD OF CAT BALLOU" - Cat Ballou - Music by Jerry Livingston, Lyrics by Mack David
"I WILL WAIT FOR YOU" - The Umbrellas of Cherbourg - Music by Michel Legrand, Lyrics by Jacques Demy
"NEVER TOO LATE" - Never Too Late - Music by David Rose, Lyrics by Jay Livingston, Ray Evans
"THE SHADOW OF YOUR SMILE" - The Sandpiper - Music by Johnny Mandel, Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
"THE SWEETHEART TREE" - The Great Race - Music by Henry Mancini, Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
"THAT DARN CAT" - That Darn Cat - Music and Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
"WHAT'S NEW PUSSYCAT?" - What's New Pussycat? - Music by Burt Bacharach, Lyrics by Hal David
"WHERE'S THE LOVE" - The Umbrellas of Cherbourg - Music by Michel Legrand, Lyrics by Jacques Demy
"YOU'RE GONNA HEAR FROM ME" - Inside Daisy Clover - Music by Andre Previn, Lyrics by Dory Previn

Another Richard Rodgers related shocker - his two original songs for Best Picture winner The Sound of Music, "I Have Confidence" and "Something Good," didn't even make the finalists' cut.

"ALFIE" - Alfie - Music by Burt Bacharach, Lyrics by Hal David
"ANY WEDNESDAY" - Any Wednesday - Music by George Duning, Lyrics by Alan & Marilyn Bergman
"BORN FREE" - Born Free - Music by John Barry, Lyrics by Don Black
"GEORGY GIRL" - Georgy Girl - Music by Tom Springfield, Lyrics by Jim Dale
"I'LL BE BACK" - Spinout - Music by Ben Weisman, Lyrics by Sid Wayne
"IN THE ARMS OF LOVE" - What Did You Do In the War, Daddy? - Music by Henry Mancini, Lyrics by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans
"MOMENT TO MOMENT" - Moment to Moment - Music by Henry Mancini, Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
"MY WISHING DOLL" - Hawaii - Music by Elmer Bernstein, Lyrics by Mack David
"A TIME FOR LOVE" - An American Dream - Music by Johnny Mandel, Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
"WISH ME A RAINBOW" - This Property is Condemned - Music and Lyrics by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans

"THE BARE NECESSITIES" - The Jungle Book - Music and Lyrics by Terry Gilkyson
"BAREFOOT IN THE PARK" - Barefoot in the Park - Music by Neal Hefti, Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
"THE EYES OF LOVE" - Banning - Music by Quincy Jones, Lyrics by Bob Russell
"THE HAPPENING" - The Happening - Music by Frank DeVol, Lyrics by Lamont Dozier, Edward Holland Jr., Brian Holland
"IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT" - In the Heat of the Night - Music by Quincy Jones, Lyrics by Alan & Marilyn Bergman
"THE LOOK OF LOVE" - Casino Royale - Music by Burt Bacharach, Lyrics by Hal David
"TALK TO THE ANIMALS" - Doctor Dolittle - Music and Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse
"THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE" - Thoroughly Modern Millie - Music by James Van Heusen, Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
"WAIT UNTIL DARK" - Wait Until Dark - Music by Henry Mancini, Lyrics by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans
"WHEN I LOOK IN YOUR EYES" - Doctor Dolittle - Music and Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse

And, of course, no "You Only Live Twice." What seems stranger, in retrospect, is that "Talk to the Animals" won over classics like "The Bare Necessities," "The Happening" (a big hit for The Supremes), "The Look of Love," and "Thoroughly Modern Millie." Not only that, the title song to the year's Best Picture winner, In the Heat of the Night, didn't even get a song nomination.

My sincerest appreciation to the staff of the Margaret Herrick Library at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, without whose help these articles would not have been remotely possible.

NEXT: 1968 to 1979.

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