Cabaret will be screened next Monday, July 31, at 7:30 p.m. in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.
In my Best of the Best page for 1972, this is what I have to say about the film:
Musicals tend to be either vacuous and light as air (e.g., An American in Paris) or vacuous and heavy as lead (e.g., Doctor Dolittle). Cabaret fits into neither category. Set at the dawn of the Nazi era, Bob Fosse's best film is a socio-political-psychological musical. If it's not the first of its kind, it surely is the best – written by Jay Presson Allen, adapted from Joe Masteroff's musical (taken from John Van Druten's play I Am a Camera, which in turn was based on Christopher Isherwood's semi-autobiographical book). Fosse's choreography is electrifying, the production values are superb, and Cabaret also offers good performers in top form: Liza Minnelli as the free-spirited girl; Michael York as the shy, intellectual (and sexually ambivalent) boy; and Joel Grey as pre-Nazi Germany itself.
Press Release:
Beverly Hills, CA — The 1972 Best Picture nominee Cabaret will be screened as the next feature in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' "Great To Be Nominated" series. The Bob Fosse-directed musical, which takes place in Weimar Republic-era Berlin, will be shown on Monday, July 31, at 7:30 p.m. in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Cast members Michael York and Joel Grey, along with assistant director Wolfgang Glattes, film publicist Vic Heutschy and Fosse assistant Kathryn Doby will participate in a panel discussion following the film.
In Cabaret, Liza Minnelli stars as American Sally Bowles, an entertainer at the Kit Kat Club, who is romanced by two men — a rich German baron and a reserved English academic struggling with his sexual identity. The film received a total of 10 Academy Award® nominations and took home the Oscars® for Actor in a Supporting Role (Grey as "The Master of Ceremonies"), Actress (Minnelli), Art Direction (Rolf Zehetbauer, Jurgen Kiebach; Set Decoration: Herbert Strabel), Cinematography (Geoffrey Unsworth), Directing (Fosse), Film Editing (David Bretherton), Music Scoring — Adaptation and original song score (adaptation score by Ralph Burns) and Sound (Robert Knudson, David Hildyard). The film also was nominated for Best Picture (Cy Feuer, producer) and Writing — Screenplay based on material from another medium (Jay Presson Allen).
Oscar-winning live action short Norman Rockwell's World"¦An American Dream will be screened during the pre-show.
Tickets for Cabaret may be purchased at a cost of $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. Tickets may be purchased by mail, in person at the Academy during regular business hours or, depending on availability, on the night of the screening when the doors open at 6:30 p.m. Curtain time for the feature is 7:30 p.m., and pre-show elements will begin at 7 p.m. The Academy is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For more information, call (310) 247-3600.
Photo: © A.M.P.A.S.
I like Isabel Jewell!
Just think of BONDAGE, LET'S BE RITZY, and the great SCATTERBRAIN.
I agree with you about Liza Minnelli.
As you say, Sally Eilers only had one important film, "Bad Girl." But Mae Murray – though remembered today only for "The Merry Widow," had quite a few important films in the late 1910s and early 1920s. I don't know how good they were – I haven't seen any of her pre-"Merry Widow" flicks, and I believe that most of them are lost – but she was incredibly popular. And who knows? Perhaps a few of these were actually good, prestige productions.
Now, what *is* Isabel Jewell's claim to fame? Looking at her list of films on the IMDb, I couldn't think of a single "best remembered for her role in" title.
I didn't know about Leonardo not finishing his works, either. I don't remember that being discussed in "The Da Vinci Code"…
Liza Minnelli has obtained a place in cinema history based entirely upon one film role. Like Sally Eilers, Isabel Jewell, Mae Murray, and others that came before her, she made a number of films but only one that truly mattered. It's amazing to me how in any of the arts one achievement is the basis for greatness. Cabaret is Liza Minnelli's "Mona Lisa" of sorts, one great work that makes up for an otherwise sketchy film career, the way that the "Mona Lisa" obscures the fact that Leonardo seldom finished any of his works.