31 Days of Oscar
Oscar has not been kind to horror.
Despite the fact that many classic horror films are now regarded as some of the most important movies in cinema history, Oscar has tended to overlook the genre. Silence of the Lambs (1991) is the notable example, winning 5, including Best Picture. The Exorcist (1973) won 2, and was nominated for 8 more, including Best Picture; The Omen (1976) was nominated for 2 music Oscars (including Best Song????) and won one; Psycho (1960) received 4 nominations, no wins; Rosemary’s Baby (1968) won one for Ruth Gordon, Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) won 3, all technical awards; and Alien (1979) won 1 for special efffects.
I’m sure I overlooked a few, but you get the idea.
Here is a list of movies shut out of Oscar contention: Freaks, Peeping Tom, Repulsion, The Innocents, Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie, Les Diaboliques, Night of the Living Dead, The Thing (both versions), Dawn of the Dead (the original) and The Shining. Many of these films have been selected for preservation by the National Film Board.
Turner Classic Movies is again running its annual 31 Days of Oscar, showing round the clock Oscar winning and nominated movies. It’s a great chance for anyone who is a movie buff to fill in the blanks in their movie appreciation or to get deeper understanding of movie history.
This year, there are only a sprinkling of horror movies on the schedule. Here they all are (all times Eastern):
Feb. 4, 8:00 pm: The Uninvited (1940)
Feb. 8, 11:30 am: The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941)
Feb. 8, 5:00 am: Poltergeist (1982)
Feb. 13, 8:00 am: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
Feb. 26, 3:00 am: Seconds (1966)
March 3, 10:15 pm: Alien (1979)
And that’s it. A little disappointing, but that’s more the fault of the Academy rather than TCM. Most of the list should be familiar to horror fans, but maybe not Seconds or The Uninvited. Save them on your DVR or catch them live if you can, both are very good movies.
