The nominees were ...
- Roland Gross, None but the Lonely Heart
- Hal C. Kern, James E. Newcom, Since You Went Away
- Owen Marks, Janie
- Barbara McLean, Wilson
- Leroy Stone, Going My Way
And the Oscar went to ...
 |
| Barbara McLeane |
Okay, I'm not going to grouse about Darryl F. Zanuck's shameless promotion of Wilson here. McLean was a legend in the industry, the head of the editing department at 20th Century-Fox at a time when the industry was shameless about its sexism. It was her only win out of seven nominations, and although editing the special effects footage of The Rains Came was probably a greater challenge, Wilson was a long (154 minutes) film with a lot to get through. It was also directed by Henry King, with whom McLean often worked. King was a director of no particular distinction, and he relied on her to make him look good. She was also nominated for editing Alexander's Ragtime Band and The Song of Bernadette, which King directed. She also had the complete trust of Zanuck, who called her "Bobby." When McLean died at the age of ninety-two in 1996, her New York Times obituary recalled, "Studio executives knew that when Mr. Zanuck prefaced a statement with 'Bobby says . . . ,' he wasn't expressing an opinion but announcing a decision."
No comments:
Post a Comment