44th Academy Awards
The 44th Academy Awards were presented April 10, 1972 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles.
The ceremonies were presided over by Helen Hayes, Alan King, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Jack Lemmon. One of the major highlights of the evening was legendary film star Betty Grable making one of her last public appearances. Despite looking radiant and glamorous, Grable was battling cancer at this time. She appeared along with one of her leading men from the 1940's, singer Dick Haymes, to present the musical scoring awards. Grable would die the following year.
A major snub in the category of Best Actor occurred when Malcolm McDowell failed to be nominated for his performance as Alex DeLarge in Stanley Kubrick's Best Picture-nominated film A Clockwork Orange.
The 1971 Academy Award Winners
Picture: The French Connection
Actor: Gene Hackman (The French Connection)
Actress: Jane Fonda (Klute)
Supporting Actor: Ben Johnson (The Last Picture Show)
Supporting Actress: Cloris Leachman (The Last Picture Show)
Director: William Friedkin (The French Connection)
Adapted Screenplay: Ernest Tidyman (The French Connection)
Original Screenplay: Paddy Chayefsky (The Hospital)
Song: "Theme From Shaft" (Shaft)
Score: Summer of '42 (Dramatic) / Fiddler on the Roof (Adapted)
Cinematography: Fiddler on the Roof
Costume Design: Nicholas and Alexandra
Art / Set Decoration: Nicholas and Alexandra
Film Editing: The French Connection
Foreign Language Film: The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (Italy)
Sound: Fiddler on the Roof
Visual Effects: Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Short Films: The Crunch Bird (Animated) / Sentinels of Silence (Live Action)
Documentaries: Sentinels of Silence (Short) / The Hellstrom Chronicle (Feature)
The forty-fourth Academy Awards ceremony was held on Monday, April 10, 1972 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion of the Los Angeles Music Center. Charlie Chaplin was awarded an honorary Oscar and received a five-minute standing ovation. The responsibilities of host of the event was shared by Helen Hayes, Alan King, Sammy Davis Jr., and Jack Lemmon.
