Author Archives: Phil Hall

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And the Nominees Aren’t – The 10 Worst Oscar Nomination Total Snubs of All Time

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Yesterday’s Academy Award nominations generated the annual debate over who was nominated and who was snubbed. But when it comes to Oscar snubs, a surprisingly large number of classic films were ignored by Academy voters.

In my humid opinion – yes, humid, because I don’t do humble – here are my picks for the 10 films that were shockingly denied access to Academy Award nominations. Mercifully, none of these films suffered in reputation for lacking acknowledgement for Oscar consideration.
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Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Rabbit Seasoning (1952)

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Rabbit Seasoning (1952)
Directed by Charles M. Jones
Story by Michael Maltese
Animation by Ken Harris, Lloyd Vaughan, Ben Washam, Richard Thompson, Abe Levitow, Harry Love
Music by Carl W. Stalling

The second of the “Hunting Trilogy” featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd in a triangular adversarial relationship, “Rabbit Seasoning” has been viewed by some prominent animation scholars as the best film of the trio. I respectfully disagree and view “Rabbit Seasoning” as a verbose retread of the more effective first entry in the series, “Rabbit Fire” from 1951.
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My Fair Lady (1964)

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One of the most intense debates I ever observed in an online forum had nothing to do with politics or religion or race or any hot-button issues. Instead, it centered around whether or not it was a mistake to cast Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle in the film version of “My Fair Lady.”
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The Bootleg Files: The Frederick Douglass Afro Sheen Commercial

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BOOTLEG FILES 894: “The Frederick Douglass Afro Sheen Commercial” (1979 television commercial featuring an unlikely historic figure promoting haircare products).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: There has been no home entertainment anthology for the television commercials for this Afro Sheen product line.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

It is not uncommon for historical figures to be used in television commercials, usually for comic effect. Leonardo Da Vinci was incorporated into a Red Bull advertisement, Abraham Lincoln hawked Geico’s insurance products, and several of the Founding Fathers turned up pitching a variety of goods. But for pure undiluted strangeness, nothing beats a 1979 television commercial where the 19th century abolitionist Frederick Douglass is called up to sell the Afro Sheen line of haircare products aimed at Black Americans. And while the concept is more than a little bizarre, the result is delightfully effective.
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Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Oily Hare (1952)

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Oily Hare (1952)
Directed by Robert McKimson
Story by Tedd Pierce
Animation by Charles McKimson, Phil De Lara, Rod Scribner, Herman Cohen, Keith Darling
Music by Carl Stalling (uncredited)

“Oily Hare” takes place amid the Texas oil boom, along a stretch of road identified by a sign as “Hi-Way $101.00” just outside of “DOLLAR$ (FORMERLY DALLA$”) TEXA$.” A stretch limousine is cruising down the road, and it is quite a stretch – the vehicle is so long that its midsection is occupied by a switchboard operator connecting a long-distance call from the passenger to the driver.
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The Bootleg Files: Kennedy’s Children

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BOOTLEG FILES 893: “Kennedy’s Children” (1982 television film based on Robert Patrick’s play).

LAST SEEN: On OK.ru.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It is unclear why this was never released for home entertainment viewing.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

Adapting a stage play into a film is always something of a challenge, but taking Robert Patrick’s drama “Kennedy’s Children” from its theatrical setting into a cinematic format was not an easy journey. For starters, “Kennedy’s Children” is not a conventional play, but rather a series of monologues delivered by five strangers in a bar. The characters never interact with each other, but instead voice their inner frustrations to the audience.
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