The Oscar 1966

As the Oscars ceremony unfolds, Frankie Fane stands on the edge of victory, while his friend Hymie Kelly sits nearby, recalling how Fane clawed his way to the top. The ascent begins in New York, where he starts as a spieler for his stripper girlfriend Laurel Scott, before moving on to woo a rising fashion designer, Kay Bergdahl. A chance encounter with talent scout Sophie Cantaro changes everything: she lands him with agent Kappy Kapstetter and brings Frankie to Hollywood, where his star climbs rapidly.

From there, Fane becomes an unprincipled opportunist, using and hurting those around him and earning their recoil. He impulsively persuades [Kay Bergdahl] to marry him in a flashy Tijuana ceremony, only to treat her cruelly afterward. He purchases mansions and luxury cars while poking fun at the studio chief, Kenneth Regan, until his career collapses and he is labeled “box office poison.” Then, against all odds, he lands an Oscar nomination, which his backers claim results from his portrayal of a “man without morals”—perhaps a mirror of himself.

To secure the win, he secretly enlists the help of the crooked private investigator Barney Yale, who leaks information meant to sway voters in his favor. The scheme backfires, tainting both Hymie and Laurel. A furious Hymie Kelly confronts him, recounting how he married Laurel, who later died during an abortion while carrying Fane’s child. Yale also uses blackmail, pushing Fane to seek help from Yale’s ex-wife to keep the ruse from exploding.

The climax arrives at the Academy Awards, when presenter Merle Oberon reveals the winner. As she intones the name “Frank,” Fane rises, ready to sprint to the stage; then she adds “Sinatra.” The moment rolls forward as the winner moves toward the podium, and Fane is left stunned, clapping half-heartedly before collapsing in his seat, while the audience—those he has wronged—relishes the comeuppance of a wholly self-absorbed, unfeeling individual.