100 Years

Oscar’s Best

This is a short that was compiled by Chuck Workman celebrating “100 Years at the Movies” for the 1994 Academy Awards. It is nine minutes long; it includes clips from at least 225 movies. Here is my labor of love, the clip-by-clip detail of this much discussed short. I used a combination of information already posted on TCM’s message boards, what I found on imdb.com, and my own movie knowledge. This listing has been recently enhanced by Tim Dirks on his (Best of the Web) film site here.

Opening Credits (sometimes through the number 100, like binoculars)

Serpentine Dance by Annabelle
Annabelle Butterfly dance
Sandow – the strong man
Glenroy Brothers – the boxing
In The Barber Shop
Seminary Girls – girls pillow fighting
The Great Train Robbery – cowboy looking directly at audience, pointing gun
Ben Hur (1907) – chariot race
film unknown – foreign (possibly Max Linder) man looking up into camera
Musketeers of Pig Alley – Man in foreground, man in background, both looking at camera
Rescued from an Eagle’s Nest – baby being carried by flying bird
film unknown – 3 moving images on the screen at the same time, split into triangle view
Broken Blossoms – Lillian Gish with Richard Barthelemess as chinaman

1915

The Birth of a Nation – soldier running up hill to plant flag in cannon
Intolerance – huge steps with giant statues
Kid Auto Races at Venice – looks like pinewood derby cars
The Rink – Chaplin skating around room and mixing drinks
Shanghaied – long table & whole room “shaking”, two men behind table, Chaplin front
The Cure – Chaplin sliding around table to avoid masseuse
One AM – Chaplin hit by pendulum then slinking down stairs on his stomach
Safety Last! – Harold Lloyd perilously hanging from large clock over street below
The General – Buster Keaton rides railroad wheel assembly “up and down” into tunnel
Cops – Keaton, being chased by cops into the street, grabs passing car to hitch getaway
Steamboat Bill, Jr. – store front falls over a standing Keaton
The Thief of Baghdad (1924) – Douglas Fairbanks bounding, bouncing away from pursuers
Little Annie Rooney – Mary Pickford with hat on looking over fence
Mark of Zorro (1920) – man swinging up onto balcony, then leaping horse
Nanook of the North – Eskimo scene, with big knife
Barney Oldfield’s Race for Life (1913)? – Mabel Normand being tied on railroad tracks
Clash of the Wolves (1925) – shot of Rin-tin-tin
film unknown – shot of Clara Bow
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) – 2 people dancing, man in hat (cheek to cheek)
Flesh and the Devil – Garbo & Gilbert dancing

1923

Greed – desert scene
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925) – chariots race over the camera position
The Ten Commandments (1923) – water cascades over the pursuers; parted Red Sea collapses
Wings – aerial combat scene with biplanes
The Crowd – scene of large endless office, full of desks
The Big Parade – Gilbert’s convoy is leaving as his French girlfriend clings to the truck
Footlight Parade – marquee announces talking pictures, James Cagney says “what a laugh”
The Jazz Singer (1927) – Jolson singing, playing piano
Footlight Parade – Cagney character says “it’s a fad”

1927

The Jazz Singer (1927) – Jolson singing
Scarface (1932) – Muni machine guns
The Public Enemy – Cagney smashes grapefruit in moll’s face
Boys Town – Spencer Tracy lifting up Mickey Rooney
Applause (1929) – blond chorus girls “shaking it”
Cimarron (1931) – sooner land rush
Little Caesar – Edward G. Robinson speaks “is this the end of Rico?”
Thin Man – man on bed punches dame, throws pillow at man w/pistol, he rushes & tackles him
Min and Bill – Wallace Beery fighting with Marie Dressler against a wall with netting
Dance, Fools, Dance – Gable blows smoke past blonde’s face
Sadie Thompson – Gloria Thompson/Raoul Walsh face-to-face lighting cigarette ends touching
Dance Fools Dance – early Joan Crawford with hair dryer
She Done Him Wrong – Mae West says “Why don’t you come up some time and see me?”
Grand Hotel – Garbo utters “I want to be alone.”
Twentieth Century – Barrymore and Lombard in hotel room doorway closing
King Kong (1933) – grinning Ape
Frankenstein (1931) – “it’s alive”
Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) – man swinging through trees, yelling “signature” call
Frankenstein (1931) – “it’s alive, it’s alive”
Dinner at Eight – Wallace Beery character says “shut up, shut up” to wife (Jean Harlow)
Frankenstein (1931) – “it’s alive” then shot of table with the monster rising up towards the ceiling

1933

Gold Diggers of 1933 – eye-like whole opens on stage, woman rises out of it
42nd Street – various stage scenes
Flying Down to Rio – six women dancing on the wings of an airplane
Duck Soup – Harpo & Chico Marx, dressed like Groucho in pajamas, mirror each other
The Music Box – Laurel & Hardy chasing a piano down some concrete stairs, it chases them
David Copperfield (1935) – W.C. Fields character coming in through roof, “I have arrived!”
Duck Soup – pajama clothed Harpo & Chico (like Groucho again), twirling to a stop in mirror

1934

It Happened One Night – Claudette Colbert showing some leg to stop car for Gable
The Adventures of Robin Hood – merrimen jumping on horsebacks, Flynn swinging from tree
Gunga Din – Indian Sheik riding horse, waving saber in “charge”
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) – Quasimodo pours buckets of acid on peasants
A Night at the Opera – people falling out of room into hallway when door is opened
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) – Captain Bligh (Charles Laughton) accuses ‘Gable’ of mutiny
Red Dust – Mary Astor’s character slaps Clark Gable’s (character’s) face
The Letter – Bette Davis’ character descends stairs of house shooting gun
The Philadelphia Story – Cary Grant shoves Katharine Hepburn down through front door
Bringing Up Baby – dinosaur skeleton falls leaving Cary Grant holding Hepburn dangling

1936

San Francisco – earthquake, capital building collapses
The Good Earth – the locusts descend
San Francisco – more earthquake, water pipe breaks
Captains Courageous – Manuel (Spencer Tracy) gets caught up in collapsing mast & rope
San Francisco – earthquake, little girl looks up
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town – Gary Cooper looks over
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington – a fresh faced James Stewart in suit, looks over & up
San Francisco – debris falling on person laying on ground

1939

Gone With the Wind – scene of wounded soldiers, Rhett/Gable takes Scarlett/Leigh upstairs
Now, Voyager – Paul Henreid lights two cigarettes, then hands one to Bette Davis
Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939) – Greer Garson kisses Robert Donat goodbye as she boards train
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) – John Garfield kisses Lana Turner
Double Indemnity – Fred MacMurray kisses Barbara Stanwyck, “shut up baby”
Woman of the Year – Spencer Tracy notices Katharine Hepburn‘s legs entering office

1942

Casablanca – here’s looking at you kid, then shot of Rick kissing Ilsa in his office, earlier in film
To Have and Have Not – “its even better when you help”
Naughty Marietta – Jeanette MacDonald singing to Nelson Eddy, who then joins in the song
Road to Morocco – Hope & Crosby in sailor caps singing
For Me and My Gal – Gene Kelly & Judy Garland smiling at bar, then dance turning in unison
The Little Colonel – Shirley Temple and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson dance up stairs together
Anchors Aweigh – Gene Kelly dancing with Jerry Mouse
Down Argentine Way – the Nicholas Brothers dancing, doing the splits
Yankee Doodle Dandy – Cagney with straw hat strutting across stage
Swing Time – Fred (in tux) & Ginger (in white dress) dancing in starlit restaurant
An American in Paris – Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron dancing
Meet Me in St. Louis – Judy Garland & Margaret O’Brien, in straw hats & canes, dancing
Singin’ in the Rain – Gene Kelly singing with umbrella, jumps onto light pole
Babes in Arms – Mickey Rooney clapping for Judy Garland
The Wizard of Oz – Dorothy and cast singing and skipping, backs turned, down road
The Maltese Falcon (1941) – Bogey utters “the, uh, stuff dreams are made of”, stroking falcon
Cabin in the Sky – shot of Lena Horne posing in mirror
The Grapes of Wrath (1940) – Ma Joad trying on earrings then car going down the road
Citizen Kane – Orson Welles dancing, clapping with chorus girls
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) – Walter Huston dancing and slapping his knee

1946

It’s a Wonderful Life – James Stewart running down Bedford Falls’ main street
White Heat – Cagney speaks “top of the world, ma” followed by explosion
All About Eve – Bette Davis says “fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy night”

1948

Red River (1948) – the Duke in chaps, walking down street towards camera, the crowd parts
Scaramouche (1952) – brief clip of sword battle – Stewart Granger/Mel Ferrer on balcony edge
Three Musketeers (1948) – Gene Kelly jumping down to beach to other man already lying there
Greatest Show on Earth – Man with hands up looking at train, train hits, flips car off the tracks
Shane – Alan Ladd shoots Jack Palance in bar
The Quiet Man – Maureen O’Hara slaps at John Wayne‘s face, hits hand instead
Sunset Boulevard – Gloria Swanson standing lit in the dark, cigarette burning in hand
Samson and Delilah – Idol with fire in belly falling, crushing outdoor market in Egyptian times
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon – cavalry picture in color, horses in line, then starting to charge
Fort Apache – B&W cavalry picture, riders on horses charging over camera
Ben-Hur (1959) – chariot race, Messala whipping at Charlton Heston
The Defiant Ones – Sydney Poitier on train reaching down, trying to grab Tony Curtis’ hand
Ben-Hur (1959) – more chariot race, Heston catches whip
North by Northwest – Cary Grant in remote field, running from diving airplane
The Ten Commandments – Moses with staff parts the Red Sea
Ben-Hur (1959) – chariot with spiked wheel shown
Dial M for Murder – Grace Kelly struggles then stabs attacker with scissors in back
Ben-Hur – chariot collapses, Heston looks back
The Wild One – film opening, Brando motorcycle gang coming to town

1954

On the Waterfront – Brando speaking the immortalized “I coulda been some body”
The Misfits – Clark Gable struggling at end of rope with Marilyn Monroe fighting him to stop
Stalag 17 – William Holden, black eye, rising from cot in barracks
A Star is Born (1954) – Judy Garland (announcing she’s Mrs. Norman Maine)
Mister Roberts – Henry Fonda on deck of ship in naval uniform
Giant – James Dean climbing oil tower
High Noon – high fading shot of Gary Cooper alone in street
A Place in the Sun – Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift up close and personal
From Here to Eternity – Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr rolling in the surf
To Catch A Thief – Grace Kelly and Cary Grant kissing causes fireworks
Funny Face – Audrey Hepburn in hat, crying, holding Pekinese dog
Hud – Paul Newman in cowboy hat with cigarette in teeth and smiling, holding something
Pat and Mike – Spencer Tracy about Kate “not much meat on her, but what there is, is choice”
The Asphalt Jungle (1950) – Marilyn Monroe looking tired, laying on a couch
Dr. No – Sean Connery sitting (at card table?), lighting cigarette & saying “Bond, James Bond”
Roman Holiday – a smiling Audrey Hepburn, in her pajamas
True Grit – Rooster Cogburn (John Wayne) riding horse with reigns in mouth, shooting pistol
Doctor Zhivago – Omar Shariff smiling, entering room

1962

Lawrence of Arabia – Peter O’Toole admiring new set of white sheik clothes in sunset
A Hard Day’s Night – Beatles fans going crazy, group on austere stage
Jailhouse Rock – Elvis shaking it
Lolita (1962) – Lolita laying on blanket in backyard wearing bikini, sunglasses and looking up
Dr. Strangelove – Slim Pickens riding a dropped warhead waving his cowboy hat “yee haw”
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid – jumping off the cliff into the river “oh shiiiiii”
West Side Story – the Jets, dancing, landing on pavement that bears their gang’s name in chalk
The Sound of Music – Julie Andrews singing, twirling on a high meadow in the Austria Alps
Psycho (1960) – close-up of Norman Bates’s head, looking up into the camera with insane eyes
Funny Girl – BS singing on the front of a towboat heading out in New York Harbor
2001: A Space Odyssey – early man tosses a stick/weapon in the air, focus on the stick
The Great Escape – Steve McQueen pulling up to fence he’d like to jump with his motorcycle

1969

Easy Rider – Jack, Peter, and Dennis cruisin’ down the highway on motorcycles, doing tricks
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner – Katharine Hepburn asking “guess who’s coming to dinner?”
Rosemary’s Baby – Ruth Gordon, outside the door, as seen from the security peephole
Easy Rider – Nicholson smiling
Woodstock – cheering crowds, as viewed from helicopter
M*A*S*H – flying army helicopter bearing MASH logo carrying patient on “dolly”
Patton – George C. Scott standing at parade rest with huge American Flag behind him
Midnight Cowboy – Jon Voight, donning cowboy hat, walking down the streets of NY smiling
Don’t Look Back – Bob Dylan, dropping cards, view of deserted plant, poet Allen Ginsburg
The Last Picture Show – theatre

1972

The Godfather – Brando kissing Pacino, door closes on Keaton, Pacino drops gun & exits “bar”
Bonnie and Clyde – Warren Beatty (with Faye Dunaway in background) saying “we rob banks”
The Godfather Part II – as boy, as young man (DeNiro), at end (Pacino) contemplating his life
Dog Day Afternoon – Pacino taunting police outside bank, yelling “Attica”
Taxi Driver – DeNiro saying “you talking to me”
Chinatown – Dunaway and Nicholson in bed
Taxi Driver – DeNiro saying “well I’m the only one here”
Saturday Night Fever – Travolta striking his infamous disco pose on dance floor
Airplane! – spoof of Travolta pose, jacket landing on Robert Hays

1976

Rocky – Stallone celebrating workout run on steps of Philadelphia library
The French Connection – Hackman driving fast, swerves to avoid woman with baby carriage
Play It Again, Sam – Woody Allen ripping off coat, using hair dryer, flipping album out of case
The Exorcist – Linda Blair’s demonic head spinning trick
Rocky Horror Picture Show – Tough guy in a motorcycle jacket spinning, Tim Curry looking on
The Sting – Paul Newman giving the (wiping the bridge of his nose) signal
All the President’s Men – Robert Redford on the phone turning to see if anyone’s looking at him
The Way We Were – Streisand kissing man whose back is to us
Nashville – Lili Tomlin sitting at table in restaurant, listening to Keith Carradine sing “I’m easy”
Klute – Jane Fonda close-up
Once Upon a Time in the West – shot of Henry Fonda’s eyes
Star Wars (1977) – Princess Leia removing veil from infamous hairdo, Hans Solo celebrating
American Graffiti – MacKensie Phillips spraying car with shaving creme
Star Wars (1977) – enemy fighter approaching, Luke says “they’re coming in too fast”
Apocalypse Now – gunner helicopters approaching beach
Jaws – opening scene of naked girl, swimming, getting pulled under by “Bruce”
The Black Stallion – shot of Kelly Reno on “the Black’s” back, racing across the surf’s edge
Network – Peter Finch extolling his viewers to “I want you to get up now”
Kramer vs. Kramer – Hoffman encouraging kid on bike
Network – Finch continues “I want you to get up right now”
Close Encounters of the Third Kind – large alien craft over top of Devil’s Tower
Norma Rae – Sally Field holding up “UNION” sign
Network – “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!”
Turning Point – Ann Bancroft throwing a drink in Shirley MacLaine’s face

1980

Raging Bull – DeNiro in ring, hands up in triumph
Terms of Endearment – Debra Winger running and jumping into Shirley MacLaine’s arms
Amadeus – Beethoven, hands up having just finished conducting
Reds – Diane Keaton hugging Warren Beatty
Witness – Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis share an innocent, yet knowing look
Tootsie – Hoffman in drag walking down a New York street
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan – Admiral James T. Kirk walking down corridor of Enterprise
The Right Stuff – astronauts walking seven abreast
Top Gun – Cruise and Edward high fiving, then shot of F-14
Raiders of the Lost Ark – Harrison Ford being chased by large ball
Ghostbusters – the three ghostbusters turning and firing their weapons in unison
Batman (1989) – flying, turning batplane
Terminator 2: Judgment Day – Robert Patrick’s split head rejoining
Jurassic Park – Sam Neil and kids running alongside antelope like dinosaurs
Dances with Wolves – Costner riding horseback with rifle chasing buffalo
JFK – Jacqueline Kennedy cradling JFK in back of car after he’s been shot, Costner close-up
The Last Emperor – little boy emperor running to palace opening
The Killing Fields – shot of Haing Ngor’s face, viewing swamp area
Moonstruck – Cher and Cage kissing
Driving Miss Daisy – Morgan Freeman chauffeuring Jessica Tandy
Sleepless in Seattle – Meg Ryan standing in street, Hanks standing in parking lot looking at her
Philadelphia – facial shot of Hanks character, bald with lesions, in the advance stages of AIDS
The Fugitive – unshaven Harrison Ford running through rain towards camera with mouth agape
Boyz N the Hood – Cuba Gooding Jr. & Laurence Fishburne hugging each other

1994

Schindler’s List – low shot of Liam Neeson’s head, turning

Closing Credits (sometimes through the number 100, like binoculars)

film unknown – Broadway trolley car, though this may be from Broadway Melody
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925) – chariot race, again
Wind – Lillian Gish looking through window, raising right hand to glass
Queen Christina – Garbo looking forward, the wind in her face
National Velvet – Elizabeth Taylor riding “the Pie”, waving
Sergeant York – Gary Cooper licking finger, touching sight on gun
Gilda – Rita Hayworth’s famous hair flip
The Bridge Over the River Kwai – Alec Guinness marching, leading POWs in formation
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers – guys leapfrogging towards girls on dance floor
Some Like It Hot – Lemmon and Curtis in drag, walking next to train
East of Eden – shot of James Dean
The Searchers – John Wayne cradling Natalie Wood
Love Story – Ali McGraw and Ryan O’Neal at table in front of window with winter outside
Oliver! – clip of “consider yourself, at home” song
Ghost – Whoopi channeling
Home Alone – Macaulay Culkin at top of stairs saying “yes!”
E.T. – Elliott (with E.T. riding in the basket) flying his bicycle across an full moon set
Annabelle Butterfly Dance