The Godfather Part II: 1974 Best Picture

History was made at the 47th Academy Awards when The Godfather II won Best Picture two years after the original had done the same. It was also remarkable that three of the film’s stars were again nominated for Best Supporting Actor, only this time, one of them (Robert De Niro) won. Al Pacino was nominated in the Best Actor category but he lost to Art Carney (“Harry and Tonto”).

The other 4 films nominated or Best Picture were: “Chinatown”, “The Conversation”, “Lenny” and “The Towering Inferno”. Other notable films of 1974 include “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”, “Badlands”, “Blazing Saddles”, “Young Frankenstein”, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, “The Great Gatsby” and “Murder on the Orient Express”.

“Emmanuelle” became the first X-rated film released in the USA by Columbia Pictures. Godzilla was still at it, fighting Mechagodzilla. The film was released in the USA first as Godzilla vs. The Bionic Monster, then that was changed to The Cosmic Monster. Giancarlo Giannini and Mariangela Melato starred in the original Italian film “Swept Away”, remade with Giannini’s son and Madonna in 2002. The original remains the best.

Armand Assante made his movie debut this year in “The Lords of Flatbush”. More debuts: Chevy Chase in “The Groove Tube”, Jeff Goldblum in “Death Wish” and Denzel Washington in “Death Wish.”

Jeopardy! clues on “The Godfather Part II”
REEL LIFE QUOTES $800: 1974: “I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart. You broke my heart”
THE SECOND FILM IN THE SERIES $200: The mafia melodrama continues for the Corleone Family in this 1974 film
THE QUOTABLE DE NIRO $1,000 (Daily Double): (In Sicilian) “To you she’s beautiful. For me, there’s only my wife & son”
’70s MOVIES $300: One of the few sequels to critically surpass the original, this film won Best Picture for 1974
THE DE NIRO CODE $1600: In Italian, in this sequel: “Do me this favor… ask your friends… about me. They’ll tell you I know how to return a favor”
TAKE A GUESS $800: 2 of the 4 actors who earned 1974 Oscar nominations for “The Godfather Part II”; one of them won
“COP”s $200: He was nominated for an Oscar in Directing for 1972 & won for 1974
TAKE A GUESS $800: 2 of the 4 actors who earned 1974 Oscar nominations for “The Godfather Part II”; one of them won

More 1974 film clues:
MOVIE BIOGRAPHIES $400: He was nominated for a 1974 Oscar for playing Lenny Bruce
MUSICIANS $400: Not only Juilliard’s youngest student, “the way things were” in 1974, he won 3 Oscars
SHE WAS IN THAT? $1600: A young Laura Dern appeared in this 1974 film in which her mom played Flo the waitress
MUSICALS $400: “It’s alive!” This Mel Brooks film, a “monster” hit in 1974, has been galvanized into a musical
CALIFORNIA ROLE $1000: L.A. P.I. J.J. Gittes investigates the city’s water management & other mysteries in this 1974 film
TARZAN MOVIE REVIEW $800: Faye play slap jack in this 1974 film; She sister! She daughter! She sister! She daughter! Tarzan confused
LERNER & LOEWE $2000: Lerner & Loewe’s last collaboration was a 1974 film of this Antoine de Saint-Exupery story
TIME FOR A MOVIE REVIEW $1200: “Film noir was a tired genre before writer Robert Towne and director Roman Polanski made this” 1974 film
OSCARS OF THE ’70s $10,000 (Daily Double): For her portrayal of Greta Ohlsson in a 1974 mystery, this legendary actress scored her third Oscar
SCREEN PLAYS $800: John Osborne’s 1961 play about this Protestant reformer became a 1974 film starring Stacy Keach
FIRE ON FILM $1200: 1974 film about fire in the world’s tallest building, which has implausibly been put up in San Francisco
SNICKERS $600: 1974 film with the exchange: Inga: Werewolf! Freddy: Werewolf? Igor: There! Freddy: What? Igor: There wolf.
YOU HIT ME IN THE FACE! $400: “She’s my sister (slap); my daughter (slap)”; forget it, Jake, it’s this 1974 film
“GREAT” MOVIES $800: Simon Ward played James Herriot as a young apprentice to an eccentric veterinarian in this 1974 film
MIA FARROW $500: In this 1974 film Mia played Daisy Buchanan
MOVIE HODGEPODGE $400: This pop artist’s 1974 film “Dracula” was actually directed by Paul Morrissey
DIRECTORS $800: This actor directed himself & wife Trish Van Devere in the 1974 film “The Savage Is Loose”
BROOKLYN NEIGHBORHOODS $600: A street gang in a 1974 film was called “The Lords of” this large Brooklyn neighborhood
HORRORS! $200: John Larroquette narrated this 1974 film in which lumbering tools are put to new use
ACTORS & ROLES $1,100 (Daily Double): (I’m Sam Waterston.) I played Nick Carraway in the 1974 film version of this famous novel
FILM DIRECTORS $200: Jonathan Frid of TV’s “Dark Shadows” starred in this “Platoon” director’s first film, “Seizure”, in 1974
WILD ABOUT HARRY $1000: Yes, Kemo Sabe, Art Carney won an Oscar for this 1974 film
THE MOVIES $100: In “The Two Jakes”, Jack Nicholson reprised Jake Gittes, whom he first played in this 1974 film
JAZZ PIANISTS $800: This “royal” pianist’s band made a cameo appearance in Mel Brooks’ 1974 film “Blazing Saddles”
“TOWER”s $800 (Daily Double): 1974 film that gave us the following Oscar-winning song: We may never love like this again Don’t stop the flow We can’t let go
EUROPE ON FILM $200: In a 1974 film, a melange of murderers took this famed train from Istanbul to Calais
FICTIONAL CHARACTERS $1000: Title heroine of a Henry James story whom Cybil Shepherd played in a 1974 film
HOLLYWOOD DOGS $200: Higgins played the title role of this 1974 film

List of Best Picture Oscars (50s-70s)