The annual Academy Awards show, coming up on March 10, has defied satire for decades. Back in 1973, the Monty Python players had a go with “The British Showbiz Awards,” hosted by “Dickie” Attenborough, wonderfully played by Eric Idle:
Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Chairman, friends of the society, your dummy Royal Highness. Once again, the year has come full circle, and for me there can be no greater privilege, and honor, than to that to which it is my lot to have befallen this evening. There can be no finer honor than to welcome into our midst tonight a guest who has not only done only more than not anyone for our Society, but nonetheless has only done more.
Ladies and gentlemen, seldom can it have been a greater pleasure and privilege than it is for me now to announce that the next award gave me the great pleasure and privilege of asking a man without whose ceaseless energy and tireless skill the British Film Industry would be today. I refer of course to my friend and colleague, Mr. David Niven. Sadly, David Niven cannot be with us tonight, but he has sent his fridge. This is the fridge in which David keeps most of his milk, butter and eggs. What a typically selfless gesture, that he should send this fridge, of all his fridges, to be with us tonight.
David Niven’s fridge then proclaims the nominees for best foreign film, including Pasolini’s “The Third Test Match,” which came in sixth. Contenders for the big prize include the Oscar Wilde sketch but the winner must wait until the end. Dickie brings it on in fine style:
That moment is coming in a moment. The moment I’m talking about is the moment when we present the award for the cast with the most awards award, and this year is no exception. Ladies and gentlemen will you join me and welcome please, the winners of this year’s Mountbatten trophy, showbusiness’s highest accolade, the cast of the Dirty Vicar Sketch.
Dickie greets the cast, including Ronald Simms, the Dirty Vicar of St. Michaels, played by Terry Jones.
Well now, let us see the performances which brought them this award. Let us see The Dirty Vicar sketch.
Monty Python gets the nomination for best satire of the Oscars, but don’t forget Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Hear the peasant Dennis (Michael Palin) tell King Arthur (Graham Chapman) that “supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses.” There’s a lesson for America in 2024.
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