1963 Best Picture:
Tom Jones

Competition: America, America, Cleopatra, How the West Was Won, Lillies in the Field

Other Winners:
Best Actor: Sydney Potier, Lillies in the Field
Best Actress: Patricia Neal, Hud
Best Supporting Actor: Melvyn Douglas, Hud
Best Supporting Actress: Margaret Rutherford, The V.I.P.'s
Best Director: Tony Richardson, Tom Jones

Cast: Albert Finney, Susannah York, Hugh Griffith, Edith Evans, Joan Greenwood

Storyline: Tom Jones was born a bastard child, and raised by another family, when he was left abandoned.  Growing up, he develops an insatiable appetite for women, and even when he falls in love with the girl of his dreams, he still has a penchant for the chase. 

Did it deserve to win: Indeed!  Tom Jones became the raciest film to ever win an Oscar up until that time.  That aside, the narration, the story and the acting, are all still very fresh.

The film did have some formidable competition, including the Patricia Neal-Paul Newman classic, Hud.  The over-hyped yawn, Cleopatra seemed to have been given a sympathy nod.  It proved to be all pomp, and no plot.  

Critique:  For as much as Tom Jones may be dated, it is also very fresh and current.  The sex romps might have had more impact in their day, when such things on the screen were not the norm, and in fact were still heavily frowned upon.  As it stands today, it's hardly among the best of the Oscar winners. 

On the other hand, Tony Richardson provides some interesting photography and superb direction.  The hunt, the romance, among other scenes, a filmed with interesting effects, that impact the mood of the scene.  In the hunt, the sound of barking dogs and a monotonous horn, create a heart pounding chase.  As the romance between Sophie and Tom develops, romantic interludes are slowly revealed, scene after scene.  

Best Scene:  Dinner!  He's hungry ... and so is she!  Albert Finney and Joyce Redman seduce each other in the most barbarically sensual food scene, ever put on scene.   The two are hilariously right for each other ...  At least for the moment.

Behind the Scenes: Tom Jones won 4 of the 10 Oscars that it was nominated for.  It became the third film in history (followed by All About Eve and Mutiny on the Bounty) to have three of its actors nominated in the same category.  Dame Edith Evans, Joyce Redman and Diane Cilento, were all nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

Albert Finney was a front runner for the Best Actor award, as he was the only nominee to be supported by Best Director and Best Picture nominations.  He refused to campaign for the award, despite the studios insistence, and disappeared to the South Seas to avoid the press. 

Sydney Potier won the award for Best Actor, becoming the first black actor to win in a major category, since Hattie McDaniel won for Best Supporting Actress for Gone With the Wind.  Potier won for an small budget film about German nuns serving in Mexico, who hire a black workman to build their chapel.  

John F. Kennedy saw a screening of Tom Jones on November 17, 1963.  It was the last film he ever saw. 

At the time, Cleopatra was the most expensive picture ever made.  The spectacle cost over $44 million when it was finally completed.  Sadly, the film flopped, mainly because of its tedious plot.  In fact, the best stuff went on behind the scenes.  Elizabeth Taylor was a force to be reckoned with at the time, and rumors of her being difficult ran rampant.  She was also getting intimate with her co-star, Richard Burton. 

It was thought that Roddy McDowell would have been a shoe-in for Best Supporting Actor for Cleopatra, but the studio listed all of the players in the Best Actor categories.  The studio tried to change their mind, but they were too late.  The ballots were already sent off to the printer.   Fox saw fit to provide McDowell with a letter of apology, under the circumstances. 

Tom gets into a duel in the forest, in order to help a lady in distress.