# Has a horror or comedy movie won an oscar? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 7, 2006, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-horror-or-comedy-movie-won-an-oscar/347362 "2006-03-07T11:54:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-horror-or-comedy-movie-won-an-oscar/347362/21 "2006-03-07T23:22:53Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Oh, like I’m supposed to _read_ the posts I respond too! :smack: No, let’s not any Evil Trends. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-horror-or-comedy-movie-won-an-oscar/347362/22 "2006-03-07T23:25:03Z")
> [@LiveOnAPlane](#): > > No, let’s not start any Evil Trends. > 😉 Sorry. Or, alternatively, if it pleases you more: (Yoda mode) “No, Let’s not any Evil Trends start.” ---
**Author:** ![whole\_bean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@whole\_bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whole_bean)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-horror-or-comedy-movie-won-an-oscar/347362/23 "2006-03-07T23:31:19Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > Horror movie purists insist that horror movies must at least have an element of the supernatural or fantastic to qualify. Films like **Silence of the Lambs** , **Psycho** , and **Se7en** , despite their horrific aspects, are firmly rooted in the “normal” world. The audience knows the awful things depicted can–and do–happen in real life. so slasher flics aren’t consider “horror?” Like Tex. Chainsaw Masacre? ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-horror-or-comedy-movie-won-an-oscar/347362/24 "2006-03-08T00:01:55Z")
> [@whole bean](#): > > so slasher flics aren’t consider “horror?” Like Tex. Chainsaw Masacre? To purists (BTW, I’m not one of them), **The Texas Chainsaw Massacre** is not a horror movie. However, slasher flicks that feature a killer who’s almost indestructable (e.g., the **Friday the 13th** movies after the first one) or who has come back from the dead (e.g., the **Nightmare on Elm Street** series) would qualify. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-horror-or-comedy-movie-won-an-oscar/347362/25 "2006-03-08T01:47:43Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > Horror movie purists insist that horror movies must at least have an element of the supernatural or fantastic to qualify. Films like **Silence of the Lambs** , **Psycho** , and **Se7en** , despite their horrific aspects, are firmly rooted in the “normal” world. The audience knows the awful things depicted can–and do–happen in real life. As a horror fan (not sure what a ‘purist’ is, other than the above deifnition), I must disagree. If a horror movie has a big budget and a couple of Oscars, it automatically becomes a thriller. Plenty of actors still turn their noses up at the entire genre, and plenty of moviegoers refuse to see any movie classified as such. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-horror-or-comedy-movie-won-an-oscar/347362/26 "2006-03-08T05:06:40Z")
> [@Cat Fight](#): > > As a horror fan (not sure what a ‘purist’ is, other than the above deifnition), I must disagree. If a horror movie has a big budget and a couple of Oscars, it automatically becomes a thriller. Plenty of actors still turn their noses up at the entire genre, and plenty of moviegoers refuse to see any movie classified as such. That’s what I was going to say. It’s not horror movie snobs who don’t want common serial killers in their genre, it’s movie snobs who don’t want any genre in their High Art. If you start with the assumption that all horror movies are crap, and you see a movie that is undeniably excellent, then obviously it wasn’t a horror movie. Same sort of thinking that keeps _1984_ and _Brave New World_ from being shelved in the science fiction section. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-horror-or-comedy-movie-won-an-oscar/347362/27 "2006-03-09T04:54:46Z")
> [@Governor Quinn](#): > > Marvin was Best Actor, however, not Best Supporting Actor. And half of that went to a horse in the valley… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-horror-or-comedy-movie-won-an-oscar/347362/28 "2006-03-09T04:59:26Z")
> [@Governor Quinn](#): > > Best Supporting Actors who won their awards for comedies or pseudo-comedies: > > Charles Coburn-1943-_The More The Merrier_ > Barry Fitzgerald-1944-_Going My Way_ > Jack Lemmon-1955-_Mister Roberts_ > Martin Balsam-1965-_A Thousand Clowns_ > Walter Matthau-1966-_The Fortune Cookie_ > George Burns-1975-_The Sunshine Boys_ > John Gielgud-1981-_Arthur_ > Don Ameche-1985-_Cocoon_ > Michael Caine-1986-_Hannah and Her Sisters_ > Jack Palance-1991-_City Slickers_ > Chris Cooper-2002-_Adaptation_ > > Any that I missed? Melvyn Douglas - 1979 - _Being There_ ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-horror-or-comedy-movie-won-an-oscar/347362/29 "2006-03-10T01:43:33Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > It Happened One Night > Going My Way > Gigi > The Apartment > Tom Jones > The Sting > Annie Hall > Shakespeare in Love > > All won Best Picture… I didn’t think Annie Hall was that scary at all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-horror-or-comedy-movie-won-an-oscar/347362.md?page=1)