''The Golden Turkey Awards'' is a 1980 book by film critic

Michael Medved Michael Saul Medved (born October 3, 1948) is an American radio show host, author, political commentator, and film critic. His talk show, ''The Michael Medved Show'', is syndicated from his home station KTTH in Seattle. It is syndicated via G ...

and his brother Harry.

About

The book awards "Golden Turkey Awards" to films judged by the authors as poor in quality, and to directors and actors judged to have created a chronically inept body of work. The book features many low-budget obscurities and exploitation films such as '' Rat Pfink a Boo Boo'', ''

Attack of the 50 Foot Woman ''Attack of the 50 Foot Woman'' is a 1958 independently made American science fiction horror film directed by Nathan H. Juran (credited as Nathan Hertz) and starring Allison Hayes, William Hudson and Yvette Vickers. It was produced by Berna ...

'', and the apparently lost '' Him''. Other categories include expensive, big studio failures like '' The Swarm'' and popular films such as '' Jesus Christ Superstar''. In the introduction the authors admit that "we know our choices will not please everyone—least of all the actors, producers, writers and directors who are honored in the pages that follow. We further recognize that the number of bad films is so enormous and the competition for the very worst is so intense, that all decisions reached here are subject to considerable second-guessing. Nevertheless, we have researched the subject thoroughly—sitting through more than 2,000 wretched films in the last few years—and we believe that our nominees and award winners can stand the test of time." The Medveds had previously celebrated bad cinema in the 1978 ''

The Fifty Worst Films of All Time ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', many of which were also featured in the various ''Golden Turkey Awards'' categories. Subsequently, they turned their attention to

box office bomb A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...

s in '' The Hollywood Hall of Shame''. They also published a sequel to ''The Golden Turkey Awards'', ''Son of Golden Turkey Awards,'' in 1986. They declared that ''Son of Golden Turkey Awards'' "is our last word...we hereby solemnly pledge that the years ahead will produce no further Golden Turkey publications by the Medved Brothers...we now pass the torch to whichever brave souls feel ready to take up the challenge." ''Son of Golden Turkey Awards'' also listed a "Who's Who in the World of Bad Movies" at the end of its awards presentations. The Golden Turkey Awards formed the basis of a 1983 television series '' The Worst of Hollywood'' hosted by Michael Medved.

Awards given

In the book ''The Fifty Worst Films of All Time'' the authors invited readers to write in nominating their favorite "worst films". More than 3,000 ballots were received. Based on these votes, the Worst Film of All Time award was given to '' Plan 9 from Outer Space'' by

Ed Wood Edward Davis Wood Jr. (October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978) was an American filmmaker, actor, and pulp novel author. In the 1950s, Wood directed several low-budget science fiction, crime and horror films that later became cult cla ...

. Wood is also awarded the title of Worst Director of All Time, judged by the authors.

Raquel Welch Jo Raquel Welch ( Tejada; September 5, 1940) is an American actress. She first won attention for her role in '' Fantastic Voyage'' (1966), after which she won a contract with 20th Century Fox. They lent her contract to the British studio Hamm ...

is judged the Worst Actress of All Time over nominees including

Candice Bergen Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress. She won five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for her portrayal of the title character on the CBS sitcom ''Murphy Brown'' (1988–1998, 2018). She is also kno ...

and

Mamie van Doren Mamie Van Doren (born Joan Lucille Olander; February 6, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and sex symbol. She is perhaps best known for the rock 'n' roll, juvenile delinquency exploitation film ''Untamed Youth'' (1957). Early life Van D ...

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...

is judged as the Worst Actor of All Time over nominees

John Agar John George Agar Jr. (January 31, 1921 – April 7, 2002) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for starring alongside John Wayne in the films ''Sands of Iwo Jima'', '' Fort Apache'', and '' She Wore a Yellow Ribbon''. In h ...

Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s (Kansas Raiders, 1950) and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 f ...

and

Victor Mature Victor John Mature (January 29, 1913 – August 4, 1999) was an American stage, film, and television actor who was a leading man in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. His best known film roles include ''One Million B.C.'' (1940), '' My Darlin ...

. While conceding he is sometimes brilliant, the authors claim Burton's "occasional triumphs only serve to highlight the pathetic waste in most of his films; for every '' Equus'' in which he appears there are at least a half-dozen '' Cleopatra''s or '' Boom!''s. The authors state that "when he is bad ... well, he's just the pits" and list several "bad" films in which he has appeared: ''

The Sandpiper ''The Sandpiper'' is a 1965 American drama film directed by Vincente Minnelli and starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. Plot Laura Reynolds is a free-spirited, unwed single mother living with her young son Danny in an isolated beach house ...

'', '' Hammersmith Is Out'', '' The Voyage'', '' The Medusa Touch'' and '' The Assassination of Trotsky''. Another Burton film, '' Exorcist II: The Heretic'', is the book's first runner up in the Worst Film of All Time award based on reader response.

List of Golden Turkey winners

* Most Embarrassing Movie Debut: Paul Newman in '' The Silver Chalice'' * Most Ridiculous Movie Monster: Ro-Man from ''

Robot Monster ''Robot Monster'' (or ''Monster from Mars'')

'' * Worst Performance by a Popular Singer:

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...

in '' The Oscar'' * Worst Title: '' Rat Pfink a Boo Boo'' * Most Brainless Brain Movie: '' They Saved Hitler's Brain'' * Most 'Badly Bumbled Bee' Movie: '' The Swarm'' * Worst Casting: John Wayne as Genghis Khan in '' The Conqueror'' * Worst Performance by a Politician:

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

man and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Mayor

John Lindsay John Vliet Lindsay (; November 24, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American politician and lawyer. During his political career, Lindsay was a U.S. congressman, mayor of New York City, and candidate for U.S. president. He was also a regular ...

in ''

Rosebud Rosebud may refer to: * Rose bud, the bud of a rose flower Arts * The name of Jerry Garcia's guitar from 1990 until his death in 1995. * In the 1941 film ''Citizen Kane'', the last words of Charles Foster Kane and an overall plot device. * "Ros ...

'' * Worst Two-Headed Transplant Movie: ''

The Thing with Two Heads ''The Thing with Two Heads'' is a 1972 American blaxploitation science fiction comedy film directed by Lee Frost and starring Ray Milland, Rosey Grier, Don Marshall, Roger Perry, Kathy Baumann, and Chelsea Brown. Plot Dr. Maxwell Kirshner ( ...

'' * Worst Rodent Movie: '' The Food of the Gods'' * Worst Performance by a Novelist: Norman Mailer in '' Wild 90'' * P.T. Barnum Award for Worst Cinematic Exploitation of a Physical Deformity: ''

The Terror of Tiny Town ''The Terror of Tiny Town'' is a 1938 American musical Western film produced by Jed Buell, directed by Sam Newfield and starring Billy Curtis. The film was shot at a sound studio in Hollywood and partly at Placeritos Ranch in Placerita Canyon, C ...

'', a

Western film The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

with an all- dwarf cast. * Worst Musical Extravaganza: '' At Long Last Love'' * Worst Performance as a Clergyman or Nun:

Mary Tyler Moore Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), which ...

in ''

Change of Habit ''Change of Habit'' is a 1969 American crime drama musical film directed by William A. Graham and starring Elvis Presley and Mary Tyler Moore. Written by James Lee, S.S. Schweitzer, and Eric Bercovici, based on a story by John Joseph and Ric ...

'' * Worst Performance as

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

Ted Neeley Teddie Joe "Ted" Neeley (born September 20, 1943) is an American singer, actor, musician, composer, and record producer. He is known for portraying the title role in ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' (1973), a role for which he was nominated for two Gol ...

in '' Jesus Christ Superstar'' * Worst Blaxploitation Movie: ''

Scream Blacula Scream ''Scream Blacula Scream'' is a 1973 American blaxploitation vampire horror film. It is a sequel to the 1972 film '' Blacula''. The film was produced by American International Pictures (AIP) and Power Productions. This was the acting debut of Ri ...

'' * Biggest Rip-off in Hollywood History: The 1976 version of ''

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

'' * Worst Credit Line: The 1929 version of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken ...

'', "with additional dialogue by Sam Taylor" (this credit does not appear in the surviving prints of the film). * Most Unerotic Concept in Pornography: '' Him'', a porn film about a priest with a sexual fixation on

* Worst Performance by an Animal: Dinky the Chimp in ''

Tarzan and the Great River ''Tarzan and the Great River'' is a 1967 adventure film starring Mike Henry in his second of three film appearances as Tarzan. The film was produced by Sy Weintraub and Steve Shagan, written by Bob Barbash (from a story by Barbash and Lewis Ree ...

''. (During filming, Dinky attacked and injured lead actor Mike Henry.) * Worst Vegetable Movie: '' Attack of the Mushroom People'' * Worst Performance by

Sonny Tufts Bowen Charlton "Sonny" Tufts III (July 16, 1911 – June 4, 1970) was an American stage, film, and television actor. He is best known for the films he made as a contract star at Paramount in the 1940s, including ''So Proudly We Hail!''. He a ...

: ''

Government Girl ''Government Girl'' is a 1943 American romantic-comedy film, produced and directed by Dudley Nichols and starring Olivia de Havilland and Sonny Tufts. Based on a story by Adela Rogers St. Johns, and written by Dudley Nichols and Budd Schulberg, t ...

'' * Most Ludicrous Racial Impersonation: Marlon Brando as a native of

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

in '' The Teahouse of the August Moon'' * Most Obnoxious Child Performer: David Kory in ''

Dondi Donald Joseph White, "DONDI" (April 7, 1961 – October 2, 1998) was an American graffiti artist. Biography Early life Born in the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn, Dondi was the youngest of five children. He was of African American a ...

'' * Worst Film You Never Saw (category for films never completed or only released in a limited fashion): '' Billy Jack Goes to Washington'' * Most Inane Technical Advance: Percepto, designed by

William Castle William Castle (born William Schloss Jr.; April 24, 1914 – May 31, 1977) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. Orphaned at 11, Castle dropped out of high school at 15 to work in the theater. He came to the attenti ...

for his 1959 film, ''

The Tingler ''The Tingler'' is a 1959 American horror film produced and directed by William Castle. It is the third of five collaborations between Castle and writer Robb White, and starring Vincent Price. The film tells the story of a scientist who discove ...

'' starring

Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...

. At certain times in the film small vibrators attached to the underside of some seats within the auditorium were activated to give some audience members a tingle. * Worst Line of Romantic Dialogue: an exchange between

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...

and

Madeleine Carroll Edith Madeleine Carroll (26 February 1906 – 2 October 1987) was an English actress, popular both in Britain and America in the 1930s and 1940s. At the peak of her success in 1938, she was the world's highest-paid actress. Carroll is rememb ...

in ''

Northwest Mounted Police The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian para-military police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert’s Land and North-Western Territory ...

'' * Worst Director:

* Worst Actress:

* Worst Actor:

(a highly controversial choice, considering that he was a seven-time Oscar nominee, noted Shakespearean performer and widely considered one of the world's greatest actors, but made because Burton starred in so many bad films) In addition, the Golden Turkey Awards had a reader's choice category for Worst Film of All Time, voted upon by readers of ''The Fifty Worst Films of All Time''. * First Runner-Up: '' Exorcist II: The Heretic'' * Worst Film: '' Plan 9 from Outer Space''

Hoax film

One of the films nominated in the book was in fact an invention of the authors, and the book's readers were challenged by them to figure out which film was actually fake. The fake film was ''Dog of Norway'' featuring "Muki the Wonder Hound". This film was illustrated using a photo of a co-author's pet dog. The giveaway was that the same dog was in the photo of the authors in the back of the book. Another film in the book, the now-lost 1974 porn film '' Him'', has also been cited as the hoax, though it is definitely known to have existed. No formal clarification of the hoax film was provided by the subsequent release, ''The Hollywood Hall of Shame''. That book again features the same dog pictured with the authors (as did the subsequent ''Son of Golden Turkey Awards''). In ''The Hollywood Hall of Shame'', in reference to the dish barbecued dog, the authors explain that it was "a snack which produced a mixed reaction among the representatives of an industry that had given the world Lassie,

Rin Tin Tin Rin Tin Tin or Rin-Tin-Tin (September 1918 – August 10, 1932) was a male German Shepherd born in Flirey, France, who became an international star in motion pictures. He was rescued from a World War I battlefield by an American soldier, L ...

, Benji,

Phyllis Diller Phyllis Ada Diller (née Driver; July 17, 1917 – August 20, 2012) was an American stand-up comedian, actress, author, musician, and visual artist, best known for her eccentric stage persona, self-deprecating humor, wild hair and clothes, and ...

, and Muki the Wonder Hound." The "Acknowledgements" page of ''The Fifty Worst Films of All Time'' ends with: ::And love, most of all, to Muki, who was there to understand when the going got rough.

Reception

Betsa Marsh wrote for the

Gannett News Service Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

'', in your bathroom or even on your coffee table, to impress your friends with your impeccably bad taste." Some critics took exception to the book's style; Kenneth Tucker wrote, "The line between the witty and the arrogant is indeed hard to draw. At times to me, however, the commentary degenerates into smugness or becomes unnecessarily waspish." In ''

Film Comment ''Film Comment'' is the official publication of Film at Lincoln Center. It features reviews and analysis of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde filmmaking from around the world. Founded in 1962 and originally released as a quarterly, ''Film Co ...

'',

J. Hoberman James Lewis Hoberman (born March 14, 1949) is an American film critic, journalist, author and academic. He began working at ''The Village Voice'' in the 1970s, became a full-time staff writer in 1983, and was the newspaper's senior film critic ...

was quite hostile, describing ''The Fifty Worst Films of All Time'' and ''The Golden Turkey Awards'' as "a pair of humorous non-books researched by teenaged Harry Medved and written by his older brother Michael. The Medved position — if we discount its patina of ''

Mad magazine Mad, mad, or MAD may refer to: Geography * Mad (village), a village in the Dunajská Streda District of Slovakia * Mád, a village in Hungary * Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, by IATA airport code * Mad River (disambiguation), several ...

'' masochism and resolve to stomach their facetious tone — also suggests that the best bad movies are akin to masterpieces."

Notes

References

* Medved, Harry, and Randy Dreyfuss. ''The Fifty Worst Films of All Time (And How They Got That Way)''. 1978, Warner Books. . * Medved, Michael, and Harry Medved. ''The Golden Turkey Awards''. 1980, Putnam. . * Medved, Michael, and Harry Medved. '' The Hollywood Hall of Shame: The Most Expensive Flops in Movie History'', 1984, , (paperback) * Medved, Harry and Michael. ''Son of Golden Turkey Awards'', 1986, Villard Books. .

External links

The list on Letterboxd
{{DEFAULTSORT:Golden Turkey Awards, The American film awards 1980 non-fiction books Books about film Lists of worsts Books by Michael Medved Books of film criticism Collaborative non-fiction books

About

Awards given

List of Golden Turkey winners

Hoax film

Reception

See also

Notes

References

External links