LONDONERS SNUBBED BY OSCAR!
Crosby, Fitzgerald Leave Competiton in the Dust
by Christopher Doty

You can't beat God.

Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald who played Catholic priests in Going My Way, edged out former Londoners Alexander Knox and Hume Cronyn at the 1944 Academy Awards ceremony.

It was a tough night for Knox and Cronyn. Both had been nominated for best actor and best supporting actor respectively - Knox for the biopic Wilson and Cronyn for the taught war drama The Seventh Cross.

Going My Way also took home Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Writing, Best Screenplay and Best Song.

20th Century Fox head Darryl F. Zanuck was rather ticked off by the wins. Wilson, a biography on the World War I era president, had been his studio's dream picture. When he accepted the best picture Oscar for 1947 he said, "This makes up for a sharp disappointment I suffered some years ago. I'm sure I will be forgiven for mentioning the name of the picture, Wilson, of which I am still proud."

There was one bright spot for Londoners, however. Going My Way featured former Londoner Gene Lockhart - who wasn't nominated for anything.

Neither Knox or Cronyn would ever receive another Oscar nomination - let alone win the coveted statuette. However, Cronyn's wife and Seventh Cross co-star, Jessica Tandy, would get the nod for best actress for 1989's Driving Miss Daisy.

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