Great, but not ‘best’

“Best picture” is a funny thing. Sometimes a film awarded that top Oscar can be so of its time that it just doesn’t hold up years later as tastes and cultural mores change. Such is the case with 1929’s “Broadway Melody” and 1931’s “Cimarron.” They may be quaint fun but aren’t exactly considered beacons of exemplary filmmaking. Ditto the 1956 best picture winner, “Around the World in 80 Days,” which has a terrific score and cameo appearances by practically every actor in the stratosphere but seems bloated and silly in this day and age. Conversely, countless films praised by critics, historians and even armchair movie buffs as stellar examples of the form over the years didn’t even receive a best picture nomination, let alone the actual statuette. Here’s a look at five of those films that, in a perfect world, should have received a nod.

“City Lights”

Charlie Chaplin’s 1931 masterpiece of humor and pathos finds the Little Tramp falling for a blind flower girl ( Virginia Cherrill), who mistakenly believes he’s a millionaire. The final scene in which the blind girl, who can now see, realizes who the little man really is, is one of the most powerful moments ever put on screen.

In 1949, critic James Agee wrote that the scene “was the greatest single piece of acting ever committed to celluloid.” Woody Allen said it was the filmmaker’s greatest movie. Stanley Kubrick heralded “City Lights” as his favorite film of all time. It failed to receive any Oscar nomination.

“Singin’ in the Rain”

You’d be hard-pressed to find a critic or a musical comedy aficionado who doesn’t believe this 1952 Technicolor delight spoofing the early days of talkies to be the greatest example of the genre.

Memorable moments spill over in the film, including Gene Kelly performing the title tune with an umbrella, Donald O’Connor showing more flexibility than Gumby in the “Make ‘Em Laugh” number and Jean Hagen’s delicious sendup of a silent film diva with some speech problems. But the only nominations the musical could muster were a supporting nod for Hagen and a best musical scoring of a motion picture nomination for Lennie Hayton.

“The Bad and the Beautiful”

This gripping 1952 tale of a ruthless Hollywood producer ( Kirk Douglas) won five Oscars -- the most ever awarded a film that wasn’t nominated for a best picture Academy Award -- supporting actress for Gloria Grahame, art direction-set direction in black-and-white, cinematography in black-and-white, costume design in black-and-white, and screenplay for Charles Schnee. Douglas was nominated for the Academy Award but lost to Gary Cooper for “High Noon.” Director Vincente Minnelli wasn’t even nominated.

“Some Like It Hot”

A decade ago, the American Film Institute proclaimed Billy Wilder’s 1959 gender-bending comedy the greatest farce ever made in the U.S. Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe star in this sophisticated romantic comedy about two musicians who witness the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre and end up on the lam disguised as women in an all-girl band. Monroe plays the singer whom Curtis falls for; Lemmon finds himself being courted by a wealthy womanizer (Joe E. Brown).

Lemmon was nominated for lead actor, Wilder for best director and adapted screenplay for Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond. It was also nominated for art direction-set direction and cinematography, and it won for costume design. But somehow, it failed to receive a best picture nomination.

“2001: A Space Odyssey”

Moviegoers in 1968 had never seen anything quite like Stanley Kubrick’s innovative sci-fi epic penned by the filmmaker and Arthur C. Clarke. The cutting-edge special effects -- Douglas Trumbull was the photographic effects supervisor -- have influenced such filmmakers as George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. The film scored four Oscar nominations: best director for Kubrick, as well as original screenplay and best art direction, with Kubrick winning his only competitive Academy Award for visual effects.

susan.king@latimes.com