8. In The Heat Of The Night - 1967
This one is a bit different because In The Heat Of The Night is a very good film. In fact, the nominees from 1967 offered stiff competition however, one film towered above the rest. We'll start with the others, Doctor Doolittle was easily the weakest of the five but that's where things get murky. Sidney Poitier starred in two very good films, In The Heat Of The Night and Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, both being culturally significant as well as finely crafted. Then you have the case of Mike Nichols' excellent, The Graduate, of which he was honored with an Oscar for directing. This leaves one, THE ONE, the one that should have won. Arthur Penn's Bonnie & Clyde was and still is an absolute masterclass in filmmaking. Anchored by brilliant performances from Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway as the titular duo, the film soared above everything else released that year. Heck, Bonnie & Clyde is a top five movie for the entire DECADE. Penn crafted a film that was fast, brutal, oddly funny and uncomfortably moving but the Academy couldn't bring themselves to honor it the way it deserved. Sometimes the voters enjoy patting themselves on the back (more on that later in the list) but if that's truly the case, how was Sydney Poitier not nominated for his performance in either movie? Ah hell, I guess that's a debate for another article.