OSCARS NO SURPRISE

To the Editors of the CRIMSON:

It is distressing that a newspaper striving for integrity should show such little judgment in so elemental an article as that on the Oscar awards (April 11).

Not only has your reporter demoted Ida Kaminska from Best Actress to Best Supporting Actress, but he has shown his naivete in other ways. The choice of A man for All Seasons for Best Picture, Actor, and Director he called "a depressing surprise." Whether or not the selection was "depressing" is a matter of opinion, but if your man knew his stuff, he would hardly have found the outcome a surprise. For the past 16 years the Best Director award has gone to that director who has won the Director's Guild award. Zinnemann was thus the obvious favorite. Also, for 13 out of the past 14 years, the Best Picture has been Best Directed (the exception was the selection of Around the World in 80 Days when George Stevens won the Oscar for directing Giant, 1956). Since Paul Scofield has won the lion's share of acting honors for his performance in Seasons, his winning was forordained. Bruce H. Petrie '67