The Oscars started out well, albeit being a group initially designed to keep union activity away, and to continue to grow Louis B. Mayer’s influence in Hollywood. The first year, they even had to address the “popular pic vs. art pic” scenario that has plagued Hollywood over the years, giving Wings the Outstanding Picture Award and stunning classic Sunrise the Best Unique and Artistic Picture Award. That second award was dropped after its first year, but is a reminder of the tension between art and popular success that is inherent in any art award.

So, in chronological order, are my thoughts on the 13 worst choices for Best Picture. They are not all bad films, and some are quite good. But in the year they were nominated, they never should have won.

1. The Broadway Melody 1927/28. This is a landmark picture, but not necessarily a good one. It was a very popular early talkie with popular songs, all backed by Mayer and M-G-M, so it’s not a surprise that it won. But it’s very difficult to watch now, even accounting for its age. It’s clunky, the dialogue is cringey, and the musical numbers are, today, laughable. The better choice wasn’t even nominated: Rouben Mamoulian’s Applause, which is lightyears ahead of the winner.

• Going My Way 1944 Back then, who didn’t the love the music and its star, Bing Crosby? But it was up against the masterful Double Indemnity and Gaslight. Either of those would have been a much better choice.

• An American in Paris 1951. Don’t get me wrong—I love the film despite its many, many flaws. But this was also the year of A Place in the Sun and A Streetcar Named Desire. I can only imagine that these two intense black-and-white dramas canceled each other out.

• The Greatest Show on Earth 1952 This almost terrible film is generally agreed to be the worst of the Best Picture winners. There is so much wrong with it, but maybe the Academy just loved a well-done train wreck—I’m referring to a sequence, not the whole film. It was very successful financially (always significant to the voters) and it was initially received as a slightly unwieldy entertainment with many stars and much pageantry. It hasn’t aged well. Other nominees that were a better choice included High Noon and The Quiet Man. But again, the best film of the year wasn’t nominated: Singin’ in the Rain.

• Around the World in 80 Days 1956. Gigantic, all over the place (literally and figuratively), and bloated. That year’s Giant is subject to some of these same criticisms, but it’s a much more important and better directed film. And even The King and I, which of course “is just a musical” (sigh) is a finely crafted and acted film. As with 1927/28 and 1952, the best film of the year wasn’t even nominated: The Searchers.

• Rocky 1976. I feel unamerican just writing this, but come on! This was also the year of Bound for Glory (which was never going to win), Network, Taxi Driver, and the best, most prescient, and most sophisticated of the year, which has since become a classic: All the President’s Men.

• Ordinary People 1980. It’s a good film, especially for a first directorial effort (by Robert Redford). Coal Miner’s Daughter, The Elephant Man, and Tess were never going to grab the big prize. But not honoring the rough but brilliant Raging Bull was highway robbery.

• Forrest Gump 1994. As with Ordinary People and Raging Bull, we have a popular and mostly well-respected feel-good film. It will likely be popular forever. But then there’s The Shawshank Redemption. Really, is there any comparison?

• Shakespeare in Love 1998. This win over the more deserving Saving Private Ryan is a testimony to the wicked power of Harvey Weinstein, who must have either wined and dined voters, or threatened them with some kind of unwanted exposure, to have this win. This isn’t the only Wein-Stain in history, but it’s the biggest one.

1. Crash 2005 this shouldn’t have even been nominated, and it’s essentially been forgotten beyond this its role as one of Hollywood’s most egregious mistakes.

1. The Shape of Water 2017. My head is still reeling over this win. I guess folks thought it was time to reward director Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy). I suppose there are times when it’s “time” to reward someone. This isn’t the time. This isn’t the director, and this certainly isn’t the film.

1. Green Book 2018. This is simply an embarrassment. It’s not bad, but it can’t hold a candle to Roma or A Star is Born. Not sure what happened here. My guess is that it’s the fortunate winner of votes that were spread all over the place for other films. Or it could be that Roma was done by a streaming service (and we can’t encourage that!) and there was and is a reluctance to honor Bradley Cooper.

1. CODA 2021 See Green Book for my guess as to what happened here with the voting. CODA is a fine little film that highlighted the deaf community, which pulls the ever-ready-to-be-plucked virtue signaling string for the Academy. But look at some of the others: Dune, The Power of the Dog, and West Side Story. These three will remain, and CODA will melt into the background.

There are many other films that could be part of this list, but they don’t meet the level of egregiousness that I believe these films do. A case can be made for Cavalcade, Braveheart, You Can’t Take it With You, the infamous How Green Was My Valley, Hamlet, All the King’s Men, Oliver!, Ghandi, Driving Miss Daisy, Dances with Wolves, American Beauty, Chicago, The Artist, and Argo. These are not bad films, and some are quite good. But the earlier 13 listed are just the most painful.