*This had a couple of advantages: it meant the red carpet parade took place at night rather than the afternoon, which makes the spotlights and flashbulbs a lot more effective, and the late hour gave the event an atmosphere of sophistication and glamour, a kind of grown-up feel that late-night television used to have.j Besides, back then the show only ran a little over two hours, so it wound up ending about the same time as it does now.
Anyway, with the exception of a few years in the 1970s when NBC had the show, the Oscarcast has been a fixture on ABC. This commercial for the 40th anniversary show is kind of 60s blah, but you still have to be impressed by the stars and the movies, most of which will be remembered long after this year's winners are forgotten. Bonus points if you can recall the winners.
UPDATE: As someone has pointed out, the music for ABC's Movie of the Week is simply a re-working of this theme (or vice versa). ◙
