1972 was always going to be the year of Cabaret, which opened in February, and The Godfather, which opened in March. It’s unusual to have one film, let alone two, that open early in the year which dominate Oscar speculation but this was one such year.

The National Board of Review started awards season off by giving their award to Cabaret. The Godfather was third on their list of the year’s top ten inexplicably placing behind the critically lambasted Man of La Mancha. The National Society of Film Critics and The New York York Film Critics skirted the issue altogether by giving their awards to foreign films: Luis Bunuel’s The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and Ingmar Bergman’s Cries and Whispers, respectively. The latter was not released in Los Angeles until 1973 and was therefore not eligible for 1972 Oscar consideration though it would make Oscar’s short list the following year.

The Golden Globes sidestepped the issue as well by splitting their awards between Musical/Comedy and Drama, giving an award to both films. They did give the upper hand to The Godfather, though, by awarding Francis Ford Coppola the Best Director award for The Godfather over Cabaret’s Bob Fosse.

The Godfather led the Oscar race with 11 nominations, with Cabaret right on its heels with 10. The other Best Picture nominees were Deliverance; Sounder and the Swedish film, The Emigrants, which kicked off a three year period in which a major foreign language film was among the nominees.

Coppola and Fosse were nominated for Best Director along with Deliverance’s John Boorman; The Emigrants’ Jan Troell and Sleuth’s Joseph L. Mankiewicz who was nominated over Sounder’s Martin Ritt. The Directors Guild nominations went to Coppola, Fosse, Boorman, Ritt and George Roy Hill for Slaughterhouse-Five.

Despite Hill’s recognition by the DGA, I don’t see Slaughterhouse-Five as a major player and an unlikely nominee should the Best Picture slate have been open to ten contenders. Sleuth, which in addition to Mankiewicz’ nod, had two actors (Laurence Olivier, Michael Caine) competing for Best Actor, as well as a Best Screenplay nod and would have been an easy sixth place nominee.

The strongest contenders for the remaining slots would have to be The Poseidon Adventure, nominated for nine Oscars and winner of two; Travels With My Aunt, nominated for four and winner of one; Butterflies Are Free, nominated for three and winner of one (a major one for Supporting Actress Eileen Heckart) and The Candidate, nominated for two and winner of one (another major one, for Best Original Screenplay).

Among those left out in the cold would have been Fat City, The Ruling Class and 1776, all of which garnered one nomination apiece and Frenzy, Alfred Hitchcock’s late career triumph which received four Golden Globe nods but no Oscar mentions at all.

Coppola won the DGA for The Godfather, but for the second time since its inception, that win did not guarantee an Oscar, which went to Cabaret’s Fosse. Cabaret ended up with eight Oscars including Best Actress (Liza Minnelli) and Supporting Actor (Joel Grey) while The Godfather won only Best Actor (Marlon Brando) and Best Adapted Screenplay before pulling off its Best Picture win.