Roughly two weeks before the 20th Academy Award ceremony at the Shrine Auditorium on March 20, 1948, a Harper‘s article by Raymond Chandler appeared (or was filed) about the Oscars — the cultural legacy, Chandler’s belief in the artistic potential of films, his personal experience at a previous ceremony, etc. Chandler, on the verge of his 60th birthday, had co-written Double Indemnity with Billy Wilder five years previously; two years hence he would work unhappily with Alfred Hitchcock (i.e., “that fat bastard”) on Strangers on a Train. Here’s an excerpt:

Thanks to author, film historian and screenwriter Joe McBride for the link.