"After Patton was reprimanded and demoted as punishment for his verbal abuse treatment and slapping of the fearful, battle-fatigued soldier, he delivered a very curt public ""apology"" speech to assembled troops:"I hought I would stand up here and let you people see if I am as big a son-of-a-bitch as some of you think I am.It won the Best Picture Oscar in the year of its release - its only nomination.Only two other times has the film named Best Picture failed to win any other awards:Broadway Melody (1928/9)andMutiny On the Bounty (1935)." The newspaper is being read by Gittes seated in a barber""s chair during a beautifying haircut.The barber Barney (George Justin) makes an off-hand reference to Jake""s near-star status in the center of the film industry:When you get so much publicity, you gotta getblaséabout it.He had originally been imprisoned for an armed bank robbery.Marie""s manager R.O.Myerson (Reginald Owen) encouraged her o participate in some evening appearances, but she initially refused and wanted to be left alone - until she learned that the visiting Premier of Quebec Canada (Alan Mowbray) was an ardent fan and was "anxious" to meet her...and awoke America""s conscience!"A few other prison films had already been released before this short, 90 minute film: the classicThe Big House (1930)about brutish prison conditions, Howard Hawks""Criminal Code (1931),Ladies of the Big House (1931), and director Rowland Brown""sHell""s Highway (1932)(the first of the hard-hitting chain-gang films - deliberately released by RKO""s producer David Selznick a few months earlier).