Genre films in short supply as Oscar time nears

THIS IS BLAST-OFF TIME for Oscar campaigns, and it's also the time when people are asking, "Where are all the would-be contenders?" Not only is there a singular absence of obvious front-runners for Oscar consideration, but those receiving the most hoopla --"Forrest Gump" and "The Lion King"-- have little to gain financially from an Oscar coup. They've already made zillions at the global box office.

The nation's film critics -- an opinionated lot even at the best of times -- already are distributing the blame for the alleged absence of "quality films."

They're right on one level: Given the immense publicity generated by the Oscar show, it's surprising that more pictures aren't lined up to grasp the opportunity.

ON THE OTHER HAND, I'm not entirely persuaded that "quality" is at issue here. Scrutinize the list of Oscar winners over the years, and one finds there are several genres of movies that the studios have effectively abandoned -- movies that traditionally raked in the awards at Oscar time.

For example:

The middlebrow epic: "Gandhi," the big winner of 1982, was a classic example in this genre. Somber, aggressively "meaningful," it wasn't for the ages, but Academy members admired its lofty ambitions. There is no "Gandhi" this year.

The politically correct feel-good picture: Hollywood used to have a lock on this sort of film. Witness "How Green Was My Valley," from 1941, or "Gentleman's Agreement" (1947). The closest example of recent vintage is 1989's "Driving Miss Daisy."

The schmaltzy musical: When "The Sound of Music" won all the marbles in 1965, some thought Hollywood had rediscovered the secret of schmaltz. If that was true , they've managed to forget pretty quickly.

The big period extravaganza: "Ben Hur" in 1960 was the quintessential Hollywood action spectacular. Today the "period" of choice seems to be the future, not the past. Why did movies abandon days of yore?

The classic gangster genre film: "The Godfather" (1972) reminded filmgoers that Hollywood essentially invented gangsters. The studios haven't put them to good use in recent years.

The exotic foreign-made pageant: Movies like "The Last Emperor" (1987) used to come along with regularity and capture broad international audiences. Carlo Ponti and his confreres understood this formula. The legacy wasn't handed down.

Surprises: As much as Hollywood has clung to categories, the industry has periodically managed to confound all predictions by producing the unexpected. These "accidents of history" would range from "Rocky" (1976) to "Platoon" (1986) , from "All About Eve" (1950) to "Midnight Cowboy" (1969) -- projects that were neither pre-planned nor machine-tooled. They just happened.

And that, perhaps, is the biggest question to consider. Why don't good things "happen" any more? Are the layers of hierarchy so extensive, the process so complex, that "surprises" simply can't slip through?

That would be the most daunting news of all.