There’s no telling what tonight’s broadcast of the Academy Awards will bring — these days, we’re as inclined to jeer the Oscars as cheer them — but we do maintain a fondness for this particular award, above all others, because of the tradition it represents and maintains. After all, this is the same award first presented all the way back in 1929 to Janet Gaynor, Emil Jannings, and Frank Borzage, to wonderful pictures such as Sunrise, The Jazz Singer, 7th Heaven, and Underworld.

And tonight will provide a living link to early Hollywood history, as Lauren Bacall will be the recipient of a lifetime achievement Oscar. Bacall, of course, was married to one of the giants of the golden age of Hollywood, Humphrey Bogart, who made his screen debut in a 1928 Paramount short subject called The Dancing Town.

That’s an impressive arc of Hollywood history.

Sure, some really terrible movies have been lauded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences over the years, and some really terrific pictures have received short shrift. But I figure they’re doing something right if they’ve been around this long.

So here’s to you, Ms. Bacall; enjoy your big night. And here’s to Bogie, an Oscar winner himself, and to the tradition and achievements the Academy Awards represent.