BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- 'Rain Man,' the tender story of an autistic savant and his hustling brother, and the Cinderella comedy 'Working Girl,' won top film honors at the 46th Annual Golden Globes ceremony.
The awards handed out Saturday night at a star-studded gala by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association are generally considered precursors for the motion picture academy's Oscars and TV's Emmy awards, which take place later in the year.
Leading the TV winners for the evening was ABC's World War II saga 'War and Remembrance,' which collected three awards -- for best mini-series, and for Barry Bostwick and Sir John Gielgud, who tied for best supporting actor.
'Working Girl' won four awards, earning honors for best musical or comedy picture and best song, while its star Melanie Griffith and co-star Sigourney Weaver, took top awards for best actress and best supporting actress, respectively.
The best dramatic film award went to 'Rain Man,' while the film's star Dustin Hoffman -- playing a man suffering from autism who has great intellectual abilities -- won honors as best dramatic actor.
Perhaps the most touching moment of the ceremony was Hoffman's acceptance speech, a halting, stuttering expression of gratitude to his co-workers and the autistic people with whom he worked to perfect his role.
There were tears in the actor's eyes when he concluded, 'It's a privilege to be on this stage' with all the creative people who attended the awards ceremonies.
In a rare double win, Weaver added to her supporting actress honors by splitting the best dramatic actress award for 'Gorillas in the Mist,' the Diane Fosse story, with Shirley MacLaine, who starred in 'Madame Sousatzka' as a tyrannical piano teacher, and Jodie Foster who played a gang rape victim in 'Accused.'
Weaver told the amused audience that the gorillas in her film really deserved the Golden Globe statuette but inasmuch as 'they can't eat it or make a nest of it, I think I'll keep it for them.'
Tom Hanks won for best actor in a comedy film, 'Big,' playing a 13-year-old boy in the body of a man who falls in love with a beautiful woman and must decide whether to return to his childhood.
Veteran character actor Martin Landau won the award for best supporting actor in a motion picture for his performance in 'Tucker: The Man and His Dream.'
Twenty-four competitive awards were presented, 13 for feature films and 11 for television during the ceremony attended by some 1,200 Hollywood big wigs, stars and friends at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Clint Eastwoodwon the Golden Globe for best film director for 'Bird,' the dramatic story of jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker. Eastwood later presented the honorary Cecil B. DeMille Award to Doris Day for her many contributions to show business.
Because of the limited 77-journalist membership in the Foreign Press Association there were ties in five categories during the evening, most of which were greeted with displeasure by the crowd.
In addition to the three-way stand-off for best dramatic actress and the two-way tie for best supporting actor in a mini-series, there was a triple tie for best actor in a TV comedy series among Michael J. Fox of 'Family Ties,' Judd Hirsch for 'Dear John' and Richard Mulligan for 'Empty Nest,' all broadcast on NBC.
There was also a dead heat for best actor in a mini-series or TV movie between Michael Caine in 'Jack the Ripper' on CBS and Stacy Keach in the syndicated 'Hemingway.'
Two awards were given in a tie for best original song in a movie, 'Let The River Run' from 'Working Girl' and 'Two Hearts' from 'Buster.'
Other top winners of the night included Denmark's 'Pelle The Conqueror' for best foreign language film; Ann Jillian, best actress in a mini-series or TV movie for ABC's 'The Ann Jillian Story;' Ron Perlman, best actor in a TV drama series for the CBS series 'Beauty and the Beast;' Candice Bergen for best actess in a TV comedy series for 'Murphy Brown' also on CBS; and Jill Eikenberry, best actress in a drama TV series for NBC's 'L.A. Law.'
Voted best TV comedy series was ABC's 'The Wonder Years,' while ABC's 'thirtysomething' won the award for best TV drama series.
Actress Joan Collins and actor George Hamilton co-hosted the awards, which were broadcast by the Turner Broadcasting System.
Among the presenters for the awards were Richard Widmark, Michael Douglas, Robert Mitchum, Sally Kirkland, Eric Roberts, Dennis Hopper, Randy Quaid, Gena Rowlands, James Brolin, Linda Gray, Harry Hamlin and Shelley Long.
