The 21st Academy Awards features numerous firsts. It was the first time a non-Hollywood production won Best Picture, Hamlet. It was the first time an individual (Laurence Olivier) directed himself in an Oscar-winning performance. Director John Huston directs two Oscar-winning performances in the same year for two different films: his father Walter Huston in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and Claire Trevor for Key Largo. The Huston family won three Oscars that evening.

Jane Wyman became the first actor since the silent era to win an Oscar for a performance with no lines.

Humphrey Bogart failed to receive a nomination for Best Actor in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, which is now considered one of the Academy’s greatest slights.

Nominees and Winners

The nominees are listed by award. The winner of each category is in bold.

Best Motion Picture

• Hamlet (Rank-Two Cities, U-I ; Laurence Olivier)'
• Johnny Belinda (Warner Bros.; Jerry Wald)
• The Red Shoes (Rank-Archers; Eagle-Lion ; Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger)
• The Snake Pit (Twentieth-Century Fox; Anatole Litvak and Robert Bassler)
• The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (Warner Bros.; Henry Blanke)

Best Actor

• Lew Ayres, Johnny Belinda, Warner Bros.
• Montgomery Clift, The Search, Praesens Films (Swiss)
• Dan Dailey, When My Baby Smiles at Me, Twentieth-Century Fox
• Laurence Olivier, Hamlet, Rank-Two Cities, U-I (British)
• Clifton Webb, Sitting Pretty, Twentieth-Century Fox

Best Actress

• Ingrid Bergman, Joan of Arc, Wanger-Sierra, RKO Radio
• Olivia de Havilland, The Snake Pit, Twentieth-Century Fox
• Irene Dunne, I Remember Mama, RKO Radio
• Barbara Stanwyck, Sorry, Wrong Number, Wallis, Paramount
• Jane Wyman, Johnny Belinda, Warner Bros.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

• Charles Bickford, Johnny Belinda, Warner Bros.
• Jose Ferrer, Joan of Arc, RKO Radio
• Oscar Homolka, I Remember Mama, RKO Radio
• Walter Huston, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Warner Bros.
• Cecil Kellaway, The Luck of the Irish, Twentieth-Century Fox

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

• Barbara Bel Geddes, I Remember Mama, RKO Radio
• Ellen Corby, I Remember Mama, RKO Radio
• Agnes Moorehead, Johnny Belinda, Warner Bros.
• Jean Simmons, Hamlet, Rank-Two Cities, U-I (British)
• Claire Trevor, Key Largo, Warner Bros.

Best Directing

• John Huston, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Warner Bros.
• Anatole Litvak, The Snake Pit, Twentieth-Century Fox
• Jean Negulesco, Johnny Belinda, Warner Bros.
• Laurence Olivier, Hamlet, Rank-Two Cities, U-I (British)
• Fred Zinnemann, The Search, Swiss

Best Writing

Original Story

• Robert Flaherty, Lopert and Frances Flaherty The Louisiana Story, Robert Flaherty
• Marvin Wald, The Naked City, Hellinger, U-I
• Borden Chase, Red River, Hawks-Monterey, UA
• Emeric Pressburger, The Red Shoes, Rank-Archers, Eagle-Lion (British)
• Richard Schweizer and David Wechsler, The Search, Swiss

Screenplay

• Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder and Richard L. Breen, A Foreign Affair, Paramount
• Irmgard von Cube and Allen Vincent, Johnny Belinda, Warner Bros.
• Richard Schweizer and David Wechsler, The Search, Swiss
• Frank Partos and Millen Brand, The Snake Pit, Twentieth-Century Fox
• John Huston, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Warner Bros.

Cinematography

Black-and-White

• Charles B. Lang Jr., A Foreign Affair, Paramount
• Nicholas Musuraca, I Remember Mama, RKO Radio
• Ted McCord, Johnny Belinda, Warner Bros.
• William Daniels, The Naked City, Hellinger, U-I
• Joseph August, Portrait of Jennie, Selznick Releasing Organization

Color

• Charles G. Clarke, Green Grass of Wyoming, Twentieth-Century Fox
• Joseph Valentine, William V. Skall and Winton Hoch, Joan of Arc, Wanger-Sierra, RKO Radio
• William Snyder, The Loves of Carmen, Beckworth, Columbia
• Robert Planck, The Three Musketeers

Art Direction - Set Decoration

Black-and-White

• Roger K. Fume and Carmen Dillon, Hamlet, Rank-Two Cities, U-I (British)
• Robert Ham and William Wallace, Johnny Belinda, Warner Bros.

Color

• Richard Day, Edwin Casey Roberts and Joseph Kish, Joan of Arc, Wanger-Sierra, RKO Radio
• Hein Heckroth and Arthur Lawson, The Red Shoes, Rank-Archers, Eagle-Lion (British)

Sound Recording

• Warner Bros. Sound Department, Johnny Belinda, Warner Bros.
• Republic Sound Department, Moonrise, Republic
• Twentieth Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, The Snake Pit, Twentieth Century-Fox

Music

Song

• “Buttons and Bows,” The Paleface, Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, music and lyrics, Paramount
• “For Every Man There is a Woman,” Casbah, Harold Arlen, music; Leo Robin, lyrics, Marston, U-I
• “It's Magic,” Romance on the High Seas, Jule Styne, music; Sammy Cahn, lyrics, Warner Bros.
• “This is the Moment,” That Lady in Ermine, Frederick Hollander, music; Leo Robin, lyrics, Twentieth Century-Fox
• “The Woody Woodpecker Song,” Wee Blanket Police (cartoon), Ramey Idriss and George Tibbles, music and lyrics, Lantz and UA

Scoring of a Comedy or Dramatic Picture

• William Walton, Hamlet, Rank-Two Cities, U-I (British)
• Hugo Friedhofer, Joan of Arc, Wanger-Sierra, RKO Radio
• Max Steiner, Johnny Belinda, Warner Bros.
• Brian Easdale, The Red Shoes, Rank-Archers, Eagle-Lion (British)
• Alfred Newman, The Snake Pit, Warner Bros.

Scoring of a Musical Picture

• Johnny Green and Roger Edens, Easter Parade
• Victor Young, The Emperor Waltz, Paramount
• Lennie Hayton, The Pirate
• Ray Heindorf, Romance on the High Seas, Warner Bros.
• Alfred Newman, When My Baby Smiles at Me, Twentieth Century-Fox

Film Editing

• Frank Sullivan, Joan of Arc, Wanger-Sierra, RKO Radio
• David Weisbart, Johnny Belinda, Warner Bros.
• Paul Weatherwax, The Naked City, Hellinger, U-I
• Christian Nyby, Red River, Hawks-Monterey, UA
• Reginald Mills, The Red Shoes, Rank-Archers, Eagle-Lion (British)

Costume Design

Black-and-White

• Irene, B.F.'s Daughter
• Roger K. Furse, Hamlet, Rank-Two Cities, U-I (British)

Color

• Edith Head and Gile Steele, The Emperor Waltz, Paramount
• Dorothy Jeakins and Karinska, Joan of Arc, Wanger-Sierra, RKO Radio

Special Effects

• Deep Waters (Ralph Hammeras, Fred Semen, Edward Snyder and Roger Herman, Twentieth Century-Fox)
• Portrait of Jennie (Paul Eagler, J. McMillan Johnson, Russell Shearman, Clarence Slifer, Charles Freeman and James G. Stewart, Selznick Releasing Organization)'

Short Subjects

Cartoon

• The Little Orphan (Tom & Jerry Series). Fred Quimby, producer
• Mickey and the Seal (Disney; RKO Radio). Walt Disney, producer
• Mouse Wreckers (Looney Tunes Series, Warner Bros.). Edward Selzer, producer
• Robin Hoodlum' (Fox and Crow Series, United Productions of America; Columbia). United Productions of America, producer
• Tea for Two Hundred (Donald Duck Series, Walt Disney Productions; RKO Radio). Walt Disney, producer

One-Reel

• Annie Was a Wonder (John Nesbitt Passing Parade). Herbert Moulton, producer
• Cinderella Horse (Sports Parade) (Gordon Hollingshead, producer; Warner Bros.
• So You Want to Be on the Radio (John McDoakes Series). Gordon Hollingshead, producer; Warner Bros.
• Symphony of a City (Movietone Specialty). Edmund H. Reek, producer; Twentieth Century-Fox'
• You Can't Win (Pete Smith Specialties Series). Pete Smith, producer; MGM

Two-Reel

• Calgary Stampede (Technicolor Special). Gordon Hollingshead, producer; Warner Bros.
• Going to Blazes. Herbert Morgan, producer; Special
• Samba-Mania (Musical Parade). Harry Grey, producer; Paramount
• Seal Island (True-Life Adventure). Walt Disney, producer; Disney, RKO Radio'
• Snow Capers (Special Series). Thomas Head, producer; U-I

Documentary

Short Subject

• Heart to Heart. Herbert Morgan, producer; Fact Film Organization
• Operation Vittles. U.S. Army Air Force
• Toward Independence. U.S. Army'

Feature

• The Quiet One. Janice Loch, Producer; Mayer-Burstyn
• The Secret Land. O. O. Dull, producer; U.S. Navy'

Special Awards

• To Monsieur Vincent (France), voted by the Academy Board of Governors as the most outstanding foreign language film released in the United States during 1948
• To Ivan Jandl, outstanding juvenile performance of 1948 in The Search
• To Sid Grauman, master showman, who raised the standard of exhibition of motion pictures
• To Adolph Zukor, a man who has been called the father of the feature film in America, for his services to the industry for over a period of forty years
• To Walter Wanger for distinguished service to the motion picture industry adding to its moral stature in the world community by his production of the picture Joan of Arc

Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award

• To Jerry Wald

Scientific or Technical

Class II

• Victor Caccialanza, Maurice Ayers and the Paramount Studio Set Construction Department for the development and the application of "Paralite", a new lightweight plaster process for set construction
• Nick Kalten, Louis J. Witt and the Twentieth Century-Fox Studio Mechanical Effects Department for a process of preserving and flame-proofing foliage

Class III

• Marty Martin, Jack Lannon, Russell Shearman and the RKO Radio Studio Special Effects Department; A.J. Moran and the Warner Bros. Studio Electrical Department

References