The 11th Academy Awards were held on February 23, 1939, at the Biltmore Hotel in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. It was the first Academy Awards show without an official host.

Frank Capra Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-born American film director, producer and writer who became the creative force behind some of the major award-winning films of the 1930s ...

became the first person to win three Best Director awards, to be followed by

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

(who would go on to win four) and

William Wyler William Wyler (; born Willi Wyler (); July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was a Swiss-German-American film director and producer who won the Academy Award for Best Director three times, those being for '' Mrs. Miniver'' (1942), '' The Best Years o ...

. '' La Grande Illusion'' was the first non-English language film to be nominated for Best Picture. This was the first of only two times in Oscar history in which three of the four acting winners had won before; only

Fay Bainter Fay Okell Bainter (December 7, 1893 – April 16, 1968) was an American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for ''Jezebel'' (1938) and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Early life Bainter wa ...

was a first-time award winner. The only other time that this happened was at the 67th Academy Awards in 1994. Fay Bainter was the first performer in the Oscars history to receive two acting nominations in the same year, while

Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...

became the first of two actors to win

Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to the ...

two years in a row; the other,

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

, also did so in 1994.

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

's screenplay win for '' Pygmalion'' made him the first—and, for over 60 years, only—person to win both a

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

and an Academy Award until

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

received

Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

in 2016 after having won the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed ...

in 2001. Radio coverage was banned at the ceremony. A reporter, George Fischer from Mutual Radio Network, KHJ, Los Angeles, which had been reporting from the Academy Awards since 1930, locked himself in a booth and was able to broadcast for about 12 minutes before security guards broke down the door. Partial radio coverage was permitted again beginning with the 1942 ceremony.

Awards

Nominees were announced on February 5, 1939. Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.

Academy Honorary Awards

* J. Arthur Ball "for his outstanding contributions to the advancement of color in Motion Picture Photography". (Scroll) *

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

"for creating ''

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection '' Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as ...

'' 937 recognized as a significant screen innovation which has charmed millions and pioneered a great new entertainment field for the motion picture cartoon". (One statuette and seven miniature statuettes, representing the Seven Dwarfs, on a stepped base.) This is a rare case of a film being recognized in two succeeding ceremonies, as the film was also nominated for Best Score the previous year at the

10th Academy Awards The 10th Academy Awards were held on March 10, 1938 to honor films released in 1937, at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, California and hosted by Bob Burns. Originally scheduled for March 3, 1938, the ceremony was postponed due to the Los A ...

. * Gordon Jennings, Jan Domela, Dev Jennings, Irmin Roberts, Art Smith, Farciot Edouart, Loyal Griggs,

Loren L. Ryder Loren L. Ryder (March 9, 1900 – May 28, 1985) was an American sound engineer. He won five Academy Awards and was nominated for twelve more in the categories Best Sound Recording and Best Effects. After serving in World War I, Ryder st ...

, Harry D. Mills, Louis H. Mesenkop, and Walter Oberst "for outstanding achievement in creating Special Photographic and Sound Effects in the Paramount production, '' Spawn of the North''". (Plaque) * Oliver Marsh and Allen Davey "for the color cinematography of the

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

production, '' Sweethearts''". (Plaque) * Harry M. Warner "in recognition of patriotic service in the production of historical

short subjects A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

presenting significant episodes in the early struggle of the American people for liberty". (Scroll)

Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award

* Hal B. Wallis

Academy Juvenile Awards

Academy Juvenile Awards were presented to: * Deanna Durbin and

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

"for their significant contribution in bringing to the screen the spirit and personification of youth, and as juvenile players setting a high standard of ability and achievement". (Shared; miniature statuette)

Multiple nominations and awards

The following twenty-six films received multiple nominations: * 7 nominations: '' You Can't Take It with You'' * 6 nominations: '' Alexander's Ragtime Band'' * 5 nominations: '' Boys Town'', '' Four Daughters'', '' Jezebel'' and ''

Merrily We Live ''Merrily We Live'' is a 1938 comedy film directed by Norman Z. McLeod and written by Eddie Moran and Jack Jevne. It stars Constance Bennett and Brian Aherne and features Ann Dvorak, Bonita Granville, Billie Burke, Tom Brown, Alan Mowbray, ...

'' * 4 nominations: '' The Adventures of Robin Hood'', ''

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques d ...

'', '' The Citadel'', '' If I Were King'', '' Mad About Music'', ''

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...

'' and '' Pygmalion'' * 3 nominations: '' Angels with Dirty Faces'', '' Army Girl'', '' Carefree'', '' The Cowboy and the Lady'', '' The Great Waltz'', '' Suez'', ''

Test Pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

'' and '' The Young in Heart'' * 2 nominations: '' Blockade'', '' The Goldwyn Follies'', '' Sweethearts'', '' That Certain Age'' and '' Vivacious Lady'' The following four films received multiple awards: * 3 awards: '' The Adventures of Robin Hood'' * 2 awards: '' Boys Town'', '' Jezebel'' and '' You Can't Take It with You''

''In memoriam''

References

External links

Official Website of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
{{DEFAULTSORT:Academy Awards, 11 Academy Awards ceremonies 1938 film awards 1939 in Los Angeles 1938 in American cinema February 1939 events