The 14th Academy Awards honored film achievements in 1941 and were held at the Biltmore Hotel in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. The ceremony is now considered notable as the year in which ''

Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American drama film produced by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz. The picture was Welles' first feature film. ''Citizen Kane'' is frequently cited ...

'' failed to win Best Picture, losing to

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 ...

's ''

How Green Was My Valley ''How Green Was My Valley'' is a 1939 novel by Richard Llewellyn, narrated by Huw Morgan, the main character, about his Welsh family and the mining community in which they live. The author had claimed that he based the book on his own persona ...

''. Later regarded as the greatest film ever made, ''Citizen Kane'' was nominated for nine awards but won only one, for

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with the ...

. John Ford won his third Best Director award for ''How Green Was My Valley'', becoming the second to do so (after Frank Capra), and the first to win the award in consecutive years (following ''

The Grapes of Wrath ''The Grapes of Wrath'' is an American realist novel written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. The book won the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and it was cited prominently when Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Priz ...

'' in

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * Januar ...

). Much public attention was focused on the Best Actress race between sibling rivals

Joan Fontaine Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013), known professionally as Joan Fontaine, was a British-American actress who is best known for her starring roles in Hollywood films during the "Golden Age". Fontaine appeared ...

, for

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

’s '' Suspicion'', and

Olivia de Havilland Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British-American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her time. ...

, for '' Hold Back the Dawn''. Fontaine won, becoming the only acting winner from a film directed by Hitchcock. '' The Little Foxes'' set a record by receiving nine nominations without winning a single Oscar; this mark was matched by '' Peyton Place'' in 1957, and exceeded by '' The Turning Point'' and ''

The Color Purple ''The Color Purple'' is a 1982 epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker which won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction.

'', both of which received 11 nominations without a win. This year marked the debut of the

Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosoph ...

. A portion of the ceremony was broadcast by

CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broad ...

Awards

Nominations were announced on February 6, 1942. Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and marked with a dagger symbol ().

Academy Honorary Award

* Rey Scott for '' Kukan'' * The British Ministry of Information for ''

Target for Tonight ''Target for Tonight'' (or ''Target for To-Night'') is a 1941 British World War II documentary film billed as filmed and acted by the Royal Air Force, all during wartime operations. It was directed by Harry Watt for the Crown Film Unit. The fi ...

'' *

Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appear ...

for ''

Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcor ...

'' *

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 ...

William Garity William E. Garity (April 2, 1899 – September 16, 1971) was an American inventor and audio engineer who attended the Pratt Institute before going to work for Lee De Forest around 1921. Garity worked with DeForest on the Phonofilm sound-on-film ...

, John N. A. Hawkins, and the RCA Manufacturing Company for ''

Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award

Multiple nominations and awards

The following 26 films received multiple nominations: * 11 nominations: ''

Sergeant York Alvin Cullum York (December 13, 1887 – September 2, 1964), also known as Sergeant York, was one of the most decorated United States Army soldiers of World War I. He received the Medal of Honor for leading an attack on a German machi ...

'' * 10 nominations: ''

'' * 9 nominations: ''

'' and '' The Little Foxes'' * 7 nominations: ''

Here Comes Mr. Jordan ''Here Comes Mr. Jordan'' is a 1941 American fantasy romantic comedy film directed by Alexander Hall, in which a boxer, mistakenly taken to Heaven before his time, is given a second chance back on Earth. It stars Robert Montgomery, Claude Rains ...

'' * 6 nominations: '' Hold Back the Dawn'' * 4 nominations: ''

Ball of Fire ''Ball of Fire'' is a 1941 American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks and starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. This Samuel Goldwyn Productions film (originally distributed by RKO) concerns a group of professors laboring to ...

'', '' Blossoms in the Dust'', and ''

That Hamilton Woman ''That Hamilton Woman'', also known as ''Lady Hamilton'', is a 1941 black-and-white historical film drama produced and directed by Alexander Korda for his British company during his exile in the United States. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, th ...

'' * 3 nominations: ''

The Chocolate Soldier ''The Chocolate Soldier'' (German: ''Der tapfere Soldat'' he courageous soldieror ''Der Praliné-Soldat'') is an operetta composed in 1908 by Oscar Straus (composer), Oscar Straus based on George Bernard Shaw's 1894 play, ''Arms and the Man' ...

'', '' Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'', '' The Maltese Falcon'', '' Sun Valley Serenade'', '' Sundown'', and '' Suspicion'' * 2 nominations: '' All-American Co-Ed'', '' All That Money Can Buy'', '' Aloma of the South Seas'', '' Blood and Sand'', ''

Buck Privates ''Buck Privates'' is a 1941 musical film, musical military comedy film that turned Bud Abbott and Lou Costello into bona fide movie stars. It was the first service comedy based on the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, peacetime draft o ...

'', ''

The Devil and Miss Jones ''The Devil and Miss Jones'' is a 1941 comedy film starring Jean Arthur, Robert Cummings, and Charles Coburn. Directed by Sam Wood from a screenplay by Norman Krasna, the film was the product of an independent collaboration between Krasna and p ...

'', ''

Dumbo ''Dumbo'' is a 1941 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The fourth Disney animated feature film, it is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, ...

'', '' Ladies in Retirement'', ''

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or ap ...

'', ''

Topper Returns ''Topper Returns'' is a 1941 fantasy comedy thriller directed by Roy Del Ruth and written by Jonathan Latimer. The third and final installment in the initial series of supernatural comedy films inspired by the novels of Thorne Smith, it succee ...

'', and ''

You'll Never Get Rich ''You'll Never Get Rich'' is a 1941 Hollywood musical comedy film with a wartime theme directed by Sidney Lanfield and starring Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Robert Benchley, Cliff Nazarro, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The title stems f ...

'' The following four films received multiple awards: * 5 wins: ''

'' * 2 wins: ''

'', ''

'', and ''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Academy Awards, 14 Academy Awards ceremonies 1941 film awards 1942 in American cinema CBS Radio programs 1942 in Los Angeles February 1942 events

Awards

Academy Honorary Award

Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award

Multiple nominations and awards

See also

References