The 18th Academy Awards were held on March 7, 1946, at Grauman's Chinese Theatre to honor the films of 1945. Being the first Oscars after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the ceremony returned to the glamour of the prewar years; notably, the plaster statuettes that had been used during the war were replaced by bronze statuettes with gold plating and an elevated base. Despite the optimistic postwar mood, director Billy Wilder's grim and socially significant drama '' The Lost Weekend'' won the major awards of Best Picture and Best Director, as well as two other awards. It was the first film to win both Best Picture and the Palme d'Or at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

. Best Actress nominee

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, 190? was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion-picture cont ...

was absent due to illness. This was the first year in which every film nominated for Best Picture won at least one Oscar, and also the first time a sequel ('' The Bells of St. Mary's'') was nominated for Best Picture.

Winners and nominees

Awards

Nominations announced on January 27, 1946. Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.

Special Awards

*To Walter Wanger for his six years service as President of the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

. *To Peggy Ann Garner, outstanding child actress of 1945. *To '' The House I Live In'', tolerance short subject; produced by Frank Ross and

Mervyn LeRoy Mervyn LeRoy (; October 15, 1900 – September 13, 1987) was an American film director and producer. During the 1930s, he was one of the two great practitioners of economical and effective film directing at Warner Bros., Warner Brothers studios, ...

; directed by Mervyn LeRoy; screenplay by Albert Maltz; song ''"The House I Live In"'', music by Earl Robinson, lyrics by

Lewis Allan Abel Meeropol (February 10, 1903 – October 29, 1986)Baker, Nancy Kovaleff, "Abel Meeropol (a.k.a. Lewis Allan): Political Commentator and Social Conscience," '' American Music'' 20/1 (2002), pp. 25–79, ; see especially note 3. was an Ameri ...

; starring

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

; released by RKO Radio. *To Republic Studio, Daniel J. Bloomberg and the Republic Studio Sound Department for the building of an outstanding musical scoring auditorium which provides optimum recording conditions and combines all elements of acoustic and engineering design.

Presenters and performers

Presenters

* Ingrid Bergman (Presenter: Best Actor) * Charles Boyer (Presenter: Best Actress) *

Frank Capra Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-American film director, producer, and screenwriter who was the creative force behind Frank Capra filmography#Films that won Academy Award ...

(Presenter: Best Film Editing, Best Sound Recording and Best Special Effects) *

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympatheti ...

(Presenter: Writing Awards) * Y. Frank Freeman (Presenter: Short Subject Awards) * D. W. Griffith (Presenter: Best Cinematography) * Van Heflin (Presenter: Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor) * Eric Johnston (Presenter: Best Picture) * George Murphy (Presenter: Honorary Award to Peggy Ann Garner) * Donald Nelson (Presenter: Honorary Awards) *

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

(Presenter: Best Art Direction) * Cesar Romero and Peter Viertel (Presenters: Show Introduction) *

William Wyler William Wyler (; born Willi Wyler (); July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was a German-born American film director and producer. Known for his work in numerous genres over five decades, he received numerous awards and accolades, including three Aca ...

(Presenter: Best Director)

Performers

* Kathryn Grayson * Dick Haymes * Dinah Shore *

Multiple nominations and awards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Academy Awards, 18 Academy Awards ceremonies 1945 film awards 1946 in Los Angeles 1946 in American cinema March 1946 in the United States