The 21st Academy Awards were held on March 24, 1949, honoring the films of

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

. The ceremony was moved from the Shrine Auditorium to the Academy's own theater, primarily because the major Hollywood studios had withdrawn their financial support in order to address rumors that they had been trying to influence voters. This year marked the first time a non-Hollywood production (

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

's ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'') won Best Picture, and the first time an individual (Olivier) directed himself in an Oscar-winning performance. The

Academy Award for Best Costume Design The Academy Award for Best Costume Design is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for achievement in film costume design. The award was first given in 1949, for films made in 1948 ...

was introduced this year. Like Best Cinematography and Best Set Decoration, it was split into Color and Black & White categories.

John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics. He rec ...

directed his father, Walter Huston, to the

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 9th Academy Awards to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in ...

for his role as Howard in '' The Treasure of the Sierra Madre'', a unique accomplishment. The Huston family won three Oscars that evening (John won for Best Director and Best Screenplay, both for the same film).

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart ( ; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart ...

's lack of a nomination for Best Actor has been since considered one of the Academy's greatest slights. ''

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc ( ; ; – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the Coronation of the French monarch, coronation of Charles VII o ...

'' set a record by receiving seven nominations without being nominated for Best Picture; this stood until '' They Shoot Horses, Don't They?'' ( 1969) received nine nominations at the

42nd Academy Awards The 42nd Academy Awards were presented April 7, 1970, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California. For the second year in a row, there was no official host. This was the first Academy Awards ceremony to be broadcast via satelli ...

without one for Best Picture. Walter Wanger, producer of the film, was not pleased to see the film avoid a Best Picture nomination, and turned down a special Oscar designed to make up for this slight. ''Hamlet'' became the fifth film to win Best Picture without a screenwriting nomination; the next to do so would be ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

'' at the

38th Academy Awards The 38th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1965, were held on April 18, 1966, at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California. They were hosted by Bob Hope, and were the first Oscars to be broadcast live in colo ...

Jane Wyman Jane Wyman ( ; born Sarah Jane Mayfield; January 5, 1917 – September 10, 2007). was an American actress. A star of both movies and television, she received an Academy Award for Best Actress, four Golden Globe Awards and nominations for two Pr ...

became the first performer since the silent era to win an Oscar for a performance with no lines; ''Johnny Belinda'' was the fourth film to receive nominations in all four acting categories. In addition, '' Johnny Belinda'' set the record for most Oscars lost with 11 (1 for 12). It has since been tied with '' Becket'' (1 for 12), '' The Turning Point'' (0 for 11), '' The Color Purple'' (0 for 11), '' The Power of the Dog'' (1 for 12), and '' Emilia Pérez'' (2 for 13). '' I Remember Mama'' received four acting nominations but not one for Best Picture, tying the record set by '' My Man Godfrey'' in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

. Two more films to date have tied this record: ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

'' (

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

) and ''

Doubt Doubt is a mental state in which the mind remains suspended between two or more contradictory propositions, and is certainty, uncertain about them. Doubt on an emotional level is indecision between belief and wikt:disbelief, disbelief. It may i ...

'' (

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Winners and nominees

Awards

Nominees were announced on February 10, 1949. Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.

Special Foreign Language Film Award

*To '' Monsieur Vincent'' (

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

) - voted by the Academy Board of Governors as the most outstanding foreign language film released in the United States during 1948.

Special Awards

*To Ivan Jandl, for the outstanding juvenile performance of 1948, as Karel Malik in '' The Search''. *To Sid Grauman, master showman, who raised the standard of exhibition of motion pictures. *To

Adolph Zukor Adolph Zukor (; ; January 7, 1873 – June 10, 1976) was a Hungarian-American film producer best known as one of the three founders of Paramount Pictures.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'' (June 16, 1976), p. 76. He produced one of Ameri ...

, a man who has been called the father of the feature film in America, for his services to the industry over a period of forty years. *To Walter Wanger for distinguished service to the industry in adding to its moral stature in the world community by his production of the picture ''

''. *To Jean Hersholt - in recognition of his service to the Academy during four terms as president.

Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award

* Jerry Wald

Presenters and performers

Presenters

Ethel Barrymore Ethel Barrymore (born Ethel Mae Blythe; August 15, 1879 – June 18, 1959) was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors. Barrymore was a stage, screen and radio actress whose career spanned six decades, and was regarde ...

(Presenter: Best Motion Picture) *

Ann Blyth Ann Blyth (born Anne Marie Blythe; August 16, 1928) is an American retired actress and singer. She began her career in radio as a child before transitioning to Broadway, where she appeared in Lillian Hellman, Lillian Hellman’s ''Watch on the R ...

(Presenter: Best Sound Recording) *

Frank Borzage Frank Borzage ( né Borzaga; April 23, 1894 – June 19, 1962) was an American film director and actor. He was the first person to win the Academy Awards, Academy Award for Academy Award for Best Director, Best Director for his film ''7th Heaven ...

(Presenter: Best Director) *

Ronald Colman Ronald Charles Colman (9 February 1891 – 19 May 1958) was an English-born actor who started his career in theatre and silent film in his native country, then emigrated to the United States where he had a highly successful Cinema of the United ...

(Presenter: Best Actress) * Wendell Corey (Presenter: Best Film Editing) *

Jeanne Crain Jeanne Elizabeth Crain (May 25, 1925 – December 14, 2003) was an American actress. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her title role in ''Pinky (film), Pinky'' (1949). She also starred in the films ''In the Meantime, Da ...

(Presenter: Short Subject Awards) * Arlene Dahl (Presenter: Best Art Direction) *

Glenn Ford Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006), known as Glenn Ford, was a Canadian-born American actor. He was most prominent during Classical Hollywood cinema, Hollywood's Golden Age as one of the biggest box-office draws of th ...

(Presenter: Best Special Effects) *

Ava Gardner Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' att ...

(Presenter: Documentary Awards) *

Kathryn Grayson Kathryn Grayson (born Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick; February 9, 1922 – February 17, 2010) was an American actress and coloratura soprano. From the age of 12, Grayson trained as an opera singer. She was under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer ...

(Presenter: Music Awards) * Edmund Gwenn (Presenter: Best Supporting Actress) * Jean Hersholt (Presenter: Honorary Awards) *

Celeste Holm Celeste Holm (April 29, 1917 – July 15, 2012) was an American actress. Holm won an Academy Award for her performance in Elia Kazan's '' Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947), and was nominated for her roles in '' Come to the Stable'' (1949) and ''A ...

(Presenter: Best Supporting Actor) * Louis Jourdan (Presenter: Best Foreign Film) *

Deborah Kerr Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (30 September 192116 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr (), was a Scottish actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming the first person from Scotland to be no ...

(Presenter: Writing Awards) * George Murphy (Presenter: Scientific & Technical Awards) * Robert Ryan (Presenter: Best Cinematography) *

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was an English and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 19 ...

(Presenter: Best Costume Design) *

Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Michaela Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1989. She received numerous honors including an Academy Awards ...

(Presenter: Best Actor)

Performers

* Harry Babbitt and Gloria Wood ("The Woody Woodpecker Song") *

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She began her career as a big band singer in 1937, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, "Sentimental Journey ...

(" It's Magic" from ''

Romance on the High Seas ''Romance on the High Seas'' (released in the United Kingdom as ''It's Magic'') is a 1948 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Michael Curtiz, and starred Jack Carson, Janis Paige, Don DeFore and Doris Day in her film debut. Bus ...

'') * Gordon MacRae ("For Every Man There's a Woman" from '' Casbah'') * Jane Russell (" Buttons and Bows" from '' The Paleface'') *

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classical tr ...

("This Is the Moment" from '' That Lady in Ermine'')

Multiple nominations and awards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Academy Awards, 21 Academy Awards ceremonies 1948 film awards 1949 in Los Angeles 1949 in American cinema March 1949 in the United States