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1938

Experience over nine decades of the Oscars from 1927 to 2024

The 10th Academy Awards | 1938
Biltmore Bowl of the Biltmore Hotel
Thursday, March 10, 1938
Honoring movies released in 1937
Highlights
Best Actress
Image
The Good Earth

Luise Rainer

Best Actor
Image
Captains Courageous

Spencer Tracy

Best Picture
Image
The Life of Emile Zola

accepted by Jack Warner, with Frank Capra

Memorable Moments
W.C. Fields, Mack Sennett, and Frank Capra
Image

At the Oscar ceremony at the Biltmore Hotel

Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy
Image
Leo McCarey
Image

Best Directing winner for The Awful Truth

WINNERS & NOMINEES
Actor
Winner
Spencer Tracy
Captains Courageous
Nominees
Charles Boyer
Conquest
Nominees
Fredric March
A Star Is Born
Nominees
Robert Montgomery
Night Must Fall
Nominees
Paul Muni
The Life of Emile Zola
Actor in a Supporting Role
Winner
Joseph Schildkraut
The Life of Emile Zola
Nominees
Ralph Bellamy
The Awful Truth
Nominees
Thomas Mitchell
The Hurricane
Nominees
H. B. Warner
Lost Horizon
Nominees
Roland Young
Topper
Actress
Winner
Luise Rainer
The Good Earth
Nominees
Irene Dunne
The Awful Truth
Nominees
Greta Garbo
Camille
Nominees
Janet Gaynor
A Star Is Born
Nominees
Barbara Stanwyck
Stella Dallas
Actress in a Supporting Role
Winner
Alice Brady
In Old Chicago
Nominees
Andrea Leeds
Stage Door
Nominees
Anne Shirley
Stella Dallas
Nominees
Claire Trevor
Dead End
Nominees
Dame May Whitty
Night Must Fall
Art Direction
Winner
Lost Horizon
Stephen Goosson
Nominees
Conquest
Cedric Gibbons, William Horning
Nominees
A Damsel in Distress
Carroll Clark
Nominees
Dead End
Richard Day
Nominees
Every Day's a Holiday
Wiard Ihnen
Nominees
The Life of Emile Zola
Anton Grot
Nominees
Manhattan Merry-Go-Round
John Victor Mackay
Nominees
The Prisoner of Zenda
Lyle Wheeler
Nominees
Souls at Sea
Hans Dreier, Roland Anderson
Nominees
Walter Wanger's Vogues of 1938
Alexander Toluboff
Nominees
Wee Willie Winkie
William S. Darling, David Hall
Nominees
You're a Sweetheart
Jack Otterson
Assistant Director
Winner
In Old Chicago
Robert Webb
Nominees
The Life of Emile Zola
Russ Saunders
Nominees
Lost Horizon
C. C. Coleman, Jr.
Nominees
Souls at Sea
Hal Walker
Nominees
A Star Is Born
Eric Stacey
Cinematography
Winner
The Good Earth
Karl Freund
Nominees
Dead End
Gregg Toland
Nominees
Wings over Honolulu
Joseph Valentine
Dance Direction
Winner
A Damsel in Distress
"Fun House" from "A Damsel in Distress"
Nominees
Varsity Show
"The Finale" from "Varsity Show"
Nominees
Ready, Willing and Able
"Too Marvelous for Words" from "Ready, Willing and Able"
Nominees
A Day at the Races
"All God's Children Got Rhythm" from "A Day at the Races"
Nominees
Ali Baba Goes to Town
"Swing Is Here to Stay" from "Ali Baba Goes to Town"
Nominees
Thin Ice
"Prince Igor Suite" from "Thin Ice"
Nominees
Waikiki Wedding
"Luau" from "Waikiki Wedding"
Directing
Winner
The Awful Truth
Leo McCarey
Nominees
The Good Earth
Sidney Franklin
Nominees
The Life of Emile Zola
William Dieterle
Nominees
Stage Door
Gregory La Cava
Nominees
A Star Is Born
William Wellman
Film Editing
Winner
Lost Horizon
Gene Havlick, Gene Milford
Nominees
The Awful Truth
Al Clark
Nominees
Captains Courageous
Elmo Veron
Nominees
The Good Earth
Basil Wrangell
Nominees
One Hundred Men and a Girl
Bernard W. Burton
Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award
Winner
Darryl F. Zanuck
Music (Scoring)
Winner
One Hundred Men and a Girl
Universal Studio Music Department, Charles Previn, head of department (no composer credit)
Nominees
The Hurricane
Samuel Goldwyn Studio Music Department, Alfred Newman, head of department (Score by Alfred Newman)
Nominees
In Old Chicago
20th Century-Fox Studio Music Department, Louis Silvers, head of department (no composer credit)
Nominees
The Life of Emile Zola
Warner Bros. Studio Music Department, Leo Forbstein, head of department (Score by Max Steiner)
Nominees
Lost Horizon
Columbia Studio Music Department, Morris Stoloff, head of department (Score by Dimitri Tiomkin)
Nominees
Make a Wish
Principal Productions, Dr. Hugo Riesenfeld, musical director (Score by Dr. Hugo Riesenfeld)
Nominees
Maytime
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Music Department, Nat W. Finston, head of department (Score by Herbert Stothart)
Nominees
Portia on Trial
Republic Studio Music Department, Alberto Colombo, head of department (Score by Alberto Colombo)
Nominees
The Prisoner of Zenda
Selznick International Pictures Music Department, Alfred Newman, musical director (Score by Alfred Newman)
Nominees
Quality Street
RKO Radio Studio Music Department, Roy Webb, musical director (Score by Roy Webb)
Nominees
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Walt Disney Studio Music Department, Leigh Harline, head of department (Score by Frank Churchill, Leigh Harline and Paul J. Smith)
Nominees
Something to Sing About
Grand National Studio Music Department, C. Bakaleinikoff, musical director (Score by Victor Schertzinger)
Nominees
Souls at Sea
Paramount Studio Music Department, Boris Morros, head of department (Score by W. Franke Harling and Milan Roder)
Nominees
Way Out West
Hal Roach Studio Music Department, Marvin Hatley, head of department (Score by Marvin Hatley)
Music (Song)
Winner
Waikiki Wedding
Sweet Leilani in "Waikiki Wedding" Music and Lyrics by Harry Owens
Nominees
Mr. Dodd Takes the Air
Remember Me in "Mr. Dodd Takes the Air" Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Al Dubin
Nominees
Walter Wanger's Vogues of 1938
That Old Feeling in "Walter Wanger's Vogues of 1938" Music by Sammy Fain; Lyrics by Lew Brown
Nominees
Shall We Dance
They Can't Take That Away From Me in "Shall We Dance" Music by George Gershwin; Lyrics by Ira Gershwin
Nominees
Artists and Models
Whispers In The Dark in "Artists and Models" Music by Frederick Hollander; Lyrics by Leo Robin
Outstanding Production
Winner
The Life of Emile Zola
Warner Bros.
Nominees
The Awful Truth
Columbia
Nominees
Captains Courageous
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Nominees
Dead End
Samuel Goldwyn Productions
Nominees
The Good Earth
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Nominees
In Old Chicago
20th Century-Fox
Nominees
Lost Horizon
Columbia
Nominees
One Hundred Men and a Girl
Universal
Nominees
Stage Door
RKO Radio
Nominees
A Star Is Born
Selznick International Pictures
Short Subject (Cartoon)
Winner
The Old Mill
Walt Disney, Producer
Nominees
Educated Fish
Paramount
Nominees
The Little Match Girl
Charles Mintz, Producer
Short Subject (Color)
Winner
Penny Wisdom
Pete Smith, Producer
Nominees
The Man without a Country
Warner Bros.
Nominees
Popular Science J-7-1
Paramount
Short Subject (One-reel)
Winner
The Private Life of the Gannets
Skibo Productions
Nominees
A Night at the Movies
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Nominees
Romance of Radium
Pete Smith, Producer
Short Subject (Two-reel)
Winner
Torture Money
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Nominees
Deep South
RKO Radio
Nominees
Should Wives Work?
RKO Radio
Sound Recording
Winner
The Hurricane
United Artists Studio Sound Department, Thomas T. Moulton, Sound Director
Nominees
The Girl Said No
Grand National Studio Sound Department, A. E. Kaye, Sound Director
Nominees
Hitting a New High
RKO Radio Studio Sound Department, John Aalberg, Sound Director
Nominees
In Old Chicago
20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, E. H. Hansen, Sound Director
Nominees
The Life of Emile Zola
Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department, Nathan Levinson, Sound Director
Nominees
Lost Horizon
Columbia Studio Sound Department, John Livadary, Sound Director
Nominees
Maytime
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Douglas Shearer, Sound Director
Nominees
One Hundred Men and a Girl
Universal Studio Sound Department, Homer G. Tasker, Sound Director
Nominees
Topper
Hal Roach Studio Sound Department, Elmer A. Raguse, Sound Director
Nominees
Wells Fargo
Paramount Studio Sound Department, Loren L. Ryder, Sound Director
Special Award
Winner
A Star Is Born
Special Award
Writing (Original Story)
Winner
A Star Is Born
William A. Wellman, Robert Carson
Nominees
Black Legion
Robert Lord
Nominees
In Old Chicago
Niven Busch
Nominees
The Life of Emile Zola
Heinz Herald, Geza Herczeg
Nominees
One Hundred Men and a Girl
Hans Kraly
Writing (Screenplay)
Winner
The Life of Emile Zola
Norman Reilly Raine, Heinz Herald, Geza Herczeg
Nominees
The Awful Truth
Vina Delmar
Nominees
Captains Courageous
John Lee Mahin, Marc Connelly, Dale Van Every
Nominees
Stage Door
Morris Ryskind, Anthony Veiller
Nominees
A Star Is Born
Dorothy Parker, Alan Campbell, Robert Carson

A

Ali Baba Goes to Town
1 NOMINATION
  • Dance Direction - "Swing Is Here to Stay" from "Ali Baba Goes to Town"
Artists and Models
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Song) - Whispers In The Dark in "Artists and Models" Music by Frederick Hollander; Lyrics by Leo Robin
The Awful Truth
6 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Directing - Leo McCarey
  • Actor in a Supporting Role - Ralph Bellamy
  • Actress - Irene Dunne
  • Film Editing - Al Clark
  • Outstanding Production - Columbia
  • Writing (Screenplay) - Vina Delmar

B

Black Legion
1 NOMINATION
  • Writing (Original Story) - Robert Lord

C

Camille
1 NOMINATION
  • Actress - Greta Garbo
Captains Courageous
4 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Actor - Spencer Tracy
  • Film Editing - Elmo Veron
  • Outstanding Production - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
  • Writing (Screenplay) - John Lee Mahin, Marc Connelly, Dale Van Every
Conquest
2 NOMINATIONS
  • Actor - Charles Boyer
  • Art Direction - Cedric Gibbons, William Horning

D

A Damsel in Distress
2 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Dance Direction - "Fun House" from "A Damsel in Distress"
  • Art Direction - Carroll Clark
A Day at the Races
1 NOMINATION
  • Dance Direction - "All God's Children Got Rhythm" from "A Day at the Races"
Dead End
4 NOMINATIONS
  • Actress in a Supporting Role - Claire Trevor
  • Art Direction - Richard Day
  • Cinematography - Gregg Toland
  • Outstanding Production - Samuel Goldwyn Productions
Deep South
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Two-reel) - RKO Radio

E

Educated Fish
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Cartoon) - Paramount
Every Day's a Holiday
1 NOMINATION
  • Art Direction - Wiard Ihnen

G

The Girl Said No
1 NOMINATION
  • Sound Recording - Grand National Studio Sound Department, A. E. Kaye, Sound Director
The Good Earth
5 NOMINATIONS, 2 WINS
  • * Actress - Luise Rainer
  • * Cinematography - Karl Freund
  • Directing - Sidney Franklin
  • Film Editing - Basil Wrangell
  • Outstanding Production - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

H

Hitting a New High
1 NOMINATION
  • Sound Recording - RKO Radio Studio Sound Department, John Aalberg, Sound Director
The Hurricane
3 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Sound Recording - United Artists Studio Sound Department, Thomas T. Moulton, Sound Director
  • Actor in a Supporting Role - Thomas Mitchell
  • Music (Scoring) - Samuel Goldwyn Studio Music Department, Alfred Newman, head of department (Score by Alfred Newman)

L

The Life of Emile Zola
10 NOMINATIONS, 3 WINS
  • * Actor in a Supporting Role - Joseph Schildkraut
  • * Outstanding Production - Warner Bros.
  • * Writing (Screenplay) - Norman Reilly Raine, Heinz Herald, Geza Herczeg
  • Actor - Paul Muni
  • Art Direction - Anton Grot
  • Assistant Director - Russ Saunders
  • Directing - William Dieterle
  • Music (Scoring) - Warner Bros. Studio Music Department, Leo Forbstein, head of department (Score by Max Steiner)
  • Sound Recording - Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department, Nathan Levinson, Sound Director
  • Writing (Original Story) - Heinz Herald, Geza Herczeg
The Little Match Girl
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Cartoon) - Charles Mintz, Producer
Lost Horizon
7 NOMINATIONS, 2 WINS
  • * Art Direction - Stephen Goosson
  • * Film Editing - Gene Havlick, Gene Milford
  • Actor in a Supporting Role - H. B. Warner
  • Assistant Director - C. C. Coleman, Jr.
  • Music (Scoring) - Columbia Studio Music Department, Morris Stoloff, head of department (Score by Dimitri Tiomkin)
  • Outstanding Production - Columbia
  • Sound Recording - Columbia Studio Sound Department, John Livadary, Sound Director

M

Make a Wish
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Scoring) - Principal Productions, Dr. Hugo Riesenfeld, musical director (Score by Dr. Hugo Riesenfeld)
The Man without a Country
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Color) - Warner Bros.
Manhattan Merry-Go-Round
1 NOMINATION
  • Art Direction - John Victor Mackay
Maytime
2 NOMINATIONS
  • Music (Scoring) - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Music Department, Nat W. Finston, head of department (Score by Herbert Stothart)
  • Sound Recording - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Douglas Shearer, Sound Director
Mr. Dodd Takes the Air
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Song) - Remember Me in "Mr. Dodd Takes the Air" Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Al Dubin

N

A Night at the Movies
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (One-reel) - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Night Must Fall
2 NOMINATIONS
  • Actor - Robert Montgomery
  • Actress in a Supporting Role - Dame May Whitty

O

In Old Chicago
6 NOMINATIONS, 2 WINS
  • * Actress in a Supporting Role - Alice Brady
  • * Assistant Director - Robert Webb
  • Music (Scoring) - 20th Century-Fox Studio Music Department, Louis Silvers, head of department (no composer credit)
  • Outstanding Production - 20th Century-Fox
  • Sound Recording - 20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, E. H. Hansen, Sound Director
  • Writing (Original Story) - Niven Busch
The Old Mill
1 WIN, 1 NOMINATION
  • * Short Subject (Cartoon) - Walt Disney, Producer
One Hundred Men and a Girl
5 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Music (Scoring) - Universal Studio Music Department, Charles Previn, head of department (no composer credit)
  • Film Editing - Bernard W. Burton
  • Outstanding Production - Universal
  • Sound Recording - Universal Studio Sound Department, Homer G. Tasker, Sound Director
  • Writing (Original Story) - Hans Kraly

P

Penny Wisdom
1 WIN, 1 NOMINATION
  • * Short Subject (Color) - Pete Smith, Producer
Popular Science J-7-1
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Color) - Paramount
Portia on Trial
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Scoring) - Republic Studio Music Department, Alberto Colombo, head of department (Score by Alberto Colombo)
The Prisoner of Zenda
2 NOMINATIONS
  • Art Direction - Lyle Wheeler
  • Music (Scoring) - Selznick International Pictures Music Department, Alfred Newman, musical director (Score by Alfred Newman)
The Private Life of the Gannets
1 WIN, 1 NOMINATION
  • * Short Subject (One-reel) - Skibo Productions

Q

Quality Street
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Scoring) - RKO Radio Studio Music Department, Roy Webb, musical director (Score by Roy Webb)

R

Ready, Willing and Able
1 NOMINATION
  • Dance Direction - "Too Marvelous for Words" from "Ready, Willing and Able"
Romance of Radium
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (One-reel) - Pete Smith, Producer

S

Shall We Dance
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Song) - They Can't Take That Away From Me in "Shall We Dance" Music by George Gershwin; Lyrics by Ira Gershwin
Should Wives Work?
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Two-reel) - RKO Radio
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Scoring) - Walt Disney Studio Music Department, Leigh Harline, head of department (Score by Frank Churchill, Leigh Harline and Paul J. Smith)
Something to Sing About
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Scoring) - Grand National Studio Music Department, C. Bakaleinikoff, musical director (Score by Victor Schertzinger)
Souls at Sea
3 NOMINATIONS
  • Art Direction - Hans Dreier, Roland Anderson
  • Assistant Director - Hal Walker
  • Music (Scoring) - Paramount Studio Music Department, Boris Morros, head of department (Score by W. Franke Harling and Milan Roder)
Stage Door
4 NOMINATIONS
  • Actress in a Supporting Role - Andrea Leeds
  • Directing - Gregory La Cava
  • Outstanding Production - RKO Radio
  • Writing (Screenplay) - Morris Ryskind, Anthony Veiller
A Star Is Born
8 NOMINATIONS, 2 WINS
  • * Special Award - Special Award
  • * Writing (Original Story) - William A. Wellman, Robert Carson
  • Actor - Fredric March
  • Actress - Janet Gaynor
  • Assistant Director - Eric Stacey
  • Directing - William Wellman
  • Outstanding Production - Selznick International Pictures
  • Writing (Screenplay) - Dorothy Parker, Alan Campbell, Robert Carson
Stella Dallas
2 NOMINATIONS
  • Actress - Barbara Stanwyck
  • Actress in a Supporting Role - Anne Shirley

T

Thin Ice
1 NOMINATION
  • Dance Direction - "Prince Igor Suite" from "Thin Ice"
Topper
2 NOMINATIONS
  • Actor in a Supporting Role - Roland Young
  • Sound Recording - Hal Roach Studio Sound Department, Elmer A. Raguse, Sound Director
Torture Money
1 WIN, 1 NOMINATION
  • * Short Subject (Two-reel) - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

V

Varsity Show
1 NOMINATION
  • Dance Direction - "The Finale" from "Varsity Show"

W

Waikiki Wedding
2 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Music (Song) - Sweet Leilani in "Waikiki Wedding" Music and Lyrics by Harry Owens
  • Dance Direction - "Luau" from "Waikiki Wedding"
Walter Wanger's Vogues of 1938
2 NOMINATIONS
  • Art Direction - Alexander Toluboff
  • Music (Song) - That Old Feeling in "Walter Wanger's Vogues of 1938" Music by Sammy Fain; Lyrics by Lew Brown
Way Out West
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Scoring) - Hal Roach Studio Music Department, Marvin Hatley, head of department (Score by Marvin Hatley)
Wee Willie Winkie
1 NOMINATION
  • Art Direction - William S. Darling, David Hall
Wells Fargo
1 NOMINATION
  • Sound Recording - Paramount Studio Sound Department, Loren L. Ryder, Sound Director
Wings over Honolulu
1 NOMINATION
  • Cinematography - Joseph Valentine

Y

You're a Sweetheart
1 NOMINATION
  • Art Direction - Jack Otterson
No Films Found