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1948

Experience over nine decades of the Oscars from 1927 to 2024

The 20th Academy Awards | 1948
Shrine Civic Auditorium
Saturday, March 20, 1948
Honoring movies released in 1947
Highlights
Supporting Actor
Miracle on 34th Street

Edmund Gwenn

Surviving Newsreel Footage

Highlights from the ceremony with Celeste Holm, Ronald Colman, Loretta Young and more

Musical Score
Image
Mother Wore Tights

Alfred Newman with Donald Crisp

Memorable Moments
Joan Crawford
Image

Arriving at the Oscars with Greg Bautzer

James Baskett
Image

A Special Award for Song of the South, presented by Jean Hersholt and Ingrid Bergman

Loretta Young
Image

Best Actress winner for The Farmer's Daughter

WINNERS & NOMINEES
Actor
Winner
Ronald Colman
A Double Life
Nominees
John Garfield
Body and Soul
Nominees
Gregory Peck
Gentleman's Agreement
Nominees
William Powell
Life with Father
Nominees
Michael Redgrave
Mourning Becomes Electra
Actor in a Supporting Role
Winner
Edmund Gwenn
Miracle on 34th Street
Nominees
Charles Bickford
The Farmer's Daughter
Nominees
Thomas Gomez
Ride the Pink Horse
Nominees
Robert Ryan
Crossfire
Nominees
Richard Widmark
Kiss of Death
Actress
Winner
Loretta Young
The Farmer's Daughter
Nominees
Joan Crawford
Possessed
Nominees
Susan Hayward
Smash-Up--The Story of a Woman
Nominees
Dorothy McGuire
Gentleman's Agreement
Nominees
Rosalind Russell
Mourning Becomes Electra
Actress in a Supporting Role
Winner
Celeste Holm
Gentleman's Agreement
Nominees
Ethel Barrymore
The Paradine Case
Nominees
Gloria Grahame
Crossfire
Nominees
Marjorie Main
The Egg and I
Nominees
Anne Revere
Gentleman's Agreement
Art Direction (Black-and-White)
Winner
Great Expectations
Art Direction: John Bryan; Set Decoration: Wilfred Shingleton
Nominees
The Foxes of Harrow
Art Direction: Lyle Wheeler, Maurice Ransford; Set Decoration: Thomas Little, Paul S. Fox
Art Direction (Color)
Winner
Black Narcissus
Art Direction: Alfred Junge; Set Decoration: Alfred Junge
Nominees
Life with Father
Art Direction: Robert M. Haas; Set Decoration: George James Hopkins
Cinematography (Black-and-White)
Winner
Great Expectations
Guy Green
Nominees
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
Charles Lang, Jr.
Nominees
Green Dolphin Street
George Folsey
Cinematography (Color)
Winner
Black Narcissus
Jack Cardiff
Nominees
Life with Father
Peverell Marley, William V. Skall
Nominees
Mother Wore Tights
Harry Jackson
Directing
Winner
Gentleman's Agreement
Elia Kazan
Nominees
The Bishop's Wife
Henry Koster
Nominees
Crossfire
Edward Dmytryk
Nominees
A Double Life
George Cukor
Nominees
Great Expectations
David Lean
Documentary (Feature)
Winner
Design for Death
Sid Rogell, Executive Producer; Theron Warth and Richard O. Fleischer, Producers
Nominees
Journey into Medicine
United States Department of State Office of Information and Educational Exchange
Nominees
The World Is Rich
Paul Rotha, Producer
Documentary (Short Subject)
Winner
First Steps
United Nations Division of Films and Visual Information
Nominees
Passport to Nowhere
Frederic Ullman, Jr., Producer
Nominees
School in the Mailbox
Australian News & Information Bureau
Film Editing
Winner
Body and Soul
Francis Lyon, Robert Parrish
Nominees
The Bishop's Wife
Monica Collingwood
Nominees
Gentleman's Agreement
Harmon Jones
Nominees
Green Dolphin Street
George White
Nominees
Odd Man Out
Fergus McDonell
Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)
Winner
A Double Life
Dr. Miklos Rozsa
Nominees
The Bishop's Wife
Hugo Friedhofer
Nominees
Captain from Castile
Alfred Newman
Nominees
Forever Amber
David Raksin
Nominees
Life with Father
Max Steiner
Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture)
Winner
Mother Wore Tights
Alfred Newman
Nominees
Fiesta
Johnny Green
Nominees
My Wild Irish Rose
Ray Heindorf, Max Steiner
Nominees
Road to Rio
Robert Emmett Dolan
Nominees
Song of the South
Daniele Amfitheatrof, Paul J. Smith, Charles Wolcott
Music (Song)
Winner
Song of the South
Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah in "Song of the South" Music by Allie Wrubel; Lyrics by Ray Gilbert
Nominees
The Time, the Place and the Girl
A Gal In Calico in "The Time, the Place and the Girl" Music by Arthur Schwartz; Lyrics by Leo Robin
Nominees
The Perils of Pauline
I Wish I Didn't Love You So in "The Perils of Pauline" Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Nominees
Good News
Pass That Peace Pipe in "Good News" Music and Lyrics by Ralph Blane, Roger Edens and Hugh Martin
Nominees
Mother Wore Tights
You Do in "Mother Wore Tights" Music by Josef Myrow; Lyrics by Mack Gordon
Best Motion Picture
Winner
Gentleman's Agreement
20th Century-Fox
Nominees
The Bishop's Wife
Samuel Goldwyn Productions
Nominees
Crossfire
RKO Radio
Nominees
Great Expectations
J. Arthur Rank-Cineguild
Nominees
Miracle on 34th Street
20th Century-Fox
Short Subject (Cartoon)
Winner
Tweetie Pie
Edward Selzer, Producer
Nominees
Chip An' Dale
Walt Disney, Producer
Nominees
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse
Frederick Quimby, Producer
Nominees
Pluto's Blue Note
Walt Disney, Producer
Nominees
Tubby the Tuba
George Pal, Producer
Short Subject (One-reel)
Winner
Good-bye Miss Turlock
Herbert Moulton, Producer
Nominees
Brooklyn, U.S.A.
Thomas Mead, Producer
Nominees
Moon Rockets
Jerry Fairbanks, Producer
Nominees
Now You See It
Pete Smith, Producer
Nominees
So You Want to Be in Pictures
Gordon Hollingshead, Producer
Short Subject (Two-reel)
Winner
Climbing the Matterhorn
Irving Allen, Producer
Nominees
Champagne for Two
Harry Grey, Producer
Nominees
Fight of the Wild Stallions
Thomas Mead, Producer
Nominees
Give Us the Earth
Herbert Morgan, Producer
Nominees
A Voice Is Born: The Story of Niklos Gafni
Ben Blake, Producer
Sound Recording
Winner
The Bishop's Wife
Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department, Gordon Sawyer, Sound Director
Nominees
Green Dolphin Street
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Douglas Shearer, Sound Director
Nominees
T-Men
Sound Service, Inc., Jack R. Whitney, Sound Director
Special Award
Winner
Bill and Coo
Special Award
Winner
Shoe-Shine
Italy
Winner
Song of the South
Special Award
Special Effects
Winner
Green Dolphin Street
Special Visual Effects by A. Arnold Gillespie, Warren Newcombe; Special Audible Effects by Douglas Shearer, Michael Steinore
Nominees
Unconquered
Special Visual Effects by Farciot Edouart, Devereux Jennings, Gordon Jennings, Wallace Kelley, Paul Lerpae; Special Audible Effects by George Dutton
Writing (Motion Picture Story)
Winner
Miracle on 34th Street
Valentine Davies
Nominees
A Cage of Nightingales
Georges Chaperot, Rene Wheeler
Nominees
It Happened on Fifth Avenue
Herbert Clyde Lewis, Frederick Stephani
Nominees
Kiss of Death
Eleazar Lipsky
Nominees
Smash-Up--The Story of a Woman
Dorothy Parker, Frank Cavett
Writing (Original Screenplay)
Winner
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer
Sidney Sheldon
Nominees
Body and Soul
Abraham Polonsky
Nominees
A Double Life
Ruth Gordon, Garson Kanin
Nominees
Monsieur Verdoux
Charles Chaplin
Nominees
Shoe-Shine
Sergio Amidei, Adolfo Franci, C. G. Viola, Cesare Zavattini
Writing (Screenplay)
Winner
Miracle on 34th Street
George Seaton
Nominees
Boomerang!
Richard Murphy
Nominees
Crossfire
John Paxton
Nominees
Gentleman's Agreement
Moss Hart
Nominees
Great Expectations
David Lean, Anthony Havelock-Allan, Ronald Neame

B

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer
1 WIN, 1 NOMINATION
  • * Writing (Original Screenplay) - Sidney Sheldon
Bill and Coo
1 WIN, 1 NOMINATION
  • * Special Award - Special Award
The Bishop's Wife
5 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Sound Recording - Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department, Gordon Sawyer, Sound Director
  • Directing - Henry Koster
  • Film Editing - Monica Collingwood
  • Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) - Hugo Friedhofer
  • Best Motion Picture - Samuel Goldwyn Productions
Black Narcissus
2 WINS, 2 NOMINATIONS
  • * Art Direction (Color) - Art Direction: Alfred Junge; Set Decoration: Alfred Junge
  • * Cinematography (Color) - Jack Cardiff
Body and Soul
3 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Film Editing - Francis Lyon, Robert Parrish
  • Actor - John Garfield
  • Writing (Original Screenplay) - Abraham Polonsky
Boomerang!
1 NOMINATION
  • Writing (Screenplay) - Richard Murphy
Brooklyn, U.S.A.
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (One-reel) - Thomas Mead, Producer

C

A Cage of Nightingales
1 NOMINATION
  • Writing (Motion Picture Story) - Georges Chaperot, Rene Wheeler
Captain from Castile
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) - Alfred Newman
Champagne for Two
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Two-reel) - Harry Grey, Producer
Chip An' Dale
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Cartoon) - Walt Disney, Producer
Climbing the Matterhorn
1 WIN, 1 NOMINATION
  • * Short Subject (Two-reel) - Irving Allen, Producer
Crossfire
5 NOMINATIONS
  • Actor in a Supporting Role - Robert Ryan
  • Actress in a Supporting Role - Gloria Grahame
  • Directing - Edward Dmytryk
  • Best Motion Picture - RKO Radio
  • Writing (Screenplay) - John Paxton

D

Design for Death
1 WIN, 1 NOMINATION
  • * Documentary (Feature) - Sid Rogell, Executive Producer; Theron Warth and Richard O. Fleischer, Producers
A Double Life
4 NOMINATIONS, 2 WINS
  • * Actor - Ronald Colman
  • * Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) - Dr. Miklos Rozsa
  • Directing - George Cukor
  • Writing (Original Screenplay) - Ruth Gordon, Garson Kanin
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Cartoon) - Frederick Quimby, Producer

E

The Egg and I
1 NOMINATION
  • Actress in a Supporting Role - Marjorie Main

F

The Farmer's Daughter
2 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Actress - Loretta Young
  • Actor in a Supporting Role - Charles Bickford
Fiesta
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture) - Johnny Green
Fight of the Wild Stallions
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Two-reel) - Thomas Mead, Producer
First Steps
1 WIN, 1 NOMINATION
  • * Documentary (Short Subject) - United Nations Division of Films and Visual Information
Forever Amber
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) - David Raksin
The Foxes of Harrow
1 NOMINATION
  • Art Direction (Black-and-White) - Art Direction: Lyle Wheeler, Maurice Ransford; Set Decoration: Thomas Little, Paul S. Fox

G

Gentleman's Agreement
8 NOMINATIONS, 3 WINS
  • * Actress in a Supporting Role - Celeste Holm
  • * Directing - Elia Kazan
  • * Best Motion Picture - 20th Century-Fox
  • Actor - Gregory Peck
  • Actress - Dorothy McGuire
  • Actress in a Supporting Role - Anne Revere
  • Film Editing - Harmon Jones
  • Writing (Screenplay) - Moss Hart
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
1 NOMINATION
  • Cinematography (Black-and-White) - Charles Lang, Jr.
Give Us the Earth
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Two-reel) - Herbert Morgan, Producer
Good News
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Song) - Pass That Peace Pipe in "Good News" Music and Lyrics by Ralph Blane, Roger Edens and Hugh Martin
Good-bye Miss Turlock
1 WIN, 1 NOMINATION
  • * Short Subject (One-reel) - Herbert Moulton, Producer
Great Expectations
5 NOMINATIONS, 2 WINS
  • * Art Direction (Black-and-White) - Art Direction: John Bryan; Set Decoration: Wilfred Shingleton
  • * Cinematography (Black-and-White) - Guy Green
  • Directing - David Lean
  • Best Motion Picture - J. Arthur Rank-Cineguild
  • Writing (Screenplay) - David Lean, Anthony Havelock-Allan, Ronald Neame
Green Dolphin Street
4 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Special Effects - Special Visual Effects by A. Arnold Gillespie, Warren Newcombe; Special Audible Effects by Douglas Shearer, Michael Steinore
  • Cinematography (Black-and-White) - George Folsey
  • Film Editing - George White
  • Sound Recording - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Douglas Shearer, Sound Director

I

It Happened on Fifth Avenue
1 NOMINATION
  • Writing (Motion Picture Story) - Herbert Clyde Lewis, Frederick Stephani

J

Journey into Medicine
1 NOMINATION
  • Documentary (Feature) - United States Department of State Office of Information and Educational Exchange

K

Kiss of Death
2 NOMINATIONS
  • Actor in a Supporting Role - Richard Widmark
  • Writing (Motion Picture Story) - Eleazar Lipsky

L

Life with Father
4 NOMINATIONS
  • Actor - William Powell
  • Art Direction (Color) - Art Direction: Robert M. Haas; Set Decoration: George James Hopkins
  • Cinematography (Color) - Peverell Marley, William V. Skall
  • Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) - Max Steiner

M

Miracle on 34th Street
4 NOMINATIONS, 3 WINS
  • * Actor in a Supporting Role - Edmund Gwenn
  • * Writing (Motion Picture Story) - Valentine Davies
  • * Writing (Screenplay) - George Seaton
  • Best Motion Picture - 20th Century-Fox
Monsieur Verdoux
1 NOMINATION
  • Writing (Original Screenplay) - Charles Chaplin
Moon Rockets
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (One-reel) - Jerry Fairbanks, Producer
Mother Wore Tights
3 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture) - Alfred Newman
  • Cinematography (Color) - Harry Jackson
  • Music (Song) - You Do in "Mother Wore Tights" Music by Josef Myrow; Lyrics by Mack Gordon
Mourning Becomes Electra
2 NOMINATIONS
  • Actor - Michael Redgrave
  • Actress - Rosalind Russell
My Wild Irish Rose
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture) - Ray Heindorf, Max Steiner

N

Now You See It
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (One-reel) - Pete Smith, Producer

O

Odd Man Out
1 NOMINATION
  • Film Editing - Fergus McDonell

P

The Paradine Case
1 NOMINATION
  • Actress in a Supporting Role - Ethel Barrymore
Passport to Nowhere
1 NOMINATION
  • Documentary (Short Subject) - Frederic Ullman, Jr., Producer
The Perils of Pauline
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Song) - I Wish I Didn't Love You So in "The Perils of Pauline" Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Pluto's Blue Note
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Cartoon) - Walt Disney, Producer
Possessed
1 NOMINATION
  • Actress - Joan Crawford

R

Ride the Pink Horse
1 NOMINATION
  • Actor in a Supporting Role - Thomas Gomez
Road to Rio
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture) - Robert Emmett Dolan

S

School in the Mailbox
1 NOMINATION
  • Documentary (Short Subject) - Australian News & Information Bureau
Shoe-Shine
2 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Special Award - Italy
  • Writing (Original Screenplay) - Sergio Amidei, Adolfo Franci, C. G. Viola, Cesare Zavattini
Smash-Up--The Story of a Woman
2 NOMINATIONS
  • Actress - Susan Hayward
  • Writing (Motion Picture Story) - Dorothy Parker, Frank Cavett
So You Want to Be in Pictures
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (One-reel) - Gordon Hollingshead, Producer
Song of the South
3 NOMINATIONS, 2 WINS
  • * Music (Song) - Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah in "Song of the South" Music by Allie Wrubel; Lyrics by Ray Gilbert
  • * Special Award - Special Award
  • Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture) - Daniele Amfitheatrof, Paul J. Smith, Charles Wolcott

T

T-Men
1 NOMINATION
  • Sound Recording - Sound Service, Inc., Jack R. Whitney, Sound Director
The Time, the Place and the Girl
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Song) - A Gal In Calico in "The Time, the Place and the Girl" Music by Arthur Schwartz; Lyrics by Leo Robin
Tubby the Tuba
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Cartoon) - George Pal, Producer
Tweetie Pie
1 WIN, 1 NOMINATION
  • * Short Subject (Cartoon) - Edward Selzer, Producer

U

Unconquered
1 NOMINATION
  • Special Effects - Special Visual Effects by Farciot Edouart, Devereux Jennings, Gordon Jennings, Wallace Kelley, Paul Lerpae; Special Audible Effects by George Dutton

V

A Voice Is Born: The Story of Niklos Gafni
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Two-reel) - Ben Blake, Producer

W

The World Is Rich
1 NOMINATION
  • Documentary (Feature) - Paul Rotha, Producer
No Films Found