1939
The 11th Academy Awards | 1939
Biltmore Bowl of the Biltmore Hotel
Thursday, February 23, 1939
Honoring movies released in 1938
Highlights
Memorable Moments
Winners & Nominees
Actor in a Supporting Role
Winner
Walter Brennan
Kentucky
Nominees
John Garfield
Four Daughters
Gene Lockhart
Algiers
Robert Morley
Marie Antoinette
Basil Rathbone
If I Were King
Actress in a Supporting Role
Winner
Fay Bainter
Jezebel
Nominees
Beulah Bondi
Of Human Hearts
Billie Burke
Merrily We Live
Spring Byington
You Can't Take It with You
Miliza Korjus
The Great Waltz
Cinematography
Winner
The Great Waltz
Joseph Ruttenberg
Nominees
Mad about Music
Joseph Valentine
Merrily We Live
Norbert Brodine
Suez
Peverell Marley
Vivacious Lady
Robert de Grasse
You Can't Take It with You
Joseph Walker
The Young in Heart
Leon Shamroy
Algiers
James Wong Howe
Army Girl
Ernest Miller, Harry Wild
The Buccaneer
Victor Milner
Jezebel
Ernest Haller
Directing
Winner
You Can't Take It with You
Frank Capra
Nominees
Angels with Dirty Faces
Michael Curtiz
Boys Town
Norman Taurog
The Citadel
King Vidor
Four Daughters
Michael Curtiz
Film Editing
Winner
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Ralph Dawson
Nominees
Alexander's Ragtime Band
Barbara McLean
The Great Waltz
Tom Held
Test Pilot
Tom Held
You Can't Take It with You
Gene Havlick
Actor
Winner
Spencer Tracy
Boys Town
Nominees
Charles Boyer
Algiers
James Cagney
Angels with Dirty Faces
Robert Donat
The Citadel
Leslie Howard
Pygmalion
Actress
Winner
Bette Davis
Jezebel
Nominees
Fay Bainter
White Banners
Wendy Hiller
Pygmalion
Norma Shearer
Marie Antoinette
Margaret Sullavan
Three Comrades
Art Direction
Winner
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Carl J. Weyl
Nominees
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Lyle Wheeler
Alexander's Ragtime Band
Bernard Herzbrun, Boris Leven
Algiers
Alexander Toluboff
Carefree
Van Nest Polglase
The Goldwyn Follies
Richard Day
Holiday
Stephen Goosson, Lionel Banks
If I Were King
Hans Dreier, John Goodman
Mad about Music
Jack Otterson
Marie Antoinette
Cedric Gibbons
Merrily We Live
Charles D. Hall
Writing (Original Story)
Winner
Boys Town
Dore Schary, Eleanore Griffin
Nominees
Angels with Dirty Faces
Rowland Brown
Blockade
John Howard Lawson
Mad about Music
Marcella Burke, Frederick Kohner
Test Pilot
Frank Wead
Alexander's Ragtime Band
Irving Berlin
Special Award
Winner
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Special Award
Spawn of the North
Special Award
Sweethearts
Special Award
Outstanding Production
Winner
You Can't Take It with You
Columbia
Nominees
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Warner Bros.-First National
Alexander's Ragtime Band
20th Century-Fox
Boys Town
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
The Citadel
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Four Daughters
Warner Bros.-First National
Grand Illusion
Realization D'Art Cinematographique
Jezebel
Warner Bros.
Pygmalion
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Test Pilot
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Sound Recording
Winner
The Cowboy and the Lady
United Artists Studio Sound Department, Thomas T. Moulton, Sound Director
Nominees
Army Girl
Republic Studio Sound Department, Charles L. Lootens, Sound Director
Four Daughters
Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department, Nathan Levinson, Sound Director
If I Were King
Paramount Studio Sound Department, Loren L. Ryder, Sound Director
Merrily We Live
Hal Roach Studio Sound Department, Elmer A. Raguse, Sound Director
Suez
20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, Edmund H. Hansen, Sound Director
Sweethearts
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Douglas Shearer, Sound Director
That Certain Age
Universal Studio Sound Department, Bernard B. Brown, Sound Director
Vivacious Lady
RKO Radio Studio Sound Department, John Aalberg, Sound Director
You Can't Take It with You
Columbia Studio Sound Department, John Livadary, Sound Director
Short Subject (Cartoon)
Winner
Ferdinand the Bull
Walt Disney, Producer
Nominees
Brave Little Tailor
Walt Disney, Producer
Good Scouts
Walt Disney, Producer
Hunky and Spunky
Paramount
Mother Goose Goes Hollywood
Walt Disney, Producer
Music (Scoring)
Winner
Alexander's Ragtime Band
Alfred Newman
Nominees
Mad about Music
Charles Previn, Frank Skinner
Storm over Bengal
Cy Feuer
Sweethearts
Herbert Stothart
There Goes My Heart
Marvin Hatley
Tropic Holiday
Boris Morros
The Young in Heart
Franz Waxman
Carefree
Victor Baravalle
Girls' School
Morris Stoloff, Gregory Stone
The Goldwyn Follies
Alfred Newman
Jezebel
Max Steiner
Music (Song)
Winner
The Big Broadcast of 1938
Thanks For The Memory in "The Big Broadcast of 1938" Music by Ralph Rainger; Lyrics by Leo Robin
Nominees
Mannequin
Always And Always in "Mannequin" Music by Edward Ward; Lyrics by Chet Forrest and Bob Wright
Carefree
Change Partners in "Carefree" Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin
The Cowboy and the Lady
The Cowboy And The Lady in "The Cowboy and the Lady" Music by Lionel Newman; Lyrics by Arthur Quenzer
Under Western Stars
Dust in "Under Western Stars" Music and Lyrics by Johnny Marvin
Going Places
Jeepers Creepers in "Going Places" Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
Merrily We Live
Merrily We Live in "Merrily We Live" Music by Phil Charig; Lyrics by Arthur Quenzer
The Lady Objects
A Mist Over The Moon in "The Lady Objects" Music by Ben Oakland; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
That Certain Age
My Own in "That Certain Age" Music by Jimmy McHugh; Lyrics by Harold Adamson
Alexander's Ragtime Band
Now It Can Be Told in "Alexander's Ragtime Band" Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin
Writing (Screenplay)
Winner
Pygmalion
Screenplay and Dialogue by George Bernard Shaw; Adaptation by W. P. Lipscomb, Cecil Lewis, Ian Dalrymple
Nominees
Boys Town
John Meehan, Dore Schary
The Citadel
Ian Dalrymple, Frank Wead, Elizabeth Hill
Four Daughters
Julius J. Epstein, Lenore Coffee
You Can't Take It with You
Robert Riskin
Short Subject (One-reel)
Winner
That Mothers Might Live
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Nominees
Timber Toppers
20th Century-Fox
The Great Heart
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Short Subject (Two-reel)
Winner
Declaration of Independence
Warner Bros.
Nominees
Swingtime in the Movies
Warner Bros.
They're Always Caught
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award
Winner
Hal B. Wallis
Nominees
Hunt Stromberg
Walter Wanger
Darryl F. Zanuck
Samuel Goldwyn
Joe Pasternak
David O. Selznick
Music (Original Score)
Winner
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Nominees
Army Girl
Victor Young
Block-Heads
Marvin Hatley
Blockade
Werner Janssen
Breaking the Ice
Victor Young
The Cowboy and the Lady
Alfred Newman
If I Were King
Richard Hageman
Marie Antoinette
Herbert Stothart
Pacific Liner
Russell Bennett
Suez
Louis Silvers
The Young in Heart
Franz Waxman
A
The Adventures of Robin Hood
4 Nominations, 3 Wins* Art Direction - Carl J. Weyl
* Music (Original Score) - Erich Wolfgang Korngold
* Film Editing - Ralph Dawson
Outstanding Production - Warner Bros.-First National
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
1 NominationArt Direction - Lyle Wheeler
Alexander's Ragtime Band
6 Nominations, 1 WinOutstanding Production - 20th Century-Fox
Film Editing - Barbara McLean
Art Direction - Bernard Herzbrun, Boris Leven
Writing (Original Story) - Irving Berlin
Music (Song) - Now It Can Be Told in "Alexander's Ragtime Band" Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin
* Music (Scoring) - Alfred Newman
Algiers
4 NominationsArt Direction - Alexander Toluboff
Actor - Charles Boyer in "Algiers"
Actor in a Supporting Role - Gene Lockhart in "Algiers"
Cinematography - James Wong Howe
Angels with Dirty Faces
3 NominationsActor - James Cagney in "Angels with Dirty Faces"
Directing - Michael Curtiz
Writing (Original Story) - Rowland Brown
Army Girl
3 NominationsCinematography - Ernest Miller, Harry Wild
Sound Recording - Republic Studio Sound Department, Charles L. Lootens, Sound Director
Music (Original Score) - Victor Young
B
The Big Broadcast of 1938
1 Win, 1 Nomination* Music (Song) - Thanks For The Memory in "The Big Broadcast of 1938" Music by Ralph Rainger; Lyrics by Leo Robin
Block-Heads
1 NominationMusic (Original Score) - Marvin Hatley
Blockade
2 NominationsWriting (Original Story) - John Howard Lawson
Music (Original Score) - Werner Janssen
Boys Town
5 Nominations, 2 Wins* Writing (Original Story) - Dore Schary, Eleanore Griffin
* Actor - Spencer Tracy in "Boys Town"
Writing (Screenplay) - John Meehan, Dore Schary
Outstanding Production - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Directing - Norman Taurog
Brave Little Tailor
1 NominationShort Subject (Cartoon) - Walt Disney, Producer
Breaking the Ice
1 NominationMusic (Original Score) - Victor Young
The Buccaneer
1 NominationCinematography - Victor Milner
C
Carefree
3 NominationsMusic (Song) - Change Partners in "Carefree" Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin
Art Direction - Van Nest Polglase
Music (Scoring) - Victor Baravalle
The Citadel
4 NominationsWriting (Screenplay) - Ian Dalrymple, Frank Wead, Elizabeth Hill
Directing - King Vidor
Outstanding Production - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Actor - Robert Donat in "The Citadel"
The Cowboy and the Lady
3 Nominations, 1 WinMusic (Original Score) - Alfred Newman
Music (Song) - The Cowboy And The Lady in "The Cowboy and the Lady" Music by Lionel Newman; Lyrics by Arthur Quenzer
* Sound Recording - United Artists Studio Sound Department, Thomas T. Moulton, Sound Director
D
Declaration of Independence
1 Win, 1 Nomination* Short Subject (Two-reel) - Warner Bros.
F
Ferdinand the Bull
1 Win, 1 Nomination* Short Subject (Cartoon) - Walt Disney, Producer
Four Daughters
5 NominationsActor in a Supporting Role - John Garfield in "Four Daughters"
Writing (Screenplay) - Julius J. Epstein, Lenore Coffee
Directing - Michael Curtiz
Sound Recording - Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department, Nathan Levinson, Sound Director
Outstanding Production - Warner Bros.-First National
G
Girls' School
1 NominationMusic (Scoring) - Morris Stoloff, Gregory Stone
Going Places
1 NominationMusic (Song) - Jeepers Creepers in "Going Places" Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
The Goldwyn Follies
2 NominationsMusic (Scoring) - Alfred Newman
Art Direction - Richard Day
Good Scouts
1 NominationShort Subject (Cartoon) - Walt Disney, Producer
Grand Illusion
1 NominationOutstanding Production - Realization D'Art Cinematographique
The Great Heart
1 NominationShort Subject (One-reel) - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
The Great Waltz
3 Nominations, 1 Win* Cinematography - Joseph Ruttenberg
Actress in a Supporting Role - Miliza Korjus in "The Great Waltz"
Film Editing - Tom Held
H
Holiday
1 NominationArt Direction - Stephen Goosson, Lionel Banks
Hunky and Spunky
1 NominationShort Subject (Cartoon) - Paramount
I
If I Were King
4 NominationsActor in a Supporting Role - Basil Rathbone in "If I Were King"
Art Direction - Hans Dreier, John Goodman
Sound Recording - Paramount Studio Sound Department, Loren L. Ryder, Sound Director
Music (Original Score) - Richard Hageman
J
Jezebel
5 Nominations, 2 Wins* Actress - Bette Davis in "Jezebel"
* Actress in a Supporting Role - Fay Bainter in "Jezebel"
Cinematography - Ernest Haller
Music (Scoring) - Max Steiner
Outstanding Production - Warner Bros.
K
Kentucky
1 Win, 1 Nomination* Actor in a Supporting Role - Walter Brennan in "Kentucky"
L
The Lady Objects
1 NominationMusic (Song) - A Mist Over The Moon in "The Lady Objects" Music by Ben Oakland; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
M
Mad about Music
4 NominationsMusic (Scoring) - Charles Previn, Frank Skinner
Art Direction - Jack Otterson
Cinematography - Joseph Valentine
Writing (Original Story) - Marcella Burke, Frederick Kohner
Mannequin
1 NominationMusic (Song) - Always And Always in "Mannequin" Music by Edward Ward; Lyrics by Chet Forrest and Bob Wright
Marie Antoinette
4 NominationsArt Direction - Cedric Gibbons
Music (Original Score) - Herbert Stothart
Actress - Norma Shearer in "Marie Antoinette"
Actor in a Supporting Role - Robert Morley in "Marie Antoinette"
Merrily We Live
5 NominationsActress in a Supporting Role - Billie Burke in "Merrily We Live"
Art Direction - Charles D. Hall
Sound Recording - Hal Roach Studio Sound Department, Elmer A. Raguse, Sound Director
Music (Song) - Merrily We Live in "Merrily We Live" Music by Phil Charig; Lyrics by Arthur Quenzer
Cinematography - Norbert Brodine
Mother Goose Goes Hollywood
1 NominationShort Subject (Cartoon) - Walt Disney, Producer
O
Of Human Hearts
1 NominationActress in a Supporting Role - Beulah Bondi in "Of Human Hearts"
P
Pacific Liner
1 NominationMusic (Original Score) - Russell Bennett
Pygmalion
4 Nominations, 1 WinActor - Leslie Howard in "Pygmalion"
Outstanding Production - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Actress - Wendy Hiller in "Pygmalion"
* Writing (Screenplay) - Screenplay and Dialogue by George Bernard Shaw; Adaptation by W. P. Lipscomb, Cecil Lewis, Ian Dalrymple
S
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
1 Win, 1 Nomination* Special Award - Special Award
Spawn of the North
1 Win, 1 Nomination* Special Award - Special Award
Storm over Bengal
1 NominationMusic (Scoring) - Cy Feuer
Suez
3 NominationsSound Recording - 20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, Edmund H. Hansen, Sound Director
Music (Original Score) - Louis Silvers
Cinematography - Peverell Marley
Sweethearts
3 Nominations, 1 WinMusic (Scoring) - Herbert Stothart
Sound Recording - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Douglas Shearer, Sound Director
* Special Award - Special Award
Swingtime in the Movies
1 NominationShort Subject (Two-reel) - Warner Bros.
T
Test Pilot
3 NominationsWriting (Original Story) - Frank Wead
Outstanding Production - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Film Editing - Tom Held
That Certain Age
2 NominationsMusic (Song) - My Own in "That Certain Age" Music by Jimmy McHugh; Lyrics by Harold Adamson
Sound Recording - Universal Studio Sound Department, Bernard B. Brown, Sound Director
That Mothers Might Live
1 Win, 1 Nomination* Short Subject (One-reel) - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
There Goes My Heart
1 NominationMusic (Scoring) - Marvin Hatley
They're Always Caught
1 NominationShort Subject (Two-reel) - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Three Comrades
1 NominationActress - Margaret Sullavan in "Three Comrades"
Timber Toppers
1 NominationShort Subject (One-reel) - 20th Century-Fox
Tropic Holiday
1 NominationMusic (Scoring) - Boris Morros
U
Under Western Stars
1 NominationMusic (Song) - Dust in "Under Western Stars" Music and Lyrics by Johnny Marvin
V
Vivacious Lady
2 NominationsSound Recording - RKO Radio Studio Sound Department, John Aalberg, Sound Director
Cinematography - Robert de Grasse
W
White Banners
1 NominationActress - Fay Bainter in "White Banners"
Y
You Can't Take It with You
7 Nominations, 2 Wins* Outstanding Production - Columbia
* Directing - Frank Capra
Sound Recording - Columbia Studio Sound Department, John Livadary, Sound Director
Film Editing - Gene Havlick
Cinematography - Joseph Walker
Writing (Screenplay) - Robert Riskin
Actress in a Supporting Role - Spring Byington in "You Can't Take It with You"
The Young in Heart
3 NominationsMusic (Scoring) - Franz Waxman
Music (Original Score) - Franz Waxman
Cinematography - Leon Shamroy