1959
The 31st Academy Awards | 1959
RKO Pantages Theatre
Monday, April 6, 1959
Honoring movies released in 1958
Highlights
Memorable Moments
Winners & Nominees
Actor in a Supporting Role
Winner
Burl Ives
The Big Country
Nominees
Theodore Bikel
The Defiant Ones
Lee J. Cobb
The Brothers Karamazov
Arthur Kennedy
Some Came Running
Gig Young
Teacher's Pet
Actress in a Supporting Role
Winner
Wendy Hiller
Separate Tables
Nominees
Cara Williams
The Defiant Ones
Peggy Cass
Auntie Mame
Martha Hyer
Some Came Running
Maureen Stapleton
Lonelyhearts
Costume Design
Winner
Gigi
Cecil Beaton
Nominees
Bell, Book and Candle
Jean Louis
The Buccaneer
Ralph Jester, Edith Head, John Jensen
A Certain Smile
Charles LeMaire, Mary Wills
Some Came Running
Walter Plunkett
Directing
Winner
Gigi
Vincente Minnelli
Nominees
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Richard Brooks
The Defiant Ones
Stanley Kramer
I Want to Live!
Robert Wise
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness
Mark Robson
Film Editing
Winner
Gigi
Adrienne Fazan
Nominees
Auntie Mame
William Ziegler
Cowboy
William A. Lyon, Al Clark
The Defiant Ones
Frederic Knudtson
I Want to Live!
William Hornbeck
Foreign Language Film
Winner
My Uncle
France
Nominees
Arms and the Man
West Germany
La Venganza
Spain
The Road a Year Long
Yugoslavia
The Usual Unidentified Thieves
Italy
Actor
Winner
David Niven
Separate Tables
Nominees
Sidney Poitier
The Defiant Ones
Spencer Tracy
The Old Man and the Sea
Tony Curtis
The Defiant Ones
Paul Newman
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Actress
Winner
Susan Hayward
I Want to Live!
Nominees
Deborah Kerr
Separate Tables
Shirley MacLaine
Some Came Running
Rosalind Russell
Auntie Mame
Elizabeth Taylor
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Art Direction
Winner
Gigi
Art Direction: William A. Horning, Preston Ames; Set Decoration: Henry Grace, Keogh Gleason
Nominees
Auntie Mame
Art Direction: Malcolm Bert; Set Decoration: George James Hopkins
Bell, Book and Candle
Art Direction: Cary Odell; Set Decoration: Louis Diage
A Certain Smile
Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler, John DeCuir; Set Decoration: Walter M. Scott, Paul S. Fox
Vertigo
Art Direction: Hal Pereira, Henry Bumstead; Set Decoration: Sam Comer, Frank McKelvy
Short Subject (Cartoon)
Winner
Knighty Knight Bugs
John W. Burton, Producer
Nominees
Paul Bunyan
Walt Disney, Producer
Sidney's Family Tree
William M. Weiss, Producer
Music (Song)
Winner
Gigi
Gigi in "Gigi" Music by Frederick Loewe; Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
Nominees
Houseboat
Almost In Your Arms (Love Song From 'Houseboat') in "Houseboat" Music and Lyrics by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans
A Certain Smile
A Certain Smile in "A Certain Smile" Music by Sammy Fain; Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
Some Came Running
To Love And Be Loved in "Some Came Running" Music by James Van Heusen; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
Marjorie Morningstar
A Very Precious Love in "Marjorie Morningstar" Music by Sammy Fain; Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award
Winner
Jack L. Warner
Cinematography (Black-and-White)
Winner
The Defiant Ones
Sam Leavitt
Nominees
Desire under the Elms
Daniel L. Fapp
I Want to Live!
Lionel Lindon
Separate Tables
Charles Lang, Jr.
The Young Lions
Joe MacDonald
Cinematography (Color)
Winner
Gigi
Joseph Ruttenberg
Nominees
Auntie Mame
Harry Stradling, Sr.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
William Daniels
The Old Man and the Sea
James Wong Howe
South Pacific
Leon Shamroy
Special Effects
Winner
tom thumb
Visual Effects by Tom Howard
Nominees
Torpedo Run
Visual Effects by A. Arnold Gillespie; Audible Effects by Harold Humbrock
Documentary (Short Subject)
Winner
Ama Girls
Ben Sharpsteen, Producer
Nominees
Journey into Spring
Ian Ferguson, Producer
The Living Stone
Tom Daly, Producer
Overture
Thorold Dickinson, Producer
Employees Only
Kenneth G. Brown, Producer
Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture)
Winner
Gigi
Andre Previn
Nominees
The Bolshoi Ballet
Yuri Faier, G. Rozhdestvensky
Damn Yankees
Ray Heindorf
Mardi Gras
Lionel Newman
South Pacific
Alfred Newman, Ken Darby
Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)
Winner
The Old Man and the Sea
Dimitri Tiomkin
Nominees
White Wilderness
Oliver Wallace
The Young Lions
Hugo Friedhofer
The Big Country
Jerome Moross
Separate Tables
David Raksin
Documentary (Feature)
Winner
White Wilderness
Ben Sharpsteen, Producer
Nominees
Antarctic Crossing
James Carr, Producer
The Hidden World
Robert Snyder, Producer
Psychiatric Nursing
Nathan Zucker, Producer
Best Motion Picture
Winner
Gigi
Arthur Freed, Producer
Nominees
Separate Tables
Harold Hecht, Producer
Auntie Mame
Warner Bros.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Lawrence Weingarten, Producer
The Defiant Ones
Stanley Kramer, Producer
Short Subject (Live Action)
Winner
Grand Canyon
Walt Disney, Producer
Nominees
Journey into Spring
Ian Ferguson, Producer
The Kiss
John Patrick Hayes, Producer
Snows of Aorangi
New Zealand Screen Board
T Is for Tumbleweed
James A. Lebenthal, Producer
Writing (Screenplay--based on material from another medium)
Winner
Gigi
Alan Jay Lerner
Nominees
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Richard Brooks, James Poe
The Horse's Mouth
Alec Guinness
I Want to Live!
Nelson Gidding, Don Mankiewicz
Separate Tables
Terence Rattigan, John Gay
Writing (Story and Screenplay--written directly for the screen)
Winner
The Defiant Ones
Nedrick Young, Harold Jacob Smith
Nominees
The Goddess
Paddy Chayefsky
Houseboat
Melville Shavelson, Jack Rose
The Sheepman
Story by James Edward Grant; Screenplay by William Bowers, James Edward Grant
Teacher's Pet
Fay Kanin, Michael Kanin
Sound
Winner
South Pacific
Todd-AO Sound Department, Fred Hynes, Sound Director
Nominees
I Want to Live!
Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department, Gordon E. Sawyer, Sound Director
A Time to Love and a Time to Die
Universal-International Studio Sound Department, Leslie I. Carey, Sound Director
Vertigo
Paramount Studio Sound Department, George Dutton, Sound Director
The Young Lions
20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, Carl Faulkner, Sound Director
A
Ama Girls
1 Win, 1 Nomination* Documentary (Short Subject) - Ben Sharpsteen, Producer
Antarctic Crossing
1 NominationDocumentary (Feature) - James Carr, Producer
Arms and the Man
1 NominationForeign Language Film - West Germany
Auntie Mame
6 NominationsArt Direction - Art Direction: Malcolm Bert; Set Decoration: George James Hopkins
Cinematography (Color) - Harry Stradling, Sr.
Actress in a Supporting Role - Peggy Cass in "Auntie Mame"
Actress - Rosalind Russell in "Auntie Mame"
Best Motion Picture - Warner Bros.
Film Editing - William Ziegler
B
Bell, Book and Candle
2 NominationsArt Direction - Art Direction: Cary Odell; Set Decoration: Louis Diage
Costume Design - Jean Louis
The Big Country
2 Nominations, 1 Win* Actor in a Supporting Role - Burl Ives in "The Big Country"
Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) - Jerome Moross
The Bolshoi Ballet
1 NominationMusic (Scoring of a Musical Picture) - Yuri Faier, G. Rozhdestvensky
The Brothers Karamazov
1 NominationActor in a Supporting Role - Lee J. Cobb in "The Brothers Karamazov"
The Buccaneer
1 NominationCostume Design - Ralph Jester, Edith Head, John Jensen
C
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
6 NominationsActress - Elizabeth Taylor in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"
Best Motion Picture - Lawrence Weingarten, Producer
Actor - Paul Newman in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"
Directing - Richard Brooks
Writing (Screenplay--based on material from another medium) - Richard Brooks, James Poe
Cinematography (Color) - William Daniels
A Certain Smile
3 NominationsMusic (Song) - A Certain Smile in "A Certain Smile" Music by Sammy Fain; Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
Art Direction - Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler, John DeCuir; Set Decoration: Walter M. Scott, Paul S. Fox
Costume Design - Charles LeMaire, Mary Wills
Cowboy
1 NominationFilm Editing - William A. Lyon, Al Clark
D
Damn Yankees
1 NominationMusic (Scoring of a Musical Picture) - Ray Heindorf
The Defiant Ones
9 Nominations, 2 WinsActress in a Supporting Role - Cara Williams in "The Defiant Ones"
Film Editing - Frederic Knudtson
Actor - Sidney Poitier in "The Defiant Ones"
Directing - Stanley Kramer
Best Motion Picture - Stanley Kramer, Producer
Actor in a Supporting Role - Theodore Bikel in "The Defiant Ones"
Actor - Tony Curtis in "The Defiant Ones"
* Writing (Story and Screenplay--written directly for the screen) - Nedrick Young, Harold Jacob Smith
* Cinematography (Black-and-White) - Sam Leavitt
Desire under the Elms
1 NominationCinematography (Black-and-White) - Daniel L. Fapp
E
Employees Only
1 NominationDocumentary (Short Subject) - Kenneth G. Brown, Producer
G
Gigi
9 Wins, 9 Nominations* Film Editing - Adrienne Fazan
* Writing (Screenplay--based on material from another medium) - Alan Jay Lerner
* Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture) - Andre Previn
* Art Direction - Art Direction: William A. Horning, Preston Ames; Set Decoration: Henry Grace, Keogh Gleason
* Best Motion Picture - Arthur Freed, Producer
* Costume Design - Cecil Beaton
* Music (Song) - Gigi in "Gigi" Music by Frederick Loewe; Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
* Cinematography (Color) - Joseph Ruttenberg
* Directing - Vincente Minnelli
The Goddess
1 NominationWriting (Story and Screenplay--written directly for the screen) - Paddy Chayefsky
Grand Canyon
1 Win, 1 Nomination* Short Subject (Live Action) - Walt Disney, Producer
H
The Hidden World
1 NominationDocumentary (Feature) - Robert Snyder, Producer
The Horse's Mouth
1 NominationWriting (Screenplay--based on material from another medium) - Alec Guinness
Houseboat
2 NominationsMusic (Song) - Almost In Your Arms (Love Song From 'Houseboat') in "Houseboat" Music and Lyrics by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans
Writing (Story and Screenplay--written directly for the screen) - Melville Shavelson, Jack Rose
I
I Want to Live!
6 Nominations, 1 WinCinematography (Black-and-White) - Lionel Lindon
Writing (Screenplay--based on material from another medium) - Nelson Gidding, Don Mankiewicz
Directing - Robert Wise
Sound - Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department, Gordon E. Sawyer, Sound Director
Film Editing - William Hornbeck
* Actress - Susan Hayward in "I Want to Live!"
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness
1 NominationDirecting - Mark Robson
J
Journey into Spring
2 NominationsDocumentary (Short Subject) - Ian Ferguson, Producer
Short Subject (Live Action) - Ian Ferguson, Producer
K
The Kiss
1 NominationShort Subject (Live Action) - John Patrick Hayes, Producer
Knighty Knight Bugs
1 Win, 1 Nomination* Short Subject (Cartoon) - John W. Burton, Producer
L
La Venganza
1 NominationForeign Language Film - Spain
The Living Stone
1 NominationDocumentary (Short Subject) - Tom Daly, Producer
Lonelyhearts
1 NominationActress in a Supporting Role - Maureen Stapleton in "Lonelyhearts"
M
Mardi Gras
1 NominationMusic (Scoring of a Musical Picture) - Lionel Newman
Marjorie Morningstar
1 NominationMusic (Song) - A Very Precious Love in "Marjorie Morningstar" Music by Sammy Fain; Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
My Uncle
1 Win, 1 Nomination* Foreign Language Film - France
O
The Old Man and the Sea
3 Nominations, 1 Win* Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) - Dimitri Tiomkin
Cinematography (Color) - James Wong Howe
Actor - Spencer Tracy in "The Old Man and the Sea"
Overture
1 NominationDocumentary (Short Subject) - Thorold Dickinson, Producer
P
Paul Bunyan
1 NominationShort Subject (Cartoon) - Walt Disney, Producer
Psychiatric Nursing
1 NominationDocumentary (Feature) - Nathan Zucker, Producer
R
The Road a Year Long
1 NominationForeign Language Film - Yugoslavia
S
Separate Tables
7 Nominations, 2 WinsCinematography (Black-and-White) - Charles Lang, Jr.
Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) - David Raksin
Actress - Deborah Kerr in "Separate Tables"
Best Motion Picture - Harold Hecht, Producer
Writing (Screenplay--based on material from another medium) - Terence Rattigan, John Gay
* Actor - David Niven in "Separate Tables"
* Actress in a Supporting Role - Wendy Hiller in "Separate Tables"
The Sheepman
1 NominationWriting (Story and Screenplay--written directly for the screen) - Story by James Edward Grant; Screenplay by William Bowers, James Edward Grant
Sidney's Family Tree
1 NominationShort Subject (Cartoon) - William M. Weiss, Producer
Snows of Aorangi
1 NominationShort Subject (Live Action) - New Zealand Screen Board
Some Came Running
5 NominationsActor in a Supporting Role - Arthur Kennedy in "Some Came Running"
Actress in a Supporting Role - Martha Hyer in "Some Came Running"
Actress - Shirley MacLaine in "Some Came Running"
Music (Song) - To Love And Be Loved in "Some Came Running" Music by James Van Heusen; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
Costume Design - Walter Plunkett
South Pacific
3 Nominations, 1 WinMusic (Scoring of a Musical Picture) - Alfred Newman, Ken Darby
Cinematography (Color) - Leon Shamroy
* Sound - Todd-AO Sound Department, Fred Hynes, Sound Director
T
T Is for Tumbleweed
1 NominationShort Subject (Live Action) - James A. Lebenthal, Producer
Teacher's Pet
2 NominationsWriting (Story and Screenplay--written directly for the screen) - Fay Kanin, Michael Kanin
Actor in a Supporting Role - Gig Young in "Teacher's Pet"
A Time to Love and a Time to Die
1 NominationSound - Universal-International Studio Sound Department, Leslie I. Carey, Sound Director
Torpedo Run
1 NominationSpecial Effects - Visual Effects by A. Arnold Gillespie; Audible Effects by Harold Humbrock
t
tom thumb
1 Win, 1 Nomination* Special Effects - Visual Effects by Tom Howard
U
The Usual Unidentified Thieves
1 NominationForeign Language Film - Italy
V
Vertigo
2 NominationsArt Direction - Art Direction: Hal Pereira, Henry Bumstead; Set Decoration: Sam Comer, Frank McKelvy
Sound - Paramount Studio Sound Department, George Dutton, Sound Director
W
White Wilderness
2 Nominations, 1 Win* Documentary (Feature) - Ben Sharpsteen, Producer
Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) - Oliver Wallace
Y
The Young Lions
3 NominationsSound - 20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, Carl Faulkner, Sound Director
Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) - Hugo Friedhofer
Cinematography (Black-and-White) - Joe MacDonald