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1939

Experience over nine decades of the Oscars from 1927 to 2024

The 11th Academy Awards | 1939
Biltmore Bowl of the Biltmore Hotel
Thursday, February 23, 1939
Honoring movies released in 1938
Highlights
Special Award
Image

Mickey Rooney, Juvenile Player

Special Award
Image

Deanna Durbin, Juvenile Player, with presenter Edgar Bergen

Thalberg Award
Image

Hal B. Wallis

Memorable Moments
Walt Disney
Image

Receiving one statuette and seven miniature statuettes from Shirley Temple for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Miliza Korjus
Image

Singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the Oscars

Bette Davis
Image

Best Actress winner for Jezebel

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

A

The Adventures of Robin Hood
4 NOMINATIONS, 3 WINS
  • * Art Direction - Carl J. Weyl
  • * Film Editing - Ralph Dawson
  • * Music (Original Score) - Erich Wolfgang Korngold
  • Outstanding Production - Warner Bros.-First National
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
1 NOMINATION
  • Art Direction - Lyle Wheeler
Alexander's Ragtime Band
6 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Music (Scoring) - Alfred Newman
  • Art Direction - Bernard Herzbrun, Boris Leven
  • Film Editing - Barbara McLean
  • Music (Song) - Now It Can Be Told in "Alexander's Ragtime Band" Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin
  • Outstanding Production - 20th Century-Fox
  • Writing (Original Story) - Irving Berlin
Algiers
4 NOMINATIONS
  • Actor - Charles Boyer
  • Actor in a Supporting Role - Gene Lockhart
  • Art Direction - Alexander Toluboff
  • Cinematography - James Wong Howe
Angels with Dirty Faces
3 NOMINATIONS
  • Actor - James Cagney
  • Directing - Michael Curtiz
  • Writing (Original Story) - Rowland Brown
Army Girl
3 NOMINATIONS
  • Cinematography - Ernest Miller, Harry Wild
  • Music (Original Score) - Victor Young
  • Sound Recording - Republic Studio Sound Department, Charles L. Lootens, Sound Director

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 NOMINATION
  • Music (Original Score) - Marvin Hatley
Blockade
2 NOMINATIONS
  • Music (Original Score) - Werner Janssen
  • Writing (Original Story) - John Howard Lawson
Boys Town
5 NOMINATIONS, 2 WINS
  • * Actor - Spencer Tracy
  • * Writing (Original Story) - Dore Schary, Eleanore Griffin
  • Directing - Norman Taurog
  • Outstanding Production - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
  • Writing (Screenplay) - John Meehan, Dore Schary
Brave Little Tailor
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Cartoon) - Walt Disney, Producer
Breaking the Ice
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Original Score) - Victor Young
The Buccaneer
1 NOMINATION
  • Cinematography - Victor Milner

C

Carefree
3 NOMINATIONS
  • Art Direction - Van Nest Polglase
  • Music (Scoring) - Victor Baravalle
  • Music (Song) - Change Partners in "Carefree" Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin
The Citadel
4 NOMINATIONS
  • Actor - Robert Donat
  • Directing - King Vidor
  • Outstanding Production - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
  • Writing (Screenplay) - Ian Dalrymple, Frank Wead, Elizabeth Hill
The Cowboy and the Lady
3 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Sound Recording - United Artists Studio Sound Department, Thomas T. Moulton, Sound Director
  • Music (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

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 NOMINATIONS
  • Actor in a Supporting Role - John Garfield
  • Directing - Michael Curtiz
  • Outstanding Production - Warner Bros.-First National
  • Sound Recording - Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department, Nathan Levinson, Sound Director
  • Writing (Screenplay) - Julius J. Epstein, Lenore Coffee

G

Girls' School
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Scoring) - Morris Stoloff, Gregory Stone
Going Places
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Song) - Jeepers Creepers in "Going Places" Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
The Goldwyn Follies
2 NOMINATIONS
  • Art Direction - Richard Day
  • Music (Scoring) - Alfred Newman
Good Scouts
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Cartoon) - Walt Disney, Producer
Grand Illusion
1 NOMINATION
  • Outstanding Production - Realization D'Art Cinematographique
The Great Heart
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (One-reel) - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
The Great Waltz
3 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Cinematography - Joseph Ruttenberg
  • Actress in a Supporting Role - Miliza Korjus
  • Film Editing - Tom Held

H

Holiday
1 NOMINATION
  • Art Direction - Stephen Goosson, Lionel Banks
Hunky and Spunky
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Cartoon) - Paramount

I

If I Were King
4 NOMINATIONS
  • Actor in a Supporting Role - Basil Rathbone
  • Art Direction - Hans Dreier, John Goodman
  • Music (Original Score) - Richard Hageman
  • Sound Recording - Paramount Studio Sound Department, Loren L. Ryder, Sound Director

J

Jezebel
5 NOMINATIONS, 2 WINS
  • * Actress - Bette Davis
  • * Actress in a Supporting Role - Fay Bainter
  • Cinematography - Ernest Haller
  • Music (Scoring) - Max Steiner
  • Outstanding Production - Warner Bros.

K

Kentucky
1 WIN, 1 NOMINATION
  • * Actor in a Supporting Role - Walter Brennan

L

The Lady Objects
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Song) - A Mist Over The Moon in "The Lady Objects" Music by Ben Oakland; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II

M

Mad about Music
4 NOMINATIONS
  • Art Direction - Jack Otterson
  • Cinematography - Joseph Valentine
  • Music (Scoring) - Charles Previn, Frank Skinner
  • Writing (Original Story) - Marcella Burke, Frederick Kohner
Mannequin
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Song) - Always And Always in "Mannequin" Music by Edward Ward; Lyrics by Chet Forrest and Bob Wright
Marie Antoinette
4 NOMINATIONS
  • Actor in a Supporting Role - Robert Morley
  • Actress - Norma Shearer
  • Art Direction - Cedric Gibbons
  • Music (Original Score) - Herbert Stothart
Merrily We Live
5 NOMINATIONS
  • Actress in a Supporting Role - Billie Burke
  • Art Direction - Charles D. Hall
  • Cinematography - Norbert Brodine
  • Music (Song) - Merrily We Live in "Merrily We Live" Music by Phil Charig; Lyrics by Arthur Quenzer
  • Sound Recording - Hal Roach Studio Sound Department, Elmer A. Raguse, Sound Director
Mother Goose Goes Hollywood
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Cartoon) - Walt Disney, Producer

O

Of Human Hearts
1 NOMINATION
  • Actress in a Supporting Role - Beulah Bondi

P

Pacific Liner
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Original Score) - Russell Bennett
Pygmalion
4 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Writing (Screenplay) - Screenplay and Dialogue by George Bernard Shaw; Adaptation by W. P. Lipscomb, Cecil Lewis, Ian Dalrymple
  • Actor - Leslie Howard
  • Actress - Wendy Hiller
  • Outstanding Production - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

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 NOMINATION
  • Music (Scoring) - Cy Feuer
Suez
3 NOMINATIONS
  • Cinematography - Peverell Marley
  • Music (Original Score) - Louis Silvers
  • Sound Recording - 20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, Edmund H. Hansen, Sound Director
Sweethearts
3 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Special Award - Special Award
  • Music (Scoring) - Herbert Stothart
  • Sound Recording - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Douglas Shearer, Sound Director
Swingtime in the Movies
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Two-reel) - Warner Bros.

T

Test Pilot
3 NOMINATIONS
  • Film Editing - Tom Held
  • Outstanding Production - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
  • Writing (Original Story) - Frank Wead
That Certain Age
2 NOMINATIONS
  • Music (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 NOMINATION
  • Music (Scoring) - Marvin Hatley
They're Always Caught
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Two-reel) - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Three Comrades
1 NOMINATION
  • Actress - Margaret Sullavan
Timber Toppers
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (One-reel) - 20th Century-Fox
Tropic Holiday
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Scoring) - Boris Morros

U

Under Western Stars
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Song) - Dust in "Under Western Stars" Music and Lyrics by Johnny Marvin

V

Vivacious Lady
2 NOMINATIONS
  • Cinematography - Robert de Grasse
  • Sound Recording - RKO Radio Studio Sound Department, John Aalberg, Sound Director

W

White Banners
1 NOMINATION
  • Actress - Fay Bainter

Y

You Can't Take It with You
7 NOMINATIONS, 2 WINS
  • * Directing - Frank Capra
  • * Outstanding Production - Columbia
  • Actress in a Supporting Role - Spring Byington
  • Cinematography - Joseph Walker
  • Film Editing - Gene Havlick
  • Sound Recording - Columbia Studio Sound Department, John Livadary, Sound Director
  • Writing (Screenplay) - Robert Riskin
The Young in Heart
3 NOMINATIONS
  • Cinematography - Leon Shamroy
  • Music (Original Score) - Franz Waxman
  • Music (Scoring) - Franz Waxman
No Films Found