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1956

Experience over nine decades of the Oscars from 1927 to 2024

The 28th Academy Awards | 1956
RKO Pantages Theatre
Wednesday, March 21, 1956
Honoring movies released in 1955
Highlights
The Opening of the Oscars

with host Jerry Lewis

Cinematography
The Rose Tattoo

James Wong Howe

Directing
Marty

Delbert Mann

Memorable Moments
Jack Lemmon, Jo Van Fleet and Ernest Borgnine
Image

Supporting Actor winner for Mister Roberts, Supporting Actress winner for East of Eden, and Best Actor winner for Marty

Helen Keller in Her Story
Image

Helen Keller, posing with the Documentary Feature award

Joseph L. Mankiewicz and Claudette Colbert
Image

Oscar co-hosts in New York

WINNERS & NOMINEES
Actor
Winner
Ernest Borgnine
Marty
Nominees
James Cagney
Love Me or Leave Me
Nominees
James Dean
East of Eden
Nominees
Frank Sinatra
The Man with the Golden Arm
Nominees
Spencer Tracy
Bad Day at Black Rock
Actor in a Supporting Role
Winner
Jack Lemmon
Mister Roberts
Nominees
Arthur Kennedy
Trial
Nominees
Joe Mantell
Marty
Nominees
Sal Mineo
Rebel without a Cause
Nominees
Arthur O'Connell
Picnic
Actress
Winner
Anna Magnani
The Rose Tattoo
Nominees
Susan Hayward
I'll Cry Tomorrow
Nominees
Katharine Hepburn
Summertime
Nominees
Jennifer Jones
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing
Nominees
Eleanor Parker
Interrupted Melody
Actress in a Supporting Role
Winner
Jo Van Fleet
East of Eden
Nominees
Betsy Blair
Marty
Nominees
Peggy Lee
Pete Kelly's Blues
Nominees
Marisa Pavan
The Rose Tattoo
Nominees
Natalie Wood
Rebel without a Cause
Art Direction (Black-and-White)
Winner
The Rose Tattoo
Art Direction: Hal Pereira, Tambi Larsen; Set Decoration: Sam Comer, Arthur Krams
Nominees
Blackboard Jungle
Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons, Randall Duell; Set Decoration: Edwin B. Willis, Henry Grace
Nominees
I'll Cry Tomorrow
Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons, Malcolm Brown; Set Decoration: Edwin B. Willis, Hugh B. Hunt
Nominees
The Man with the Golden Arm
Art Direction: Joseph C. Wright; Set Decoration: Darrell Silvera
Nominees
Marty
Art Direction: Edward S. Haworth, Walter Simonds; Set Decoration: Robert Priestley
Art Direction (Color)
Winner
Picnic
Art Direction: William Flannery, Jo Mielziner; Set Decoration: Robert Priestley
Nominees
Daddy Long Legs
Art Direction: Lyle Wheeler, John DeCuir; Set Decoration: Walter M. Scott, Paul S. Fox
Nominees
Guys and Dolls
Art Direction: Oliver Smith, Joseph C. Wright; Set Decoration: Howard Bristol
Nominees
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing
Art Direction: Lyle Wheeler, George W. Davis; Set Decoration: Walter M. Scott, Jack Stubbs
Nominees
To Catch a Thief
Art Direction: Hal Pereira, Joseph McMillan Johnson; Set Decoration: Sam Comer, Arthur Krams
Cinematography (Black-and-White)
Winner
The Rose Tattoo
James Wong Howe
Nominees
Blackboard Jungle
Russell Harlan
Nominees
I'll Cry Tomorrow
Arthur E. Arling
Nominees
Marty
Joseph LaShelle
Nominees
Queen Bee
Charles Lang
Cinematography (Color)
Winner
To Catch a Thief
Robert Burks
Nominees
Guys and Dolls
Harry Stradling
Nominees
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing
Leon Shamroy
Nominees
A Man Called Peter
Harold Lipstein
Nominees
Oklahoma!
Robert Surtees
Costume Design (Black-and-White)
Winner
I'll Cry Tomorrow
Helen Rose
Nominees
The Pickwick Papers
Beatrice Dawson
Nominees
Queen Bee
Jean Louis
Nominees
The Rose Tattoo
Edith Head
Nominees
Ugetsu
Tadaoto Kainoscho
Costume Design (Color)
Winner
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing
Charles LeMaire
Nominees
Guys and Dolls
Irene Sharaff
Nominees
Interrupted Melody
Helen Rose
Nominees
To Catch a Thief
Edith Head
Nominees
The Virgin Queen
Charles LeMaire, Mary Wills
Directing
Winner
Marty
Delbert Mann
Nominees
Bad Day at Black Rock
John Sturges
Nominees
East of Eden
Elia Kazan
Nominees
Picnic
Joshua Logan
Nominees
Summertime
David Lean
Documentary (Feature)
Winner
Helen Keller in Her Story
Nancy Hamilton, Producer
Nominees
Heartbreak Ridge
Rene Risacher, Producer
Documentary (Short Subject)
Winner
Men against the Arctic
Walt Disney, Producer
Nominees
The Battle of Gettysburg
Dore Schary, Producer
Nominees
The Face of Lincoln
Wilbur T. Blume, Producer
Film Editing
Winner
Picnic
Charles Nelson, William A. Lyon
Nominees
Blackboard Jungle
Ferris Webster
Nominees
The Bridges at Toko-Ri
Alma Macrorie
Nominees
Oklahoma!
Gene Ruggiero, George Boemler
Nominees
The Rose Tattoo
Warren Low
Honorary Foreign Language Film Award
Winner
Samurai, The Legend of Musashi
Special Award
Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)
Winner
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing
Alfred Newman
Nominees
Battle Cry
Max Steiner
Nominees
The Man with the Golden Arm
Elmer Bernstein
Nominees
Picnic
George Duning
Nominees
The Rose Tattoo
Alex North
Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture)
Winner
Oklahoma!
Robert Russell Bennett, Jay Blackton, Adolph Deutsch
Nominees
Daddy Long Legs
Alfred Newman
Nominees
Guys and Dolls
Jay Blackton, Cyril J. Mockridge
Nominees
It's Always Fair Weather
Andre Previn
Nominees
Love Me or Leave Me
Percy Faith, George Stoll
Music (Song)
Winner
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing
Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing in "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" Music by Sammy Fain; Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
Nominees
Love Me or Leave Me
I'll Never Stop Loving You in "Love Me or Leave Me" Music by Nicholas Brodszky; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
Nominees
Daddy Long Legs
Something's Gotta Give in "Daddy Long Legs" Music and Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
Nominees
The Tender Trap
(Love Is) The Tender Trap in "The Tender Trap" Music by James Van Heusen; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
Nominees
Unchained
Unchained Melody in "Unchained" Music by Alex North; Lyrics by Hy Zaret
Best Motion Picture
Winner
Marty
Harold Hecht, Producer
Nominees
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing
Buddy Adler, Producer
Nominees
Mister Roberts
Leland Hayward, Producer
Nominees
Picnic
Fred Kohlmar, Producer
Nominees
The Rose Tattoo
Hal B. Wallis, Producer
Short Subject (Cartoon)
Winner
Speedy Gonzales
Edward Selzer, Producer
Nominees
Good Will to Men
Fred Quimby, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, Producers
Nominees
The Legend of Rock-a-bye Point
Walter Lantz, Producer
Nominees
No Hunting
Walt Disney, Producer
Short Subject (One-reel)
Winner
Survival City
Edmund Reek, Producer
Nominees
Gadgets Galore
Robert Youngson, Producer
Nominees
3rd Ave. El
Carson Davidson, Producer
Nominees
Three Kisses
Justin Herman, Producer
Short Subject (Two-reel)
Winner
The Face of Lincoln
Wilbur T. Blume, Producer
Nominees
The Battle of Gettysburg
Dore Schary, Producer
Nominees
On the Twelfth Day...
George K. Arthur, Producer
Nominees
Switzerland
Walt Disney, Producer
Nominees
24-Hour Alert
Cedric Francis, Producer
Sound Recording
Winner
Oklahoma!
Todd-AO Sound Department, Fred Hynes, Sound Director
Nominees
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing
20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, Carl W. Faulkner, Sound Director
Nominees
Love Me or Leave Me
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Wesley C. Miller, Sound Director
Nominees
Mister Roberts
Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department, William A. Mueller, Sound Director
Nominees
Not as a Stranger
Radio Corporation of America Sound Department, Watson Jones, Sound Director
Special Effects
Winner
The Bridges at Toko-Ri
Paramount Studio
Nominees
The Dam Busters
Associated British Picture Corporation, Ltd.
Nominees
The Rains of Ranchipur
20th Century-Fox Studio
Writing (Motion Picture Story)
Winner
Love Me or Leave Me
Daniel Fuchs
Nominees
The Private War of Major Benson
Joe Connelly, Bob Mosher
Nominees
Rebel without a Cause
Nicholas Ray
Nominees
The Sheep Has Five Legs
Jean Marsan, Henry Troyat, Jacques Perret, Henri Verneuil, Raoul Ploquin
Nominees
Strategic Air Command
Beirne Lay, Jr.
Writing (Screenplay)
Winner
Marty
Paddy Chayefsky
Nominees
Bad Day at Black Rock
Millard Kaufman
Nominees
Blackboard Jungle
Richard Brooks
Nominees
East of Eden
Paul Osborn
Nominees
Love Me or Leave Me
Daniel Fuchs, Isobel Lennart
Writing (Story and Screenplay)
Winner
Interrupted Melody
William Ludwig, Sonya Levien
Nominees
The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell
Milton Sperling, Emmet Lavery
Nominees
It's Always Fair Weather
Betty Comden, Adolph Green
Nominees
Mr. Hulot's Holiday
Jacques Tati, Henri Marquet
Nominees
The Seven Little Foys
Melville Shavelson, Jack Rose

0-9

24-Hour Alert
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Two-reel) - Cedric Francis, Producer
3rd Ave. El
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (One-reel) - Carson Davidson, Producer

B

Bad Day at Black Rock
3 NOMINATIONS
  • Actor - Spencer Tracy
  • Directing - John Sturges
  • Writing (Screenplay) - Millard Kaufman
Battle Cry
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) - Max Steiner
The Battle of Gettysburg
2 NOMINATIONS
  • Documentary (Short Subject) - Dore Schary, Producer
  • Short Subject (Two-reel) - Dore Schary, Producer
Blackboard Jungle
4 NOMINATIONS
  • Art Direction (Black-and-White) - Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons, Randall Duell; Set Decoration: Edwin B. Willis, Henry Grace
  • Cinematography (Black-and-White) - Russell Harlan
  • Film Editing - Ferris Webster
  • Writing (Screenplay) - Richard Brooks
The Bridges at Toko-Ri
2 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Special Effects - Paramount Studio
  • Film Editing - Alma Macrorie

C

The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell
1 NOMINATION
  • Writing (Story and Screenplay) - Milton Sperling, Emmet Lavery

D

Daddy Long Legs
3 NOMINATIONS
  • Art Direction (Color) - Art Direction: Lyle Wheeler, John DeCuir; Set Decoration: Walter M. Scott, Paul S. Fox
  • Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture) - Alfred Newman
  • Music (Song) - Something's Gotta Give in "Daddy Long Legs" Music and Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
The Dam Busters
1 NOMINATION
  • Special Effects - Associated British Picture Corporation, Ltd.

E

East of Eden
4 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Actress in a Supporting Role - Jo Van Fleet
  • Actor - James Dean
  • Directing - Elia Kazan
  • Writing (Screenplay) - Paul Osborn

F

The Face of Lincoln
2 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Short Subject (Two-reel) - Wilbur T. Blume, Producer
  • Documentary (Short Subject) - Wilbur T. Blume, Producer

G

Gadgets Galore
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (One-reel) - Robert Youngson, Producer
Good Will to Men
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Cartoon) - Fred Quimby, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, Producers
Guys and Dolls
4 NOMINATIONS
  • Art Direction (Color) - Art Direction: Oliver Smith, Joseph C. Wright; Set Decoration: Howard Bristol
  • Cinematography (Color) - Harry Stradling
  • Costume Design (Color) - Irene Sharaff
  • Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture) - Jay Blackton, Cyril J. Mockridge

H

Heartbreak Ridge
1 NOMINATION
  • Documentary (Feature) - Rene Risacher, Producer
Helen Keller in Her Story
1 WIN, 1 NOMINATION
  • * Documentary (Feature) - Nancy Hamilton, Producer

I

I'll Cry Tomorrow
4 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Costume Design (Black-and-White) - Helen Rose
  • Actress - Susan Hayward
  • Art Direction (Black-and-White) - Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons, Malcolm Brown; Set Decoration: Edwin B. Willis, Hugh B. Hunt
  • Cinematography (Black-and-White) - Arthur E. Arling
Interrupted Melody
3 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Writing (Story and Screenplay) - William Ludwig, Sonya Levien
  • Actress - Eleanor Parker
  • Costume Design (Color) - Helen Rose
It's Always Fair Weather
2 NOMINATIONS
  • Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture) - Andre Previn
  • Writing (Story and Screenplay) - Betty Comden, Adolph Green

L

The Legend of Rock-a-bye Point
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Cartoon) - Walter Lantz, Producer
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing
8 NOMINATIONS, 3 WINS
  • * Costume Design (Color) - Charles LeMaire
  • * Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) - Alfred Newman
  • * Music (Song) - Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing in "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" Music by Sammy Fain; Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
  • Actress - Jennifer Jones
  • Art Direction (Color) - Art Direction: Lyle Wheeler, George W. Davis; Set Decoration: Walter M. Scott, Jack Stubbs
  • Cinematography (Color) - Leon Shamroy
  • Best Motion Picture - Buddy Adler, Producer
  • Sound Recording - 20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, Carl W. Faulkner, Sound Director
Love Me or Leave Me
6 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Writing (Motion Picture Story) - Daniel Fuchs
  • Actor - James Cagney
  • Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture) - Percy Faith, George Stoll
  • Music (Song) - I'll Never Stop Loving You in "Love Me or Leave Me" Music by Nicholas Brodszky; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
  • Sound Recording - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Wesley C. Miller, Sound Director
  • Writing (Screenplay) - Daniel Fuchs, Isobel Lennart

M

A Man Called Peter
1 NOMINATION
  • Cinematography (Color) - Harold Lipstein
The Man with the Golden Arm
3 NOMINATIONS
  • Actor - Frank Sinatra
  • Art Direction (Black-and-White) - Art Direction: Joseph C. Wright; Set Decoration: Darrell Silvera
  • Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) - Elmer Bernstein
Marty
8 NOMINATIONS, 4 WINS
  • * Actor - Ernest Borgnine
  • * Directing - Delbert Mann
  • * Best Motion Picture - Harold Hecht, Producer
  • * Writing (Screenplay) - Paddy Chayefsky
  • Actor in a Supporting Role - Joe Mantell
  • Actress in a Supporting Role - Betsy Blair
  • Art Direction (Black-and-White) - Art Direction: Edward S. Haworth, Walter Simonds; Set Decoration: Robert Priestley
  • Cinematography (Black-and-White) - Joseph LaShelle
Men against the Arctic
1 WIN, 1 NOMINATION
  • * Documentary (Short Subject) - Walt Disney, Producer
Mister Roberts
3 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Actor in a Supporting Role - Jack Lemmon
  • Best Motion Picture - Leland Hayward, Producer
  • Sound Recording - Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department, William A. Mueller, Sound Director
Mr. Hulot's Holiday
1 NOMINATION
  • Writing (Story and Screenplay) - Jacques Tati, Henri Marquet

N

No Hunting
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Cartoon) - Walt Disney, Producer
Not as a Stranger
1 NOMINATION
  • Sound Recording - Radio Corporation of America Sound Department, Watson Jones, Sound Director

O

Oklahoma!
4 NOMINATIONS, 2 WINS
  • * Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture) - Robert Russell Bennett, Jay Blackton, Adolph Deutsch
  • * Sound Recording - Todd-AO Sound Department, Fred Hynes, Sound Director
  • Cinematography (Color) - Robert Surtees
  • Film Editing - Gene Ruggiero, George Boemler

P

Pete Kelly's Blues
1 NOMINATION
  • Actress in a Supporting Role - Peggy Lee
The Pickwick Papers
1 NOMINATION
  • Costume Design (Black-and-White) - Beatrice Dawson
Picnic
6 NOMINATIONS, 2 WINS
  • * Art Direction (Color) - Art Direction: William Flannery, Jo Mielziner; Set Decoration: Robert Priestley
  • * Film Editing - Charles Nelson, William A. Lyon
  • Actor in a Supporting Role - Arthur O'Connell
  • Directing - Joshua Logan
  • Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) - George Duning
  • Best Motion Picture - Fred Kohlmar, Producer
The Private War of Major Benson
1 NOMINATION
  • Writing (Motion Picture Story) - Joe Connelly, Bob Mosher

Q

Queen Bee
2 NOMINATIONS
  • Cinematography (Black-and-White) - Charles Lang
  • Costume Design (Black-and-White) - Jean Louis

R

The Rains of Ranchipur
1 NOMINATION
  • Special Effects - 20th Century-Fox Studio
Rebel without a Cause
3 NOMINATIONS
  • Actor in a Supporting Role - Sal Mineo
  • Actress in a Supporting Role - Natalie Wood
  • Writing (Motion Picture Story) - Nicholas Ray
The Rose Tattoo
8 NOMINATIONS, 3 WINS
  • * Actress - Anna Magnani
  • * Art Direction (Black-and-White) - Art Direction: Hal Pereira, Tambi Larsen; Set Decoration: Sam Comer, Arthur Krams
  • * Cinematography (Black-and-White) - James Wong Howe
  • Actress in a Supporting Role - Marisa Pavan
  • Costume Design (Black-and-White) - Edith Head
  • Film Editing - Warren Low
  • Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) - Alex North
  • Best Motion Picture - Hal B. Wallis, Producer

S

Samurai, The Legend of Musashi
1 WIN, 1 NOMINATION
  • * Honorary Foreign Language Film Award - Special Award
The Seven Little Foys
1 NOMINATION
  • Writing (Story and Screenplay) - Melville Shavelson, Jack Rose
The Sheep Has Five Legs
1 NOMINATION
  • Writing (Motion Picture Story) - Jean Marsan, Henry Troyat, Jacques Perret, Henri Verneuil, Raoul Ploquin
Speedy Gonzales
1 WIN, 1 NOMINATION
  • * Short Subject (Cartoon) - Edward Selzer, Producer
Strategic Air Command
1 NOMINATION
  • Writing (Motion Picture Story) - Beirne Lay, Jr.
Summertime
2 NOMINATIONS
  • Actress - Katharine Hepburn
  • Directing - David Lean
Survival City
1 WIN, 1 NOMINATION
  • * Short Subject (One-reel) - Edmund Reek, Producer
Switzerland
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Two-reel) - Walt Disney, Producer

T

The Tender Trap
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Song) - (Love Is) The Tender Trap in "The Tender Trap" Music by James Van Heusen; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
On the Twelfth Day...
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Two-reel) - George K. Arthur, Producer
Three Kisses
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (One-reel) - Justin Herman, Producer
To Catch a Thief
3 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Cinematography (Color) - Robert Burks
  • Art Direction (Color) - Art Direction: Hal Pereira, Joseph McMillan Johnson; Set Decoration: Sam Comer, Arthur Krams
  • Costume Design (Color) - Edith Head
Trial
1 NOMINATION
  • Actor in a Supporting Role - Arthur Kennedy

U

Ugetsu
1 NOMINATION
  • Costume Design (Black-and-White) - Tadaoto Kainoscho
Unchained
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Song) - Unchained Melody in "Unchained" Music by Alex North; Lyrics by Hy Zaret

V

The Virgin Queen
1 NOMINATION
  • Costume Design (Color) - Charles LeMaire, Mary Wills
No Films Found