1959

The 31st Academy Awards | 1959
RKO Pantages Theatre
Monday, April 6, 1959
Honoring movies released in 1958
Highlights
Memorable Moments

Winners & Nominees

Actor

Winner

David Niven

Separate Tables

Nominees

Tony Curtis

The Defiant Ones

Paul Newman

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Sidney Poitier

The Defiant Ones

Spencer Tracy

The Old Man and the Sea

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

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

Actress in a Supporting Role

Winner

Wendy Hiller

Separate Tables

Nominees

Peggy Cass

Auntie Mame

Martha Hyer

Some Came Running

Maureen Stapleton

Lonelyhearts

Cara Williams

The Defiant Ones

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

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

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

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

Documentary (Short Subject)

Winner

Ama Girls

Ben Sharpsteen, Producer

Nominees

Employees Only

Kenneth G. Brown, Producer

Journey into Spring

Ian Ferguson, Producer

The Living Stone

Tom Daly, Producer

Overture

Thorold Dickinson, Producer

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

Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award

Winner

Jack L. Warner

Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)

Winner

The Old Man and the Sea

Dimitri Tiomkin

Nominees

The Big Country

Jerome Moross

Separate Tables

David Raksin

White Wilderness

Oliver Wallace

The Young Lions

Hugo Friedhofer

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 (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

Best Motion Picture

Winner

Gigi

Arthur Freed, Producer

Nominees

Auntie Mame

Warner Bros.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Lawrence Weingarten, Producer

The Defiant Ones

Stanley Kramer, Producer

Separate Tables

Harold Hecht, Producer

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

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

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

Special Effects

Winner

tom thumb

Visual Effects by Tom Howard

Nominees

Torpedo Run

Visual Effects by A. Arnold Gillespie; Audible Effects by Harold Humbrock

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
A
Ama Girls
1 Win, 1 Nomination
* Documentary (Short Subject) - Ben Sharpsteen, Producer
Antarctic Crossing
1 Nomination
Documentary (Feature) - James Carr, Producer
Arms and the Man
1 Nomination
Foreign Language Film - West Germany
Auntie Mame
6 Nominations
Art 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 Nominations
Art 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 Nomination
Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture) - Yuri Faier, G. Rozhdestvensky
The Brothers Karamazov
1 Nomination
Actor in a Supporting Role - Lee J. Cobb in "The Brothers Karamazov"
The Buccaneer
1 Nomination
Costume Design - Ralph Jester, Edith Head, John Jensen
C
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
6 Nominations
Actress - 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 Nominations
Music (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 Nomination
Film Editing - William A. Lyon, Al Clark
D
Damn Yankees
1 Nomination
Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture) - Ray Heindorf
The Defiant Ones
9 Nominations, 2 Wins
Actress 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 Nomination
Cinematography (Black-and-White) - Daniel L. Fapp
E
Employees Only
1 Nomination
Documentary (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 Nomination
Writing (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 Nomination
Documentary (Feature) - Robert Snyder, Producer
The Horse's Mouth
1 Nomination
Writing (Screenplay--based on material from another medium) - Alec Guinness
Houseboat
2 Nominations
Music (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 Win
Cinematography (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 Nomination
Directing - Mark Robson
J
Journey into Spring
2 Nominations
Documentary (Short Subject) - Ian Ferguson, Producer
Short Subject (Live Action) - Ian Ferguson, Producer
K
The Kiss
1 Nomination
Short 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 Nomination
Foreign Language Film - Spain
The Living Stone
1 Nomination
Documentary (Short Subject) - Tom Daly, Producer
Lonelyhearts
1 Nomination
Actress in a Supporting Role - Maureen Stapleton in "Lonelyhearts"
M
Mardi Gras
1 Nomination
Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture) - Lionel Newman
Marjorie Morningstar
1 Nomination
Music (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 Nomination
Documentary (Short Subject) - Thorold Dickinson, Producer
P
Paul Bunyan
1 Nomination
Short Subject (Cartoon) - Walt Disney, Producer
Psychiatric Nursing
1 Nomination
Documentary (Feature) - Nathan Zucker, Producer
R
The Road a Year Long
1 Nomination
Foreign Language Film - Yugoslavia
S
Separate Tables
7 Nominations, 2 Wins
Cinematography (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 Nomination
Writing (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 Nomination
Short Subject (Cartoon) - William M. Weiss, Producer
Snows of Aorangi
1 Nomination
Short Subject (Live Action) - New Zealand Screen Board
Some Came Running
5 Nominations
Actor 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 Win
Music (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 Nomination
Short Subject (Live Action) - James A. Lebenthal, Producer
Teacher's Pet
2 Nominations
Writing (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 Nomination
Sound - Universal-International Studio Sound Department, Leslie I. Carey, Sound Director
Torpedo Run
1 Nomination
Special 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 Nomination
Foreign Language Film - Italy
V
Vertigo
2 Nominations
Art 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 Nominations
Sound - 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