26th Academy Awards

26th Academy Awards
Date March 25, 1954
Site RKO Pantages Theatre
Hollywood, California
NBC Century Theatre
New York City, New York
Hosted by Donald O'Connor (Los Angeles)
Fredric March (New York City)
Highlights
Best Picture From Here to Eternity
Most awards From Here to Eternity (8)
Most nominations From Here to Eternity (13)
TV in the United States
Network NBC

The 26th Academy Awards ceremony was held on March 25, 1954. It took place at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, and the NBC Century Theatre in New York City.

The second national telecast of the Awards show drew an estimated 43 million viewers. Shirley Booth, appearing in a play in Philadelphia, presented the Best Actor award through a live broadcast cut-in, and privately received the winner's name over the telephone from co-host Donald O'Connor. (Actor Fredric March co-hosted from New York City.) Gary Cooper filmed his presentation of the Best Actress award in advance on a set in Mexico, with O'Connor announcing the winner's name.

All the major winners in this year were black-and-white films. The big winner was Fred Zinnemann's From Here to Eternity, with thirteen nominations and eight awards including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Screenplay (Daniel Taradash), Best Cinematography (Burnett Guffey), Best Sound, and Best Film Editing. All five of its major actors and actresses were nominated, with secondary players Donna Reed and Frank Sinatra taking home Oscars. The candid film was based on James Jones' controversial, best-selling novel about Army life on a Hawaiian (Oahu) military base just prior to the Pearl Harbor attack and World War II, illustrating the conflict between an individualistic private (Montgomery Clift) and rigid institutional authority (exemplified by the Army). Its achievement of eight awards matched the then record held by Gone with the Wind (1939). The record would be tied again the following year by On the Waterfront (1954). Walt Disney won four awards, which remains the record for the most Oscars won in the same year.

William Holden's speech for Best Actor for his role in Stalag 17 was simply "Thank You", making it one of the shortest speeches ever; the TV broadcast had a strict cutoff time which forced Holden's quick remarks. The frustrated Holden personally paid for advertisements in the Hollywood trade publications to thank everyone he wanted to on Oscar night. He also remarked that he felt that either Burt Lancaster or Montgomery Clift should have won the Best Actor Oscar for From Here to Eternity, instead of him.

Awards

Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.[1]

Best Motion Picture Best Director
Best Actor Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor Best Supporting Actress
Best Screenplay Best Story and Screenplay
Best Story Best Short Subject - Cartoons
Best Documentary Feature Best Documentary Short Subject
Best Live Action Short Subject, One-Reel Best Live Action Short Subject, Two-Reel
Best Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture Best Scoring of a Musical Picture
Best Song Best Sound Recording
Best Art Direction, Black-and-White Best Art Direction, Color
Best Cinematography, Black-and-White Best Cinematography, Color
Best Costume Design, Black-and-White Best Costume Design, Color
Best Film Editing Best Special Effects

Academy Honorary Awards

  • Pete Smith – "For his witty and pungent observations on the American scene in his series of "Pete Smith Specialties"."
  • Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation – "In recognition of their imagination, showmanship and foresight in introducing the revolutionary process known as CinemaScope."
  • Joseph I. Breen – "For his conscientious, open-minded and dignified management of the Motion Picture Production Code."
  • Bell and Howell Company – "For their pioneering and basic achievements in the advancement of the motion picture industry."

Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award

Presenters and performers

Presenters

Performers

Multiple nominations and awards

See also

References

  1. "The 26th Academy Awards (1954) Nominees and Winners". Oscars.org (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
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