The 20th Academy Awards were held on March 20, 1948, to honor the films of 1947. It is notable for being the last Oscars until 2005 in which no film won more than three awards.

20th Academy Awards
DateMarch 20, 1948
SiteShrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, United States
Hosted byAgnes Moorehead
Dick Powell
Highlights
Best PictureGentleman's Agreement
Most awardsGentleman's Agreement and Miracle on 34th Street (3)
Most nominationsGentleman's Agreement (8)

Rosalind Russell was highly favored—particularly in a poll from the Daily Variety[1]—to win Best Actress for her performance in Mourning Becomes Electra,[2] but Loretta Young won instead for The Farmer's Daughter.[1]

James Baskett received an Academy Honorary Award for his portrayal of Uncle Remus in Song of the South, which made him the first African-American man, and the first actor in a Disney film, to win an Academy Award for acting.[2]

Winning Best Supporting Actor at age 71, Edmund Gwenn became the oldest Oscar winner, taking the record from Charles Coburn, who was 66 at the time of his win in 1943 for The More the Merrier.

Darryl F. Zanuck, bitter over the failure of the 1944 biopic Wilson to win Best Picture, accepted the prize for Gentleman's Agreement by saying "this award will make up for previous disappointments.[3]

Winners and nominees

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Darryl F. Zanuck; Best Picture winner
Elia Kazan; Best Director winner
Ronald Colman; Best Actor winner
Loretta Young; Best Actress winner
Edmund Gwenn; Best Supporting Actor winner
Celeste Holm; Best Supporting Actress winner

Awards

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Nominees were announced on February 13, 1948. Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.[4]

Best Motion Picture Best Director
Best Actor Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor Best Supporting Actress
Best Original Screenplay Best Screenplay
Best Motion Picture Story Best Documentary Feature
Best Documentary Short Subject Best Live Action Short Subject, One-Reel
Best Live Action Short Subject, Two-Reel Best Short Subject – Cartoons
  • Climbing the MatterhornIrving Allen
    • Champagne for Two – Harry Grey
    • Fight of the Wild Stallions – Thomas Mead
    • Give Us the Earth – Herbert Morgan
    • A Voice Is Born: The Story of Miklos Gafni – Ben Blake
Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture Best Scoring of a Musical Picture
Best Original Song Best Sound Recording
Best Art Direction – Set Decoration, Black-and-White Best Art Direction – Set Decoration, Color
Best Cinematography, Black-and-White Best Cinematography, Color
Best Film Editing Best Special Effects

Academy Honorary Awards

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Best Foreign Language Film

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Presenters and performers

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Presenters

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List of presenters, in order of appearance[5]
Name Role
George Murphy presented the awards for Motion Picture Story and Original Screenplay
Robert Montgomery presented the Scientific and Technical Awards
Shirley Temple presented the Documentary and Short Subject Awards
Larry Parks presented the awards for Best Special Effects, Best Musical Score and Best Sound Recording
Donald Crisp presented the awards for Best Supporting Actress and Best Director
Olivia de Havilland presented the award for Best Actor
Dinah Shore presented the award for Best Original Song
Dick Powell presented the award for Best Art Direction
Jean Simmons accepted the Best Art Direction award on behalf of J. Arthur Rank
Jean Hersholt presented the Honorary Awards
Ingrid Bergman presented the Honorary Award to James Baskett
Agnes Moorehead presented the awards for Best Cinematography
Anne Baxter presented the awards for Best Cinematography, Best Supporting Actor, Best Screenplay and Best Film Editing
Fredric March presented the awards for Best Actress and Best Picture

Performers

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List of musical performances, in order of appearance[5]
Artist Song
Gordon MacRae "A Girl in Calico"
Dennis Day "I Wish I Didn't Love You So"
Dinah Shore "Pass That Peace Pipe"
Frances Langford "You Do"
Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah"

Multiple nominations and awards

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Wallechinsky, David; Wallace, Irving (1975). The People's Almanac. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc. p. 837. ISBN 0-385-04060-1.
  2. ^ a b Dirks, Tim. "1947 Academy Awards Winners and History". FilmSite.org (American Movie Classics). Archived from the original on April 19, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  3. ^ Wallechinsky, David; Wallace, Irving (1975). The People's Almanac. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc. p. 836. ISBN 0-385-04060-1.
  4. ^ "The 20th Academy Awards (1948) Nominees and Winners". Oscars.org (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
  5. ^ a b Wiley, Mason (1986). Inside Oscar. New York: Ballantine Books. p. 176. ISBN 9780345314239.