1943 Oscars 15th Academy Awards

1943 Oscars 15th Academy Awards

  • On March 4, 1943, the spotlight shone on Cocoanut Grove in The Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles, California, for the 15th Academy Awards.
  • Bob Hope, the perennial Oscars host, returned to keep the audience entertained.
  • The ceremony celebrated films released during the eligibility year of 1942.

Major Highlights:

  • Mrs. Miniver dominated the night, taking home the Best Picture trophy.
  • Mrs. Miniver received 12 nominations, winning 6.
  • Greer Garson won Best Actress for her role in Mrs. Miniver, while James Cagney snagged Best Actor for Yankee Doodle Dandy.
  • William Wyler clinched the Best Director award for Mrs. Miniver.
  • Irving Berlin presented the Academy Award for Best Song, which he won for White Christmas.
  • Best Documentary category resulted in a four-way tie, an outcome that has not happened before or since.
  • Pride of the Yankees received 11 nominations, winning 1.
  • Yankee Doodle Dandy received eight nominations, winning 3.

Trivia Tidbits:

  1. Greer Garson’s acceptance speech lasted five and a half minutes, setting a record.
  2. The Jungle Book, based on Rudyard Kipling’s stories, received four nominations but won no Oscars.
  3. In Which We Serve, a British patriotic film, was given a special award for its screenplay.

1943 Oscar Nominees and Winners

Outstanding Motion Picture:
Mrs. Miniver – Sidney Franklin for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (WINNER)
49th Parallel – Michael Powell for Ortus
Kings Row – Hal B. Wallis for Warner Bros.
The Magnificent Ambersons – Orson Welles for Mercury and RKO Radio
The Pied Piper – Nunnally Johnson for 20th Century Fox
The Pride of the Yankees – Samuel Goldwyn for Samuel Goldwyn Productions and RKO Radio
Random Harvest – Sidney Franklin for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
The Talk of the Town – George Stevens for Columbia
Wake Island – Joseph Sistrom for Paramount
Yankee Doodle Dandy – Jack L. Warner, Hal B. Wallis, and William Cagney for Warner Bros.
Best Director:
William Wyler – Mrs. Miniver (WINNER)
Sam Wood – Kings Row
Mervyn LeRoy – Random Harvest
John Farrow – Wake Island
Michael Curtiz – Yankee Doodle Dandy
Best Actor:
James Cagney – Yankee Doodle Dandy as George M. Cohan (WINNER)
Ronald Colman – Random Harvest as Charles Rainier
Gary Cooper – The Pride of the Yankees as Lou Gehrig
Walter Pidgeon – Mrs. Miniver as Clem Miniver
Monty Woolley – The Pied Piper as Howard
Best Actress:
Greer Garson – Mrs. Miniver as Kay Miniver (WINNER)
Bette Davis – Now, Voyager as Charlotte Vale
Katharine Hepburn – Woman of the Year as Tess Harding
Rosalind Russell – My Sister Eileen as Ruth Sherwood
Teresa Wright – The Pride of the Yankees as Eleanor Gehrig
Best Supporting Actor:
Van Heflin – Johnny Eager as Jeff Hartnett (WINNER)
William Bendix – Wake Island as Private Aloysius K. Randall
Walter Huston – Yankee Doodle Dandy as Jerry Cohan
Frank Morgan – Tortilla Flat as The Pirate
Henry Travers – Mrs. Miniver as James Ballard
Best Supporting Actress:
Teresa Wright – Mrs. Miniver as Carol Beldon (WINNER)
Gladys Cooper – Now, Voyager as Windle Vale
Agnes Moorehead – The Magnificent Ambersons as Fanny Minafer
Susan Peters – Random Harvest as Kitty Chilcet
Dame May Whitty – Mrs. Miniver as Lady Beldon
Best Original Screenplay:
Woman of the Year – Michael Kanin and Ring Lardner Jr. (WINNER)
One of Our Aircraft Is Missing – Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Road to Morocco – Frank Butler and Don Hartman
Wake Island – W. R. Burnett and Frank Butler
The War Against Mrs. Hadley – George Oppenheimer
Best Screenplay:
Mrs. Miniver – George Froeschel, James Hilton, Claudine West, and Arthur Wimperis, based on the Mrs. Miniver newspaper columns by Jan Struther (WINNER)
49th Parallel – Rodney Ackland and Emeric Pressburger, based on a story by Emeric Pressburger
The Pride of the Yankees – Herman J. Mankiewicz and Jo Swerling, based on a story by Paul Gallico
Random Harvest – George Froeschel, Claudine West, and Arthur Wimperis, based on the novel by James Hilton
The Talk of the Town – Sidney Buchman and Irwin Shaw, based on a story by Sidney Harmon
Best Original Motion Picture Story:
49th Parallel – Emeric Pressburger (WINNER)
Holiday Inn – Irving Berlin
The Pride of the Yankees – Paul Gallico
The Talk of the Town – Sidney Harmon
Yankee Doodle Dandy – Robert Buckner
Best Documentary:
The Battle of Midway – United States Navy (WINNER)
Kokoda Front Line! – Australian News and Information Bureau (WINNER)
Moscow Strikes Back – Artkino (WINNER)
Prelude to War – United States Army Special Services (WINNER)
Africa, Prelude to Victory – The March of Time
Combat Report – United States Army Signal Corps
Conquer by the Clock – Frederic Ullman Jr.
The Grain That Built a Hemisphere – Walt Disney
Henry Browne, Farmer – United States Department of Agriculture
High Over the Borders – National Film Board of Canada
High Stakes in the East – The Netherlands Information Bureau
Inside Fighting China – National Film Board of Canada
It’s Everybody’s War – United States Office of War Information
Listen to Britain – British Ministry of Information
Little Belgium – Belgian Ministry of Information
Little Isles of Freedom – Victor Stoloff and Edgar Loew
Mr. Blabbermouth! – United States Office of War Information
Mr. Gardenia Jones – United States Office of War Information
The New Spirit – Walt Disney
The Price of Victory – William H. Pine
A Ship Is Born – United States Merchant Marine
Twenty-One Miles – British Ministry of Information
We Refuse to Die – William C. Thomas
White Eagle – Concanen Films
Winning Your Wings – United States Army Air Force
Best Live Action Short Subject, One-Reel:
Speaking of Animals and Their Families – Paramount (WINNER)
Desert Wonderland – 20th Century Fox
Marines in the Making – Pete Smith
United States Marine Band – Warner Bros.
Best Live Action Short Subject, Two-Reel:
Beyond the Line of Duty – Warner Bros. (WINNER)
Don’t Talk – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Private Smith of the U.S.A. – RKO Radio
Best Short Subjects – Cartoons:
Der Fuehrer’s Face – Walt Disney (WINNER)
All Out for V – Paul Terry
Blitz Wolf – Fred Quimby
Juke Box Jamboree – Walter Lantz
Pigs in a Polka – Leon Schlesinger
Tulips Shall Grow – George Pal
Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture:
Now, Voyager – Max Steiner (WINNER)
Arabian Nights – Frank Skinner
Bambi – Frank Churchill (posthumous nomination) and Edward H. Plumb
The Black Swan – Alfred Newman
The Corsican Brothers – Dimitri Tiomkin
Flying Tigers – Victor Young
The Gold Rush – Max Terr
I Married a Witch – Roy Webb
Joan of Paris – Roy Webb
Jungle Book – Miklós Rózsa
Klondike Fury – Edward J. Kay
The Pride of the Yankees – Leigh Harline
Random Harvest – Herbert Stothart
The Shanghai Gesture – Richard Hageman
Silver Queen – Victor Young
Take a Letter, Darling – Victor Young
The Talk of the Town – Frederick Hollander and Morris Stoloff
To Be or Not to Be – Werner R. Heymann
Best Scoring of a Musical Picture:
Yankee Doodle Dandy – Ray Heindorf and Heinz Roemheld (WINNER)
Flying with Music – Edward Ward
For Me and My Gal – Roger Edens and Georgie Stoll
Holiday Inn – Robert E. Dolan
It Started with Eve – Charles Previn and Hans J. Salter
Johnny Doughboy – Walter Scharf
My Gal Sal – Alfred Newman
You Were Never Lovelier – Leigh Harline
Best Original Song:
“White Christmas” from Holiday Inn – Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin (WINNER)
“Always in My Heart” from Always in My Heart – Music by Ernesto Lecuona; Lyrics by Kim Gannon
“Dearly Beloved” from You Were Never Lovelier – Music by Jerome Kern; Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
“How About You?” from Babes on Broadway – Music by Burton Lane; Lyrics by Ralph Freed
“I’ve Got a Gal in Kalamazoo” from Orchestra Wives – Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Mack Gordon
“I’ve Heard That Song Before” from Youth on Parade – Music by Jule Styne; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
“Love Is a Song” from Bambi – Music by Frank Churchill (posthumous nomination); Lyrics by Larry Morey
“Pennies for Peppino” from Flying with Music – Music by Edward Ward; Lyrics by Chet Forrest and Bob Wright
“Pig Foot Pete” from Hellzapoppin’ – Music by Gene de Paul; Lyrics by Don Raye
“There’s a Breeze on Lake Louise” from The Mayor of 44th Street – Music by Harry Revel; Lyrics by Mort Greene
Best Sound Recording:
Yankee Doodle Dandy – Nathan Levinson (WINNER)
Arabian Nights – Bernard B. Brown
Bambi – Sam Slyfield
Flying Tigers – Daniel J. Bloomberg
Friendly Enemies – Jack Whitney
The Gold Rush – James L. Fields
Mrs. Miniver – Douglas Shearer
Once Upon a Honeymoon – Stephen Dunn
The Pride of the Yankees – Thomas T. Moulton
Road to Morocco – Loren L. Ryder
This Above All – E. H. Hansen
You Were Never Lovelier – John P. Livadary
Best Art Direction – Interior Decoration, Black-and-White:
This Above All – Art Direction: Richard Day and Joseph C. Wright; Interior Decoration: Thomas Little (WINNER)
George Washington Slept Here – Art Direction: Max Parker and Mark-Lee Kirk; Interior Decoration: Casey Roberts
The Magnificent Ambersons – Art Direction: Albert S. D’Agostino; Interior Decoration: Al Fields and Darrell Silvera
The Pride of the Yankees – Art Direction: Perry Ferguson; Interior Decoration: Howard Bristol
Random Harvest – Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons and Randall Duell; Interior Decoration: Edwin B. Willis and Jack D. Moore
The Shanghai Gesture – Art Direction and Interior Decoration: Boris Leven
Silver Queen – Art Direction: Ralph Berger; Interior Decoration: Emile Kuri
The Spoilers – Art Direction: Jack Otterson and John B. Goodman; Interior Decoration: Russell A. Gausman and Edward R. Robinson
Take a Letter, Darling – Art Direction: Hans Dreier and Roland Anderson; Interior Decoration: Samuel M. Comer
The Talk of the Town – Art Direction: Lionel Banks and Rudolph Sternad; Interior Decoration: Fay Babcock
Best Art Direction – Interior Decoration, Color:
My Gal Sal – Art Direction: Richard Day and Joseph C. Wright; Interior Decoration: Thomas Little (WINNER)
Arabian Nights – Art Direction: Alexander Golitzen and Jack Otterson; Interior Decoration: Russell A. Gausman and Ira S. Webb
Captains of the Clouds – Art Direction: Ted Smith; Interior Decoration: Casey Roberts
Jungle Book – Art Direction: Vincent Korda; Interior Decoration: Julia Heron
Reap the Wild Wind – Art Direction: Hans Dreier and Roland Anderson; Interior Decoration: George Sawley
Best Cinematography, Black-and-White:
Mrs. Miniver – Joseph Ruttenberg (WINNER)
Kings Row – James Wong Howe
The Magnificent Ambersons – Stanley Cortez
Moontide – Charles G. Clarke
The Pied Piper – Edward Cronjager
The Pride of the Yankees – Rudolph Maté
Take a Letter, Darling – John J. Mescall
The Talk of the Town – Ted Tetzlaff
Ten Gentlemen from West Point – Leon Shamroy
This Above All – Arthur C. Miller
Best Cinematography, Color:
The Black Swan – Leon Shamroy (WINNER)
Arabian Nights – Milton Krasner, William V. Skall, and W. Howard Greene
Captains of the Clouds – Sol Polito
Jungle Book – W. Howard Greene
Reap the Wild Wind – Victor Milner and William V. Skall
To the Shores of Tripoli – Edward Cronjager and William V. Skall
Best Film Editing:
The Pride of the Yankees – Daniel Mandell (WINNER)
Mrs. Miniver – Harold F. Kress
The Talk of the Town – Otto Meyer
This Above All – Walter A. Thompson
Yankee Doodle Dandy – George Amy
Best Special Effects:
Reap the Wild Wind – Photographic Effects: Farciot Edouart, Gordon Jennings and William Pereira; Sound Effects: Louis Mesenkop (WINNER)
The Black Swan – Photographic Effects: Fred Sersen; Sound Effects: Roger Heman, Sr. and George Leverett
Desperate Journey – Photographic Effects: Byron Haskin; Sound Effects: Nathan Levinson
Flying Tigers – Photographic Effects: Howard Lydecker; Sound Effects: Daniel J. Bloomberg
Invisible Agent – Photographic Effects: John P. Fulton; Sound Effects: Bernard B. Brown
Jungle Book – Photographic Effects: Lawrence W. Butler; Sound Effects: William H. Wilmarth
Mrs. Miniver – Photographic Effects: A. Arnold Gillespie and Warren Newcombe; Sound Effects: Douglas Shearer
The Navy Comes Through – Photographic Effects: Vernon L. Walker; Sound Effects: James G. Stewart
One of Our Aircraft Is Missing – Photographic Effects: Ronald Neame; Sound Effects: C. C. Stevens
The Pride of the Yankees – Photographic Effects: Jack Cosgrove and Ray Binger; Sound Effects: Thomas T. Moulton

Academy Honorary Awards:
Charles Boyer – “for his progressive cultural achievement in establishing the French Research Foundation in Los Angeles as a source of reference for the Hollywood Motion Picture Industry.”

Noël Coward – “for his outstanding production achievement in In Which We Serve.”

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer – “for its achievement in representing the American Way of Life in the production of the Andy Hardy series of films.”

Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award:
Sidney Franklin