1952 Oscars 24th Academy Awards

1952 Oscars 24th Academy Awards

  • Winners Announced: March 20, 1952
  • Venue: RKO Pantages Theatre, Hollywood, California
  • Host: Danny Kaye
  • Eligibility Year: Films released in 1951

Major Wins:

  • Best Picture was swept by An American in Paris, shocking some as A Streetcar Named Desire was a strong contender.
  • Humphrey Bogart grabbed the Best Actor award for The African Queen.
  • Vivien Leigh took home Best Actress for her role in A Streetcar Named Desire.

Directing & Screenplay:

  • George Stevens won Best Director for A Place in the Sun.
  • Best Adapted Screenplay went to A Place in the Sun as well.

Additional Info:

  • Karl Malden won Best Supporting Actor for A Streetcar Named Desire.
  • Kim Hunter got the Best Supporting Actress nod for the same film.

Trivia:

  • An American in Paris won six Oscars but did not receive any acting nominations, a rarity for Best Picture winners.
  • A Streetcar Named Desire became the first film to win three acting Oscars. Marlon Brando, as Stanley Kowalski, did not win.
  • This was Danny Kaye’s first and only time hosting the Oscars. His sense of humor and lightness added a different flair to the evening.
  • A Place in the Sun earned nine nominations, winning 6.

1952 Oscar Nominees and Winners

Best Motion Picture:
An American in Paris – Arthur Freed for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (WINNER)
Decision Before Dawn – Anatole Litvak and Frank McCarthy for 20th Century Fox
A Place in the Sun – George Stevens for Paramount Pictures
Quo Vadis – Sam Zimbalist for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
A Streetcar Named Desire – Charles K. Feldman for Warner Bros.
Best Director:
George Stevens – A Place in the Sun (WINNER)
John Huston – The African Queen
Vincente Minnelli – An American in Paris
William Wyler – Detective Story
Elia Kazan – A Streetcar Named Desire
Best Actor:
Humphrey Bogart – The African Queen as Charlie Allnut (WINNER)
Marlon Brando – A Streetcar Named Desire as Stanley Kowalski
Montgomery Clift – A Place in the Sun as George Eastman
Arthur Kennedy – Bright Victory as Larry Nevins
Fredric March – Death of a Salesman as Willy Loman
Best Actress:
Vivien Leigh – A Streetcar Named Desire as Blanche Dubois (WINNER)
Katharine Hepburn – The African Queen as Rose Sayer
Eleanor Parker – Detective Story as Mary McLeod
Shelley Winters – A Place in the Sun as Alice Tripp
Jane Wyman – The Blue Veil as LouLou Mason
Best Supporting Actor:
Karl Malden – A Streetcar Named Desire as Harold “Mitch” Mitchell (WINNER)
Leo Genn – Quo Vadis as Petronius
Kevin McCarthy – Death of a Salesman as Biff Loman
Peter Ustinov – Quo Vadis as Nero
Gig Young – Come Fill the Cup as Boyd Copeland
Best Supporting Actress:
Kim Hunter – A Streetcar Named Desire as Stella Kowalski (WINNER)
Joan Blondell – The Blue Veil as Annie Rawlins
Mildred Dunnock – Death of a Salesman as Linda Loman
Lee Grant – Detective Story as Shoplifter
Thelma Ritter – The Mating Season as Ellen McNulty
Best Story and Screenplay:
An American in Paris – Alan Jay Lerner (WINNER)
Ace in the Hole – Billy Wilder, Lesser Samuels and Walter Newman
David and Bathsheba – Philip Dunne
Go for Broke! – Robert Pirosh
The Well – Clarence Greene and Russell Rouse
Best Screenplay:
A Place in the Sun – Michael Wilson and Harry Brown from An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser (WINNER)
The African Queen – James Agee and John Huston from The African Queen by C. S. Forester
Detective Story – Philip Yordan and Robert Wyler from Detective Story by Sidney Kingsley
La Ronde – Jacques Natanson and Max Ophüls from Reigen by Arthur Schnitzler
A Streetcar Named Desire – Tennessee Williams from A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
Best Story:
Seven Days to Noon – Paul Dehn and James Bernard (WINNER)
Bullfighter and the Lady – Budd Boetticher and Ray Nazarro
The Frogmen – Oscar Millard
Here Comes the Groom – Robert Riskin and Liam O’Brien
Teresa – Alfred Hayes and Stewart Stern
Best Short Subject – Cartoons:
The Two Mouseketeers (WINNER)
Lambert the Sheepish Lion
Rooty Toot Toot
Best Documentary Feature:
Kon-Tiki (WINNER)
I Was a Communist for the FBI
Best Documentary Short Subject:
Benjy (WINNER)
One Who Came Back
The Seeing Eye
Best Live Action Short Subject, One-Reel:
World of Kids (WINNER)
Ridin’ the Rails
The Story of Time
Nature’s Half Acre (WINNER)
Balzac
Danger Under the Sea
Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture:
A Place in the Sun – Franz Waxman (WINNER)
A Streetcar Named Desire – Alex North
David and Bathsheba – Alfred Newman
Death of a Salesman – Alex North
Quo Vadis – Miklós Rózsa
Best Scoring of a Musical Picture:
An American in Paris – Johnny Green and Saul Chaplin (WINNER)
Alice in Wonderland – Oliver Wallace
On the Riviera – Alfred Newman
The Great Caruso – Peter Herman Adler and Johnny Green
Show Boat – Adolph Deutsch and Conrad Salinger
Best Song:
“In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening” from Here Comes the Groom – Music by Hoagy Carmichael; Lyrics by Johnny Mercer (WINNER)
“A Kiss to Build a Dream On” from The Strip – Music and Lyrics by Bert Kalmar (posthumous nomination), Harry Ruby and Oscar Hammerstein II
“Never” from Golden Girl – Music by Lionel Newman; Lyrics by Eliot Daniel
“Too Late Now” from Royal Wedding – Music by Burton Lane; Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
“Wonder Why” from Rich, Young and Pretty – Music by Nicholas Brodszky; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
Best Sound Recording:
The Great Caruso – Douglas Shearer (WINNER)
Bright Victory – Leslie I. Carey
I Want You – Gordon E. Sawyer
A Streetcar Named Desire – Nathan Levinson
Two Tickets to Broadway – John O. Aalberg
Best Art Direction, Black-and-White:
A Streetcar Named Desire – Art Direction: Richard Day; Set Decoration: George James Hopkins (WINNER)
Fourteen Hours – Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler and Leland Fuller; Set Decoration: Thomas Little and Fred J. Rode
The House on Telegraph Hill – Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler and John DeCuir; Set Decoration: Thomas Little and Paul S. Fox
La Ronde – Art Direction and Set Decoration: D’Eaubonne
Too Young to Kiss – Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons and Paul Groesse; Set Decoration: Edwin B. Willis and Jack D. Moore
Best Art Direction, Color:
An American in Paris – Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons and E. Preston Ames; Set Decoration: Edwin B. Willis and F. Keogh Gleason (WINNER)
David and Bathsheba – Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler and George Davis; Set Decoration: Thomas Little and Paul S. Fox
On the Riviera – Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler and Leland Fuller; Set Decoration: Thomas Little and Walter M. Scott; Musical Settings: Joseph C. Wright
Quo Vadis – Art Direction: William A. Horning, Cedric Gibbons and Edward Carfagno; Set Decoration: Hugh Hunt
Tales of Hoffmann – Art Direction and Set Decoration: Hein Heckroth
Best Cinematography, Black-and-White:
A Place in the Sun – William C. Mellor (WINNER)
Death of a Salesman – Franz Planer
The Frogmen – Norbert Brodine
Strangers on a Train – Robert Burks
A Streetcar Named Desire – Harry Stradling
Best Cinematography, Color:
An American in Paris – Alfred Gilks; Ballet Photography by John Alton (WINNER)
David and Bathsheba – Leon Shamroy
Quo Vadis – Robert Surtees and William V. Skall
Show Boat – Charles Rosher
When Worlds Collide – John F. Seitz and W. Howard Greene
Best Costume Design, Black-and-White:
A Place in the Sun – Edith Head (WINNER)
Kind Lady – Walter Plunkett and Gile Steele (posthumous nomination)
The Model and the Marriage Broker – Charles LeMaire and Renié
The Mudlark – Edward Stevenson and Margaret Furse
A Streetcar Named Desire – Lucinda Ballard
Best Costume Design, Color:
An American in Paris – Orry-Kelly, Walter Plunkett and Irene Sharaff (WINNER)
David and Bathsheba – Charles LeMaire and Edward Stevenson
The Great Caruso – Helen Rose and Gile Steele (posthumous nomination)
Quo Vadis – Herschel McCoy
Tales of Hoffmann – Hein Heckroth
Best Film Editing:
A Place in the Sun – William Hornbeck (WINNER)
An American in Paris – Adrienne Fazan
Decision Before Dawn – Dorothy Spencer
Quo Vadis – Ralph E. Winters
The Well – Chester Schaeffer
Academy Honorary Award:
Gene Kelly for “his versatility as an actor, singer, director and dancer, and specifically for his brilliant achievements in the art of choreography on film” for An American in Paris.

When Worlds Collide for Best Special Effects

Best Foreign Language Film:
Rashomon (Japan)
Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award:
Arthur Freed
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