Best Picture Winner
All the King's Men
Best Picture
Director: Robert Rossen
Studio: Columbia
The rise and fall of a corrupt politician who uses populist rhetoric to gain power.
From the Worthy Podcast
Politics in film? How you can balance political opinions or even separate them from a fictional tale. Do political films change overtime with more context or do they age more than other films because of dated references and social topics?
Political cinema, in the narrow sense of the term, are films that portray current or historical events or social conditions through a partisan perspective in order to inform or to agitate the spectator
Message of the film
All The King’s Men is not listed as a political film. It’s politics are horrifying because of how it resembles reality. Most political Best Picture winner because of its involvement with political officials.
Is there a motive behind Rossen wanting to depict American politics this way? He was a known communist. Rossen was a member of the American Communist Party from 1937 to about 1947, and believed the Party was "dedicated to social causes of the sort that we as poor Jews from New York were interested in."He ended all relations with the Party in 1949. Rossen was twice called before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), in 1951 and in 1953. He exercised his Fifth Amendment rights at his first appearance, refusing to state whether he had ever been a Communist. As a result, he found himself blacklisted by Hollywood studios as well as unable to renew his passport. At his second appearance he named 57 people as current or former Communists and his blacklisting ended. In order to repair finances he produced his next film, Mambo, in Italy in 1954. While The Hustler in 1961 was a great success, conflicts on the set of Lilith in 1964 so disillusioned him that it was his last film before his death two years later
Popular political films
All Categories (30)
Best Motion Picture
All the King's Men— Robert Rossen Productions
Winner
A Letter to Three Wives— 20th Century-Fox
Battleground— Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
The Heiress— Paramount
Twelve O'Clock High— 20th Century-Fox
Actor
Gregory Peck— Twelve O'Clock High {"General Savage"}
John Wayne— Sands of Iwo Jima {"Sergeant John M. Stryker"}
Kirk Douglas— Champion {"Midge Kelly"}
Richard Todd— The Hasty Heart {"Lachie"}
Actor In A Supporting Role
Arthur Kennedy— Champion {"Connie Kelly"}
James Whitmore— Battleground {"Kinnie"}
John Ireland— All the King's Men {"Jack Burden"}
Ralph Richardson— The Heiress {"Dr. Austin Sloper"}
Actress
Deborah Kerr— Edward, My Son {"Evelyn Boult"}
Jeanne Crain— Pinky {"Pinky"}
Loretta Young— Come to the Stable {"Sister Margaret"}
Susan Hayward— My Foolish Heart {"Eloise Winters"}
Actress In A Supporting Role
Celeste Holm— Come to the Stable {"Sister Scholastica"}
Elsa Lanchester— Come to the Stable {"Miss Potts"}
Ethel Barrymore— Pinky {"Miss Em"}
Ethel Waters— Pinky {"Granny"}
Directing
All the King's Men— Robert Rossen
Battleground— William A. Wellman
The Fallen Idol— Carol Reed
The Heiress— William Wyler
Writing (Motion Picture Story)
The Stratton Story— Douglas Morrow
Winner
Come to the Stable— Clare Boothe Luce
It Happens Every Spring— Shirley W. Smith, Valentine Davies
Sands of Iwo Jima— Harry Brown
White Heat— Virginia Kellogg
Writing (Screenplay)
A Letter to Three Wives— Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Winner
All the King's Men— Robert Rossen
Champion— Carl Foreman
The Bicycle Thief— Cesare Zavattini
The Fallen Idol— Graham Greene
Cinematography (Black-And-White)
Battleground— Paul C. Vogel
Winner
Champion— Frank Planer
Come to the Stable— Joseph LaShelle
Prince of Foxes— Leon Shamroy
The Heiress— Leo Tover
Cinematography (Color)
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon— Winton Hoch
Winner
Jolson Sings Again— William Snyder
Little Women— Robert Planck, Charles Schoenbaum
Sand— Charles G. Clarke
The Barkleys of Broadway— Harry Stradling
Music (Music Score Of A Dramatic Or Comedy Picture)
The Heiress— Aaron Copland
Winner
Beyond the Forest— Max Steiner
Champion— Dimitri Tiomkin
Music (Scoring Of A Musical Picture)
On the Town— Roger Edens, Lennie Hayton
Winner
Jolson Sings Again— Morris Stoloff, George Duning
Look for the Silver Lining— Ray Heindorf
Art Direction (Black-And-White)
The Heiress— Art Direction: Harry Horner, John Meehan; Set Decoration: Emile Kuri
Winner
Come to the Stable— Art Direction: Lyle Wheeler, Joseph C. Wright; Set Decoration: Thomas Little, Paul S. Fox
Madame Bovary— Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons, Jack Martin Smith; Set Decoration: Edwin B. Willis, Richard A. Pefferle
Art Direction (Color)
Little Women— Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse; Set Decoration: Edwin B. Willis, Jack D. Moore
Winner
Saraband— Art Direction: Jim Morahan, William Kellner, Michael Relph
The Adventures of Don Juan— Art Direction: Edward Carrere; Set Decoration: Lyle Reifsnider
Special Effects
Mighty Joe Young— ARKO Productions
Winner
Tulsa— Walter Wanger Pictures
Film Editing
Champion— Harry Gerstad
Winner
All the King's Men— Robert Parrish, Al Clark
Battleground— John Dunning
Sands of Iwo Jima— Richard L. Van Enger
The Window— Frederic Knudtson
Sound Recording
Twelve O'Clock High— 20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, Thomas T. Moulton, Sound Director
Winner
Once More, My Darling— Universal-International Studio Sound Department, Leslie I. Carey, Sound Director
Sands of Iwo Jima— Republic Studio Sound Department, Daniel J. Bloomberg, Sound Director
Costume Design (Black-And-White)
The Heiress— Edith Head, Gile Steele
Winner
Prince of Foxes— Vittorio Nino Novarese
Costume Design (Color)
The Adventures of Don Juan— Leah Rhodes, Travilla, Marjorie Best
Winner
Mother Is a Freshman— Kay Nelson
Documentary (Feature)
Daybreak in Udi— Crown Film Unit
Winner
Kenji Comes Home— Paul F. Heard, Producer
Documentary (Short Subject)
A Chance to Live— Richard de Rochemont, Producer
Winner
A tie. The other winning film in this category was So Much for So Little.
1848— French Cinema General Cooperative
So Much for So Little— Edward Selzer, Producer
A tie. The other winning film in this category was A Chance to Live.
The Rising Tide— St. Francis-Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia
Special Award
To Bobby Driscoll, as the outstanding juvenile actor of 1949.
Winner
To Cecil B. DeMille, distinguished motion picture pioneer, for 37 years of brilliant showmanship.
To Fred Astaire for his unique artistry and his contributions to the technique of musical pictures.
To Jean Hersholt, for distinguished service to the motion picture industry.
Scientific Or Technical Award (Class I)
To EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY for the development and introduction of an improved safety base motion picture film. [Film]
Winner
Scientific Or Technical Award (Class III)
To LOREN L. RYDER, BRUCE H. DENNEY, ROBERT CARR and the PARAMOUNT STUDIO SOUND DEPARTMENT for the development and application of the supersonic playback and public address system. [Stage Operations]
Winner
To ALEXANDER VELCOFF for the application to production of the infra-red photographic evaluator. [Photography]
To ANDRE COUTANT and JACQUES MATHOT for the design of the Eclair camerette. [Camera]
To CHARLES R. DAILY, STEVE CSILLAG and the PARAMOUNT STUDIO ENGINEERING, EDITORIAL and MUSIC DEPARTMENTS for a new precision method of computing variable tempo click tracks. [Editorial]
To HERBERT E. BRITT for the development and application of formulas and equipment producing artificial snow and ice for dressing motion picture sets. [Stage Operations]
To M. B. PAUL for the first successful large-area seamless translucent backgrounds. [Special Photographic]
To the INTERNATIONAL PROJECTOR CORPORATION for a simplified and self-adjusting take-up device for projection machines. [Projection]
Music (Song)
"Baby, It's Cold Outside" from Neptune's Daughter— Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Winner
"It's A Great Feeling" from It's a Great Feeling— Music by Jule Styne; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
"Lavender Blue" from So Dear to My Heart— Music by Eliot Daniel; Lyrics by Larry Morey
"My Foolish Heart" from My Foolish Heart— Music by Victor Young; Lyrics by Ned Washington
"Through A Long And Sleepless Night" from Come to the Stable— Music by Alfred Newman; Lyrics by Mack Gordon
Short Subject (Cartoon)
For Scent-Imental Reasons— Edward Selzer, Producer
Winner
Canary Row— Edward Selzer, Producer
THIS IS NOT AN OFFICIAL NOMINATION. Nomination withdrawn by producer.
Hatch Up Your Troubles— Fred Quimby, Producer
The Magic Fluke— Stephen Bosustow, Producer
Toy Tinkers— Walt Disney, Producer
Short Subject (One-Reel)
Aquatic House-Party— Jack Eaton, Producer
Winner
Roller Derby Girl— Justin Herman, Producer
So You Think You're Not Guilty— Gordon Hollingshead, Producer
Spills and Chills— Walton C. Ament, Producer
Water Trix— Pete Smith, Producer
Short Subject (Two-Reel)
Van Gogh— Gaston Diehl and Robert Haessens, Producers
Winner
Chase of Death— Irving Allen, Producer
Snow Carnival— Gordon Hollingshead, Producer
The Boy and the Eagle— William Lasky, Producer
The Grass Is Always Greener— Gordon Hollingshead, Producer
Special Foreign Language Film Award
To The Bicycle Thief - voted by the Academy Board of Governors as the most outstanding foreign language film released in the United States during 1949.
Winner
Writing (Story And Screenplay)
Battleground— Robert Pirosh
Winner
Jolson Sings Again— Sidney Buchman
Paisan— Alfred Hayes, Federico Fellini, Sergio Amidei, Marcello Pagliero, Roberto Rossellini
Passport to Pimlico— T. E. B. Clarke
The Quiet One— Helen Levitt, Janice Loeb, Sidney Meyers