Academy Awards

7th Academy Awards

February 27, 1935Biltmore HotelFilms from 193419 categories
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Best Picture Winner

It Happened One Night

It Happened One Night

Best Picture

Director: Frank Capra

Studio: Columbia

A spoiled heiress running away from her father meets a determined reporter on a bus heading for New York.

From the Worthy Podcast

Pre Code Era (this film came out 4 months prior to the codes strict enforcement)

Romantic Comedies and the influence this film had on them

1 of 3 films to win The Big 5 Awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Original/Adapted Screenplay

Pre-Code Era

Martin Scorses once said “CINEMA IS A MATTER OF WHAT’S IN THE FRAME AND WHAT’S OUT.” As we begin this episode, we look back on an era of filmmaking that had almost no rules. The Pre-Code Era. Everything from sex, alochol, drugs, domestic abuse, gender roles, just to name a few, gave filmmakers the freedom to create almost whatever they wanted to talk about.

In 1930 the Motion Picture Production Code was developed in order to appease Hollywood's critics. The Code was a self-regulatory measure which outlined specific dos and don'ts concerning what should appear on American movie screens. The Code was strictly enforced in 1934 when all films were required to have certificates of approval issued by the Production Code Administration. (https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/collections/pre-code-era)

All Categories (19)

Actor

Clark GableIt Happened One Night {"Peter Warne"}
Winner
Frank MorganThe Affairs of Cellini {"Allesandro, Duke of Florence"} [came in 2nd]
William PowellThe Thin Man {"Nick Charles"} [came in 3rd]

Actress

Claudette ColbertIt Happened One Night {"Ellie Andrews"}
Winner
Bette DavisOf Human Bondage {"Mildred"} [came in 3rd]
THIS IS NOT AN OFFICIAL NOMINATION. Write-in candidate.
Grace MooreOne Night of Love {"Mary"}
Norma ShearerThe Barretts of Wimpole Street {"Elizabeth Barrett"} [came in 2nd]

Directing

It Happened One NightFrank Capra
Winner
One Night of LoveVictor Schertzinger [came in 3rd]
The Thin ManW. S. Van Dyke [came in 2nd]

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

It Happened One NightRobert Riskin
Winner
The Thin ManFrances Goodrich, Albert Hackett [came in 2nd]
Viva Villa!Ben Hecht [came in 3rd]

Writing (Original Story)

Manhattan MelodramaArthur Caesar
Winner
Hide-OutMauri Grashin [came in 3rd]
The Richest Girl in the WorldNorman Krasna [came in 2nd]

Cinematography

CleopatraVictor Milner
Winner
Operator 13George Folsey [came in 2nd]
The Affairs of CelliniCharles Rosher [came in 3rd]

Music (Scoring)

One Night of LoveColumbia Studio Music Department, Louis Silvers, head of department (Thematic Music by Victor Schertzinger and Gus Kahn)
Winner
The Gay DivorceeRKO Radio Studio Music Department, Max Steiner, head of department (Score by Kenneth Webb and Samuel Hoffenstein) [came in 2nd]
The Lost PatrolRKO Radio Studio Music Department, Max Steiner, head of department (Score by Max Steiner) [came in 3rd]

Art Direction

The Merry WidowCedric Gibbons, Fredric Hope
Winner
won by two votes
The Affairs of CelliniRichard Day [came in 3rd]
The Gay DivorceeVan Nest Polglase, Carroll Clark [came in 2nd]

Film Editing

EskimoConrad Nervig
Winner
CleopatraAnne Bauchens [came in 3rd]
One Night of LoveGene Milford [came in 2nd]

Sound Recording

One Night of LoveColumbia Studio Sound Department, John Livadary, Sound Director
Winner
CleopatraParamount Studio Sound Department, Franklin B. Hansen, Sound Director
Flirtation WalkWarner Bros.-First National Studio Sound Department, Nathan Levinson, Sound Director [came in 2nd]
Imitation of LifeUniversal Studio Sound Department, Theodore Soderberg, Sound Director
The Affairs of CelliniUnited Artists Studio Sound Department, Thomas T. Moulton, Sound Director
The Gay DivorceeRKO Radio Studio Sound Department, Carl Dreher, Sound Director [came in 3rd]
The White ParadeFox Studio Sound Department, E. H. Hansen, Sound Director
Viva Villa!Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Douglas Shearer, Sound Director

Special Award

To Shirley Temple, in grateful recognition of her outstanding contribution to screen entertainment during the year 1934.
Winner

Scientific Or Technical Award (Class II)

To ELECTRICAL RESEARCH PRODUCTS, INC. for their development of the Vertical Cut Disc Method of recording sound for motion pictures (hill and dale recording). [Sound]
Winner

Scientific Or Technical Award (Class III)

To COLUMBIA PICTURES CORPORATION for their application of the Vertical Cut Disc Method (hill and dale recording) to actual studio production, with their recording of the sound on the picture One Night of Love. [Sound]
Winner
To BELL AND HOWELL COMPANY for their development of the Bell and Howell Fully Automatic Sound and Picture Printer. [Laboratory]

Assistant Director

Viva Villa!John Waters
Winner
CleopatraCullen Tate [came in 2nd]
Imitation of LifeScott Beal [came in 3rd]

Music (Song)

"The Continental" from The Gay DivorceeMusic by Con Conrad; Lyrics by Herb Magidson
Winner
"Carioca" from Flying Down to RioMusic by Vincent Youmans; Lyrics by Edward Eliscu and Gus Kahn [came in 3rd]
"Love In Bloom" from She Loves Me NotMusic by Ralph Rainger; Lyrics by Leo Robin [came in 2nd]

Outstanding Production

It Happened One NightColumbia
Winner
CleopatraParamount
Flirtation WalkFirst National
Here Comes the NavyWarner Bros.
Imitation of LifeUniversal
One Night of LoveColumbia
The Barretts of Wimpole StreetMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer [came in 2nd]
The Gay DivorceeRKO Radio
The House of Rothschild20th Century [came in 3rd]
The Thin ManMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
The White ParadeJesse L. Lasky (production company)
Viva Villa!Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Short Subject (Cartoon)

The Tortoise and the HareWalt Disney, Producer
Winner
Holiday LandCharles Mintz, Producer [came in 3rd]
Jolly Little ElvesWalter Lantz, Producer [came in 2nd]

Short Subject (Comedy)

La CucarachaKenneth Macgowan, Producer
Winner
Men in BlackJules White, Producer [came in 3rd]
What, No Men!Warner Bros. [came in 2nd]

Short Subject (Novelty)

City of WaxStacy Woodard and Horace Woodard, Producers
Winner
Bosom FriendsSkibo Productions [came in 3rd]
Strikes and SparesPete Smith, Producer [came in 2nd]
WorthyWorthy

The breakdown of every Best Picture winner from past to present.

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