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20th Academy Awards
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| number | 20 |
| image | 20th Academy Awards.jpg |
| caption | Official pamphlet cover |
| award | Academy Awards |
| date | March 20, 1948 |
| site | Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, United States |
| host | No host |
| best_picture | *Gentleman's Agreement* |
| most_wins | *Gentleman's Agreement* and *Miracle on 34th Street* (3) |
| most_nominations | *Gentleman's Agreement* (8) |
| last | 19th |
| next | 21st |
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. There was no host for this ceremony.
Rosalind Russell was highly favored—particularly in a poll from the Daily Variety—to win Best Actress for her performance in Mourning Becomes Electra, but Loretta Young won instead for The Farmer's Daughter.
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.
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.
Winners and nominees
Awards
Nominees were announced on February 13, 1948. Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.
Special Awards
- To James Baskett for his able and heart-warming characterization of Uncle Remus, friend and story teller to the children of the world in Walt Disney's Song of the South.
- To Bill and Coo, in which artistry and patience blended in a novel and entertaining use of the medium of motion pictures.
- To Shoeshine (Italy) - the high quality of this motion picture, brought to eloquent life in a country scarred by war, is proof to the world that the creative spirit can triumph over adversity.
- To Colonel William N. Selig, Albert E. Smith, Thomas Armat and George K. Spoor (one of) the small group of pioneers whose belief in a new medium, and whose contributions to its development, blazed the trail along which the motion picture has progressed, in their lifetime, from obscurity to world-wide acclaim.
Presenters and performers
Presenters
| 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
| 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
| Nominations | Film |
|---|---|
| 8 | *Gentleman's Agreement* |
| 5 | *The Bishop's Wife* |
| *Crossfire* | |
| *Great Expectations* | |
| 4 | *A Double Life* |
| *Green Dolphin Street* | |
| *Life with Father* | |
| *Miracle on 34th Street* | |
| 3 | *Body and Soul* |
| *Mother Wore Tights* | |
| 2 | *Black Narcissus* |
| *The Farmer's Daughter* | |
| *Kiss of Death* | |
| *Mourning Becomes Electra* | |
| *Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman* | |
| *Song of the South* |
| Awards | Film |
|---|---|
| 3 | *Gentleman's Agreement* |
| *Miracle on 34th Street* | |
| 2 | *Black Narcissus* |
| *A Double Life* | |
| *Great Expectations* |
Notes
References
References
- Sciences, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and. "Every Oscar Host in History: See the Full List From Douglas Fairbanks to Jimmy Kimmel".
- Dirks, Tim. "1947 Academy Awards Winners and History". FilmSite.org ([[American Movie Classics]]).
- "The 20th Academy Awards (1948) Nominees and Winners". Oscars.org ([[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]]).
- Wiley, Mason. (1986). "Inside Oscar". Ballantine Books.
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