18th Academy Awards

The 18th Academy Awards were held on March 7, 1946, at Grauman's Chinese Theatre to honor the films of 1945. Being the first Oscars after the end of World War II, the ceremony returned to the glamour of the prewar years; notably, the plaster statuettes that had been used during the war were replaced by bronze statuettes with gold plating and an elevated base.

18th Academy Awards
Date	March 7, 1946
Site	Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Hollywood, California, USA
Hosted by	James Stewart Bob Hope
Highlights
Best Picture	The Lost Weekend
Most awards	The Lost Weekend (4)
Most nominations	The Bells of St. Mary's (8)
← 17th Academy Awards 19th →

Despite the optimistic postwar mood, director Billy Wilder's grim and socially significant drama The Lost Weekend won the major awards of Best Picture and Best Director, as well as two other awards. It was the first film to win both Best Picture and the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

Best Actress nominee Joan Crawford was absent, claiming she had pneumonia (although it was said it was because she was sure she would not win the Oscar for Mildred Pierce). When she won, the award was delivered to her, still in bed, later that night.^[1][2]

This was the first year in which every film nominated for Best Picture won at least one Oscar, and also the first time a sequel (The Bells of St. Mary's) was nominated for Best Picture.

Awards

 

Charles Brackett; Best Picture winner and Best Screenplay co-winner

 

Billy Wilder (right); Best Director winner and Best Screenplay co-winner

 

Ray Milland; Best Actor winner

 

Joan Crawford; Best Actress winner

 

James Dunn; Best Supporting Actor winner

 

Anne Revere; Best Supporting Actress winner

 

Miklós Rózsa; Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture

 

Richard Rodgers; Best Original Song co-winner

 

Oscar Hammerstein II; Best Original Song co-winner

 

Peggy Ann Garner; Juvenile Academy Award recipient

Nominations announced on January 27, 1946. Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.^[3]

Best Motion Picture	Best Director
The Lost Weekend – Charles Brackett for Paramount Pictures‡ Anchors Aweigh – Joe Pasternak for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer The Bells of St. Mary's – Leo McCarey for RKO Radio Pictures Mildred Pierce – Jerry Wald for Warner Bros. Spellbound – David O. Selznick for United Artists	Billy Wilder – The Lost Weekend‡ Leo McCarey – The Bells of St. Mary's Clarence Brown – National Velvet Jean Renoir – The Southerner Alfred Hitchcock – Spellbound
Best Actor	Best Actress
Ray Milland – The Lost Weekend as Don Birnam‡ Bing Crosby – The Bells of St. Mary's as Father Chuck O'Malley Gene Kelly – Anchors Aweigh as Joseph "Joe" Brady Gregory Peck – The Keys of the Kingdom as Father Francis Chisholm Cornel Wilde – A Song to Remember as Frédéric Chopin	Joan Crawford – Mildred Pierce as Mildred Pierce Beragon‡ Ingrid Bergman – The Bells of St. Mary's as Sister Mary Benedict Greer Garson – The Valley of Decision as Mary Rafferty Jennifer Jones – Love Letters as Singleton/Victoria Morland Gene Tierney – Leave Her to Heaven as Ellen Berent Harland
Best Supporting Actor	Best Supporting Actress
James Dunn – A Tree Grows in Brooklyn as Johnny Nolan‡ Michael Chekhov – Spellbound as Dr Alexander "Alex" Brulov John Dall – The Corn Is Green as Morgan Evans Robert Mitchum – The Story of G.I. Joe as Lt/Cpt. Bill Walker J. Carrol Naish – A Medal for Benny as Charley Martin	Anne Revere – National Velvet as Mrs Araminty Brown‡ Eve Arden – Mildred Pierce as Ida Corwin Ann Blyth – Mildred Pierce as Veda Pierce Forrester Angela Lansbury – The Picture of Dorian Gray as Sibyl Vane Joan Lorring – The Corn Is Green as Bessie Watty
Best Original Screenplay	Best Screenplay
Marie-Louise – Richard Schweizer‡ Dillinger – Philip Yordan Music for Millions – Myles Connolly Salty O'Rourke – Milton Holmes What Next, Corporal Hargrove? – Harry Kurnitz	The Lost Weekend – Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder from The Lost Weekend by Charles R. Jackson‡ Mildred Pierce – Ranald MacDougall from Mildred Pierce by James M. Cain Pride of the Marines – Albert Maltz from Al Schmid, Marine by Roger Butterfield The Story of G.I. Joe – Leopold Atlas, Guy Endore and Philip Stevenson from Brave Men and Here Is Your War by Ernie Pyle A Tree Grows in Brooklyn – Frank Davis and Tess Slesinger (posthumous nomination) from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Best Motion Picture Story	Best Documentary Feature
The House on 92nd Street – Charles G. Booth‡ The Affairs of Susan – László Görög and Thomas Monroe A Medal for Benny – John Steinbeck and Jack Wagner Objective, Burma! – Alvah Bessie A Song to Remember – Ernst Marischka	The True Glory‡ The Last Bomb
Best Documentary Short Subject	Best Live Action Short Subject, One-Reel
Hitler Lives Library of Congress To the Shores of Iwo Jima	Stairway to Light – Herbert Moulton and Jerry Bresler‡ Along the Rainbow Trail – Edmund Reek Screen Snapshots' 25th Anniversary – Ralph Staub Story of a Dog – Gordon Hollingshead White Rhapsody – Grantland Rice Your National Gallery – Joseph O'Brien (posthumous nomination) and Thomas Mead
Best Live Action Short Subject, Two-Reel	Best Short Subject – Cartoons
Star in the Night – Gordon Hollingshead‡ A Gun in His Hand – Chester Franklin The Jury Goes Round 'N' Round – Jules White The Little Witch – George Templeton	Quiet Please! - Fred Quimby ‡ Donald's Crime - Walt Disney Jasper and the Beanstalk - George Pal Life with Feathers - Edward Selzer Mighty Mouse in Gypsy Life - Paul Terry The Poet and Peasant - Walter Lantz Rippling Romance - Ray Katz
Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture	Best Scoring of a Musical Picture
Spellbound – Miklós Rózsa‡ The Bells of St. Mary's – Robert Emmett Dolan Brewster's Millions – Lou Forbes Captain Kidd – Werner Janssen The Enchanted Cottage – Roy Webb Flame of Barbary Coast – Dale Butts and Morton Scott G. I. Honeymoon – Edward J. Kay Guest in the House – Werner Janssen Guest Wife – Daniele Amfitheatrof The Keys of the Kingdom – Alfred Newman The Lost Weekend – Miklós Rózsa Love Letters – Victor Young The Man Who Walked Alone – Karl Hajos Objective, Burma! – Franz Waxman Paris Underground – Alexandre Tansman A Song to Remember – Miklós Rózsa and Morris Stoloff The Southerner – Werner Janssen The Story of G.I. Joe – Louis Applebaum and Ann Ronell This Love of Ours – H. J. Salter The Valley of Decision – Herbert Stothart The Woman in the Window – Hugo Friedhofer and Arthur Lange	Anchors Aweigh – Georgie Stoll‡ Belle of the Yukon – Arthur Lange Can't Help Singing – Jerome Kern (posthumous nomination) and H. J. Salter Hitchhike to Happiness – Morton Scott Incendiary Blonde – Robert Emmett Dolan Rhapsody in Blue – Ray Heindorf and Max Steiner State Fair – Charles Henderson and Alfred Newman Sunbonnet Sue – Edward J. Kay The Three Caballeros – Edward H. Plumb, Paul J. Smith and Charles Wolcott Tonight and Every Night – Marlin Skiles and Morris Stoloff Why Girls Leave Home – Walter Greene Wonder Man – Lou Forbes and Ray Heindorf
Best Original Song	Best Sound Recording
"It Might as Well Be Spring" from State Fair – Music by Richard Rodgers; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II‡ "Accentuate the Positive" from Here Come the Waves – Music by Harold Arlen; Lyrics by Johnny Mercer "Anywhere" from Tonight and Every Night – Music by Jule Styne; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn "Aren't You Glad You're You" from The Bells of St. Mary's – Music by James Van Heusen; Lyrics by Johnny Burke "The Cat and the Canary" from Why Girls Leave Home – Music by Jay Livingston; Lyrics by Ray Evans "Endlessly" from Earl Carroll Vanities – Music by Walter Kent; Lyrics by Kim Gannon "I Fall in Love Too Easily" from Anchors Aweigh – Music by Jule Styne; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn "I'll Buy That Dream" from Sing Your Way Home – Music by Allie Wrubel; Lyrics by Herb Magidson "Linda" from The Story of G.I. Joe – Music and Lyrics by Ann Ronell "Love Letters" from Love Letters – Music by Victor Young; Lyrics by Edward Heyman "More and More" from Can't Help Singing – Music by Jerome Kern (posthumous nomination); Lyrics by E. Y. Harburg "Sleighride in July" from Belle of the Yukon – Music by James Van Heusen; Lyrics by Johnny Burke "So in Love" from Wonder Man – Music by David Rose; Lyrics by Leo Robin "Some Sunday Morning" from San Antonio – Music by Ray Heindorf and M. K. Jerome; Lyrics by Ted Koehler	The Bells of St. Mary's – Stephen Dunn‡ Flame of Barbary Coast – Daniel J. Bloomberg Lady on a Train – Bernard B. Brown Leave Her to Heaven – Thomas T. Moulton Rhapsody in Blue – Nathan Levinson A Song to Remember – John P. Livadary The Southerner – Jack Whitney They Were Expendable – Douglas Shearer The Three Caballeros – C. O. Slyfield Three Is a Family – W. V. Wolfe The Unseen – Loren L. Ryder Wonder Man – Gordon E. Sawyer
Best Art Direction – Interior Decoration, Black-and-White	Best Art Direction – Interior Decoration, Color
Blood on the Sun – Art Direction: Wiard Ihnen; Interior Decoration: A. Roland Fields‡ Experiment Perilous – Art Direction: Albert S. D'Agostino and Jack Okey; Interior Decoration: Darrell Silvera and Claude E. Carpenter The Keys of the Kingdom – Art Direction: James Basevi and William S. Darling; Interior Decoration: Thomas Little and Frank E. Hughes Love Letters – Art Decoration: Hans Dreier and Roland Anderson; Interior Decoration: Samuel M. Comer and Ray Moyer The Picture of Dorian Gray – Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons and Hans Peters; Interior Decoration: Edwin B. Willis, John Bonar and Hugh Hunt	Frenchman's Creek – Art Direction: Hans Dreier and Ernst Fegté; Interior Decoration: Samuel M. Comer Leave Her to Heaven – Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler and Maurice Ransford; Interior Decoration: Thomas Little National Velvet – Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons and Urie McCleary; Interior Decoration: Edwin B. Willis and Mildred Griffiths San Antonio – Art Direction: Ted Smith; Interior Decoration: Jack McConaghy A Thousand and One Nights – Art Direction: Stephen Goosson and Rudolph Sternad; Interior Decoration: Frank Tuttle
Best Cinematography, Black-and-White	Best Cinematography, Color
The Picture of Dorian Gray – Harry Stradling‡ The Keys of the Kingdom – Arthur C. Miller The Lost Weekend – John F. Seitz Mildred Pierce – Ernest Haller Spellbound – George Barnes	Leave Her to Heaven – Leon Shamroy‡ Anchors Aweigh – Robert Planck and Charles P. Boyle National Velvet – Leonard Smith A Song to Remember – Tony Gaudio and Allen M. Davey (posthumous nomination) The Spanish Main – George Barnes
Best Film Editing	Best Special Effects
National Velvet – Robert J. Kern‡ The Bells of St. Mary's – Harry Marker The Lost Weekend – Doane Harrison Objective, Burma! – George Amy A Song to Remember – Charles Nelson	Wonder Man – Photographic Effects: John P. Fulton; Sound Effects: Arthur Johns‡ Captain Eddie – Photographic Effects: Fred Sersen and Sol Halperin; Sound Effects: Roger Heman Sr. and Harry M. Leonard Spellbound – Photographic Effects: Jack Cosgrove They Were Expendable – Photographic Effects: A. Arnold Gillespie, Donald Jahraus and R. A. MacDonald; Sound Effects: Michael Steinore A Thousand and One Nights – Photographic Effects: Lawrence W. Butler; Sound Effects: Ray Bomba

Academy Honorary Award

• Walter Wanger "for his six years service as President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences".
• The House I Live In tolerance short subject; produced by Frank Ross and Mervyn LeRoy; directed by Mervyn LeRoy; screenplay by Albert Maltz; song "The House I Live In", music by Earl Robinson, lyrics by Lewis Allan; starring Frank Sinatra; released by RKO Radio.
• Republic Studio, Daniel J. Bloomberg and the Republic Sound Department "for the building of an outstanding musical scoring auditorium which provides optimum recording conditions and combines all elements of acoustic and engineering design.

Academy Juvenile Award

• Peggy Ann Garner

Presenters and performers

Presenters

• Ingrid Bergman (Presenter: Best Actor)
• Charles Boyer (Presenter: Best Actress)
• Frank Capra (Presenter: Best Film Editing, Best Sound Recording and Best Special Effects)
• Bette Davis (Presenter: Writing Awards)
• Y. Frank Freeman (Presenter: Short Subject Awards)
• D. W. Griffith (Presenter: Best Cinematography)
• Van Heflin (Presenter: Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor)
• Eric Johnston (Presenter: Best Picture)
• George Murphy (Presenter: Honorary Award to Peggy Ann Garner)
• Donald Nelson (Presenter: Honorary Awards)
• Ginger Rogers (Presenter: Best Art Direction)
• Cesar Romero and Peter Viertel (Presenters: Show Introduction)
• William Wyler (Presenter: Best Director)

Performers

• Kathryn Grayson
• Dick Haymes
• Dinah Shore
• Frank Sinatra

Multiple nominations and awards

The following thirty films received multiple nominations: 8 nominations: The Bells of St. Mary's 7 nominations: The Lost Weekend 6 nominations: Mildred Pierce, A Song to Remember and Spellbound 5 nominations: Anchors Aweigh, National Velvet 4 nominations: The Keys of the Kingdom, Leave Her to Heaven, Love Letters, The Story of G.I. Joe and Wonder Man 3 nominations: Objective, Burma!, The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Southerner 2 nominations: Belle of the Yukon, Can't Help Singing, The Corn Is Green, Flame of Barbary Coast, A Medal for Benny, Rhapsody in Blue, San Antonio, State Fair, They Were Expendable, A Thousand and One Nights, The Three Caballeros, Tonight and Every Night, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, The Valley of Decision and Why Girls Leave Home

The following two films received multiple awards: 4 wins: The Lost Weekend 2 wins: National Velvet

See also

• 3rd Golden Globe Awards
• 1945 in film

References

1. Miller, Julie (September 26, 2012). "The Academy Award That Joan Crawford Accepted In Bed Sells; Can You Guess for How Much?". Vanity Fair. Condé Nast. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
2. Wallechinsky, David; Wallace, Irving (1975). The People's Almanac. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc. p. 837. ISBN 0-385-04060-1.
3. "The 18th Academy Awards (1946) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved August 16, 2011.