29th Academy Awards

The 29th Academy Awards were held on March 27, 1957, to honor the films of 1956.

29th Academy Awards
Date	March 27, 1957
Site	RKO Pantages Theatre Hollywood, California NBC Century Theatre New York City, New York
Hosted by	Jerry Lewis (Hollywood) Celeste Holm (New York City)
Produced by	Valentine Davies
Directed by	Bill Bennington Max Miller
Highlights
Best Picture	Around the World in 80 Days
Most awards	Around the World in 80 Days and The King and I (5)
Most nominations	Giant (10)
TV in the United States
Network	NBC
← 28th Academy Awards 30th →

In this year, Best International Feature Film became a competitive category, having been given as a Special Achievement Award since 1947. The first competitive winner was Italy, for Federico Fellini's La Strada, which received a further nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

This was the first year (and last until 1967) in which all Best Picture nominees were in color, and all were large-scale epics: The King and I, Giant, The Ten Commandments (the highest-grossing film of the year), Friendly Persuasion, and the winner, Around the World in 80 Days. This established a trend toward blockbusters and colorful spectaculars in the category, with The Bridge on the River Kwai, Gigi, and Ben-Hur following as Best Picture winners.

The Best Original Story category was noteworthy this year for several reasons. The winner, Robert Rich (for The Brave One) was in fact a pseudonym of Dalton Trumbo, who was blacklisted at the time and thus unable to receive credit under his own name. Edward Bernds and Elwood Ullman withdrew their names from consideration for their work on High Society , as the nomination had been intended for the musical starring Grace Kelly, while Bernds and Ullman had instead written a Bowery Boys film of the same name the year before. The nomination was a double mistake, as High Society (1956) was based on the play and film The Philadelphia Story and did not qualify as an original story.

James Dean became the only actor to receive a second posthumous nomination for acting. Ingrid Bergman was not present to collect her award for Best Actress: Cary Grant accepted on her behalf. Bergman, who was doing a play in Paris, praised her own victory, saying that the Oscar is "the most wished-for award by all movie artists because it comes from your co-workers".^[1] She later listed the nominees for Best Director via the same pre-recorded segment, while the winner was announced by host Jerry Lewis.

Director John Ford's classic western The Searchers, widely seen as one of the best American films of all time, failed to receive a single nomination.

This was the second time since the introduction of the Supporting Actor and Actress awards that Best Picture, Best Director, and all four acting Oscars were given to different films. This would not happen again until the 78th Academy Awards. Around the World in 80 Days became the sixth film to win Best Picture without any acting nominations.^[2]

Awards

 

Mike Todd; Best Picture winner

 

George Stevens; Best Director winner

 

Yul Brynner; Best Actor winner

 

Ingrid Bergman; Best Actress winner

 

Anthony Quinn; Best Supporting Actor winner

 

Dorothy Malone; Best Supporting Actress winner

 

Dalton Trumbo; Best Story winner

 

Cedric Gibbons; Best Art Direction, Black-and-White co-winner

Nominees were announced on February 18, 1957. Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.^[3]

Best Motion Picture	Best Director
Around the World in 80 Days – Mike Todd, producer‡ Friendly Persuasion – William Wyler, producer Giant – George Stevens and Henry Ginsberg, producers The King and I – Charles Brackett, producer The Ten Commandments – Cecil B. DeMille, producer	George Stevens – Giant‡ Michael Anderson – Around the World in 80 Days William Wyler – Friendly Persuasion Walter Lang – The King and I King Vidor – War and Peace
Best Actor	Best Actress
Yul Brynner – The King and I as King Mongkut of Siam‡ James Dean (posthumous nomination) – Giant as Jett Rink Kirk Douglas – Lust for Life as Vincent van Gogh Rock Hudson – Giant as Jordan "Bick" Benedict Jr. Laurence Olivier – Richard III as Richard	Ingrid Bergman – Anastasia as Anna Koreff‡ Carroll Baker – Baby Doll as Baby Doll Meighan Katharine Hepburn – The Rainmaker as Lizzie Curry Nancy Kelly – The Bad Seed as Christine Penmark Deborah Kerr – The King and I as Anna Leonowens
Best Supporting Actor	Best Supporting Actress
Anthony Quinn – Lust for Life as Paul Gauguin‡ Don Murray – Bus Stop as Beauregard Decker Anthony Perkins – Friendly Persuasion as Josh Birdwell Mickey Rooney – The Bold and the Brave as Dooley Robert Stack – Written on the Wind as Kyle Hadley	Dorothy Malone – Written on the Wind as Marylee Hadley‡ Mildred Dunnock – Baby Doll as Aunt Rose Comfort Eileen Heckart – The Bad Seed as Hortense Daigle Mercedes McCambridge – Giant as Luz Benedict Patty McCormack – The Bad Seed as Rhoda Penmark
Best Screenplay - Original	Best Screenplay - Adapted
The Red Balloon – Albert Lamorisse‡ The Bold and the Brave – Robert Lewin Julie – Andrew L. Stone The Ladykillers – William Rose La Strada – Federico Fellini and Tullio Pinelli	Around the World in 80 Days – James Poe, John Farrow and S. J. Perelman based on the novel by Jules Verne‡ Baby Doll – Tennessee Williams based on his short plays Twenty-seven Wagons Full of Cotton and The Unsatisfactory Supper Friendly Persuasion – Michael Wilson based on the novel by Jessamyn West Giant – Ivan Moffat and Fred Guiol based on the novel by Edna Ferber Lust for Life – Norman Corwin based on the novel by Irving Stone
Best Story	Best Foreign Language Film
The Brave One – Dalton Trumbo‡ The Eddy Duchin Story – Leo Katcher The Proud and the Beautiful – Jean-Paul Sartre Umberto D. – Cesare Zavattini High Society – Edward Bernds and Elwood Ullman (nomination revoked)	La Strada (Italy)‡ The Burmese Harp (Japan) The Captain from Köpenick (West Germany) Gervaise (France) Qivitoq (Denmark)
Best Documentary Feature	Best Documentary Short Subject
The Silent World‡ The Naked Eye Where Mountains Float	The True Story of the Civil War‡ A City Decides The Dark Wave The House Without a Name Man in Space
Best Live Action Short Subject, One-Reel	Best Live Action Short Subject, Two-Reel
Crashing the Water Barrier‡ I Never Forget a Face Time Stood Still	The Bespoke Overcoat‡ Cow Dog The Dark Wave Samoa
Best Short Subject – Cartoons	Best Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture
Magoo's Puddle Jumper‡ Gerald McBoing-Boing on Planet Moo The Jay Walker	Around the World in 80 Days – Victor Young (posthumous award)‡ Anastasia – Alfred Newman Between Heaven and Hell – Hugo Friedhofer Giant – Dimitri Tiomkin The Rainmaker – Alex North
Best Scoring of a Musical Picture	Best Song
The King and I – Alfred Newman and Ken Darby‡ The Best Things in Life Are Free – Lionel Newman The Eddy Duchin Story – Morris Stoloff and George Duning High Society – Johnny Green and Saul Chaplin Meet Me in Las Vegas – Georgie Stoll and Johnny Green	"Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" from The Man Who Knew Too Much – Music and Lyrics by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans‡ "Friendly Persuasion (Thee I Love)" from Friendly Persuasion – Music by Dimitri Tiomkin; Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster "Julie" from Julie – Music by Leith Stevens; Lyrics by Tom Adair "True Love" from High Society – Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter "Written on the Wind" from Written on the Wind – Music by Victor Young (posthumous nomination); Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
Best Sound Recording	Best Art Direction, Black-and-White
The King and I – Carlton W. Faulkner‡ The Brave One – Buddy Myers The Eddy Duchin Story – John P. Livadary Friendly Persuasion – Gordon R. Glennan and Gordon E. Sawyer The Ten Commandments – Loren L. Ryder	Somebody Up There Likes Me – Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons and Malcolm Brown; Set Decoration: Edwin B. Willis and F. Keogh Gleason‡ The Proud and Profane – Art Direction: Hal Pereira and A. Earl Hedrick; Set Decoration: Samuel M. Comer and Frank R. McKelvy Seven Samurai – Art Direction and Set Decoration: So Matsuyama The Solid Gold Cadillac – Art Direction: Ross Bellah; Set Decoration: William Kiernan and Louis Diage Teenage Rebel – Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler and Jack Martin Smith; Set Decoration: Walter M. Scott and Stuart A. Reiss
Best Art Direction, Color	Best Cinematography, Black-and-White
The King and I – Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler and John DeCuir; Set Decoration: Walter M. Scott and Paul S. Fox‡ Around the World in 80 Days – Art Direction: James W. Sullivan and Ken Adam; Set Decoration: Ross Dowd Giant – Art Direction: Boris Leven; Set Decoration: Ralph S. Hurst Lust for Life – Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons, Hans Peters and E. Preston Ames; Set Decoration: Edwin B. Willis and F. Keogh Gleason The Ten Commandments – Art Direction: Hal Pereira, Walter H. Tyler and Albert Nozaki; Set Decoration: Samuel M. Comer and Ray Moyer	Somebody Up There Likes Me – Joseph Ruttenberg‡ Baby Doll – Boris Kaufman The Bad Seed – Harold Rosson The Harder They Fall – Burnett Guffey Stagecoach to Fury – Walter Strenge
Best Cinematography, Color	Best Costume Design, Black-and-White
Around the World in 80 Days – Lionel Lindon‡ The Eddy Duchin Story – Harry Stradling The King and I – Leon Shamroy The Ten Commandments – Loyal Griggs War and Peace – Jack Cardiff	The Solid Gold Cadillac – Jean Louis‡ The Power and the Prize – Helen Rose The Proud and Profane – Edith Head Seven Samurai – Kohei Ezaki Teenage Rebel – Charles LeMaire and Mary Wills
Best Costume Design, Color	Best Film Editing
The King and I – Irene Sharaff‡ Around the World in 80 Days – Miles White Giant – Moss Mabry and Marjorie Best The Ten Commandments – Edith Head, Ralph Jester, John Jensen, Dorothy Jeakins and Arnold Friberg War and Peace – Maria De Matteis	Around the World in 80 Days – Gene Ruggiero and Paul Weatherwax‡ The Brave One – Merrill G. White Giant – William Hornbeck, Philip W. Anderson and Fred Bohanan Somebody Up There Likes Me – Albert Akst The Ten Commandments – Anne Bauchens
Best Special Effects
The Ten Commandments – John P. Fulton‡ Forbidden Planet – A. Arnold Gillespie, Irving G. Ries and Wesley C. Miller

Academy Honorary Award

• Eddie Cantor "for distinguished service to the film industry".

Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award

• Buddy Adler

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

• Y. Frank Freeman

Presenters and performers

Presenters

• Carroll Baker (Presenter: Best Original Song)
• Ingrid Bergman (Presenter: Best Director)
• Ernest Borgnine (Presenter: Best Actress)
• Gower Champion and Marge Champion (Presenters: Art Direction Awards)
• Dorothy Dandridge (Presenter: Best Visual Effects)
• Kirk Douglas (Presenter: Best Film Editing)
• Janet Gaynor (Presenter: Best Motion Picture)
• Rock Hudson and Eva Marie Saint (Presenters: Best Musical Score and Best Dramatic or Comedy Score)
• Nancy Kelly (Presenter: Best Supporting Actor)
• Deborah Kerr (Presenter: Writing Awards)
• Jack Lemmon (Presenter: Best Supporting Actress)
• Anna Magnani (Presenter: Best Actor)
• Dorothy Malone (Presenter: Best Sound Recording)
• Mercedes McCambridge and Robert Stack (Presenters: Documentary Awards)
• Patty McCormack and Mickey Rooney (Presenters: Short Subject Awards)
• George Seaton (Presenter: Best Foreign Language Film, Honorary Award, the Irving G. Thalberg Award and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award)
• Elizabeth Taylor (Presenter: Costume Design Awards)
• Claire Trevor (Presenter: Cinematography Awards)

Performers

• Johnny Green – Conductor the Academy Awards orchestra
• Bing Crosby ("True Love" from High Society)
• Dorothy Dandridge ("Julie" from Julie)
• The Four Aces ("Written on the Wind" from Written on the Wind)
• Gogi Grant ("Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" from The Man Who Knew Too Much)
• Tommy Sands ("Friendly Persuasion (Thee I Love)" from Friendly Persuasion)

Multiple nominations and awards

These films had multiple nominations: 10 nominations: Giant 9 nominations: The King and I 8 nominations: Around the World in 80 Days 7 nominations: The Ten Commandments 6 nominations: Friendly Persuasion 4 nominations: Baby Doll, The Bad Seed, The Eddy Duchin Story and Lust for Life 3 nominations: The Brave One, Somebody Up There Likes Me, War and Peace and Written on the Wind 2 nominations: Anastasia, The Bold and the Brave, The Dark Wave, High Society, Julie, La Strada, The Proud and Profane, The Rainmaker, Seven Samurai, The Solid Gold Cadillac and Teenage Rebel

The following films received multiple awards. 5 wins: Around the World in 80 Days and The King and I 2 wins: Somebody Up There Likes Me

See also

• 14th Golden Globe Awards
• 1956 in film
• 8th Primetime Emmy Awards
• 9th Primetime Emmy Awards
• 10th British Academy Film Awards
• 11th Tony Awards

References

1. Wallechinsky, David; Wallace, Irving (1975). The People's Almanac. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc. p. 841. ISBN 0-385-04060-1.
2. Shaw, Gabbi. "'Parasite' is the 12th movie in history to win Best Picture with no acting nominations — here are the other 11". Insider. Insider Inc. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
3. "The 29th Academy Awards (1957) Nominees and Winners". Oscars.org (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.