13th Academy Awards

13th Academy Awards
Date	February 27, 1941
Site	Biltmore Bowl, Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles, California
Host	Bob Hope
Highlights
Best Picture	Rebecca
Most awards	The Thief of Bagdad (3)
Most nominations	Rebecca (11)

The 13th Academy Awards honored American film achievements in 1940. This was the first year that sealed envelopes were used to keep secret the names of the winners which led to the famous phrase: "May I have the envelope, please?" The accounting firm of Price Waterhouse was hired to count the ballots, after the fiasco of leaked voting results in 1939 by the Los Angeles Times.

For the first time, the award for Best Screenplay was split into two separate categories: Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Independent producer David O. Selznick, who had produced the previous year's big winner Gone with the Wind (1939), also produced the Best Picture winner in 1940, Rebecca – and campaigned heavily for its win. Selznick was the first to produce two consecutive winners of the Best Picture Oscar. Although Rebecca had eleven nominations, it only won for Best Picture and Best Cinematography (Black and White), marking the last time a film would win Best Picture but not win for either directing, acting, or writing.

The film's studio – United Artists – was the last of the original film studios (the others were MGM, Columbia, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., Universal, and Paramount) to win the Best Picture Oscar. Rebecca was the first American-made film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and the only film from him to win Best Picture. Hitchcock had two films nominated for Best Picture, the other being Foreign Correspondent. Two other directors also had two films in the running this year: Sam Wood (Our Town and Kitty Foyle) and John Ford (The Long Voyage Home and The Grapes of Wrath, which won Best Director).

Pinocchio was the first animated film to take home competitive Oscars, for both Best Score and Best Song, starting a long tradition of animated films winning in these categories.

The Thief of Bagdad received the most Oscars of the evening, three, the first time a film not nominated for Best Picture won the most awards.

Awards

Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.^[1]

Rebecca, starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine, won the Outstanding Production award.

Alfred Lunt presents James Stewart (right) with the Best Actor award for The Philadelphia Story.

Jane Darwell (centre right), and Walter Brennan (far right) received the Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor award for their respective performances in The Grapes of Wrath, and The Westerner.

Outstanding Production	Best Director
Rebecca All This, and Heaven Too Foreign Correspondent The Grapes of Wrath The Great Dictator Kitty Foyle The Letter The Long Voyage Home Our Town The Philadelphia Story	John Ford – The Grapes of Wrath George Cukor – The Philadelphia Story Alfred Hitchcock – Rebecca Sam Wood – Kitty Foyle William Wyler – The Letter
Best Actor	Best Actress
James Stewart – The Philadelphia Story Charlie Chaplin – The Great Dictator Henry Fonda – The Grapes of Wrath Raymond Massey – Abe Lincoln in Illinois Laurence Olivier – Rebecca	Ginger Rogers – Kitty Foyle Bette Davis – The Letter Joan Fontaine – Rebecca Katharine Hepburn – The Philadelphia Story Martha Scott – Our Town
Best Supporting Actor	Best Supporting Actress
Walter Brennan – The Westerner Albert Bassermann – Foreign Correspondent William Gargan – They Knew What They Wanted Jack Oakie – The Great Dictator James Stephenson – The Letter	Jane Darwell – The Grapes of Wrath Judith Anderson – Rebecca Ruth Hussey – The Philadelphia Story Barbara O'Neil – All This, and Heaven Too Marjorie Rambeau – Primrose Path
Best Original Screenplay	Best Adapted Screenplay
The Great McGinty – Preston Sturges Foreign Correspondent – Charles Bennett and Joan Harrison Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet – Norman Burnside, Heinz Herald and John Huston The Great Dictator – Charlie Chaplin Angels Over Broadway – Ben Hecht	The Philadelphia Story – Donald Ogden Stewart The Grapes of Wrath – Nunnally Johnson The Long Voyage Home – Dudley Nichols Rebecca – Robert E. Sherwood and Joan Harrison Kitty Foyle – Dalton Trumbo
Best Story	Best Sound Recording
Arise, My Love – Benjamin Glazer and John S. Toldy Edison, the Man – Hugo Butler and Dore Schary The Westerner – Stuart N. Lake My Favorite Wife – Leo McCarey, Samuel Spewack and Bella Spewack Comrade X – Walter Reisch	Strike Up the Band – Douglas Shearer, MGM Studio Sound Department Too Many Husbands – John Livadary, Columbia Studio Sound Department The Howards of Virginia – Jack Whitney, General Service Sound Department Captain Caution – Elmer A. Raguse, Hal Roach Studio Sound Department North West Mounted Police – Loren L. Ryder, Paramount Studio Sound Department Behind the News – Charles L. Lootens, Republic Studio Sound Department Kitty Foyle – John Aalberg, RKO Radio Studio Sound Department Our Town – Thomas T. Moulton, Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department The Grapes of Wrath – E. H. Hansen, Fox Studio Sound Department Spring Parade – Bernard B. Brown, Universal Studio Sound Department The Sea Hawk – Nathan Levinson, Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department
Best Live Action Short Film, One-Reel	Best Live Action Short Film, Two-Reel
Quicker'n a Wink – Pete Smith and MGM London Can Take It! – Warner Bros. More About Nostradamus – MGM Siege – RKO Radio	Teddy, the Rough Rider – Warner Bros. Eyes of the Navy – MGM Service with the Colors – Warner Bros.
Best Animated Short Film	Best Score
The Milky Way – MGM Puss Gets the Boot – MGM A Wild Hare – Leon Schlesinger and Warner Bros.	Tin Pan Alley – Alfred Newman Irene – Anthony Collins Our Town – Aaron Copland Hit Parade of 1941 – Cy Feuer The Sea Hawk – Erich Wolfgang Korngold Spring Parade – Charles Previn Second Chorus – Artie Shaw Strike Up the Band – Georgie Stoll and Roger Edens Arise, My Love – Victor Young
Best Original Score	Best Original Song
Pinocchio – Leigh Harline, Paul J. Smith and Ned Washington Our Town – Aaron Copland The Fight for Life – Louis Gruenberg The Howards of Virginia – Richard Hageman The Long Voyage Home – Richard Hageman One Million B.C. – Werner Heymann The Mark of Zorro – Alfred Newman The Thief of Bagdad – Miklos Rozsa The House of the Seven Gables – Frank Skinner The Letter – Max Steiner Waterloo Bridge – Herbert Stothart Rebecca – Franz Waxman My Favorite Wife – Roy Webb The Great Dictator – Meredith Willson Arizona – Victor Young The Dark Command – Victor Young North West Mounted Police – Victor Young	"When You Wish upon a Star" from Pinocchio – Music by Leigh Harline; Lyric by Ned Washington "Down Argentine Way" from Down Argentine Way – Music by Harry Warren; Lyric by Mack Gordon "I'd Know You Anywhere" from You'll Find Out – Music by Jimmy McHugh; Lyric by Johnny Mercer "It's a Blue World" from Music in My Heart – Music and Lyric by Chet Forrest and Bob Wright "Love of My Life" from Second Chorus – Music by Artie Shaw; Lyric by Johnny Mercer "Only Forever" from Rhythm on the River – Music by James V. Monaco; Lyric by John Burke "Our Love Affair" from Strike Up the Band – Music and Lyric by Roger Edens and Arthur Freed "Waltzing in the Clouds" from Spring Parade – Music by Robert Stolz; Lyric by Gus Kahn "Who Am I?" from Hit Parade of 1941 – Music by Jule Styne; Lyric by Walter Bullock
Best Art Direction, Black and White	Best Art Direction, Color
Pride and Prejudice – Cedric Gibbons and Paul Groesse Arizona – Lionel Banks and Robert Peterson The Westerner – James Basevi Lillian Russell – Richard Day and Joseph C. Wright Arise, My Love – Hans Dreier and Robert Usher My Son, My Son! – John DuCasse Schulze Foreign Correspondent – Alexander Golitzen The Sea Hawk – Anton Grot The Dark Command – John Victor Mackay The Boys From Syracuse – John Otterson My Favorite Wife – Van Nest Polglase and Mark-Lee Kirk Our Town – Lewis J. Rachmil Rebecca – Lyle Wheeler Sis Hopkins – N/A (nomination withdrawn)	The Thief of Bagdad – Vincent Korda Down Argentine Way – Richard Day and Joseph C. Wright North West Mounted Police – Hans Dreier and Roland Anderson Bitter Sweet – Cedric Gibbons and John S. Detlie
Best Cinematography, Black and White	Best Cinematography, Color
Rebecca – George Barnes The Letter – Gaetano Gaudio All This, and Heaven Too – Ernest Haller Abe Lincoln in Illinois – James Wong Howe Arise, My Love – Charles B. Lang, Jr. Foreign Correspondent – Rudolph Maté Boom Town – Harold Rosson Waterloo Bridge – Joseph Ruttenberg The Long Voyage Home – Gregg Toland Spring Parade – Joseph Valentine	The Thief of Bagdad – Georges Perinal Bitter Sweet – Oliver T. Marsh and Allen Davey The Blue Bird – Arthur C. Miller and Ray Rennahan North West Mounted Police – Victor Milner and W. Howard Greene Down Argentine Way – Leon Shamroy and Ray Rennahan Northwest Passage – Sidney Wagner and William V. Skall
Best Film Editing	Best Special Effects
North West Mounted Police – Anne Bauchens Rebecca – Hal C. Kern The Letter – Warren Low The Grapes of Wrath – Robert L. Simpson The Long Voyage Home – Sherman Todd	The Thief of Bagdad – Photography: Lawrence W. Butler; Sound: Jack Whitney Rebecca – Photography: Jack Cosgrove; Sound: Arthur Johns Foreign Correspondent – Photography: Paul Eagler; Sound: Thomas T. Moulton Dr. Cyclops – Photography: Farciot Edouart and Gordon Jennings; Sound: Loren Ryder Typhoon – Photography: Farciot Edouart and Gordon Jennings; Sound: Loren Ryder The Boys From Syracuse – Photography: John P. Fulton; Sound: Bernard B. Brown and Joe Lapis The Invisible Man Returns – Photography: John P. Fulton; Sound: Bernard B. Brown and William Hedgcock Boom Town – Photography: A. Arnold Gillespie; Sound: Douglas Shearer The Sea Hawk – Photography: Byron Haskin; Sound: Nathan Levinson The Long Voyage Home – Photography: R. T. Layton and Ray Binger; Sound: Thomas T. Moulton Women in War – Photography: Howard J. Lydecker, William Bradford and Ellis J. Thackery; Sound: Herbert Norsch One Million B.C. – Photography: Roy Seawright; Sound: Elmer A. Raguse The Blue Bird – Photography: Fred Sersen; Sound: Edmund H. Hansen Swiss Family Robinson – Photography: Vernon L. Walker; Sound: John O. Aalberg

Academy Honorary Awards

• Bob Hope
• Colonel Nathan Levinson

1941 Oscar firsts

For the first time, names of all winners remained secret until the moment they received their awards.

Franklin D. Roosevelt gave a six-minute direct radio address to the attendees from the White House. It is the first time an American president participated in the event.

Multiple nominations and awards

These films had multiple nominations: 11 nominations: Rebecca 7 nominations: The Grapes of Wrath, The Letter 6 nominations: Foreign Correspondent, The Long Voyage Home, Our Town, The Philadelphia Story 5 nominations: The Great Dictator, Kitty Foyle, North West Mounted Police 4 nominations: Arise, My Love, The Sea Hawk, Spring Parade, The Thief of Bagdad 3 nominations: All This, and Heaven Too, Down Argentine Way, My Favorite Wife, Strike Up the Band, The Westerner 2 nominations: Abe Lincoln in Illinois, Arizona, Bitter Sweet, The Blue Bird, Boom Town, The Boys From Syracuse, The Dark Command, Hit Parade of 1941, The Howards of Virginia, One Million B.C., Pinocchio, Second Chorus, Waterloo Bridge

The following films received multiple awards. 3 wins: The Thief of Bagdad 2 wins: The Grapes of Wrath, The Philadelphia Story, Pinocchio, Rebecca

See also

• 1940 in film

References

1. "The 13th Academy Awards (1941) Nominees and Winners". Oscars.org (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-12.