The Oscars®, awarded annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, showcase the best in movies and couture and always stir controversy. The awards honor films released in the previous year. The 5,000-plus members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS) select nominees and then vote for the winner in a secret ballot.
The 1953 Academy Awards were presented March 25, 1954 at the RKO Pantages Theatre, Hollywood, Calif and the NBC Century Theatre, New York, N.Y. This was the first year the Oscars® were televised, and millions of people tuned in to watch the event. It was not until 1966 that viewers could see the glamour of the Oscars® broadcast in color.
Have students use the Internet and reference materials to research one of the 1953 Academy Award winners from the list below. Ask them to write a report about the person or the motion picture they chose. If researching the person, students should include information about their professional career. Reports about motion pictures should include information about the cast, production crew, and filming. Have students present their findings to the class.
| Best Motion Picture | From Here to Eternity, Buddy Adler, producer (Columbia) |
| Julius Caesar, John Houseman, producer (MGM) |
| The Robe, Frank Ross, producer (Twentieth Century-Fox) |
| Roman Holiday, William Wyler, producer (Paramount) |
| Shane, George Stevens, producer (Paramount) |
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 From Here to Eternity Archive Photos |
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| Best Actor | Marlon Brando, Julius Caesar |
| Richard Burton, The Robe |
| Montgomery Clift, From Here to Eternity |
| William Holden, Stalag 17 |
| Burt Lancaster, From Here to Eternity |
| Best Actress | Leslie Caron, Lili |
| Ava Gardner, Mogambo |
| Audrey Hepburn, Roman Holiday |
| Deborah Kerr, From Here to Eternity |
| Maggie McNamara, The Moon Is Blue |
| Actor in a Supporting Role | Eddie Albert, Roman Holiday |
| Brandon de Wilde, Shane |
| Jack Palance, Shane |
| Frank Sinatra, From Here to Eternity |
| Robert Strauss, Stalag 17 |
| Actress in a Supporting Role | Grace Kelly,Mogambo |
| Geraldine Page, Hondo |
| Marjorie Rambeau, Torch Song |
| Donna Reed, From Here to Eternity |
| Thelma Ritter, Pickup on South Street |
| Directing | George Stevens, Shane |
| Charles Walters, Lili |
| Billy Wilder, Stalag 17 |
| William Wyler, Roman Holiday |
| Fred Zinnemann, From Here to Eternity |
| Writing | | Motion Picture Story | Ray Ashley, Morris Engel and Ruth Orkin, Little Fugitive | | Alec Coppel, The Captain's Paradise | | Beirne Lay, Jr., Above and Beyond | | Dalton Trumbo, Roman Holiday | | Screenplay | Eric Ambler, The Cruel Sea | | Helen Deutsch, Lili | | A. B. Guthrie, Jr., Shane | | Ian McLellan Hunter and John Dighton, Roman Holiday | | Daniel Taradash, From Here to Eternity | | Story and Screenplay | Charles Brackett, Walter Reisch and Richard Breen, Titanic | | Betty Comden and Adolph Green, The Band Wagon | | Millard Kaufman, Take the High Ground | | Richard Murphy, The Desert Rats | | Sam Rolfe and Harold Jack Bloom, The Naked Spur |
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| Cinematography | | Black-and-White | Joseph C. Brun, Martin Luther | | Burnett Guffey, From Here to Eternity | | Hal Mohr, The Four Poster | | Frank Planer and Henry Alekan, Roman Holiday | | Joseph Ruttenberg, Julius Caesar | | Color | Edward Cronjager, Beneath the 12-Mile Reef | | George Folsey, All the Brothers Were Valiant | | Loyal Griggs, Shane | | Robert Planck, Lili | | Leon Shamroy, The Robe |
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| Art Direction | | Black-and-White | Cedric Gibbons and Edward Carfagno, art direction; Edwin B. Willis and Hugh Hunt, set decoration, Julius Caesar | | Fritz Maurischat and Paul Markwitz, art direction and set decoration, Martin Luther | | Hal Pereira and Walter Tyler, art direction and set decoration, Roman Holiday | | Lyle Wheeler and Leland Fuller, art direction; Paul S. Fox, set decoration, The President's Lady | | Lyle Wheeler and Maurice Ransford, art direction; Stuart Reiss, set decoration, Titanic | | Color | Cedric Gibbons, Preston Ames, Edward Carfagno and Gabriel Scognamillo, art direction; Edwin B. Willis, Keogh Gleason, Arthur Krams and Jack D. Moore, set decoration, The Story of Three Loves | | Cedric Gibbons and Paul Groesse, art direction; Edwin B. Willis and Arthur Krams, set decoration, Lili | | Cedric Gibbons and Urie McCleary, art direction; Edwin B. Willis and Jack D. Moore, set decoration, Young Bess | | Alfred Junge and Hans Peters, art direction; John Jarvis, set decoration, Knights of the Round Table | | Lyle Wheeler and George W. Davis, art direction; Walter M. Scott and Paul S. Fox, set decoration, The Robe |
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| Sound Recording | Columbia Studio Sound Dept., John P. Livadary, From Here to Eternity |
| MGM Studio Sound Dept., Knights of the Round Table |
| Paramount Studio Sound Dept., The War of the Worlds |
| Universal-International Studio Sound Dept., The Mississippi Gambler |
| Warner Bros. Studio Sound Dept., William A. Mueller, Calamity Jane |
| Music | | Song | “The Moon Is Blue,” The Moon Is Blue, Herschel Burke Gilbert, music; Sylvia Fine, lyrics | | “My Flaming Heart,” Small Town Girl, Nicholas Brodszky, music; Leo Robin, lyrics | | “Sadie Thompson's Song” (Blue Pacific Blues), Miss Sadie Thompson, Lester Lee, music; Ned Washington, lyrics | | “Secret Love,” Calamity Jane, Sammy Fain, music; Paul Francis Webster, lyrics | | “That's Amore,” The Caddy, Harry Warren, music; Jack Brooks, lyrics | | Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture | Louis Forbes, This Is Cinerama | | Hugo Friedhofer, Above and Beyond | | Bronislau Kaper, Lili | | Miklos Rozsa, Julius Caesar | | Morris Stoloff and George Duning, From Here to Eternity | | Scoring of a Musical Picture | Adolph Deutsch, The Band Wagon | | Ray Heindorf, Calamity Jane | | Frederick Hollander and Morris Stoloff, The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. | | Alfred Newman, Call Me Madam | | André Previn and Saul Chaplin, Kiss Me Kate |
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| Film Editing | Everett Douglas, The War of the Worlds |
| Otto Ludwig, The Moon Is Blue |
| William Lyon, From Here to Eternity |
| Robert Swink, Roman Holiday |
| Irvine (Cotton) Warburton, Crazylegs |
| Costume Design | | Black-and-White | Edith Head, Roman Holiday | | Charles LeMaire and Renie, The President's Lady | | Jean Louis, From Here to Eternity | | Walter Plunkett, The Actress | | Helen Rose and Herschel McCoy, Dream Wife | | Color | Charles LeMaire and Emile Santiago, The Robe | | Charles LeMaire and Travilla, How to Marry a Millionaire | | Mary Ann Nyberg, The Band Wagon | | Walter Plunkett, Young Bess | | Irene Sharaff, Call Me Madam |
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| Special Effects | The War of the Worlds (Paramount) |
| Short Subjects | | Cartoon | Christopher Crumpet (Jolly Frolics Series) (United Productions of America; Columbia) | | From A to Z-Z-Z-Z (Loony Tunes Series) (Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc.; Warner Bros.) | | Rugged Bear (Donald Duck Series) (Walt Disney Productions; RKO Radio) | | The Tell Tale Heart (UPA Cartoon Special Series) (United Productions of America; Columbia) | | Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom (Adventures in Music Series) (Walt Disney Productions; Buena Vista) | | One-Reel | Christ Among the Primitives (Vincenzo Lucci-Chiarissi Production; I.F.E. Releasing Corp.) | | Herring Hunt (Canada Carries on Series) (National Film Board of Canada; RKO Pathé, Inc.) | | Joy of Living (Art Film Series) (Art Film Productions; Twentieth Century-Fox) | | The Merry Wives of Windsor Overture (Overture Series) (Johnny Green, producer; MGM) | | Wee Water Wonders (Grantland Rice Spotlight Series) (Jack Eaton, producer; Paramount) | | Two-Reel | Bear Country (True Life Adventure Series) (Walt Disney Productions; RKO Radio) | | Ben and Me (Walt Disney Productions; Buena Vista) | | Return to Glennascaul (Dublin Gate Theatre Production; Arthur Mayer-Edward Kingsley, Inc.) | | Vesuvius Express (CinemaScope Shorts Series) (Otto Lang, producer; Twentieth Century-Fox) | | Winter Paradise (Technicolor Special Series) (Cedric Francis, producer; Warner Bros.) |
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| Documentary | | Short Subject | The Alaskan Eskimo (Walt Disney Productions; RKO Radio) | | The Living City (John Barnes, producer; Encyclopaedia Britannica Films, Inc.) | | Operation Blue Jay (U.S. Army Signal Corps.) | | They Planted a Stone (World Wide Pictures; British Information Services) | | The Word (John Healy and John Adams, producers; Twentieth Century-Fox) | | Feature | The Conquest of Everest (Countryman Films, Ltd. and Group 3 Ltd.; United Artists) | | The Living Desert (True Life Adventure Series) (Walt Disney Productions; Buena Vista) | | A Queen Is Crowned (J. Arthur Rank Organization Ltd.; Universal-International) |
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| Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award | George Stevens |
| Honorary Awards | To Pete Smith for his witty and pungent observations on the American scene in his series of Pete Smith Specialities |
| To Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation in recognition of their imagination, showmanship and foresight in introducing the revolutionary process known as CinemaScope |
| To Joseph I. Breen for his conscientious, open-minded and dignified management of the Motion Picture Production Code |
| To Bell and Howell Company for their pioneering and basic achievements in the advancement of the motion picture industry |
