Award ceremony for films of 1951

24th Academy Awards

8 min read
In 33 languages
9 images

All data from the card 6

Date: March 20, 1952
Site: RKO Pantages Theatre, Hollywood, California
Hosted by: Danny Kaye
Best Picture: An American in Paris
Most awards: An American in Paris and A Place in the Sun (6)
Most nominations: A Streetcar Named Desire (12)

The 24th Academy Awards were held on March 20, 1952, honoring the films from 1951 and the ceremony was hosted by Danny Kaye.

An American in Paris and A Place in the Sun each received six Oscars, splitting Best Picture and Best Director, respectively. A Streetcar Named Desire won four Oscars, including three of the four acting awards for which it was nominated. The film's only unsuccessful acting nomination was that of Marlon Brando, whose performance as Stanley Kowalski was later considered one of the most influential of modern film acting.

Humphrey Bogart was the last man born in the 19th century to win Best Actor. He won it over favored winner Marlon Brando, by the logic of the former being too long overlooked and the latter being a newcomer. The next day, Bogart remarked that "awards don't mean a thing unless every actor plays Hamlet and then who is best is decided."

An American in Paris became the second color film to win Best Picture, and was the first film since Grand Hotel to win Best Picture without any acting nominations. Its win was a surprise, as either A Streetcar Named Desire or A Place in the Sun was expected to win. Some reflected that it may have won due to the number of Academy voters employed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer at the time.

Winners and nominees

Cedric Gibbons; Best Art Direction, Color, co-winner

9 images

Awards

Nominations were announced on February 11, 1952. Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.

Best Motion Picture An American in Paris – Arthur Freed for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Decision Before Dawn – Anatole Litvak and Frank McCarthy for 20th Century Fox A Place in the Sun – George Stevens for Paramount Pictures Quo Vadis – Sam Zimbalist for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer A Streetcar Named Desire – Charles K. Feldman for Warner Bros.	Best Directing George Stevens – A Place in the Sun John Huston – The African Queen Vincente Minnelli – An American in Paris William Wyler – Detective Story Elia Kazan – A Streetcar Named Desire
Best Actor *Humphrey Bogart – The African Queen* as Charlie Allnut** Marlon Brando – A Streetcar Named Desire as Stanley Kowalski Montgomery Clift – A Place in the Sun as George Eastman Arthur Kennedy – Bright Victory as Larry Nevins Fredric March – Death of a Salesman as Willy Loman	Best Actress *Vivien Leigh – A Streetcar Named Desire* as Blanche Dubois** Katharine Hepburn – The African Queen as Rose Sayer Eleanor Parker – Detective Story as Mary McLeod Shelley Winters – A Place in the Sun as Alice Tripp Jane Wyman – The Blue Veil as LouLou Mason
Best Actor in a Supporting Role *Karl Malden – A Streetcar Named Desire* as Harold "Mitch" Mitchell** Leo Genn – Quo Vadis as Petronius Kevin McCarthy – Death of a Salesman as Biff Loman Peter Ustinov – Quo Vadis as Nero Gig Young – Come Fill the Cup as Boyd Copeland	Best Actress in a Supporting Role *Kim Hunter – A Streetcar Named Desire* as Stella Kowalski** Joan Blondell – The Blue Veil as Annie Rawlins Mildred Dunnock – Death of a Salesman as Linda Loman Lee Grant – Detective Story as Shoplifter Thelma Ritter – The Mating Season as Ellen McNulty
Best Writing (Motion Picture Story) Seven Days to Noon – Paul Dehn and James Bernard Bullfighter and the Lady – Budd Boetticher and Ray Nazarro The Frogmen – Oscar Millard Here Comes the Groom – Robert Riskin and Liam O'Brien Teresa – Alfred Hayes and Stewart Stern	Best Writing (Story and Screenplay) An American in Paris – Alan Jay Lerner Ace in the Hole – Billy Wilder, Lesser Samuels and Walter Newman David and Bathsheba – Philip Dunne Go for Broke! – Robert Pirosh The Well – Clarence Greene and Russell Rouse
Best Writing (Screenplay) A Place in the Sun – Michael Wilson and Harry Brown from An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser The African Queen – James Agee and John Huston from The African Queen by C. S. Forester Detective Story – Philip Yordan and Robert Wyler from Detective Story by Sidney Kingsley La Ronde – Jacques Natanson and Max Ophüls from Reigen by Arthur Schnitzler A Streetcar Named Desire – Tennessee Williams from A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams	Best Documentary (Feature) Kon-Tiki – Olle Nordemar I Was a Communist for the FBI – Bryan Foy
Best Documentary (Short Subject) Benjy – Fred Zinnemann, with the cooperation of Paramount Pictures Corporation for the Los Angeles Orthopaedic Hospital One Who Came Back – Owen Crump The Seeing Eye – Gordon Hollingshead	Best Short Subject (One-Reel) World of Kids – Robert Youngson Ridin' the Rails – Jack Eaton The Story of Time – Robert G. Leffingwell
Best Short Subject (Two-Reel) Nature's Half Acre – Walt Disney Balzac – Les Films du Compass Danger Under the Sea – Tom Mead	Best Short Subject (Cartoon) The Two Mouseketeers – Fred Quimby Lambert the Sheepish Lion – Walt Disney Rooty Toot Toot – Stephen Bosustow
Best Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) A Place in the Sun – Franz Waxman David and Bathsheba – Alfred Newman Death of a Salesman – Alex North Quo Vadis – Miklós Rózsa A Streetcar Named Desire – Alex North	Best Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture) An American in Paris – Johnny Green and Saul Chaplin Alice in Wonderland – Oliver Wallace The Great Caruso – Peter Herman Adler and Johnny Green On the Riviera – Alfred Newman Show Boat – Adolph Deutsch and Conrad Salinger
Best Music (Song) *"In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening" from Here Comes the Groom* – Music by Hoagy Carmichael; Lyrics by Johnny Mercer** "A Kiss to Build a Dream On" from The Strip – Music and Lyrics by Bert Kalmar (posthumous nomination), Harry Ruby and Oscar Hammerstein II "Never" from Golden Girl – Music by Lionel Newman; Lyrics by Eliot Daniel "Too Late Now" from Royal Wedding – Music by Burton Lane; Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner "Wonder Why" from Rich, Young and Pretty – Music by Nicholas Brodszky; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn	Best Sound Recording The Great Caruso – Douglas Shearer Bright Victory – Leslie I. Carey I Want You – Gordon E. Sawyer A Streetcar Named Desire – Nathan Levinson Two Tickets to Broadway – John O. Aalberg
Best Art Direction (Black-and-White) A Streetcar Named Desire – Art Direction: Richard Day; Set Decoration: George James Hopkins Fourteen Hours – Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler and Leland Fuller; Set Decoration: Thomas Little and Fred J. Rode The House on Telegraph Hill – Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler and John DeCuir; Set Decoration: Thomas Little and Paul S. Fox La Ronde – Art Direction and Set Decoration: D'Eaubonne Too Young to Kiss – Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons and Paul Groesse; Set Decoration: Edwin B. Willis and Jack D. Moore	Best Art Direction (Color) An American in Paris – Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons and E. Preston Ames; Set Decoration: Edwin B. Willis and F. Keogh Gleason David and Bathsheba – Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler and George Davis; Set Decoration: Thomas Little and Paul S. Fox On the Riviera – Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler and Leland Fuller; Set Decoration: Thomas Little and Walter M. Scott; Musical Settings: Joseph C. Wright Quo Vadis – Art Direction: William A. Horning, Cedric Gibbons and Edward Carfagno; Set Decoration: Hugh Hunt Tales of Hoffmann – Art Direction and Set Decoration: Hein Heckroth
Best Cinematography (Black-and-White) A Place in the Sun – William C. Mellor Death of a Salesman – Franz Planer The Frogmen – Norbert Brodine Strangers on a Train – Robert Burks A Streetcar Named Desire – Harry Stradling	Best Cinematography (Color) An American in Paris – Alfred Gilks; Ballet Photography by John Alton David and Bathsheba – Leon Shamroy Quo Vadis – Robert Surtees and William V. Skall Show Boat – Charles Rosher When Worlds Collide – John F. Seitz and W. Howard Greene
Best Costume Design (Black-and-White) A Place in the Sun – Edith Head Kind Lady – Walter Plunkett and Gile Steele (posthumous nomination) The Model and the Marriage Broker – Charles LeMaire and Renié The Mudlark – Edward Stevenson and Margaret Furse A Streetcar Named Desire – Lucinda Ballard	Best Costume Design (Color) An American in Paris – Orry-Kelly, Walter Plunkett and Irene Sharaff David and Bathsheba – Charles LeMaire and Edward Stevenson The Great Caruso – Helen Rose and Gile Steele (posthumous nomination) Quo Vadis – Herschel McCoy Tales of Hoffmann – Hein Heckroth
Best Film Editing A Place in the Sun – William Hornbeck An American in Paris – Adrienne Fazan Decision Before Dawn – Dorothy Spencer Quo Vadis – Ralph E. Winters The Well – Chester Schaeffer

Best Special Effects

When Worlds Collide – Paramount.

Honorary Foreign Language Film Award

To Rashomon - voted by the Board of Governors as the most outstanding foreign language film released in the United States during 1951.

Honorary Award

To Gene Kelly in appreciation of his versatility as an actor, singer, director and dancer, and specifically for his brilliant achievements in the art of choreography on film.

Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award

Arthur Freed

Presenters and performers

Presenters

Lucille Ball (Presenter: Short Subject Awards)
Charles Brackett (Presenter: Honorary Award to Gene Kelly)
Leslie Caron (Presenter: Best Foreign Language Film)
Marge and Gower Champion (Presenters: Best Art Direction)
Cyd Charisse (Presenter: Best Sound Recording)
Ronald Colman (Presenter: Best Actress)
Sally Forrest (Presenter: Best Special Effects)
Zsa Zsa Gabor (Presenter: Best Costume Design)
Greer Garson (Presenter: Best Actor)
Jesse L. Lasky (Presenter: Best Motion Picture)
Claire Luce (Presenter: Writing Awards)
Joseph L. Mankiewicz (Presenter: Best Director)
George Murphy (Presenter: Scientific or Technical Awards)
Donald O'Connor (Presenter: Music Awards)
Janice Rule (Presenter: Documentary Awards)
George Sanders (Presenter: Best Supporting Actress)
Constance Smith (Presenter: Best Film Editing)
Claire Trevor (Presenter: Best Supporting Actor)
Vera-Ellen (Presenter: Best Cinematography)
Darryl F. Zanuck (Presenter: Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award)

Performers

Multiple nominations and awards

Films with multiple nominations
Nominations	Film
12	A Streetcar Named Desire
9	A Place in the Sun
8	An American in Paris
8	Quo Vadis
5	David and Bathsheba
5	Death of a Salesman
4	The African Queen
4	Detective Story
3	The Great Caruso
2	The Blue Veil
	Bright Victory
	Decision Before Dawn
	The Frogmen
	Here Comes the Groom
	La Ronde
	On the Riviera
	Show Boat
	The Tales of Hoffmann
	The Well

Films with multiple awards
Awards	Film
6	An American in Paris
A Place in the Sun
4	A Streetcar Named Desire