21st ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS CERIMONY - 3-24-1949

Hosted by Robert Montgomery. The 21st Academy Awards features numerous firsts. It was the first time a non-Hollywood production won Best Picture, Hamlet. It was the first time an individual (Laurence Olivier) directed himself in an Oscar-winning performance. Director John Huston directs two Oscar-winning performances in the same year for two different films: his father Walter Huston in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and Claire Trevor for Key Largo. The Huston family won three Oscars that evening. The ceremony was moved from the Shrine Auditorium to the Academy's own theater primarily because the major Hollywood studios had withdrawn their financial support in order to address rumors that they had been trying to influence voters. Jane Wyman became the first performer since the silent era to win an Oscar for a performance with no lines. Humphrey Bogart failed to receive a nomination for Best Actor in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, which is now considered one of the Academy’s greatest slights. This year introduced the award for Best Costumes presented by Elizabeth Taylor. Joan of Arc became the first film to receive 7 nominations without being nominated for Best Picture. Hamlet became the fourth film to win Best Picture without a screenwriting nomination; the next to do so would be The Sound of Music at the 38th Academy Awards. The Academy Awards were not televised nationally until 1952. This is a recording from the Academy’s own archive. About an hour. In black and white.