1953 Academy Awards

Celebrate the glamour of the Oscars® with this lesson plan for the 1953 Academy Awards, the first time the event was televised. This resource includes information about the awards, a list of winners from 1953, and a writing assignment.
Grades:
5 |
6 |
7 |
8

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 PictureFrom 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)

From Here to Eternity
Archive Photos
Best ActorMarlon Brando, Julius Caesar
Richard Burton, The Robe
Montgomery Clift, From Here to Eternity
William Holden, Stalag 17
Burt Lancaster, From Here to Eternity
Best ActressLeslie 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 RoleEddie Albert, Roman Holiday
Brandon de Wilde, Shane
Jack Palance, Shane
Frank Sinatra, From Here to Eternity
Robert Strauss, Stalag 17
Actress in a Supporting RoleGrace Kelly,Mogambo
Geraldine Page, Hondo
Marjorie Rambeau, Torch Song
Donna Reed, From Here to Eternity
Thelma Ritter, Pickup on South Street
DirectingGeorge Stevens, Shane
Charles Walters, Lili
Billy Wilder, Stalag 17
William Wyler, Roman Holiday
Fred Zinnemann, From Here to Eternity
Writing
Motion Picture StoryRay Ashley, Morris Engel and Ruth Orkin, Little Fugitive
Alec Coppel, The Captain's Paradise
Beirne Lay, Jr., Above and Beyond
Dalton Trumbo, Roman Holiday
ScreenplayEric 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 ScreenplayCharles 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
Cinematography
Black-and-WhiteJoseph 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
ColorEdward Cronjager, Beneath the 12-Mile Reef
George Folsey, All the Brothers Were Valiant
Loyal Griggs, Shane
Robert Planck, Lili
Leon Shamroy, The Robe
Art Direction
Black-and-WhiteCedric 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
ColorCedric 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
Sound RecordingColumbia 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 PictureLouis 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 PictureAdolph 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
Film EditingEverett 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-WhiteEdith 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
ColorCharles 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
Special EffectsThe War of the Worlds (Paramount)
Short Subjects
CartoonChristopher 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-ReelChrist 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-ReelBear 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.)
Documentary
Short SubjectThe 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)
FeatureThe 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)
Irving G. Thalberg Memorial AwardGeorge Stevens
Honorary AwardsTo 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

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