Oscar voters have long memories: ‘Casablanca’ wins Best Picture 16 months after its premiere

Susan King
·4 min read
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The Academy Awards grew up at the 16th annual ceremony March 2, 1944. Since the first Oscar ceremony at the Hollywood Roosevelt’s Blossom Room in 1929, the Academy Awards were small banquet ceremonies for La La Land movers and shakers. But that all changed 80 years ago. World War II was in its third year and movies meant more than ever to war-weary audiences.

So, the Oscars moved to the then-Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood and bleachers were introduced giving fans a chance to see their favorites walk the red carpet. And instead of a select industry audience, attendees included members of all branches of the armed services many of whom sat in bleachers on the stage at the Chinese. The ceremony was heard locally on KFWB; Jack Benny hosted the international broadcast for the troops on CBS Radio via shortwave. And for the first time, supporting performers finally received a full-size Academy Award. Since there awards’ introduction seven years earlier, winners had received a plaque which featured a mini-Oscar.

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Going into the ceremony, the religious drama “The Song of Bernadette” led with 12 nominations with “From Whom the Bell Tolls” scoring nine and “Casablanca” earning eight. “The Ox-Bow Incident” only earned a best picture nomination.

“Casablanca” won Best Picture, director for Michael Curtiz and adapted screenplay that evening,  but “The Song of Bernadette” led with four Oscars including Best Actress for Jennifer Jones. The Academy Award made a great birthday present for the actress who turned 25 that day. Jones would receive four more Oscar nominations over the next 12 years.

After starring in such classic films including 1936’s “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town,” 1937’ ‘Easy Living” and 1939’s “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” Jean Arthur finally received her first and only Oscar nomination that year for “The More the Merrier.” Her husband Frank Ross was also nominated for adapted screenplay. Charles Coburn won the supporting actor Oscar for the film. “For Whom the Bell Tolls” scene-stealer Katina Paxinou claimed the supporting actress prize.

The British war drama “In Which We Served,” starring, produced, written and co-directed by Noel Coward, was nominated for picture and screenplay. David Lean received his first director credit for co-helming the film with Coward. This was the second year in the row that the 1942 drama earned the attention of the Academy. At the 1943 ceremony Coward won an honorary Oscar certificate for “his outstanding production achievement.” ‘The British import wasn’t the only 1942 film nominated for the top award. “Casablanca” opened in New York on Nov. 26 but didn’t qualify that year because it wasn’t released in Los Angeles until Jan. 23, 1943.

Paul Lukas won Best Actor for “Watch on the Rhine.” He starred in the original 1941 Broadway production penned by Lillian Hellman.  The film also received an Oscar nomination for Dashiell Hammett’s adapted screenplay. “The Thin Man” novelist just happened to be Hellman’s longtime boyfriend. And 34 years later, Jason Robards won an Oscar for portraying Hammett in “Julia.” Though she wasn’t in the film, Ann Blyth starred opposite Lukas in the Broadway production of “Watch on the Rhine.” And in 1946, she received a supporting actress nomination as the daughter from hell in “Mildred Pierce.”

The beloved cat and mouse animated team of Tom and Jerry won their first Oscar for best- short-subject cartoon for “Yankee Doodle Mouse.” The duo would win six more Oscars earning a total of 13 nominations. George Pal was nominated in that category for “The 500 Hats for Bartholomew Cubbins.” Though he lost to Tom and Jerry,  Pal received an honorary Oscar certificate for “the development of novel methods and techniques in the production of short subjects known as Puppetoons”.

Presenters included “Lost Horizon” novelist James Hilton, Donald Crisp, Carole Landis, Dinah Shore, Greer Garson and Teresa Wright. Among the performers were Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, Lena Horne, Ray Bolger and Betty Hutton.

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