The 4th Academy Awards were held on November 10, 1931, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, awarding films released between August 1, 1930, and July 31, 1931. Cimarron was the first Western to win Best Picture, and would remain the only to do so until Dances With Wolves won in 1990. Cimarron received a then-record seven nominations, one in every category for which it was eligible, and was the first Best Picture winner to win more than two awards; it and A Free Soul were the first films to receive multiple acting nominations.
Nine-year-old Jackie Cooper was the first child actor to receive a nomination and was the youngest nominee until Justin Henry received a nomination for his performance in 1979's Kramer vs. Kramer at age eight. He remains the second-youngest Oscar nominee of all time, and the only Best Actor nominee under age 18. At the ceremony, he fell asleep on the shoulder of Best Actress nominee Marie Dressler; when Dressler was announced as the winner, Cooper had to be eased onto his mother's lap.
Vice President Charles Curtis attended the ceremony to address the 1,800 guests, making the ceremony a national event.
Best Actor winner Lionel Barrymore became the first person to have received nominations in multiple categories, having been nominated for Best Director for Madame X at the 2nd Academy Awards, as well as the only Best Actor winner born in the 1870s.
Winners and nominees
Nominees were announced on October 5, 1931. Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface. Cimarron – William LeBaron for RKO Pictures East Lynne – Winfield Sheehan for Fox Film Corporation The Front Page – Howard Hughes for United Artists Skippy – Adolph Zukor for Paramount Pictures Trader Horn – Irving Thalberg for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | valign="top" width="50%" |Norman Taurog – Skippy Wesley Ruggles – Cimarron Clarence Brown – A Free Soul Lewis Milestone – The Front Page Josef von Sternberg – MoroccoLionel Barrymore – A Free Soul as Stephen Ashe Jackie Cooper – Skippy as Skippy Skinner Richard Dix – Cimarron as Yancey Cravat Fredric March – The Royal Family of Broadway as Tony Cavendish Adolphe Menjou – The Front Page as Walter BurnsMarie Dressler – Min and Bill as Min Divot Marlene Dietrich – Morocco as Amy Jolly Irene Dunne – Cimarron as Sabra Cravat Ann Harding – Holiday as Linda Seton Norma Shearer – A Free Soul as Jan Ashe The Dawn Patrol – John Monk Saunders The Doorway to Hell – Rowland Brown Laughter – Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast, Douglas Doty, and Donald Ogden Stewart The Public Enemy – John Bright and Kubec Glasmon Smart Money – Lucien Hubbard and Joseph JacksonCimarron – Howard Estabrook, based on the novel by Edna Ferber The Criminal Code – Seton I. Miller and Fred Niblo Jr., based on the play by Martin Flavin Holiday – Horace Jackson, based on the play by Philip Barry Little Caesar – Francis Edward Faragoh and Robert N. Lee, based on the novel by William R. Burnett Skippy – Joseph L. Mankiewicz and Sam Mintz, based on the comic strip by Percy CrosbyParamount Publix Studio Sound Department MGM Studio Sound Department RKO Radio Studio Sound Department Samuel Goldwyn-United Artists Studio Sound DepartmentCimarron – Max Rée Just Imagine – Stephen Goosson and Ralph Hammeras Morocco – Hans Dreier Svengali – Anton Grot Whoopee! – Richard DayTabu – Floyd Crosby Cimarron – Edward Cronjager Morocco – Lee Garmes The Right to Love – Charles Lang Svengali – Barney McGill
Multiple nominations and awards +Films with multiple nominations Nominations Film7Cimarron 4MoroccoSkippy 3A Free SoulThe Front Page 2HolidaySvengali
+ Films with multiple wins Wins Film 3Cimarron
Gallery
See also
1930 in film 1931 in film
References