• The 7th Academy Awards took place on February 27, 1935, at the Biltmore Hotel, specifically in the Biltmore Bowl, in Los Angeles, California.
• Irvin S. Cobb, a renowned American author, humorist, and actor, commanded the stage as the host.
• Films released in the calendar year of 1934 were eligible for awards.

Noteworthy Moments:

• It Happened One Night became the first film to win the “Big Five” Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director (Frank Capra), Best Actor (Clark Gable), Best Actress (Claudette Colbert), and Best Screenplay (Robert Riskin).
• Shirley Temple received the first Juvenile Award at age 6, making her the youngest Oscar honoree.
• One Night of Love earned 6 nominations

Trivia:

1. It Happened One Night‘s sweep of the major categories wouldn’t be matched again until 1975 by One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and in 1991 by The Silence of the Lambs.
2. This was the first year that Best Original Song was introduced as a category, won by “The Continental” from The Gay Divorcee.
3. The 7th Oscars were the first to be broadcast on tnationwide radio.
4. Best Film Editing became a permanent category this year after being introduced in the previous ceremony.

• The 6th Academy Awards occurred on March 16, 1934, and broke with tradition by being held at The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California.
• Will Rogers, the American stage and film actor, took on the role of host for the evening.
• The eligibility period stretched from August 1, 1932, to December 31, 1933.

Noteworthy Moments:

• Katharine Hepburn won her first Oscar for Best Actress in Morning Glory, beginning a legendary Academy Awards career.
• Cavalcade, a drama based on a Noel Coward play, won Best Picture.
• The ceremony was the first to be held in March, breaking away from the early ceremonies which were usually held in November or April.
• Cavalcade, A Farewell to Arms, and Lady for a Day each earned 6 nominations.
• First Oscar “oops!”: Will Rogers presented the Academy Award for Best Director, and when he opened the envelope, he announced, “Come up and get it, Frank!”
  Frank Capra, certain he was the winner, ran to the podium to collect the Oscar, only to discover Rogers had meant Frank Lloyd, who won for Cavalcade, instead. Will then called the third nominee, George Cukor, to join the two Franks on stage. #oops

Trivia:

1. This year marked the first time that the Academy standardized its “calendar year” eligibility period.
2. Frank Lloyd won Best Director for Cavalcade but was not nominated for Best Picture.
3. This was the first ceremony where child actors were acknowledged; Jackie Cooper was 14 years old when he was nominated for Best Actor.
4. A new category was introduced for Best Film Editing.
5. This ceremony was the first to divide short subjects into two categories: comedy and Novelty, providing more opportunities for recognition.
6. Take the PCM Hollywood Sign Quiz!

• The 5th Academy Awards ceremony took place on November 18, 1932.
• Host Conrad Nagel returned to MC the event, which was located in the Fiesta Room at the Ambassador Hotel.
• Films released between August 1, 1931, and July 31, 1932, were eligible for awards.

Noteworthy Moments:

• Walt Disney won his first ever Oscar for the animated short Flowers and Trees, under a new category called Best Animated Short Film.
• Grand Hotel won Best Picture without winning any other Oscars, a feat unmatched to this day.
• Helen Hayes won Best Actress for her role in The Sin of Madelon Claudet, a film that was initially a commercial failure.
• Flowers and Trees was the first color Academy Award winner and first animated short winner.
• Arrowsmith and The Champ each earned 4 nominations.
• Grand Hotel was the only Best Picture winner to be nominated for Best Picture and nothing else.

Trivia:

1. This was the first ceremony where the winners were kept a secret until the event.
2. This is the only year that the Academy did not award a Best Director.
3. The Best Actor category included three nominees who were non-American: Alfred Lunt, Lawrence Tibbett, and Wallace Beery.
4. This was the last year that write-in votes were allowed, enabling Hal Mohr to win Best Cinematography for A Midsummer Night’s Dream in a later ceremony.
5. The ceremony was broadcast by Los Angeles radio station KNX.

• The 4th Academy Awards took place on November 10, 1931.
• The ceremony was hosted in the Sala D’Oro at the Biltmore Hotel.
• Lawrence Grant, a British character actor, took on hosting duties.
• Eligibility for awards was for films released between August 1, 1930, and July 31, 1931.

Noteworthy Moments:

• Cimarron became the first Western to win Best Picture.
• Marie Dressler won Best Actress for her role in Min and Bill, making her the oldest actress to win this category.
• Wesley Ruggles won Best Director for Cimarron.
• Cimarron earned 7 nominations, winning 3. It was the first Western to win Best Picture. The second was Dances With Wolves in 1990.
• Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights received no nominations.
• Also Snubbed: Dracula, Frankenstein, Little Caesar, Public Enemy, Applause

Trivia:

1. This was the first year where the awards started acknowledging sound in a separate category: Best Sound Recording.
2. The film The Front Page was nominated for three major awards but won none. It would later be remade as His Girl Friday in 1940.
3. Skippy, based on a comic strip, is the earliest film to receive a Best Director nomination that is still copyrighted.
4. This year was the first and only time the Academy handed out an award for Best Assistant Director.
5. This ceremony was among the shortest, lasting only about an hour.

• The 3rd Academy Awards were held on November 5, 1930.
• The venue for the ceremony was the Fiesta Room at the Ambassador Hotel.
• Conrad Nagel, a popular actor of the time, served as the host.
• Films released between August 1, 1929, and July 31, 1930, were eligible for awards.

Noteworthy Moments:

• All Quiet on the Western Front won Best Picture and Best Director, a film based on the novel by Erich Maria Remarque.
• Norma Shearer won Best Actress for her role in The Divorcee, a pre-Code drama.
• Lewis Milestone, who directed All Quiet on the Western Front, was the first to win the Directing Award twice.
• The Love Parade earned six nominations but didn’t win any awards.
• Greta Garbo was eventually nominated four times but never received the Academy Award.

Trivia:

1. There were two ceremonies in 1930; the 2nd Academy Awards took place earlier in the same year.
2. This was the first ceremony where the awards were officially dubbed “Oscars.”
3. All Quiet on the Western Front was one of the first films to win both Best Picture and Best Director.
4. Conrad Nagel was also one of the 36 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences co-founders.
5. This was the last ceremony to include two-year spans in the eligibility period for nominations.
6. Take our 1930 Quiz!

• The 2nd Academy Awards took place on April 30, 1930.
• The ceremony was hosted at the Cocoanut Grove of the Ambassador Hotel.
• William C. DeMille, older brother of the famous Cecil B. DeMille, was the host.
• The eligibility year for the awards was from August 1, 1928, to July 31, 1929.

Noteworthy Moments:

• The Broadway Melody won Best Picture, notable for being the first sound film to win this category.
• The award categories were simplified compared to the first ceremony. For instance, there was only one acting category each for men and women.
• Warner Baxter won Best Actor for his role in In Old Arizona, playing the Cisco Kid.

Trivia:

1. This was the first time the Academy used sealed envelopes to announce winners.
2. The ceremony was broadcast on radio, a significant technological advancement for the time.
3. The awards recognized both sound and silent films, reflecting the industry’s transition.
4. Mary Pickford won Best Actress for her talkie debut in Coquette, making her one of the first Hollywood “talkie” stars to win an Oscar.
5. Despite being a talkie, The Broadway Melody actually had no spoken dialogue, only music and sound effects.