Looking at Film from Every Angle

27th Academy Awards (1954): The Ceremony

Nominations Announcement

Nominations Announcement Date: Saturday, February 12, 1955
Nominations Presenter: Jack Webb

Ceremony Details

Awards Ceremony Date/Time: Wednesday, March 30, 1955, 7:30pm
Location: RKO Pantages Theatre, Hollywood; NBC Century Theatre, New York
Televised On: NBC
Host: Bob Hope (in Hollywood), Thelma Ritter (in New York)
Length: 1 hours, 48 minutes

Presenters

Documentary Short Subject: Grace Kelly
Documentary Feature: Grace Kelly
Sound Mixing: Tom Tully
Animated Short Film: Edmond O’Brien, Eva Marie Saint, Rod Steiger
Live Action Short Film (One-Reel): Edmond O’Brien, Eva Marie Saint, Rod Steiger
Live Action Short Film (Two-Reel): Edmond O’Brien, Eva Marie Saint, Rod Steiger
Special Effects: Lee J. Cobb
Film Editing: Dorothy Dandridge
Costume Design: Jane Wyman, Nina Foch (NOTE: Both Black-and-White and Color awards presented together)
Production Design: Dan O’Herlihy, Jan Sterling (NOTE: Both Black-and-White and Color awards presented together)
Cinematography, Black-and-White: Humphrey Bogart
Cinematography, Color: Katy Jurado
Directing: Marlon Brando
Writing: Motion Picture Story: Claire Trevor
Writing: Screenplay: Karl Malden
Writing: Story and Screenplay: Audrey Hepburn
Music: Drama or Comedy Score: Bing Crosby
Music: Musical Score: Bing Crosby
Original Song: Bing Crosby
Supporting Actress: Frank Sinatra
Supporting Actor: Donna Reed
Actress: William Holden
Actor: Bette Davis
Picture: Buddy Adler
Scientific & Technical Awards: Lauren Bacall
Foreign Language Film: Jean Marie Ingels
Honorary Award: Bausch & Lomb Optical Company: Charles Brackett
Honorary Award: Kemp R. Niver: Charles Brackett
Honorary Award: Jon Whiteley and Vincent Winter for “The Little Kidnappers”: Merle Oberon
Honorary Award: Greta Garbo: Charles Brackett
Honorary Award: Danny Kaye: Charles Brackett

Previous Acting & Directing Winners

The tradition of prior acting winners returning the subsequent year to present the opposite-gender category is a long one. Each year, we look to see whether the prior winners returned. There was an intermittent tradition where the prior directing winner returned as well, but this was a rare occurrence.

Actor – William Holden: Yes
Actress – Audrey Hepburn: No
Supporting Actor – Frank Sinatra: Yes
Supporting Actress – Donna Reed: Yes
Directing – Fred Zinnemann: No

Song Performances

Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep: Peggy King
The High and the Mighty: Johnny Desmond, Muzzy Marcellino
Hold My Hand: Tony Martin
The Man That Got Away: Rosemary Clooney
Three Coins in the Fountain: Dean Martin

Original Song Film Performers

Was the song performed at the Oscars by the same individuals who performed it in the film?

Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep: No (Performed in the Film by: Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney)
The High and the Mighty: Partial (Muzzy Marcellino only) (Performed in the Film by: Muzzy Marcellino)
Hold My Hand: No (Performed in the Film by: Don Cornell)
The Man That Got Away: No (Performed in the Film by: Judy Garland)
Three Coins in the Fountain: No (Performed in the Film by: Frank Sinatra)

Ceremony Production Staff

Announcer: Robert Cummings
Conductor / Musical Arranger: David Rose
Director: William A. Bennington, Grey Lockwood (in New York)
Producer: Jean Negulesco