Looking at Film from Every Angle

31st Academy Awards (1958): The Ceremony

Nominations Announcement

Nominations Announcement Date: Monday, February 23, 1959

Ceremony Details

Awards Ceremony Date/Time: Monday, April 6, 1959, 7:30pm
Location: RKO Pantages Theatre, Hollywood
Televised On: NBC
Host: Bob Hope, David Niven, Jerry Lewis, Laurence Olivier, Mort Sahl, Tony Randall
Length: 1 hours, 55 minutes

Presenters

Supporting Actor: Anthony Quinn, Bette Davis
Scientific & Technical Awards: Barbara Rush, Jacque Tati
Animated Short Film: Janet Leigh, Tony Curtis
Live Action Short Film: Janet Leigh, Tony Curtis
Supporting Actress: Red Buttons, Shelley Winters
Music: Musical Score: Dick Powell, June Allyson
Sound Mixing: Charlton Heston, Jane Wyman
Costume Design: Ernie Kovacs, Wendell Corey
Film Editing: Jean Simmons, Louis Jordan
Documentary Short Subject: Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner
Documentary Feature: Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner
Original Song: Dean Martin, Sophia Loren
Special Effects: Peter Ustinov, Shirley MacLaine
Music: Drama or Comedy Score: Anthony Franciosa, Eva Marie Saint
Foreign Language Film: Cyd Charisse, Robert Stack
Cinematography: Doris Day, Rock Hudson (NOTE: Both Black-and-White and Color awards presented together)
Honorary Award: Maurice Chevalier: Rosalind Russell
Production Design: Eddie Albert, Vincent Price
Irving G. Thalberg Award: Jack L. Warner: Buddy Adler
Directing: Gary Cooper, Millie Perkins
Writing: Adapted Screenplay: Dirk Bogarde, Elizabeth Taylor, Van Heflin
Writing: Original Screenplay: Dirk Bogarde, Elizabeth Taylor, Van Heflin
Actress: James Cagney, Kim Novak
Actor: Irene Dunne, John Wayne
Presenter Introduction: Ingrid Bergman: Cary Grant
Picture: Ingrid Bergman

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 – Alec Guinness: No
Actress – Joanne Woodward: No
Supporting Actor – Red Buttons: No
Supporting Actress – Miyoshi Umeki: Yes
Directing – David Lean: No

Song Performances

Almost in Your Arms: Anna Maria Alberghetti, Connie Stevens, Dean Jones, James Darren, Nick Adams, Tuesday Weld
A Certain Smile: Gower Champion (dance), Marge Champion (dance), John Raitt
Gigi: Taina Elg (dance), Tony Martin
To Love and Be Loved: Eddie Fisher
A Very Precious Love: Howard Keel, Rhonda Fleming

Original Song Film Performers

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

Almost in Your Arms: No (Performed in the Film by: Sophia Loren)
A Certain Smile: No (Performed in the Film by: Johnny Mathis)
Gigi: No (Performed in the Film by: Louis Jourdan)
To Love and Be Loved: No (Performed in the Film by: Chorus)
A Very Precious Love: No (Performed in the Film by: Gene Kelly)