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Academy Awards

31st edition

  • April 6, 1959
  • United States

The 31st Academy Awards ceremony was held on April 6, 1959, to honor the best films of 1958. The night was dominated by Gigi, which won nine Oscars, breaking the previous record of eight set by Gone with the Wind and tied by From Here to Eternity and On the Waterfront.

Awards

Movie People Status
Best Picture
Gigi Arthur Freed - as producer Winner
Auntie Mame Jack L. Warner - as producer
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Lawrence Weingarten - as producer
The Defiant Ones Stanley Kramer - as producer
Separate Tables Harold Hecht - as producer
Best Director
Gigi Vincente Minnelli Winner
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Richard Brooks
The Defiant Ones Stanley Kramer
I Want to Live! Robert Wise
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness Mark Robson
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Separate Tables David Niven Winner
The Defiant Ones Tony Curtis
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Paul Newman
The Defiant Ones Sidney Poitier
The Old Man and the Sea Spencer Tracy
Best Actress in a Leading Role
I Want to Live! Susan Hayward Winner
Separate Tables Deborah Kerr
Some Came Running Shirley MacLaine
Auntie Mame Rosalind Russell
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Elizabeth Taylor
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
The Big Country Burl Ives Winner
The Defiant Ones Theodore Bikel
The Brothers Karamazov Lee J. Cobb
Some Came Running Arthur Kennedy
Teacher's Pet Gig Young
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Separate Tables Wendy Hiller Winner
Auntie Mame Peggy Cass
Some Came Running Martha Hyer
Lonelyhearts Maureen Stapleton
The Defiant Ones Cara Williams
Best Original Screenplay
The Defiant Ones Nedrick Young, Harold Jacob Smith Winner
The Goddess Paddy Chayefsky
Houseboat Melville Shavelson, Jack Rose
The Sheepman William Bowers, James Edward Grant
Teacher's Pet Fay Kanin, Michael Kanin
Best Adapted Screenplay
Gigi Alan Jay Lerner Winner
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Richard Brooks, James Poe
The Horse's Mouth Alec Guinness
I Want to Live! Don Mankiewicz, Nelson Gidding
Separate Tables John Gay, Terence Rattigan
Best International Feature Film
Mon Oncle Winner
Arms and the Man
Big Deal on Madonna Street
The Year Long Road
Revenge
Best Documentary Feature Film
White Wilderness Winner
Antarctic Crossing
The Hidden World
Psychiatric Nursing
Best Original Score
The Old Man and the Sea Dimitri Tiomkin Winner
The Big Country Jerome Moross
Separate Tables David Raksin
White Wilderness Oliver Wallace
The Young Lions Hugo Friedhofer
Best Cinematography (Black and White)
The Defiant Ones Sam Leavitt Winner
Desire Under the Elms Daniel L. Fapp
I Want to Live! Lionel Lindon
Separate Tables Charles Lang
The Young Lions Joseph MacDonald
Best Cinematography (Color)
Gigi Joseph Ruttenberg Winner
Auntie Mame Harry Stradling Sr.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof William Daniels
The Old Man and the Sea James Wong Howe
South Pacific Leon Shamroy
Scoring of a Musical Picture - Original or Adaptation
Gigi André Previn Winner
The Bolshoi Ballet Yuri Faier, G. Rozhdestvensky
Damn Yankees Ray Heindorf
Mardi Gras Lionel Newman
South Pacific Alfred Newman, Ken Darby
Best Film Editing
Gigi Adrienne Fazan Winner
Auntie Mame William Ziegler
Cowboy William Lyon, Al Clark
The Defiant Ones Frederic Knudtson
I Want to Live! William Hornbeck
Best Sound
South Pacific Fred Hynes Winner
I Want to Live! Gordon E. Sawyer
A Time to Love and a Time to Die Leslie I. Carey
Vertigo George Dutton
The Young Lions Carlton W. Faulkner
Best Original Song
Gigi Frederick Loewe, Alan Jay Lerner - "Gigi" Winner
Houseboat Jay Livingston, Ray Evans - "Almost In Your Arms (Love Song from Houseboat)"
A Certain Smile Sammy Fain, Paul Francis Webster - "A Certain Smile"
Some Came Running Jimmy Van Heusen, Sammy Cahn - "To Love and Be Loved"
Marjorie Morningstar Sammy Fain, Paul Francis Webster - "A Very Precious Love"
Best Production Design
Gigi William A. Horning, E. Preston Ames, Henry Grace, F. Keogh Gleason Winner
Auntie Mame Malcolm Bert, George James Hopkins
Bell, Book and Candle Cary Odell, Louis Diage
A Certain Smile Lyle R. Wheeler, John DeCuir, Walter M. Scott, Paul S. Fox
Vertigo Hal Pereira, Henry Bumstead, Samuel M. Comer, Frank R. McKelvy
Best Costume Design
Gigi Cecil Beaton Winner
Bell, Book and Candle Jean Louis
The Buccaneer Ralph Jester, Edith Head, John Jensen
A Certain Smile Charles LeMaire, Mary Wills
Some Came Running Walter Plunkett
Best Special Effects
Tom Thumb Tom Howard Winner
Torpedo Run A. Arnold Gillespie, Harold Humbrock
Best Short Film (Live Action)
Grand Canyon Walt Disney Winner
Journey Into Spring Ian Ferguson
The Kiss John Hayes
Snows of Aorangi New Zealand Screen Board
T Is for Tumbleweed James A. Lebenthal
Best Documentary Short Film
Ama Girls Winner
Employees Only
Journey Into Spring
The Living Stone
Overture
Best Animated Short Film
Knighty Knight Bugs John W. Burton Winner
Paul Bunyan Walt Disney
Sidney's Family Tree William M. Weiss
Honorary Award
Maurice Chevalier - for his contributions to the world of entertainment for more than half a century. Winner
Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award
Jack L. Warner Winner
Statistics

Most Awarded

2 or more wins
  • Gigi 9
  • The Defiant Ones 2
  • Separate Tables 2

Most Nominated

3 or more nominations
  • The Defiant Ones 9
  • Gigi 9
  • Separate Tables 7
  • Auntie Mame 6
  • Cat on a Hot Tin Roof 6
  • I Want to Live! 6
  • Some Came Running 5
  • A Certain Smile 3
  • The Old Man and the Sea 3
  • South Pacific 3
  • The Young Lions 3

Most Unluckiest

wins / nominations
  • The Defiant Ones 2 / 9
  • Auntie Mame 0 / 6
  • Cat on a Hot Tin Roof 0 / 6
  • Separate Tables 2 / 7
  • I Want to Live! 1 / 6
  • Some Came Running 0 / 5
  • A Certain Smile 0 / 3
  • The Young Lions 0 / 3
  • The Old Man and the Sea 1 / 3
  • South Pacific 1 / 3

Only one nomination

35 movies:
  • Ama Girls
  • Antarctic Crossing
  • Arms and the Man
  • Big Deal on Madonna Street
  • The Bolshoi Ballet
  • The Brothers Karamazov
  • The Buccaneer
  • Cowboy
  • Damn Yankees
  • Desire Under the Elms
  • Employees Only
  • The Goddess
  • Grand Canyon
  • The Hidden World
  • The Horse's Mouth
  • The Inn of the Sixth Happiness
  • The Kiss
  • Knighty Knight Bugs
  • The Living Stone
  • Lonelyhearts
  • Mardi Gras
  • Marjorie Morningstar
  • Mon Oncle
  • Overture
  • Paul Bunyan
  • Psychiatric Nursing
  • Revenge
  • The Sheepman
  • Sidney's Family Tree
  • Snows of Aorangi
  • T Is for Tumbleweed
  • A Time to Love and a Time to Die
  • Tom Thumb
  • Torpedo Run
  • The Year Long Road

Updated at