# 24th Academy Awards

The 24th Academy Awards were held on March 20, 1952, honoring the films of 1951. The ceremony was hosted by Danny Kaye.
An American in Paris and A Place in the Sun each received six Oscars, splitting Best Picture and Best Director, respectively. A Streetcar Named Desire won four Oscars, including three of the four acting awards for which it was nominated. The film's only unsuccessful acting nomination was that of Marlon Brando, whose performance as Stanley Kowalski was later considered one of the most influential of modern film acting.
Humphrey Bogart was the last man born in the 19th century to win Best Actor. He won it over favored winner Marlon Brando, by the logic of the former being too long overlooked and the latter being a newcomer. The next day, Bogart remarked that "awards don't mean a thing unless every actor plays Hamlet and then who is best is decided."
An American in Paris became the second color film to win Best Picture, and was the first film since Grand Hotel to win Best Picture without any acting nominations. Its win was a surprise, as either A Streetcar Named Desire or A Place in the Sun was expected to win. Some reflected that it may have won due to the number of Academy voters employed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer at the time.

## Winners and nominees
### Awards

Nominations were announced on February 11, 1952. Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.
| Best Motion Picture | Best Directing |
| An American in Paris – Arthur Freed for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer  Decision Before Dawn – Anatole Litvak and Frank McCarthy for 20th Century Fox  A Place in the Sun – George Stevens for Paramount Pictures  Quo Vadis – Sam Zimbalist for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer  A Streetcar Named Desire – Charles K. Feldman for Warner Bros. | George Stevens – A Place in the Sun‡ John Huston – The African Queen Vincente Minnelli – An American in Paris William Wyler – Detective Story Elia Kazan – A Streetcar Named Desire |
| Best Actor | Best Actress |
| Humphrey Bogart – The African Queen as Charlie Allnut‡ Marlon Brando – A Streetcar Named Desire as Stanley Kowalski Montgomery Clift – A Place in the Sun as George Eastman Arthur Kennedy – Bright Victory as Larry Nevins Fredric March – Death of a Salesman as Willy Loman | Vivien Leigh – A Streetcar Named Desire as Blanche Dubois‡ Katharine Hepburn – The African Queen as Rose Sayer Eleanor Parker – Detective Story as Mary McLeod Shelley Winters – A Place in the Sun as Alice Tripp Jane Wyman – The Blue Veil as LouLou Mason |
| Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Best Actress in a Supporting Role |
| Karl Malden – A Streetcar Named Desire as Harold "Mitch" Mitchell‡ Leo Genn – Quo Vadis as Petronius Kevin McCarthy – Death of a Salesman as Biff Loman Peter Ustinov – Quo Vadis as Nero Gig Young – Come Fill the Cup as Boyd Copeland | Kim Hunter – A Streetcar Named Desire as Stella Kowalski‡ Joan Blondell – The Blue Veil as Annie Rawlins Mildred Dunnock – Death of a Salesman as Linda Loman Lee Grant – Detective Story as Shoplifter Thelma Ritter – The Mating Season as Ellen McNulty |
| Best Writing (Story and Screenplay) | Best Writing (Screenplay) |
| An American in Paris – Alan Jay Lerner‡ Ace in the Hole – Billy Wilder, Lesser Samuels and Walter Newman David and Bathsheba – Philip Dunne Go for Broke! – Robert Pirosh The Well – Clarence Greene and Russell Rouse | A Place in the Sun – Michael Wilson and Harry Brown from An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser‡ The African Queen – James Agee and John Huston from The African Queen by C. S. Forester Detective Story – Philip Yordan and Robert Wyler from Detective Story by Sidney Kingsley La Ronde – Jacques Natanson and Max Ophüls from Reigen by Arthur Schnitzler A Streetcar Named Desire – Tennessee Williams from A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams |
| Best Writing (Motion Picture Story) | Best Documentary (Feature) |
| Seven Days to Noon – Paul Dehn and James Bernard‡ Bullfighter and the Lady – Budd Boetticher and Ray Nazarro The Frogmen – Oscar Millard Here Comes the Groom – Robert Riskin and Liam O'Brien Teresa – Alfred Hayes and Stewart Stern | Kon-Tiki‡ I Was a Communist for the FBI |
| Best Documentary (Short Subject) | Best Short Subject (One-Reel) |
| Benjy‡ One Who Came Back The Seeing Eye | World of Kids‡ Ridin' the Rails The Story of Time |
| Best Short Subject (Two-Reel) | Best Short Subject (Cartoon) |
| Nature's Half Acre‡ Balzac Danger Under the Sea | The Two Mouseketeers Lambert the Sheepish Lion Rooty Toot Toot |
| Best Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) | Best Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture) |
| A Place in the Sun – Franz Waxman‡ David and Bathsheba – Alfred Newman Death of a Salesman – Alex North Quo Vadis – Miklós Rózsa A Streetcar Named Desire – Alex North | An American in Paris – Johnny Green and Saul Chaplin‡ Alice in Wonderland – Oliver Wallace The Great Caruso – Peter Herman Adler and Johnny Green On the Riviera – Alfred Newman Show Boat – Adolph Deutsch and Conrad Salinger |
| Best Music (Song) | Best Sound Recording |
| "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening" from Here Comes the Groom – Music by Hoagy Carmichael; Lyrics by Johnny Mercer‡ "A Kiss to Build a Dream On" from The Strip – Music and Lyrics by Bert Kalmar (posthumous nomination), Harry Ruby and Oscar Hammerstein II "Never" from Golden Girl – Music by Lionel Newman; Lyrics by Eliot Daniel "Too Late Now" from Royal Wedding – Music by Burton Lane; Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner "Wonder Why" from Rich, Young and Pretty – Music by Nicholas Brodszky; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn | The Great Caruso – Douglas Shearer‡ Bright Victory – Leslie I. Carey I Want You – Gordon E. Sawyer A Streetcar Named Desire – Nathan Levinson Two Tickets to Broadway – John O. Aalberg |
| Best Art Direction (Black-and-White) | Best Art Direction (Color) |
| A Streetcar Named Desire – Art Direction: Richard Day; Set Decoration: George James Hopkins‡ Fourteen Hours – Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler and Leland Fuller; Set Decoration: Thomas Little and Fred J. Rode The House on Telegraph Hill – Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler and John DeCuir; Set Decoration: Thomas Little and Paul S. Fox La Ronde – Art Direction and Set Decoration: D'Eaubonne Too Young to Kiss – Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons and Paul Groesse; Set Decoration: Edwin B. Willis and Jack D. Moore | An American in Paris – Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons and E. Preston Ames; Set Decoration: Edwin B. Willis and F. Keogh Gleason‡ David and Bathsheba – Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler and George Davis; Set Decoration: Thomas Little and Paul S. Fox On the Riviera – Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler and Leland Fuller; Set Decoration: Thomas Little and Walter M. Scott; Musical Settings: Joseph C. Wright Quo Vadis – Art Direction: William A. Horning, Cedric Gibbons and Edward Carfagno; Set Decoration: Hugh Hunt Tales of Hoffmann – Art Direction and Set Decoration: Hein Heckroth |
| Best Cinematography (Black-and-White) | Best Cinematography (Color) |
| A Place in the Sun – William C. Mellor‡ Death of a Salesman – Franz Planer The Frogmen – Norbert Brodine Strangers on a Train – Robert Burks A Streetcar Named Desire – Harry Stradling | An American in Paris – Alfred Gilks; Ballet Photography by John Alton‡ David and Bathsheba – Leon Shamroy Quo Vadis – Robert Surtees and William V. Skall Show Boat – Charles Rosher When Worlds Collide – John F. Seitz and W. Howard Greene |
| Best Costume Design (Black-and-White) | Best Costume Design (Color) |
| A Place in the Sun – Edith Head‡ Kind Lady – Walter Plunkett and Gile Steele (posthumous nomination) The Model and the Marriage Broker – Charles LeMaire and Renié The Mudlark – Edward Stevenson and Margaret Furse A Streetcar Named Desire – Lucinda Ballard | An American in Paris – Orry-Kelly, Walter Plunkett and Irene Sharaff‡ David and Bathsheba – Charles LeMaire and Edward Stevenson The Great Caruso – Helen Rose and Gile Steele (posthumous nomination) Quo Vadis – Herschel McCoy Tales of Hoffmann – Hein Heckroth |
| Best Film Editing ||
| A Place in the Sun – William Hornbeck‡ An American in Paris – Adrienne Fazan Decision Before Dawn – Dorothy Spencer Quo Vadis – Ralph E. Winters The Well – Chester Schaeffer ||

### Best Special Effects

* When Worlds Collide – Paramount.

### Honorary Foreign Language Film Award

* To Rashomon - voted by the Board of Governors as the most outstanding foreign language film released in the United States during 1951.

### Honorary Award

* To Gene Kelly in appreciation of his versatility as an actor, singer, director and dancer, and specifically for his brilliant achievements in the art of choreography on film.

### Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award

* Arthur Freed

## Presenters and performers
### Presenters

* Lucille Ball (Presenter: Short Subject Awards)
* Charles Brackett (Presenter: Honorary Award to Gene Kelly)
* Leslie Caron (Presenter: Best Foreign Language Film)
* Marge and Gower Champion (Presenters: Best Art Direction)
* Cyd Charisse (Presenter: Best Sound Recording)
* Ronald Colman (Presenter: Best Actress)
* Sally Forrest (Presenter: Best Special Effects)
* Zsa Zsa Gabor (Presenter: Best Costume Design)
* Greer Garson (Presenter: Best Actor)
* Jesse L. Lasky (Presenter: Best Motion Picture)
* Claire Luce (Presenter: Writing Awards)
* Joseph L. Mankiewicz (Presenter: Best Director)
* George Murphy (Presenter: Scientific or Technical Awards)
* Donald O'Connor (Presenter: Music Awards)
* Janice Rule (Presenter: Documentary Awards)
* George Sanders (Presenter: Best Supporting Actress)
* Constance Smith (Presenter: Best Film Editing)
* Claire Trevor (Presenter: Best Supporting Actor)
* Vera-Ellen (Presenter: Best Cinematography)
* Darryl F. Zanuck (Presenter: Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award)

### Performers

* Kay Brown
* Dick Haymes
* Howard Keel and Jane Powell
* Jane Wyman

## Multiple nominations and awards

Films with multiple nominations :
| Nominations | Film |
| 12 | A Streetcar Named Desire |
| 9 | A Place in the Sun |
| 8 | An American in Paris |
| 8 | Quo Vadis |
| 5 | David and Bathsheba |
| 5 | Death of a Salesman |
| 4 | The African Queen |
| 4 | Detective Story |
| 3 | The Great Caruso |
| 2 | The Blue Veil |
| 2 | Bright Victory |
| 2 | Decision Before Dawn |
| 2 | The Frogmen |
| 2 | Here Comes the Groom |
| 2 | La Ronde |
| 2 | On the Riviera |
| 2 | Show Boat |
| 2 | The Tales of Hoffmann |
| 2 | The Well |
Films with multiple awards :
| Awards | Film |
| 6 | An American in Paris |
| A Place in the Sun |
| 4 | A Streetcar Named Desire |