# 1st Academy Awards

The 1st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and hosted by AMPAS president Douglas Fairbanks, honored the best films from 1 August 1927 to 31 July 1928 and took place on May 16, 1929, at a private dinner held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Tickets cost $5 ($92 in 2024, considering inflation); 270 people attended the event, which lasted 15 minutes. It is the only Academy Awards ceremony not broadcast on either radio or television; a radio broadcast was introduced for the 2nd Academy Awards.
During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards – later to be colloquially known as "Oscars", in 12 categories. The winners had been announced three months ahead of the ceremony. Some nominations did not reference a specific film, such as Ralph Hammeras and Nugent Slaughter, who were nominated for Engineering Effects, a category that was dropped the following year—along with those for Unique and Artistic Production, Best Director (Comedy), and Best Title Writing. Unlike later ceremonies, an actor could be awarded for multiple films: Emil Jannings won Best Actor for his work in both The Way of All Flesh and The Last Command, while Best Actress winner Janet Gaynor was honored for three films. Charlie Chaplin and Warner Brothers each received an honorary award. Jannings, a Swiss-born performer who gained fame in Berlin, had been notified in advance of his victory; he subsequently posed for pictures with his statuette before leaving for Germany.
Major winners at the ceremony included 7th Heaven and Sunrise, with three awards apiece (the latter winning for Unique and Artistic Picture), and Wings receiving two awards, including Outstanding Picture. The academy decided retroactively that Wings's award was its highest honor the following year and dropped Unique and Artistic Picture.

## Background

Louis B. Mayer, the founder of the Louis B. Mayer Pictures Corporation, which would later merge into Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), established the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in 1927. Mayer's purpose in creating the award was to unite the five branches of the film industry: actors, directors, producers, technicians, and writers. Mayer commented on the creation of the awards: "I found that the best way to handle [filmmakers] was to hang medals all over them ... If I got them cups and awards, they'd kill themselves to produce what I wanted. That's why the Academy Award was created." Mayer asked Cedric Gibbons, art director of MGM, to design an Academy Award trophy. Nominees were notified through a telegram in February 1928. In August 1928, Mayer contacted the Academy Central Board of Judges to decide the winners. However, according to the American director King Vidor, the voting for the Academy Award for Best Picture was in the hands of the AMPAS founders: Mayer, Douglas Fairbanks, Sid Grauman, Mary Pickford, and Joseph Schenck.

## Ceremony

The ceremony was held on May 16, 1929, at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, located in Los Angeles. It consisted of a private dinner with 36 banquet tables, where 270 people attended, and tickets cost $5 (equivalent to $92 in 2024). Actors and actresses arrived at the hotel in luxury vehicles, and many fans attended to encourage celebrities. The ceremony was not broadcast on radio, and was hosted by AMPAS director Fairbanks during a 15-minute event.

### Overview

The winners were announced three months before the ceremony. The recipients included: Emil Jannings, the inaugural first award recipient for Best Actor (The Way of All Flesh and The Last Command); Janet Gaynor for Best Actress (7th Heaven, Street Angel, and Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans); Frank Borzage for Best Director, Drama (7th Heaven); Lewis Milestone for Best Director, Comedy (Two Arabian Knights); and Wings for Best Picture (the most expensive film of its time). Two presentations were made of a Special Award: to Charles Chaplin and Warner Bros.
Charlie Chaplin, a multiple nominee for one movie (Best Actor, Best Writer, and Best Director, Comedy; all for The Circus) (1928), has been removed from the list so as to recognize his total contribution to the industry; and Warner Bros., an award for pioneering talking pictures (The Jazz Singer). Three categories were eliminated for subsequent presentations: Best Engineering Effects, Best Title Writing, and Best Unique and Artistic Quality of Production. The larger film producers received the preponderance of awards: Fox Film Corporation, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Paramount Pictures, Radio-Keith-Orpheum, and Warner Bros.

## Winners and nominees
### Awards

At the 1st Academy Awards (1927–1928), the nomination process allowed candidates to be nominated and awarded for a single film, multiple films, or without reference to any specific film.
Nominees were announced on February 2, 1929. Winners are listed first, in boldface, and indicated with an asterisk (*).
| Outstanding Picture Wings – Paramount Famous Lasky* The Racket – The Caddo Company 7th Heaven – Fox | Best Unique and Artistic Picture Sunrise – Fox* Chang – Paramount Famous Lasky The Crowd – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Best Directing (Comedy Picture) Lewis Milestone – Two Arabian Knights* Charles Chaplin – The Circus Ted Wilde – Speedy | Best Directing (Dramatic Picture) Frank Borzage – 7th Heaven* Herbert Brenon – Sorrell and Son King Vidor – The Crowd |
| Best Actor Emil Jannings – The Last Command as General Dolgorucki (Grand Duke Sergius Alexander) and The Way of All Flesh as August Schilling* Richard Barthelmess – The Noose as Nickie Elkins and The Patent Leather Kid as The Patent Leather Kid Charles Chaplin – The Circus as A Tramp | Best Actress Janet Gaynor – 7th Heaven as Diane, Street Angel as Angela, and Sunrise as The Wife* Louise Dresser – A Ship Comes In as Mrs. Pleznik Gloria Swanson – Sadie Thompson as Sadie Thompson |
| Best Writing (Original Story) Underworld – Ben Hecht* The Circus – Charles Chaplin The Last Command – Lajos Biro | Best Writing (Adaptation) 7th Heaven – Benjamin Glazer* Glorious Betsy – Anthony Coldeway The Jazz Singer – Alfred Cohn |
| Best Art Direction The Dove – William Cameron Menzies* Tempest – William Cameron Menzies* 7th Heaven – Harry Oliver Sunrise – Rochus Gliese | Best Cinematography Sunrise – Charles Rosher and Karl Struss* The Devil Dancer – George Barnes The Magic Flame – George Barnes Sadie Thompson – George Barnes |
| Best Engineering Effects Wings – Roy Pomeroy* No specific film – Ralph Hammeras No specific film – Nugent Slaughter | Best Writing (Title Writing) Joseph Farnham* – no specific film Gerald Duffy – The Private Life of Helen of Troy George Marion Jr. – no specific film |

#### Notes

* 1 2 3 The Circus originally received three nominations: Best Director (Comedy Picture), Best Actor, and Best Writing (Original Story) – for Charles Chaplin. However, the Academy subsequently decided to remove Chaplin's name from the competitive award categories and instead to confer upon him a Special Award "for acting, writing, directing and producing The Circus".
* ↑ Gerald Duffy's nomination for Best Writing (Title Writing) was a posthumous nomination.

### Special Awards

The following Honorary Awards – then called Special Awards – were conferred:
* To Charles Chaplin for acting, writing, directing and producing The Circus.
* To Warner Bros. for producing The Jazz Singer, the pioneer outstanding talking picture, which has revolutionized the industry.

## Multiple nominations and awards

| Nominations | Film |
| 5 | 7th Heaven |
| 4 | Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans |
| 3 | The Circus (Withdrawn nominations) |
| 2 | The Crowd |
| 2 | The Last Command |
| 2 | Sadie Thompson |
| 2 | Wings |
| Awards | Film |
| 3 | 7th Heaven |
| 3 | Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans |
| 2 | Wings |

## Changes to Academy Awards

After the 1st Academy Awards (1927–1928), the following changes were made by the AMPAS:
* Award categories were reduced from twelve to seven:
** The awards for Best Directing (Comedy Picture) and Best Directing (Dramatic Picture) were merged into a single Best Directing award.
** The award for Best Engineering Effects was discontinued.
** The award for Best Unique and Artistic Picture was discontinued.
** The awards for Best Writing (Adaptation) and Best Writing (Original Story) were merged into a single Best Writing award.
** The award for Best Writing (Title Writing) was discontinued.

## Gallery

* Wings is the first film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, which was at the time known as Outstanding Picture. Also won an award for the Best Engineering Effects.
* Sunrise won the Academy Award for Best Unique and Artistic Picture, the only year that such a prize was awarded. The prize was intended to honor prestige art films separately from "commercial fare".