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 SunTemplate:Double dagger 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 AllnutTemplate:Double dagger 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 DuboisTemplate:Double dagger 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" MitchellTemplate:Double dagger 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 KowalskiTemplate:Double dagger 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 LernerTemplate:Double dagger 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 DreiserTemplate:Double dagger 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 BernardTemplate:Double dagger 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-TikiTemplate:Double dagger I Was a Communist for the FBI
Best Documentary (Short Subject)	Best Short Subject (One-Reel)
BenjyTemplate:Double dagger One Who Came Back The Seeing Eye	World of KidsTemplate:Double dagger Ridin' the Rails The Story of Time
Best Short Subject (Two-Reel)	Best Short Subject (Cartoon)
Nature's Half AcreTemplate:Double dagger 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 WaxmanTemplate:Double dagger 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 ChaplinTemplate:Double dagger 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 MercerTemplate:Double dagger "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 ShearerTemplate:Double dagger 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 HopkinsTemplate:Double dagger 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 GleasonTemplate:Double dagger 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. MellorTemplate:Double dagger 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 AltonTemplate:Double dagger 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 HeadTemplate:Double dagger 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 SharaffTemplate:Double dagger 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 HornbeckTemplate:Double dagger 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
	Quo Vadis
5	David and Bathsheba
	Death of a Salesman
4	The African Queen
	Detective Story
3	The Great Caruso
2	The Blue Veil
	Bright Victory
	Decision Before Dawn
	The Frogmen
	Here Comes the Groom
	La Ronde
	On the Riviera
	Show Boat
	The Tales of Hoffmann
	The Well

Films with multiple awards

Awards	Film
6	An American in Paris
A Place in the Sun
4	A Streetcar Named Desire

See also

• 9th Golden Globe Awards
• 1951 in film
• 3rd Primetime Emmy Awards
• 4th Primetime Emmy Awards
• 5th British Academy Film Awards
• 6th Tony Awards