| 14th Academy Awards | |
|---|---|
| Date | February 26, 1942 |
| Site | Biltmore Bowl,Biltmore Hotel,Los Angeles,California, USA |
| Hosted by | Bob Hope |
| Highlights | |
| Best Picture | How Green Was My Valley |
| Most awards | How Green Was My Valley (5) |
| Most nominations | Sergeant York (11) |
The14th Academy Awards honored film achievements in 1941 and were held at theBiltmore Hotel inLos Angeles,California. The ceremony was briefly cancelled due to thePearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941.[1]
The ceremony is now considered notable as the year in whichCitizen Kane failed to win Best Picture, losing toJohn Ford'sHow Green Was My Valley. Later regarded as thegreatest film ever made,Citizen Kane was nominated for nine awards but won only one, forBest Original Screenplay.
John Ford won his thirdBest Director award forHow Green Was My Valley, becoming the second to do so (after Frank Capra), and the first to win the award in consecutive years (followingThe Grapes of Wrath in1940).
Much public attention was focused on the Best Actress race between sibling rivalsJoan Fontaine, forAlfred Hitchcock’sSuspicion, andOlivia de Havilland, forHold Back the Dawn. Fontaine won, becoming the only acting winner from a film directed by Hitchcock.
The Little Foxes set a record by receiving nine nominations without winning a single Oscar; this mark was matched byPeyton Place in 1957, and exceeded byThe Turning Point andThe Color Purple, both of which received 11 nominations without a win.
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Nominations were announced on February 6, 1942. Winners are listed first, highlighted inboldface, and marked with a dagger symbol (‡).[2]
| Awards | Film |
|---|---|
| 5 | How Green Was My Valley |
| 2 | Here Comes Mr. Jordan |
| Sergeant York |
This year marked the debut of theAcademy Award for Best Documentary Feature as Special Awards. From the next ceremony it will be awarded competitively each year, with the exception of 1946.
Judy Garland sang the unofficial national anthem of the United States at the time, "My Country 'Tis of Thee".
Bette Davis had sought to open the ceremony to the public for the benefit of theAmerican Red Cross, but was turned down and she ended up resigning from her post as President of AMPAS over this.[1]
A portion of the ceremony was broadcast byCBS Radio.[4]
