| 50th Academy Awards | |
|---|---|
 Official poster | |
| Date | April 3, 1978 |
| Site | Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Hosted by | Bob Hope |
| Produced by | Howard W. Koch |
| Directed by | Marty Pasetta |
| Highlights | |
| Best Picture | Annie Hall |
| Most awards | Star Wars (6) |
| Most nominations | Julia andThe Turning Point (11) |
| TV in the United States | |
| Network | ABC |
| Duration | 2 hours, 55 minutes[1] |
| Ratings | 48.5 million 36.3% (Nielsen ratings) |
The50th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honoredfilms released in 1977 and took place on April 3, 1978, at theDorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. During the ceremony, AMPAS presentedAcademy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 22 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States byABC, was produced byHoward W. Koch and directed by Marty Pasetta.[2] Actor and comedianBob Hope hosted the show for the 19th time.[3] He first presided over the12th ceremony held in 1940 and had last served as a co-host of the47th ceremony held in 1975.[4] Five days earlier, in a ceremony held atThe Beverly Hilton inBeverly Hills, California, on March 29, theAcademy Scientific and Technical Awards were presented by hostsKirk Douglas andGregory Peck.[5]
Annie Hall won four awards, includingBest Picture.[6] Other winners includedStar Wars with six awards,Julia with three, andClose Encounters of the Third Kind,The Goodbye Girl,Gravity Is My Enemy,I'll Find a Way,A Little Night Music,Madame Rosa,The Sand Castle,Who Are the DeBolts? And Where Did They Get Nineteen Kids?, andYou Light Up My Life with one. In addition,Close Encounters of the Third Kind andStar Wars were each presented with an additional Special Award. The telecast garnered 48.5 million viewers in the United States.
The nominees for the 50th Academy Awards were announced on February 21, 1978.Julia andThe Turning Point tied for the most nominations with eleven each.[7] The winners were announced during the awards ceremony on April 3.Woody Allen became the first person to receive nominations for acting, directing, and screenwriting for the same film sinceOrson Welles, who previously achieved this feat for 1941'sCitizen Kane.[8] With its eleven nominations and zero wins,The Turning Point was the most nominated film in Oscar history without a win.[a]Vanessa Redgrave became the first performer to win in a supporting acting category for playing a titular role (viaJulia).[10]
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Winners are listed first, highlighted inboldface and indicated with a double dagger (‡).[11]
The award recognizes individuals whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the motion picture industry.[14]
The award honors "creative producers whose bodies of work reflect a consistently high quality of motion picture production".[15]
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The following individuals (in order of appearance) presented awards or performed musical numbers:[16]
| Name | Role | Performed | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nelson Riddle | Musical arranger and conductor | Orchestral | [17][18] |
| Debbie Reynolds | Performer | "Look How Far We've Come" | |
| Debby Boone | Performer | "You Light Up My Life" fromYou Light Up My Life | |
| Gloria Loring | Performer | "Candle on the Water" fromPete's Dragon and "Someone's Waiting for You" fromThe Rescuers | |
| Sammy Davis Jr. Marvin Hamlisch | Performers | "Come Light the Candles" during atribute honoringRichard Carlson,Zero Mostel,Peter Finch,Joan Crawford,Bing Crosby,Elvis Presley,Groucho Marx, andCharlie Chaplin[18] | |
| Aretha Franklin | Performer | "Nobody Does It Better" fromThe Spy Who Loved Me | |
| Jane Powell | Performer | "The Slipper and the Rose Waltz (He Danced with Me)" fromThe Slipper and the Rose | |
| Academy Awards Chorus | Performers | "That's Entertainment!" |
In December 1977, the Academy announced that actor and comedianBob Hope was chosen to host the 1978 ceremony. As a result of his selection, he became the first person to emcee the Oscars gala solo since the40th ceremony held in 1968. Oscars gala producerHoward W. Koch explained his decision to hire Hope as host, stating, "The multiple emcee system of recent years is a good one, but we decided this year's show called for a single master of ceremonies. And we couldn't think of anyone better suited for the role than Bob Hope."[19]
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Academy and the Oscars, AMPAS hosted a dinner reception at theLos Angeles Biltmore Hotel on May 11, 1977. The gala, which Hope also hosted, took place in the same spot as the organization's first meeting, exactly 50 years earlier.[20] ABC also aired specials prior to the ceremony to highlight the history of the awards.[21]
Prior to the ceremony,Vanessa Redgrave's Best Supporting Actress nomination was met with controversy due to her recent involvement withThe Palestinian, a documentary chronicling the activities of thePalestine Liberation Organization.[22] The film garnered controversy from several Jewish groups for itsanti-Israel commentary.[23] Outside of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on the day of the ceremony,Jewish Defense League protestors burned a statue of the actress, while counter-protestors wavedPalestinian flags.[24] After paying tribute to writerLillian Hellman and the titular character ofJulia for which she won the Best Supporting Actress award, Redgrave remarked in her acceptance speech, "And I salute you, and I pay tribute to you, and I think you should be very proud that in the last few weeks you've stood firm, and you have refused to be intimidated by the threats of a small bunch ofZionist hoodlums." She concluded her speech stating, "I salute you and I thank you and I pledge to you that I will continue to fight againstAntisemitism and fascism." The comments received both applause and booing amongst the audience.[25] Later during the ceremony, screenwriterPaddy Chayefsky prefaced his presentation of the screenplay awards, saying, "I would like to suggest to Miss Redgrave that her winning an Academy Award is not a pivotal moment in history, does not require a proclamation and a simple ‘Thank you’ would’ve sufficed."[24]
Los Angeles Times film criticCharles Champlin wrote, "The Oscar show as a show had more of what it has recently been short of, which is the presence of authentic film stars. It had refreshingly less of what it has sometimes had too much of, which is awkward and underrehearsed cross-talk."[26] Columnist Aaron Gold of theChicago Tribune remarked, "Howard Koch andAllan Carr deserve Oscars for the work they did in creating an exciting and glamorous show, as they promised. Master of ceremonies Bob Hope... brought the air of dignity and continuity to the show that it lacked last year."[27]The News & Observer entertainment columnist commented, "If the evening was never as nimble as a dance byFred Astaire, it was jam-packed with nostalgia, suspense, laughter, a few tears, and production numbers as striking as anything in Oscar's history."[1]
John Huddy of theMiami Herald observed, "The Redgrave-Chayevsky exchange enlivened a long Oscar night in which there were too many silly songs, too many special awards that nobody gave a hoot about, and too many dreary acceptance speeches by obscure if talented short-subject makers."[28]The Arizona Republic columnist Mike Petryni wrote, "Produced this year by Howard Koch, who incidentally co-wroteCasablanca, the show seemed, as usual, rather dull, draggy and sluggish.[29] Writing for theFort Worth Star-Telegram said, "Monday's Academy Awards telecast seemed like one of the dullest in recent years." He noted that the Best Original Song performances were longer and more ridiculous than in previous years, and he lamented that winnersJason Robards andWoody Allen were absent to collect their awards.[30]
The American telecast on ABC drew in an average of 48.5 million people over the length of the entire ceremony, which was a 22% increase from theprevious year's ceremony.[31] The show drew higherNielsen ratings compared to the previous ceremony, with 36.3% of households watching with a 68% share.[32] The ceremony presentation received five nominations at the30th Primetime Emmys, but failed to win any of its nominations.[33]
