15th Academy Awards

15th Academy Awards
DateMarch 4, 1943
SiteCocoanut Grove, The Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles, California, USA
Hosted byBob Hope
Highlights
Best PictureMrs. Miniver
Most awardsMrs. Miniver (6)
Most nominationsMrs. Miniver (12)

The 15th Academy Awards was held in the Cocoanut Grove at The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on March 4, 1943, honoring the films of 1942.[1] The ceremony is most famous for the speech by Greer Garson; accepting the award for Best Actress, Garson spoke for nearly six minutes, considered to be the longest Oscars acceptance speech.[2][3] A portion of the ceremony was broadcast by CBS Radio.[4]

Mrs. Miniver was the second film (after My Man Godfrey in 1936) to receive nominations in all four acting categories, as well as the first film to receive five acting nominations; it won six of its twelve nominations, including Best Picture and William Wyler's first of three Best Director awards.[1][5][6][7]

Irving Berlin presented the Academy Award for Best Original Song, which he ended up winning himself for "White Christmas".[8] There was also a four-way tie for Best Documentary Feature, a unique occurrence.[9]

  1. ^ a b "FILM 'OSCAR' PRIZE FOR 'MRS. MINIVER'; The MGM Picture, Featuring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon, Best for 1942". The New York Times. March 5, 1943. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  2. ^ Wallechinsky, David; Wallace, Irving (1975). The People's Almanac. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc. p. 836. ISBN 0-385-04060-1.
  3. ^ "And the Oscar for the longest speech goes to ... Greer Garson". Belfast Telegraph. March 11, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  4. ^ Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. pp. 4–5. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  5. ^ Breznican, Anthony (March 3, 2018). "Oscar Flashback: 'Mrs. Miniver' won big 75 years ago — and its message of resistance endures". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  6. ^ King, Susan (September 18, 2022). "Oscars flashback to 1943: Patriotic fare fares well". GoldDerby. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  7. ^ Ciriaco, Andrea (February 1, 2023). "10 Directors Who Have Won More Than One Directing Oscar". Collider. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  8. ^ King, Susan (February 28, 2016). "For Oscars presenter Irving Berlin, the original-song winner was like an old friend". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  9. ^ King, Susan (January 25, 2023). "Oscars flashback to the first documentary race: 25 nominees and 4 winners in 1943". GoldDerby. Retrieved August 15, 2023.