20th Academy Awards

The 20th Academy Awards spread awards around, with no film receiving more than 3 awards, the last time this would happen until the 78th Academy Awards.

The surprise winner for this year was Loretta Young for The Farmer's Daughter despite Rosalind Russell campaigning heavily for her performance in Mourning Becomes Electra.

James Baskett received a special Oscar for portrayal of Uncle Remus in Song of the South, which had the effect of taking him out of the running for a Best Actor nomination. Nonetheless, civil rights organizations were unhappy at what was believed to be an unflattering portrait of African-Americans.

The 1947 Academy Award Winners

Picture: Gentlemen's Agreement
Actor: Ronald Colman (A Double Life)
Actress: Loretta Young (The Farmer's Daughter)
Supporting Actor: Edmund Gwenn (Miracle on 34th Street)
Supporting Actress: Celeste Holm (Gentlemen's Agreement)
Director: Elia Kazan (Gentlemen's Agreement)
Adapted Screenplay: George Seaton (Miracle on 34th Street)
Original Screenplay: Sidney Sheldon (The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer) / Valentine Davies (Miracle on 34th Street)
Song: "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" (Song of the South)
Score: A Double Life / Mother Wore Tights
Cinematography: Great Expectations (Black and White) / Black Narcissus (Color)
Art / Set Decoration: Great Expectations (Black and White) / Black Narcissus (Color)
Film Editing: Body and Soul
Sound: The Bishop's Wife
Special Effects: Green Dolphin Street
Short Films: Tweetie Pie (Cartoons) / Goodbye Miss Turlock (One-Reel) / Climbing the Matterhorn (Two-Reel)
Documentaries: First Steps (Short) / Design for Death (Feature)

The twentieth Academy Awards ceremony was held on Saturday, March 20, 1948 at the Shrine Civic Auditorium. A survey of how a sampling of Academy members voted was released by Daily Variety on the day of the Academy Awards. Though many of their predictions proved correct, they were horribly wrong in their prediction for best actress. The winner, Loretta Young (The Farmer's Daughter) came in fifth (last) in their listing. After this survey, the Academy asked their members to not reveal how they had voted. There was no host for this ceremony.