1938 Oscars: Winners and Nominees

57 films were recognised at the 1938 Academy Awards, across 21 categories. 15 of them took home at least one award.

The biggest winner of the year was The Life of Emile Zola, with 3 awards, ahead of Lost Horizon with 2. The categories below run from Music (Scoring), Art Direction and Best Picture to the smaller prizes, and in every one the winner is listed first, followed by the other nominees.

Each title links to the film's full award history at all four awards, and the links at the bottom step to the previous and next ceremony.

Last updated August 12, 2026

Music (Scoring)

One Hundred Men and a Girl(1937)
Universal Studio Music Department, Charles Previn, head of department (no composer credit)
Winner
In Old Chicago(1938)
20th Century-Fox Studio Music Department, Louis Silvers, head of department (no composer credit)
Lost Horizon(1937)
Columbia Studio Music Department, Morris Stoloff, head of department (Score by Dimitri Tiomkin)
Make a Wish(1937)
Principal Productions, Dr. Hugo Riesenfeld, musical director (Score by Dr. Hugo Riesenfeld)
Maytime(1937)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Music Department, Nat W. Finston, head of department (Score by Herbert Stothart)
Portia on Trial(1937)
Republic Studio Music Department, Alberto Colombo, head of department (Score by Alberto Colombo)
Quality Street(1937)
RKO Radio Studio Music Department, Roy Webb, musical director (Score by Roy Webb)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs(1937)
Walt Disney Studio Music Department, Leigh Harline, head of department (Score by Frank Churchill, Leigh Harline and Paul J. Smith)
Something to Sing About(1937)
Grand National Studio Music Department, C. Bakaleinikoff, musical director (Score by Victor Schertzinger)
Souls at Sea(1937)
Paramount Studio Music Department, Boris Morros, head of department (Score by W. Franke Harling and Milan Roder)
The Hurricane(1937)
Samuel Goldwyn Studio Music Department, Alfred Newman, head of department (Score by Alfred Newman)
The Life of Emile Zola(1937)
Warner Bros. Studio Music Department, Leo Forbstein, head of department (Score by Max Steiner)
The Prisoner of Zenda(1937)
Selznick International Pictures Music Department, Alfred Newman, musical director (Score by Alfred Newman)
Way Out West(1937)
Hal Roach Studio Music Department, Marvin Hatley, head of department (Score by Marvin Hatley)

Art Direction

Lost Horizon(1937)
Stephen Goosson
Winner
A Damsel in Distress(1937)
Carroll Clark
Conquest(1937)
Cedric Gibbons, William Horning
Dead End(1937)
Richard Day
Every Day's a Holiday(1937)
Wiard Ihnen
Manhattan Merry-Go-Round(1937)
John Victor Mackay
Souls at Sea(1937)
Hans Dreier, Roland Anderson
The Life of Emile Zola(1937)
Anton Grot
The Prisoner of Zenda(1937)
Lyle Wheeler
Vogues of 1938 (Walter Wanger's Vogues of 1938)(1937)
Alexander Toluboff
Wee Willie Winkie(1937)
William S. Darling, David Hall
You're a Sweetheart(1937)
Jack Otterson

Best Picture

The Life of Emile Zola(1937)
Warner Bros.
Winner
A Star Is Born(1937)
Selznick International Pictures
Captains Courageous(1937)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Dead End(1937)
Samuel Goldwyn Productions
In Old Chicago(1938)
20th Century-Fox
Lost Horizon(1937)
Columbia
One Hundred Men and a Girl(1937)
Universal
Stage Door(1937)
RKO Radio
The Awful Truth(1937)
Columbia
The Good Earth(1937)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Sound Recording

The Hurricane(1937)
United Artists Studio Sound Department, Thomas T. Moulton, Sound Director
Winner
Hitting a New High(1937)
RKO Radio Studio Sound Department, John Aalberg, Sound Director
In Old Chicago(1938)
20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, E. H. Hansen, Sound Director
Lost Horizon(1937)
Columbia Studio Sound Department, John Livadary, Sound Director
Maytime(1937)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Douglas Shearer, Sound Director
One Hundred Men and a Girl(1937)
Universal Studio Sound Department, Homer G. Tasker, Sound Director
The Girl Said No(1937)
Grand National Studio Sound Department, A. E. Kaye, Sound Director
The Life of Emile Zola(1937)
Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department, Nathan Levinson, Sound Director
Topper(1937)
Hal Roach Studio Sound Department, Elmer A. Raguse, Sound Director
Wells Fargo(1937)
Paramount Studio Sound Department, Loren L. Ryder, Sound Director

Dance Direction

A Damsel in Distress(1937)
"Fun House" from "A Damsel in Distress"
Winner
A Day at the Races(1937)
"All God's Children Got Rhythm" from "A Day at the Races"
Ali Baba Goes to Town(1937)
"Swing Is Here to Stay" from "Ali Baba Goes to Town"
Ready, Willing and Able(1937)
"Too Marvelous for Words" from "Ready, Willing and Able"
Thin Ice(1937)
"Prince Igor Suite" from "Thin Ice"
Varsity Show(1937)
"The Finale" from "Varsity Show"
Waikiki Wedding(1937)
"Luau" from "Waikiki Wedding"

Actor

Captains Courageous(1937)
Spencer Tracy
Winner
A Star Is Born(1937)
Fredric March
Conquest(1937)
Charles Boyer
Night Must Fall(1937)
Robert Montgomery
The Life of Emile Zola(1937)
Paul Muni

Actor in a Supporting Role

The Life of Emile Zola(1937)
Joseph Schildkraut
Winner
Lost Horizon(1937)
H. B. Warner
The Awful Truth(1937)
Ralph Bellamy
The Hurricane(1937)
Thomas Mitchell
Topper(1937)
Roland Young

Actress

The Good Earth(1937)
Luise Rainer
Winner
A Star Is Born(1937)
Janet Gaynor
Camille(1936)
Greta Garbo
Stella Dallas(1937)
Barbara Stanwyck
The Awful Truth(1937)
Irene Dunne

Actress in a Supporting Role

In Old Chicago(1938)
Alice Brady
Winner
Dead End(1937)
Claire Trevor
Night Must Fall(1937)
Dame May Whitty
Stage Door(1937)
Andrea Leeds
Stella Dallas(1937)
Anne Shirley

Assistant Director

In Old Chicago(1938)
Robert Webb
Winner
A Star Is Born(1937)
Eric Stacey
Lost Horizon(1937)
C. C. Coleman, Jr.
Souls at Sea(1937)
Hal Walker
The Life of Emile Zola(1937)
Russ Saunders

Directing

The Awful Truth(1937)
Leo McCarey
Winner
A Star Is Born(1937)
William Wellman
Stage Door(1937)
Gregory La Cava
The Good Earth(1937)
Sidney Franklin
The Life of Emile Zola(1937)
William Dieterle

Film Editing

Lost Horizon(1937)
Gene Havlick, Gene Milford
Winner
Captains Courageous(1937)
Elmo Veron
One Hundred Men and a Girl(1937)
Bernard W. Burton
The Awful Truth(1937)
Al Clark
The Good Earth(1937)
Basil Wrangell

Music (Song)

Waikiki Wedding(1937)
Sweet Leilani in "Waikiki Wedding" Music and Lyrics by Harry Owens
Winner
Artists & Models(1937)
Whispers In The Dark in "Artists and Models" Music by Frederick Hollander; Lyrics by Leo Robin
Mr. Dodd Takes the Air(1937)
Remember Me in "Mr. Dodd Takes the Air" Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Al Dubin
Shall We Dance(1937)
They Can't Take That Away From Me in "Shall We Dance" Music by George Gershwin; Lyrics by Ira Gershwin
Vogues of 1938 (Walter Wanger's Vogues of 1938)(1937)
That Old Feeling in "Walter Wanger's Vogues of 1938" Music by Sammy Fain; Lyrics by Lew Brown

Writing (Original Story)

A Star Is Born(1937)
William A. Wellman, Robert Carson
Winner
Black Legion(1937)
Robert Lord
In Old Chicago(1938)
Niven Busch
One Hundred Men and a Girl(1937)
Hans Kraly
The Life of Emile Zola(1937)
Heinz Herald, Geza Herczeg

Writing (Screenplay)

The Life of Emile Zola(1937)
Norman Reilly Raine, Heinz Herald, Geza Herczeg
Winner
A Star Is Born(1937)
Dorothy Parker, Alan Campbell, Robert Carson
Captains Courageous(1937)
John Lee Mahin, Marc Connelly, Dale Van Every
Stage Door(1937)
Morris Ryskind, Anthony Veiller
The Awful Truth(1937)
Vina Delmar