1941 Oscars: Winners and Nominees

69 films were recognised at the 1941 Academy Awards, across 22 categories. 16 of them took home at least one award.

The biggest winner of the year was The Thief of Bagdad, with 3 awards, ahead of Pinocchio with 2. The categories below run from Music (Original Score), Special Effects and Art Direction (Black-and-White) 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 (Original Score)

Pinocchio(1940)
Leigh Harline, Paul J. Smith, Ned Washington
Winner
Arizona(1940)
Victor Young
Dark Command(1940)
Victor Young
My Favorite Wife(1940)
Roy Webb
North West Mounted Police(1940)
Victor Young
One Million B.C.(1940)
Werner Heymann
Our Town(1940)
Aaron Copland
Rebecca(1940)
Franz Waxman
The Fight for Life(1940)
Louis Gruenberg
The Great Dictator(1940)
Meredith Willson
The House of the Seven Gables(1940)
Frank Skinner
The Howards of Virginia(1940)
Richard Hageman
The Letter(1940)
Max Steiner
The Long Voyage Home(1940)
Richard Hageman
The Mark of Zorro(1940)
Alfred Newman
The Thief of Bagdad(1940)
Miklos Rozsa
Waterloo Bridge(1940)
Herbert Stothart

Special Effects

The Thief of Bagdad(1940)
Photographic Effects by Lawrence Butler; Sound Effects by Jack Whitney
Winner
Boom Town(1940)
Photographic Effects by A. Arnold Gillespie; Sound Effects by Douglas Shearer
Dr. Cyclops(1940)
Photographic Effects by Gordon Jennings, Farciot Edouart
Foreign Correspondent(1940)
Photographic Effects by Paul Eagler; Sound Effects by Thomas T. Moulton
One Million B.C.(1940)
Photographic Effects by Roy Seawright; Sound Effects by Elmer Raguse
Rebecca(1940)
Photographic Effects by Jack Cosgrove; Sound Effects by Arthur Johns
Swiss Family Robinson(1940)
Photographic Effects by Vernon L. Walker; Sound Effects by John O. Aalberg
The Blue Bird(1940)
Photographic Effects by Fred Sersen; Sound Effects by E. H. Hansen
The Boys from Syracuse(1940)
Photographic Effects by John P. Fulton; Sound Effects by Bernard B. Brown, Joseph Lapis
The Invisible Man Returns(1940)
Photographic Effects by John P. Fulton; Sound Effects by Bernard B. Brown, William Hedgecock
The Long Voyage Home(1940)
Photographic Effects by R. T. Layton, R. O. Binger; Sound Effects by Thomas T. Moulton
The Sea Hawk(1940)
Photographic Effects by Byron Haskin; Sound Effects by Nathan Levinson
Typhoon(1940)
Photographic Effects by Farciot Edouart, Gordon Jennings; Sound Effects by Loren Ryder
Women in War(1940)
Photographic Effects by Howard J. Lydecker, William Bradford, Ellis J. Thackery; Sound Effects by Herbert Norsch

Art Direction (Black-and-White)

Pride and Prejudice(1940)
Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse
Winner
Arise, My Love(1940)
Hans Dreier, Robert Usher
Arizona(1940)
Lionel Banks, Robert Peterson
Dark Command(1940)
John Victor Mackay
Foreign Correspondent(1940)
Alexander Golitzen
Lillian Russell(1940)
Richard Day, Joseph C. Wright
My Favorite Wife(1940)
Van Nest Polglase, Mark-Lee Kirk
My Son, My Son!(1940)
John DuCasse Schulze
Our Town(1940)
Lewis J. Rachmil
Rebecca(1940)
Lyle Wheeler
The Boys from Syracuse(1940)
John Otterson
The Sea Hawk(1940)
Anton Grot
The Westerner(1940)
James Basevi

Sound Recording

Strike Up the Band(1940)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Douglas Shearer, Sound Director
Winner
Behind the News(1940)
Republic Studio Sound Department, Charles L. Lootens, Sound Director
Captain Caution(1940)
Hal Roach Studio Sound Department, Elmer A. Raguse, Sound Director
Kitty Foyle(1940)
RKO Radio Studio Sound Department, John Aalberg, Sound Director
North West Mounted Police(1940)
Paramount Studio Sound Department, Loren L. Ryder, Sound Director
Our Town(1940)
Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department, Thomas T. Moulton, Sound Director
Spring Parade(1940)
Universal Studio Sound Department, Bernard B. Brown, Sound Director
The Grapes of Wrath(1940)
20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, E. H. Hansen, Sound Director
The Howards of Virginia(1940)
General Service Sound Department, Jack Whitney, Sound Director
The Sea Hawk(1940)
Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department, Nathan Levinson, Sound Director
Too Many Husbands(1940)
Columbia Studio Sound Department, John Livadary, Sound Director

Best Picture

Rebecca(1940)
Selznick International Pictures
Winner
All This, and Heaven Too(1940)
Warner Bros.
Foreign Correspondent(1940)
Walter Wanger (production company)
Kitty Foyle(1940)
RKO Radio
Our Town(1940)
Sol Lesser (production company)
The Grapes of Wrath(1940)
20th Century-Fox
The Great Dictator(1940)
Charles Chaplin Productions
The Letter(1940)
Warner Bros.
The Long Voyage Home(1940)
Argosy-Wanger
The Philadelphia Story(1940)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Cinematography (Black-and-White)

Rebecca(1940)
George Barnes
Winner
Abe Lincoln in Illinois(1940)
James Wong Howe
All This, and Heaven Too(1940)
Ernest Haller
Arise, My Love(1940)
Charles B. Lang, Jr.
Boom Town(1940)
Harold Rosson
Foreign Correspondent(1940)
Spring Parade(1940)
Joseph Valentine
The Letter(1940)
Gaetano (Tony) Gaudio
The Long Voyage Home(1940)
Gregg Toland
Waterloo Bridge(1940)
Joseph Ruttenberg

Music (Scoring)

Tin Pan Alley(1940)
Alfred Newman
Winner
Arise, My Love(1940)
Victor Young
Hit Parade of 1941(1940)
Cy Feuer
Irene(1940)
Anthony Collins
Our Town(1940)
Aaron Copland
Second Chorus(1940)
Artie Shaw
Spring Parade(1940)
Charles Previn
Strike Up the Band(1940)
Roger Edens, Georgie Stoll
The Sea Hawk(1940)
Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Music (Song)

Pinocchio(1940)
When You Wish Upon A Star in "Pinocchio" Music by Leigh Harline; Lyrics by Ned Washington
Winner
Down Argentine Way(1940)
Down Argentina Way in "Down Argentine Way" Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Mack Gordon
Hit Parade of 1941(1940)
Who Am I? in "Hit Parade of 1941" Music by Jule Styne; Lyrics by Walter Bullock
Music in My Heart(1940)
It's A Blue World in "Music in My Heart" Music and Lyrics by Chet Forrest and Bob Wright
Rhythm on the River(1940)
Only Forever in "Rhythm on the River" Music by James Monaco; Lyrics by John Burke
Second Chorus(1940)
Love Of My Life in "Second Chorus" Music by Artie Shaw; Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
Spring Parade(1940)
Waltzing In The Clouds in "Spring Parade" Music by Robert Stolz; Lyrics by Gus Kahn
Strike Up the Band(1940)
Our Love Affair in "Strike Up the Band" Music and Lyrics by Roger Edens and Arthur Freed
You'll Find Out(1940)
I'd Know You Anywhere in "You'll Find Out" Music by Jimmy McHugh; Lyrics by Johnny Mercer