1949 Oscars: Winners and Nominees

53 films were recognised at the 1949 Academy Awards, across 27 categories. 18 of them took home at least one award.

The biggest winner of the year was Hamlet, with 4 awards, ahead of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre with 3. The categories below run from Actor, Actor in a Supporting Role and Actress 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

Actor

Hamlet(1948)
Laurence Olivier
Winner
Johnny Belinda(1948)
Lew Ayres
Sitting Pretty(1948)
Clifton Webb
The Search(1948)
Montgomery Clift
When My Baby Smiles at Me(1948)
Dan Dailey

Actor in a Supporting Role

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre(1948)
Walter Huston
Winner
I Remember Mama(1948)
Oscar Homolka
Joan of Arc(1948)
José Ferrer
Johnny Belinda(1948)
Charles Bickford
The Luck of the Irish(1948)
Cecil Kellaway

Actress

Johnny Belinda(1948)
Jane Wyman
Winner
I Remember Mama(1948)
Irene Dunne
Joan of Arc(1948)
Ingrid Bergman
Sorry, Wrong Number(1948)
Barbara Stanwyck
The Snake Pit(1948)
Olivia de Havilland

Actress in a Supporting Role

Key Largo(1948)
Claire Trevor
Winner
Hamlet(1948)
Jean Simmons
I Remember Mama(1948)
Barbara Bel Geddes
I Remember Mama(1948)
Ellen Corby
Johnny Belinda(1948)
Agnes Moorehead

Best Picture

Hamlet(1948)
J. Arthur Rank-Two Cities Films
Winner
Johnny Belinda(1948)
Warner Bros.
The Red Shoes(1948)
J. Arthur Rank-Archers
The Snake Pit(1948)
20th Century-Fox
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre(1948)
Warner Bros.

Cinematography (Black-and-White)

The Naked City(1948)
William Daniels
Winner
A Foreign Affair(1948)
Charles B. Lang, Jr.
I Remember Mama(1948)
Nicholas Musuraca
Johnny Belinda(1948)
Ted McCord
Portrait of Jennie(1948)
Joseph August

Directing

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre(1948)
John Huston
Winner
Hamlet(1948)
Laurence Olivier
Johnny Belinda(1948)
Jean Negulesco
The Search(1948)
Fred Zinnemann
The Snake Pit(1948)
Anatole Litvak

Film Editing

The Naked City(1948)
Paul Weatherwax
Winner
Joan of Arc(1948)
Frank Sullivan
Johnny Belinda(1948)
David Weisbart
Red River(1948)
Christian Nyby
The Red Shoes(1948)
Reginald Mills

Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)

The Red Shoes(1948)
Brian Easdale
Winner
Hamlet(1948)
William Walton
Joan of Arc(1948)
Hugo Friedhofer
Johnny Belinda(1948)
Max Steiner
The Snake Pit(1948)
Alfred Newman

Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture)

Easter Parade(1948)
Johnny Green, Roger Edens
Winner
Romance on the High Seas(1948)
Ray Heindorf
The Emperor Waltz(1948)
Victor Young
The Pirate(1948)
Lennie Hayton
When My Baby Smiles at Me(1948)
Alfred Newman

Music (Song)

The Paleface(1948)
Buttons And Bows in "The Paleface" Music and Lyrics by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans
Winner
Casbah(1948)
For Every Man There's A Woman in "Casbah" Music by Harold Arlen; Lyrics by Leo Robin
Romance on the High Seas(1948)
It's Magic in "Romance on the High Seas" Music by Jule Styne; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
That Lady in Ermine(1948)
This Is The Moment in "That Lady in Ermine" Music by Frederick Hollander; Lyrics by Leo Robin
Wet Blanket Policy(1948)
The Woody Woodpecker Song in "Wet Blanket Policy" Music and Lyrics by Ramey Idriss and George Tibbles

Short Subject (Cartoon)

The Little Orphan(1949)
Fred Quimby, Producer
Winner
Mickey and the Seal(1948)
Walt Disney, Producer
Mouse Wreckers(1949)
Edward Selzer, Producer
Robin Hoodlum(1948)
United Productions of America
Tea for Two Hundred(1948)
Walt Disney, Producer

Short Subject (One-reel)

Symphony of a City(1947)
Edmund H. Reek, Producer
Winner
Annie Was a Wonder(1949)
Herbert Moulton, Producer
Cinderella Horse(1949)
Gordon Hollingshead, Producer
So You Want to Be on the Radio(1948)
Gordon Hollingshead, Producer
You Can't Win(1948)
Pete Smith, Producer

Short Subject (Two-reel)

Seal Island(1948)
Walt Disney, Producer
Winner
Calgary Stampede(1948)
Gordon Hollingshead, Producer
Going to Blazes!(1948)
Herbert Morgan, Producer
Samba-Mania(1948)
Harry Grey, Producer
Snow Capers(1948)
Thomas Mead, Producer

Writing (Motion Picture Story)

The Search(1948)
Richard Schweizer, David Wechsler
Winner
Louisiana Story(1948)
Frances Flaherty, Robert Flaherty
Red River(1948)
Borden Chase
The Naked City(1948)
Malvin Wald
The Red Shoes(1948)
Emeric Pressburger

Writing (Screenplay)

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre(1948)
John Huston
Winner
A Foreign Affair(1948)
Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, Richard L. Breen
Johnny Belinda(1948)
Irmgard Von Cube, Allen Vincent
The Search(1948)
Richard Schweizer, David Wechsler
The Snake Pit(1948)
Frank Partos, Millen Brand

Cinematography (Color)

Joan of Arc(1948)
Joseph Valentine, William V. Skall, Winton Hoch
Winner
Green Grass of Wyoming(1948)
Charles G. Clarke
The Loves of Carmen(1948)
William Snyder
The Three Musketeers(1948)
Robert Planck

Documentary (Short Subject)

Toward Independence(1948)
United States Army
Winner
Heart to Heart(1949)
Herbert Morgan, Producer
Operation Vittles(1948)
United States Army Air Force

Sound Recording

The Snake Pit(1948)
20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, Thomas T. Moulton, Sound Director
Winner
Johnny Belinda(1948)
Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department, Col. Nathan O. Levinson, Sound Director
Moonrise(1948)
Republic Studio Sound Department, Daniel J. Bloomberg, Sound Director

Art Direction (Black-and-White)

Hamlet(1948)
Art Direction: Roger K. Furse; Set Decoration: Carmen Dillon
Winner
Johnny Belinda(1948)
Art Direction: Robert Haas; Set Decoration: William Wallace

Art Direction (Color)

The Red Shoes(1948)
Art Direction: Hein Heckroth; Set Decoration: Arthur Lawson
Winner
Joan of Arc(1948)
Art Direction: Richard Day; Set Decoration: Edwin Casey Roberts, Joseph Kish

Costume Design (Black-and-White)

Hamlet(1948)
Roger K. Furse
Winner
B.F.'s Daughter(1948)
Irene

Costume Design (Color)

Joan of Arc(1948)
Dorothy Jeakins, Karinska
Winner
The Emperor Waltz(1948)
Edith Head, Gile Steele

Documentary (Feature)

The Secret Land(1948)
Orville O. Dull, Producer
Winner
The Quiet One(1948)
Janice Loeb, Producer

Special Award

Joan of Arc(1948)
Special Award
Winner
The Search(1948)
Special Award
Winner

Special Effects

Portrait of Jennie(1948)
Special Visual Effects by Paul Eagler, J. McMillan Johnson, Russell Shearman, Clarence Slifer; Special Audible Effects by Charles Freeman, James G. Stewart
Winner
Deep Waters(1948)
Special Visual Effects by Ralph Hammeras, Fred Sersen, Edward Snyder; Special Audible Effects by Roger Heman

Special Foreign Language Film Award

Monsieur Vincent(1947)
Special Award
Winner