1953 Oscars: Winners and Nominees

62 films were recognised at the 1953 Academy Awards, across 27 categories. 17 of them took home at least one award.

The biggest winner of the year was The Bad and the Beautiful, with 5 awards, ahead of High Noon with 4. The categories below run from Sound Recording, Actor and Actor in a Supporting Role 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

Sound Recording

The Sound Barrier(1952)
London Film Sound Department
Winner
Hans Christian Andersen(1952)
Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department, Gordon Sawyer, Sound Director
The Card (The Promoter)(1952)
Pinewood Studios Sound Department
The Card (The Promoter)(1952)
The Promoter
The Quiet Man(1952)
Republic Studio Sound Department, Daniel J. Bloomberg, Sound Director
With a Song in My Heart(1952)
20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, Thomas T. Moulton, Sound Director

Actor

High Noon(1952)
Gary Cooper
Winner
Moulin Rouge(1952)
José Ferrer
The Bad and the Beautiful(1952)
Kirk Douglas
The Lavender Hill Mob(1951)
Alec Guinness
Viva Zapata!(1952)
Marlon Brando

Actor in a Supporting Role

Viva Zapata!(1952)
Anthony Quinn
Winner
My Cousin Rachel(1952)
Richard Burton
Sudden Fear(1952)
Jack Palance
The Big Sky(1952)
Arthur Hunnicutt
The Quiet Man(1952)
Victor McLaglen

Actress

Come Back, Little Sheba(1952)
Shirley Booth
Winner
Sudden Fear(1952)
Joan Crawford
The Member of the Wedding(1952)
Julie Harris
The Star(1952)
Bette Davis
With a Song in My Heart(1952)
Susan Hayward

Actress in a Supporting Role

The Bad and the Beautiful(1952)
Gloria Grahame
Winner
Come Back, Little Sheba(1952)
Terry Moore
Moulin Rouge(1952)
Colette Marchand
Singin' in the Rain(1952)
Jean Hagen
With a Song in My Heart(1952)
Thelma Ritter

Art Direction (Black-and-White)

The Bad and the Beautiful(1952)
Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons, Edward Carfagno; Set Decoration: Edwin B. Willis, Keogh Gleason
Winner
Carrie(1952)
Art Direction: Hal Pereira, Roland Anderson; Set Decoration: Emile Kuri
My Cousin Rachel(1952)
Art Direction: Lyle Wheeler, John DeCuir; Set Decoration: Walter M. Scott
Rashomon(1950)
Art Direction: Matsuyama; Set Decoration: H. Motsumoto
Viva Zapata!(1952)
Art Direction: Lyle Wheeler, Leland Fuller; Set Decoration: Thomas Little, Claude Carpenter

Art Direction (Color)

Moulin Rouge(1952)
Art Direction: Paul Sheriff; Set Decoration: Marcel Vertes
Winner
Hans Christian Andersen(1952)
Art Direction: Richard Day, Clave; Set Decoration: Howard Bristol
The Merry Widow(1952)
Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse; Set Decoration: Edwin B. Willis, Arthur Krams
The Quiet Man(1952)
Art Direction: Frank Hotaling; Set Decoration: John McCarthy, Jr., Charles Thompson
The Snows of Kilimanjaro(1952)
Art Direction: Lyle Wheeler, John DeCuir; Set Decoration: Thomas Little, Paul S. Fox

Best Picture

The Greatest Show on Earth(1952)
Cecil B. DeMille, Producer
Winner
High Noon(1952)
Stanley Kramer, Producer
Ivanhoe(1952)
Pandro S. Berman, Producer
Moulin Rouge(1952)
Romulus Films
The Quiet Man(1952)
John Ford and Merian C. Cooper, Producers

Cinematography (Black-and-White)

The Bad and the Beautiful(1952)
Robert Surtees
Winner
My Cousin Rachel(1952)
Joseph LaShelle
Navajo(1952)
Virgil E. Miller
Sudden Fear(1952)
Charles B. Lang, Jr.
The Big Sky(1952)
Russell Harlan

Cinematography (Color)

The Quiet Man(1952)
Winton C. Hoch, Archie Stout
Winner
Hans Christian Andersen(1952)
Harry Stradling
Ivanhoe(1952)
F. A. Young
Million Dollar Mermaid(1952)
George J. Folsey
The Snows of Kilimanjaro(1952)
Leon Shamroy

Costume Design (Black-and-White)

The Bad and the Beautiful(1952)
Helen Rose
Winner
Affair in Trinidad(1952)
Jean Louis
Carrie(1952)
Edith Head
My Cousin Rachel(1952)
Charles LeMaire, Dorothy Jeakins
Sudden Fear(1952)
Sheila O'Brien

Costume Design (Color)

Moulin Rouge(1952)
Marcel Vertes
Winner
Hans Christian Andersen(1952)
Clave, Mary Wills, Madame Karinska
The Greatest Show on Earth(1952)
Edith Head, Dorothy Jeakins, Miles White
The Merry Widow(1952)
Helen Rose, Gile Steele
With a Song in My Heart(1952)
Charles LeMaire

Directing

The Quiet Man(1952)
John Ford
Winner
5 Fingers(1952)
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
High Noon(1952)
Fred Zinnemann
Moulin Rouge(1952)
John Huston
The Greatest Show on Earth(1952)
Cecil B. DeMille

Film Editing

High Noon(1952)
Elmo Williams, Harry Gerstad
Winner
Come Back, Little Sheba(1952)
Warren Low
Flat Top(1952)
William Austin
Moulin Rouge(1952)
Ralph Kemplen
The Greatest Show on Earth(1952)
Anne Bauchens

Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)

High Noon(1952)
Dimitri Tiomkin
Winner
Ivanhoe(1952)
Miklos Rozsa
The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima(1952)
Max Steiner
The Thief(1952)
Herschel Burke Gilbert
Viva Zapata!(1952)
Alex North

Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture)

With a Song in My Heart(1952)
Alfred Newman
Winner
Hans Christian Andersen(1952)
Walter Scharf
Singin' in the Rain(1952)
Lennie Hayton
The Jazz Singer(1952)
Ray Heindorf, Max Steiner
The Medium(1951)
Gian-Carlo Menotti

Music (Song)

High Noon(1952)
High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin') in "High Noon" Music by Dimitri Tiomkin; Lyrics by Ned Washington
Winner
Because You're Mine(1952)
Because You're Mine in "Because You're Mine" Music by Nicholas Brodszky; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
Hans Christian Andersen(1952)
Thumbelina in "Hans Christian Andersen" Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Just for You(1952)
Zing A Little Zong in "Just for You" Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Leo Robin
Son of Paleface(1952)
Am I In Love in "Son of Paleface" Music and Lyrics by Jack Brooks

Short Subject (Cartoon)

Johann Mouse(1953)
Fred Quimby, Producer
Winner
Little Johnny Jet(1953)
Fred Quimby, Producer
Madeline(1952)
Stephen Bosustow, Executive Producer
Pink and Blue Blues(1952)
Stephen Bosustow, Executive Producer
The Romance of Transportation in Canada(1952)
Tom Daly, Producer

Short Subject (One-reel)

Light in the Window: The Art of Vermeer(1952)
Boris Vermont, Producer
Winner
Athletes of the Saddle(1952)
Jack Eaton, Producer
Desert Killer(1952)
Gordon Hollingshead, Producer
Neighbours(1952)
Norman McLaren, Producer
Royal Scotland(1952)
Crown Film Unit

Writing (Motion Picture Story)

The Greatest Show on Earth(1952)
Fredric M. Frank, Theodore St. John, Frank Cavett
Winner
My Son John(1952)
Leo McCarey
The Narrow Margin(1952)
Martin Goldsmith, Jack Leonard
The Pride of St. Louis(1952)
Guy Trosper
The Sniper(1952)
Edna Anhalt, Edward Anhalt

Writing (Screenplay)

The Bad and the Beautiful(1952)
Charles Schnee
Winner
5 Fingers(1952)
Michael Wilson
High Noon(1952)
Carl Foreman
The Man in the White Suit(1951)
Roger MacDougall, John Dighton, Alexander Mackendrick
The Quiet Man(1952)
Frank S. Nugent