28th Academy Awards


The 28th Academy Awards were held on March 21, 1956, to honor the films of 1955, at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles, California. In this year, Jerry Lewis became the host, replacing Bob Hope.
At just 90 minutes, Marty became the shortest film to win Best Picture, as well as the second to have also won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. All of the various winners, with the exception of Anna Magnani, collected their Oscars.
Grace Kelly, soon to be Princess of Monaco, attended the ceremony as a presenter on her way toward retirement from acting. She was chided by Louella Parsons for failing to acknowledge Lewis' tribute to her from the film business. Parsons wrote, "it seems she might have taken a moment to thank him, give him a little kiss or something before leaving the stage so abruptly."
This was the final year in which the Best Foreign Language Film was a Special/Honorary award. Beginning with the 29th Academy Awards, it became a competitive category.

Winners and nominees

Awards

Nominees were announced on February 18, 1956. Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.
Marty – Harold Hecht for United Artists
Delbert Mann – Marty
  • * John Sturges – Bad Day at Black Rock
  • * Elia Kazan – East of Eden
  • * Joshua Logan – Picnic
  • * David Lean – Summertime
  • Ernest Borgnine – Marty as Marty Piletti
  • * James Cagney – Love Me or Leave Me as Martin Snyder
  • * James Dean – East of Eden as Caleb Trask
  • * Frank Sinatra – The Man with the Golden Arm as Frankie "Dealer" Machine
  • * Spencer Tracy – Bad Day at Black Rock as John J. Macreedy
  • Anna Magnani – The Rose Tattoo as Serafina Delle Rose
  • * Susan Hayward – I'll Cry Tomorrow as Lillian Roth
  • * Katharine Hepburn – Summertime as Jane Hudson
  • * Jennifer Jones – Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing as Dr. Han Suyin
  • * Eleanor Parker – Interrupted Melody as Marjorie Lawrence
  • Jack Lemmon – Mister Roberts as Ensign Frank Thurlowe Pulver
  • * Arthur Kennedy – Trial as Bernard Castle
  • * Joe Mantell – Marty as Angie
  • * Sal Mineo – Rebel Without a Cause as John "Plato" Crawford
  • * Arthur O'Connell – Picnic as Howard Bevans
  • Jo Van Fleet – East of Eden as Cathy Ames/Kate Trask
  • * Betsy Blair – Marty as Clara
  • * Peggy Lee – Pete Kelly's Blues as Rose Hopkins
  • * Marisa Pavan – The Rose Tattoo as Rosa Delle Rose
  • * Natalie Wood – Rebel Without a Cause as Judy
  • Marty – Paddy Chayefsky from Marty by Paddy Chayefsky
  • * Bad Day at Black Rock – Millard Kaufman from "Bad Time at Honda" by Howard Breslin
  • * Blackboard Jungle – Richard Brooks from Blackboard Jungle by Evan Hunter
  • * East of Eden – Paul Osborn from East of Eden by John Steinbeck
  • * Love Me or Leave Me – Daniel Fuchs and Isobel Lennart
  • Interrupted Melody – William Ludwig and Sonya Levien
  • * The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell – Milton Sperling and Emmet Lavery
  • * It's Always Fair Weather – Betty Comden and Adolph Green
  • * Mr. Hulot's Holiday – Jacques Tati and Henri Marquet
  • * The Seven Little Foys – Melville Shavelson and Jack Rose
  • Love Me or Leave Me – Daniel Fuchs
  • * The Private War of Major Benson – Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher
  • * Rebel Without a Cause – Nicholas Ray
  • * The Sheep Has Five Legs – Jean Marsan, Henri Troyat, Jacques Perret, Henri Verneuil, and Raoul Ploquin
  • * Strategic Air Command – Beirne Lay Jr.
  • Helen Keller in Her Story – Nancy Hamilton
  • * Heartbreak Ridge – René Risacher
  • Men Against the Arctic – Walt Disney
  • * The Battle of Gettysburg – Dore Schary
  • * The Face of Lincoln – Wilbur T. Blume
  • Survival City – Edmund Reek
  • * 3rd Ave. El – Carson Davidson
  • * Gadgets Galore – Robert Youngson
  • * Three Kisses – Justin Herman
  • The Face of Lincoln – Wilbur T. Blume
  • * 24 Hour Alert – Cedric Francis
  • * The Battle of Gettysburg – Dore Schary
  • * On the Twelfth Day – George K. Arthur
  • * Switzerland – Walt Disney
  • Speedy Gonzales – Edward Selzer
  • * Good Will to Men – Fred Quimby, William Hanna, and Joseph Barbera
  • * The Legend of Rockabye Point – Walter Lantz
  • * No Hunting – Walt Disney
  • Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing – Alfred Newman
  • * Battle Cry – Max Steiner
  • * The Man with the Golden Arm – Elmer Bernstein
  • * Picnic – George Duning
  • * The Rose Tattoo – Alex North
  • Oklahoma! – Robert Russell Bennett, Jay Blackton and Adolph Deutsch
  • * Daddy Long Legs – Alfred Newman
  • * Guys and Dolls – Jay Blackton and Cyril J. Mockridge
  • * It's Always Fair Weather – André Previn
  • * Love Me or Leave Me – Percy Faith and Georgie Stoll
  • "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" from Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing – Music by Sammy Fain; Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
  • * "I'll Never Stop Loving You" from Love Me or Leave Me – Music by Nicholas Brodszky; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
  • * "Something's Gotta Give" from Daddy Long Legs – Music and Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
  • * "The Tender Trap" from The Tender Trap – Music by Jimmy Van Heusen; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
  • * "Unchained Melody" from Unchained – Music by Alex North; Lyrics by Hy Zaret
  • Oklahoma! – Fred Hynes
  • * Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing – Carlton W. Faulkner
  • * Love Me or Leave Me – Wesley C. Miller
  • * Mister Roberts – William A. Mueller
  • * Not as a Stranger – Watson Jones
  • The Rose Tattoo – Art Direction: Hal Pereira and Tambi Larsen; Set Decoration: Samuel M. Comer and Arthur Krams
  • * Blackboard Jungle – Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons and Randall Duell; Set Decoration: Edwin B. Willis and Henry Grace
  • * I'll Cry Tomorrow – Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons and Malcolm Brown; Set Decoration: Edwin B. Willis and Hugh Hunt
  • * The Man with the Golden Arm – Art Direction: Joseph C. Wright; Set Decoration: Darrell Silvera
  • * Marty – Art Direction: Ted Haworth and Walter M. Simonds; Set Decoration: Robert Priestley
  • Picnic – Art Direction: William Flannery and Jo Mielziner; Set Decoration: Robert Priestley
  • * Daddy Long Legs – Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler and John DeCuir; Set Decoration: Walter M. Scott and Paul S. Fox
  • * Guys and Dolls – Art Direction: Oliver Smith and Joseph C. Wright; Set Decoration: Howard Bristol
  • * Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing – Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler and George Davis; Set Decoration: Walter M. Scott and Jack Stubbs
  • * To Catch a Thief – Art Direction: Hal Pereira and Joseph McMillan Johnson; Set Decoration: Samuel M. Comer and Arthur Krams
  • The Rose Tattoo – James Wong Howe
  • * Blackboard Jungle – Russell Harlan
  • * I'll Cry Tomorrow – Arthur Arling
  • * Marty – Joseph LaShelle
  • * Queen Bee – Charles Lang
  • To Catch a Thief – Robert Burks
  • * Guys and Dolls – Harry Stradling
  • * Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing – Leon Shamroy
  • * A Man Called Peter – Harold Lipstein
  • * Oklahoma! – Robert Surtees
  • I'll Cry Tomorrow – Helen Rose
  • * The Pickwick Papers – Beatrice Dawson
  • * Queen Bee – Jean Louis
  • * The Rose Tattoo – Edith Head
  • * Ugetsu – Tadaoto Kainosho
  • Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing – Charles LeMaire
  • * Guys and Dolls – Irene Sharaff
  • * Interrupted Melody – Helen Rose
  • * To Catch a Thief – Edith Head
  • * The Virgin Queen – Charles LeMaire and Mary Wills
  • Picnic – Charles Nelson and William Lyon
  • * Blackboard Jungle – Ferris Webster
  • * The Bridges at Toko-Ri – Alma Macrorie
  • * Oklahoma! – Gene Ruggiero and George Boemler
  • * The Rose Tattoo – Warren Low
  • The Bridges at Toko-Ri
  • * The Dam Busters
  • * The Rains of Ranchipur
  • Honorary Foreign Language Film Award

    Presenters and performers

    Presenters

    Performers

    Multiple nominations and awards

    NominationsFilm
    8Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing
    8Marty
    8The Rose Tattoo
    6Love Me or Leave Me
    6Picnic
    4Blackboard Jungle
    4East of Eden
    4Guys and Dolls
    4I'll Cry Tomorrow
    4Oklahoma!
    3Bad Day at Black Rock
    3Daddy Long Legs
    3Interrupted Melody
    3The Man with the Golden Arm
    3Mister Roberts
    3Rebel Without a Cause
    3To Catch a Thief
    2The Battle of Gettysburg
    2The Bridges at Toko-Ri
    2The Face of Lincoln
    2It's Always Fair Weather
    2Queen Bee
    2Summertime

    AwardsFilm
    4Marty
    3Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing
    3The Rose Tattoo
    2Oklahoma!
    2Picnic