37th Academy Awards


The 37th Academy Awards were held on April 5, 1965, to honor film achievements of 1964. The ceremony was produced by MGM's Joe Pasternak and hosted, for the 14th time, by Bob Hope.
The Best Picture winner, George Cukor's My Fair Lady, was an adaptation of a 1956 stage musical of the same name, which was itself based on George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, which had been nominated for Best Picture in 1938. Audrey Hepburn was controversially not nominated for Best Actress for her starring role as Eliza Doolittle; the unpopularity of her replacing Julie Andrews—who had originated the role on Broadway, and who was seen by producer Jack Warner as having lacked star quality—as well as the revelation that the majority of her singing was dubbed by Marni Nixon were seen as the main reasons for the snub. This was said to have "split the committee into two camps, pro and con, for and against the two ladies", and even led to talk of a write-in campaign for Hepburn. Despite her having not been nominated, Hepburn was in attendance at the ceremony, with camera work playing up the tension between the two considerably. Andrews won the Best Actress Oscar, but My Fair Lady was said to have "made off awfully well, too."
The ceremony saw the first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, William J. Tuttle for 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, albeit as an Honorary Award; it would not become a competitive category until 1981.
This year was the first in which three films received 10 or more nominations, and the only time in Oscar history that three films received 12 or more nominations: Becket and My Fair Lady each received 12, while Mary Poppins received 13. Also, the five Best Director nominees corresponded to their films in the Best Picture category, for only the second occurrence throughout the era in Oscar history, where the latter category was limited to five nominees only.
Becket tied the record set by Johnny Belinda for most Oscars losses with 11. It was later equalled by The Turning Point in 1977, The Color Purple in 1985, The [Power of the Dog (film)|The Power of the Dog] in 2021, and Emilia Pérez in 2024.

Awards

Nominations were announced on February 23, 1965. Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.

  • George CukorMy Fair Lady
  • * Peter GlenvilleBecket
  • * Stanley KubrickDr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
  • * Robert StevensonMary Poppins
  • * Michael CacoyannisZorba the Greek
  • Rex HarrisonMy Fair Lady as Professor Henry Higgins
  • * Richard BurtonBecket as Thomas Becket
  • * Peter O'TooleBecket as King Henry II of England
  • * Anthony QuinnZorba the Greek as Alexis Zorba
  • * Peter SellersDr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb as Group Captain Lionel Mandrake / President Merkin Muffley / Dr. Strangelove
  • Julie AndrewsMary Poppins as Mary Poppins
  • * Anne BancroftThe Pumpkin Eater as Jo Armitage
  • * Sophia Loren - Marriage Italian Style as Filumena Marturano
  • * Debbie ReynoldsThe [Unsinkable Molly Brown (film)|The Unsinkable Molly Brown] as Molly Brown
  • * Kim StanleySéance on a Wet Afternoon as Myra Savage
  • Peter UstinovTopkapi as Arthur Simon Simpson
  • * John GielgudBecket as King Louis VII of France
  • * Stanley HollowayMy Fair Lady as Alfred P. Doolittle
  • * Edmond O'BrienSeven Days in May as Senator Ray Clark
  • * Lee TracyThe [Best Man (1964 film)|The Best Man] as Art Hockstader
  • Lila KedrovaZorba the Greek as Madame Hortense
  • * Gladys CooperMy Fair Lady as Mrs. Higgins
  • * Edith EvansThe Chalk Garden as Mrs. St. Maugham
  • * Grayson HallThe [Night of the Iguana (film)|The Night of the Iguana] as Judith Fellowes
  • * Agnes MooreheadHush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte as Velma Cruther
  • Father Goose – S. H. Barnett, Peter Stone, and Frank Tarloff
  • * A [Hard Day's Night (film)|A Hard Day's Night]Alun Owen
  • * One Potato, Two PotatoOrville H. Hampton and Raphael Hayes
  • * The OrganizerAgenore Incrocci, Furio Scarpelli, and Mario Monicelli
  • * That Man from RioJean-Paul Rappeneau, Ariane Mnouchkine, Daniel Boulanger, and Philippe de Broca
  • BecketEdward Anhalt from Becket by Jean Anouilh
  • * Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the BombStanley Kubrick, Terry Southern, and Peter George from Red Alert by Peter George
  • * Mary PoppinsBill Walsh and Don DaGradi from Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers
  • * My Fair LadyAlan Jay Lerner from My Fair Lady by Alan Jay Lerner and Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
  • * Zorba the GreekMichael Cacoyannis from The Life of Alexis Zorba by Nikos Kazantzakis
  • Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
  • * Raven's End
  • * Sallah Shabati
  • * The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
  • * Woman in the Dunes
  • Jacques-Yves Cousteau's World Without Sun
  • * 14-18
  • * The Finest Hours
  • * Four Days in November
  • * The Human Dutch
  • Nine from Little Rock
  • * 140 Days Under the World
  • * Breaking the Habit
  • * Children Without
  • * Eskimo Artist: Kenojuak
  • Casals Conducts: 1964
  • * Help! My Snowman's Burning Down
  • * The Legend of Jimmy Blue Eyes
  • The Pink Phink
  • * Christmas Cracker
  • * How to Avoid Friendship
  • * Nudnik #2
  • Mary PoppinsRichard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
  • * BecketLaurence Rosenthal
  • * The [Fall of the Roman Empire (film)|The Fall of the Roman Empire]Dimitri Tiomkin
  • * Hush...Hush, Sweet CharlotteFrank De Vol
  • * The Pink PantherHenry Mancini
  • My Fair LadyAndré Previn
  • * A Hard Day's NightGeorge Martin
  • * Mary PoppinsIrwin Kostal
  • * Robin and the 7 HoodsNelson Riddle
  • * Molly Brown (film)|The Unsinkable Molly Brown]Robert Armbruster, Leo Arnaud, Jack Elliott, Jack Hayes, Calvin Jackson, and Leo Shuken
  • "Chim Chim Cher-ee" from Mary PoppinsMusic and Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
  • * "Dear Heart" from Dear Heart – Music by Henry Mancini; Lyrics by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans
  • * "Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte" from Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte – Music by Frank De Vol; Lyrics by Mack David
  • * "My Kind of Town" from Robin and the 7 Hoods – Music by Jimmy Van Heusen; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
  • * "Where Love Has Gone" from Where [Love Has Gone (film)|Where Love Has Gone] – Music by Jimmy Van Heusen; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
  • GoldfingerNorman Wanstall
  • * The Lively SetRobert Bratton
  • My Fair LadyGeorge Groves
  • * BecketJohn Cox
  • * Father GooseWaldon O. Watson
  • * Mary PoppinsRobert O. Cook
  • * The Unsinkable Molly BrownFranklin Milton
  • Zorba the Greek – Art Direction and Set Decoration: Vassilis Photopoulos
  • * The Americanization of Emily – Art Direction: George Davis, Hans Peters, and Elliot Scott; Set Decoration: Henry Grace and Robert R. Benton
  • * Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte – Art Direction: William Glasgow; Set Decoration: Raphaël Bretton
  • * The Night of the Iguana – Art Direction and Set Decoration: Stephen B. Grimes
  • * Seven Days in May – Art Direction: Cary Odell; Set Decoration: Edward G. Boyle
  • My Fair Lady – Art Direction: Gene Allen and Cecil Beaton; Set Decoration: George James Hopkins
  • * Becket – Art Direction: John Bryan and Maurice Carter; Set Decoration: Patrick McLoughlin and Robert Cartwright
  • * Mary Poppins – Art Direction: Carroll Clark and William H. Tuntke; Set Decoration: Emile Kuri and Hal Gausman
  • * The Unsinkable Molly Brown – Art Direction: George Davis and E. Preston Ames; Set Decoration: Henry Grace and Hugh Hunt
  • * What a Way to Go! – Art Direction: Jack Martin Smith and Ted Haworth; Set Decoration: Walter M. Scott and Stuart A. Reiss
  • Zorba the GreekWalter Lassally
  • * The Americanization of EmilyPhilip H. Lathrop
  • * Fate Is the HunterMilton Krasner
  • * Hush...Hush, Sweet CharlotteJoseph Biroc
  • * The Night of the IguanaGabriel Figueroa
  • My Fair LadyHarry Stradling
  • * BecketGeoffrey Unsworth
  • * Cheyenne AutumnWilliam Clothier
  • * Mary PoppinsEdward Colman
  • * The Unsinkable Molly BrownDaniel L. Fapp
  • The Night of the IguanaDorothy Jeakins
  • * A [House Is Not a Home (film)|A House Is Not a Home]Edith Head
  • * Hush...Hush, Sweet CharlotteNorma Koch
  • * Kisses for My PresidentHoward Shoup
  • * The VisitRené Hubert
  • My Fair LadyCecil Beaton
  • * BecketMargaret Furse
  • * Mary PoppinsTony Walton
  • * The Unsinkable Molly BrownMorton Haack
  • * What a Way to Go!Edith Head and Moss Mabry
  • Mary PoppinsCotton Warburton
  • * BecketAnne V. Coates
  • * Father GooseTed J. Kent
  • * Hush...Hush, Sweet CharlotteMichael Luciano
  • * My Fair LadyWilliam Ziegler
  • Mary PoppinsPeter Ellenshaw, Eustace Lycett, and Hamilton Luske
  • * 7 Faces of Dr. LaoJim Danforth
  • Honorary Award

    Presenters and performers

    The following individuals, listed in order of appearance, presented awards or performed musical numbers.

    Multiple nominations and awards

    These films had multiple nominations:
    The following films received multiple awards.