3rd Academy Awards


The 3rd Academy Awards were held on November 5, 1930, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, awarding films released between August 1, 1929, and July 31, 1930. AMPAS decided to hold the awards in November to move them closer to the eligibility period; therefore, the ceremony took place only seven months after the 2nd Academy Awards, making 1930 the only year in which two Academy Awards ceremonies were held. This was the first ceremony to be voted on by the full membership, rather than by the small clique that voted at the previous two ceremonies. The ceremony was held at the Ambassador Hotel, being attended by over 500 members of the Academy.
All Quiet on the Western Front became the first film to win both Best Picture and Best Director, which would become common in later years. Lewis Milestone became the first person to win two Oscars, having won Best Director – Comedy at the 1st Academy Awards. The Love Parade received six nominations, the greatest number of any film to that point, but did not win in any category.
Best Sound Recording was introduced this year, making it the first new category since the inception of the Oscars. It was awarded to Douglas Shearer, brother of Best Actress winner Norma Shearer, making them the first sibling winners in Oscar history. Ruth Chatterton's performance in Sarah and Son, directed by Dorothy Arzner, was the first nominee from a female-directed film.
A portion of the awards were filmed for the first time: Universal Pictures co-founder and president Carl Laemmle winning Outstanding Production for All Quiet on the Western Front, given to him by Louis B. Mayer, vice president of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer; Norma Shearer winning Best Actress for The Divorcee, and screenwriter Frances Marion winning Best Writing for The Big House.

Winners and nominees

Nominees were announced on September 19, 1930. Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.

  • Lewis Milestone – All Quiet on the Western Front
  • * Clarence Brown – Anna Christie
  • * Robert Leonard – The Divorcee
  • * King Vidor – Hallelujah
  • * Ernst Lubitsch – The Love Parade
  • * Clarence Brown – Romance
  • George Arliss – Disraeli as Benjamin Disraeli
  • * George Arliss – The Green Goddess as The Raja
  • * Wallace Beery – The Big House as Butch
  • * Maurice Chevalier – The Big Pond as Pierre Mirande and The Love Parade as The Count Alfred Renard
  • * Ronald Colman – Bulldog Drummond as Hugh Drummond and Condemned as Michel
  • * Lawrence Tibbett – The Rogue Song as Yegor
  • Norma Shearer – The Divorcee as Jerry Martin
  • *Nancy Carroll – The Devil's Holiday as Hallie Hobart
  • * Ruth Chatterton – Sarah and Son as Sarah Storm
  • * Greta Garbo – Anna Christie as Anna Christie and Romance as Rita Cavallini
  • * Norma Shearer – Their Own Desire as Lucia 'Lally' Marlett
  • * Gloria Swanson – The Trespasser as Marion Donnell
  • The Big House – Frances Marion
  • * All Quiet on the Western Front – George Abbott, Maxwell Anderson, and Del Andrews, based on the novel by Erich Maria Remarque
  • * Disraeli – Julien Josephson, based on the play by Louis N. Parker
  • * The Divorcee – John Meehan, based on the novel Ex-Wife by Ursula Parrott
  • * Street of Chance – Howard Estabrook, based on a story by Oliver H. P. Garrett
  • The Big House – Douglas Shearer
  • * The Case of Sergeant Grischa – John E. Tribby
  • * The Love Parade – Franklin Hansen
  • * Raffles – Oscar Lagerstrom
  • * Song of the Flame – George Groves
  • King of Jazz – Herman Rosse
  • * Bulldog Drummond – William Cameron Menzies
  • * The Love Parade – Hans Dreier
  • * Sally – Jack Okey
  • * The Vagabond King – Hans Dreier
  • With Byrd at the South Pole – Joseph T. Rucker and Willard Van der Veer
  • * All Quiet on the Western Front – Arthur Edeson
  • * Anna Christie – William Daniels
  • * Hell's Angels – Tony Gaudio and Harry Perry
  • * The Love Parade – Victor Milner
  • Multiple nominations and awards

    NominationsFilm
    6The Love Parade
    4All Quiet on the Western Front
    4The Big House
    4The Divorcee
    3Anna Christie
    3Disraeli
    2Bulldog Drummond
    2Romance

    WinsFilm
    2All Quiet on the Western Front
    2The Big House