(Films released from August 1, 1928 through July 31, 1929 were eligible.)
For the 1928-29 awards, only the winners were announced, and the runners-up received no official notice from the Academy. The records show who was under consideration, however, and they have traditionally been treated as if they were "official" nominees.
The nominees were ...
- George Bancroft in Thunderbolt
- Warner Baxter in In Old Arizona
- Chester Morris in Alibi
- Paul Muni in The Valiant
- Lewis Stone in The Patriot
And the Oscar went to ...
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| Warner Baxter |
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| Baxter as the Cisco Kid in In Old Arizona |
If we remember Baxter today, it's as the ailing director who sends Ruby Keeler out with instructions to come back a star after Bebe Daniels breaks her ankle in 42nd Street. Which is an ironic echo of what happened to Baxter: Having had an undistinguished career to this point, he was thrust into the role of the Cisco Kid when Raoul Walsh, who was both directing and starring in In Old Arizona, lost an eye in an auto accident on location. Baxter's good looks and deep voice caught on -- the latter especially in the early days of sound -- but he never became a major star. Of his Oscar competitors, only Muni would have a significant career as a lead actor, though Bancroft, Morris, and especially Stone (a veteran silent-film actor) would become well-known in character roles. The influx of stage actors hired by the studios to replace fading silent stars was just beginning.
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