A new refinement on the award designated both an art director and a set decorator (at first called "interior decoration"), though the two have always been tandem nominations, i.e., both for the same film. Studios were allowed to submit one nomination for a black-and-white film and one for a color film; for some reason, Republic withdrew its nomination of a Judy Canova comedy called Sis Hopkins before the voting took place.
The nominees were ...
(Black-and-White)
- Citizen Kane, art direction, Perry Ferguson, Van Nest Polglase; interior decoration, Al Fields, Darrell Silvera
- The Flame of New Orleans, art direction, Martin Obzina, Jack Otterson; interior decoration, Russell A. Gausman
- Hold Back the Dawn, art direction, Hans Dreier, Robert Usher; interior decoration, Sam Comer
- How Green Was My Valley, art direction, Richard Day, Nathan Juran; interior decoration, Thomas Little
- Ladies in Retirement, art direction, Lionel Banks; interior decoration, George Montgomery
- The Little Foxes, art direction, Stephen Goosson; interior decoration, Howard Bristol
- Sergeant York, art direction, John Hughes; interior decoration, Fred MacLean
- The Son of Monte Cristo, art direction, John DuCasse Schulze; interior decoration, Edward G. Boyle
- Sundown, art direction, Alexander Golitzen; interior decoration, Richard Irvine
- That Hamilton Woman, art direction, Vincent Korda; interior decoration, Julia Heron
- When Ladies Meet, art direction, Cedric Gibbons, Randall Duell; interior decoration, Edwin B. Willis
(Color)
- Blood and Sand, art direction, Richard Day, Joseph C. Wright; interior decoration, Thomas Little
- Blossoms in the Dust, art direction, Cedric Gibbons, Urie McCleary; interior decoration, Edwin B. Willis
- Louisiana Purchase, art direction, Raoul Pene du Bois; interior decoration, Stephen A. Seymour
(Black-and-White)
How Green Was My Valley, art direction, Richard Day, Nathan Juran; interior decoration, Thomas Little.
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| Nathan Juran |
To film the Welsh mining town of the Richard Llewellyn novel on which the movie was based, Day's design crew built one, or at least parts of it, in Malibu Creek State Park in California. This was the third of Day's seven Oscars and the first of Little's six. Both of them headed their respective departments, art direction and set decoration, at 20th Century-Fox. It was the only win for Juran, whose career was interrupted by service in World War II. He worked again with Day and Little, earning another nomination for The Razor's Edge, but in 1952 he moved from art direction to just plain directing, mostly of low-budget Westerns and sci-fi, including Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (which he directed under the pseudonym "Nathan Hertz"). In the 1960s he moved into television, directing episodes of "Lost in Space" and "Land of the Giants," among other series.
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| Filming a scene for How Green Was My Valley on the set of the Welsh town built in a California state park |
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| Maureen O'Hara in How Green Was My Valley |
(Color)
Blossoms in the Dust, art direction, Cedric Gibbons, Urie McCleary; interior decoration, Edwin B. Willis.
Greer Garson plays Edna Gladney, founder of an orphanage in Fort Worth, Texas, who has to battle snobs and prudes in her efforts to find homes for children born out of wedlock. It's a rather icky biopic, but it gets a high-gloss Technicolor treatment from MGM. As usual, Gibbons shares credit for what was mostly the work of McCleary, the associate art director. This was his first win out of his nominations, and he would win again for Patton thirty years later. It was the first of eight wins for Willis, the head of the set decorating department at MGM.
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| Greer Garson as Edna Gladney in Blossoms in the Dust |
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| Gladney finds suitable parents for an orphan ... |
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| ... but also has to put up with disapproving women. |
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