The nominees were ...
(Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)
(Song)
- Phil Boutelje, Hi Diddle Diddle
- Gerard Carbonara, The Kansan
- Aaron Copland, The North Star
- Hanns Eisler, Hangmen Also Die
- Leigh Harline, Johnny Come Lately
- Arthur Lange, Lady of Burlesque
- Alfred Newman, The Song of Bernadette
- Edward H. Plumb, Paul J. Smith, Oliver G. Wallace, Victory Through Air Power
- Walter Scharf, In Old Oklahoma
- Frank Skinner, Hans Salter, The Amazing Mrs. Holliday
- Max Steiner, Casablanca
- Morris Stoloff, Louis Gruenberg, Commandos Strike at Dawn
- Herbert Stothart, Madame Curie
- Dimitri Tiomkin, The Moon and Sixpence
- Roy Webb, C. Bakaleinikoff, The Fallen Sparrow
- Victor Young, For Whom the Bell Tolls
(Scoring of a Musical Picture)
- Robert Emmett Dolan, Star Spangled Rhythm
- Leigh Harline, The Sky's the Limit
- Ray Heindorf, This Is the Army
- Alfred Newman, Coney Island
- Frederic E. Rich, Stage Door Canteen
- Walter Scharf, Hit Parade of 1943
- Morris Stoloff, Something to Shout About
- Herbert Stothart, Thousands Cheer
- Edward Ward, Phantom of the Opera
- Charles Wolcott, Edward H. Plumb, Paul J. Smith, Saludos Amigos
(Song)
- "A Change of Heart," from Hit Parade of 1943. Music by Jule Styne; Lyrics by Harold Adamson
- "Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe," from Cabin in the Sky. Music by Harold Arlen; Lyrics by E.Y. Harburg
- "My Shining Hour," from The Sky's the Limit. Music by Harold Arlen; Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
- "Saludos Amigos," from Saludos Amigos. Music by Charles Wolcott; Lyrics by Ned Washington
- "Say a Pray'r for the Boys Over There," from Hers to Hold. Music by Jimmy McHugh; Lyrics by Herb Magidson
- "That Old Black Magic," from Star Spangled Rhythm. Music by Harold Arlen; Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
- "They're Either Too Young or Too Old," from Thank Your Lucky Stars. Music by Arthur Schwartz; Lyrics by Frank Loesser
- "We Mustn't Say Goodbye," from Stage Door Canteen. Music by James Monaco; Lyrics by Al Dubin
- "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To," from Something to Shout About. Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter
- "You'll Never Know," from Hello, Frisco, Hello. Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Mack Gordon
... when they should have been ...
(Scoring of a Musical Picture)
- George Bassman, Roger Edens, Hall Johnson, Georgie Stoll, Cabin in the Sky
- Robert Emmett Dolan, Star Spangled Rhythm
- Leigh Harline, The Sky's the Limit
- Ray Heindorf, This Is the Army
- Charles Henderson, Alfred Newman, Fletcher Henderson, The Gang's All Here
- Frederic E. Rich, Stage Door Canteen
- Walter Scharf, Hit Parade of 1943
- Morris Stoloff, Something to Shout About
- Edward Ward, Phantom of the Opera
- Charles Wolcott, Edward H. Plumb, Paul J. Smith, Saludos Amigos
And the Oscar went to ...
(Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)
Newman's score is reserved and dignified, without relying on "heavenly choir" clichés. While Max Steiner's Casablanca score is more stirring, it leans heavily on other musical sources, such as the "Marseillaise" and Herman Hupfeld's "As Time Goes By." If what you're looking for is originality, Newman probably deserved the award, the third of his record-setting nine Oscars.
(Scoring of a Musical Picture)
Ray Heindorf, This Is the Army.
Originally a hit Broadway revue, entirely performed by soldiers, that also toured military bases, the film version supplies a frame story about Jerry Jones (George Murphy), who writes a World War I revue called Yip, Yip, Yaphank, which was an actual show written, like This Is the Army, by Irving Berlin. Comes the next war, and it's the turn of his son, Johnny (Ronald Reagan), to write his own show. The spectacle of two future California Republican politicians playing father and son is probably enough to get some people's attention, but there's also Berlin himself singing "Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning" and Kate Smith doing (what else?) "God Bless America." This was the second of Heindorf's three scoring awards.
Originally a hit Broadway revue, entirely performed by soldiers, that also toured military bases, the film version supplies a frame story about Jerry Jones (George Murphy), who writes a World War I revue called Yip, Yip, Yaphank, which was an actual show written, like This Is the Army, by Irving Berlin. Comes the next war, and it's the turn of his son, Johnny (Ronald Reagan), to write his own show. The spectacle of two future California Republican politicians playing father and son is probably enough to get some people's attention, but there's also Berlin himself singing "Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning" and Kate Smith doing (what else?) "God Bless America." This was the second of Heindorf's three scoring awards.
(Song)
"You'll Never Know," from Hello, Frisco, Hello. Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Mack Gordon.
Social-climbing Barbary Coast saloon keeper John Payne and rising star singer Alice Faye fall in love in this stale musical trifle. The Oscar-winning song, performed by Faye in her most misty-eyed fashion, was a big hit because it expressed the sentiments of couples separated by the war. This was the second of Warren's three Oscars, but the only win out of nine nominations for Gordon.
Social-climbing Barbary Coast saloon keeper John Payne and rising star singer Alice Faye fall in love in this stale musical trifle. The Oscar-winning song, performed by Faye in her most misty-eyed fashion, was a big hit because it expressed the sentiments of couples separated by the war. This was the second of Warren's three Oscars, but the only win out of nine nominations for Gordon.
... when it should have gone to ...
(Scoring of a Musical Picture)
George Bassman, Roger Edens, Hall Johnson, Georgie Stoll, Cabin in the Sky.
We should know enough by now not to complain about the Academy's choices, especially when it comes to music, but how the hell it passed over this extraordinary musical in the nominations remains a mystery equal to the ones it later raised, when it failed to nominate any of the songs from A Hard Day's Night and Saturday Night Fever. At least it did take note of the great Arlen-Harburg song "Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe." The original Broadway version had songs by Vernon Duke and John Latouche, including the title song as well as "Taking a Chance on Love" and "Honey in the Honeycomb," though they were ineligible for the Oscars. But the film also had music performed by Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, and John Bubbles. And the film had to be scored by someone. Looking at the IMDb credits, I've singled out Bassman, the orchestrator; Edens, the musical adapter; Johnson, the choral arranger; and Stoll, the musical director, as the likely overlooked nominees.
We should know enough by now not to complain about the Academy's choices, especially when it comes to music, but how the hell it passed over this extraordinary musical in the nominations remains a mystery equal to the ones it later raised, when it failed to nominate any of the songs from A Hard Day's Night and Saturday Night Fever. At least it did take note of the great Arlen-Harburg song "Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe." The original Broadway version had songs by Vernon Duke and John Latouche, including the title song as well as "Taking a Chance on Love" and "Honey in the Honeycomb," though they were ineligible for the Oscars. But the film also had music performed by Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, and John Bubbles. And the film had to be scored by someone. Looking at the IMDb credits, I've singled out Bassman, the orchestrator; Edens, the musical adapter; Johnson, the choral arranger; and Stoll, the musical director, as the likely overlooked nominees.
(Song)
"That Old Black Magic," from Star Spangled Rhythm. Music by Harold Arlen; Lyrics by Johnny Mercer.
Part commercial for Paramount, part flag-waving "salute to the boys in blue," this all-star revue on a story about a studio gatekeeper (Victor Mature) pretending to be head of Paramount. Switchboard operator Betty Hutton tries to keep Moore's son, a sailor played by Eddie Bracken, from learning the truth. Meanwhile, the studio musters its resources to put on a show for the Navy. Those resources include Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and dozens of other stars, as well as directors Cecil B. DeMille and Preston Sturges, all playing themselves. With that much talent it's a wonder that they chose the bland Johnny Johnston to sing Arlen and Mercer's hit song. This was the year that Arlen had three Oscar nominees for best song, two of them with lyrics by Mercer. Arlen, though he racked up nine nominations, won only once, for "Over the Rainbow." Mercer, on the other hand, won four Oscars and was nominated nineteen times.
Part commercial for Paramount, part flag-waving "salute to the boys in blue," this all-star revue on a story about a studio gatekeeper (Victor Mature) pretending to be head of Paramount. Switchboard operator Betty Hutton tries to keep Moore's son, a sailor played by Eddie Bracken, from learning the truth. Meanwhile, the studio musters its resources to put on a show for the Navy. Those resources include Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and dozens of other stars, as well as directors Cecil B. DeMille and Preston Sturges, all playing themselves. With that much talent it's a wonder that they chose the bland Johnny Johnston to sing Arlen and Mercer's hit song. This was the year that Arlen had three Oscar nominees for best song, two of them with lyrics by Mercer. Arlen, though he racked up nine nominations, won only once, for "Over the Rainbow." Mercer, on the other hand, won four Oscars and was nominated nineteen times.
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