The nominees were ...
- Clarence Brown, National Velvet
- Alfred Hitchcock, Spellbound
- Leo McCarey, The Bells of St. Mary's
- Jean Renoir, The Southerner
- Billy Wilder, The Lost Weekend
... when they should have been ...
- Clarence Brown, National Velvet
- Michael Curtiz, Mildred Pierce
- Howard Hawks, To Have and Have Not
- John Stahl, Leave Her to Heaven
- Billy Wilder, The Lost Weekend
And the Oscar went to ...
 |
| Billy Wilder directing Ray Milland and Doris Dowling in The Lost Weekend |
Wilder's first Oscar (or rather Oscars, for he won for the screenplay, too) marked the beginning of the writer-director's peak period, which lasted through The Apartment in 1960. a fifteen-year stretch of remarkable accomplishment. His eight nominations for directing are exceeded only by William Wyler, who racked up twelve. Because his writing partner, Charles Brackett, also produced The Lost Weekend, Wilder was able to exert more than usual control over the film. Its success at the Oscars and at the box office launched a series of adult problem dramas. Over the next four years, best picture Oscars went to films about the difficulties faced by returning servicemen (The Best Years of Our Lives), antisemitism (Gentlemen's Agreement), and political demagoguery (All the King's Men).
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