Best Sound, 1948

Awards presented March 24, 1949

And the nominees were ... 

• Johnny Belinda. Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department, Nathan O. Levinson, sound director
• Moonrise. Republic Studio Sound Department, Daniel J. Bloomberg, sound director 
• The Snake Pit. 20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, Thomas T. Moulton, sound director 

And the Oscar went to ... 

The Snake Pit. 20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, Thomas T. Moulton, sound director.

Olivia de Havilland in The Snake Pit

Olivia de Havilland plays a woman whose mental breakdown lands her in a grim, primitive institution, from which she is finally rescued by a kindly psychoanalyst (Leo Genn), who helps her come terms with some unresolved emotions about the past, including her relationship with her father.  It's a generally well-made message picture from the late-1940s era when Hollywood's idea of a prestige production was one that tackled -- or at least feinted at -- a social problem. The Snake Pit is said to have spurred many states to reform the treatment of the mentally ill, although it's hard to tell today how much of this is true or just good PR from 20th Century-Fox. The quick-fix therapy and the squeamishness of the Production Code date the film badly, however. Moulton had won two Oscars as Samuel Goldwyn's sound director. Then he moved to 20th Century-Fox, where he won two more -- for this film and for All About Eve.  

Best Sound, 1947

Awards presented March 20, 1948

The nominees were ... 

• The Bishop's Wife. Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department, Gordon Sawyer, sound director
• Green Dolphin Street. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Douglas Shearer, sound director 
• T-Men. Sound Services Inc., Jack R. Whitney, sound director 

And the Oscar went to ... 

• The Bishop's Wife. Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department, Gordon Sawyer, sound director. 

Cary Grant, David Niven, and Loretta Young in The Bishop's Wife

The bishop (Episcopalian) is David Niven, and his wife, neglected because of his obsession with getting wealthy contributors to his church's building fund, is Loretta Young. But an angel named Dudley (for some reason, angels in '40s Hollywood got rather stodgy names like Clarence and Dudley) comes down to Earth to set things right, partly by courting Young and arousing Niven's jealousy. This sugary fantasy is marred by miscasting: Cary Grant is nobody's idea of an angel, and the part turns him all stiff and twinkly, while Young's frosty Republican respectability keeps her from generating any heat with Grant. (To be fair, Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston also failed to strike any sparks in the unnecessary 1996 remake, The Preacher's Wife.) Niven comes off best, and he gets some good support from a supporting cast that includes James Gleason, Gladys Cooper, and Elsa Lanchester. Directed by Henry Koster, with the usual masterly cinematography of Gregg Toland. Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett did some uncredited fixes that add a bit of bite to the screenplay by Robert E. Sherwood and Leonardo Bercovici. This was the first of three Oscars for Sawyer, who spent most of his long career as a sound technician at Samuel Goldwyn Studios, starting in 1930, and later worked for MGM. A year after his death in 1980, the Academy created the Gordon E. Sawyer Award to be given by its Scientific and Technical Awards committee to "an individual in the motion picture industry whose technological contributions have brought credit to the industry." To date, there have been twenty-three winners of the award. 

Best Sound, 1946

Awards presented March 13, 1947

The nominees were ... 

• The Best Years of Our Lives. Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department, Gordon Sawyer, Sound Director 
• It's a Wonderful Life. RKO Radio Studio Sound Department, John Aalberg, Sound Director 
• The Jolson Story. Columbia Studio Sound Department, John Livadary, Sound Director 

And the Oscar went to ... 

The Jolson Story. Columbia Studio Sound Department, John Livadary, Sound Director. 

Larry Parks as Al Jolson in The Jolson Story 

Larry Parks plays Al Jolson, the cantor's son who became one of the twentieth century's legendary entertainers. It was a phenomenally popular biopic, but it's not seen much today because Jolson's performing style and the music he sang now seem corny and archaic, and his performances in blackface are downright offensive. In fact, at the time the movie was made, several producers passed on the project for those very reasons. But Columbia boss Harry Cohn had been a song-plugger -- he sang and played the piano in music stores to encourage people to buy sheet music -- back in Jolson's heyday, and was a big fan. The movie is full of biopic clichés and gives no hint that its subject was a temperamental egomaniac. Parks was dubbed in the musical numbers by Jolson himself, which is probably a major reason why the film earned John Livadary the second of his three Oscars. (The actual dubbing work was probably done by the credited sound technicians, Hugh McDowell and Richard Olson, but at this time the Oscar still went to the sound department head.) Parks, who received a nomination for best actor, was a Columbia contract player seen mostly in B-movies until the studio had trouble filling the role of Jolson: James Cagney and Danny Thomas turned down the part -- Thomas reportedly declined because the studio wanted him to have his nose bobbed -- and José Ferrer and Richard Conte were tested for it. Parks also starred in the sequel, Jolson Sings Again, but his climb to stardom was cut short when he was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee and admitted that he had been a member of the Communist Party. His subsequent career was confined to nightclubs, theater, and a handful of TV appearances, but he made one last screen appearance in a supporting role in the 1962 film Freud. 

Best Sound, 1945

Awards presented March 7, 1946

The nominees were ... 

• The Bells of St. Mary's. RKO Radio Studio Sound Department, Stephen Dunn, Sound Director  
• Flame of Barbary Coast. Republic Studio Sound Department, Daniel J. Bloomberg, Sound Director 
• Lady on a Train. Universal Studio Sound Department, Bernard B. Brown, Sound Director  
• Leave Her to Heaven. 20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, Thomas T. Moulton, Sound Director  
• Rhapsody in Blue. Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department, Nathan Levinson, Sound Director  
• A Song to Remember. Columbia Studio Sound Department, John P. Livadary, Sound Director  
• The Southerner. General Service, Jack Whitney, Sound Director  
• They Were Expendable. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Douglas Shearer, Sound Director  
• The Three Caballeros. Walt Disney Studio Sound Department, C.O. Slyfield, Sound Director  
• Three Is a Family. RCA Sound, W.V. Wolfe, Sound Director  
• The Unseen. Paramount Studio Sound Department, Loren L. Ryder, Sound Director  
• Wonder Man. Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department, Gordon Sawyer, Sound Director  

And the Oscar went to ... 

The Bells of St. Mary's. RKO Radio Studio Sound Department, Stephen Dunn, Sound Director. 

Father O'Malley (Bing Crosby) gets sent to an inner-city school run by Sister Mary Benedict (Ingrid Bergman) and gets involved in saving the school. Produced and directed, like the first O'Malley film, Going My Way, by Leo McCarey, who also wrote the story that was turned into a screenplay by Dudley Nichols. It was a big hit, though today it seems like pure treacle. It was the first sequel to be nominated for best picture and Crosby was the first person to be nominated twice for playing the same character. (Peter O'Toole was later nominated for playing Henry II in Becket and The Lion in Winter, Al Pacino for playing Michael Corleone in the first two Godfather films, and Paul Newman for playing Fast Eddie Felson in The Hustler and The Color of Money.) This was the second Oscar for Dunn, who also received a scientific and technical award the same year.   

Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman in The Bells of St. Mary's

Best Sound, 1944

Awards presented March 15, 1945
The nominees were ...

• Brazil. Republic Studio Sound Department, Daniel J. Bloomberg, Sound Director
• Casanova Brown. Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department, Thomas T. Moulton, Sound Director
• Cover Girl. Columbia Studio Sound Department, John Livadary, Sound Director
• Double Indemnity. Paramount Studio Sound Department, Loren L. Ryder, Sound Director
• His Butler's Sister. Universal Studio Sound Department, Bernard B. Brown, Sound Director
• Hollywood Canteen. Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department, Nathan Levinson, Sound Director
• It Happened Tomorrow. Sound Service Inc., Jack Whitney, Sound Director
• Kismet. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Douglas Shearer, Sound Director
• Music in Manhattan. RKO Radio Studio Sound Department, Stephen Dunn, Sound Director
• Voice in the Wind. RCA Sound, W.M. Dalgliesh, Sound Director
• Wilson. 20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, E.H. Hansen, Sound Director

... when they should have been ... 

• Brazil. Republic Studio Sound Department, Daniel J. Bloomberg, Sound Director
• Casanova Brown. Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department, Thomas T. Moulton, Sound Director
• Cover Girl. Columbia Studio Sound Department, John Livadary, Sound Director
• Double Indemnity. Paramount Studio Sound Department, Loren L. Ryder, Sound Director
• His Butler's Sister. Universal Studio Sound Department, Bernard B. Brown, Sound Director
• Hollywood Canteen. Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department, Nathan Levinson, Sound Director
• It Happened Tomorrow. Sound Service Inc., Jack Whitney, Sound Director
• Laura. 20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, Harry M. Leonard, E. Clayton Ward, sound technicians
• Meet Me in St. Louis. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Douglas Shearer, Sound Director
• Music in Manhattan. RKO Radio Studio Sound Department, Stephen Dunn, Sound Director
• Voice in the Wind. RCA Sound, W.M. Dalgliesh, Sound Director

And the Oscar went to ... 

Wilson. 20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, E.H. Hansen, Sound Director.

Darryl F. Zanuck log-rolls another win for his pet project, but it was still a flop. This was the second of Hansen's two Oscars, out of fourteen nominations. It's also the last credit listed on his Internet Movie Database entry, although he lived until 1962. Did he retire at just over fifty years old and rest on his laurels? It would be nice to know. 

... when it should have gone to ... 

Meet Me in St. Louis. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Douglas Shearer, Sound Director.

MGM's fondness for Kismet, which it nominated instead of Meet Me in St. Louis for both sound and art direction, the categories in which it was limited to a single choice, is puzzling. It remade Kismet after the Broadway musical version was a success in 1955, giving it two of the Freed unit's best directors, Vincente Minnelli and Stanley Donen, though even that version isn't anything special and received no nominations. So I've replaced Kismet with a superior movie, which would have given Shearer another win -- not that he needed one. As for whether Meet Me in St. Louis deserved an award for sound? It had Judy Garland singing, didn't it?  

Best Sound, 1943

Awards presented March 2, 1944

The nominees were ... 

• Hangmen Also Die, Sound Service Inc., Jack Whitney, Sound Director
• In Old Oklahoma, Republic Studio Sound Department, Daniel J. Bloomberg, Sound Director
• Madame Curie, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Douglas Shearer, Sound Director
• The North Star, Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department, Thomas T. Moulton, Sound Director
• Phantom of the Opera, Universal Studio Sound Department, Bernard B. Brown, Sound Director
• Riding High, Paramount Studio Sound Department, Loren L. Ryder, Sound Director
• Sahara, Columbia Studio Sound Department, John P. Livadary, Sound Director
• Saludos Amigos, Walt Disney Studio Sound Department, C.O. Slyfield, Sound Director
• So This Is Washington, RCA Sound, J.L. Fields, Sound Director
• The Song of Bernadette, 20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, E.H. Hansen, Sound Director
• This Is the Army, Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department, Nathan Levinson, Sound Director
• This Land Is Mine, RKO Radio Studio Sound Department, Stephen Dunn, Sound Director

And the Oscar went to ... 

This Land Is Mine, RKO Radio Studio Sound Department, Stephen Dunn, Sound Director. 

Charles Laughton plays a meek schoolteacher in a generic European country that has been occupied by the Nazis. He's drawn into heroic resistance to the Germans by his unexpressed love for his neighbor, played by Maureen O'Hara. Melodramatic propaganda, but of a higher sort, thanks to Dudley Nichols's screenplay and a fine performance by Laughton. Still, it's perhaps the weakest film from one of the greatest directors, Jean Renoir. The award for sound seems like the Academy's attempt to honor a movie not quite good enough to be nominated in any other category. This was the first of Dunn's two Oscars. He also won a scientific and technical award.   

Best Sound, 1942

Awards presented March 4, 1943

The nominees were ... 

• Arabian Nights, Universal Studio Sound Department, Bernard B. Brown, Sound Director 
• Bambi, Walt Disney Studio Sound Department, Sam Slyfield, Sound Director 
• Flying Tigers, Republic Studio Sound Department, Daniel Bloomberg, Sound Director 
• Friendly Enemies, Sound Service Inc., Jack Whitney, Sound Director 
• The Gold Rush, RCA Sound, James Field, Sound Director 
• Mrs. Miniver, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Douglas Shearer, Sound Director 
• Once Upon a Honeymoon, RKO Radio Studio Sound Department, Steve Dunn, Sound Director 
• The Pride of the Yankees, Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department, Thomas T. Moulton, Sound Director 
• Road to Morocco, Paramount Studio Sound Department, Loren Ryder, Sound Director 
• This Above All, 20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, E.H. Hansen, Sound Director 
• Yankee Doodle Dandy, Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department, Nathan Levinson, Sound Director 
• You Were Never Lovelier, Columbia Studio Sound Department, John Livadary, Sound Director 

And the Oscar went to ... 

Yankee Doodle Dandy, Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department, Nathan Levinson, Sound Director. 

Levinson, left, with the Oscar presented him by Y. Frank Freeman

This was the only competitive Oscar win for Levinson, who was a pioneer in the Warner Bros. efforts to bring sound to motion pictures. He was nominated seventeen times for sound and seven times for special effects. He also received an honorary award at the 1940 Oscar ceremony and two technical achievement awards, 

Best Sound, 1941

Awards presented February 26, 1942

Conspicuously absent from the year's sound recording nominees were the team behind Walt Disney's Fantasia, which pioneered the use of stereophonic sound, but they received an honorary award.

The nominees were ... 

• Appointment for Love, Universal Studio Sound Department, Bernard B. Brown, sound director
• Ball of Fire, Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department, Thomas T. Moulton, sound director
• The Chocolate Soldier, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Douglas Shearer, sound director
• Citizen Kane, RKO Radio Studio Sound Department, John Aalberg, sound director
• The Devil Pays Off, Republic Studio Sound Department, Charles Lootens, sound director
• How Green Was My Valley, 20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, E.H. Hansen, sound director
• The Men in Her Life, Columbia Studio Sound Department, John Livadary, sound director
• Sergeant York, Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department, Nathan Levinson, sound director
• Skylark, Paramount Studio Sound Department, Loren Ryder, sound director
• That Hamilton Woman, General Service Sound Department, Jack Whitney, sound director
• Topper Returns, Hal Roach Studio Sound Department, Elmer Raguse, sound director

And the Oscar went to ... 

That Hamilton Woman, General Service Sound Department, Jack Whitney, sound director.

Vivien Leigh is Emma, Lady Hamilton, a woman of common origins whose beauty earned her a position as trophy wife to the British ambassador to Naples. Unfortunately, Lord Hamilton (Alan Mowbray) loves his art collection more than his wife, so when the dashing young Admiral Horatio Nelson (Laurence Olivier) comes to Naples to ask its king and queen for support in the fight against Napoleon, Emma and Horatio fall in love. But he is also married, and even when Lord Hamilton dies, Lady Nelson (Gladys Cooper) refuses to divorce him. He sets up Emma and their child in the country, but when he's killed at Trafalgar she's left penniless. Possibly to appease the censors and emphasize the consequences of adultery, the story is told in flashback by a raddled, alcoholic Emma in debtor's prison. But for most of the movie Emma and Horatio are Leigh and Olivier at their most luscious, and their love story is told against the backdrop of English heroics -- Nelson has a big speech about how the British have always fought against tyrants -- appropriate to the contemporary battle against the Nazis. Small wonder that it is said to have been Winston Churchill's favorite movie. Rumor has it that Churchill not only had a financial interest in the film but also wrote Nelson's speech about destroying dictators. Producer and director Alexander Korda made the movie in Hollywood, again with Churchill's encouragement because filmmaking was an effective cover for British spies in pre-Pearl Harbor America. This was Whitney's second Oscar in a row. He won the previous year for the special sound effects for Korda's The Thief of Bagdad. 

Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier in That Hamilton Woman

Best Sound, 1940

Awards presented February 27, 1941

The nominees were ... 

• Behind the News, Republic Studio Sound Department, Charles L. Lootens, Sound Director  
• Captain Caution, Hal Roach Studio Sound Department, Elmer A. Raguse, Sound Director
• The Grapes of Wrath, 20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, E.H. Hansen, Sound Director
• The Howards of Virginia, General Service Sound Department, Jack Whitney, Sound Director
• Kitty Foyle, RKO Radio Studio Sound Department, John Aalberg, Sound Director
• North West Mounted Police, Paramount Studio Sound Department, Loren L. Ryder, Sound Director
• Our Town, Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department, Thomas T. Moulton, Sound Director
• The Sea Hawk, Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department, Nathan Levinson, Sound Director
• Spring Parade, Universal Studio Sound Department, Bernard B. Brown, Sound Director
• Strike Up the Band, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Douglas Shearer, Sound Director
• Too Many Husbands, Columbia Studio Sound Department, John Livadary, Sound Director

And the Oscar went to ... 

Strike Up the Band, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Douglas Shearer, Sound Director. 

The second of the hey-kids-let's-put-on-a-show musicals (the first was Babes in Arms) starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland is all about trying to win an appearance in a national radio band concert featuring Paul Whiteman while at the same time trying to help a fellow band member pay for an operation. It has no relationship (other than the title song) to the Broadway musical by George and Ira Gershwin. Aside from some standards from the 1920s and earlier, most of the songs are by Roger Edens and Arthur Freed. This was one of the hits produced by Freed that led to the creation of the "Freed Unit," an independent musical film production division of MGM, in 1944. It was directed by Busby Berkeley, whose MGM production numbers were always more restrained than the ones he did at Warner Bros. 

Best Sound, 1939

Awards presented February 29, 1940

The nominees were ...

• Balalaika, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Douglas Shearer, Sound Director
• Gone With the Wind, Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department, Thomas T. Moulton, Sound Director
• Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Denham Studio Sound Department, A.W. Watkins, Sound Director
• The Great Victor Herbert, Paramount Studio Sound Department, Loren L. Ryder, Sound Director
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame, RKO Radio Studio Sound Department, John Aalberg, Sound Director
• Man of Conquest, Republic Studio Sound Department, Charles L. Lootens, Sound Director
• Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Columbia Studio Sound Department, John Livadary, Sound Director
• Of Mice and Men, Hal Roach Studio Sound Department, Elmer A. Raguse, Sound Director
• The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department, Nathan Levinson, Sound Director
• The Rains Came, 20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, E.H. Hansen, Sound Director
• When Tomorrow Comes, Universal Studio Sound Department, Bernard B. Brown, Sound Director

And the Oscar went to ... 

When Tomorrow Comes, Universal Studio Sound Department, Bernard B. Brown, Sound Director. 

Something of a surprise winner in a year dominated by Gone With the Wind, When Tomorrow Comes is a fairly standard melodrama, reteaming Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer after their success in Love Affair. It was directed by John M. Stahl from a story by James M. Cain -- and thereby hangs a tale: Cain sued the studio because a key scene in When Tomorrow Comes, in which Dunne and Boyer take refuge in a church from a hurricane, wasn't in his story but seemed to him to be copied from a scene in his 1937 novel Serenade, to which Universal hadn't bought the rights. Dwight Taylor, who wrote the screenplay, admitted that he had read Serenade, but denied having copied the scene in the book. The judge ruled in favor of Universal, noting that aside from the general situation there were insufficient similarities between the film and the novel in both the characters and their behavior to indicate plagiarism, and invoked the term scène à faire, a now common term in copyright law which holds that elements conventional to a genre -- such as taking refuge from a storm in a church -- are not protected by copyright. Anyway, in this case the hurricane itself -- or the sounds it made -- may have been why Brown won his only Oscar out of eleven nominations. 

Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer, caught in a storm of legal significance, in When Tomorrow Comes

Best Sound, 1938

Awards presented February 23, 1939

The nominees were ... 

• Army Girl, Republic Studio Sound Department, Charles L. Lootens, Sound Director 
• The Cowboy and the Lady, United Artists Studio Sound Department, Thomas T. Moulton, Sound Director
• Four Daughters, Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department, Nathan Levinson, Sound Director 
• If I Were King, Paramount Studio Sound Department, Loren L. Ryder, Sound Director
• Merrily We Live, Hal Roach Studio Sound Department, Elmer A. Raguse, Sound Director 
• Suez, 20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, Edmund H. Hansen, Sound Director 
• Sweethearts, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Douglas Shearer, Sound Director
• That Certain Age, Universal Studio Sound Department, Bernard B. Brown, Sound Director 
• Vivacious Lady, RKO Radio Studio Sound Department, John Aalberg, Sound Director 
• You Can't Take It With You, Columbia Studio Sound Department, John Livadary, Sound Director 

And the Oscar went to ... 

The Cowboy and the Lady, United Artists Studio Sound Department, Thomas T. Moulton, Sound Director. 

The original "high concept" movie: Producer Samuel Goldwyn, in need of a vehicle for contract players Gary Cooper and Merle Oberon, asked writer-director Leo McCarey for an idea. McCarey snatched the phrase "the cowboy and the lady" -- easy epithets for the screen personae of the two stars -- from thin air and improvised a story on the spot. Later, he realized he couldn't quite remember the plot he had told Goldwyn but managed to come up with an outline. Goldwyn then hired more than a dozen writers to try to produce a workable screenplay -- they included Alan Campbell, Dorothy Parker, Howard Estabrook, Gene Fowler, Lillian Hellman, Anita Loos, and Robert Riskin, and the credited screenwriters S.N. Behrman and Sonya Levien. The result never satisfied anyone, including the stars, and William Wyler, assigned to the project, managed to get himself fired from it and replaced by H.C. Potter. The film was a box-office bomb, but it won Moulton (or at least his sound department) his second consecutive Oscar. 

Merle Oberon and Gary Cooper in The Cowboy and the Lady 

Best Sound, 1937

Awards presented March 10, 1938

The nominees were ... 

• The Girl Said No, Grand National Studio Sound Department, A. E. Kaye, Sound Director
• Hitting a New High, RKO Radio Studio Sound Department, John Aalberg, Sound Director
• The Hurricane, United Artists Studio Sound Department, Thomas T. Moulton, Sound Director
• In Old Chicago, 20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, E. H. Hansen, Sound Director
• The Life of Emile Zola, Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department, Nathan Levinson, Sound Director
• Lost Horizon, Columbia Studio Sound Department, John Livadary, Sound Director
• Maytime, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Douglas Shearer, Sound Director
• One Hundred Men and a Girl, Universal Studio Sound Department, Homer G. Tasker, Sound Director
• Topper, Hal Roach Studio Sound Department, Elmer A. Raguse, Sound Director
• Wells Fargo, Paramount Studio Sound Department, Loren L. Ryder, Sound Director

And the Oscar went to ... 

The Hurricane, United Artists Studio Sound Department, Thomas T. Moulton, Sound Director.

Jon Hall, Dorothy Lamour, and another cast member seek shelter in The Hurricane

The titular storm in The Hurricane was created by special effects artist James Basevi, who also created the earthquake in San Francisco. Moulton received the Oscar as head of the sound department, though Jack Noyes is the credited sound recorder.  

Best Sound, 1936

Awards presented March 4, 1937

The nominees were ... 

• Banjo on My Knee, 20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, E. H. Hansen, Sound Director
• The Charge of the Light Brigade, Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department, Nathan Levinson, Sound Director
• Dodsworth, United Artists Studio Sound Department, Thomas T. Moulton, Sound Director
• General Spanky, Hal Roach Studio Sound Department, Elmer A. Raguse, Sound Director
• Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Columbia Studio Sound Department, John Livadary, Sound Director
• San Francisco, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Douglas Shearer, Sound Director
• The Texas Rangers, Paramount Studio Sound Department, Franklin B. Hansen, Sound Director
• That Girl from Paris, RKO Radio Studio Sound Department, J. O. Aalberg, Sound Director
• Three Smart Girls, Universal Studio Sound Department, Homer G. Tasker, Sound Director

And the Oscar went to ... 

San Francisco, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Douglas Shearer, Sound Director. 

Shearer's unfortunately anonymous sound crew deserved the award, not just for recording Jeanette MacDonald, but mainly for the sound effects supplied for the earthquake sequence, which is probably the only reason anyone watches the film today. 

Jeanette MacDonald auditions for Clark Gable in San Francisco

The aftermath of the quake in San Francisco

 The visuals for the earthquake sequence were supervised by James Basevi and edited by Slavko Vorkapich. The special effects category had not yet been returned to the awards, so neither was nominated. A case could have been made for nominating Vorkapich for editing, however, but he wasn't included among the nominees.

Credit where it's due: The earthquake sequence montage stills are borrowed from The Kitty Packard Pictorial Web site.

Best Sound, 1935

Awards presented March 5, 1936

The Academy was still indicating who placed second and third. Captain Blood came in second and The Lives of a Bengal Lancer was third.

The nominees were ... 

• The Bride of Frankenstein, Universal Studio Sound Department, Gilbert Kurland, Sound Director
• Captain Blood, Warner Bros.-First National Studio Sound Department, Nathan Levinson, Sound Director
• The Dark Angel, United Artists Studio Sound Department, Thomas T. Moulton, Sound Director
• I Dream Too Much, RKO Radio Studio Sound Department, Carl Dreher, Sound Director
• The Lives of a Bengal Lancer, Paramount Studio Sound Department, Franklin B. Hansen, Sound Director
• Love Me Forever, Columbia Studio Sound Department, John Livadary, Sound Director
• Naughty Marietta, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Douglas Shearer, Sound Director
• $1,000 a Minute, Republic Studio Sound Department
• Thanks a Million, 20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, E. H. Hansen, Sound Director

And the Oscar went to ... 

Naughty Marietta, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Douglas Shearer, Sound Director. 

Producer Hunt Stromberg presents the Oscar for Naughty Marietta to Douglas Shearer

Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy in Naughty Marietta 

The first teaming of MacDonald with Eddy was a big success, although those of us who love the MacDonald-Chevalier teaming at Paramount look on it as a step down for her. It's based on the operetta by Victor Herbert, and features some of the songs for which the duo were celebrated (or at least lampooned): "Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life," "The Italian Street Song" (you know, the one with the refrain that goes "Zing, zing, zizzy, zizzy, zing, zing, boom, boom, ay" -- and now try to get that out of your head), "I'm Falling in Love With Someone," and "Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! (Along the Highway)."  It's actually better than you might think. Eddy was always a block of wood, but MacDonald still has some of the wit she always showed with Chevalier.  

Best Sound, 1934

Awards presented February 27, 1935

The nominees were ... 

• The Affairs of Cellini, United Artists Studio Sound Department, Thomas T. Moulton, Sound Director
• Cleopatra, Paramount Studio Sound Department, Franklin B. Hansen, Sound Director
• Flirtation Walk, Warner Bros.-First National Studio Sound Department, Nathan Levinson, Sound Director
• The Gay Divorcee, RKO Radio Studio Sound Department, Carl Dreher, Sound Director
• Imitation of Life, Universal Studio Sound Department, Theodore Soderberg, Sound Director
• One Night of Love, Columbia Studio Sound Department, John Livadary, Sound Director
• Viva Villa! Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Douglas Shearer, Sound Director
• The White Parade, Fox Studio Sound Department, E. H. Hansen, Sound Director

And the Oscar went to ... 

One Night of Love, Columbia Studio Sound Department, John Livadary, Sound Director.

John Livadary

Livadary, who studied mechanical engineering at MIT,  began working in Hollywood in 1929. In addition to three Oscars and fourteen nominations, he also received four of the Academy's scientific and technical awards for innovations in sound.

One Night of Love was designed by Columbia to make a movie star of Grace Moore, a Metropolitan Opera soprano. Before making her debut at the Met as Mimi in La Bohème in 1928, she had appeared on Broadway in musical comedies with songs by Jerome Kern and Irving Berlin. Blond, slim, and beautiful, which opera singers tend not to be, Moore was thought of as a rival to Jeanette MacDonald, who had just moved from Paramount to MGM. In fact, Moore had made three MGM pictures in 1930 and 1932, but was lured to Columbia with the promise of a big PR campaign. Her subsequent films were not successful in establishing Moore's stardom, however, and she returned to the operatic stage. She died in a plane crash in 1948, and her life story became an MGM musical, So This Is Love, in 1953, starring Kathryn Grayson, who had replaced Jeanette MacDonald as the movies' reigning soprano. 

Grace Moore and Tullio Carminati in One Night of Love

Moore in One Night of Love