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, 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.