1927-28 (1st Annual Awards)
Nominations and Winners
Listed below are the Academy Award nominations and winners for the year 1927-28. The symbol appears next to the winner in each category. Click on the name of a film or person in the list to display more information about that film or person. Or, click on a year in the column on the right to display the nominations and winners from that year.
Outstanding Picture
The Racket, The Caddo Company; Paramount Famous Lasky.
7th Heaven, Fox.
Wings, Paramount Famous Lasky.
NOTE: For the 1927-28 (1st) through the 1950 (23rd) Awards, the “Best Picture” (AKA “Outstanding Picture” or “Outstanding Production”) award was given to the production company or studio that produced the winning film. For the 1951 Awards through the present, the award goes to the producers credited on the film.
Best Actor
Emil Jannings in The Last Command, Paramount Famous Lasky, and in The Way of All Flesh, Paramount Famous Lasky.
Best Actress
Louise Dresser in A Ship Comes In, DeMille Pictures; Pathe.
Gloria Swanson in Sadie Thompson, Gloria Swanson Productions; United Artists.
Directing
(Comedy Picture)
Lewis Milestone for Two Arabian Knights, The Caddo Company; United Artists.
(Dramatic Picture)
Frank Borzage for 7th Heaven, Fox.
Herbert Brenon for Sorrell and Son, Art Cinema; United Artists.
King Vidor for The Crowd, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
NOTE: The Directing award did not distinguish between comedy and dramatic pictures after 1927-28.
Art Direction
Rochus Gliese, Sunrise, Fox.
William Cameron Menzies, The Dove, Joseph M. Schenck Productions; United Artists; and Tempest, Art Cinema; United Artists.
Harry Oliver, 7th Heaven, Fox.
Cinematography
George Barnes, The Devil Dancer, Samuel Goldwyn Productions; United Artists; The Magic Flame, Samuel Goldwyn Productions; United Artists; and Sadie Thompson, Gloria Swanson Productions; United Artists.
Charles Rosher, Sunrise, Fox.
Karl Struss, Sunrise, Fox.
Engineering Effects
Roy Pomeroy, Wings, Paramount Famous Lasky.
Nugent Slaughter. [Though no specific titles were indicated during the presentation or in the official results from the Central Board of Judges for the Engineering Effects honorable mentions given to Mr. Hammeras and Mr. Slaughter, Academy records indicate that Mr. Slaughter was most often mentioned in connection with The Jazz Singer.]
NOTE: The Engineering Effects award was not given after 1927-28.
Unique and Artistic Picture
Chang, Paramount Famous Lasky.
The Crowd, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Sunrise, Fox.
NOTE: The Unique and Artistic Picture award was not given after 1927-28.
Writing
(Adaptation)
Alfred Cohn, The Jazz Singer, Warner Bros.
Anthony Coldeway, Glorious Betsy, Warner Bros.
Benjamin Glazer, 7th Heaven, Fox.
(Original Story)
Lajos Biro, The Last Command, Paramount Famous Lasky.
Ben Hecht, Underworld, Paramount Famous Lasky.
(Title Writing)
Gerald Duffy, The Private Life of Helen of Troy, First National.
NOTE: The Writing (Title Writing) award was not given after 1927-28.
Special Award
To Warner Bros. for producing The Jazz Singer, the pioneer outstanding talking picture, which has revolutionized the industry. [ [Statuette]]
To Charles Chaplin for acting, writing, directing and producing The Circus. [ [Statuette]]