‘Ben-Hur’ Best Film of the Year

Buster Keaton, who received an honorary award, poses as a waiter for a wary Walter Brennan, who probably expects Keaton to pull some prank.

April 5, 1960: Despite the sweltering heat, a crowd gathers in bleachers outside the Pantages Theatre  for the Academy Awards. Many celebrities detoured to the Brown Derby to be interviewed in a telecast hosted by Tony Randall and Betsy Palmer, The Times says. One of the highlights of the awards telecast was an appearance by Ella Fitzgerald singing George Gershwin songs. More on the jump…

"Ben-Hur" wins the award for best picture; best actor (Charlton Heston); best male supporting actor (Hugh Griffith); best director (William Wyler); art direction—color (Art Direction: William A. Horning, Edward Carfagno; Set Decoration: Hugh Hunt); cinematography (Robert L. Surtees); costume design—color (Elizabeth Haffenden); film editing (Ralph E. Winters, John D. Dunning); music score of a dramatic or comedy picture (Miklos Rozsa); sound (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Franklin E. Milton, Sound Director) and special effects (Visual Effects by A. Arnold Gillespie, Robert MacDonald; Audible Effects by Milo Lory). The only category in which it was nominated and failed to win was screenplay (Karl Tunberg).

Comments

[fibber mcgee]

Granite-faced Chuck Heston gets the Oscar? The inmates have taken over the asylum. I suppose next we'll see Sandra Bullock get one.