32nd Academy Awards

32nd Academy Awards
Date	April 4, 1960
Site	RKO Pantages Theatre, Hollywood, California
Host	Bob Hope
Producer	Arthur Freed
Director	Alan Handley
Highlights
Best Picture	Ben-Hur
Most awards	Ben-Hur (11)
Most nominations	Ben-Hur (12)
TV in the United States
Network	NBC
Duration	1 hour, 40 minutes

The 32nd Academy Awards honored film achievements of 1959 on 4 April 1960.

MGM's (producer Sam Zimbalist) and director William Wyler's three-and-a-half-hour-long epic drama Ben-Hur (with a spectacular sea battle and eleven-minute chariot race choreographed by Yakima Canutt) won 11 Oscars in 1959, breaking the previous year's all-time record of nine (Gigi (1958)). With its record-breaking eleven Oscar wins out of twelve nominations, it was the most honored motion picture in Academy Award history until Titanic and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King both equaled the feat in 1997 and 2003, respectively.

Ben-Hur was a re-make of MGM's own 1926 silent film of the same name, and it was the most expensive film of its time, budgeted at $15 million. Both films were based on or inspired by General Lew Wallace's novel (first published in 1880) about the rise of Christianity.

Ben-Hur was also the third film to win both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, a feat not repeated until Mystic River in 2004. Wyler became the third and, to date, last person to win more than two Best Director awards (following Frank Capra and John Ford), as well as the first (and, to date, only) person to direct three Best Picture winners.

Awards

Winners are listed first and highlighted with boldface

Best Motion Picture	Best Director
Ben-Hur - Sam Zimbalist (posthumous award) Anatomy of a Murder - Otto Preminger Room at the Top - John Woolf and James Woolf The Diary of Anne Frank - George Stevens The Nun's Story - Henry Blanke	William Wyler – Ben-Hur Jack Clayton – Room at the Top Billy Wilder – Some Like It Hot George Stevens – The Diary of Anne Frank Fred Zinnemann – The Nun's Story
Best Actor	Best Actress
Charlton Heston – Ben-Hur Laurence Harvey – Room at the Top Jack Lemmon – Some Like It Hot Paul Muni – The Last Angry Man James Stewart – Anatomy of a Murder	Simone Signoret – Room at the Top Doris Day – Pillow Talk Audrey Hepburn – The Nun's Story Katharine Hepburn – Suddenly, Last Summer Elizabeth Taylor – Suddenly, Last Summer
Best Supporting Actor	Best Supporting Actress
Hugh Griffith – Ben-Hur Arthur O'Connell – Anatomy of a Murder George C. Scott – Anatomy of a Murder Robert Vaughn – The Young Philadelphians Ed Wynn – The Diary of Anne Frank	Shelley Winters – The Diary of Anne Frank Hermione Baddeley – Room at the Top Susan Kohner – Imitation of Life Juanita Moore – Imitation of Life Thelma Ritter – Pillow Talk
Best Original Screenplay	Best Adapted Screenplay
Pillow Talk – Russell Rouse, Clarence Greene, Stanley Shapiro and Maurice Richlin North by Northwest – Ernest Lehman The 400 Blows – François Truffaut and Marcel Moussy Operation Petticoat – Paul King, Joseph J. Stone, Stanley Shapiro and Maurice Richlin Wild Strawberries – Ingmar Bergman	Room at the Top – Neil Paterson Anatomy of a Murder – Wendell Mayes Ben-Hur – Karl Tunberg Some Like It Hot – Billy Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond The Nun's Story – Robert Anderson
Best Foreign Language Film
Black Orpheus (France) The Bridge (Germany) The Village on the River (Netherlands) The Great War (Italy) Paw (Denmark)
Best Documentary Feature	Best Documentary Short
Serengeti Shall Not Die The Race for Space	Glas Donald in Mathmagic Land From Generation to Generation
Best Live Action Short	Best Animated Short
The Golden Fish - Jacques Cousteau Between the Tides - Ian Ferguson Mysteries of the Deep - Walt Disney The Running, Jumping and Standing-Still Film - Peter Sellers Skyscraper - Shirley Clarke and Willard Van Dyke	Moonbird Mexicali Shmoes Noah's Ark The Violinist
Best Dramatic or Comedy Score	Best Musical Score
Ben-Hur – Miklós Rózsa On the Beach – Ernest Gold Pillow Talk – Frank DeVol The Diary of Anne Frank – Alfred Newman The Nun's Story – Franz Waxman	Porgy and Bess – André Previn and Ken Darby L'il Abner – Nelson Riddle and Joseph J. Lilley Say One for Me – Lionel Newman Sleeping Beauty – George Bruns The Five Pennies – Leith Stevens
Best Original Song	Best Sound Recording
"High Hopes" from A Hole in the Head – Music by Jimmy Van Heusen; Lyric by Sammy Cahn "The Best of Everything" from The Best of Everything – Music by Alfred Newman; Lyric by Sammy Cahn "The Five Pennies" from The Five Pennies – Music and Lyric by Sylvia Fine "The Hanging Tree" from The Hanging Tree – Music by Jerry Livingston; Lyric by Mack David "Strange Are The Ways of Love" from The Young Land – Music by Dimitri Tiomkin; Lyric by Ned Washington	Ben-Hur – Franklin Milton, MGM Studio Sound Department Journey to the Center of the Earth – Carlton W. Faulkner, Twentieth Century-Fox Studio Sound Department Libel – A. W. Watkins, MGM London Studio Sound Department Porgy and Bess – Gordon E. Sawyer and Fred Hynes, Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department and Todd-AO Sound Department The Nun's Story – George Groves, Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department
Best Art Direction, Black and White	Best Art Direction, Color
The Diary of Anne Frank – Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler and George W. Davis; Set Decoration: Walter M. Scott and Stuart A. Reiss Career – Art Direction: Hal Pereira and Walter Tyler; Set Decoration: Sam Comer and Arthur Krams Some Like It Hot – Art Direction: Ted Haworth; Set Decoration: Edward G. Boyle Suddenly, Last Summer – Art Direction: Oliver Messel and William Kellner; Set Decoration: Scot Slimon The Last Angry Man – Art Direction: Carl Anderson; Set Decoration: William Kiernan	Ben-Hur – Art Direction: William A. Horning (posthumous award) and Edward Carfagno; Set Decoration: Hugh Hunt Journey to the Center of the Earth – Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler; Set Decoration: Franz Bachelin and Herman A. Blumenthal North by Northwest – Art Direction: William A. Horning (posthumous nomination), Robert Boyle and Merrill Pye; Set Decoration: Henry Grace and Frank McKelvy Pillow Talk – Art Direction: Richard H. Riedel; Set Decoration: Russell A. Gausman and Ruby R. Levitt The Big Fisherman – Art Direction: John DeCuir; Set Decoration: Julia Heron
Best Cinematography, Black and White	Best Cinematography, Color
The Diary of Anne Frank – William C. Mellor Anatomy of a Murder – Sam Leavitt Career – Joseph LaShelle Some Like It Hot – Charles Lang, Jr. The Young Philadelphians – Harry Stradling, Sr.	Ben-Hur – Robert L. Surtees Porgy and Bess – Leon Shamroy The Big Fisherman – Lee Garmes The Five Pennies – Daniel L. Fapp The Nun's Story – Franz Planer
Best Costume Design, Black and White	Best Costume Design, Color
Some Like It Hot – Orry-Kelly Career – Edith Head The Diary of Anne Frank – Charles LeMaire and Mary Wills The Gazebo – Helen Rose The Young Philadelphians – Howard Shoup	Ben-Hur – Elizabeth Haffenden Porgy and Bess – Irene Sharaff The Best of Everything – Adele Palmer The Big Fisherman – Renie The Five Pennies – Edith Head
Best Film Editing	Best Special Effects
Ben-Hur – Ralph E. Winters and John D. Dunning Anatomy of a Murder – Louis R. Loeffler North by Northwest – George Tomasini On the Beach – Frederic Knudtson The Nun's Story – Walter Thompson	Ben-Hur – A. Arnold Gillespie, Robert MacDonald and Milo Lory Journey to the Center of the Earth – L. B. Abbott, James B. Gordon and Carl Faulkner

Academy Honorary Awards

• Buster Keaton "for his unique talents which brought immortal comedies to the screen." (Statuette)
• Lee De Forest "for his pioneering inventions which brought sound to the motion picture.” (Statuette)

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

• Bob Hope

Presenters and performers

Presenters

• Richard Conte and Angie Dickinson (Presenters: Art Direction – Set Decoration Awards)
• Gary Cooper (Presenter: Best Picture)
• Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh (Presenters: Writing Awards)
• Edward Curtiss (Presenter: Cinematography Awards)
• Arlene Dahl and Fernando Lamas (Presenters: Costume Design Awards)
• Doris Day (Presenter: Best Original Song)
• Olivia de Havilland (Presenters: Best Supporting Actor)
• Edmond O'Brien (Presenters: Best Supporting Actress)
• Mitzi Gaynor (Presenter: Documentary Awards)
• Haya Harareet (Presenter: Best Visual Effects)
• Susan Hayward (Presenter: Best Actor)
• Rock Hudson (Presenter: Best Actress)
• Eric Johnston (Presenter: Best Foreign Language Film)
• B. B. Kahane (Presenter: Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award)
• Gene Kelly (Presenter: Music Awards)
• Hope Lange and Carl Reiner (Presenters: Short Subjects Awards)
• Barbara Rush (Presenter: Best Film Editing)
• Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood (Presenters: Best Sound Recording)
• John Wayne (Presenter: Best Director)

Performers

• Sammy Davis Jr. ("High Hopes" from A Hole in the Head)
• Gogi Grant ("Strange Are the Ways of Love" from The Young Land)
• Joni James ("The Five Pennies" from The Five Pennies)
• Frankie Laine ("The Hanging Tree" from The Hanging Tree)
• Frankie Vaughan ("The Best of Everything" from The Best of Everything)

Multiple nominations and awards

These films had multiple nominations:

• 12 nominations: Ben-Hur
• 8 nominations: The Diary of Anne Frank, The Nun's Story
• 7 nominations: Anatomy of a Murder
• 6 nominations: Room at the Top, Some Like it Hot
• 5 nominations: Pillow Talk
• 4 nominations: The Five Pennies, Porgy and Bess
• 3 nominations: The Big Fisherman, Career, Journey to the Center of the Earth, North by Northwest, Suddenly, Last Summer, The Young Philadelphians
• 2 nominations: The Best of Everything, Imitation of Life, The Last Angry Man, On the Beach

The following films received multiple awards.

• 11 wins: Ben-Hur
• 3 wins: The Diary of Anne Frank
• 2 wins: Room at the Top

See also

• 17th Golden Globe Awards
• 1959 in film
• 2nd Grammy Awards
• 11th Primetime Emmy Awards
• 12th Primetime Emmy Awards
• 13th British Academy Film Awards
• 14th Tony Awards