28th Academy Awards

28th Academy Awards
28th Academy Awards
Date	March 21, 1956
Site	RKO Pantages Theatre, ; Hollywood, California, ; NBC Century Theatre ; New York City, New York
Hosted by	Jerry Lewis (Los Angeles), ; Claudette Colbert (New York) and ; Joseph L. Mankiewicz (New York)
Produced by	Robert Emmett Dolan
Directed by	George Seaton
Highlights
Best Picture	Marty
Most awards	Marty (4)
Most nominations	Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing , Marty, and The Rose Tattoo (8)
TV in the United States
Network	NBC
	← 27th ; Academy Awards ; 29th →;

Last updated March 06, 2025

The 28th Academy Awards were held on March 21, 1956, to honor the films of 1955, at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles, California. In this year, Jerry Lewis became the host, replacing Bob Hope.^[1]

Grace Kelly, soon to be Princess of Monaco, attended the ceremony as a presenter on her way toward retirement from acting.^[1] She was chided by Louella Parsons for failing to acknowledge Lewis' tribute to her from the film business. Parsons wrote, "it seems she might have taken a moment to thank him, give him a little kiss or something before leaving the stage so abruptly."^[1]

This was the final year in which the Best Foreign Language Film was a Special/Honorary award. Beginning with the 29th Academy Awards, it became a competitive category.

Winners and nominees

Delbert Mann, Best Director winner

Ernest Borgnine; Best Actor winner

Anna Magnani; Best Actress winner

Jack Lemmon; Best Supporting Actor winner

Jo Van Fleet; Best Supporting Actress winner

Sonya Levien, Best Story and Screenplay co-winner

Walt Disney; Best Documentary Short Subject winner

Alfred Newman, Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture winner

James Wong Howe; Best Cinematography, Black-and-White winner

Helen Rose, Best Costume Design, Black-and-White winner

Charles LeMaire; Best Costume Design, Color winner

Awards

Nominees were announced on February 18, 1956. Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.^[2]

Best Motion Picture	Best Directing
Marty – Harold Hecht for United Artists ‡ Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing – Buddy Adler for 20th Century Fox Mister Roberts – Leland Hayward for Warner Bros. Picnic – Fred Kohlmar for Columbia Pictures The Rose Tattoo – Hal B. Wallis for Paramount Pictures	Delbert Mann – Marty ‡ John Sturges – Bad Day at Black Rock Elia Kazan – East of Eden Joshua Logan – Picnic David Lean – Summertime
Best Actor	Best Actress
*Ernest Borgnine – Marty* as Marty Piletti*‡ James Cagney – Love Me or Leave Me* as Martin Snyder James Dean (posthumous nomination) – East of Eden as Caleb Trask Frank Sinatra – The Man with the Golden Arm as Frankie "Dealer" Machine Spencer Tracy – Bad Day at Black Rock as John J. Macreedy	*Anna Magnani – The Rose Tattoo* as Serafina Delle Rose*‡ Susan Hayward – I'll Cry Tomorrow* as Lillian Roth Katharine Hepburn – Summertime as Jane Hudson Jennifer Jones – Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing as Dr. Han Suyin Eleanor Parker – Interrupted Melody as Marjorie Lawrence
Best Actor in a Supporting Role	Best Actress in a Supporting Role
*Jack Lemmon – Mister Roberts* as Ensign Frank Thurlowe Pulver*‡ Arthur Kennedy – Trial* as Bernard Castle Joe Mantell – Marty as Angie Sal Mineo – Rebel Without a Cause as John "Plato" Crawford Arthur O'Connell – Picnic as Howard Bevans	*Jo Van Fleet – East of Eden* as Cathy Ames/Kate Trask*‡ Betsy Blair – Marty* as Clara Peggy Lee – Pete Kelly's Blues as Rose Hopkins Marisa Pavan – The Rose Tattoo as Rosa Delle Rose Natalie Wood – Rebel Without a Cause as Judy
Best Writing (Screenplay)	Best Writing (Story and Screenplay)
Marty – Paddy Chayefsky from Marty by Paddy Chayefsky‡ Bad Day at Black Rock – Millard Kaufman from "Bad Time at Honda" by Howard Breslin Blackboard Jungle – Richard Brooks from Blackboard Jungle by Evan Hunter East of Eden – Paul Osborn from East of Eden by John Steinbeck Love Me or Leave Me – Daniel Fuchs and Isobel Lennart	Interrupted Melody – William Ludwig and Sonya Levien ‡ The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell – Milton Sperling and Emmet Lavery It's Always Fair Weather – Betty Comden and Adolph Green Mr. Hulot's Holiday – Jacques Tati and Henri Marquet The Seven Little Foys – Melville Shavelson and Jack Rose
Best Writing (Motion Picture Story)	Best Documentary (Feature)
Love Me or Leave Me – Daniel Fuchs ‡ The Private War of Major Benson – Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher Rebel Without a Cause – Nicholas Ray The Sheep Has Five Legs – Jean Marsan, Henri Troyat, Jacques Perret, Henri Verneuil, and Raoul Ploquin Strategic Air Command – Beirne Lay Jr.	Helen Keller in Her Story – Nancy Hamilton ‡ Heartbreak Ridge – René Risacher
Best Documentary (Short Subject)	Best Short Subject (One-Reel)
Men Against the Arctic – Walt Disney ‡ The Battle of Gettysburg – Dore Schary The Face of Lincoln – Wilbur T. Blume	Survival City – Edmund Reek‡ 3rd Ave. El – Carson Davidson Gadgets Galore – Robert Youngson Three Kisses – Justin Herman
Best Short Subject (Two-Reel)	Best Short Subject (Cartoon)
The Face of Lincoln – Wilbur T. Blume‡ 24 Hour Alert – Cedric Francis The Battle of Gettysburg – Dore Schary On the Twelfth Day – George K. Arthur Switzerland – Walt Disney	Speedy Gonzales – Edward Selzer ‡ Good Will to Men – Fred Quimby, William Hanna, and Joseph Barbera The Legend of Rockabye Point – Walter Lantz No Hunting – Walt Disney
Best Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)	Best Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture)
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing – Alfred Newman ‡ Battle Cry – Max Steiner The Man with the Golden Arm – Elmer Bernstein Picnic – George Duning The Rose Tattoo – Alex North	Oklahoma! – Robert Russell Bennett, Jay Blackton and Adolph Deutsch ‡ Daddy Long Legs – Alfred Newman Guys and Dolls – Jay Blackton and Cyril J. Mockridge It's Always Fair Weather – André Previn Love Me or Leave Me – Percy Faith and Georgie Stoll
Best Music (Song)	Best Sound Recording
*"Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" from Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing* – Music by Sammy Fain; Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster** ‡ "I'll Never Stop Loving You" from Love Me or Leave Me – Music by Nicholas Brodszky; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn "Something's Gotta Give" from Daddy Long Legs – Music and Lyrics by Johnny Mercer "The Tender Trap" from The Tender Trap – Music by Jimmy Van Heusen; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn "Unchained Melody" from Unchained – Music by Alex North; Lyrics by Hy Zaret	Oklahoma! – Fred Hynes ‡ Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing – Carlton W. Faulkner Love Me or Leave Me – Wesley C. Miller Mister Roberts – William A. Mueller Not as a Stranger – Watson Jones
Best Art Direction (Black-and-White)	Best Art Direction (Color)
The Rose Tattoo – Art Direction: Hal Pereira and Tambi Larsen; Set Decoration: Samuel M. Comer and Arthur Krams ‡ Blackboard Jungle – Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons and Randall Duell; Set Decoration: Edwin B. Willis and Henry Grace I'll Cry Tomorrow – Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons and Malcolm Brown; Set Decoration: Edwin B. Willis and Hugh Hunt The Man with the Golden Arm – Art Direction: Joseph C. Wright; Set Decoration: Darrell Silvera Marty – Art Direction: Ted Haworth and Walter M. Simonds; Set Decoration: Robert Priestley	Picnic – Art Direction: William Flannery and Jo Mielziner; Set Decoration: Robert Priestley ‡ Daddy Long Legs – Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler and John DeCuir; Set Decoration: Walter M. Scott and Paul S. Fox Guys and Dolls – Art Direction: Oliver Smith and Joseph C. Wright; Set Decoration: Howard Bristol Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing – Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler and George Davis; Set Decoration: Walter M. Scott and Jack Stubbs To Catch a Thief – Art Direction: Hal Pereira and Joseph McMillan Johnson; Set Decoration: Samuel M. Comer and Arthur Krams
Best Cinematography (Black-and-White)	Best Cinematography (Color)
The Rose Tattoo – James Wong Howe ‡ Blackboard Jungle – Russell Harlan I'll Cry Tomorrow – Arthur Arling Marty – Joseph LaShelle Queen Bee – Charles Lang	To Catch a Thief – Robert Burks ‡ Guys and Dolls – Harry Stradling Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing – Leon Shamroy A Man Called Peter – Harold Lipstein Oklahoma! – Robert Surtees
Best Costume Design (Black-and-White)	Best Costume Design (Color)
I'll Cry Tomorrow – Helen Rose ‡ The Pickwick Papers – Beatrice Dawson Queen Bee – Jean Louis The Rose Tattoo – Edith Head Ugetsu – Tadaoto Kainosho	Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing – Charles LeMaire ‡ Guys and Dolls – Irene Sharaff Interrupted Melody – Helen Rose To Catch a Thief – Edith Head The Virgin Queen – Charles LeMaire and Mary Wills
Best Film Editing	Best Special Effects
Picnic – Charles Nelson and William Lyon ‡ Blackboard Jungle – Ferris Webster The Bridges at Toko-Ri – Alma Macrorie Oklahoma! – Gene Ruggiero and George Boemler The Rose Tattoo – Warren Low	The Bridges at Toko-Ri ‡ The Dam Busters The Rains of Ranchipur

Honorary Foreign Language Film Award

To Samurai, The Legend of Musashi (Japan) - Best Foreign Language Film first released in the United States during 1955.

Presenters and performers

Presenters

Ernest Borgnine (Presenter: Best Story & Screenplay)
James Cagney (Presenter: Best Special Effects)
Cantinflas (Presenter: Cinematography Awards)
Maurice Chevalier (Presenter: Best Original Song)
Mel Ferrer and Claire Trevor (Presenter: Scientific and Technical Awards)
Susan Hayward (Presenter: Costume Design Awards)
Audrey Hepburn (Presenter: Best Motion Picture)
Jennifer Jones (Presenter: Best Director)
Grace Kelly (Presenter: Best Actor)
Peggy Lee and Jack Lemmon (Presenters: Art Direction Awards)
Marlon Brando (Presenter: Best Actress—reading from a film clip shot in Manila^[3])
Jerry Lewis (Presenter: Best Film Editing and Best Actress)
Anna Magnani (Presenter: Best Screenplay)
Sal Mineo (Presenter: Best Sound Recording)
Edmond O'Brien (Presenter: Best Supporting Actress)
Eleanor Parker (Presenter: Documentary Awards)
Marisa Pavan, Arthur O'Connell and Jo Van Fleet (Presenters: Short Subjects Awards)
Frank Sinatra and Jerry Lewis (Presenters: Best Music Score Awards)

Performers

André Previn – Conductor the Academy Awards orchestra
Harry Belafonte ("Unchained Melody" from Unchained )
Maurice Chevalier ("Something's Gotta Give" from Daddy Long Legs )
Eddie Fisher ("Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" from Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing )
Dean Martin ("(Love Is) The Tender Trap" from The Tender Trap )
Jane Powell ("I'll Never Stop Loving You" from Love Me or Leave Me )

Multiple nominations and awards

Films with multiple nominations
Nominations	Film
8	Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing
	Marty
	The Rose Tattoo
6	Love Me or Leave Me
6	Picnic
4	Blackboard Jungle
	East of Eden
	Guys and Dolls
	I'll Cry Tomorrow
	Oklahoma!
3	Bad Day at Black Rock
	Daddy Long Legs
	Interrupted Melody
	The Man with the Golden Arm
	Mister Roberts
	Rebel Without a Cause
	To Catch a Thief
2	The Battle of Gettysburg
	The Bridges at Toko-Ri
	The Face of Lincoln
	It's Always Fair Weather
	Queen Bee
	Summertime

Films with multiple awards
Awards	Film
4	Marty
3	Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing
The Rose Tattoo
2	Oklahoma!
Picnic

References

1 2 3 4 Wallechinsky, David; Wallace, Irving (1975). The People's Almanac. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc. p. 840. ISBN 0-385-04060-1.
↑ "The 28th Academy Awards (1956) Nominees and Winners". Oscars.org (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
↑ Anna Magnani winning Best Actress for "The Rose Tattoo" on YouTube

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[Oscars_'55_Notes-1] 1 2 3 4 Wallechinsky, David; Wallace, Irving (1975). The People's Almanac. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc. p. 840. ISBN 0-385-04060-1.

[Oscars1956-2] "The 28th Academy Awards (1956) Nominees and Winners". Oscars.org (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved August 20, 2011.

[3] Anna Magnani winning Best Actress for "The Rose Tattoo" on YouTube

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