1938 Film Year: Oscar Winners & Nominees
The AwardWentTo archive contains 129 Academy Award records for the 1938 film year, covering 59 films and including 21 wins.
Years follow the source film eligibility/dataset year, which may differ from the ceremony calendar year. Counts describe film-linked archive records, including historical and special-award context where supplied.
Best Picture result
- ★ You Can't Take It with YouColumbia
10 Best Picture award records for this film year. See the full result · Best Picture history
Acting category results
Leading winning films
Ranked by winning records in this film-year selection.
- The Adventures of Robin Hood
3 wins from 4 award records
- You Can't Take It with You
2 wins from 7 award records
- Boys Town
2 wins from 5 award records
- Jezebel
2 wins from 5 award records
- Alexander's Ragtime Band
1 win from 6 award records
- Pygmalion
1 win from 4 award records
Category winners
Select a category to explore its history, or jump to this year's full records.
- ★ Boys Town — Father Flanagan
- ★ Kentucky — Peter Goodwin
- ★ Jezebel — Julie Morrison
- ★ Jezebel — Aunt Belle Massey
- ★ The Big Broadcast of 1938 — Thanks For The Memory
Nominations and award records by category
Showing 129 of 129 archive records. Gold stars mark winning records.
Best Picture
- ★ You Can't Take It with You IMDB — Columbia
- The Adventures of Robin Hood IMDB — Warner Bros.-First National
- Alexander's Ragtime Band IMDB — 20th Century-Fox
- Boys Town IMDB — Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- The Citadel IMDB — Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Four Daughters IMDB — Warner Bros.-First National
- Grand Illusion IMDB — Realization D'Art Cinematographique
- Jezebel IMDB — Warner Bros.
- Pygmalion IMDB — Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Test Pilot IMDB — Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Best Actor
- ★ Boys Town IMDB — Spencer TracyFather Flanagan
- Algiers IMDB — Charles BoyerPepe Le Moko
- Angels with Dirty Faces IMDB — James CagneyRocky Sullivan
- The Citadel IMDB — Robert DonatAndrew Mason
- Pygmalion IMDB — Leslie HowardProfessor Henry Higgins
Best Supporting Actor
- ★ Kentucky IMDB — Walter BrennanPeter Goodwin
- Four Daughters IMDB — John GarfieldMickey Borden
- Algiers IMDB — Gene LockhartRegis
- Marie Antoinette IMDB — Robert MorleyKing Louis XVI
- If I Were King IMDB — Basil RathboneLouis XI
Best Actress
- ★ Jezebel IMDB — Bette DavisJulie Morrison
- White Banners IMDB — Fay BainterHannah
- Pygmalion IMDB — Wendy HillerEliza Doolittle
- Marie Antoinette IMDB — Norma ShearerMarie Antoinette
- Three Comrades IMDB — Margaret SullavanPat Hollmann
Best Supporting Actress
- ★ Jezebel IMDB — Fay BainterAunt Belle Massey
- Of Human Hearts IMDB — Beulah BondiMary Wilkins
- Merrily We Live IMDB — Billie BurkeMrs. Emily Kilbourne
- You Can't Take It with You IMDB — Spring ByingtonPenny Sycamore
- The Great Waltz IMDB — Miliza KorjusCarla Donner
Art Direction
- ★ The Adventures of Robin Hood IMDB — Carl J. Weyl
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer IMDB — Lyle Wheeler
- Alexander's Ragtime Band IMDB — Bernard Herzbrun, Boris Leven
- Algiers IMDB — Alexander Toluboff
- Carefree IMDB — Van Nest Polglase
- The Goldwyn Follies IMDB — Richard Day
- Holiday IMDB — Stephen Goosson, Lionel Banks
- If I Were King IMDB — Hans Dreier, John Goodman
- Mad about Music IMDB — Jack Otterson
- Marie Antoinette IMDB — Cedric Gibbons
- Merrily We Live IMDB — Charles D. Hall
Cinematography
- ★ The Great Waltz IMDB — Joseph Ruttenberg
- Algiers IMDB — James Wong Howe
- Army Girl IMDB — Ernest Miller, Harry Wild
- The Buccaneer IMDB — Victor Milner
- Jezebel IMDB — Ernest Haller
- Mad about Music IMDB — Joseph Valentine
- Merrily We Live IMDB — Norbert Brodine
- Suez IMDB — Peverell Marley
- Vivacious Lady IMDB — Robert de Grasse
- You Can't Take It with You IMDB — Joseph Walker
- The Young in Heart IMDB — Leon Shamroy
Best Director
Film Editing
Original Score
- ★ The Adventures of Robin Hood IMDB — Erich Wolfgang Korngold
- Army Girl IMDB — Victor Young
- Block-Heads IMDB — Marvin Hatley
- Blockade IMDB — Werner Janssen
- Breaking the Ice IMDB — Victor Young
- The Cowboy and the Lady IMDB — Alfred Newman
- If I Were King IMDB — Richard Hageman
- Marie Antoinette IMDB — Herbert Stothart
- Pacific Liner IMDB — Russell Bennett
- Suez IMDB — Louis Silvers
- The Young in Heart IMDB — Franz Waxman
Original Song
- ★ The Big Broadcast of 1938 IMDB — Music by Ralph Rainger; Lyrics by Leo RobinThanks For The Memory
- Mannequin IMDB — Music by Edward Ward; Lyrics by Chet Forrest and Bob WrightAlways And Always
- Carefree IMDB — Music and Lyrics by Irving BerlinChange Partners
- The Cowboy and the Lady IMDB — Music by Lionel Newman; Lyrics by Arthur QuenzerThe Cowboy And The Lady
- Under Western Stars IMDB — Music and Lyrics by Johnny MarvinDust
- Going Places IMDB — Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Johnny MercerJeepers Creepers
- Merrily We Live IMDB — Music by Phil Charig; Lyrics by Arthur QuenzerMerrily We Live
- The Lady Objects IMDB — Music by Ben Oakland; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein IIA Mist Over The Moon
- That Certain Age IMDB — Music by Jimmy McHugh; Lyrics by Harold AdamsonMy Own
- Alexander's Ragtime Band IMDB — Music and Lyrics by Irving BerlinNow It Can Be Told
Music (Original Song Score or Adaptation Score)
- ★ Alexander's Ragtime Band IMDB — Alfred Newman
- Carefree IMDB — Victor Baravalle
- Girls' School IMDB — Morris Stoloff, Gregory Stone
- The Goldwyn Follies IMDB — Alfred Newman
- Jezebel IMDB — Max Steiner
- Mad about Music IMDB — Charles Previn, Frank Skinner
- Storm over Bengal IMDB — Cy Feuer
- Sweethearts IMDB — Herbert Stothart
- There Goes My Heart IMDB — Marvin Hatley
- Tropic Holiday IMDB — Boris Morros
- The Young in Heart IMDB — Franz Waxman
Animated Short Film
- ★ Ferdinand the Bull IMDB — Walt Disney, Producer
- Brave Little Tailor IMDB — Walt Disney, Producer
- Good Scouts IMDB — Walt Disney, Producer
- Hunky and Spunky IMDB — Paramount
- Mother Goose Goes Hollywood IMDB — Walt Disney, Producer
Short Subject (One-Reel)
- ★ That Mothers Might Live IMDB — Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- The Great Heart IMDB — Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Timber Toppers IMDB — 20th Century-Fox
Short Subject (Two-Reel)
- ★ Declaration of Independence IMDB — Warner Bros.
- Swingtime in the Movies IMDB — Warner Bros.
- They're Always Caught IMDB — Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Sound Recording
- ★ The Cowboy and the Lady IMDB — United Artists Studio Sound Department, Thomas T. Moulton, Sound Director
- Army Girl IMDB — Republic Studio Sound Department, Charles L. Lootens, Sound Director
- Four Daughters IMDB — Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department, Nathan Levinson, Sound Director
- If I Were King IMDB — Paramount Studio Sound Department, Loren L. Ryder, Sound Director
- Merrily We Live IMDB — Hal Roach Studio Sound Department, Elmer A. Raguse, Sound Director
- Suez IMDB — 20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, Edmund H. Hansen, Sound Director
- Sweethearts IMDB — Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Douglas Shearer, Sound Director
- That Certain Age IMDB — Universal Studio Sound Department, Bernard B. Brown, Sound Director
- Vivacious Lady IMDB — RKO Radio Studio Sound Department, John Aalberg, Sound Director
- You Can't Take It with You IMDB — Columbia Studio Sound Department, John Livadary, Sound Director
Special Award
- ★ Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs IMDB — Walt Disney
Source context
To Walt Disney for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, recognized as a significant screen innovation which has charmed millions and pioneered a great new entertainment field for the motion picture cartoon.
- ★ Sweethearts IMDB — Oliver Marsh, Allen Davey
Source context
To Oliver Marsh and Allen Davey for the color cinematography of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production, Sweethearts.
- ★ Spawn of the North IMDB — Gordon Jennings, Jan Domela, Dev Jennings, Irmin Roberts, Art Smith, Farciot Edouart, Loyal Griggs, Loren Ryder, Harry Mills, Louis H. Mesenkop, Walter Oberst
Source context
For outstanding achievement in creating Special Photographic and Sound Effects in the Paramount production, Spawn of the North. Special Effects by Gordon Jennings, assisted by Jan Domela, Dev Jennings, Irmin Roberts and Art Smith. Transparencies by Farciot Edouart, assisted by Loyal Griggs. Sound Effects by Loren Ryder, assisted by Harry Mills, Louis H. Mesenkop and Walter Oberst.
Adapted Screenplay
- ★ Pygmalion IMDB — Screenplay and Dialogue by George Bernard Shaw; Adaptation by W. P. Lipscomb, Cecil Lewis, Ian Dalrymple
- Boys Town IMDB — John Meehan, Dore Schary
- The Citadel IMDB — Ian Dalrymple, Frank Wead, Elizabeth Hill
- Four Daughters IMDB — Julius J. Epstein, Lenore Coffee
- You Can't Take It with You IMDB — Robert Riskin
Writing (Original Story)
- ★ Boys Town IMDB — Dore Schary, Eleanore Griffin
- Alexander's Ragtime Band IMDB — Irving Berlin
- Angels with Dirty Faces IMDB — Rowland Brown
- Blockade IMDB — John Howard Lawson
- Mad about Music IMDB — Marcella Burke, Frederick Kohner
- Test Pilot IMDB — Frank Wead
Nominated films and other recorded entries
59 films represented in the 1938 archive selection.
- Alexander's Ragtime Band
- Algiers
- Angels with Dirty Faces
- Army Girl
- Block-Heads
- Blockade
- Boys Town
- Brave Little Tailor
- Breaking the Ice
- Carefree
- Declaration of Independence
- Ferdinand the Bull
- Four Daughters
- Girls' School
- Going Places
- Good Scouts
- Grand Illusion
- Holiday
- Hunky and Spunky
- If I Were King
- Jezebel
- Kentucky
- Mad about Music
- Mannequin
- Marie Antoinette
- Merrily We Live
- Mother Goose Goes Hollywood
- Of Human Hearts
- Pacific Liner
- Pygmalion
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
- Spawn of the North
- Storm over Bengal
- Suez
- Sweethearts
- Swingtime in the Movies
- Test Pilot
- That Certain Age
- That Mothers Might Live
- The Adventures of Robin Hood
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
- The Big Broadcast of 1938
- The Buccaneer
- The Citadel
- The Cowboy and the Lady
- The Goldwyn Follies
- The Great Heart
- The Great Waltz
- The Lady Objects
- The Young in Heart
- There Goes My Heart
- They're Always Caught
- Three Comrades
- Timber Toppers
- Tropic Holiday
- Under Western Stars
- Vivacious Lady
- White Banners
- You Can't Take It with You
About these award records
This independent archive groups film-linked award records by film, credited name, category and eligibility year. The film year can differ from the year the ceremony took place. Ceremony numbers are shown where supplied by the records.
Each distinct performance, song or award credit remains a separate record, even when it belongs to the same film. Shared credits stay together. A person's page covers the name shown, without combining aliases or shared credits into a complete career total.
Totals can include honorary, special and historical awards alongside competitive nominations. Awards without a linked film are outside these page totals. Source notes and uncertain records are retained; category comparisons omit groups with unresolved notes, ties or conflicting identities.
For the official record, search the Academy Awards Database (opens in a new tab). Award Went To is an independent exploration tool and is not affiliated with the Academy.