1956 Film Year: Oscar Winners & Nominees
The AwardWentTo archive contains 125 Academy Award records for the 1956 film year, covering 59 films and including 27 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
- ★ Around the World in 80 DaysMichael Todd, Producer
5 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 King and I
5 wins from 9 award records
- Around the World in 80 Days
5 wins from 8 award records
- Somebody Up There Likes Me
2 wins from 3 award records
- Giant
1 win from 10 award records
- The Ten Commandments
1 win from 7 award records
- Lust for Life
1 win from 4 award records
Category winners
Select a category to explore its history, or jump to this year's full records.
- ★ The King and I — The King
- ★ Lust for Life — Paul Gauguin
- ★ Anastasia — The Woman
- ★ Written on the Wind — Marylee Hadley
- ★ Giant
- ★ The Man Who Knew Too Much — Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)
Nominations and award records by category
Showing 125 of 125 archive records. Gold stars mark winning records.
Best Picture
- ★ Around the World in 80 Days IMDB — Michael Todd, Producer
- Friendly Persuasion IMDB — William Wyler, Producer
- Giant IMDB — George Stevens and Henry Ginsberg, Producers
- The King and I IMDB — Charles Brackett, Producer
- The Ten Commandments IMDB — Cecil B. DeMille, Producer
Best Actor
- ★ The King and I IMDB — Yul BrynnerThe King
- Giant IMDB — James DeanJett Rink
- Lust for Life IMDB — Kirk DouglasVincent Van Gogh
- Giant IMDB — Rock HudsonBick Benedict
- Richard III IMDB — Sir Laurence OlivierRichard III
Best Supporting Actor
- ★ Lust for Life IMDB — Anthony QuinnPaul Gauguin
- Bus Stop IMDB — Don MurrayBo
- Friendly Persuasion IMDB — Anthony PerkinsJosh Birdwell
- The Bold and the Brave IMDB — Mickey RooneyDooley
- Written on the Wind IMDB — Robert StackKyle Hadley
Best Actress
- ★ Anastasia IMDB — Ingrid BergmanThe Woman
- Baby Doll IMDB — Carroll BakerBaby Doll
- The Rainmaker IMDB — Katharine HepburnLizzie Curry
- The Bad Seed IMDB — Nancy KellyChristine Penmark
- The King and I IMDB — Deborah KerrAnna
Best Supporting Actress
- ★ Written on the Wind IMDB — Dorothy MaloneMarylee Hadley
- Baby Doll IMDB — Mildred DunnockAunt Rose Comfort
- The Bad Seed IMDB — Eileen HeckartMrs. Daigle
- Giant IMDB — Mercedes McCambridgeLuz Benedict
- The Bad Seed IMDB — Patty McCormackRhoda Penmark
Art Direction (Black-and-White)
- ★ Somebody Up There Likes Me IMDB — Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons, Malcolm F. Brown; Set Decoration: Edwin B. Willis, F. Keogh Gleason
- The Magnificent Seven IMDB — Takashi Matsuyama
- The Proud and Profane IMDB — Art Direction: Hal Pereira, A. Earl Hedrick; Set Decoration: Samuel M. Comer, Frank R. McKelvy
- The Solid Gold Cadillac IMDB — Art Direction: Ross Bellah; Set Decoration: William R. Kiernan, Louis Diage
- Teenage Rebel IMDB — Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler, Jack Martin Smith; Set Decoration: Walter M. Scott, Stuart A. Reiss
Art Direction (Color)
- ★ The King and I IMDB — Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler, John DeCuir; Set Decoration: Walter M. Scott, Paul S. Fox
- Around the World in 80 Days IMDB — Art Direction: James W. Sullivan, Ken Adam; Set Decoration: Ross J. Dowd
- Giant IMDB — Art Direction: Boris Leven; Set Decoration: Ralph S. Hurst
- Lust for Life IMDB — Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons, Hans Peters, Preston Ames; Set Decoration: Edwin B. Willis, F. Keogh Gleason
- The Ten Commandments IMDB — Art Direction: Hal Pereira, Walter H. Tyler, Albert Nozaki; Set Decoration: Samuel M. Comer, Ray Moyer
Cinematography (Black-and-White)
Cinematography (Color)
Costume Design (Black-and-White)
- ★ The Solid Gold Cadillac IMDB — Jean Louis
- The Magnificent Seven IMDB — Kohei Ezaki
- The Power and the Prize IMDB — Helen Rose
- The Proud and Profane IMDB — Edith Head
- Teenage Rebel IMDB — Charles LeMaire, Mary Wills
Costume Design (Color)
- ★ The King and I IMDB — Irene Sharaff
- Around the World in 80 Days IMDB — Miles White
- Giant IMDB — Moss Mabry, Marjorie Best
- The Ten Commandments IMDB — Edith Head, Ralph Jester, John Jensen, Dorothy Jeakins, Arnold Friberg
- War and Peace IMDB — Marie De Matteis
Best Director
Documentary Feature
- ★ The Silent World IMDB — Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Producer
- The Naked Eye IMDB — Louis Clyde Stoumen, Producer
- Where Mountains Float IMDB — The Government Film Committee of Denmark
Documentary Short Subject
- ★ The True Story of the Civil War IMDB — Louis Clyde Stoumen, Producer
- A City Decides IMDB — Charles Guggenheim & Associates, Inc.
- The Dark Wave IMDB — John Healy, Producer
- The House without a Name IMDB — Valentine Davies, Producer
- Man in Space IMDB — Ward Kimball, Producer
Film Editing
- ★ Around the World in 80 Days IMDB — Gene Ruggiero, Paul Weatherwax
- The Brave One IMDB — Merrill G. White
- Giant IMDB — William Hornbeck, Philip W. Anderson, Fred Bohanan
- Somebody Up There Likes Me IMDB — Albert Akst
- The Ten Commandments IMDB — Anne Bauchens
International Feature Film
- ★ La Strada IMDB — Italy; Dino De Laurentiis and Carlo Ponti, Producers
Source context
NOTE: For the 29th Academy Awards, the name(s) of the producer(s) were included in the nomination for the Foreign Language Film category.
- The Captain of Kopenick IMDB — Federal Republic of Germany - West; Gyula Trebitsch and Walter Koppel, Producers
Source context
NOTE: For the 29th Academy Awards, the name(s) of the producer(s) were included in the nomination for the Foreign Language Film category.
- Gervaise IMDB — France; Annie Dorfmann, Producer
Source context
NOTE: For the 29th Academy Awards, the name(s) of the producer(s) were included in the nomination for the Foreign Language Film category.
- Harp of Burma IMDB — Japan; Masayuki Takagi, Producer
Source context
NOTE: For the 29th Academy Awards, the name(s) of the producer(s) were included in the nomination for the Foreign Language Film category.
- Qivitoq IMDB — Denmark; O. Dalsgaard-Olsen, Producer
Source context
NOTE: For the 29th Academy Awards, the name(s) of the producer(s) were included in the nomination for the Foreign Language Film category.
Original Score
Original Song
- ★ The Man Who Knew Too Much IMDB — Music and Lyrics by Jay Livingston and Ray EvansWhatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)
- Friendly Persuasion IMDB — Music by Dimitri Tiomkin; Lyrics by Paul Francis WebsterFriendly Persuasion (Thee I Love)
- Julie IMDB — Music by Leith Stevens; Lyrics by Tom AdairJulie
- High Society IMDB — Music and Lyrics by Cole PorterTrue Love
- Written on the Wind IMDB — Music by Victor Young; Lyrics by Sammy CahnWritten On The Wind
Music (Original Song Score or Adaptation Score)
- ★ The King and I IMDB — Alfred Newman, Ken Darby
- The Best Things in Life Are Free IMDB — Lionel Newman
- The Eddy Duchin Story IMDB — Morris Stoloff, George Duning
- High Society IMDB — Johnny Green, Saul Chaplin
- Meet Me in Las Vegas IMDB — George Stoll, Johnny Green
Animated Short Film
- ★ Mister Magoo's Puddle Jumper IMDB — Stephen Bosustow, Producer
- Gerald McBoing-Boing on Planet Moo IMDB — Stephen Bosustow, Producer
- The Jaywalker IMDB — Stephen Bosustow, Producer
Short Subject (One-Reel)
- ★ Crashing the Water Barrier IMDB — Konstantin Kalser, Producer
- I Never Forget a Face IMDB — Robert Youngson, Producer
- Time Stood Still IMDB — Cedric Francis, Producer
Short Subject (Two-Reel)
- ★ The Bespoke Overcoat IMDB — Romulus Films
- Cow Dog IMDB — Larry Lansburgh, Producer
- The Dark Wave IMDB — John Healy, Producer
- Samoa IMDB — Walt Disney, Producer
Sound Recording
- ★ The King and I IMDB — 20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, Carl Faulkner, Sound Director
- The Brave One IMDB — King Bros. Productions, Inc., Sound Department, John Myers, Sound Director
- The Eddy Duchin Story IMDB — Columbia Studio Sound Department, John Livadary, Sound Director
- Friendly Persuasion IMDB — Westrex Sound Services, Inc., Gordon R. Glennan, Sound Director; and Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department, Gordon Sawyer, Sound Director
- The Ten Commandments IMDB — Paramount Studio Sound Department, Loren L. Ryder, Sound Director
Visual Effects
- ★ The Ten Commandments IMDB — John Fulton
- Forbidden Planet IMDB — A. Arnold Gillespie, Irving Ries, Wesley C. Miller
Adapted Screenplay
- ★ Around the World in 80 Days IMDB — James Poe, John Farrow, S.J. Perelman
- Baby Doll IMDB — Tennessee Williams
- Friendly Persuasion IMDB — Michael Wilson
Source context
NOTE: Early in 1956, the name of blacklisted screenwriter Michael Wilson had been deleted from the screen credits of Friendly Persuasion by Allied Artists, the film's distributor, based on a 1952 agreement between the Screen Writers Guild and various production companies. That agreement gave studios the right to omit from the screen the name of any individual who had failed to clear himself before a duly constituted legislative committee of Congress if accused of Communist affiliations, as was the case with Wilson at the time. The Academy, in the awkward position of possibly conferring its highest honor on someone whose name had been omitted from screen credit, revised its bylaws at a special February 6, 1957, meeting. That revision, in essence, allowed that in such cases, the achievement itself could be eligible for nomination, but the specific writer would be ineligible. The following instructions were sent to Price Waterhouse & Co., Certified Public Accountants, who tabulated Academy ballots: \"...we ask that if, in tabulating the nominations ballots for Best Screenplay (adapted), Friendly Persuasion is one of the five nominations, you list the other four alphabetically by title and below: Friendly Persuasion - Achievement nominated, but writer ineligible for Award under Academy By-Laws.\" On February 17, 1957, the Academy's Board of Governors voted to instruct Price Waterhouse & Co. \"...to list five nominations, and in the event that one of these is declared ineligible under the By-Law provision, four nominations would appear on the final ballot.\" THIS NOMINATION WAS NOT INCLUDED ON THE FINAL BALLOT. (The bylaw was repealed by the Academy as \"unworkable\" on January 12, 1959.) On December 10, 2002, the Academy's Board of Governors voted to reinstate Mr. Wilson's nomination.
- Giant IMDB — Fred Guiol, Ivan Moffat
- Lust for Life IMDB — Norman Corwin
Original Screenplay
- ★ The Red Balloon IMDB — Albert Lamorisse
- The Bold and the Brave IMDB — Robert Lewin
- Julie IMDB — Andrew L. Stone
- La Strada IMDB — Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli
- The Ladykillers IMDB — William Rose
Writing (Original Story)
- ★ The Brave One IMDB — Dalton Trumbo
Source context
NOTE: The name of the writer credited with authorship, Robert Rich, turned out to be an alias. Two decades later, the mystery was officially solved and the Academy statuette went (on May 2, 1975, presented by then Academy president Walter Mirisch) to its rightful owner, screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, blacklisted in 1956 by the industry for political affiliations. Robert Rich (who had nothing to do with the film industry) is a nephew of the King Brothers, producers of the film. They chose his name to be the alias for Dalton Trumbo on the screenplay.
- The Eddy Duchin Story IMDB — Leo Katcher
- High Society IMDB — Edward Bernds, Elwood Ullman
Source context
NOTE: THIS IS NOT AN OFFICIAL NOMINATION. Edward Bernds and Elwood Ullman, the authors of this Bowery Boys quickie, respectfully withdrew their own names and the nomination, aware that voters had probably mistaken their film with a 1956 MGM release with the same title written by John Patrick and starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra. (Even so, MGM's High Society would only have been eligible for adapted screenplay.)
- The Proud and the Beautiful IMDB — Jean Paul Sartre
- Umberto D. IMDB — Cesare Zavattini
Nominated films and other recorded entries
59 films represented in the 1956 archive selection.
- A City Decides
- Anastasia
- Around the World in 80 Days
- Baby Doll
- Between Heaven and Hell
- Bus Stop
- Cow Dog
- Crashing the Water Barrier
- Forbidden Planet
- Friendly Persuasion
- Gerald McBoing-Boing on Planet Moo
- Gervaise
- Giant
- Harp of Burma
- High Society
- High Society
- I Never Forget a Face
- Julie
- La Strada
- Lust for Life
- Man in Space
- Meet Me in Las Vegas
- Mister Magoo's Puddle Jumper
- Qivitoq
- Richard III
- Samoa
- Somebody Up There Likes Me
- Stagecoach to Fury
- Teenage Rebel
- The Bad Seed
- The Bespoke Overcoat
- The Best Things in Life Are Free
- The Bold and the Brave
- The Brave One
- The Captain of Kopenick
- The Dark Wave
- The Eddy Duchin Story
- The Harder They Fall
- The House without a Name
- The Jaywalker
- The King and I
- The Ladykillers
- The Magnificent Seven
- The Man Who Knew Too Much
- The Naked Eye
- The Power and the Prize
- The Proud and Profane
- The Proud and the Beautiful
- The Rainmaker
- The Red Balloon
- The Silent World
- The Solid Gold Cadillac
- The Ten Commandments
- The True Story of the Civil War
- Time Stood Still
- Umberto D.
- War and Peace
- Where Mountains Float
- Written on the Wind
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.