Editing Academy Award for Best Story

{{Short description|Academy Award}}
{{one source|date=October 2014}}

The '''Academy Award for Best Story''' was an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] given from the beginning of the Academy Awards until 1956. This award can be a source of confusion for modern audiences, given its co-existence with the [[Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay]] and [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay]]. The Oscar for Best Story most closely resembles the usage of modern [[film treatment]]s, or prose documents that describe the entire plot and characters, but typically lack most dialogue. A separate [[screenwriter]] would convert the story into a full screenplay.

As an example, at the [[17th Academy Awards|1944 Academy Awards]], producer and director [[Leo McCarey]] won Best Story for ''[[Going My Way]]'' while screenwriters [[Frank Butler (writer)|Frank Butler]] and [[Frank Cavett]] won Best Screenplay. The elimination of this category in 1956 reflected the decline of Hollywood's [[studio system]] and the emergence of independent screenwriters.

==Winners and nominees==

===1920s===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
|- bgcolor="#bebebe"
! width="5%" | Year
! width="35%" | Film
! width="60%" | Nominees
|-
| rowspan=5 style="text-align:center" | '''[[1927 in film|1927]]–[[1928 in film|1928]]'''<br /><small>[[1st Academy Awards|(1st)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
|'''''[[Underworld (1927 film)|Underworld]]'''''
|'''[[Ben Hecht]]'''
|-
| ''[[The Last Command (1928 film)|The Last Command]]''
| [[Lajos Bíró]]
|- 
| ''[[The Circus (1928 film)|The Circus]]''
| [[Charlie Chaplin]]<ref group=note name=twenty-eight>''[[The Circus (1928 film)|The Circus]]'' originally received a nomination for Best Director (Comedy Picture), as well as nominations for Best Actor and Best Writing (Original Story), all for [[Charlie Chaplin|Charles Chaplin]]. However, the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|Academy]] subsequently decided to remove Chaplin's name from the competitive award categories and instead to confer upon him a [[Academy Honorary Award|Special Award]] "for acting, writing, directing and producing ''The Circus''". {{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/05/16/the-first-oscars-what-happened-in-1929/|first=Martin|last=Chilton|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|title=The first Oscars: what happened in 1929|access-date=February 25, 2021|url-access=subscription|date=May 16, 2016|url-status=live|archive-date=May 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160519015239/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/05/16/the-first-oscars-what-happened-in-1929/}}</ref>
|-
|}

===1930s===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
|- bgcolor="#bebebe"
! width="5%" | Year
! width="35%" | Film
! width="60%" | Nominees
|-
| rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" | '''[[1930 in film|1930]]–[[1931 in film|1931]]'''<br /><small>[[4th Academy Awards|(4th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
|'''''[[The Dawn Patrol (1930 film)|The Dawn Patrol]]'''''
|'''[[John Monk Saunders]]'''
|-
| ''[[Doorway to Hell]]''
| [[Rowland Brown]]
|-
| ''[[Laughter (1930 film)|Laughter]]''
| [[Harry D'Arrast|Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast]], [[Douglas Z. Doty|Douglas Doty]], [[Donald Ogden Stewart]]
|-
| ''[[The Public Enemy]]''
| [[John Bright (screenwriter)|John Bright]], [[Kubec Glasmon]]
|-
| ''[[Smart Money (1931 film)|Smart Money]]''
| [[Lucien Hubbard]], [[Joseph Jackson (screenwriter)|Joseph Jackson]]
|-
| rowspan=5 style="text-align:center" | '''[[1931 in film|1931]]–[[1932 in film|1932]]'''<br /><small>[[5th Academy Awards|(5th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
|'''''[[The Champ (1931 film)|The Champ]]'''''
|'''[[Frances Marion]]'''
|-
| ''[[Lady and Gent]]''
| [[Grover Jones]], [[William Slavens McNutt]]
|-
| ''[[The Star Witness]]''
| [[Lucien Hubbard]]
|-
| ''[[What Price Hollywood?]]''
| [[Adela Rogers St. Johns]], [[Jane Murfin]]
|-
| rowspan=4 style="text-align:center" | '''[[1932 in film|1932]]–[[1933 in film|1933]]'''<br /><small>[[6th Academy Awards|(6th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
|'''''[[One Way Passage]]'''''
|'''[[Robert Lord (screenwriter)|Robert Lord]]'''
|-
| ''[[The Prizefighter and the Lady]]''
| [[Frances Marion]]
|-
| ''[[Rasputin and the Empress]]''
| [[Charles MacArthur]]
|-
| rowspan=4 style="text-align:center" | '''[[1934 in film|1934]]'''<br /><small>[[7th Academy Awards|(7th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
|'''''[[Manhattan Melodrama]]'''''
|'''[[Arthur Caesar]]'''
|-
| ''[[Hide-Out]]''
| Mauri Grashin
|-
| ''[[The Richest Girl in the World (1934 film)|The Richest Girl in the World]]''
| [[Norman Krasna]]
|-
| rowspan=4 style="text-align:center" | '''[[1935 in film|1935]]'''<br /><small>[[8th Academy Awards|(8th)]]</small><br />{{Efn|''[[G Men]]'', story by Gregory Rogers (a pseudonym of [[Darryl F. Zanuck]]), was not officially nominated for this award, but appears in Academy records because it placed second in voting as a write-in candidate in 1935.}}
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
|'''''[[The Scoundrel (1935 film)|The Scoundrel]]'''''
|'''[[Ben Hecht]], [[Charles MacArthur]]'''
|-
| ''[[Broadway Melody of 1936]]''
| [[Moss Hart]]
|-
| ''[[The Gay Deception]]''
| [[Stephen Morehouse Avery]], [[Don Hartman]]
|-
| rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" | '''[[1936 in film|1936]]'''<br /><small>[[9th Academy Awards|(9th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
|'''''[[The Story of Louis Pasteur]]'''''
|'''[[Pierre Collings]], [[Sheridan Gibney]]'''
|-
| ''[[Fury (1936 film)|Fury]]''
| [[Norman Krasna]]
|-
| ''[[The Great Ziegfeld]]''
| [[William Anthony McGuire]]
|-
| ''[[San Francisco (1936 film)|San Francisco]]''
| [[Robert Hopkins (screenwriter)|Robert Hopkins]]
|-
| ''[[Three Smart Girls]]''
| [[Adele Comandini]]
|-
| rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" | '''[[1937 in film|1937]]'''<br /><small>[[10th Academy Awards|(10th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
|'''''[[A Star Is Born (1937 film)|A Star Is Born]]'''''
|'''[[Robert Carson (writer)|Robert Carson]], [[William A. Wellman|William Wellman]]'''
|-
| ''[[Black Legion (film)|Black Legion]]''
| [[Robert Lord (screenwriter)|Robert Lord]]
|-
| ''[[In Old Chicago]]''
| [[Niven Busch]]
|-
| ''[[The Life of Emile Zola]]''
| Heinz Herald, Geza Herczeg
|-
| ''[[One Hundred Men and a Girl]]''
| [[Hans Kraly]]
|-
| rowspan=7 style="text-align:center" | '''[[1938 in film|1938]]'''<br /><small>[[11th Academy Awards|(11th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
|'''''[[Boys Town (film)|Boys Town]]'''''
|'''[[Eleanore Griffin]], [[Dore Schary]]'''
|-
| ''[[Alexander's Ragtime Band (film)|Alexander's Ragtime Band]]''
| [[Irving Berlin]]
|-
| ''[[Angels with Dirty Faces]]''
| [[Rowland Brown]]
|-
| ''[[Blockade (1938 film)|Blockade]]''
| [[John Howard Lawson]]
|-
| ''[[Mad About Music]]''
| Marcella Burke, [[Frederick Kohner]]
|-
| ''[[Test Pilot (film)|Test Pilot]]''
| [[Frank Wead]]
|-
| rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" | '''[[1939 in film|1939]]'''<br /><small>[[12th Academy Awards|(12th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
|'''''[[Mr. Smith Goes to Washington]]'''''
|'''[[Lewis R. Foster]]'''
|-
| ''[[Bachelor Mother]]''
| [[Felix Jackson]]
|-
| ''[[Love Affair (1939 film)|Love Affair]]''
| [[Mildred Cram]], [[Leo McCarey]]
|-
| ''[[Ninotchka]]''
| [[Melchior Lengyel]]
|-
| ''[[Young Mr. Lincoln]]''
| [[Lamar Trotti]]
|-
|}

===1940s===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
|- bgcolor="#bebebe"
! width="5%" | Year
! width="35%" | Film
! width="60%" | Nominees
|-
| rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" | '''[[1940 in film|1940]]'''<br /><small>[[13th Academy Awards|(13th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
|'''''[[Arise, My Love]]'''''
|'''[[Benjamin Glazer]], [[John Toldy]]'''
|-
| ''[[Comrade X]]''
| [[Walter Reisch]]
|-
| ''[[Edison, the Man]]''
| [[Hugo Butler]], [[Dore Schary]]
|-
| ''[[My Favorite Wife]]''
| [[Leo McCarey]], [[Samuel and Bella Spewack|Samuel Spewack and Bella Spewack]]
|-
| ''[[The Westerner (1940 film)|The Westerner]]''
| [[Stuart N. Lake]]
|-
| rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" | '''[[1941 in film|1941]]'''<br /><small>[[14th Academy Awards|(14th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
|'''''[[Here Comes Mr. Jordan]]'''''
|'''[[Harry Segall]]'''
|-
| ''[[Ball of Fire]]''
| [[Thomas Monroe (writer)|Thomas Monroe]], [[Billy Wilder]]
|-
| ''[[The Lady Eve]]''
| [[Monckton Hoffe]]
|-
| ''[[Meet John Doe]]''
| [[Richard Connell]], [[Robert Presnell, Jr.]]
|-
| ''[[Night Train to Munich]]''
| [[Gordon Wellesley]]
|-
| rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" | '''[[1942 in film|1942]]'''<br /><small>[[15th Academy Awards|(15th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
|'''''[[49th Parallel (film)|49th Parallel]]'''''
|'''[[Emeric Pressburger]]'''
|-
|''[[Holiday Inn (film)|Holiday Inn]]''
| [[Irving Berlin]]
|-
|''[[The Pride of the Yankees]]''
| [[Paul Gallico]]
|-
|''[[The Talk of the Town (1942 film)|The Talk of the Town]]''
| [[Sidney Harmon]]
|-
|''[[Yankee Doodle Dandy]]''
| [[Robert Buckner]]
|-
| rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" | '''[[1943 in film|1943]]'''<br /><small>[[16th Academy Awards|(16th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
|'''''[[The Human Comedy (film)|The Human Comedy]]'''''
|'''[[William Saroyan]]'''
|-
|''[[Action in the North Atlantic]]''
| [[Guy Gilpatric]]
|-
|''[[Destination Tokyo]]''
| [[Steve Fisher (writer)|Steve Fisher]]
|-
|''[[The More the Merrier]]''
| [[Frank Ross (producer)|Frank Ross]], [[Robert W. Russell|Robert Russell]]
|-
|''[[Shadow of a Doubt]]''
| Gordon McDonell
|-
| rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" | '''[[1944 in film|1944]]'''<br /><small>[[17th Academy Awards|(17th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
|'''''[[Going My Way]]'''''
|'''[[Leo McCarey]]'''
|-
|''[[A Guy Named Joe]]''
| [[David Boehm]], Chandler Sprague
|-
|''[[Lifeboat (1944 film)|Lifeboat]]''
| [[John Steinbeck]]
|-
|''[[None Shall Escape]]''
| [[Alfred Neumann (writer)|Alfred Neumann]], Joseph Than
|-
|''[[The Fighting Sullivans|The Sullivans]]''
| [[Eddie Doherty|Edward Doherty]], Jules Schermer
|-
| rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" | '''[[1945 in film|1945]]'''<br /><small>[[18th Academy Awards|(18th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
|'''''[[The House on 92nd Street]]'''''
|'''[[Charles G. Booth]]'''
|-
|''[[The Affairs of Susan]]''
| [[László Görög (writer)|László Görög]], [[Thomas Monroe (writer)|Thomas Monroe]]
|-
|''[[A Medal for Benny]]''
| [[John Steinbeck]], [[Jack Wagner (screenwriter)|Jack Wagner]]
|-
|''[[Objective, Burma!]]''
| [[Alvah Bessie]]
|-
|''[[A Song to Remember]]''
| [[Ernst Marischka]]
|-
| rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" | '''[[1946 in film|1946]]'''<br /><small>[[19th Academy Awards|(19th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
|'''''[[Perfect Strangers (1945 film)|Vacation from Marriage]]'''''
|'''[[Clemence Dane]]'''
|-
|''[[The Dark Mirror (1946 film)|The Dark Mirror]]''
| [[Vladimir Solomonovich Pozner]]
|-
|''[[The Strange Love of Martha Ivers]]''
| [[John Patrick (dramatist)|Jack Patrick]]
|-
|''[[The Stranger (1946 film)|The Stranger]]''
| [[Victor Trivas]]
|-
|''[[To Each His Own (1946 film)|To Each His Own]]''
| [[Charles Brackett]]
|-
| rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" | '''[[1947 in film|1947]]'''<br /><small>[[20th Academy Awards|(20th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
|'''''[[Miracle on 34th Street]]'''''
|'''[[Valentine Davies]]'''
|-
|''[[A Cage of Nightingales]]'' (French: ''La Cage aux rossignols'')
| [[Georges Chaperot]], [[René Wheeler]]
|-
|''[[It Happened on Fifth Avenue]]''
| [[Herbert Clyde Lewis]], [[Frederick Stephani]]
|-
|''[[Kiss of Death (1947 film)|Kiss of Death]]''
| [[Eleazar Lipsky]]
|-
|''[[Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman]]''
| [[Frank Cavett]], [[Dorothy Parker]]
|-
| rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" | '''[[1948 in film|1948]]'''<br /><small>[[21st Academy Awards|(21st)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
|'''''[[The Search]]'''''
|'''[[Richard Schweizer]], {{ill|David Wechsler (writer)|de|3=David Wechsler (Autor)|lt=David Wechsler}}'''
|-
|''[[Louisiana Story]]'' 
|[[Robert J. Flaherty]], [[Frances H. Flaherty]]
|-
|''[[The Naked City]]''
| [[Malvin Wald]]
|-
|''[[Red River (1948 film)|Red River]]''
| [[Borden Chase]]
|-
|''[[The Red Shoes (1948 film)|The Red Shoes]]''
| [[Emeric Pressburger]]
|-
| rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" | '''[[1949 in film|1949]]'''<br /><small>[[22nd Academy Awards|(22nd)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
|'''''[[The Stratton Story]]'''''
|'''[[Douglas Morrow]]'''
|-
|''[[Come to the Stable]]''
| [[Clare Boothe Luce]]
|-
|''[[It Happens Every Spring]]''
| [[Valentine Davies]], Shirley Smith
|-
|''[[Sands of Iwo Jima]]''
| [[Harry Brown (writer)|Harry Brown]]
|-
|''[[White Heat]]''
| [[Virginia Kellogg]]
|}

===1950s===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
|- bgcolor="#bebebe"
! width="5%" | Year
! width="35%" | Film
! width="60%" | Nominees
|-
| rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" | '''[[1950 in film|1950]]'''<br /><small>[[23rd Academy Awards|(23rd)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
|'''''[[Panic in the Streets (film)|Panic in the Streets]]'''''
|'''[[Edna Anhalt]], [[Edward Anhalt]]'''
|-
| ''[[Bitter Rice]]''
| [[Giuseppe De Santis]], [[Carlo Lizzani]]
|-
| ''[[The Gunfighter]]''
| [[William Bowers]], [[André de Toth]]
|-
| ''[[Mystery Street]]''
| [[Leonard Spigelgass]]
|-
| ''[[When Willie Comes Marching Home]]''
| [[Sy Gomberg]]
|-
| rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" | '''[[1951 in film|1951]]'''<br /><small>[[24th Academy Awards|(24th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
|'''''[[Seven Days to Noon]]'''''
|'''[[James Bernard (composer)|James Bernard]], [[Paul Dehn]]'''<ref name=oscar-seven-days >{{cite web |title=WRITING (MOTION PICTURE STORY) |work=THE 24TH ACADEMY AWARDS – 1952 |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1952 |date=March 20, 1952 |publisher=[[The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |access-date= October 21, 2014}}</ref>
|-
| ''[[Bullfighter and the Lady]]''
| [[Budd Boetticher]], [[Ray Nazarro]]
|-
| ''[[The Frogmen]]''
| [[Oscar Millard]]
|-
| ''[[Here Comes the Groom (1951 film)|Here Comes the Groom]]''
| [[Liam O'Brien (screenwriter)|Liam O'Brien]], [[Robert Riskin]]
|-
| ''[[Teresa (1951 film)|Teresa]]''
| [[Alfred Hayes (writer)|Alfred Hayes]], [[Stewart Stern]]
|-
| rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" | '''[[1952 in film|1952]]'''<br /><small>[[25th Academy Awards|(25th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
|'''''[[The Greatest Show on Earth (film)|The Greatest Show on Earth]]'''''
|'''[[Frank Cavett]], [[Fredric M. Frank]], [[Theodore St. John]]'''
|-
|''[[My Son John]]''
| [[Leo McCarey]]
|-
|''[[The Narrow Margin]]''
| [[Martin Goldsmith (screenwriter)|Martin Goldsmith]], Jack Leonard
|-
|''[[The Pride of St. Louis]]''
| [[Guy Trosper]]
|-
|''[[The Sniper (1952 film)|The Sniper]]''
| [[Edward Anhalt]], [[Edna Anhalt]]
|-
| rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" | '''[[1953 in film|1953]]'''<br /><small>[[26th Academy Awards|(26th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
|'''''[[Roman Holiday]]'''''
|'''[[Dalton Trumbo]]'''{{efn|The screen credit and award was originally credited to [[Ian McLellan Hunter]], who was a front for Trumbo. On December 15, 1992, the Board of Governors voted to retroactively attribute the award to Trumbo. Hunter's name was removed. Although Trumbo had died some years earlier, he had been alive in 1954 and this is not considered a [[List of posthumous Academy Award winners and nominees|posthumous award]].}}
|-
|''[[Above and Beyond (1952 film)|Above and Beyond]]''
| [[Beirne Lay, Jr.]]
|-
|''[[The Captain's Paradise]]''
| [[Alec Coppel]]
|-
|''[[Hondo (film)|Hondo]]''
| [[Louis L'Amour]]{{efn|Originally announced on February 15, 1954, as a nominee in this category. On February 17, 1954, letters from the producer and nominee questioned its inclusion in the category, as it was based on the short story, "The Gift of Cochise", by the nominee, Mr. L'Amour, published in [[Collier's magazine|''Collier's'' magazine]] on July 5, 1952. By waiver, the title of the short story was not included in the film's credits. The nomination was withdrawn, and only four nominees were included on the final ballot. The Academy thanked Mr. L'Amour and despite this incident, offered him a membership in the Academy.}}
|-
|''[[Little Fugitive (1953 film)|Little Fugitive]]''
| [[Ray Ashley]], [[Morris Engel]], [[Ruth Orkin]]
|-
| rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" | '''[[1954 in film|1954]]'''<br /><small>[[27th Academy Awards|(27th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
|'''''[[Broken Lance]]'''''
|'''[[Philip Yordan]]'''
|-
|''[[Bread, Love and Dreams]]'' (Italian: ''Pane, amore e fantasia'')
| [[Ettore Margadonna]]
|-
|''[[Forbidden Games]]'' (French: ''Jeux interdits'')
| [[François Boyer]]
|-
|''[[Night People (1954 film)|Night People]]''
| [[Jed Harris]], [[Tom Reed (screenwriter)|Tom Reed]]
|-
|''[[There's No Business Like Show Business (film)|There's No Business Like Show Business]]''
| [[Lamar Trotti]] ([[List of posthumous Academy Award winners and nominees|posthumous nomination]])
|-
| rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" | '''[[1955 in film|1955]]'''<br /><small>[[28th Academy Awards|(28th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
|'''''[[Love Me or Leave Me (film)|Love Me or Leave Me]]'''''
|'''[[Daniel Fuchs]]'''
|-
|''[[The Private War of Major Benson]]''
| [[Joe Connelly (producer)|Joe Connelly]], [[Bob Mosher]]
|-
|''[[Rebel Without a Cause]]''
| [[Nicholas Ray]]
|-
|''[[The Sheep Has Five Legs]]'' (French: ''Le Mouton à cinq pattes'')
| [[Jean Marsan]], [[Henri Troyat]], [[Jacques Perret (writer)|Jacques Perret]], [[Henri Verneuil]], [[Raoul Ploquin]]
|-
|''[[Strategic Air Command (film)|Strategic Air Command]]''
| [[Beirne Lay, Jr.]]
|-
| rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" | '''[[1956 in film|1956]]'''<br /><small>[[29th Academy Awards|(29th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
|'''''[[The Brave One (1956 film)|The Brave One]]'''''
|'''[[Dalton Trumbo]]'''{{efn|The name of the writer credited with authorship, Robert Rich, turned out to be an alias for Trumbo, who was being blacklisted at that time. On May 2, 1975, then-Academy president [[Walter Mirisch]] presented the Award to Trumbo.}}
|-
|''[[The Eddy Duchin Story]]''
| [[Leo Katcher]]
|-
|''[[High Society (1955 film)|High Society]]''
| [[Edward Bernds]], [[Elwood Ullman]]{{Efn|The authors of this [[The Bowery Boys|Bowery Boys]] film respectfully withdrew their own names and the nomination. They were aware that voters had probably mistaken their film with the 1956 [[High Society (1956 film)|MGM musical of the same name]] starring [[Bing Crosby]], [[Grace Kelly]] and [[Frank Sinatra]] which was based on ''[[The Philadelphia Story (film)|The Philadelphia Story]]''. This nomination was not included on the final ballot.}}
|-
|''[[The Proud and the Beautiful]]'' (French: ''Les Orgueilleux'')
| [[Jean-Paul Sartre]]
|-
|''[[Umberto D.]]''
| [[Cesare Zavattini]]
|}

==See also==
* [[List of Academy Award–nominated films]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Academy Awards}}
{{Academy Award Best Story}}

[[Category:Retired Academy Awards|Story]]
[[Category:Best Story Academy Award winners| ]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]