4th Academy Awards

4th Academy Awards
Date	November 10, 1931
Site	Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles, California
Host	Lawrence Grant
Highlights
Best Picture	Cimarron
Most awards	Cimarron (3)
Most nominations	Cimarron (7)

The 4th Academy Awards were awarded to films completed and screened released between August 1, 1930, and July 31, 1931, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. At the ceremony, nine-year-old Jackie Cooper, nominated for Best Actor in Skippy, fell asleep on the shoulder of Best Actress nominee Marie Dressler. When Dressler was announced as the winner, Cooper had to be eased onto his mother’s lap.

Cimarron was the first Western to win Best Picture, and would remain the only one to do so for 59 years (until Dances with Wolves won in 1990). It received a then-record seven nominations, and was the first film to win more than two awards.

Jackie Cooper was the first child star to receive a nomination, and he was the youngest nominee for nearly 50 years. He is the second youngest Oscar nominee ever and the only Best Actor nominee under age 18.

Best Actor winner Lionel Barrymore became the first person to be receive nominations in multiple categories, having received a Best Director nod for Madame X at the 2nd Academy Awards.

In addition, Cimarron and A Free Soul became the first movies to receive multiple acting nominations.

Awards

Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.

Outstanding Production	Best Director
William LeBaron for RKO Pictures – Cimarron Winfield Sheehan for Fox Film Corporation – East Lynne Howard Hughes for United Artists – The Front Page Adolph Zukor for Paramount Pictures – Skippy Irving Thalberg for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer – Trader Horn	Norman Taurog – Skippy Clarence Brown – A Free Soul Lewis Milestone – The Front Page Wesley Ruggles – Cimarron Josef von Sternberg – Morocco
Best Actor	Best Actress
Lionel Barrymore – A Free Soul Jackie Cooper – Skippy Richard Dix – Cimarron Fredric March – The Royal Family of Broadway Adolphe Menjou – The Front Page	Marie Dressler – Min and Bill Marlene Dietrich – Morocco Irene Dunne – Cimarron Ann Harding – Holiday Norma Shearer – A Free Soul
Best Story	Best Adapted Screenplay
The Dawn Patrol – John Monk Saunders The Doorway to Hell – Rowland Brown Laughter – Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast, Douglas Doty and Donald Ogden Stewart The Public Enemy – John Bright and Kubec Glasmon Smart Money – Lucien Hubbard and Joseph Jackson	Cimarron – Howard Estabrook The Criminal Code – Seton I. Miller and Fred Niblo, Jr. Holiday – Horace Jackson Little Caesar – Francis Edward Faragoh and Robert N. Lee Skippy – Joseph L. Mankiewicz and Sam Mintz
Best Sound Recording
Paramount Publix Studio Sound Department MGM Studio Sound Department RKO Radio Studio Sound Department Samuel Goldwyn-United Artists Studio Sound Department
Best Art Direction	Best Cinematography
Cimarron – Max Rée Just Imagine – Stephen Goosson and Ralph Hammeras Morocco – Hans Dreier Svengali – Anton Grot Whoopee! – Richard Day	Tabu – Floyd Crosby Cimarron – Edward Cronjager Morocco – Lee Garmes The Right to Love – Charles Lang Svengali – Barney McGill

Multiple nominations and awards

The following seven films received multiple nominations:

• 7 nominations: Cimarron
• 4 nominations: Skippy and Morocco
• 3 nominations: The Front Page and A Free Soul
• 2 nominations: Holiday and Svengali

The following one film received multiple awards:

• 3 awards: Cimarron

See also

• 1930 in film
• 1931 in film