1933 Milstead Movie Awards

BEST PICTURE
DUCK SOUP
Paramount; Herman J. Mankiewicz
FLYING DOWN TO RIO
RKO; Merian C. Cooper
42ND STREET
Warner Bros; Darryl F. Zanuck
GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933
Warner Bros; Robert Lord & Jack L. Warner
THE INVISIBLE MAN
Universal; Carl Laemmle, Jr.
KING KONG
RKO; David O. Selznick, Merian C. Cooper & Ernest Schoedsack
LADY FOR A DAY
Columbia; Harry Cohn
MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM
Warner Bros; Henry Blanke & Hal B. Willis
THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII
United Artists/London Film Productions; Alexander Korda & Ludovico Toeplitz
THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE
Nero-Film; Fritz Lang & Seymour Nebenzal

King Kong
King Kong
Also Considered:
BERKELEY SQUARE (Jesse L. Lasky); CAVALCADE (Frank Lloyd & Winfield Sheehan); DESIGN FOR LIVING (Ernst Lubitsch); DINNER AT EIGHT (David O. Selznick); LITTLE WOMEN (Merian C. Cooper & Kenneth MacGowan); QUEEN CHRISTINA (Walter Wanger); SHE DONE HIM WRONG (William LeBaron); SONS OF THE DESERT (Hal Roach); WHEN LADIES MEET (Lawrence Weingarten); ZERO FOR CONDUCT (Jean Vigo)

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Lionel Atwill as "Ivan Igor" - MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM
John Barrymore as "Archduke Rudolf Von Habsburg" - REUNION IN VIENNA
Warner Baxter as "Julian Marsh" - 42ND STREET
James Cagney as "Dan Quigley" - LADY KILLER
W.C. Fields as "Augustus Winterbottom" - TILLIE & GUS
Leslie Howard as "Peter Standish" - BERKELEY SQUARE
Charles Laughton as "King Henry VIII" - THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII
Groucho Marx as "Rufus T. Firefly" - DUCK SOUP
Paul Robeson as "Brutus Jones" - THE EMPEROR JONES
Lee Tracy as "Toby Prentiss" - ADVICE TO THE LOVELORN

Charles Laughton in The Private Life Of Henry VIII
Charles Laughton in The Private Life Of Henry VIII
Also Considered:
Nils Asther (THE BITTER TEARS OF GENERAL YEN); John Barrymore (COUNSELLOR AT LAW); Colin Clive (CHRISTOPHER STRONG); Gary Cooper (DESIGN FOR LIVING); Rudolf Klein-Rogge (THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE); Fredric March (DESIGN FOR LIVING); Claude Rains (THE INVISIBLE MAN); Spencer Tracy (MAN'S CASTLE); Tom Walls (A CUCKOO IN THE NEST); Warren William (LADY FOR A DAY)

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Marie Dressler as "Annie Brennan" - TUGBOAT ANNIE
Greta Garbo as "Queen Christina" - QUEEN CHRISTINA
Ann Harding as "Clare Woodruf" - WHEN LADIES MEET
Jean Harlow as "Lola Burns" - BOMBSHELL
Katharine Hepburn as "Jo March" - LITTLE WOMEN
Katharine Hepburn as "Eve Lovelace" - MORNING GLORY
May Robson as "Apple Annie" - LADY FOR A DAY
Alison Skipworth as "Tillie Winterbottom" - TILLIE & GUS
Barbara Stanwyck as "Megan Davis" - THE BITTER TEARS OF GENERAL YEN
Mae West as "Lady Lou" - SHE DONE HIM WRONG

May Robson (right) in Lady For A Day
May Robson (right) in Lady For A Day
Also Considered:
Joan Blondell (GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933); Bebe Daniels (42ND STREET); Dolores Del Rio (FLYING DOWN TO RIO); Miriam Hopkins (DESIGN FOR LIVING); Ruby Keeler (42ND STREET); Hedy Lamarr (ECSTASY); Jessie Matthews (THE GOOD COMPANIONS); Mae West (I'M NO ANGEL); Fay Wray (KING KONG); Diana Wynyard (CAVALCADE)

BEST DIRECTOR
Lloyd Bacon - 42ND STREET
Frank Capra - LADY FOR A DAY
Merian C. Cooper & Ernest Schoedsack - KING KONG
George Cukor - LITTLE WOMEN
Thornton Freeland - FLYING DOWN TO RIO
Fritz Lang - THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE
Ernst Lubitsch - DESIGN FOR LIVING
Leo McCarey - DUCK SOUP
Jean Vigo - ZERO FOR CONDUCT
James Whale - THE INVISIBLE MAN

King Kong
King Kong
Also Considered:
Michael Curtiz (MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM); Alexander Korda (THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII); Mervyn LeRoy &  Busby Berkeley (GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933); Frank Lloyd (CAVALCADE); Rouben Mamoulian (QUEEN CHRISTINA); G.W. Pabst (DON QUIXOTE); William A. Seiter (SONS OF THE DESERT); Victor Saville (FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH); William A. Wellman (WILD BOYS OF THE ROAD); William Wyler (COUNSELLOR AT LAW)

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Fred Astaire as "Fred Ayres" - FLYING DOWN TO RIO
Wallace Beery as "Dan Packard" - DINNER AT EIGHT
George Brent as “Pat Denning” - 42ND STREET
George Burns as "Dr. Burns" - INTERNATIONAL HOUSE
Louis Calhern as "Ambassador Trentino" - DUCK SOUP
James Finlayson as "Lord Rocburg" - THE DEVIL'S BROTHER
Cary Grant as "Captain Cummings" - SHE DONE HIM WRONG
Ralph Lynn as "Peter Wyckham" - A CUCKOO IN THE NEST
Adolphe Menjou as "Louis Easton" - MORNING GLORY
Otto Wernicke as "Inspector Karl Lohmann" - THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE

Cary Grant (right) in She Done Him Wrong
Cary Grant (right) in She Done Him Wrong
Also Considered:
Robert Armstrong (KING KONG); John Barrymore (DINNER AT EIGHT); Dudley Digges (THE EMPEROR JONES); Robert Donat (THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII); John Gielgud (THE GOOD COMPANIONS); Guy Kibbee (LADY FOR A DAY); Jack LaRue (THE STORY OF TEMPLE DRAKE); Eliot Makeham (FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH); Frank McHugh (MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM); Ned Sparks (42ND STREET)

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Yvonne Arnaud as "Marguerite Hickett" - A CUCKOO IN THE NEST
Alice Brady as "Bridget Drake" - WHEN LADIES MEET
Glenda Farrell as "Florence Dempsey" - MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM
Jean Harlow as "Kitty Packard" - DINNER AT EIGHT
Elsa Lanchester as "Anne of Cleves" - THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII
Myrna Loy as "Mary Howard" - WHEN LADIES MEET
Aline MacMahon as "Trixie Lorraine" - GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933
Ginger Rogers as "Honey Hale" - FLYING DOWN TO RIO
Ginger Rogers as "Ann Lowell" - 42ND STREET
Blossom Seeley as "Sybil Smith" - BROADWAY THRU A KEYHOLE

Ginger Rogers (centre) in 42nd Street
Ginger Rogers (centre) in 42nd Street
Also Considered:
Gracie Allen (INTERNATIONAL HOUSE); Mary Brough (A CUCKOO IN THE NEST); Spring Byington (LITTLE WOMEN); Ruth Donnelly (HARD TO HANDLE); Marie Dressler (DINNER AT EIGHT); Margaret Dumont (DUCK SOUP); Isabel Jewell (COUNSELLOR AT LAW); Una Merkel (42ND STREET); Ruby Keeler (GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933); Toshia Mori (THE BITTER TEARS OF GENERAL YEN)

BEST SCREENPLAY (ADAPTATION)
BERKELEY SQUARE
Sonya Levien & John L. Balderston
COUNSELLOR AT LAW
Elmer Rice
DESIGN FOR LIVING
Ben Hecht
DINNER AT EIGHT
Frances Marion & Herman J. Mankiewicz
42ND STREET
Rian James & James Seymour
THE INVISIBLE MAN
R.C. Sherriff
LADY FOR A DAY
Robert Riskin
LITTLE WOMEN
Sarah Y. Mason & Victor Heerman
SHE DONE HIM WRONG
Mae West, Harvey Thew & John Bright
THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE
Fritz Lang & Thea Von Harbou

42nd Street
42nd Street
Also Considered:
BOMBSHELL (John Lee Mahin & Jules Furthman); THE BOWERY (Howard Estabrook & James Gleason); CAVALCADE (Reginald Berkeley); FLYING DOWN TO RIO (Cyril Hume, H.W. Hanemann & Erwin Gelsey); GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 (Erwin Gelsey & James Seymour); MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (Don Mullally & Carl Erickson); STATE FAIR (Sonya Levien & Paul Green); TUGBOAT ANNIE (Norman Reilly Raine, Zelda Sears & Eve Greene); WHEN LADIES MEET (John Meehan & Leon Gordon); WILD BOYS OF THE ROAD (Earl Baldwin)

BEST SCREENPLAY (ORIGINAL)
BABY FACE
Gene Markey & Kathryn Scola
DIRTY WORK
H.M. Walker
DUCK SOUP
Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, Arthur Sheekman & Nat Perrin
FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH
G.H. Moresby-White, Sidney Gilliat & Emlyn Williams
HALLELUJAH, I'M A BUM
Ben Hecht & S.N. Behrman
HARD TO HANDLE
Robert Lord & Wilson Mizner
INTERNATIONAL HOUSE
Frances Martin & Walter DeLeon
THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII
Lajos Biro & Arthur Wimperis
QUEEN CHRISTINA
H.M. Harwood & Salka Viertel
SONS OF THE DESERT
Frank Craven

Duck Soup
Duck Soup
Also Considered:
COLLEGE HUMOR (Claude Binyon & Frank Butler); DIRTY WORK (H.M. Walker); THE EAGLE & THE HAWK (Seton I. Miller & Bogart Rogers); FOOTLIGHT PARADE (Manuel Seff & James Seymour); I'M NO ANGEL (Mae West); KING KONG (James Creelman & Ruth Rose); THE MIDNIGHT PATROL (Stan Laurel & Sidney Rauh); THE PRIZEFIGHTER & THE LADY (Frances Marion, John Lee Mahin & John Meehan); RASPUTIN & THE EMPRESS (Charles MacArthur); ROMAN SCANDALS (George S. Kaufman, Robert E. Sherwood & William Anthony McGuire); ZERO FOR CONDUCT (Jean Vigo)

BEST ART DIRECTION
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
William Cameron Menzies
THE BOWERY
Richard Day
CAVALCADE
William S. Darling
DUCK SOUP
Hans Dreier & Wiard Ihnen
42ND STREET
Jack Okey
KING KONG
Carroll Clark
MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM
Anton Grot
QUEEN CHRISTINA
Edgar G. Ulmer & Alexander Toluboff
THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE
Emil Hasler & Karl Vollbrecht
WHEN LADIES MEET
Cedric Gibbons

King Kong
King Kong
Also Considered:
BERKELEY SQUARE (William S. Darling); DON QUIXOTE (Andre Andrejew); FOOTLIGHT PARADE (Anton Grot & Jack Okey); FLYING DOWN TO RIO (Carroll Clark & Van Nest Polglase); GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 (Anton Grot); LADY FOR A DAY (Stephen Goosson); LITTLE WOMEN (Van Nest Polglase); THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII (Vincent Korda); REUNION IN VIENNA (Cedric Gibbons); SHE DONE HIM WRONG (Robert Usher)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
THE BITTER TEA OF GENERAL YEN
Joseph Walker
FLYING DOWN TO RIO
J. Roy Hunt
42ND STREET
Sol Polito
GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933
Sol Polito
THE INVISIBLE MAN
Arthur Edeson
QUEEN CHRISTINA
William H. Daniels
REUNION IN VIENNA
George J. Folsey
ROMAN SCANDALS
Ray June & Gregg Toland
THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE
Karl Vash & Fritz Arno Wagner
ZERO FOR CONDUCT
Boris Kaufman

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
Also Considered:
DESIGN FOR LIVING (Victor Milner); DUCK SOUP (Henry Sharp); EMPLOYEES ENTRANCE (Barney McGill); HALLELUJAH, I'M A BUM (Lucien Andriot); THE KENNEL MURDER CASE (William Reese); KING KONG (Eddie Linden & J.O. Taylor); MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (Ray Rennahan); THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII (Georges Perinal); STATE FAIR (Hal Mohr); WHEN LADIES MEET (Ray June)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
BERKELEY SQUARE
William Lambert
CAVALCADE
Earl Luick
DON QUIXOTE
Max Pretzfelder
42ND STREET
Orry-Kelly
GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933
Orry-Kelly
LADY FOR A DAY
Robert Kalloch
LITTLE WOMEN
Walter Plunkett
THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII
John Armstrong
QUEEN CHRISTINA
Adrian
SHE DONE HIM WRONG
Edith Head

Queen Christina
Queen Christina
Also Considered:
ALICE IN WONDERLAND (Newt Jones & Wally Westmore); BOMBSHELL (Adrian); DESIGN FOR LIVING (Travis Banton); DINNER AT EIGHT (Adrian); FLYING DOWN TO RIO (Walter Plunkett & Irene); KING KONG (Walter Plunkett); MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (Orry-Kelly); RASPUTIN & THE EMPRESS (Adrian); REUNION IN VIENNA (Adrian); WHEN LADIES MEET (Adrian)

BEST FILM EDITING
DUCK SOUP
Leroy Stone
FLYING DOWN TO RIO
Jack Kitchin
42ND STREET
Thomas Pratt & Frank Ware
GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933
George Amy
THE INVISIBLE MAN
Ted Kent
THE KENNEL MURDER CASE
Harold McLernon
KING KONG
Ted Cheesman
MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM
George Amy
THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE
Conrad Von Molo & Lothar Wolff
WILD BOYS OF THE ROAD
Thomas Pratt

King Kong
King Kong
Also Considered:
DESIGN FOR LIVING (Frances Marsh); DINNER AT EIGHT (Ben Lewis); THE EAGLE & THE HAWK (James Smith); FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH (R.E. Dearing); GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 (George Amy); LADY FOR A DAY (Gene Havlick); QUEEN CHRISTINA (Blanche Sewell); ROMAN SCANDALS (Stuart Heisler & Sherman Todd); SHE DONE HIM WRONG (Alexander Hall); ZERO FOR CONDUCT (Jean Vigo)

BEST MAKEUP
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
Newt Jones & Wally Westmore
THE BITTER TEARS OF GENERAL YEN
Norbert A. Myles
THE GHOUL
Heinrich Heitfeld
MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM
Perc Westmore & Ray Romero

Mystery of the Wax Museum
Mystery of the Wax Museum
Also Considered:
CAVALCADE (Charles Dudley); 42ND STREET (Perc Westmore); THE KISS BEFORE THE MIRROR (Jack Pierce); THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII (credit unknown)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
Dimitri Tiomkin
BERKELEY SQUARE
Louis de Francesco
THE INVISIBLE MAN
Heinz Roemheld
KING KONG
Max Steiner
LITTLE WOMEN
Max Steiner
MORNING GLORY
Max Steiner
MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM
Bernhard Kaun
NIGHT FLIGHT
Herbert Stothart
QUEEN CHRISTINA
Herbert Stothart
ROMAN SCANDALS
Alfred Newman

King Kong
King Kong
Also Considered:
THE BITTER TEARS OF GENERAL YEN (W. Frank Harling); CAVALCADE (Louis de Francesco); DINNER AT EIGHT (William Axt); DUCK SOUP (John Leipold); DON QUIXOTE (Jacques Ibert); LADY FOR A DAY (Howard Jackson); THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII (Kurt Schroeder); SHE DONE HIM WRONG (John Leipold); THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE (Hans Erdmann); ZERO FOR CONDUCT (Maurice Jaubert)

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"The Carioca" - FLYING DOWN TO RIO
Vincent Youmans, Gus Kahn & Edward Eliscu
"Did You Ever See A Dream Walking?" - SITTING PRETTY
Harry Revel & Mack Gordon
"42nd Street" - 42ND STREET
Harry Warren & Al Dubin
"Freedonia Hymn" - DUCK SOUP
Harry Ruby & Bert Kalmar
"Honeymoon Hotel" - FOOTLIGHT PARADE
Harry Warren & Al Dubin
"(I Like) A Guy What Takes His Time" - SHE DONE HIM WRONG
Ralph Rainger
"I'm No Angel" - I'M NO ANGEL
Harvey Brooks, Gladys DuBois & Ben Ellison
"Shanghai Lil" - FOOTLIGHT PARADE
Harry Warren & Al Dubin
"We're In The Money" - GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933
Harry Warren & Al Dubin
"Who's Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf" - THREE LITTLE PIGS
Frank Churchill & Ted Sears

Gold Diggers of 1933
Gold Diggers of 1933
Also Considered:
"Build A Little Home" - ROMAN SCANDALS (Harry Warren & Al Dubin); "The Country's Going To War" - DUCK SOUP (Harry Ruby & Bert Kalmar); "Flying Down To Rio" - FLYING DOWN TO RIO (Vincent Youmans, Gus Kahn & Edward Eliscu); "Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Love" - TORCH SINGER (Ralph Rainger & Leo Robin); "Going Hollywood" - GOING HOLLYWOOD (Nacio Herb Brown & Arthur Freed); "His Excellency Is Due" - DUCK SOUP (Harry Ruby & Bert Kalmar); "It Must Be June" - 42ND STREET (Harry Warren & Al Dubin); "Lucky For Me" - THE GOOD COMPANIONS (George Posford & Douglas Furber); "Shuffle Off To Buffalo" - 42ND STREET (Harry Warren & Al Dubin); "You Are Too Beautiful" - HALLELUJAH, I'M A BUM (Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart)

BEST SOUND
42ND STREET
Nathan Levinson
GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933
Nathan Levinson
THE INVISIBLE MAN
Gilbert Kurland
KING KONG
Murray Spivack
MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM
Everett Alton Brown
THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII
A.W. Watkins
QUEEN CHRISTINA
Douglas Shearer
STATE FAIR
Arthur Von Kirbach
THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE
James G. Stewart & Adolf Jansen
TUGBOAT ANNIE
Douglas Shearer

 

King Kong
King Kong
Also Considered:
ACE OF ACES (John E. Tribby); BROADWAY THRU A KEYHOLE (Howard Wilson); BROADWAY TO HOLLYWOOD (Douglas Shearer); DANCING LADY (Douglas Shearer); THE EAGLE & THE HAWK (Harry Lindgren); FLYING DOWN TO RIO (George Marsh); THE GHOUL (A. Birch); GOING HOLLYWOOD (Douglas Shearer); ONLY YESTERDAY (Gilbert Kurland & Joe Lapis); SON OF KONG (Murray Spivack & Earl A. Wolcott)

BEST SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
Farciot Edouart & Gordon Jennings
THE INVISIBLE MAN
John P. Fulton & Frank D. Williams
KING KONG
Vernon L. Walker, Harry Redmond, Sr., Harry Redmond, Jr. & Willis O'Brien
SON OF KONG
Willis O'Brien, Harry Redmond, Sr. & Harry Redmond, Jr.

King Kong
King Kong

Also Considered:

FLYING DOWN TO RIO (Vernon Walker); MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (Rex Wimpy); NIGHT FLIGHT (A. Arnold Gillespie); THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE (Ernst Kunstmann)

Most Wins:

7 - King Kong

2 - 42nd Street

1 - Duck Soup; Gold Diggers of 1933; Lady For A Day; Little Women; Mystery Of The Wax Museum; The Private Life Of Henry VIII; Queen Christina; She Done Him Wrong

 

 

Most Nominations:

12 - 42nd Street

8 - Duck Soup; The Invisible Man; Mystery of the Wax Museum; The Testament of Dr. Mabuse

7 - Flying Down to Rio; Gold Diggers of 1933; King Kong; Queen Christina

5 - Lady For A Day; Little Women; The Private Life Of Henry VIII; She Done Him Wrong