The 1st Academy Awards in 1929 (Honoring the films of 1927 and 1928)

The 1st Academy Awards in 1929 (Honoring the films of 1927 and 1928)

The 1st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and hosted by AMPAS president Douglas Fairbanks, honored the best films from 1 August 1927 to 31 July 1928 and took place on May 16, 1929, at a private dinner held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Tickets cost $5 ($85 in 2022, considering inflation); 270 people attended the event, which lasted 15 minutes. It is the only Academy Awards ceremony not broadcast on either radio or television; a radio broadcast was introduced for the 2nd Academy Awards. Academy President Douglas Fairbanks handed out 15 statuettes for outstanding achievement in 1927 and 1928.

Best picture: “Wings”
Best Actor: Emil Jannings, “The Last Command” and “The Way of all Flesh”
Best Actress: Janet Gaynor, “Seventh Heaven,” “Street Angel” and “Sunrise”
Best Director (Dramatic Picture) : Frank Borzage, “Seventh Heaven”
Best Director (Comedy Picture) : Lewis Milestone, “Two Arabian Knights”

Major winners at the ceremony included 7th Heaven and Sunrise, with three awards apiece (the latter winning for Unique and Artistic Picture), and Wings receiving two awards, including Outstanding Picture. The following year, the academy dropped Unique and Artistic Picture and decided retroactively that the award won by Wings was its highest honor.

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