A Best Picture This Feature Presentation: The 1963 Academy Awards
We’re heading back to the 1963 Academy Awards to take a look at the Best Picture nominees. Which ones will be standing at the end, which ones will be kicked? Stay tuned and find out.
The red carpet has been rolled out. The cameras’ bulbs are popping left and right almost blinding everyone lined up to see the stars. Look! It’s Old Blues himself Frank Sinatra. There’s Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. I hope they’re not seated at the same table. And there’s the always dapper David Lean followed by Peter O’Toole and Anne Bancroft. Over there is the gentleman’s gentleman Gregory Peck. And here comes newcomer Patty Duke. You know what this means? We’ve taken The Way Way Back Machine to the 1963 Academy Awards.
THE 1963 ACADEMY AWARDS
Every year has its Oscar snubs. It seems with the advent of social media everyone has and shared THE movie that was snubbed. In 2024 it was Barbie, though it seems difficult to say a movie nominated for eight Oscars was snubbed. However, there are still people in the social media sphere who are still arguing the point today.
But the 1963 Academy Awards seems to be something special. The movies nominated for Best Picture seem odd compared to what wasn’t nominated, not just for Best Picture. J. Lee Thompson’s Cape Fear received zero nominations as did Otto Preminger’s Advise and Consent and Requiem for a Heavyweight. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance received only one nomination as did other movies at the award ceremony. Yes, it was an odd ceremony.
Can We Kick It? Yes, We Can
As we can’t actually go back in time, even if it were possible, to change the nominations what we do have is Keep It or Kick It at our disposal. Basically, Keep it or Kick It sounds exactly like what it is. If we find a movie worthy on our arbitrary scale we’ll Keep It. If not, we’re going to Kick It from its Oscar pedestal. And then there’s always the opportunity for another film to slide in to take its place.
So, without further adieu, the Best Picture nominees at the 1963 Academy Awards were:
Lawrence of Arabia
Meredith Wilson’s The Music Man
The Longest Day
Mutiny on the Bounty
and
To Kill a Mockingbird
Be on the lookout for our posts on social media wherever we’re posting and on our website amindonfire.com. Now go pop some corn, sit back, and enjoy the movie.
