The ’50s
Unsurprisingly, the ’50s had plenty of adaptations win the award, including Ben-Hur down there at the bottom. (Yes, Ben-Hur was a book first. The novel is, in fact, celebrating its 137th anniversary this year.)
The Winners
1950: All About Eve
- All About Eve has enjoyed some press recently, since La La Land matched its record 14 Oscar nominations. However, this movie only won five more awards: Best Actor in a Supporting Role (George Sanders), Best Director (Joseph L. Mankiewicz), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design for Black-and-White, and Best Sound Recording.
1951: An American in Paris
- An American in Paris added in Best Writing for Story and Screenplay (here a single award), Best Cinematography for Color, Best Art Direction in Color, Best Costume Design in Color, and Best Music for Scoring.
1952: The Greatest Show on Earth
- The Greatest Show on Earth only won one more Oscar: Best Writing for a Motion Picture Story.
1953: From Here to Eternity
- From Here to Eternity won Best Film Editing, Best Sound Recording, Best Cinematography for Black-and-White, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director (Fred Zinnemann), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Donna Reed), and Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Frank Sinatra. That’s right, Ol’ Blue Eyes had an Oscar, too.
1954: On the Waterfront
- On the Waterfront took home a pile of awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Marlon Brando), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Eva Marie Saint), Best Director (Elia Kazan), Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography in Black-and-White, Best Art Decoration for Black-and-White Set Decoration, and Best Film Editing.
1955: Marty
- Marty snagged Best Actor in a Leading Role (Ernest Borgnine), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Director (Delbert Mann) wins as well.
1956: Around the World in 80 Days
- 80 Days snagged itself wins for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Color Cinematography, Best Film Editing, and Best Music for Scoring.
1957: The Bridge on the River Kwai
- The Bridge on the River Kwai also won Best Actor in a Leading Role (Alec Guinness, long before we met Obi-Wan Kenobi in a little film called Star Wars), Best Director (David Lean), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, and Best Music for Scoring.
1958: Gigi
- Gigi swept all the categories it was nominated for: Best Director (Vincente Minnelli), Best Adapted Screenpla, Best Color Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Music for Original Song, and Best Music for Scoring.
1959: Ben-Hur
- Brace yourself. This list is long. Ben-Hur had an additional 10 Oscar wins: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Charlton Heston), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Hugh Griffith), Best Director (William Wyler), Best Color Cinematography, Best Art Direction in Color, Best Costume Design in Color, Best Sound, Best Film Editing, Best Special Effects, and Best Music for Scoring.
Key Picks
Obviously, All About Eve and Ben-Hur are the two titans here, based on the sheer number of wins and nominations they both had. On the Waterfront may be a little less-known in terms of not setting as many records, but it’s also early Marlon Brando.