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25th Academy Awards (1953)
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Oscars 1953 Winners & Nominees

The 25th Academy Awards (1953) took place on March 19, 1953. The Greatest Show on Earth won Best Motion Picture and one more award. The Bad and the Beautiful won the most, 5 of its 6 nominations. Every winner and nominee in all 21 categories is below.

All 21 categories Most wins
categories
21
nominations
40
films nominated
14
winners
14
Held on
Best Motion Picture
The Greatest Show on Earth
Headline winners

Oscars 1953: The Winners

The Greatest Show on Earth won Best Motion Picture against 3 other nominees. John Ford (Best Director), Gary Cooper (Best Actor) and Gloria Grahame (Best Supporting Actress) took the main individual prizes.

The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) movie poster Best Motion Picture

Best Motion Picture

The Greatest Show on Earth

1952 · Drama, Romance, Family · $36M worldwide

2 wins from 5 nominations at the 25th Academy Awards (1953)

  • Best Writing (Motion Picture Story)

A dazzling world of wonder unfolds as the curtains rise on the Ringling Bros.-Barnum and Bailey Circus. This spectacular film explores the passionate and dramatic lives of those who work behind the scenes of the greatest show on Earth. Love, jealousy, and adventure intertwine within the vibrant atmosphere of the big top, revealing the complex relationships and rivalries that drive the thrilling spectacle.

About The Greatest Show on Earth
Scoreboard

Oscars 1953: Which Films Won the Most

The Bad and the Beautiful won 5 awards from 6 nominations. 5 films won at least once, while Ivanhoe went home empty-handed from 3 nominations. Green is wins, blue is nominations.

  1. The Bad and the Beautiful (1953) movie poster
    The Bad and the Beautiful 5 / 6
    1953 · Drama, Romance · 5 wins from 6 nominations
  2. High Noon (1952) movie poster
    High Noon 4 / 7
    1952 · Action, Drama · 4 wins from 7 nominations
  3. The Quiet Man (1952) movie poster
    The Quiet Man 2 / 7
    1952 · Drama, Comedy · 2 wins from 7 nominations
  4. The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) movie poster
    The Greatest Show on Earth 2 / 5
    1952 · Drama, Romance · 2 wins from 5 nominations
  5. The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) movie poster
    The Lavender Hill Mob 1 / 2
    1951 · Comedy, Crime · 1 win from 2 nominations
  6. Ivanhoe (1953) movie poster
    Ivanhoe 0 / 3
    1953 · Adventure, Drama · 0 wins from 3 nominations
  7. Singin' in the Rain (1952) movie poster
    Singin' in the Rain 0 / 2
    1952 · Comedy, Romance · 0 wins from 2 nominations
  8. The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952) movie poster
    The Snows of Kilimanjaro 0 / 2
    1952 · Adventure, Drama · 0 wins from 2 nominations
  9. To Catch a Thief (1955) movie poster
    To Catch a Thief 0 / 1
    1955 · Mystery, Thriller · 0 wins from 1 nomination
  10. A Star Is Born (1954) movie poster
    A Star Is Born 0 / 1
    1954 · Drama, Romance · 0 wins from 1 nomination
Full results

All 21 Oscars 1953 Categories: Winners & Nominees

21 categories and 40 nominations. The winner of each comes first, on a green row. Search for a film or a person, show only the winners, or jump straight to a category.

21 categories · 40 nominations

Jump to a category

Oscars 1953 Best Supporting Actor

Official name: Actor in a Supporting Role

1 nominee

No winner is recorded for this category.

Oscars 1953 Best Writing (Motion Picture Story)

Official name: Writing (Motion Picture Story)

1 nominee

Oscars 1953 Best Cinematography (Black-and-White)

Official name: Cinematography (Black-and-White)

1 nominee

Oscars 1953 Best Costume Design (Black-and-White)

Official name: Costume Design (Black-and-White)

1 nominee

Oscars 1953 Best Costume Design (Color)

Official name: Costume Design (Color)

1 nominee

No winner is recorded for this category.

Oscars 1953 Best Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)

Official name: Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)

3 nominees

Oscars 1953 Best Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture)

Official name: Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture)

1 nominee

No winner is recorded for this category.

Oscars 1953 Best Music (Song)

Official name: Music (Song)

1 nominee

Oscars 1953 Best Sound Recording

Official name: Sound Recording

1 nominee

No winner is recorded for this category.

Oscars 1953 Best Special Effects

Official name: Special Effects

1 nominee

No winner is recorded for this category.

Movie marathon

The Oscars 1953 Best Motion Picture Marathon

All 4 Best Motion Picture nominees at the 25th Academy Awards (1953), back to back: 7 hours 52 minutes.

Total running time 7h 52m 7 hours 52 minutes All 4 films
Longest
The Greatest Show on Earth 2h 32m
Shortest
High Noon 1h 25m
By genre

The Genres Behind the Oscars 1953 Winners

Drama led with 33 nominations across 9 films and won 13. A film with several genres counts for each one.

  1. Drama 13 wins · 33 nominations · 39%
  2. Romance 9 wins · 28 nominations · 32%
  3. Comedy 3 wins · 12 nominations · 25%
  4. Thriller 4 wins · 8 nominations · 50%
  5. Action 4 wins · 7 nominations · 57%
  6. Western 4 wins · 7 nominations · 57%
  7. Family 2 wins · 5 nominations · 40%
  8. Adventure 0 wins · 5 nominations · 0%
  9. Musical 0 wins · 4 nominations · 0%
  10. Crime 1 win · 3 nominations · 33%
1953 season

How the Rest of the 1953 Awards Season Voted

The other 3 ceremonies of 1953, with the winner of each top prize. The Greatest Show on Earth also won the top prize at one of them.

All 1953 awards
Earlier years

Previous Oscars Ceremonies

The 6 ceremonies before this one, with the winner of each top prize. The Oscars page has every year back to 1929.

Every Oscars ceremony

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FAQ

Oscars 1953: Questions & Answers

The top prize, the film that won the most, the most-nominated film, the individual winners and the date of the 25th Academy Awards (1953), answered from the results on this page.

Who won Best Motion Picture at the 25th Academy Awards (1953)?

The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) won Best Motion Picture. The other nominees were High Noon, Ivanhoe and The Quiet Man.

About The Greatest Show on Earth

Which film won the most awards at the 25th Academy Awards (1953)?

The Bad and the Beautiful (1953) won the most: 5 awards from 6 nominations. High Noon was next with 4 wins.

Which film had the most nominations at the 25th Academy Awards (1953)?

High Noon (1952) and The Quiet Man (1952) led with 7 nominations each.

Who won the acting and directing awards at the 25th Academy Awards (1953)?

Best Director: John Ford for The Quiet Man. Best Actor: Gary Cooper for High Noon. Best Supporting Actress: Gloria Grahame for The Bad and the Beautiful.

When was the 25th Academy Awards (1953)?

The 25th Academy Awards (1953) took place on March 19, 1953. The database has 21 categories and 40 nominations for it.