10th Academy Awards: History and Background

The 10th Academy Awards were held on March 10, 1938, to honor films released in 1937, at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, California and hosted by Bob Burns. Originally scheduled for March 3, 1938, the ceremony was postponed due to the Los Angeles flood of 1938.

This was the last year for two Oscars categories: Best Dance Direction, which this year saw the only nomination ever received by a Marx Brothers film (Dave Gould for "All God's Children Got Rhythm" in A Day at the Races), and Best Assistant Director.

The Life of Emile Zola was the first film to receive ten nominations and the second consecutive biographical film to win Best Picture, following the previous year's The Great Ziegfeld. Luise Rainer received the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Good Earth, earning her the distinctions of being the first actor to win two Academy Awards and the first to win consecutive acting awards, following her win for The Great Ziegfeld. Luise Rainer, who didn't think anyone could win in two consecutive years, stayed at home with her husband, playwright Clifford Odets, on the night of the ceremony. She was informed of her win by telephone, hastily dressed herself up, and rushed out the door to collect her second Oscar, which was said to have "jinxed her".

A Star Is Born was the first color film to receive a Best Picture nomination.

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