5th Academy Awards — award ceremony presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for achievement in filmmaking in 1931/1932
The 5th Academy Awards introduced short film categories and featured the first tie in Oscar history for Best Actor.
Key Facts
- Date
- November 18, 1932
- Venue
- Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles
- Host
- Conrad Nagel
- Best Picture
- Grand Hotel (nominated for no other award)
- First tie in Oscar history
- Best Actor: Fredric March and Wallace Beery
- First color film to win Oscar
- Flowers and Trees (Best Short Subject, Cartoon)
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences established annual awards ceremonies to recognize outstanding film achievement. For the 5th ceremony, eligible films were those screened in Los Angeles between August 1, 1931, and July 31, 1932, continuing the practice of a rolling eligibility window that sometimes caused the ceremony to lag the calendar year.
Held on November 18, 1932, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles and hosted by Conrad Nagel, the ceremony awarded Grand Hotel the Best Picture prize despite it receiving no other nominations. Short film award categories were introduced for the first time, and a tie for Best Actor — the first in Academy history — was declared between Fredric March and Wallace Beery under rules allowing co-winners within a three-vote margin.
The introduction of short film categories expanded the Academy's scope of recognition. The Best Actor tie prompted the Academy to later revise its voting rules to prevent such outcomes. Grand Hotel's win without additional nominations remains unique in Oscar history, and Flowers and Trees became the first color film ever to receive an Academy Award.