The 17th Academy Awards were held on March 15, 1945 at
Grauman's Chinese Theatre, honoring the films of
1944. This was the first time the complete awards ceremony was broadcast nationally, on the
Blue Network (later
ABC Radio).
Bob Hope hosted the 70-minute broadcast, which included film clips that required explanation for the radio audience.[1]
Darryl F. Zanuck and
20th Century-Fox spent a fortune promoting Wilson out of determination to have it win the Best Picture Oscar, but it lost to Going My Way, which made Zanuck bitter.[2]
This year was notable for being the only time an individual was nominated for two acting awards for the same role in the same film: Barry Fitzgerald received nominations for both
Best Actor and
Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Father Fitzgibbon in the Best Picture winner Going My Way. Fitzgerald won for Best Supporting Actor, while his co-star
Bing Crosby won Best Actor.
Walter Wanger (Presenter: Academy Honorary Award to Bob Hope)
Bob Hope (Presenter: Best Art Direction (Black-and-White), Best Art Direction (Color), Best Cinematography (Black-and-White), Best Cinematography (Color), Best Documentary Feature, Best Documentary Short Subject, Best Film Editing, Best Live Action Short Subject (One-Reel), Best Scoring of a Musical Picture, Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture, Best Song, Best Sound Recording, Best Special Effects, and the Scientific & Technical Awards)
Hugo Butler (Presenter: Best Screenplay, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Original Motion Picture Story)