Probably more drama backstage than on-stage, the 35th Academy Awards were held April 8, 1963.
Bette Davis was up for Best Actress for her performance as Jane Hudson in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, but her feud with Joan Crawford led to Crawford campaigning against her receiving the award. It would have been Davis's third Oscar win, which would have been made her the first actress to win three Oscars. But Crawford's smear campaign worked and Anne Bancroft won the Oscar for her performance in The Miracle Worker. I like Anne Bancroft, but I think Bette Davis should have won. To add insult to injury, Crawford had arranged ahead of time to accept the award for Bancroft who was unable to attend.
Patty Duke won Best Supporting Actor for her work as Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker. However, I wonder if someone had initiated a campaign against Angela Lansbury, because she should have won the award for her performance as Eleanor Iselin in The Manchurian Candidate. I really think something fishy was going on there. Especially since The Manchurian Candidate was only nominated for two supporting acting awards, nothing else, not even Best Picture or Best Directing.
The Music Man won Best Music (Scoring of Music-Adaption or Treatment) for Ray Heindorf. Was there any real competition?
Henry Mancini won for Best Music (Song) for Days of Wine and Roses for the movie of the same name. Johnny Mercer wrote the lyrics. I'm not familiar with the other nominees so I agree with this award.
What Ever Happened to Baby? won for Best Costume Design (Black-and-White) for Norma Koch. Iconic Edith Head was nominated for the two costume design categories but didn't win either. Hmmm....
Lawrence of Arabia was the biggest winner of the night, winning seven out of ten nominations.
