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Winning an Academy Award may be seen as one of the highest honors in the film industry, but a nomination at the Oscars is nonetheless a noteworthy achievement. Some performers have garnered nominations despite limited screen time, while other talented performers have earned nominations even before they’ve hit their teen years. Legendary composer John Williams even has the illustrious prestige of being the only person nominated for an Oscar in seven different decades! However, just because you receive multiple Academy Award nominations does not guarantee actually winning the award. This happened to be the case for screenwriter Elliott J. Clawson, who received an impressive four nominations for Best Writing at the 2nd Academy Awards. Unfortunately for Clawson, despite having multiple nominations that year, none of his submissions took home the gold.
Who Is Elliott J. Clawson?
Elliott J. Clawson was an American screenwriter who accumulated an impressive filmography in the earliest days of Hollywood. From 1913 to 1929, Clawson wrote more than 80 films in the silent film era. Though the overwhelming majority of his movies were of the quieter variety, one of the last movies he wrote for, The Thirteenth Chair, was released in 1929 with both sound and silent versions. With cinema still in relative infancy during this era, many of his works may not be household names today. Regardless, Clawson would end up making history at the 2nd Academy Awards—though it’s a record he likely would have rather not earned. That year (1930 for cinema historians) he received four nominations all in the category of Best Writing. He had written The Cop, The Leatherneck, Sal of Singapore, and Skyscraper (based on a short story by Dudley Murphy). These films were all silent dramas, marking the last few years before sound pictures would become the popular mainstay and overtake their more quiet counterparts. In the Writing category, Clawson had 4 out of the 11 nominations. Unfortunately, though Clawson had over a third of the movie nominations, none of his films received the award.
This was a juggernaut year for Clawson’s career, marking the only time he would be nominated for the prestigious award. Part of the reason for his lack of further nominations can be attributed to the timing of his career. These would also be some of the last movies he ever wrote for, but it was also only the second year that the Academy Awards were held. The majority of Clawson’s films were made before this award ceremony existed. Regardless, receiving multiple nominations in a single year is quite an impressive note to end on. Considering how much the world of cinema and entertainment has grown, Clawson still deserves recognition for being an early pioneer in the industry, with a wealth of works that helped pave the way for future films.
Who Won at the 2nd Academy Awards?
As just the 2nd Academy Awards ceremony, there were a lot of differences between the 1930 Oscars and today’s. In fact, there were already substantial changes made compared to the first Oscars held just a year earlier. The awards banquet considered films released from August 1928 through July 1929, which is an earlier cut-off compared to modern Oscars, which allow for films released up to November the year before the ceremony. This 2nd Academy Awards ceremony was also the first that was broadcast on radio, presented by Los Angeles AM station KNX.
The 2nd Oscars Ceremony only featured seven categories in total: Outstanding Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay). The writer to whom Clawson had lost out that year was Hanns Kräly, who had written The Patriot. The Patriot was notable that year for being tied with In Old Arizona for having the most nominations that year, with 5 apiece.
The winner of Outstanding Picture that year was The Broadway Melody, which was the first sound picture to win the category. Warner Baxter took home Best Actor for his role in the film In Old Arizona, while Mary Pickford won Best Actress for her performance in Coquette. The Bridge of San Luis Rey was awarded Best Art Direction, under Cedric Gibbons. Clyde De Vinna won Best Cinematography for his work on White Shadows in the South Seas. The Best Director of that year was given to Frank Lloyd, for his work on The Divine Lady.
How Has the Best Writing Oscars Category Changed?
The Best Writing category, like many others of the Academy’s award categories, has seen its fair share of changes over the nearly 100 years of Oscars history. Though the 2nd Oscars only featured one writing category, the 1st Academy Awards initially featured three: Writing (Original Story), Writing (Adaptation), and Writing (Title Writing). The latter of these was ultimately the most short-lived of the group, making the fewest appearances in future ceremonies. In 1957, the division of the writing categories was solidified into the version we’re familiar with today: Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Screenplay. Though at the time, they had longer names that would be simplified in the coming years to their present state.
Three writers have the record for most Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay with three each: Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett, and Woody Allen, the last of which also has the most nominations. Another notable record within the Best Writing category is that it also features the oldest Oscar winner of all time: James Ivory, who won at 89 years old for his writing on Call Me By Your Name. On the other end of the scale, Charlie Wachtel was the youngest recipient of the award for BlacKkKlansman, at 32 years old.
With 95 years and counting of history for the Academy Awards, there are a plethora of unique records and achievements to attain, so though Elliott Clawson’s works never won him the coveted gold statue, he has still left his mark on the history of cinema with a series of films that work as time capsules for the early days of Hollywood.
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