That “Gentleman's Agreement” was voted Best Picture for ideological, not artistic, considerations is clear not only from its win over “Crossfire, but also in its win over David Lean's masterpiece, “Great Expectations.” The Academy proved that when weighing a film's contents against its style, the former counts more. The other two Best Picture nominees represented lighter fare: “The Bishop's Wife,” with 6 nominations, and “Miracle on 34th Street,” with 4 nods.

The most-nominated film in 1946, Best Years won in all of its categories but sound. However, the biggest Oscar scandal was the omission of cinematographer Gregg Toland from the nominees, despite major contribution to the film's overall impact.

“The Lost Weekend” won over Hitchcock's suspense-thriller “Spellbound” and Leo McCarey's comedy “The Bells of St. Mary's,” both starring Ingrid Bergman. The other two nominees were the MGM musical “Anchors Aweigh” and Warner's noir melodrama “Mildred Pierce,” for which Joan Crawford won the Best Actress for a comeback performance.

On how many occasions the Oscar show was postponed or canceled

Going My Way competed for the top award with Billy Wilder's noir melodrama Double Indemnity, George Cukor's psychological thriller Gaslight, and two patriotic films, Selznick's production Since You Went Away and the biopic Wilson.