# February 28, 1959: The Night Hollywood Didn't See Coming

On February 28, 1959, something remarkable happened at the 31st Academy Awards ceremony held at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood: **Gigi** swept the Oscars with nine wins from nine nominations, becoming only the second film ever to achieve a perfect batting average at the Academy Awards (after *It Happened One Night* in 1935).

But here's where it gets deliciously dramatic: this wasn't supposed to happen. The smart money that year was on *The Defiant Ones*, the gritty social drama about two escaped convicts—one white, one Black—shackled together. Or perhaps *Cat on a Hot Tin Roof*, dripping with Tennessee Williams' southern Gothic intensity and featuring Elizabeth Taylor at her most incandescent.

Instead, Hollywood gave its highest honors to what many dismissed as a frothy Parisian confection—a musical about a young girl being groomed to become a courtesan in Belle Époque Paris. *Gigi* was directed by Vincente Minnelli, featured songs by Lerner and Loewe (fresh off *My Fair Lady* on Broadway), and starred Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, and a scene-stealing Louis Jourdan.

The night was hosted by Jerry Lewis, David Niven, Mort Sahl, Tony Randall, Bob Hope, and Laurence Olivier (because apparently one host wasn't enough). When the dust settled, *Gigi* had claimed Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Musical Score, and Best Song for "Gigi."

What made this sweep particularly significant was what it represented: perhaps the last gasp of the old Hollywood studio system's lavish Technicolor musicals. MGM producer Arthur Freed had essentially transplanted his entire operation to Paris for four months, transforming the City of Light into a soundstage. The film cost $3.3 million—enormous for 1958—and represented the kind of grand, no-expense-spared production that was already becoming extinct.

The irony? Just two years later, *West Side Story* would win Best Picture, but the era of original movie musicals was rapidly closing. Television was eating Hollywood's lunch, and audiences were changing. *Gigi*'s clean sweep represented both a triumph and a swan song—Hollywood honoring itself, its craft, and a type of filmmaking that was already slipping into history.

Also noteworthy: the ceremony marked one of the few times the Best Actor race wasn't even close, with David Niven winning for *Separate Tables* in what was considered a foregone conclusion. And Wendy Hiller won Best Supporting Actress for the same film, despite appearing on screen for barely eight minutes—still one of the shortest performances ever to win an Oscar.

The 1959 ceremony was one of the last times Hollywood would be so unanimous in celebrating pure, unapologetic escapist entertainment over grittier fare. Within a few years, the New Hollywood would begin its revolution, and films like *Gigi*—however beautifully crafted—would seem like relics from another planet entirely.

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