This Week in Universal News: The 37th Academy Awards, 1965

Although this year’s Oscars broadcast was a full two months ago, the ceremony honoring My Fair Lady, Julie Andrews, and Rex Harrison was held this week in 1965. If that seems late to you, consider that the very first Oscars were handed out May 16, 1929.

From the release sheet:

HOLLYWOOD’S NIGHT OF GLAMOUR: It’s Hollywood’s night to hold the world spotlight…the annual Academy Awards. Coveted Oscars go to “My Fair Lady” and its star, REX HARRISON – BEST PICTURE and BEST ACTOR. Best Actress Award is bestowed upon JULIE ANDREWS for her role in Disney’s “Mary Poppins” – a part she accepted after being bypassed for the movie version lead in “MY FAIR LADY,” in which she created the original Liza Doolittle on the stage….and which rolled up theatrical history.

You may view the complete newsreel, which also features President Lyndon Johnson giving a speech about Vietnam policy, and “red harassment” in West Berlin, here.

Sidney Poitier escorts Julie Andrews off the stage after her Best Actress win for Mary Poppins.

About the Universal Newsreel Collection at NARA:

The Universal Newsreel Collection is one of the most used motion picture collections at the National Archives and Records Administration. Universal Newsreels were shown in movie theaters twice a week, from 1929 until 1967, and covered a wide range of American life and history during that time period. Each release usually contained five to seven stories averaging two minutes in length.

In 1974, Universal deeded its edited newsreel and outtake collection to the United States through the National Archives (NARA), and did not place any copyright restrictions on its use (some stories may contain other underlying intellectual property or proprietary use rights).

While Universal disposed of many of the soundtracks, leaving the newsreels incomplete, supplementary material like scripts, shot lists, and event programs can be found in the production files, available for research at Archives II in College Park, Maryland.

Learn more about the Universal Newsreel Collection in this post and in this Prologue article. Watch other Universal Newsreels in our research room, in OPA, and on this playlist.