The 24th Academy Awards were held on March 20, 1952, honoring the films of 1951. The ceremony was hosted by Danny Kaye.
An American in Paris and A Place in the Sun each received six Oscars, splitting Best Picture and Best Director, respectively. A Streetcar Named Desire won four Oscars, including three of the four acting awards for which it was nominated. The film's only unsuccessful acting nomination was that of Marlon Brando, whose performance as Stanley Kowalski was later considered one of the most influential of modern film acting.
Humphrey Bogart was the last man born in the 19th century to win Best Actor. He won it over favored winner Marlon Brando, by the logic of the former being too long overlooked and the latter being a newcomer. The next day, Bogart remarked that "awards don't mean a thing unless every actor plays Hamlet and then who is best is decided."
An American in Paris became the second color film to win Best Picture, and was the first film since Grand Hotel to win Best Picture without any acting nominations. Its win was a surprise, as either A Streetcar Named Desire or A Place in the Sun was expected to win. Some reflected that it may have won due to the number of Academy voters employed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer at the time.
Nominations were announced on February 11, 1952. Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.