25th Annual VOTING RULES ACADEMY AWARDS OF MERIT For Achievements During 1952 ~ IN 0 EX ACTING AWARDS - Rule Seven . 7 ART DIRECTION AWARDS - Rule Eight . 8 CINEMATOGRAPHY AWARDS - Rule Nine 9 COSTUME DESIGN AWARDS - Rule Ten 10 D IRECTI G AWARD - Rule Eleven . 11 DOCUMENTARY AWARDS - Rule Twelve 11 FILM EDITI G AWARD - Rule Thirteen 12 HONORARY AWARDS - Rule Four . 5 HONORARY FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM AWARD - Rule Fourteen 13 MUSIC AWARDS - Rule Fifteen 13 OTHER AWARDS - Rule Three 4 PRODUCTION AWARD - Rule Sixteen . 15 SCIENTIFIC OR TECHNICAL AWARDS - Rule Seventeen . 15 SHORT SUBJECTS AWARDS - Rule Eighteen . 16 SOUND RECORDI NG AWARD - Rule Nineteen. 18 SPECIAL EFFECTS AWARD - Rule Twenty 19 THALBERG AWARD - Rule Twenty-one 20 WRITI G AWARDS - Rule Twenty-two 20 TWENTY-FIFTH ANNUAL AWARDS Calendar Year 1952 VOTING TIMETABLE GENERAL December31.1952 (Midnight) AWARDS YEAR Ei'\DS Wednesday January 15,1953 MAIL i'\OMINATIONS BALLOTS Thursday (Allowing 9 days for voting) Januury 24,1953 :\OMIl\'ATIOl\'S POLLS CLOSE Saturday (Allowing 14 days to count ballots) February 10, 1953 ALL I\O~III\ATIOl\'S ANI\Ol'I\CED Tuesday l:\l PRESS (Released Monday eve., Feb. 9, 7 p.m.) February 22,1953 FINAL SHORT SUBJECTS SCREE ' II\G Sundar 1 1 ACADEMY THEATRE February 15,1953 SCREEl\'Ii\G OF Sunday thru I'iOMII\ATED PICTURES [\' ,11arch 8, 1953 ACADD1Y THEATRE Sunday February 24,1953 MAIL FINAL BALLOTS Tuesday (All owing 14 days for voting) March 1, 1953 FINAL DOCUMENTARY SCREEl\'Il\'G Sunday IN ACADEMY THEATRE March 10, 1953 Fl 1AL POLLS CLOSE Tuesday (Allowing 9 days for tabulation) March 19, 1953 AWARDS PRESE "TATIO Thursday 25th Annual ACADEMY AWARDS OF MERIT For Achievements During 1952 VOTING RULES ~ O N E The Awards Year Academy Awards of Merit shall be bestowed for achievements in connec­ tion with motion pictures first publicly exhibited for paid admission (previews excluded) in the Los Angeles area (defined as Los Angeles, West Los Angeles or Beverly Hills)' between January 1, 1952 and midnight of December 31, 1952, such exhibition being for a consecutive run of not less than a week after an opening prior to midnight of December 31st, following norm:ll exploitation and adve rtising utilized by the producer for his other pictures within the dates specified. Entertainment Short Subjects which qualify under Rule Eighteen, distributed by a recognized distributing organization on a rental basis to 35mm. theatres for the profit of the producer and distribu­ tor, anywhere in the nited States for any definite first paid play date during the' aforesaid period shall be eligible for consideration for the Awards. TWO The Annual Awards Subject to the inability of the Producer to comply herewith, every Award shall be conditioned upon the deljvery to the Academy of one print of every film nominated for fin al balloting for an Academy Awards, and such print shall become the property of the Academy, with the proviso however, that the Academy shall not use such print for commercial gain. Such print shall be deposited with the Academy and, subject to matters not within its control, shall be screened by the Academy for the membership in advance of distribu­ tion of fin al ballots. Awards of Merit in the form of gold statuettes shaH be conferred for the following achievements : ACTING: For the best performance by an actor. For the best performance by an actor in a support­ ing role. For the best performance by an actress_ For the best performance by an actress in a support­ ting role. Page Three ART DIRECTION: For the best achievement in art direction of a black­ and-white production_ F or the best achievement in art direction of a color production_ (The Academy plaque shall· be given to the Set Decorators on the pictures which win the Art Direction Awards.) CINEMATOGRAPHY: For the best achievement in cinematography of a black-and-white production. For the best achievement in cinematography of a color production. COSTUME DESIGN: For the best achievement in costume design of a black-and-white production. For the best achievement in costume design of a color production. DIRECTING: For the best achievement in directing. FILM EDITING: For the best achievement in film editing. MTJSIC: For the outstanding achievements in music in con­ nection with motion pictures: (a) Best scoring of a musical picture. (b) Best music score of a dramatic or comedy picture. (c) Best song. PRODUCTION: For the best motion picture. SHORT SUBJECTS: For the best achievement in each of three classifica­ tions: (a) Cartoons. (b) 1,000-foot subjects. (c) Subjects between 1,000 and 3,000 feet. SOUND RECORDING: For the best achievement by a studio sound depart­ ment. WRITING: For the best motion picture story. For the best screenplay. For the best story and screenplay. THREE Other Awards Not necessarily given each year. Page Four [A] Achievements or pictures eligible for Awards listed in Rule Two cannot qualify for Honorary Awards or Other Awards with the exception of the Documentary Awards, the Honorary Foreign Language Film Award, the Honorary Juvenile Award and the Special Effects Award. [B] SCIENTIFIC OR TECHNICAL ACHIEVEME T: For a device, method, formula, discovery, or invention of special and outstanding value to the art or science of motion pictures, and actually employed in the motion picture industry during the Awards year. The Class I Award (Academy statuette) shall be conferred for basic achievements which have a definite influence upon the advancement of the industry; the Class II Award (Academy plaque) for those achievements which have a definite influence upon the industry, but merit recognition to a lesser degree than the Class I Award; the Class III Award (Certificate of Honorable Mention) for those accomplishments which are important to the progress of the industry. (See Rule Seventeen.) [C] IRVING G. THALBERG MEMORIAL AWARD (Thalberg head): Shall be given at such times as in the judgment of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences there is a deserving recipient, but not necessarily each year. It shall be given to the individual who has been responsible for the most consistent high quality of motion picture pro­ duction for the current Awards year and the two preceding years. (See Rule Twenty-one.) [D] DOCUMENTARY ACHIEVEMENT (Statuette) . For the best feature­ length Documentary film and for the best Documentary Short Subject. (See Rule Twelve.) [E] SPECIAL EFFECTS AWARD (Statuette): For the best achievement in Special Effects. (See Rule Twenty.) FOUR Honorary Awards [A] For outstanding achievements not strictly within the categories listed in Rules Two and Three. Honorary Awards shall only be given, however, for superlative and distinguished service in the making of motion pictures or for outstanding service to the Academy. [B) Achievements voted Honorary Awards may be in connection with foreign as well as domestic productions and are not limited to the Awards year. Achievements or pictures eligible for Awards listed in Rule Two cannot qualify for Honorary Awards with the exception of the Honorary Foreign Language Film Award and the Honorary Juvenile Award. Page Five [C] Honorary Awards shall be in such form as the Academy Board of Gover­ nors may decide_ rDl HONORARY FOREIG LANGUAGE FILM AWARD (not necessarily given each year) : This Award is intended to honor films made in a language other than English and first released in a commercial theatre in the United States during the Awards year. (See Rule Fourteen.) fEl HONORARY JUVENILE AWARD (not necessarily given each year): Shall be voted by the Academy Board of Governors for the most outstanding juvenile performance during the Awards year, when in the judgment of the Board of Governors there is a deserving recipient. FIVE General Rules [A] Final balloting on all achievements shall be restricted to -active Academy members. [B) The established gold statuette trophy of the Academy shall be conferred for all achievements listed in Rule Two, for the Class I Scientific or Technical Awards, for the Documentary Awards, for the Honorary Foreign Language Film Award and for the Special Effects Award. The Academy plaque shall be given to the Set Decorators on the pictures which win the Art Direction Awards and for the Class II Scientific or Technical Awards. The Thalberg head shall be given for the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. Trophies to be given for all Honorary Awards shall be determined by the Academy Board of Governors. [C) Final voting for Awards shall be by secret ballot. Printed forms and ballots shall be supplied by the Academy and shall be returned unsigneJ. [D) Ballots shall be opened and counted by a firm of certified public account­ ants designated by the Academy President. [E) Awards shall be conferred at an Awards Presentation Ceremony. [F) In the event that an achievement voted an Award was done in collabora­ tion, each of the collaborators shall receive an Award trophy. In the event of a tie for first place in the final balloting, Awards shall be given for both achievements. [G) In the nominations voting, the marking and tabulation of all ballots shall Page Six be according to the preferential or proportional system. No "write-in" votes shall be counted on the final ballots. [H) The Board of Governors shall provide for such meetings, sub·committees and special showings, as may be desirable to insure a full and fair considera· tion of the merits of all eligible achievements. [1 ] It being the intention that motion pictures from all countries shall be eligible for consideration for the Awards listed under Rule Two, the rules shall be construed liberally to include such motion pictures, except that they must have been shown in the Los Angeles area (defined as Los Angeles, West Los Angeles, or Beverly Hills) within the Awards year, must be in English or with English titles, and the producers or distributors shaH provide prints when necessary for review showings.