The Canadian World War II Film That Beat 10 Other Documentaries To Make Oscars History

In 1942, 'Churchill's Island' became the first winner of the Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject).

The Oscars took 14 ceremonies to introduce an award devoted exclusively to documentaries. The addition was only a matter of time after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had nominated a documentary at their first event, awarded a documentary at their third, and saw seven short documentaries win over the next decade, all in various other existing categories. Finally, in 1942, the first Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) was given to Churchill’s Island, selected from a pool of 11 nominees.

While the Oscars would have likely created a documentary category eventually, we can probably thank World War II for the timing of its debut. Nonfiction shorts and newsreels were showing audiences the scope of the conflict, with some propaganda films specifically aimed at garnering Americans’ support for the Allied powers. One year earlier, the Academy even nominated the British documentary London Can Take It!, about the English capital’s resilience during the Blitz, in the Best Short Subject (One-Reel) category. (It didn’t win.)

By the time of the next Academy Awards, the U.S. had entered World War II, plenty of Hollywood actors and filmmakers had enlisted (some, including James Stewart and John Ford, had already done so even earlier), and the industry as a whole was more focused on what it could do for the war effort. The Oscars were nearly cancelled following the attack on Pearl Harbor, but the Academy went ahead with a less glitzy ceremony. Some attendees chose to wear their military uniforms to the event instead of the usual formal attire.

The war wasn’t the only thing on the minds of the guests at the 14th Academy Awards, however. That year is remembered today more for the Best Actress rivalry between sisters Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland, the disappointing “near-washout” (as Variety called it) of Orson Welles and Citizen Kane, and the celebration of Walt Disney and Fantasia with special honors. Still, there was a rousing, pro-aggression speech given by former Republican presidential candidate Wendell Willkie and an appearance by the Chinese Ambassador to the United States, Dr. Huh Shih.

The prewar U.S. military was on display in several of the year’s nominees, including Best Special Effects winner I Wanted Wings and Best Cinematography contender Dive Bomber. These movies were made with the support of the U.S. Army Air Corps and the U.S. Navy, respectively, and the latter actually captured real military activity during filming. Still, the majority of nominees depicting World War II specifically could be found in the new documentary-only category.