Cavalcade of the Academy Awards

[first lines]

Commentator - as Oscar statuette:
Hollywood, Mr. And Mrs. Audience. Hollywood - the magical Mecca, movieland, fountainhead of the celluloid fantasies whose shining shadows flicker around the full circumference of our troubled world. Hollywood - where science and sorcery combine to brew their magic broth of thrills and chills, of laughter and tears, for audiences like you totaling two hundred and fifty million people a week. For it is to you, Mr. And Mrs. Audience, that all Hollywood is dedicated. For you, little Tommy Ticketbuyer, do some seventy thousand Hollywood workers exert their labors, their brains, their witchcraft. But I wonder, little Mary Matinee, if you know who is the most sought-after in all the busy bedlam of Hollywood. Of course, highly advantageous to know is the cameraman, and equally besieged for favor is the director. Hungrily desired is any association with the glamorous star. Most respectfully regarded is the writer. But not even one of these is Hollywood's most coveted personality. There is another whose fame and importance transcend all else in Hollywood. Who? I - I am the most frantically sought person in Cinemaland. I - Oscar, the Academy Award. True, I'm only a metal statuette, intrinsically worth but a few dollars. But money cannot buy me. I must be earned - the reward for outstanding merit.

[Thomas Mitchell has just accepted the 1939 Supporting Actor Oscar from presenter Fay Bainter. She then presents the Supporting Actress Oscar]

Herself - Presenter of 1939 Oscars for Supporting Roles:
I'm really especially happy that I am chosen to present this particular plaque. To me it seems more than just a plaque of gold. It opens the doors of this room, moves back the walls, and enables us to embrace the whole of America - an America that we love, an America that almost alone in the world today, recognizes and pays tribute to those who give her their best, regardless of creed, race, or color. It is with the knowledge that this entire nation will stand and salute presentation of this plaque, that I present the Academy Award for the best performance of an actress in supporting role during 1939 to Hattie McDaniel.

[Hattie McDaniel walks from her table to the podium to loud applause]

Herself - 1939 Oscar Winner for Best Supporting Actress:
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science, fellow members of the motion picture industry, and honored guests: This is one of the happiest moments of my life, and I want to thank each one of you who had a part in selecting me for one of the awards. For your kindness, it has made me feel very, very, humble. And I shall always hold it as a beacon for anything that I may be able to do in the future. I sincerely hope I shall always be a credit to my race and to the motion picture industry. My heart is too full to tell just how I feel. And may I say, "Thank you [begins to cry and step down from the podium] and God bless you."

[last lines]

Commentator - as Oscar statuette:
And so ends 1939's Academy Awards dinner. And so comes 1940. From my vantage point here in Hollywood, I can see my seventy thousand workers - your workers, Mr. And Mrs. Audience - planning, scheming, hoping that next year I may shimmer shiningly in their hand. Which is as it should be because, while they get the Oscars, you, Mr. and Mrs. Audience, get better and better pictures.