March 3, 1944

It may come as a shock in our Oscar-obsessed age that the Academy Awards were not Page 1 news in 1944. The ceremony only rated the second cover.

Edwin Schallert filed the main story with Philip K. Scheuer providing the color story. “Casablanca” was voted the best film, while Paul Lukas won as best actor for “Watch on the Rhine” and Jennifer Jones won as best actress for “The Song of Bernadette.” Winners were cautioned to keep acceptance speeches to 30 seconds. Many kept it shorter than that, but Michael Curtiz went 45 seconds for “Casablanca,” The Times said.

A radio broadcast of the ceremonies has survived, but it’s not available on the Internet. Several dealers have copies for sale, however.