Best Screenplays: 1940s

Best Adapted Screenplay:

1940: The Philadelphia Story (Donald Ogden Stewart)

Oscar winner: The Philadelphia Story (Donald Ogden Stewart)

1941: The Maltese Falcon (John Huston)

Oscar winner: Here Comes Mr. Jordan (Sidney Buchman and Seton I. Miller)

Was this nominated?: Yes

1942: The Magnificent Ambersons (Orson Welles)

Oscar winner: Mrs. Miniver (George Froeschel, James Hilton, Claudine West, and Arthur Wimperis)

Was this nominated?: No

1943: Casablanca (Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, and Howard Koch)

Oscar winner: Casablanca (Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, and Howard Koch)

1944: Double Indemnity (Raymond Chandler and Billy Wilder)

Oscar winner: Going My Way (Frank Butler and Frank Cavett)

Was this nominated?: Yes

1945: To Have and Have Not (Jules Furthman and William Faulkner)

Oscar winner: The Lost Weekend (Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder)

Was this nominated?: No

1946: The Best Years of Our Lives (Robert E. Sherwood)

Oscar winner: The Best Years of Our Lives (Robert E. Sherwood)

1947: Out of the Past (Geoffrey Homes)

Oscar winner: Miracle on 34th Street (George Seaton)

Was this nominated?: No

1948: The Lady from Shanghai (Orson Welles)

Oscar winner: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (John Huston)

Was this nominated?: No

1949: The Bicycle Thief (Cesare Zavattini, Suso D'Amico, Vittorio De Sica, Oreste Biancoli, Adolfo Franci, and Gerardo Guerrieri)

Oscar winner: A Letter to Three Wives (Joseph L. Mankiewicz)

Was this nominated?: Yes (only Zavattini was credited)

Best Original Screenplay:

1940: Remember the Night (Preston Sturges)

Oscar winner: The Great McGinty (Preston Sturges)

Was this nominated?: No

1941: Citizen Kane (Herman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles)

Oscar winner: Citizen Kane (Herman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles)

1942: Sullivan's Travels (Preston Sturges)

Oscar winner: Woman of the Year (Michael Kanin and Ring Lardner, Jr.)

Was this nominated?: No

1943: Shadow of a Doubt (Gordon McDonell, Thornton Wilder, Sally Benson, and Alma Reville)

Oscar winner: Princess O'Rourke (Norman Krasna)

Was this nominated?: Yes (won for Best Original Story)

1944: Lifeboat (John Steinbeck and Jo Swerling)

Oscar winner: Wilson (Lamar Trotti)

Was this nominated?: Yes (for Best Original Story)

1945: Detour (Martin Goldsmith)

Oscar winner: Marie-Louise (Richard Schweizer)

Was this nominated?: No

1946: Notorious (Ben Hecht)

Oscar winner: The Seventh Veil (Muriel Box and Sydney Box)

Was this nominated?: Yes

1947: Shoeshine (Sergio Amidei, Adolfo Franci, C.G. Viola, and Cesare Zavattini)

Oscar winner: The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (Sidney Sheldon)

Was this nominated?: Yes

1948: The Red Shoes (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger)

Oscar winner: The Search (Richard Schweizer and David Wechsler)

Was this nominated?: Yes (for Best Motion Picture Story)

1949: Adam's Rib (Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin)

Oscar winner: Battleground (Robert Pirosh)

Was this nominated?: Yes (wasn't eligible until 1950)

Note: Oscar winners listed in the Best Adapted Screenplay category are actually the Best Screenplay winners, since the Adapted Screenplay category didn't exist yet.