Every year, starting in 2020, I do my own personal film awards that I call the Golden Hourglass Awards. Recently, I discovered an account, Cláudio Alves, that put together lists of eligible films for every year in Academy Awards history and it got me thinking about how a 1929 version of the Golden Hourglass Awards would have looked.

This list will be part of an ongoing personal project where I go through every Academy Awards and make two lists: The first, a retrospective ballot based off actual eligible films and using official categories for that ceremony. The second will be a retrospective of the Golden Hourglasses that I choose each year, without taking into consideration Academy eligibility or how the Academy defines the release of each film.

This is my retrospective ballot for the Golden Hourglass Awards, using my own personal categories, and using the eligibility period of 1931. Any film that received a wide release in this time is considered eligible.

Partner to the Retrospective Ballot: Fourth Academy Awards List

Categories:
Best Picture:

City Lights ***Winner***
The 3 Penny Opera
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Dracula
Enthusiasm
Five Star Final
Frankenstein
M
The Sin of Madelon Claudet
The Public Enemy

Best Director:

Charlie Chaplin - City Lights ***Winner***
Frank Capra - Dirigible
Fritz Lang - M
Mervyn LeRoy - Five Star Final
James Whale - Frankenstein

Best Actor:

Peter Lorre - M ***Winner***
James Cagney - The Public Enemy
Charlie Chaplin - City Lights
Wallace Beery - The Champ
Bela Lugosi - Dracula

Best Actress:

Virginia Cherrill - City Lights ***Winner***
Helen Hayes - The Sin of Madelon Claudet
Marian Marsh - Svengali
Carola Naher - The 3 Penny Opera
Hertha Thiele - Mädchen in Uniform

Best Supporting Actor:

Jackie Cooper - The Champ ***Winner***
Donald Cook - The Public Enemy
Boris Karloff - Frankenstein
Harry Myers - City Lights
H. B. Warner - Five Star Final

Best Supporting Actress:

Marian Marsh - Five Star Final ***Winner***
Glenda Farrell - Little Caesar
Miriam Hopkins - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Carole Lombard - Ladies' Man
Irene Rich - The Champ

Best Casting:

Five Star Final ***Winner***
City Lights
Dracula
The 3 Penny Opera
The Public Enemy

Best Original Screenplay:

City Lights ***Winner***
The Champ
Dirigible
Ladies' Man
M

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Five Star Final ***Winner***
The 3 Penny Opera
The Public Enemy
The Sin of Madelon Claudet
Skippy

Best Original Score

Frankenstein ***Winner***
City Lights
Little Caesar
Palmy Days
The Smiling Lieutenant

Best Original Song

Jazz Up Your Lingerie - The Smiling Lieutenant ***Winner***
Cuban Love Song - Cuban Love Song
El Manisero - Cuban Love Song
Kiss Me Again - Kiss Me Again
There's Nothing Too Good For My Baby - Palmy Days

Best Sound:

Dirigible ***Winner***
The 3 Penny Opera
Dracula
Frankenstein
Little Caesar

Best Art Direction:

Dracula ***Winner***
Dirigible
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Frankenstein
The Sin of Madelon Claudet

Best Cinematography

Svengali ***Winner***
City Lights
Dracula
M
Public Enemy

Best Makeup

Frankenstein ***Winner***
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Dracula
M
The Sin of Madelon Claudet

Best Costume Design:

The Sin of Madelon Claudet ***Winner***
The 3 Penny Opera
Bad Girl
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Dracula

Best Film Editing:

Five Star Final ***Winner***
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Dirigible
Enthusiasm
The Sin of Madelon Claudet

Best Visual Effects:

Dirigible ***Winner***
Cimarron
Dracula
Frankenstein
The Seas Beneath

--
Films with multiple nominations:
9: City Lights, Dracula
8: Frankenstein
7: The Sin of Madelon Claudet, Five Star Final
6: Dirigible, M, The 3 Penny Opera, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
4: The Champ
3: Little Caesar
2: The Cuban Love Song, Svengali, Ladies' Man, The Smiling Lieutenant, Enthusiasm, Palmy Days

Films with multiple wins:
4: City Lights, Five Star Final
2: Dirigible, Frankenstein