In one of the biggest scandals in Oscar’s history, “High Society,” the Allied Artists production centering on The Bowery Boys, was nominated by mistake for Motion Picture Story, by Edward Bernds and Elwood Ullman.
The Writers Branch intended to nominate the MGM musical “High Society” (a singing version of “The Philadelphia Story”), but by mistake (clerical error?), nominated the wrong picture.
Never mind that the 1956 musical did not merit a writing nomination, because it was not based on original story. As a result, Bernds and Ullman withdrew their names from the competition.
As for the straight High Society movie, the tale revolves around a mistaken identity: one of the Bowery Boys is believed to be a rich heir and so he and his friends move into a large mansion.
The film features Amanda Blake, who later became famous as Miss kitty in TV’s series “Gunsmoke.”