Jack London (1944): Alfred Santell’s Oscar-Nominated Biopic of Writer, Starring Michael O’Shea and Susan Hayward

Alfred Santell directed this conventional and ultimately unsatisfying biography of the writer Jack London, played by Michael O’Shea, who lived at the turn of the century.

The cast includes Susan Hayward as his love interest,

Scoring (Dramatic or Comedy): Frederic E. Rich

The Best Scoring Oscar went to the accomplished composer Max Steiner for Selznick’s melodrama, “Since You Went Away.”

Composer Rich was nominated the year before for “Stage Door Canteen,” but didn’t win; the award went to Ray Heindorf for “This is the Army.”