Cimarron (1931 film) being "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?") to receive nominations in every eligible category. It won for three of them, including Best Picture. It would win the first of only two Best Picture Oscars for the studio, the other being awarded to 1946's "The Best Years of Our Lives". It was the first Western to win the Best Picture award, and it would not be until 1990 when "Dances with Wolves" won, that another Western would garner that honor. Cimarron (1931 film) Cimarron is a 1931 Pre-Code Western film directed by Wesley Ruggles, starring Richard Dix and Irene Dunne, and featuring
Academy Award for Best Picture for Best Picture and Best Director have been closely linked throughout their history. Of the 90 films that have won Best Picture, 63 have also been awarded Best Director. Only four films have been awarded Best Picture without receiving a Best Director nomination: "Wings" (1927/28), "Grand Hotel" (1931/32), "Driving Miss Daisy" (1989), and "Argo" (2012). The only two Best Director winners to win for films that did not receive a Best Picture nomination were during the early years of the awards: Lewis Milestone for "Two Arabian Knights" (1927/28), and Frank Lloyd for "The Divine Lady" (1928/29). On June 24, 2009,