26th British Academy Film Awards

26th edition of the cinematographic award

26th British Academy Film Awards
Date	28 February 1973
Site	Royal Albert Hall
Hosted by	Michael Parkinson John Mills
Highlights
Best Film	Cabaret
Best Actor	Gene Hackman The Poseidon Adventure and The French Connection
Best Actress	Liza Minnelli Cabaret
Most awards	Cabaret (7)
Most nominations	Cabaret (11)
← 25th BAFTA Awards 27th →

The 26th British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, took place on 28 February 1973 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, honouring the best national and foreign films of 1972. Presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, accolades were handed out for the best feature-length film and documentaries of any nationality that were screened at British cinemas in 1972.

After receiving the most nominations with 11, Bob Fosse's Cabaret took home the most awards of the night, winning a total of 7 awards. This included; Best Film, Direction (Fosse), Actress (Liza Minnelli), Production Design (Rolf Zehetbauer) and Most Promising Newcomer (Joel Grey). Gene Hackman received Best Actor for his performances in The French Connection and The Poseidon Adventure, whilst Ben Johnson and Cloris Leachman won in the supporting categories for their performances in The Last Picture Show.

The ceremony was hosted by Michael Parkinson and John Mills.

Winners and nominees

Awards

Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.

Best Film Cabaret – Bob Fosse A Clockwork Orange – Stanley Kubrick The French Connection – William Friedkin The Last Picture Show – Peter Bogdanovich	Best Direction Bob Fosse – Cabaret Peter Bogdanovich – The Last Picture Show Stanley Kubrick – A Clockwork Orange William Friedkin – The French Connection
Best Actor in a Leading Role *Gene Hackman – The French Connection* as Detective Jimmy Doyle Gene Hackman – The Poseidon Adventure as Reverend Frank Scott** George C. Scott – The Hospital as Doctor Herbert Bock George C. Scott – They Might Be Giants as Justin Marlon Brando – The Godfather as Vito Corleone Marlon Brando – The Nightcomers as Peter Quint Robert Shaw – Young Winston as Lord Randolph Churchill	Best Actress in a Leading Role *Liza Minnelli – Cabaret* as Sally Bowles** Anne Bancroft – Young Winston as Lady Randolph Churchill Dorothy Tutin – Savage Messiah as Sophie Brzeska Stéphane Audran – Le Boucher as Helene Daville
Best Actor in a Supporting Role *Ben Johnson – The Last Picture Show* as Sam** Max Adrian – The Boy Friend as Max Mandeville Ralph Richardson – Lady Caroline Lamb as George IV Robert Duvall – The Godfather as Tom Hagen	Best Actress in a Supporting Role *Cloris Leachman – The Last Picture Show* as Ruth Popper** Eileen Brennan – The Last Picture Show as Genevieve Marisa Berenson – Cabaret as Natalia Landauer Shelley Winters – The Poseidon Adventure as Belle Rosen
Best Screenplay The Hospital – Paddy Chayefsky The Last Picture Show – Larry McMurtry and Peter Bogdanovich Cabaret – Jay Presson Allen A Clockwork Orange – Stanley Kubrick	Best Cinematography Alice's Adventures in Wonderland – Geoffrey Unsworth Cabaret – Geoffrey Unsworth A Clockwork Orange – John Alcott Deliverance – Vilmos Zsigmond The Garden of the Finzi-Continis – Ennio Guarnieri Images – Vilmos Zsigmond McCabe & Mrs. Miller – Vilmos Zsigmond
Best Costume Design Alice's Adventures in Wonderland – Anthony Mendleson Macbeth – Anthony Mendleson Young Winston – Anthony Mendleson Cabaret – Charlotte Flemming The Godfather – Anna Hill Johnstone	Best Editing The French Connection – Gerald B. Greenberg Cabaret – David Bretherton A Clockwork Orange – Bill Butler Deliverance – Tom Priestley
Best Original Music The Godfather – Nino Rota Lady Caroline Lamb – Richard Rodney Bennett Macbeth – Third Ear Band Young Winston – Alfred Ralston	Best Production Design Cabaret – Rolf Zehetbauer A Clockwork Orange – John Barry Lady Caroline Lamb – Carmen Dillon Young Winston – Geoffrey Drake and Donald M. Ashton
Best Sound Cabaret – David Hildyard, Robert Knudson and Arthur Piantadosi A Clockwork Orange – Brian Blamey, John Jordan and Bill Rowe Deliverance – Jim Atkinson, Walter Goss and Doug Turner The French Connection – Chris Newman and Theodore Soderberg	Best Specialised Film Cutting Oils and Fluids We Call It Petrol What Did You Learn at School Today? What Is Life?
John Grierson Award Memorial – James Allen History of the Motor Car – Bill Mason The Tide of Traffic – Derek Williams	United Nations Award The Garden of the Finzi-Continis – Vittorio De Sica A Day in the Death of Joe Egg – Peter Medak Family Life – Ken Loach One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich – Caspar Wrede
Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles *Joel Grey – Cabaret* as Emcee** Al Pacino – The Godfather as Michael Corleone Bud Cort – Harold and Maude as Harold Parker Chasen Simon Ward – Young Winston as Winston Churchill

Statistics

Films that received multiple nominations
Nominations	Film
11	Cabaret
7	A Clockwork Orange
6	The Last Picture Show
6	Young Winston
5	The French Connection
5	The Godfather
3	Deliverance
3	Lady Caroline Lamb
2	Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
	The Garden of the Finzi-Continis
	The Hospital
	Macbeth
	The Poseidon Adventure

Films that received multiple awards
Awards	Film
7	Cabaret
3	The Last Picture Show
2	Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
2	The French Connection

References

"BAFTA | Film in 1973". bafta.org. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
"BBC One London – 28 February 1973". BBC Programme Index.

External links

Official Website

v t e British Academy Film Awards
Current awards	Actor Actress Animated Feature British Film Casting Cinematography Costume Design Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer Director Documentary Editing Film Film Not in the English Language Makeup and Hair Music Production Design Rising Star Screenplay: Adapted Screenplay: Original Short Animation Short Film Sound Supporting Actor Supporting Actress Visual Effects
Special awards	Fellowship Award Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award
Retired awards	British Actor British Actress British Screenplay Foreign Actor Foreign Actress Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles Screenplay
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