The first Academy Award Winner for Best Picture at the first annual AMPAS award ceremony in 1929.

On May 16, 1929, the first Academy Award ceremony was held at the Hotel Roosevelt in Hollywood to honor outstanding film achievements of 1927 and 1928. The winners were announced after a banquet in the Blossom room. After dinner Douglas Fairbanks, the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, stood up and gave a speech. Then, with William C. deMille, he called the winners up to the table and handed them their awards. Although, there were no surprises as the names had been announced three months ahead of the ceremony.

The statuettes that were presented to the first Academy Awards winners were almost the same to those handed out today. Sculpted by George Stanley, The Academy Award of Merit (Oscar's official name) was a knight, made of solid bronze, holding a sword and standing on a reel of film.

For the next few years, the results were released in advance to the press under secret ballot. It was only when the Los Angeles Times, broke the rules and published the winners ahead of the show, that they went to the sealed envelopes.

Wings.. was entered in a number of categories, but in contrast with later ceremonies, there were two awards that were equally the top award of the night. These were Unique and Artistic Production, won by Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans and Outstanding Picture (later renamed Best Picture), won by Wings which went on to also win Best Engineering Effects for Roy Pomeroy.

The following year, the Academy dropped the Unique and Artistic Production award, and decided that the award won by Wings, was the highest honor that could be awarded. The statuette, not yet known as the "Oscar", was presented by Douglas Fairbanks to Clara Bow on behalf of the producers, Adolph Zukor and B.P. Schulberg .

Wings(1927). A silent film about two World War I fighter pilot friends, both in love with the same girl, produced by Lucien Hubbard, directed by William A. Wellman and released by Paramount Pictures.

Wings.. was the first of two silent films, the other being The Artist at the 84th Academy Awards in 2012, to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Clara Bow and Gary Cooper

Wings stars: Clara Bow, Charles Rogers and Richard Arlen. Gary Cooper's role helped launch his Hollywood career and also marked the beginning of his affair with Clara Bow.

The film, a war picture, was rewritten to accommodate Clara Bow, as she was Paramount's biggest star, but she wasn't happy about her part: "Wings is ..a man's picture and I'm just the whipped cream on top of the pie".

Please click here to read past Wings movie review.

The Winner Is... Silent Film: Wings (1927). It was the first film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture and the only silent film ever to win Best Picture.

Wings (1927), Silent film about World War I fighter pilots, directed by William A. It was the first film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture and the only silent film ever to win Best Picture. Cast: Clara Bow, Charles "Buddy" Rogers and Richard Arlen. Gary Cooper appears in a scene which helped launch his career in Hollywood and also marked the beginning of his affair with Clara Bow.

In 1917, in a small town, Jack Powell works on his car, while daydreaming about airplanes. Jack names his car the "Shooting Star" while Mary Preston, paints a star on his car. Oblivious to Mary's feelings for him, Jack invites Sylvia Lewis, to join him on the first drive. Sylvia goes along, but she is in love with David Armstrong, who comes from a wealthy family. Later, when the United States enters World War I, Jack and David enlist in aviation school. Before they leave, Sylvia signs a picture of herself and puts it in a locket for David, but Jack thinks it is meant for him, she does not have the heart to tell him the truth. David, is hurt, but Sylvia explains that, although Jack has her picture, David has her heart. Jack almost forgets to say goodbye to Mary, but then runs back to tell her that she can use the car. During basic training, problems come between Jack and David, will they put their differences aside and become friends?

The air battles in this film I thought were amazing.

Jobyna Ralston (November 21, 1900 – January 22, 1967), parents who named her after a famous entertainer of the time, Jobyna Howland. Ralston's mother, a portrait photographer, carefully prepared her daughter for a show business career.

Comedian Max Linder, saw her on stage and thought she would be perfect for Hollywood, where she appeared in a number of his films. She also co-starred in, Humor Risk (1921), the lost comedy short film debut of the Marx Brothers. Soon director Hal Roach began to star the actress in one-reel comedies. She left the stage for the screen in 1922 when her mother's health began to decline and she needed to make more money to help pay the medical bills.

She starred with silent comedian Harold Lloyd in, Why Worry?(1923) and for the next five years appeared in six of Lloyd's films as his leading lady. It is for her onscreen chemistry with Lloyd that she is best remembered today. She would start the trend for romantic comedies with, Girl Shy.

Ralston co-starred with Richard Arlen, in the first Oscar-winning film, Wings (1927), with,Clara Bow, Gary Cooper, and Buddy Rogers. She would star in eleven more films . Her film career ended after when she became a mother. Her last talkie, Rough Waters (1930), with co star, Rin Tin Tin.