Composer Sammy Fain and lyricist Paul Francis Webster were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song for " A World That Never Was . " Producer Lenke Romanszky said the primary reason for booking the film in a Beverly Hills theater in 1976 was to qualify the song for Oscars . Prints of the film were scarce and a commercial recording was not available to send to Academy members , so Fain and Webster set up a phone number members could call to hear the song . Eddie Albert performed the song on the 49th Academy Awards telecast .
49th Academy Awards
49th Academy Awards
Half a House