Globes set up Oscar race between American Hustle, 12 Years a Slave and Gravity

(Most of) the key cast and crew of American Hustle

David O Russell’s 1970s crime caper American Hustle has won the most awards at the Golden Globes in Beverly Hills, taking the Best Film in the Comedy and Musical category as well as acting awards for Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence, in the lead and supporting competitions respectively. The best dramatic actress award went, as widely predicted, to Cate Blanchett for Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine.

Steve McQueen’s slave drama 12 Years a Slave won the most prestigious award of the night, Best Film Drama, but missed out in the other categories for which it was in the running, including Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender in the acting competitions. Those honours went to the AIDs drama Dallas Buyers Club, for Matthew McConaughey in the lead and Jared Leto as support. Leonardo DiCaprio expressed his surprise at being voted the best comic actor, for his turn in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street.

Alfonso Cuaron was voted the best director for Gravity, by the ninety or so voters from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Other film awards on the night, included Frozen being named the best animated feature, Italy’s The Great Beauty winning the Best Foreign Language film honours and Spike Jonze taking the screenplay prize for Her.

JC Chandor’s All is Lost, in which Robert Redford plays a lone sailor stranded in his holed yacht in the Indian Ocean, took the award for the best score, and in a second victory of the night for the civil rights movement, U2 won the best original song prize for Ordinary Love, from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.

The other film award was the previously announced Cecil B de Mille award, honouring a career’s work, which went to Woody Allen, who chose not to turn up in person to accept the honour. The award was accepted on his behalf by his former leading lady, Diane Keaton.

Jacqueline Bisset celebrating her win at the HBO after-party.

The HFPA are the most influential organisation to honour television and film at the same ceremony, and the big winners in the TV categories were Breaking Bad – for TV Drama series and the corresponding lead actor for Bryan Cranston, Brooklyn Nine Nine – for TV Comedy series and the corresponding lead actor Andy Samberg and Behind the Candelabra, released as a television movie in the US and so picking up that award – along with the corresponding best actor award for Michael Douglas. The female equivalent went to Elizabeth Moss for Jane Campion’s mini-series Top of the Lake.

The Best Actress in a TV Drama was Robin Wright for House of Cards and Best Actress in a TV Comedy went to Amy Poehler, who co-hosted the ceremony with fellow comic actress Tina Fey.

One of the few British successes of the night saw veteran Jacqueline Bisset voted the Best Supporting actress on TV for her turn in Dancing on the Edge, while the male equivalent went to Jon Voight for Ray Donovan.

With the Oscar nominations out later this week, the Globe winners provide some clues about where  the biggest prizes of the film calendar might go in early March; American Hustle, 12 Years a Slave, Gravity and Dallas Buyers Club look likely to be among the strongest contenders.