[5] It won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature,[6] tying with Artie Shaw: Time Is All You've Got.

[7] Produced by Grant's husband Joseph Feury and Milton Justice,[8] this was the first Academy Award for HBO.

She reportedly told Feury that the subject was too important and that if she could not return in time he should let another director make the film.

The New York Times felt that "DOWN AND OUT IN AMERICA is clear about its message: The system has failed, and the American dream has died.".

[11] The film went on to receive the Academy Award for Best Documentary feature, the first Oscar win for the cable broadcast industry.