Skip to main content

1961

Experience over nine decades of the Oscars from 1927 to 2024

The 33rd Academy Awards | 1961
Santa Monica Civic Auditorium
Monday, April 17, 1961
Honoring movies released in 1960
Highlights
The Opening of the Oscars

Featuring Bob Hope, Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis

Best Directing
The Apartment

Billy Wilder

Honorary Award

Hayley Mills, accepted by Annette Funicello and Shirley Temple

View More Highlights
Memorable Moments
Gene Warren and Tim Baar, The Time Machine

Special Effects winner, with presenters Polly Bergen and Richard Widmark

Elizabeth Taylor, Best Actress winner for Butterfield 8

Dinner at the Governors Ball with Eddie Fisher

Shirley Jones and Peter Ustinov

Supporting Actress winner, Elmer Gantry / Supporting Actor winner, Spartacus

View More Memorable Moments
WINNERS & NOMINEES
Actor
Winner
Burt Lancaster
Elmer Gantry
Nominees
Trevor Howard
Sons and Lovers
Nominees
Jack Lemmon
The Apartment
Nominees
Laurence Olivier
The Entertainer
Nominees
Spencer Tracy
Inherit the Wind
Actor in a Supporting Role
Winner
Peter Ustinov
Spartacus
Nominees
Peter Falk
Murder, Inc.
Nominees
Jack Kruschen
The Apartment
Nominees
Sal Mineo
Exodus
Nominees
Chill Wills
The Alamo
Actress
Winner
Elizabeth Taylor
Butterfield 8
Nominees
Greer Garson
Sunrise at Campobello
Nominees
Deborah Kerr
The Sundowners
Nominees
Shirley MacLaine
The Apartment
Nominees
Melina Mercouri
Never on Sunday
Actress in a Supporting Role
Winner
Shirley Jones
Elmer Gantry
Nominees
Glynis Johns
The Sundowners
Nominees
Shirley Knight
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs
Nominees
Janet Leigh
Psycho
Nominees
Mary Ure
Sons and Lovers
Art Direction (Black-and-White)
Winner
The Apartment
Art Direction: Alexander Trauner; Set Decoration: Edward G. Boyle
Nominees
The Facts of Life
Art Direction: Joseph McMillan Johnson, Kenneth A. Reid; Set Decoration: Ross Dowd
Nominees
Psycho
Art Direction: Joseph Hurley, Robert Clatworthy; Set Decoration: George Milo
Nominees
Sons and Lovers
Art Direction: Tom Morahan; Set Decoration: Lionel Couch
Nominees
Visit to a Small Planet
Art Direction: Hal Pereira, Walter Tyler; Set Decoration: Sam Comer, Arthur Krams
Art Direction (Color)
Winner
Spartacus
Art Direction: Alexander Golitzen, Eric Orbom; Set Decoration: Russell A. Gausman, Julia Heron
Nominees
Cimarron
Art Direction: George W. Davis, Addison Hehr; Set Decoration: Henry Grace, Hugh Hunt, Otto Siegel
Nominees
It Started in Naples
Art Direction: Hal Pereira, Roland Anderson; Set Decoration: Sam Comer, Arrigo Breschi
Nominees
Pepe
Art Direction: Ted Haworth; Set Decoration: William Kiernan
Nominees
Sunrise at Campobello
Art Direction: Edward Carrere; Set Decoration: George James Hopkins
Cinematography (Black-and-White)
Winner
Sons and Lovers
Freddie Francis
Nominees
The Apartment
Joseph LaShelle
Nominees
The Facts of Life
Charles B. Lang, Jr.
Nominees
Inherit the Wind
Ernest Laszlo
Nominees
Psycho
John L. Russell
Cinematography (Color)
Winner
Spartacus
Russell Metty
Nominees
The Alamo
William H. Clothier
Nominees
Butterfield 8
Joseph Ruttenberg, Charles Harten
Nominees
Exodus
Sam Leavitt
Nominees
Pepe
Joe MacDonald
Costume Design (Black-and-White)
Winner
The Facts of Life
Edith Head, Edward Stevenson
Nominees
Never on Sunday
Deni Vachlioti
Nominees
The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond
Howard Shoup
Nominees
Seven Thieves
Bill Thomas
Nominees
The Virgin Spring
Marik Vos
Costume Design (Color)
Winner
Spartacus
Valles, Bill Thomas
Nominees
Can-Can
Irene Sharaff
Nominees
Midnight Lace
Irene
Nominees
Pepe
Edith Head
Nominees
Sunrise at Campobello
Marjorie Best
Directing
Winner
The Apartment
Billy Wilder
Nominees
Never on Sunday
Jules Dassin
Nominees
Psycho
Alfred Hitchcock
Nominees
Sons and Lovers
Jack Cardiff
Nominees
The Sundowners
Fred Zinnemann
Documentary (Feature)
Winner
The Horse with the Flying Tail
Larry Lansburgh, Producer
Nominees
Rebel in Paradise
Robert D. Fraser, Producer
Documentary (Short Subject)
Winner
Giuseppina
James Hill, Producer
Nominees
Beyond Silence
United States Information Agency
Nominees
A City Called Copenhagen
Statens Filmcentral, The Danish Government Film Office
Nominees
George Grosz' Interregnum
Charles Carey and Altina Carey, Producers
Nominees
Universe
Colin Low, Producer
Film Editing
Winner
The Apartment
Daniel Mandell
Nominees
The Alamo
Stuart Gilmore
Nominees
Inherit the Wind
Frederic Knudtson
Nominees
Pepe
Viola Lawrence, Al Clark
Nominees
Spartacus
Robert Lawrence
Foreign Language Film
Winner
The Virgin Spring
Sweden
Nominees
Kapo
Italy
Nominees
La Vérité
France
Nominees
Macario
Mexico
Nominees
The Ninth Circle
Yugoslavia
Honorary Award
Winner
Pollyanna
Special Award
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
Winner
Sol Lesser
Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)
Winner
Exodus
Ernest Gold
Nominees
The Alamo
Dimitri Tiomkin
Nominees
Elmer Gantry
Andre Previn
Nominees
The Magnificent Seven
Elmer Bernstein
Nominees
Spartacus
Alex North
Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture)
Winner
Song without End (The Story of Franz Liszt)
Morris Stoloff, Harry Sukman
Nominees
Bells Are Ringing
Andre Previn
Nominees
Can-Can
Nelson Riddle
Nominees
Let's Make Love
Lionel Newman, Earle H. Hagen
Nominees
Pepe
Johnny Green
Music (Song)
Winner
Never on Sunday
Never On Sunday in "Never on Sunday" Music and Lyrics by Manos Hadjidakis
Nominees
The Facts of Life
The Facts Of Life in "The Facts of Life" Music and Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
Nominees
Pepe
Faraway Part Of Town in "Pepe" Music by Andre Previn; Lyrics by Dory Langdon
Nominees
The Alamo
The Green Leaves Of Summer in "The Alamo" Music by Dimitri Tiomkin; Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
Nominees
High Time
The Second Time Around in "High Time" Music by James Van Heusen; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
Best Motion Picture
Winner
The Apartment
Billy Wilder, Producer
Nominees
The Alamo
John Wayne, Producer
Nominees
Elmer Gantry
Bernard Smith, Producer
Nominees
Sons and Lovers
Jerry Wald, Producer
Nominees
The Sundowners
Fred Zinnemann, Producer
Short Subject (Cartoon)
Winner
Munro
William L. Snyder, Producer
Nominees
Goliath II
Walt Disney, Producer
Nominees
High Note
Warner Bros.
Nominees
Mouse and Garden
Warner Bros.
Nominees
A Place in the Sun
Frantisek Vystrecil, Producer
Short Subject (Live Action)
Winner
Day of the Painter
Ezra R. Baker, Producer
Nominees
The Creation of Woman
Charles F. Schwep and Ismail Merchant, Producers
Nominees
Islands of the Sea
Walt Disney, Producer
Nominees
A Sport Is Born
Leslie Winik, Producer
Sound
Winner
The Alamo
Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department, Gordon E. Sawyer, Sound Director; and Todd-AO Sound Department, Fred Hynes, Sound Director
Nominees
The Apartment
Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department, Gordon E. Sawyer, Sound Director
Nominees
Cimarron
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Franklin E. Milton, Sound Director
Nominees
Pepe
Columbia Studio Sound Department, Charles Rice, Sound Director
Nominees
Sunrise at Campobello
Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department, George R. Groves, Sound Director
Special Effects
Winner
The Time Machine
Visual Effects by Gene Warren, Tim Baar
Nominees
The Last Voyage
Visual Effects by A.J. Lohman
Writing (Screenplay—based on material from another medium)
Winner
Elmer Gantry
Richard Brooks
Nominees
Inherit the Wind
Nedrick Young, Harold Jacob Smith
Nominees
Sons and Lovers
Gavin Lambert, T. E. B. Clarke
Nominees
The Sundowners
Isobel Lennart
Nominees
Tunes of Glory
James Kennaway
Writing (Story and Screenplay—written directly for the screen)
Winner
The Apartment
Billy Wilder, I. A. L. Diamond
Nominees
The Angry Silence
Story by Richard Gregson, Michael Craig; Screenplay by Bryan Forbes
Nominees
The Facts of Life
Norman Panama, Melvin Frank
Nominees
Hiroshima, Mon Amour
Marguerite Duras
Nominees
Never on Sunday
Jules Dassin
ALL 0-9 A A-E B C D E F F-J G H I J K K-O L M N O P P-T Q R S T U U-Z V W X Y Z

A

The Alamo
7 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Sound - Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department, Gordon E. Sawyer, Sound Director; and Todd-AO Sound Department, Fred Hynes, Sound Director
  • Actor in a Supporting Role - Chill Wills
  • Cinematography (Color) - William H. Clothier
  • Film Editing - Stuart Gilmore
  • Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) - Dimitri Tiomkin
  • Music (Song) - The Green Leaves Of Summer in "The Alamo" Music by Dimitri Tiomkin; Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
  • Best Motion Picture - John Wayne, Producer
The Angry Silence
1 NOMINATION
  • Writing (Story and Screenplay--written directly for the screen) - Story by Richard Gregson, Michael Craig; Screenplay by Bryan Forbes
The Apartment
10 NOMINATIONS, 5 WINS
  • * Art Direction (Black-and-White) - Art Direction: Alexander Trauner; Set Decoration: Edward G. Boyle
  • * Directing - Billy Wilder
  • * Film Editing - Daniel Mandell
  • * Best Motion Picture - Billy Wilder, Producer
  • * Writing (Story and Screenplay--written directly for the screen) - Billy Wilder, I. A. L. Diamond
  • Actor - Jack Lemmon
  • Actor in a Supporting Role - Jack Kruschen
  • Actress - Shirley MacLaine
  • Cinematography (Black-and-White) - Joseph LaShelle
  • Sound - Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department, Gordon E. Sawyer, Sound Director

B

Bells Are Ringing
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture) - Andre Previn
Beyond Silence
1 NOMINATION
  • Documentary (Short Subject) - United States Information Agency
Butterfield 8
2 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Actress - Elizabeth Taylor
  • Cinematography (Color) - Joseph Ruttenberg, Charles Harten

C

Can-Can
2 NOMINATIONS
  • Costume Design (Color) - Irene Sharaff
  • Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture) - Nelson Riddle
Cimarron
2 NOMINATIONS
  • Art Direction (Color) - Art Direction: George W. Davis, Addison Hehr; Set Decoration: Henry Grace, Hugh Hunt, Otto Siegel
  • Sound - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Franklin E. Milton, Sound Director
A City Called Copenhagen
1 NOMINATION
  • Documentary (Short Subject) - Statens Filmcentral, The Danish Government Film Office
The Creation of Woman
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Live Action) - Charles F. Schwep and Ismail Merchant, Producers

D

The Dark at the Top of the Stairs
1 NOMINATION
  • Actress in a Supporting Role - Shirley Knight
Day of the Painter
1 WIN, 1 NOMINATION
  • * Short Subject (Live Action) - Ezra R. Baker, Producer

E

Elmer Gantry
5 NOMINATIONS, 3 WINS
  • * Actor - Burt Lancaster
  • * Actress in a Supporting Role - Shirley Jones
  • * Writing (Screenplay--based on material from another medium) - Richard Brooks
  • Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) - Andre Previn
  • Best Motion Picture - Bernard Smith, Producer
The Entertainer
1 NOMINATION
  • Actor - Laurence Olivier
Exodus
3 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) - Ernest Gold
  • Actor in a Supporting Role - Sal Mineo
  • Cinematography (Color) - Sam Leavitt

F

The Facts of Life
5 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Costume Design (Black-and-White) - Edith Head, Edward Stevenson
  • Art Direction (Black-and-White) - Art Direction: Joseph McMillan Johnson, Kenneth A. Reid; Set Decoration: Ross Dowd
  • Cinematography (Black-and-White) - Charles B. Lang, Jr.
  • Music (Song) - The Facts Of Life in "The Facts of Life" Music and Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
  • Writing (Story and Screenplay--written directly for the screen) - Norman Panama, Melvin Frank

G

George Grosz' Interregnum
1 NOMINATION
  • Documentary (Short Subject) - Charles Carey and Altina Carey, Producers
Giuseppina
1 WIN, 1 NOMINATION
  • * Documentary (Short Subject) - James Hill, Producer
Goliath II
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Cartoon) - Walt Disney, Producer

H

High Note
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Cartoon) - Warner Bros.
High Time
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Song) - The Second Time Around in "High Time" Music by James Van Heusen; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
Hiroshima, Mon Amour
1 NOMINATION
  • Writing (Story and Screenplay--written directly for the screen) - Marguerite Duras
The Horse with the Flying Tail
1 WIN, 1 NOMINATION
  • * Documentary (Feature) - Larry Lansburgh, Producer

I

Inherit the Wind
4 NOMINATIONS
  • Actor - Spencer Tracy
  • Cinematography (Black-and-White) - Ernest Laszlo
  • Film Editing - Frederic Knudtson
  • Writing (Screenplay--based on material from another medium) - Nedrick Young, Harold Jacob Smith
Islands of the Sea
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Live Action) - Walt Disney, Producer
It Started in Naples
1 NOMINATION
  • Art Direction (Color) - Art Direction: Hal Pereira, Roland Anderson; Set Decoration: Sam Comer, Arrigo Breschi

K

Kapo
1 NOMINATION
  • Foreign Language Film - Italy

L

La Vérité
1 NOMINATION
  • Foreign Language Film - France
The Last Voyage
1 NOMINATION
  • Special Effects - Visual Effects by A.J. Lohman
Let's Make Love
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture) - Lionel Newman, Earle H. Hagen

M

Macario
1 NOMINATION
  • Foreign Language Film - Mexico
The Magnificent Seven
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) - Elmer Bernstein
Midnight Lace
1 NOMINATION
  • Costume Design (Color) - Irene
Mouse and Garden
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Cartoon) - Warner Bros.
Munro
1 WIN, 1 NOMINATION
  • * Short Subject (Cartoon) - William L. Snyder, Producer
Murder, Inc.
1 NOMINATION
  • Actor in a Supporting Role - Peter Falk

N

Never on Sunday
5 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Music (Song) - Never On Sunday in "Never on Sunday" Music and Lyrics by Manos Hadjidakis
  • Actress - Melina Mercouri
  • Costume Design (Black-and-White) - Deni Vachlioti
  • Directing - Jules Dassin
  • Writing (Story and Screenplay--written directly for the screen) - Jules Dassin
The Ninth Circle
1 NOMINATION
  • Foreign Language Film - Yugoslavia

P

Pepe
7 NOMINATIONS
  • Art Direction (Color) - Art Direction: Ted Haworth; Set Decoration: William Kiernan
  • Cinematography (Color) - Joe MacDonald
  • Costume Design (Color) - Edith Head
  • Film Editing - Viola Lawrence, Al Clark
  • Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture) - Johnny Green
  • Music (Song) - Faraway Part Of Town in "Pepe" Music by Andre Previn; Lyrics by Dory Langdon
  • Sound - Columbia Studio Sound Department, Charles Rice, Sound Director
A Place in the Sun
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Cartoon) - Frantisek Vystrecil, Producer
Pollyanna
1 WIN, 1 NOMINATION
  • * Honorary Award - Special Award
Psycho
4 NOMINATIONS
  • Actress in a Supporting Role - Janet Leigh
  • Art Direction (Black-and-White) - Art Direction: Joseph Hurley, Robert Clatworthy; Set Decoration: George Milo
  • Cinematography (Black-and-White) - John L. Russell
  • Directing - Alfred Hitchcock

R

Rebel in Paradise
1 NOMINATION
  • Documentary (Feature) - Robert D. Fraser, Producer
The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond
1 NOMINATION
  • Costume Design (Black-and-White) - Howard Shoup

S

Seven Thieves
1 NOMINATION
  • Costume Design (Black-and-White) - Bill Thomas
Song without End (The Story of Franz Liszt)
1 WIN, 1 NOMINATION
  • * Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture) - Morris Stoloff, Harry Sukman
Sons and Lovers
7 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Cinematography (Black-and-White) - Freddie Francis
  • Actor - Trevor Howard
  • Actress in a Supporting Role - Mary Ure
  • Art Direction (Black-and-White) - Art Direction: Tom Morahan; Set Decoration: Lionel Couch
  • Directing - Jack Cardiff
  • Best Motion Picture - Jerry Wald, Producer
  • Writing (Screenplay--based on material from another medium) - Gavin Lambert, T. E. B. Clarke
Spartacus
6 NOMINATIONS, 4 WINS
  • * Actor in a Supporting Role - Peter Ustinov
  • * Art Direction (Color) - Art Direction: Alexander Golitzen, Eric Orbom; Set Decoration: Russell A. Gausman, Julia Heron
  • * Cinematography (Color) - Russell Metty
  • * Costume Design (Color) - Valles, Bill Thomas
  • Film Editing - Robert Lawrence
  • Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) - Alex North
A Sport Is Born
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Subject (Live Action) - Leslie Winik, Producer
The Sundowners
5 NOMINATIONS
  • Actress - Deborah Kerr
  • Actress in a Supporting Role - Glynis Johns
  • Directing - Fred Zinnemann
  • Best Motion Picture - Fred Zinnemann, Producer
  • Writing (Screenplay--based on material from another medium) - Isobel Lennart
Sunrise at Campobello
4 NOMINATIONS
  • Actress - Greer Garson
  • Art Direction (Color) - Art Direction: Edward Carrere; Set Decoration: George James Hopkins
  • Costume Design (Color) - Marjorie Best
  • Sound - Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department, George R. Groves, Sound Director

T

The Time Machine
1 WIN, 1 NOMINATION
  • * Special Effects - Visual Effects by Gene Warren, Tim Baar
Tunes of Glory
1 NOMINATION
  • Writing (Screenplay--based on material from another medium) - James Kennaway

U

Universe
1 NOMINATION
  • Documentary (Short Subject) - Colin Low, Producer

V

The Virgin Spring
2 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Foreign Language Film - Sweden
  • Costume Design (Black-and-White) - Marik Vos
Visit to a Small Planet
1 NOMINATION
  • Art Direction (Black-and-White) - Art Direction: Hal Pereira, Walter Tyler; Set Decoration: Sam Comer, Arthur Krams
No Films Found