1961 Film Year: Oscar Winners & Nominees
The AwardWentTo archive contains 120 Academy Award records for the 1961 film year, covering 55 films and including 26 wins.
Years follow the source film eligibility/dataset year, which may differ from the ceremony calendar year. Counts describe film-linked archive records, including historical and special-award context where supplied.
Best Picture result
- ★ West Side StoryRobert Wise, Producer
5 Best Picture award records for this film year. See the full result · Best Picture history
Acting category results
Leading winning films
Ranked by winning records in this film-year selection.
- West Side Story
10 wins from 11 award records
- Judgment at Nuremberg
2 wins from 11 award records
- The Hustler
2 wins from 9 award records
- Breakfast at Tiffany's
2 wins from 5 award records
- The Guns of Navarone
1 win from 7 award records
- La Dolce Vita
1 win from 4 award records
Category winners
Select a category to explore its history, or jump to this year's full records.
- ★ Judgment at Nuremberg — Hans Rolfe
- ★ West Side Story — Bernardo
- ★ Two Women — Cesira
- ★ West Side Story — Anita
- ★ Breakfast at Tiffany's — Moon River
Nominations and award records by category
Showing 120 of 120 archive records. Gold stars mark winning records.
Best Picture
- ★ West Side Story IMDB — Robert Wise, Producer
- Fanny IMDB — Joshua Logan, Producer
- The Guns of Navarone IMDB — Carl Foreman, Producer
- The Hustler IMDB — Robert Rossen, Producer
- Judgment at Nuremberg IMDB — Stanley Kramer, Producer
Best Actor
- ★ Judgment at Nuremberg IMDB — Maximilian SchellHans Rolfe
- Fanny IMDB — Charles BoyerCésar
- The Hustler IMDB — Paul NewmanEddie Felson
- Judgment at Nuremberg IMDB — Spencer TracyJudge Dan Haywood
- The Mark IMDB — Stuart WhitmanJim Fuller
Best Supporting Actor
- ★ West Side Story IMDB — George ChakirisBernardo
- Judgment at Nuremberg IMDB — Montgomery CliftRudolph Petersen
- Pocketful of Miracles IMDB — Peter FalkJoy Boy
- The Hustler IMDB — Jackie GleasonMinnesota Fats
- The Hustler IMDB — George C. ScottBert Gordon
Best Actress
- ★ Two Women IMDB — Sophia LorenCesira
- Breakfast at Tiffany's IMDB — Audrey HepburnHolly Golightly
- The Hustler IMDB — Piper LaurieSarah Packard
- Summer and Smoke IMDB — Geraldine PageAlma Winemiller
- Splendor in the Grass IMDB — Natalie WoodWilma Dean Loomis
Best Supporting Actress
- ★ West Side Story IMDB — Rita MorenoAnita
- The Children's Hour IMDB — Fay BainterMrs. Amelia Tilford
- Judgment at Nuremberg IMDB — Judy GarlandIrene Hoffman
- The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone IMDB — Lotte LenyaCountess Magda Terribili-Gonzales
- Summer and Smoke IMDB — Una MerkelMrs. Winemiller
Art Direction (Black-and-White)
- ★ The Hustler IMDB — Art Direction: Harry Horner; Set Decoration: Gene Callahan
- The Absent Minded Professor IMDB — Art Direction: Carroll Clark; Set Decoration: Emile Kuri, Hal Gausman
- The Children's Hour IMDB — Art Direction: Fernando Carrere; Set Decoration: Edward G. Boyle
- Judgment at Nuremberg IMDB — Art Direction: Rudolph Sternad; Set Decoration: George Milo
- La Dolce Vita IMDB — Piero Gherardi
Art Direction (Color)
- ★ West Side Story IMDB — Art Direction: Boris Leven; Set Decoration: Victor A. Gangelin
- Breakfast at Tiffany's IMDB — Art Direction: Hal Pereira, Roland Anderson; Set Decoration: Sam Comer, Ray Moyer
- El Cid IMDB — Art Direction: Veniero Colasanti, John Moore
- Flower Drum Song IMDB — Art Direction: Alexander Golitzen, Joseph Wright; Set Decoration: Howard Bristol
- Summer and Smoke IMDB — Art Direction: Hal Pereira, Walter Tyler; Set Decoration: Sam Comer, Arthur Krams
Cinematography (Black-and-White)
Cinematography (Color)
Costume Design (Black-and-White)
Costume Design (Color)
- ★ West Side Story IMDB — Irene Sharaff
- Babes in Toyland IMDB — Bill Thomas
- Back Street IMDB — Jean Louis
- Flower Drum Song IMDB — Irene Sharaff
- Pocketful of Miracles IMDB — Edith Head, Walter Plunkett
Best Director
- ★ West Side Story IMDB — Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins
- The Guns of Navarone IMDB — J. Lee Thompson
- The Hustler IMDB — Robert Rossen
- Judgment at Nuremberg IMDB — Stanley Kramer
- La Dolce Vita IMDB — Federico Fellini
Documentary Feature
- ★ Le Ciel et la Boue (Sky Above and Mud Beneath) IMDB — Arthur Cohn and Rene Lafuite, Producers
- La Grande Olimpiade (Olympic Games 1960) IMDB — dell Istituto Nazionale Luce, Comitato Organizzatore Del Giochi Della XVII Olimpiade
Documentary Short Subject
- ★ Project Hope IMDB — Frank P. Bibas, Producer
- Breaking the Language Barrier IMDB — United States Air Force
- Cradle of Genius IMDB — Jim O'Connor and Tom Hayes, Producers
- Kahl IMDB — Dido-Film-GmbH
- L'Uomo in Grigio (The Man in Gray) IMDB — Benedetto Benedetti, Producer
Film Editing
Honorary Award
- ★ A Force in Readiness IMDB — William L. Hendricks
Source context
To William L. Hendricks for his outstanding patriotic service in the conception, writing and production of the Marine Corps film, A Force in Readiness, which has brought honor to the Academy and the motion picture industry.
International Feature Film
- ★ Through a Glass Darkly IMDB — Sweden
- Harry and the Butler IMDB — Denmark
- Immortal Love IMDB — Japan
- The Important Man IMDB — Mexico
- Placido IMDB — Spain
Original Score
- ★ Breakfast at Tiffany's IMDB — Henry Mancini
- El Cid IMDB — Miklos Rozsa
- Fanny IMDB — Morris Stoloff, Harry Sukman
- The Guns of Navarone IMDB — Dimitri Tiomkin
- Summer and Smoke IMDB — Elmer Bernstein
Original Song
- ★ Breakfast at Tiffany's IMDB — Music by Henry Mancini; Lyrics by Johnny MercerMoon River
- Bachelor in Paradise IMDB — Music by Henry Mancini; Lyrics by Mack DavidBachelor In Paradise
- El Cid IMDB — Music by Miklos Rozsa; Lyrics by Paul Francis WebsterLove Theme From El Cid (The Falcon And The Dove)
- Pocketful of Miracles IMDB — Music by James Van Heusen; Lyrics by Sammy CahnPocketful Of Miracles
- Town without Pity IMDB — Music by Dimitri Tiomkin; Lyrics by Ned WashingtonTown Without Pity
Music (Original Song Score or Adaptation Score)
- ★ West Side Story IMDB — Saul Chaplin, Johnny Green, Sid Ramin, Irwin Kostal
- Babes in Toyland IMDB — George Bruns
- Flower Drum Song IMDB — Alfred Newman, Ken Darby
- Khovanshchina IMDB — Dimitri Shostakovich
- Paris Blues IMDB — Duke Ellington
Animated Short Film
- ★ Ersatz (The Substitute) IMDB — Zagreb Film
- Aquamania IMDB — Walt Disney, Producer
- Beep Prepared IMDB — Chuck Jones, Producer
- Nelly's Folly IMDB — Chuck Jones, Producer
- The Pied Piper of Guadalupe IMDB — Friz Freleng, Producer
Live Action Short Film
- ★ Seawards the Great Ships IMDB — Templar Film Studios
- Ballon Vole (Play Ball!) IMDB — Ciné-Documents
- The Face of Jesus IMDB — Dr. John D. Jennings, Producer
- Rooftops of New York IMDB — Robert Gaffney, Producer
- Very Nice, Very Nice IMDB — National Film Board of Canada
Sound Mixing
- ★ West Side Story IMDB — Todd-AO Sound Department, Fred Hynes, Sound Director; and Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department, Gordon E. Sawyer, Sound Director
- The Children's Hour IMDB — Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department, Gordon E. Sawyer, Sound Director
- Flower Drum Song IMDB — Revue Studio Sound Department, Waldon O. Watson, Sound Director
- The Guns of Navarone IMDB — Shepperton Studio Sound Department, John Cox, Sound Director
- The Parent Trap IMDB — Walt Disney Studio Sound Department, Robert O. Cook, Sound Director
Visual Effects
- ★ The Guns of Navarone IMDB — Visual Effects by Bill Warrington; Audible Effects by Vivian C. Greenham
- The Absent Minded Professor IMDB — Visual Effects by Robert A. Mattey, Eustace Lycett
Adapted Screenplay
- ★ Judgment at Nuremberg IMDB — Abby Mann
- Breakfast at Tiffany's IMDB — George Axelrod
- The Guns of Navarone IMDB — Carl Foreman
- The Hustler IMDB — Sidney Carroll, Robert Rossen
- West Side Story IMDB — Ernest Lehman
Original Screenplay
- ★ Splendor in the Grass IMDB — William Inge
- Ballad of a Soldier IMDB — Valentin Yoshov, Grigori Chukhrai
- General Della Rovere IMDB — Sergio Amidei, Diego Fabbri, Indro Montanelli
- La Dolce Vita IMDB — Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano, Brunello Rondi
- Lover Come Back IMDB — Stanley Shapiro, Paul Henning
Nominated films and other recorded entries
55 films represented in the 1961 archive selection.
- A Force in Readiness
- A Majority of One
- Aquamania
- Babes in Toyland
- Bachelor in Paradise
- Back Street
- Ballad of a Soldier
- Ballon Vole (Play Ball!)
- Beep Prepared
- Breakfast at Tiffany's
- Breaking the Language Barrier
- Claudelle Inglish
- Cradle of Genius
- El Cid
- Ersatz (The Substitute)
- Fanny
- Flower Drum Song
- General Della Rovere
- Harry and the Butler
- Immortal Love
- Judgment at Nuremberg
- Kahl
- Khovanshchina
- L'Uomo in Grigio (The Man in Gray)
- La Dolce Vita
- La Grande Olimpiade (Olympic Games 1960)
- Le Ciel et la Boue (Sky Above and Mud Beneath)
- Lover Come Back
- Nelly's Folly
- One-Eyed Jacks
- One, Two, Three
- Paris Blues
- Placido
- Pocketful of Miracles
- Project Hope
- Rooftops of New York
- Seawards the Great Ships
- Splendor in the Grass
- Summer and Smoke
- The Absent Minded Professor
- The Children's Hour
- The Face of Jesus
- The Guns of Navarone
- The Hustler
- The Important Man
- The Mark
- The Parent Trap
- The Pied Piper of Guadalupe
- The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone
- Through a Glass Darkly
- Town without Pity
- Two Women
- Very Nice, Very Nice
- West Side Story
- Yojimbo
About these award records
This independent archive groups film-linked award records by film, credited name, category and eligibility year. The film year can differ from the year the ceremony took place. Ceremony numbers are shown where supplied by the records.
Each distinct performance, song or award credit remains a separate record, even when it belongs to the same film. Shared credits stay together. A person's page covers the name shown, without combining aliases or shared credits into a complete career total.
Totals can include honorary, special and historical awards alongside competitive nominations. Awards without a linked film are outside these page totals. Source notes and uncertain records are retained; category comparisons omit groups with unresolved notes, ties or conflicting identities.
For the official record, search the Academy Awards Database (opens in a new tab). Award Went To is an independent exploration tool and is not affiliated with the Academy.