Mike’s Top Ten of 1961
This is one of the strongest years at the top of the 60s. This is like when a famous band that’s been around a long time plays a concert and then starts playing the major hits one after another. It’s just banger after banger.
The year as a whole isn’t as strong as some of the other 60s years. You don’t go ten deep of classics. But still, there’s cool shit here. The 60s isn’t so much about the major stuff — since we can all pretty much agree on that — it’s about the gems that are below the surface that no one remembers anymore. They’re not as numerous as they were in the 50s, so they’re more pronounced. And because they’re not as much a product of the studio system as they were (since the studio system at this point is decaying and will be gone before the end of the decade), they’re all really interesting, subject wise.
But really, the best part of 1961 is getting to talk about the top tier films. Because man, are those all-timers. (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Picture – 1961
I love 1961. It’s so top-heavy. Look at your three major contenders for Best Picture: West Side Story, Judgment at Nuremberg, and The Hustler. I always say a year’s strength begins at Best Picture, and right there, this establishes this year as a strong one.
As for the rest of the decisions — Robert Wise & Jerome Robbins win Best Director for West Side Story (talked about here), and George Chakiris and Rita Moreno win Best Supporting Actor (talked about here) and Best Supporting Actress (talked about here), respectively, for the film as well. These decisions all make sense and are good (even though I probably wouldn’t have voted for any of them). When you remember the film, these all seem like good choices, but when you look at the categories, I feel as though there were better choices historically (since in Supporting Actor, you had both Jackie Gleason and George C. Scott, who were great in The Hustler and Montgomery Clift in Judgment at Nuremberg. And then in Supporting Actress, you have Judy Garland, who most people feel was horribly snubbed for Best Actress in 1954. So why wouldn’t you give it to her?). Then Best Actor was Maximilian Schell for Judgment at Nuremberg (talked about here), which I think is one of the worst decisions of all time in the category, since Schell wasn’t really a lead in the film, and because Paul Newman was so good in The Hustler (so good, in fact, that the Academy tried to remedy this snub 25 years later when he reprised the same role). And Best Actress was Sophia Loren in Two Women (talked about here). I don’t like this decision at all, but it’s tough. I love Sophia Loren, and I like that she has an Oscar, but I feel, based solely on the category, that Natalie Wood deserved it, giving a great performance in West Side Story and a great performance in Splendor in the Grass. How do you not award a year like that?
So, 1961 is a year with good decisions, though ones that — I don’t know — maybe could have or should have gone another way. But it all comes back to it being a strong year, where you can quibble about one or the other even though the actual decisions were strong. This year is a luxury year. We should be lucky to have one of these.
BEST PICTURE
And the nominees were…
Fanny (Warner Bros.)
The Guns of Navarone (Columbia)
The Hustler (20th Century Fox)
Judgment at Nuremberg (United Artists)
West Side Story (United Artists) (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1961
1961 is one of those years that’s so good that you can afford to get upset with it. I sometimes go off about how much I think I don’t like it, and then I realize, “Shit, I’m arguing between two or even three great films.”
West Side Story wins Best Picture, Best Director for Robert Wise & Jerome Robbins (talked about here), Best Supporting Actor for George Chakiris (talked about here) and Best Supporting Actress for Rita Moreno (talked about here). All would be perfect decisions in almost any year but this one. This one, however, has at least two other strong nominees in all the categories, which leads to situations where you think the winners weren’t good decisions.
Best Actress this year was Sophia Loren for Two Women (talked about here). I won’t get into it too much, but — I just don’t like it. I don’t.
And this category — the other one I really don’t like. This, to me, is one of the top five worst Best Actor decisions of all time. It’s horrible. Sure, they sort of made up for it, but the snub in and of itself is Unforgivable.
BEST ACTOR – 1961
And the nominees were…
Charles Boyer, Fanny
Paul Newman, The Hustler
Maximilian Schell, Judgment at Nuremberg
Spencer Tracy, Judgment at Nuremberg
Stuart Whitman, The Mark (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Director – 1961
I love 1961. Mostly due to the strength of the year. I also love the Best Picture decision, but, I have a sentimental favorite that didn’t win, and I’m not really sure which I’d vote for, so in a way, it’s tough to think about, because I don’t know what to do, but in another way, I know the decision stands on its own as a strong one, so it’s nice.
West Side Story wins Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor for George Chakiris (talked about here) and Best Supporting Actress for Rita Moreno (talked about here). I love all of the decisions, even though I might not necessarily have voted for all of them. Best Actor was Maximilian Schell for Judgment at Nuremberg, which I hate, hate, hate as a decision (gee, you think he hates it?). Paul Newman really should have won for The Hustler here, and even the Academy knew it, because when they finally gave him his Oscar in 1986, they gave it to him for the sequel to The Hustler. And Best Actress was Sophia Loren for Two Women (talked about here), which I’m very open about hating as a decision.
So that leaves only this category, which is pretty cut and dry and makes perfect sense.
BEST DIRECTOR – 1961
And the nominees were…
Federico Fellini, La Dolce Vita
Stanley Kramer, Judgment at Nuremberg
Robert Rossen, The Hustler
J. Lee Thompson, The Guns of Navarone
Robert Wise & Jerome Robbins, West Side Story (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1961
Love this year. Love this category. Strong year all around, despite a questionable decision here and there. West Side Story wins Best Picture, Best Director for Robert Wise & Jerome Robbins, Best Supporting Actress for Rita Moreno (talked about here), and this category. I don’t have a problem with any of them, even though I’d have gone another way on all of them. Matter of personal preference. I just love The Hustler.
Best Actor was Maximilian Schell for Judgment at Nuremberg, which I consider one of the worst Best Actor decisions of all time (Paul Newman really should have won for The Hustler. So much so that the Academy, when they gave him his Oscar (twenty-five years too late), they gave it to him for the same role!), and Best Actress was Sophia Loren for Two Women, a decision I don’t really like (which I talked about here).
Then we have this category, which might be the strongest Best Supporting Actor category of all time. Look at these five: Bernardo, Montgomery Clift (in a really strong performance), Peter Falk, and two greats: George C. Scott and Jackie Gleason. Amazing. Who do you vote for here? I know who I vote for. What about you?
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1961
And the nominees were…
George Chakiris, West Side Story
Mongtomery Clift, Judgment at Nuremberg
Peter Falk, Pocketful of Miracles
Jackie Gleason, The Hustler
George C. Scott, The Hustler (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1961
What happened here? Not that I’m totally against it, since I like Sophia Loren, but, come on now.
Otherwise, though, 1961 is a pretty good year. West Side Story wins Best Picture, Best Director for Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins (first double Best Director winner in history. One of two, including the Coen brothers), Best Supporting Actor for George Chakiris and Best Supporting Actress for Rita Moreno (which I talked about here). Big film. Great film. The other award was Best Actor, which went to Maximilian Schell for Judgment at Nuremberg, which I don’t even hide as one I consider one of the worst decisions of all time.
But back to this category. It’s tough to say, since Sophia Loren is a legend, but I really don’t think she should have won this one. And it’s not even because of Audrey Hepburn. I don’t think she should have won this one either. But, because of the love I have for Sophia Loren, it makes it cloud the fact that I consider this win a terrible decision. And that’s what’s so difficult about this year.
BEST ACTRESS – 1961
And the nominees were…
Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Piper Laurie, The Hustler
Sophia Loren, Two Women
Geraldine Page, Summer and Smoke
Natalie Wood, Splendor in the Grass (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1961
1961 was a good year for motion pictures. Films like 101 Dalmatians, West Side Story, The Guns of Navarone, Splendor in the Grass, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Parent Trap, Judgment at Nuremberg, The Children’s Hour, The Hustler, One, Two Three, A Raisin in the Sun, and Yojimbo will do that to a year.
West Side Story wins Best Picture in a perfectly acceptable choice. It’s a wonderful film, and deserved to win, even though I personally like The Hustler more. But even so, it’s still a great choice. Plus, the other three nominees for Best Picture were Guns of the Navarone, Judgment at Nuremberg and Fanny, so, really it was a good year all around. Robert Wise wins Best Director (with Jerome Robbins) for West Side Story, which is also a great decision. Best Actor goes to Maximilian Schell for Judgment at Nuremberg in a terrible decision. Not because he was bad, but because — Paul Newman was Fast Eddie Felson. He was so good in the role they gave him an Oscar for it when he reprised it 25 years after this. Best Actress went to Sophia Loren for Two Women, a decision I don’t agree with and will talk about pretty soon. And Best Supporting Actor went to George Charkiris for West Side Story, which I’m mostly okay with, even though I’d have gone another way. In all though, aside from some decisions I don’t like (to varying degrees), 1961 is a very good year.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1961
And the nominees were…
Fay Bainter, The Children’s Hour
Judy Garland, Judgement at Nuremberg
Lotte Lenya, The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone
Una Merkel, Summer and Smoke
Rita Moreno, West Side Story (more…)
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