33rd Annual Academy Awards Results and Commentary (1961)
©A.M.P.A.S.®
When the 33rd Annual Academy Awards took place on Monday, April 17th, 1961, they had a new home (Santa Monica), a new network (ABC) and a familiar host (Bob Hope).
The big winner of the night was The Apartment, whose five Oscars included Best Picture and Best Director for Billy Wilder.
Burt Lancaster took home the Best Actor for Elmer Gantry while Elizabeth Taylor, who had just been through pneumonia, won Best Actress for Butterfield 8.
Honorary awards were given to Gary Cooper “…for his many memorable screen performances…”, to Stan Laurel “…for his creative pioneering in the field of cinema comedy” and to Hayley Mills “…for Pollyanna, the most outstanding juvenile performance during 1960.”
James Stewart accepted the award on Cooper’s behalf. His emotional speech hinted at something being wrong. The next day, the media announced that Cooper had cancer. He died the next month.
Results
Best Motion Picture
- The Apartment
Billy Wilder [Producer]
Best Directing
- The Apartment
Billy Wilder
Best Actor
- Elmer Gantry
Burt Lancaster
Best Actress
- Butterfield 8
Elizabeth Taylor
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
- Spartacus
Peter Ustinov
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
- Elmer Gantry
Shirley Jones
Best Foreign Language Film
- The Virgin Spring
Best Art Direction (Black-and-White)
- The Apartment
Alexander Trauner [Art Direction] and Edward G. Boyle [Set Decoration]
Best Art Direction (Color)
- Spartacus
Alexander Golitzen [Art Direction], Eric Orbom [Art Direction], Russell A. Gausman [Set Decoration] and Julia Heron [Set Decoration]
Best Cinematography (Black-and-White)
- Sons and Lovers
Freddie Francis
Best Cinematography (Color)
- Spartacus
Russell Metty
Best Costume Design (Black-and-White)
- The Facts of Life
Edith Head and Edward Stevenson
Best Costume Design (Color)
- Spartacus
Valles and Bill Thomas
Best Documentary (Feature)
- The Horse with the Flying Tail
Larry Lansburgh
Best Documentary (Short Subject)
- Giuseppina
James Hill
Best Film Editing
- The Apartment
Daniel Mandell
Best Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)
- Exodus
Ernest Gold
Best Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture)
- Song without End (The Story of Franz Liszt)
Morris Stoloff and Harry Sukman
Best Music (Song)
- Never on Sunday "Never on Sunday"
Manos Hadjidakis [Music and Lyrics by]
Best Short Subject (Cartoon)
- Munro
William L. Snyder
Best Short Subject (Live Action)
- Day of the Painter
Ezra R. Baker
Best Sound
- The Alamo
Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department, Gordon E. Sawyer [Sound Director], Todd-AO Sound Department and Fred Hynes [Sound Director]
Best Writing (Screenplay - based on material from another medium)
- Elmer Gantry
Richard Brooks
Best Writing (Story and Screenplay - written directly for the screen)
- The Apartment
Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond
Honorary Award
- Gary Cooper
Note: …for his many memorable screen performances and the international recognition he, as an individual, has gained for the motion picture industry. - Stan Laurel
Note: …for his creative pioneering in the field of cinema comedy. - Hayley Mills
Note: …for Pollyanna, the most outstanding juvenile performance during 1960.
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
- Sol Lesser
Scientific or Technical Award (Class II)
- Ampex Professional Products Co.
Note: …for the production of a well-engineered multi-purpose sound system combining high standards of quality with convenience of control, dependable operation and simplified emergency provisions.
Scientific or Technical Award (Class III)
- Arthur Holcomb, Petro Vlahos and Columbia Studio Camera Department
Note: …for a camera flicker indicating device. - Anthony Paglia and 20th Century-Fox Studio Mechanical Effects Department
Note: …for the design and construction of a miniature flak gun and ammunition. - Carl Hauge [of Consolidated Film Industries], Robert Grubel [of Consolidated Film Industries] and Edward Reichard [of Consolidated Film Industries]
Note: …for the development of an automatic developer replenisher system.