Film Data For 1960

The Film Daily’s Ten Best Pictures of 1960 

1) The Apartment- 208 votes 

2) Elmer Gantry- 196 

3) Ben-Hur (1959)- 194 

4) Inherit the Wind- 160 

5) Sunrise at Campobello- 144 

6) The Dark at the Top of the Stairs- 104 

7) Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)- 101 

8) Spartacus- 98 

9) Sons and Lovers- 96 

10) Midnight Lace- 85 

Interesting to see The Apartment come out on top in the battle of the 1959 and 1960 Oscar Best Pictures. 

 The Honor Roll: 

11) Psycho- 84 votes (I have always wished I was around in 1960 to see Psycho upon its release, but I really wouldn’t want to live in a world where Midnight Lace is deemed a superior film and knocks Psycho out of the top ten by one vote) 

12) Operation Petticoat (1959)- 83 

13) Butterfield 8- 82 

14) From the Terrace- 80 

15) Can-Can- 70 

16) The Mouse That Roared (1959)- 69 

17) I’m All Right, Jack (1959)- 66 

18) Pollyanna- 59 

19) Home From the Hill- 57 

20) Conspiracy of Hearts- 56 

21) Please Don’t eat the Daisies- 52 

22) A Summer Place (1959)- 51 

23) Our Man in Havana (1959)- 50 

24) Bells Are Ringing- 49 

25) Ocean’s Eleven- 47 

26) The Entertainer- 45 

27) The Fugitive Kind- 32 

28) The Sundowners- 26 

29) Let’s Make Love- 25 

30) Song Without End- 24 

31) The Bramble Bush- 23 

       It Started in Naples- 23 

32) Hell to Eternity- 22 

33) Crack in the Mirror- 21 

34) Portrait in Black- 20 

35) Toby Tyler- 19 

36) The Rat Race- 14 

37) Expresso Bongo (1959)- 13 

      The Savage Eye- 13 

38) The House of Usher- 12 

      Jungle Cat (1959)- 12 

  The Film Daily- Filmdom’s Famous Fives of 1960 Best Performances by Male Stars 

1) Burt Lancaster in Elmer Gantry 

2) Charlton Heston in Ben-Hur (1959) 

3) Jack Lemmon in The Apartment 

4) Spencer Tracy in Inherit the Wind 

5) Ralph Bellamy in Sunrise at Campobello 

Best Performances by Female Stars 

1) Elizabeth Taylor in Butterfield 8 

2) Greer Garson in Sunrise at Campobello 

3) Shirley MacLaine in The Apartment 

4) Doris Day in Midnight Lace 

5) Jean Simmons in Elmer Gantry 

Best Performances by Supporting Actors 

1) Arthur Kennedy in Elmer Gantry 

2) Stephen Boyd in Ben-Hur (1959) 

3) Hugh Griffith in Ben-Hur (1959) 

4) George Peppard in Home From the Hill 

5) Hume Cronyn in Sunrise at Campobello 

Best Performances by Supporting Actresses 

1) Shirley Jones in Elmer Gantry 

2) Angela Lansbury in The Dark at the Top of the Stairs 

3) Eve Arden in The Dark at the Top of the Stairs 

4) Ina Balin in From the Terrace 

5) Myrna Loy in Midnight Lace 

Best Performances by Juvenile Actors 

1) Kevin Corcoran in Toby Tyler 

2) Troy Donahue in A Summer Place (1959) 

3) Lee Kinsolving in The Dark at the Top of the Stairs 

4) James MacArthur in Kidnapped 

5) Robert Eyer in The Dark at the Top of the Stairs 

Best Performances by Juvenile Actresses 

1) Hayley Mills in Pollyanna 

2) Sandra Dee in Portrait in Black 

3) Shirley Knight in The Dark at the Top of the Stairs 

4) Penny Parker in The Dark at the Top of the Stairs 

5) Luana Patten in Home From the Hill 

The Year’s Outstanding Directors 

1) William Wyler for Ben-Hur (1959) 

2) Billy Wilder for The Apartment 

3) Richard Brooks for Elmer Gantry 

4) Stanley Kramer for Inherit the Wind 

5) Vincent Donahue for Sunrise at Campobello 

The Best Photographed Pictures of the Year 

1) Robert L. Surtees for Ben-Hur (1959) 

2) James R. Simon, Hugh A. Wilmar and Lloyd Beebe for Jungle Cat (1959) 

3) Freddie Francis for Sons & Lovers 

4) John Alton for Elmer Gantry 

5) Jack Hildyard for Suddenly, Last Summer (1959) 

The Best Screenplays of the Year 

1) Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond for The Apartment 

2) Richard Brooks for Elmer Gantry 

3) Karl Tunberg for Ben-Hur (1959) 

4) Dore Schary for Sunrise at Campobello 

5) Nathan E. Douglas and Harold Jacob Smith for Inherit the Wind 

“Finds of the Year” 

1) Hayley Mills in Pollyanna 

2) George Peppard in Home From the Hill 

3) Peter Sellers in I’m All Right, Jack 

4) Ina Balin in From the Terrace 

5) Troy Donahue in A Summer Place (1959) 

The National Board of Review (Results announced on December 22, 1960. Source: Tom O’Neil’s Movie Awards) The Ten Best Pictures (in order of preference) 

1) Sons and Lovers 

2) The Alamo 

3) The Sundowners 

4) Inherit the Wind 

5) Sunrise at Campobello 

6) Elmer Gantry 

7) Home From the Hill 

8) The Apartment 

9) Wild River 

10) The Dark at the Top of the Stairs

Best Director 

Jack Cardiff for Sons and Lovers 

Best Actor 

Robert Mitchum for The Sundowners and Home From the Hill 

Best Actress 

Greer Garson in Sunrise at Campobello

Best Supporting Actor 

George Peppard in Home from the Hill 

Best Supporting Actress 

Shirley Jones in Elmer Gantry 

Best Foreign Films (in order of preference) 

1) The World of Apu (India) 

2) General della Rovere (Italy/France) 

3) The Angry Silence (U.K.) 

4) I’m All Right, Jack (U.K.) 

5) Hiroshima, Mon Amour (France/Japan) 

The New York Film Critics Awards (Winners announced on December 29, 1960. Awards presented on January 23, 1961. Sources: Tom O'Neil's Movie Awards, 2001 and Donald Lyons, "The Lights of New York," Film Comment, March-April, 1993).

Best Picture 

The Apartment tied with Sons and Lovers on final ballot VI (8 votes each) 

Best Director 

Jack Cardiff for Sons and Lovers tied with Billy Wilder for The Apartment on final ballot VI (8 votes each)

Best Actor 

Burt Lancaster in Elmer Gantry (8 votes on final ballot VI) 

Runners up: Trevor Howard in Sons and Lovers (5 votes) Laurence Olivier in The Entertainer (3 votes) 

Best Actress

Deborah Kerr in The Sundowners (9 votes on final ballot VI) 

Runner up: Melina Mercouri in Never on Sunday (7 votes) 

 

Best Screenplay 

Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond for The Apartment 

  

Best Foreign Film 

Hiroshima, Mon Amour (France/Japan) 

The Golden Globes (Nominations announced on February 8, 1961. Awards presented on March 16, 1961) Winners in bold print

Best Drama Picture 

Elmer Gantry 

Inherit the Wind 

Sons and Lovers 

Spartacus 

Sunrise at Campobello 

Best Comedy Picture 

The Apartment 

The Facts of Life 

The Grass is Greener 

It Started in Naples 

Our Man in Havana 

Best Musical Picture 

Bells Are Ringing 

Can-Can 

Let’s Make Love 

Pepe 

Song Without End 

Best Motion Picture Promoting International Understanding 

Hand in Hand 

Conspiracy of Hearts 

Best Director 

Richard Brooks for Elmer Gantry 

Jack Cardiff for Sons and Lovers 

Stanley Kubrick for Spartacus

Billy Wilder for The Apartment 

Fred Zinnemann for The Sundowners 

Best Actor, Drama 

Trevor Howard in Sons and Lovers 

Burt Lancaster in Elmer Gantry 

Laurence Olivier in The Entertainer 

Dean Stockwell in Sons and Lovers 

Spencer Tracy in Inherit the Wind 

Best Actress, Drama 

Doris Day in Midnight Lace 

Greer Garson in Sunrise at Campobello 

Nancy Kwan in The World of Suzie Wong 

Jean Simmons in Elmer Gantry 

Elizabeth Taylor in Butterfield 8 

Best Actor, Comedy or Musical 

Dirk Bogarde in Song Without End 

Cantinflas in Pepe 

Cary Grant in The Grass is Greener 

Bob Hope in The Facts of Life 

Jack Lemmon in The Apartment 

Best Actress, Musical or Comedy 

Lucille Ball in The Facts of Life 

Capucine in Song Without End 

Judy Holliday in Bells Are Ringing 

Sophia Loren in It Started in Naples 

Shirley MacLaine in The Apartment 

Best Supporting Actor 

Lee Kinsolving in The Dark at the Top of the Stairs

Sal Mineo in Exodus 

Ray Stricklyn in The Plunderers 

Woody Strode in Spartacus 

Peter Ustinov in Spartacus Best Supporting Actress

Ina Balin in From the Terrace 

Shirley Jones in Elmer Gantry 

Shirley Knight in The Dark at the Top of the Stairs 

Janet Leigh in Psycho 

Mary Ure in Sons and Lovers 

Most Promising Newcomer- Male 

Michael Callan

Mark Damon

Brett Halsey 

Peter Falk 

David Janssen 

Robert Vaughn 

 Promising Newcomer- Female 

Ina Balin 

Nancy Kwan 

Hayley Mills 

Jill Haworth 

Shirley Knight 

Julie Newmar 

Best Foreign-Language Films 

The Man With the Green Carnation (English language) 

La Verite (France) 

The Virgin Spring (Sweden) 

Best Original Score 

Dimitri Tiomkin for The Alamo  

World Film Favorites 

Tony Curtis 

Rock Hudson 

Gina Lollobrigida

Samuel Goldwyn International Award 

Never on Sunday (Greece) 

Cecil B. DeMille Award 

Fred Astaire 

Special Merit Award 

The Sundowners 

Special Achievement Awards 

Cantinflas 

Stanley Kramer 

The Academy Awards (Nominations announced on February 27, 1961. Awards presented on April 17, 1961. Sources: Tom O'Neil's Movie Awards and Mason Wiley and Damien Bona's Inside Oscar) 

Best Picture 

The Alamo 

The Apartment 

Elmer Gantry 

Sons and Lovers 

The Sundowners 

Best Director 

Jack Cardiff for Sons and Lovers 

Jules Dassin for Never on Sunday 

Alfred Hitchcock for Psycho 

Billy Wilder for The Apartment 

Fred Zinnemann for The Sundowners 

 Best Actor 

Trevor Howard in Sons and Lovers 

Burt Lancaster in Elmer Gantry 

Jack Lemmon in The Apartment 

Laurence Olivier in The Entertainer 

Spencer Tracy in Inherit the Wind Best Actress 

Greer Garson in Sunrise at Campobello 

Deborah Kerr in The Sundowners 

Melinda Mercouri in Never on Sunday 

Shirley MacLaine in The Apartment 

Elizabeth Taylor in Butterfield 8 

Best Supporting Actor 

Peter Falk in Murder, Inc. 

Jack Kruschen in The Apartment 

Sal Mineo in Exodus 

Peter Ustinov in Spartacus 

Chill Willis in The Alamo 

Best Supporting Actress 

Glynis Johns in The Sundowners 

Shirley Jones in Elmer Gantry 

Shirley Knight in The Dark at the Top of the Stairs 

Janet Leigh in Psycho 

Mary Ure in Sons and Lovers 

Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium 

Richard Brooks for Elmer Gantry

Nathan E. Douglas and Harold Jacob Smith for Inherit the Wind 

Gavin Lambert and T.E.B. Clarke for Sons and Lovers 

Isobel Lannart for The Sundowners 

James Kennaway for Tunes of Glory 

Best Story and Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen 

Richard Gregson and Michael Craig; Bryan Forbes for The Angry Silence 

Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond for The Apartment 

Norman Panama and Melvin Frank for The Facts of Life 

Marguerite Duras for Hiroshima, Mon Amour 

Jules Dassin for Never on Sunday 

  

Best Cinematography (Black-and-White)

Joseph LaShelle for The Apartment 

Charles B. Lang, Jr. for The Facts of Life

Ernest Laszlo for Inherit the Wind 

John L. Russell for Psycho 

Freddie Francis for Sons and Lovers 

Best Cinematography (Color) 

William H. Clothier for The Alamo 

Joseph Ruttenberg and Charles Harten for Butterfield 8 

Sam Leavitt for Exodus 

Joe MacDonald for Pepe 

Russell Metty for Spartacus 

Best Art Direction-Set Direction (Black-and-White) 

Alexander Trauner; Edward G. Boyle for The Apartment 

Joseph McMillan Johnson and Kenneth A. Reid; Ross Dowd for The Facts of Life 

Joseph Hurley and Robert Clatworthy; George Milo for Psycho 

Tom Morahan; Lionel Couch for Sons and Lovers 

Hal Pereira and Walter Tyler; Sam Comer and Arthur Krams for Visit to a Small Planet 

Best Art Direction-Set Direction (Color) 

George W. Davis and Addison Hehr; Henry Grace, Hugh Hunt and Otto Siegel for Cimarron 

Hal Pereira and Roland Anderson; Sam Comer and Arrigo Breschi for It Started in Naples 

Ted Haworth; William Kiernan for Pepe 

Alexander Golitzen and Eric Orbom; Russell A. Gausman and Julia Heron for Spartacus 

Edward Carrere; George James Hopkins for Sunrise at Campobello Best Sound 

The Alamo Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Dept.; Gordon E. Sawyer, sound director; and Todd-AO Sound Dept.; Fred Hynes, sound director 

The Apartment Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Dept.; Gordon E. Sawyer, sound director 

Cimarron MGM Studio Sound Dept.; Franklin E. Milton, sound director 

Pepe Columbia Studio Sound Dept.; Charles Rice, sound director 

Sunrise at Campobello Warner Bros. Studio Sound Dept.; George R. Groves, sound director 

Best Song 

"The Facts of Life" from The Facts of Life. Music and Lyrics by Johnny Mercer 

"Faraway Part of Town" from Pepe. Music by Andre Previn. Lyrics by Dory Langdon 

"The Green Leaves of Summer" from The Alamo. Music by Dimitri Tiomkin. Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster

"Never on Sunday" from Never on Sunday. Music and lyrics by Manos Hadjidakis 

"The Second Time Around" from The Second Time Around. Music by James Van Heusen. Lyrics by Sammy Cahn Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture 

Dimitri Tiomkin for The Alamo 

Andre Previn for Elmer Gantry 

Ernest Gold for Exodus 

Elmer Bernstein for The Magnificent Seven 

Alex North for Spartacus 

Best Scoring of a Musical Picture 

Andre Previn for Bells Are Ringing 

Nelson Riddle for Can-Can 

Lionel Newman and Earle H. Hagen for Let's Make Love 

Johnny Green for Pepe 

Morris Stoloff and Harry Sukman for Song Without End 

Best Film Editing 

Stuart Gilmore for The Alamo 

Daniel Mandell for The Apartment 

Frederic Knudtson for Inherit the Wind 

Viola Lawrence and Al Clark for Pepe 

Robert Lawrence for Spartacus

Best Costume Design (Black-and-White) 

Edith Head and Edward Stevenson for The Facts of Life 

Denny Vachlioto for Never on Sunday 

Howard Shoup for The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond 

Bill Thomas for Seven Thieves Marik Vos for The Virgin Spring 

Best Costume Design (Color) 

Irene Shariff for Can-Can 

Irene for Midnight Lace 

Edith Head for Pepe 

Valles and Bill Thomas for Spartacus 

Marjorie Best for Sunrise at Campobello

Best Special Effects 

A.J. Lohman for The Last Voyage 

Gene Warren and Tim Baar for The Time Machine 

Best Short Subject Cartoon 

Goliath II Walt Disney, producer 

High Note Warner Bros. 

Mouse and Garden Warner Bros. 

Munro William L. Snyder, producer 

A Place in the Sun Frantisek Vystrecil, producer 

Best Live Action Short Subject 

The Creation of Woman Charles F. Schwep and Ismail Merchant, producers 

Day of the Painter Ezra R. Baker, producer 

Islands of the Sea Walt Disney, producer A Sport is Born Leslie Winik, producer 

Best Documentary Short Subject 

Beyond Silence U.S. Information Agency 

A City Called Copenhagen Statens Filmcentral, Danish Film Office 

George Grosz' Interregnum Charles and Altina Carey, producers 

Giuseppina James Hill, producer Universe Colin Low, producer 

Best Documentary Feature 

The Horse With the Flying Tail Larry Lansburgh, producer 

Rebel in Paradise Robert D. Fraser, producer 

Best Foreign Language Film 

Kapo (Italy) 

La Verite (France) 

Macario (Mexico) 

The Ninth Circle (Yugoslavia) 

The Virgin Spring (Sweden) 

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award Sol Lesser Honorary Awards 

Gary Cooper for his many memorable screen performances and the international recognition he, as an individual, has gained for the motion picture industry (statuette) 

Stan Laurel for his creative pioneering in the field of cinema comedy (statuette) 

Hayley Mills for Pollyanna, the most outstanding juvenile performance during 1960 (miniature statuette) 

The New York Times Annual Ten Best List (in chronological order. Source: Film Facts, 1980, edited by Cobbett Steinberg)

I'm All Right, Jack

The Apartment

Psycho

Elmer Gantry

Sunrise at Campobello

The Entertainer

Inherit the Wind

The Angry Silence

Exodus

Tunes of Glory

Best Foreign Films

Rosemary (Germany)

Ikiru (Japan)

The Cranes are Flying (Russia)

Hiroshima Mon Amour (France)

The World of Apu (India)

Never on Sunday (Greece)

The Virgin Spring (Sweden)

General della Rovere (Italy)

The Big Deal on Madonna Street (Italy)

The Ballad of a Soldier (Russia)

Time Magazine’s Best Films of 1960 (in chronological order. Source: Film Facts, 1980, edited by Cobbett Steinberg) 

The Apartment 

Come Back, Africa 

Elmer Gantry 

Sons and Lovers 

Sunrise at Campobello

Spartacus 

Weddings and Babies 

Exodus 

Best Foreign Films

Ikiru 

A Lesson in Love 

Dreams 

The Virgin Spring

I’m All Right, Jack 

Hiroshima, Mon Amour 

The World of Apu 

General della Rovere 

The Loving Game 

The Top Box-Office Hits of 1960 (According to Variety- lists U.S. and Canadian rental fees up to the end of the calendar year. Late 1959 releases that primarily earned revenue in 1960 are included. Source: Film Facts, 1980, edited by Cobbett Steinberg)

1) Ben-Hur (1959)- $17,300,000

2) Psycho- $8,500,000 

3) Operation Petticoat (1959)- $6,800,000

4) Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)- $5,500,000

5) On the Beach (1959)- $5,300,000

6) Solomon and Sheba (1959)- $5,250,000

7) The Apartment- $5,100,000

8) From the Terrace- $5,000,000

    Please Don't Eat the Daisies- $5,000,000

10) Ocean's 11- $4,900,000

11) Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)- $4,700,000

12) The Bellboy- $3,550,000

13) Elmer Gantry- $3,500,000

14) The Rat Race- $3,400,000

15) Portrait in Black- $3,200,000

      Li'l Abner (1959)- $3,200,000

      Visit to a Small Planet- $3,200,000

18) Home from the Hill- $3,150,000

19) Who Was That Lady?- $3,00,000

       Toby Tyler- $3,000,000

       Can-Can- $3,000,000

The Top Ten Box-Office Stars of 1960 (according to Quigley Publishing’s poll of film exhibitors) 

1) Doris Day 

2) Rock Hudson 

3) Cary Grant 

4) Elizabeth Taylor 

5) Debbie Reynolds 

6) Tony Curtis 

7) Sandra Dee 

8) Frank Sinatra 

9) Jack Lemmon 

10) John Wayne 

The Next Fifteen: 

11) Jerry Lewis 

12) Glenn Ford 

13) Paul Newman 

14) William Holden 

15) Kirk Douglas 

16) Charlton Heston 

17) Shirley MacLaine

18) James Stewart 

19) Burt Lancaster 

20) Joanne Woodward 

21) Elvis Presley 

22) Pat Boone 

23) Yul Brynner 

24) Robert Mitchum 

25) Gary Cooper 

1960's Top Ten "Stars of Tomorrow" (according to Quigley Publishing's poll of film exhibitors) 

1) Jane Fonda 

2) Stephen Boyd 

3) John Gavin 

4) Susan Kohner 

5) Troy Donahue 

6) Angie Dickinson 

7) Tuesday Weld 

8) Fabian 

9) James Darren 

10) George Hamilton 

The Next Fifteen: 

11) Barbara Rush 

12) Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. 

13) George Peppard 

14) Eddie Hodges 

15) Steve McQueen 

16) David Ladd 

17) Capucine 

18) Gary Crosby 

19) Dean Stockwell 

20) Vera Miles 

21) Suzy Parker 

22) Ina Balin 

23) Ben Gazarra 

24) Peggy Cass 

25) Linda Cristal 

Great Britain's Top Ten Box-Office Stars of 1960 (according to the Motion Picture Herald's poll of British film exhibitors) 

1) Kenneth More 

2) Peter Sellers 

3) Sophia Loren 

4) Sir Alec Guinness 

5) Elizabeth Taylor 

6) Audrey Hepburn 

7) Jack Lemmon 

8) Stanley Baker 

9) Dirk Bogarde 

10) Norman Wisdom 

Great Britain's top Box-Office films of 1960 (according to the Motion Picture Herald- listed in order of precedence) 1) Doctor in Love 

2) Carry On, Constable 

3) Hercules Unchained 

4) Two-Way Stretch 

5) Conspiracy of Hearts 

6) The League of Gentlemen 

7) Sink the Bismark! 

8) Psycho

9) Ocean's 11 

10) Suddenly, Last Summer 

11) Dentist in the Chair 

12) School for Scoundrels