Your Favourite Performances from 1929 to present are...

[LawrenceA]

Actually, what I wrote is that there is little in the way of outstanding work in the best actress category for 1961.

 

I managed to find 10 Best actress nominees for 1961, 8 of which are English-language. Supporting actress, as usual, is the tough one for me.

[Swithin]

1960 Favorites

 

Best Actor

 

Charles Aznavour (Shoot the Piano Player)

Ralph Bellamy (Sunrise at Campobello)

Albert Finney (Saturday Night and Sunday Morning)

Marcello Mastroianni (La Dolce Vita)

Anthony Perkins (Psycho)

 

Best Actress

 

Greer Garson (Sunrise at Campobello)

Deborah Kerr (The Sundowners)

Sophia Loren (Two Women)

Jayne Mansfield (Too Hot to Handle aka Playgirl After Dark)

Athene Seyler (Make Mine Mink)

 

Best Supporting Actor

 

Valentine Dyall (City of the Dead aka Horror Hotel)

Sal Mineo (Exodus)

Peter Ustinov (Spartacus)

Kenneth Williams (Make Mine Mink)

Alan Young (The Time Machine)

 

Best Supporting Actress

 

Eve Arden (The Dark at the Top of the Stairs)

Hattie Jacques (Make Mine Mink)

Patricia Jessel (City of the Dead aka Horror Hotel)

Shirley Jones (Elmer Gantry)

Janet Leigh (Psycho)

 

Best Juvenile Performances

 

Philip Needs and Loretta Parry (Hand in Hand)

 

Best Musical Scenes

 

“Where the Boys Are” sung by Connie Francis (Where the Boys Are)

“I’m Going Back” sung by Judy Holliday (Bells Are Ringing)

 

 

[CoraSmith]

1960 - With three actresses who are a protagonist in the first act but then disappear this becomes an unusually strong year for Supporting Actress.

 

ACTOR:

1. Jack Lemmon - The Apartment

2. Anthony Perkins - Psycho

3. Marcello Mastroianni - La Dolce Vita
4. Max von Sydow - The Virgin Spring 

5. Kirk Douglas - Spartacus

6. Rod Taylor - The Time Machine

7. Gabriele Ferzetti - L'Avventura

8. Jean-Paul Belmondo - Breathless

 

ACTRESS:

1. Shirley MacLaine - The Apartment
2. Monica Vitti - L'Avventura

3. Jean Seberg - Breathless

4. Barbara Steele - Black Sunday

5. Jean Simmons - Spartacus

6. Melina Mercouri - Never on Sunday
7. Jean Simmons - Elmer Gantry

8. Sophia Loren - Two Women

SUPPORTING ACTOR:

1. Peter Ustinov - Spartacus

2. Fred MacMurray - The Apartment

3. Martin Balsam - Psycho

4. Adolphe Menjou - Pollyanna

5. Laurence Olivier - Spartacus

6. Alain Cuny - La Dolce Vita

7. Sammy Davis, Jr. - Ocean's 11

8. Terry-Thomas - School for Scoundrels

 

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

1. Janet Leigh - Psycho

2. Birgitta Petterson - The Virgin Spring

3. Anita Ekberg - La Dolce Vita

4. Lea Massari - L'Avventura 

5. Gunnel Lindblom - The Virgin Spring

6. Yvette Mimieux - The Time Machine 

7. Vera Miles - Psycho

8. Angie Dickinson - Ocean's 11

 

BEST JUVENILE PERFORMANCE: 

1. Hayley Mills - Pollyanna

2. Catherine Demongeot - Zazie in the Metro

3. Eleonora Brown - Two Women

 

BEST ANIMAL PERFORMANCE: Kirk Douglas's horse in Spartacus

BEST EXTRA: Alfred Hitchcock - Psycho

BEST BIT PART BY A FUTURE STAR: Jack Nicholson - The Little Shop of Horrors

MOST UNORTHODOX USE OF A TENNIS RACKET: Jack Lemmon - The Apartment

BEST COSTUME DESIGN: Arlington Valles - Spartacus

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: Psycho (Bernard Herrmann)

BEST ORIGINAL SONG: Ta Pediá tou Pireá (Melina Mercouri in Never on Sunday)

BEST NON-ORIGINAL SONG: My Heart Belongs to Daddy (Marilyn Monroe in Let's Make Love)

BEST QUOTES: 

1. "My taste includes both snails and oysters."(Spartacus)

2. "Why do people have to love people anyway?" (The Apartment)

3. "We all go a little mad sometimes." (Psycho)

[TomJH]

I managed to find 10 Best actress nominees for 1961, 8 of which are English-language. Supporting actress, as usual, is the tough one for me.

 

I'll be interested in seeing the names you've produced, Lawrence. Either you've seen more 1961 films than I have (a distinct possibility) or you're more kindly inclined toward some portrayals than I am. As it stands now I've only got three actresses from the year I found to be award worthy, though I did manage to stretch it to a fourth. Sophia Loren, as we know, became the first foreign language actress to win the Oscar in 1961. She gives a strong performance, to be sure, but that historic achievement by her might have been made a little easier by the fact that it was a generally weak year for English language actresses.

 

Just my take, of course, Lawrence. You appear to have a different opinion. Perhaps you will produce a name or two that I had forgotten about.

 

I find multiple strong performances in the supporting actress category difficult to produce most years, with 1961 no exception.

 

And now, back to the films of 1960 . . .

[Bogie56]

 

Best Juvenile Performances

 

Philip Needs and Loretta Parry (Hand in Hand)

 

 

I saw this in what was probably its initial theatrical run in Canada.  Several times in fact.  I haven't seen it since but now have a UK dvd copy.  I was probably only about six when I saw it at a matinee with my cousin.  Those were the days when your mother could drop you off at a cinema and come back two hours later to pick you up.  Even at that age.

Anyway, I recall being impressed with the two young leads and years later appreciated Philip Leacock's direction of children.  i wonder what he could have done with Lord of the Flies?

[Bogie56]

The New York Film Critics Circle Awards for 1960 were:

 

Best Actor

Burt Lancaster, Elmer Gantry*

Trevor Howard, Sons and Lovers

Laurence Olivier, The Entertainer

 

Best Actress

Deborah Kerr, The Sundowners*

Melina Mercouri, Never on Sunday

 

—————————————————————————————————

 

The National Board of Review Awards for 1960 were…

 

Best Actor

Robert Mitchum, Home From the Hill and The Sundowners*

 

Best Actress

Greer Garson, Sunrise at Campobello*

 

Best Supporting Actor

George Peppard, Home From the Hill*

 

Best Supporting Actress

Shirley Jones, Elmer Gantry*

[TomJH]

 

 

Best Supporting Actor

George Peppard, Home From the Hill*

 

 

I had forgotten about this 1960 performance. I am, generally speaking, not a fan of George Peppard but have always found this particular portrayal, with his laid back southern charm, to be noticeably winning. But in watching his subsequent performances I have often wondered, what happened to that potent charm of his in Home from the Hill?

[Swithin]

I saw this in what was probably its initial theatrical run in Canada.  Several times in fact.  I haven't seen it since but now have a UK dvd copy.  I was probably only about six when I saw it at a matinee with my cousin.  Those were the days when your mother could drop you off at a cinema and come back two hours later to pick you up.  Even at that age.

Anyway, I recall being impressed with the two young leads and years later appreciated Philip Leacock's direction of children.  i wonder what he could have done with Lord of the Flies?

 

I saw it when I was a child, at the Surrey, my local movie theater in the Bronx, so all the more fascination with the children. It was an honest attempt to deal with the subject of prejudice in England, and it does so in a moving and intelligent way. Another 1960 film of note -- I almost included the actresses in my list -- is Conspiracy of Hearts, with Lilli Palmer and Sylvia Syms, which I saw at that same theater. Hand in Hand won a (now retired) Golden Globe Award for "Films Promoting International Understanding." Conspiracy of Hearts was nominated for that award.

[Bogie56]

Here are my choices of the 88 films I've seen from 1960 for…

 

Best Actress of 1960

 

1.  MELINA MERCOURI (Ilya/spelled Illia in the subtitles), Never on Sunday

2.  ANNA MAGNANI (Gloria 'Tortorella' Fabbricotti), The Passionate Thief

3.  ANNA MAGNANI (Lady Torrance), The Fugitive Kind

4.  SHIRLEY MACLAINE (Fran Kubelik), The Apartment

5.  JEAN SIMMONS (Sister Sharon Falconer/”Katy Jones”), Elmer Gantry

 

6.  DEBORAH KERR (Ida Carmody), The Sundowners

7.  MONICA VITTI (Claudia), L'Avventura

8.  WENDY HILLER (Gertrude Morel), Sons and Lovers

9.  SOPHIA LOREN (Cesira), Two Women

10. ANNIE GIRADOT (Nadia), Rocco and His Brothers

 

and ...

 

ELIZABETH TAYLOR (Gloria Wandrous), Butterfield 8

GREER GARSON (Eleanor Roosevelt), Sunrise at Campobello

KEIKO KISHI (Gen), Her Brother

BERNADETTE LAFONT (Jane/”Jeanne”), Les Bonnes Femmes

JOAN PLOWRIGHT (Jean Rice), The Entertainer

JEAN SIMMONS (Varinia), Spartacus

PIER ANGELI (Anna Curtis), The Angry Silence

ELEANORA BROWN (Rosetta), Two Women

LILI PALMER (Mother Katharine), Conspiracy of Hearts

LEE REMICK (Carol Baldwin), Wild River

YOSHIE MIZUTANI (Otsuru/”Tamatsuru”), A Killing In Yoshiwara

CLOTILDE JOANO (Jacqueline), Les Bonnes Femmes

[Bogie56]

Here are my choices of the 88 films I've seen from 1960 for…

 

Best Actor of 1960

 

1.  BURT LANCASTER (Elmer Gantry), Elmer Gantry

2.  ALBERT FINNEY (Arthur Seaton), Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

3.  LAURENCE OLIVIER (Marcus Licinius Crassus), Spartacus

4.  KIRK DOUGLAS (Spartacus), Spartacus

5.  ANTHONY PERKINS (Norman Bates), Psycho

 

6.  TOTO (Umberto ‘Infortunio’ Pennazutto), The Passionate Thief

7.  JACK LEMMON (Calvin Clifford "Bud" Baxter/”C.C.”), The Apartment

8.  RENATO SALVATORI (Simone Parondi), Rocco and His Brothers

9.  LAURENCE OLIVIER (Archie Rice), The Entertainer

10. MARCELLO MASTROIANNI (Marcello Rubini), La Dolce Vita

 

and ...

 

SPENCER TRACY (“Colonel” Henry Drummond), Inherit the Wind

KARLHIENZ BOHM (Mark Lewis), Peeping Tom

ALEC GUINNESS (Major Jock Sinclair, DSO, MM), Tunes of Glory

RALPH BELLAMY (Franklin Delano Roosevelt), Sunrise at Campobello

JOHN MILLS (Lieutenant-Colonel Basil Barrow), Tunes of Glory

RICHARD ATTENBOROUGH (Tom Curtis), The Angry Silence

ROBERT MITCHUM (Paddy Carmody), The Sundowners

ROBERT MORLEY (Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde), Oscar Wilde

KENNETH MORE (Captain Jonathan Shepard), Sink the Bismarck!

YUL BRYNNER (Chris Adams), The Magnificent Seven

ALAIN DELON (Rocco Parondi), Rocco and His Brothers

MAX VON SYDOW (Herr Tore), The Virgin Spring

PETER FINCH (Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde), The Trials of Oscar Wilde

DEAN STOCKWELL (Paul Morel), Sons and Lovers

PIERRE BRASSEUR (Docteur Genessier), Eyes Without a Face

BEN GAZZARA (Lello), The Passionate Thief

      half of which belongs to the Italian actor who dubbed him.

[TomJH]

Here are my choices of the 88 films I've seen from 1960 for…

 

Best Actor of 1960

 

YUL BRYNNER (Chris Adams), The Magnificent Seven

 

I've always had an affection for Brynner's performance in this western. The whole cast is pretty much fun to watch here, of course, with all those future stars. Much as Steve McQueen would later be seen as the personification of it in his career, when it comes to cool, Yul is the man here, I feel. This particular scene also shows nerves of steel, as well as a decency to not take advantage of a proud hot head that he could probably best on the draw.

 

[Bogie56]

The 1960 Berlin International Film Festival winners were…

 

Best Actor

Fredric March, Inherit the Wind

 

Best Actress

Juliette Mayniel, The Fair

 

[Bogie56]

The BAFTA winners for 1960 were ….

 

Best Actor (British)

Peter Finch, The Trials of Oscar Wilde*

Richard Attenborough, The Angry Silence

Laurence Olivier, The Entertainer

Albert Finney, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

John Fraser, The Trials of Oscar Wilde

Alec Guinness, Tunes of Glory

John Mills, Tunes of Glory

 

Best Actor (Foreign)

Jack Lemmon, The Apartment*

George Hamilton, Crime and Punishment, USA (59)

Burt Lancaster, Elmer Gantry

Fredric March, Inherit the Wind

Spencer Tracy, Inherit the Wind

Yves Montand, Let’s Make Love

 

Best Actress (British)

Rachel Roberts, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning*

Hayley Mills, Pollyanna

Wendy Hiller, Sons and Lovers

 

Best Actress (Foreign)

Shirley MacLaine, The Apartment*

Pier Angeli, The Angry Silence

Jean Simmons, Elmer Gantry

Emmanuelle Riva, Hiroshima, Mon Amour (59)

Monica Vitti, L’Avventura

Melina Mercouri, Never on Sunday

[Bogie56]

Here are Danny Peary’s Alternate Oscar choices for 1960.  Winners in bold.  

 

Best Actor

Anthony Perkins, Psycho*

Montgomery Clift, Wild River

Alec Guinness, Tunes of Glory

Trevor Howard, Sons and Lovers

Burt Lancaster, Elmer Gantry

Jack Lemmon, The Apartment

Laurence Olivier, The Entertainer

 

Best Actress

Jean Simmons, Elmer Gantry*

Greer Garson, Sunrise at Campobello

Deborah Kerr, The Sundowners

Hayley Mills, Pollyanna

 

 

And here are Michael Gerbert’s Golden Armchair choices for 1960:

 

Best Actor

Anthony Perkins, Psycho*

 

Best Actress

Shirley MacLaine, The Apartment*

[kingrat]

My sincere apologies if anything I wrote offended anyone. Tjat was absolutely not my intention.

 

I want to thank Bogey for recommending The Passionate Thief. Having only seen Anna Magnani in heavily dramatic roles like Open City and The Rose Tattoo, I had no idea that she could play comedy just as well as [insert the name of one of your favorite 1930s screwball heroines]. Anna, in a blonde wig, is an extra at Cinecitta, and director Mario Monicelli pokes fun at the religious epics then being made in Rome. It's New Year's Eve, and she isn't sure which party she'll be able to attend. Ben Gazzara is a suave and sophisticated pickpocket, but he needs an accomplice, and has to settle for Anna's friend Toto.

 

Anna has no idea of these schemes, and the plot twists back and forth as Anna unwittingly interrupts a couple of Gazzara's planned thefts. There's a clear sense of what it means to be rich or poor in Rome, without any of the stridency that could spoil the fun. An added bonus is that the black-and-white cinematography of Leonida Barbino is magnificent. Comedy and visual beauty don't seem to go together, but they do here. The only other Mario Monicelli films I've seen are Big Deal on Madonna Street and The Organizer, one of my favorite 1963 films. Monicelli is clearly a very gifted director, with a mastery of pacing and tone as well as a good sense of composition and movement.

 

I saw this online, but the film has been removed from that location.

[speedracer5]

1960

 

Winners in BOLD

 

BEST PICTURE

 

The Apartment

BUtterfield 8

Bells Are Ringing

Can-Can

Cash McCall

The Facts of Life

From the Terrace

Let's Make Love

Ocean's 11

Please Don't Eat the Daisies

Pollyanna

Psycho

The Rat Race

 

BEST ACTOR

 

Jack Lemmon, The Apartment

Dean Martin, Bells Are Ringing

Frank Sinatra, Can-Can

James Garner, Cash McCall

Bob Hope, The Facts of Life

Paul Newman, From the Terrace

Yves Montand, Let's Make Love

Frank Sinatra, Ocean's 11

Peter Lawford, Ocean's 11

David Niven, Please Don't Eat the Daisies

Anthony Perkins, Psycho

Tony Curtis, The Rat Race

 

BEST ACTRESS

 

Shirley MacLaine, The Apartment

Elizabeth Taylor, BUtterfield 8

Judy Holliday, Bells Are Ringing

Shirley MacLaine, Can-Can

Natalie Wood, Cash McCall

Lucille Ball, The Facts of Life

Joanne Woodward, From the Terrace

Marilyn Monroe, Let's Make Love

Doris Day, Please Don't Eat the Daisies

Hayley Mills, Pollyanna

Debbie Reynolds, The Rat Race

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

 

Fred MacMurray, The Apartment

Dean Jagger, Cash McCall

Leon Ames, From the Terrace

Tony Randall, Let's Make Love

Sammy Davis Jr, Ocean's 11

Dean Martin, Ocean's 11

Richard Conte, Ocean's 11

Cesar Romero, Ocean's 11

Adolphe Menjou, Pollyanna

Martin Balsam, Psycho

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

 

Edie Adams, The Apartment

Jean Stapleton, Bells Are Ringing

Nina Foch, Cash McCall

Myrna Loy, From the Terrace

Angie Dickenson, Ocean's 11

Jane Wyman, Pollyanna 

Agnes Moorehead, Pollyanna 

Janet Leigh, Psycho

Vera Miles, Psycho

 

"FUNNEST" FILM OF 1960

 

Ocean's 11.  What a great caper film.  Rat Pack.  Vegas. "Ain't That a Kick in the Head."  What else could you need in a film.

 

MOST TOUCHING SCENE

 

In Pollyanna, The end scene when crotchety Mrs. Snow (Agnes Moorehead) shows concern for Hayley Mills' Pollyanna who has had an accident and is now paralyzed. 

 

BEST SLEAZEBAG

 

Fred MacMurray in The Apartment.  He was a complete slimeball, but utterly charming at the same time.  No wonder so many of the secretaries fell for him.

 

WORST SLEAZEBAG

 

Don Rickles in The Rat Race.  He treated Debbie Reynolds like crap in that film and I absolutely loathed his character. 

 

FUNNIEST SCENE

 

Judy Holliday going through all her voices for her answering service in Bells Are Ringing. 

 

WORST HAIRSTYLE

 

Want to learn how to make a 22 year old instantly look 45? Copy Natalie Wood's matronly hairstyle in Cash McCall. 

 

WORST DUBBING THAT ALMOST RUINS THE FILM FOR ME

 

In Please Don't Eat the Daisies, I like Doris Day and David Niven in this film, but the "adult impersonating a baby crying" that they used to dub over the baby crying in this film is horrible and incredibly irritating. 

 

BEST CAMEO

 

Gene Kelly teaching Yves Montand how to dance in Let's Make Love. 

 

BEST BAD FILM

 

Sex Kittens Go to College with Tuesday Weld and Mamie Van Doren.  This film was hilariously horrible. 

 

BEST DEATH SCENE

 

Hands down Janet Leigh's death in Psycho

 

BEST DRAG

 

Anthony Perkins dressed as his mother in Psycho

 

CREEPIEST SCENE

 

The end of Psycho when Perkins' mother has taken over his mind and talks about how he'd never hurt a fly.  Then Perkins makes this face:

 

 

BEST FUTURE STAR

 

Ted Knight (aka Ted Baxter from 'Mary Tyler Moore') as one of the guards in Psycho.  

 

MOST DEPRESSING OFFICE

 

Jack Lemmon's sea of identical desks at Consolidated Life of New York. 

 

SPEEDRACER'S TAKEAWAY FROM "OCEANS 11"

 

Re: This film needed more Rat Pack songs! And for once, I didn't find Peter Lawford annoying.

[Bogie56]

 

SPEEDRACER'S TAKEAWAY FROM "OCEANS 11"

 

Re: This film needed more Rat Pack songs! And for once, I didn't find Peter Lawford annoying.

 

And who could forget Richard Conte's line ...

"Give it to me straight, Doc.  Is it the Big Casino?"

[JamesStewartFan95]

1960

 

Winners in BOLD

 

BEST PICTURE

 

The Apartment

BUtterfield 8

Bells Are Ringing

Can-Can

Cash McCall

The Facts of Life

From the Terrace

Let's Make Love

Ocean's 11

Please Don't Eat the Daisies

Pollyanna

Psycho

The Rat Race

 

BEST ACTOR

 

Jack Lemmon, The Apartment

Dean Martin, Bells Are Ringing

Frank Sinatra, Can-Can

James Garner, Cash McCall

Bob Hope, The Facts of Life

Paul Newman, From the Terrace

Yves Montand, Let's Make Love

Frank Sinatra, Ocean's 11

Peter Lawford, Ocean's 11

David Niven, Please Don't Eat the Daisies

Anthony Perkins, Psycho

Tony Curtis, The Rat Race

 

BEST ACTRESS

 

Shirley MacLaine, The Apartment

Elizabeth Taylor, BUtterfield 8

Judy Holliday, Bells Are Ringing

Shirley MacLaine, Can-Can

Natalie Wood, Cash McCall

Lucille Ball, The Facts of Life

Joanne Woodward, From the Terrace

Marilyn Monroe, Let's Make Love

Doris Day, Please Don't Eat the Daisies

Hayley Mills, Pollyanna

Debbie Reynolds, The Rat Race

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

 

Fred MacMurray, The Apartment

Dean Jagger, Cash McCall

Leon Ames, From the Terrace

Tony Randall, Let's Make Love

Sammy Davis Jr, Ocean's 11

Dean Martin, Ocean's 11

Richard Conte, Ocean's 11

Cesar Romero, Ocean's 11

Adolphe Menjou, Pollyanna

Martin Balsam, Psycho

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

 

Edie Adams, The Apartment

Jean Stapleton, Bells Are Ringing

Nina Foch, Cash McCall

Myrna Loy, From the Terrace

Angie Dickenson, Ocean's 11

Jane Wyman, Pollyanna 

Agnes Moorehead, Pollyanna 

Janet Leigh, Psycho

Vera Miles, Psycho

 

"FUNNEST" FILM OF 1960

 

Ocean's 11.  What a great caper film.  Rat Pack.  Vegas. "Ain't That a Kick in the Head."  What else could you need in a film.

 

MOST TOUCHING SCENE

 

In Pollyanna, The end scene when crotchety Mrs. Snow (Agnes Moorehead) shows concern for Hayley Mills' Pollyanna who has had an accident and is now paralyzed. 

 

BEST SLEAZEBAG

 

Fred MacMurray in The Apartment.  He was a complete slimeball, but utterly charming at the same time.  No wonder so many of the secretaries fell for him.

 

WORST SLEAZEBAG

 

Don Rickles in The Rat Race.  He treated Debbie Reynolds like crap in that film and I absolutely loathed his character. 

 

FUNNIEST SCENE

 

Judy Holliday going through all her voices for her answering service in Bells Are Ringing. 

 

WORST HAIRSTYLE

 

Want to learn how to make a 22 year old instantly look 45? Copy Natalie Wood's matronly hairstyle in Cash McCall. 

 

WORST DUBBING THAT ALMOST RUINS THE FILM FOR ME

 

In Please Don't Eat the Daisies, I like Doris Day and David Niven in this film, but the "adult impersonating a baby crying" that they used to dub over the baby crying in this film is horrible and incredibly irritating. 

 

BEST CAMEO

 

Gene Kelly teaching Yves Montand how to dance in Let's Make Love. 

 

BEST BAD FILM

 

Sex Kittens Go to College with Tuesday Weld and Mamie Van Doren.  This film was hilariously horrible. 

 

BEST DEATH SCENE

 

Hands down Janet Leigh's death in Psycho

 

BEST DRAG

 

Anthony Perkins dressed as his mother in Psycho

 

CREEPIEST SCENE

 

The end of Psycho when Perkins' mother has taken over his mind and talks about how he'd never hurt a fly.  Then Perkins makes this face:

 

 

BEST FUTURE STAR

 

Ted Knight (aka Ted Baxter from 'Mary Tyler Moore') as one of the guards in Psycho.  

 

MOST DEPRESSING OFFICE

 

Jack Lemmon's sea of identical desks at Consolidated Life of New York. 

 

SPEEDRACER'S TAKEAWAY FROM "OCEANS 11"

 

Re: This film needed more Rat Pack songs! And for once, I didn't find Peter Lawford annoying.

 

 

Most Memorable Utterance in a Bad Movie: "College. College."-Woo Woo (Norman Grabowski) in Sex Kittens Go to College

[speedracer5]

And who could forget Richard Conte's line ...

"Give it to me straight, Doc.  Is it the Big Casino?"

Lol! Yes.

 

That was such a fun film.  I just watched it all the way through for the first time on Dean Martin's SUTS day.

[Bogie56]

The Golden Globe Awards for 1960 were …

 

Best Actor in a Drama

Burt Lancaster, Elmer Gantry*

Spencer Tracy, Inherit the Wind

Trevor Howard, Sons and Lovers

Dean Stockwell, Sons and Lovers

Laurence Olivier, Spartacus

 

Best Actress in a Drama

Greer Garson, Sunrise at Campobello*

Elizabeth Taylor, Butterfield 8

Jean Simmons, Elmer Gantry

Doris Day, Midnight Lace

Nancy Kwan, The World of Suzie Wong

 

Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical

Jack Lemmon, The Apartment*

Bob Hope, The Facts of Life

Cary Grant, The Grass Is Greener

Cantiflas, Pepe

Dirk Bogarde, Song Without End

 

Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical

Shirley MacLaine, The Apartment*

Judy Holliday, Bells Are Ringing

Lucille Ball, The Facts of Life

Sophia Loren, It Started In Naples

Capucine, Song Without End

 

Best Supporting Actor

Sal Mineo, Exodus*

Lee Kinsolving, The Dark at the Top of the Stairs

Ray Sticklyn, The Plunderers

Woody Strode, Spartacus

Peter Ustinov, Spartacus

 

Best Supporting Actress

Janet Leigh, Psycho*

Shirley Knight, The Dark at the Top of the Stairs

Shirley Jones, Elmer Gantry

Ina Balin, From the Terrace

Mary Ure, Sons and Lovers

[Swithin]

Musical Interlude -- 1960

 

I included Jayne Mansfield in my five top actresses of 1960, for her role in Too Hot to Handle aka Playgirl After Dark. I think she gives a fine performance in this strange, underrated British film, which I saw at my local theater when I was a kid (odd film for a young boy!). In any case, here's one of her songs -- she's introduced by Christopher Lee.

 

 

[Bogie56]

The 1960 Cannes Film Festival winners were…

 

Best Actor (none awarded)

 

Best Actress’

Melina Mercouri, Never on Sunday

Jeanne Moreau, Seven Days, Seven Nights

 

—————————————————————————————

 

The 1960 Venice Film Festival winners were:

 

Best Actors

John Mills, Tunes of Glory

 

Best Actress

Shirley MacLaine, The Apartment

 

—————————————————————————————————

 

The 1960 San Sebastian Film Festival award winners were…

 

Best Actors

Richard Attenborough, Jack Hawkins, Bryan Forbes, Roger Livesey and Nigel Patrick, The League of Gentlemen

 

Best Actress

Joanne Woodward, The Fugitive Kind

[CoraSmith]

The best comedies aren't just a succession of laughs, but use a humoristic approach of serious matters. In Billy Wilder's The Apartment [spoilerS] Baxter (Jack Lemmon) removes the blades from his razor to keep Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine) from committing suicide. The next morning he forgets about it and tries to shave himself with an empty razor. The same razor that showed him as a caring person now provides laughter.

 

His creative use of a tennis racket as a colander proves that he needs a woman in his life to arrange the household. Screenwriter I. A. L. Diamond wasn't just about witty one-liners, he also knew how to create sympathy for his characters.

 

A central question is whether someone can remain an individual, a Mensch, when he's part of a rationalized economic system in a modern city. To make the office look bigger Wilder created false perspective by putting children and cardboard dolls behind the desks in the back. But instead of rambling on about it and overanalyzing it the best advice is to just shut up and watch.

[Bogie56]

 

This could almost be the brain centre of the HAL9000.

[TomJH]

Do you get the impression that Billy Wilder may have seen King Vidor's The Crowd?