(Monday, April 9, 1962, 7:30 p.m. PST) — West Side Story was named Best Picture of 1961 tonight at the 34th Academy Awards, hosted by Bob Hope at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California. The film’s directors, Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise, were named Best Director.

Maximilian Schell, the flinty defender of Nazi war criminals in Judgment at Nuremberg, and Sophia Loren, the earth war refugee of Two Women, were picked as the Best Actor and Actress.

George Chakiris and Rita Moreno each won the supporting actor awards for West Side Story.

Video: 'Splendor in the Grass' trailer

(Tuesday, October 10, 1961) — Splendor in the Grass, a romantic drama film that tells a story of sexual repression, love, heartbreak, and manic-depression, which the character Deanie suffers from, opened today at the Victoria and the Trans-Lux Fifty-second Street theaters in New York.

Written by William Inge, the film stars Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty and was directed by Elia Kazan.

Video: 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' trailer

(Thursday, October 5, 1961) — Breakfast at Tiffany’s, a romantic comedy film starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard, opened today at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

The film, directed by Blake Edwards, is loosely based on the novella of the same name by Truman Capote.

(Monday, September 25, 1961) — The Hustler, a drama film directed by Robert Rossen and starring Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, Piper Laurie and George C. Scott, premiered today in Washington, D.C.

It tells the story of small-time pool hustler “Fast Eddie” Felson and his desire to prove himself the best player in the country by beating legendary pool player “Minnesota Fats.”

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xgxLmnzURc

(Monday, May 29, 1961) — A Raisin in the Sun, a drama film starring Sidney Poitier and Ruby Dee, opened today in New York.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgswymaBuDk

(Tuesday, April 25, 1961) — Yojimbo, a period drama film directed by Akira Kurosawa about a ronin (masterless samurai) who arrives in a small town where competing crime lords make their money from gambling, opened today in Japan.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4OXm9-E8OQ

(Monday, April 17, 1961) — The Apartment, a comedy-drama film about a man who tries to rise in his company by letting its executives use his apartment for trysts, wins Best Picture at the 33rd Academy Awards at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California. Continue reading ‘The Apartment’ is Oscar’s Best Picture for 1960 →