Oscar Revisionism: 1960

A comedy, adventure, western, romance, and religious drama occupied the best picture field in 1960.  An unusual year for Oscar Revisionism, with so much information about box-office stats available, as well as a wide dispersement of nominations, this wasn't so much a matter of what to put into a Field of Ten, but what to leave out.  A Roman epic?  A courtroom drama?  A slasher classic?  A Greek rom-com centered around a prostitute?  A musical about a man looking for his horse in Hollywood?  A war drama leading up to the founding of Israel?  A presidential biopic?  Or a romantic comedy starring Bob Hope and Lucille as a dissatisfied couple?

The winner:

The Apartment

Total Wins/Nominations: 5 wins (Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Film Editing, AD), 5 nominations (Actress, Actor, Supporting Actor, B&W Cinematography, Sound)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA winner, NBR, Laurel Awards (Comedy) winner, NYFCC winner, BAFTA winner, Golden Globe (Comedy) winner, WGA winner, Venice

Distributor: United Artists

Release Date: 15. June

Budget: $3M (IMDb)

Current RT: 91%

Current IMDb: 8.4

The nominees:

The Sundowners

Total Wins/Nominations: 5 nominations (Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplays, Actress, Supporting Actress)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, NBR, BAFTA, WGA

Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures

Release Date: 8. December

Current RT: 78%

Current IMDb: 7.3

The Alamo

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 win (Sound), 6 nominations (Picture, Actor, Film Editing, Color Cinematography, Song, Score)

Other Awards/Nominations: NBR, Laurel Awards (Action-Drama) winner

Distributor: United Artists

Release Date: 24. October

Domestic Box Office: $8M (IMDb)

Budget: $12M (IMDb)

Current RT: 54%

Current IMDb: 6.7

Sons and Lovers

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 win (B&W Cinematography), 6 nominations (Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Actor, Supporting Actress, B&W AD)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, NBR winner, NYFCC winner, Cannes, Golden Globe (Drama), WGA, BAFTA

Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Release Date: 2. August

Current IMDb: 7.3

Elmer Gantry

Total Wins/Nominations: 3 wins (Actor, Supporting Actress, Adapted Screenplay), 2 nominations (Picture, Score)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, Golden Globe (Drama), NBR, Laurel Awards (Drama) winner, BAFTA, WGA winner

Distributor: United Artists

Release Date: 29. June

Budget: $3M (IMDb)

Current RT: 96%

Current IMDb: 7.8

The Competition:

Spartacus

Total Wins/Nominations: 4 wins (Actor, Color Cinematography, AD, Costumes), 2 nominations (Film Editing, Score)

Other Awards/Nominations: BAFTA, Golden Globe (Drama) winner, WGA

Distributor: Universal Pictures

Release Date: 6. October

Domestic Box Office: Highest grossing film of 1961

Budget: $12M (IMDb)

Current RT: 96%

Current IMDb: 8.0

Inherit the Wind

Total Wins/Nominations: 4 nominations (Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Film Editing, B&W Cinematography)

Other Awards/Nominations: NBR, BAFTA, Golden Globe (Drama)

Distributor: United Artists

Release Date: 21. July

Budget: $2.2M

Current RT: 91%

Current IMDb: 8.1

Never on Sunday

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 win (Song), 4 nominations (Director, Original Screenplay, Actress, B&W Costumes)

Other Awards/Nominations: BAFTA, Cannes.

Distributor: Lopert Pictures Corporation

Release Date: 1. October

Domestic Box Office: $8M (IMDb)

Budget: $0.2M (IMDb)

Current RT: 88%

Current IMDb: 7.2

Psycho

Total Wins/Nominations: 4 nominations (Director, Supporting Actress, B&W Cinematography, AD)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, Laurel Awards (Drama) 3^rdPlace, WGA

Distributor: Paramount Pictures

Release Date: 16. June

Domestic Box Office: Huge hit

Budget: $0.8M (IMDb)

Current RT: 99%

Current IMDb: 8.7

Pepe

Total Wins/Nominations: 7 nominations (Film Editing, Cinematography, AD, Costumes, Song, Musical Score, Sound)

Other Awards/Nominations: Laurel Awards (Musical) winner, Golden Globe (Musical)

Distributor: Columbia Pictures

Release Date: 21. December

Domestic Box Office: N/A

Budget: N/A

Current RT: N/A

Current IMDb: 5.0

Exodus

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 win (Score), 2 nominations (Actor, Cinematography)

Distributor: United Artists

Release Date: 15. December

Domestic Box Office: Huge hit

Budget: $4M (IMDb)

Current RT: 67%

Current IMDb: 6.7

Sunrise at Campobello

Total Wins/Nominations: 4 nominations (Actress, Sound, Color AD, Costumes)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, NBR, Golden Globe (Drama)

Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures

Release Date: 28. September

Current IMDb: 7.1

The Facts of Life

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 win (B&W Costumes), 4 nominations (Original Screenplay, Song, B&W Cinematography, AD)

Other Awards/Nominations: Laurel Awards (Comedy) 3^rdPlace, Golden Globe (Comedy), WGA

Distributor: United Artists

Release Date: 14. November

Current IMDb: 6.4

Tunes of Glory

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 nomination (Adapted Screenplay)

Other Awards/Nominations: BAFTA, Venice

Distributor: Lopert Pictures Corporation

Release Date: 20. December

Current RT: 67%

Current IMDb: 7.7

BUtterfield 8  

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 win (Actress), 1 nomination (Cinematography)

Other Awards/Nominations: Laurel Awards (Drama) 2^nd Place

Distributor: MGM

Release Date: 4. November

Domestic Box Office: $6M

Budget: $2.5M (IMDb)

Current RT: 47%

Current IMDb: 6.2

Cimarron

Total Wins/Nominations: 2 nominations (AD, Sound)

Other Awards/Nominations: N/A

Distributor: MGM

Release Date: December

Domestic Box Office: It lost money

Budget: Huge

Current RT: 57%

Current IMDb: 6.3

The Angry Silence

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 nomination (Original Screenplay)

Other Awards/Nominations: BAFTA

Distributor: Valiant Films

Release Date: 12. December

Current IMDb: 7.2

Jungfrukällan (The Virgin Spring)

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 win (Foreign Language Film), 1 nomination (B&W Costumes)

Other Awards/Nominations: Cannes

Distributor: Janus Films

Release Date: 14. November

Current RT: 94%

Current IMDb: 8.1

The Dark at the Top of the Stairs

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 nomination (Supporting Actress)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, NBR

Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures

Release Date: 22. September

Current IMDb: 7.1

Hiroshima, My Love

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 nomination (Original Screenplay)

Other Awards/Nominations: DGA, BAFTA, Cannes

Distributor: Zenith International Films

Release Date: 16. May

Current RT: 95%

Current IMDb: 7.9

Murder, Inc.

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 nomination (Supporting Actor)

Other Awards/Nominations: N/A

Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Release Date: 28. June

Current IMDb: 6.4

The Entertainer

Total Wins/Nominations: 1 nomination (Actor)

Distributor: Continental Distributing

Release Date: 3. October

Current RT: 89%

Current IMDb: 7.2