Oscar Ledger › Ceremony › 34

West Side Story poster
Best Picture

Oscar Ledger Year Dossier

34th Dossier

The 1961 file for 34th Academy Awards: winners first, ballot trails on demand, and the films that shaped the ceremony.

Year 1961
Best Picture West Side Story
Winner Record 35/30
Top Winner West Side Story
All Ceremonies Full Ballot Open Full Ledger

Annual Thesis

The 1961 ceremony centers on West Side Story.

This dossier opens with the four races readers check first: Picture, Director, Actor, and Actress. 4 of 4 major races have winners recorded, with 20 major-field records feeding into the full 35/30 ceremony ledger below.

4major races 20major-field records 4/4winners recorded
Full Ballot Winner Circle All Ceremonies Best Picture Best Director Best Actor Best Actress

Ceremony Snapshot

A live, winner-driven snapshot of this ceremony.

Best Picture went to West Side Story. The winning leader is West Side Story with 10 wins.

West Side Story 10 wins | 11 nominations
Judgment at Nuremberg 2 wins | 11 nominations
The Hustler 2 wins | 9 nominations
Breakfast at Tiffany's 2 wins | 5 nominations
The Guns of Navarone 1 win | 7 nominations
Winner Record 35/30

Categories settled and marked as winners in the ledger.

Open Data Explorer

Best Picture Nominees

The shortlist most readers look for first: 5 Best Picture nominees from this ceremony.

129Nominations
35Wins
30Categories
1927/28-2025Ledger span

Major Races

The Four Races That Shape the Night

A fast editorial scan of Picture, Director, Actor, and Actress before the full ceremony ledger opens out below.

Open Full Ballot

Complete Ceremony Ledger

Fast view shows every category and winner first, with nominee groups linked to the full ballot when you need the deep ledger.

Open Full Ballot

25 categories 129 records 35 winners Nominees summarized for speed

Category

Best Picture

1 winner / 5 records

4 nominees summarized Open Full Category Ballot

Category

Best Director

1 winner / 5 records

4 nominees summarized Open Full Category Ballot

Category

Best Actress

1 winner / 5 records

4 nominees summarized Open Full Category Ballot

Category

Best Actor

1 winner / 5 records

4 nominees summarized Open Full Category Ballot

1 winner / 5 records

4 nominees summarized Open Full Category Ballot

1 winner / 5 records

4 nominees summarized Open Full Category Ballot

1 winner / 5 records

4 nominees summarized Open Full Category Ballot

1 winner / 5 records

4 nominees summarized Open Full Category Ballot

1 winner / 5 records

4 nominees summarized Open Full Category Ballot

1 winner / 5 records

4 nominees summarized Open Full Category Ballot

1 winner / 5 records

4 nominees summarized Open Full Category Ballot

Category

FILM EDITING

1 winner / 5 records

4 nominees summarized Open Full Category Ballot

Category

VISUAL EFFECTS

1 winner / 2 records

1 nominee summarized Open Full Category Ballot

1 winner / 5 records

4 nominees summarized Open Full Category Ballot

1 winner / 5 records

4 nominees summarized Open Full Category Ballot

1 winner / 5 records

4 nominees summarized Open Full Category Ballot

1 winner / 5 records

4 nominees summarized Open Full Category Ballot

1 winner / 5 records

4 nominees summarized Open Full Category Ballot

1 winner / 5 records

4 nominees summarized Open Full Category Ballot

1 winner / 2 records

1 nominee summarized Open Full Category Ballot

1 winner / 5 records

4 nominees summarized Open Full Category Ballot

1 winner / 5 records

4 nominees summarized Open Full Category Ballot

1 winner / 5 records

4 nominees summarized Open Full Category Ballot

1 winner / 5 records

4 nominees summarized Open Full Category Ballot

Category

SOUND MIXING

1 winner / 5 records

4 nominees summarized Open Full Category Ballot

Ceremony Highlights

Poster-first highlights from this ceremony, led by winners and the titles that defined the night.

Categories in this ceremony

Best Actor Best Supporting Actor Best Actress Best Supporting Actress ART DIRECTION (Black-and-White) ART DIRECTION (Color) Best Picture CINEMATOGRAPHY (Black-and-White) CINEMATOGRAPHY (Color) COSTUME DESIGN (Black-and-White) COSTUME DESIGN (Color) Best Director DOCUMENTARY (Feature) DOCUMENTARY (Short Subject) FILM EDITING HONORARY AWARD INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM IRVING G. THALBERG MEMORIAL AWARD JEAN HERSHOLT HUMANITARIAN AWARD MUSIC (Original Score) MUSIC (Original Song Score or Adaptation Score) MUSIC (Original Song) SCIENTIFIC OR TECHNICAL AWARD (Class II) SCIENTIFIC OR TECHNICAL AWARD (Class III) SHORT FILM (Animated) SHORT FILM (Live Action) SOUND MIXING VISUAL EFFECTS WRITING (Adapted Screenplay) WRITING (Original Screenplay)

Winner Circle

A category-by-category winner roll call generated directly from the ceremony ledger.

SCIENTIFIC OR TECHNICAL AWARD (Class II) Winner
SCIENTIFIC OR TECHNICAL AWARD (Class II)

20Th Century-Fox, E.I. Sponable, Herbert E. Bragg, Deluxe Laboratories Inc., F.D. Leslie, R.D. Whitmore, A.A. Alden, Endel Pool and James B. Gordon

Laboratory

Research Mode

Keep the ceremony page visual first. Open the raw table only when the research asks for it.

Poster view is the default Lunara surface. Data Explorer stays here for sortable rows, filters, and deep record-level digging when you actually need the raw ledger.

Poster View Data Explorer