Oscar Ledger › Ceremonies › 34th Academy Awards

West Side Story poster
Best PictureWest Side Story

34th Academy Awards

The 1961 file: winners first, ballot trails on demand, and the films that shaped the ceremony.

Year 1961
Nominations 129
Categories Decided All 30
Top Winner West Side Story
Full Ballot Open Full Ledger

Ceremony at a glance

Best Picture went to West Side Story. The winning leader is West Side Story with 10 wins. The most nominated title is West Side Story with 11 nominations. 35 winners named across 30 categories.

Most awarded titles

  1. West Side Story 10 wins11 nominations
  2. Judgment at Nuremberg 2 wins11 nominations
  3. The Hustler 2 wins9 nominations
  4. Breakfast at Tiffany's 2 wins5 nominations
  5. The Guns of Navarone 1 win7 nominations

Best Picture Nominees

The major races

The 1961 ceremony centers on West Side Story. Picture, Director, Actor and Actress: 4 of 4 decided, 20 nominees in all.

Complete Ceremony Ledger

The winner in every category. Open the full ballot to see every nominee.

Open Full Ballot

25 categories129 records35 winners

1 winner5 records

4 more nominees in the full ballot

1 winner5 records

4 more nominees in the full ballot

1 winner5 records

4 more nominees in the full ballot

1 winner5 records

4 more nominees in the full ballot

1 winner5 records

4 more nominees in the full ballot

1 winner5 records

4 more nominees in the full ballot

1 winner5 records

4 more nominees in the full ballot

1 winner5 records

4 more nominees in the full ballot

1 winner5 records

4 more nominees in the full ballot

1 winner5 records

4 more nominees in the full ballot

1 winner5 records

4 more nominees in the full ballot

1 winner5 records

4 more nominees in the full ballot

1 winner2 records

1 more nominee in the full ballot

1 winner5 records

4 more nominees in the full ballot

1 winner5 records

4 more nominees in the full ballot

1 winner5 records

4 more nominees in the full ballot

1 winner5 records

4 more nominees in the full ballot

1 winner5 records

4 more nominees in the full ballot

1 winner5 records

4 more nominees in the full ballot

1 winner2 records

1 more nominee in the full ballot

1 winner5 records

4 more nominees in the full ballot

1 winner5 records

4 more nominees in the full ballot

1 winner5 records

4 more nominees in the full ballot

1 winner5 records

4 more nominees in the full ballot

1 winner5 records

4 more nominees in the full ballot

Ceremony Highlights

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

SCIENTIFIC OR TECHNICAL AWARD (Class II)
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

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

James Dale, S. WILSON, H.E. RICE, JOHN RUDE, LAURIE ATKIN, WADSWORTH E. POHL, H. PEASGOOD and TECHNICOLOR CORP.

Laboratory

Sortable ledger

Every nomination from this ceremony as a sortable table, for research that needs the raw record beside the posters and winners above.

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Data sourced from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. • Structured, normalized, and maintained by Lunara Film (Dalton Johnson).

98 ceremonies (1927/28–2025) • Click nominees and films to open Lunara Film profiles; IMDb links are provided for verification. On mobile, tap the + icon to view full details.

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