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A list of American films released in 1961 .
Top-grossing films (U.S.) [ edit ]
1961 Rank
Title
Studio
Gross
1.
The Guns of Navarone *
Columbia
$28,900,000
2.
West Side Story
United Artists
$19,646,000
3.
One Hundred and One Dalmatians
Disney
$14,000,000
4.
El Cid
Allied Artists
$12,000,000
5.
The Absent-Minded Professor *
Disney
$11,426,000
6.
The Parent Trap *
Disney
$11,322,000
7.
La Dolce Vita *
Astor/AIP
$8,000,000
8.
Lover Come Back
Universal
$7,625,000
9.
King of Kings
MGM
$6,520,000
10.
Poor White Trash *
CDA/United Artists
$6,000,000
Title
Director
Cast
Genre
Note
20,000 Eyes
Jack Leewood
Gene Nelson , Merry Anders
Thriller
20th Century Fox
The Absent-Minded Professor
Robert Stevenson
Fred MacMurray , Nancy Olson , Keenan Wynn , Tommy Kirk , Ed Wynn , Edward Andrews , Leon Ames , Elliott Reid
Comedy
Disney ; remade in 1997 ; 3 Oscar nominations
Ada
Daniel Mann
Susan Hayward , Dean Martin
Drama
MGM ; based on novel by Wirt Williams
All in a Night's Work
Joseph Anthony
Dean Martin , Shirley MacLaine , Cliff Robertson
Comedy
Paramount
All Hands on Deck
Norman Taurog
Pat Boone , Barbara Eden , Buddy Hackett
Musical
20th Century Fox
Angel Baby
Paul Wendkos
George Hamilton , Mercedes McCambridge , Joan Blondell
Drama
Allied Artists ; film debut of Burt Reynolds
Atlas
Roger Corman
Michael Forest , Barboura Morris
Adventure
American International Pictures
Armored Command
Byron Haskin
Howard Keel , Tina Louise , Earl Holliman
War
Allied Artists
Atlantis, the Lost Continent
George Pal
John Dall , Edward Platt
Science fiction
MGM
Babes in Toyland
Jack Donohue
Tommy Sands , Annette Funicello , Ray Bolger , Ed Wynn
Musical
Disney ; based on Victor Herbert operetta
Bachelor in Paradise
Jack Arnold
Bob Hope , Lana Turner , Paula Prentiss , Janis Paige
Comedy
MGM
Back Street
David Miller
Susan Hayward , John Gavin , Vera Miles
Drama
Universal ; from Fannie Hurst novel; remake of 1932 and 1941 films
Battle at Bloody Beach
Herbert Coleman
Audie Murphy , Dolores Michaels
War
20th Century Fox
The Beast of Yucca Flats
Coleman Francis
Tor Johnson
Science fiction
The Big Bankroll
Joseph M. Newman
David Janssen , Dianne Foster , Diana Dors
Crime
Allied Artists
The Big Gamble
Richard Fleischer
Stephen Boyd , Juliette Gréco , David Wayne
Adventure
20th Century Fox
The Big Show
James B. Clark
Esther Williams , Cliff Robertson , Robert Vaughn
Drama
20th Century Fox
Blast of Silence
Allen Baron
Allen Baron , Larry Tucker
Thriller
Universal
Bloodlust!
Ralph Brooke
Robert Reed , June Kenney
Horror
Crown International
Blue Hawaii
Norman Taurog
Elvis Presley , Joan Blackman , Angela Lansbury , Roland Winters
Musical
Paramount
Blueprint for Robbery
Jerry Hopper
J. Pat O'Malley , Robert Gist
Crime
Paramount Pictures
Boy Who Caught a Crook
Edward L. Cahn
Wanda Hendrix , Roger Mobley
Adventure
United Artists
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Blake Edwards
Audrey Hepburn , George Peppard , Buddy Ebsen , Patricia Neal , Martin Balsam , Mickey Rooney
Drama
Paramount ; based on Truman Capote story; won two Oscars
Bridge to the Sun
Étienne Périer
Carroll Baker , James Shigeta
Drama
MGM
Buffalo Gun
Albert C. Gannaway
Webb Pierce , Wayne Morris , Mary Ellen Kay
Western
Independent
By Love Possessed
John Sturges
Lana Turner , Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. , Jason Robards
Drama
United Artists
Title
Director
Cast
Genre
Note
The Cat Burglar
William Witney
Jack Hogan , June Kenney
Thriller
United Artists
The Children's Hour
William Wyler
Audrey Hepburn , Shirley MacLaine , James Garner
Drama
United Artists ; from Lillian Hellman play; five Oscar nominations
The Choppers
Leigh Jason
Arch Hall Jr.
Crime
Fairway International Pictures
Claudelle Inglish
Gordon Douglas
Diane McBain , Arthur Kennedy , Chad Everett
Drama
Warner Bros.
The Clown and the Kid
Edward L. Cahn
John Lupton , Michael McGreevey , Mary Webster
Drama
United Artists
A Cold Wind in August
Alexander Singer
Lola Albright , Scott Marlowe
Drama
United Artists
The Comancheros
Michael Curtiz
John Wayne , Stuart Whitman , Ina Balin
Western
20th Century Fox ; Curtiz's final film
Come September
Robert Mulligan
Rock Hudson , Gina Lollobrigida , Bobby Darin , Sandra Dee
Comedy
Universal
The Continental Twist
William J. Hole Jr.
Louis Prima , June Wilkinson , Gertrude Michael
Comedy
American International Pictures
Creature from the Haunted Sea
Roger Corman
Antony Carbone , Betsy Jones-Moreland
Science fiction
Independent
Cry for Happy
George Marshall
Glenn Ford , Donald O'Connor , James Shigeta
Comedy
Columbia
The Deadly Companions
Sam Peckinpah
Maureen O'Hara , Brian Keith , Chill Wills
Western
Pathé America ; Peckinpah's first film
The Devil at 4 O'Clock
Mervyn LeRoy
Spencer Tracy , Frank Sinatra , Grégoire Aslan
Adventure
Columbia
The Devil's Hand
William J. Hole Jr.
Robert Alda , Linda Christian , Ariadna Welter
Horror
Crown International Pictures
Diary of a Nudist
Doris Wishman
Davee Decker, Norman Casserly
Comedy
Dondi
Albert Zugsmith
David Janssen , Patti Page , Walter Winchell
Comedy
Allied Artists ; based on comic strip
El Cid
Anthony Mann
Charlton Heston , Sophia Loren , Raf Vallone , Geneviève Page , Herbert Lom
Historical epic
Allied Artists ; three Oscar nominations
The Errand Boy
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis , Brian Donlevy
Comedy
Paramount
Everything's Ducky
Don Taylor
Buddy Hackett , Mickey Rooney , Jackie Cooper
Comedy
Columbia
The Exiles
Kent Mackenzie
Documentary
Contemporary Films
The Explosive Generation
Buzz Kulik
William Shatner , Patty McCormack
Drama
United Artists
Fanny
Joshua Logan
Leslie Caron , Charles Boyer
Drama
Warner Bros. ; five Oscar nominations
Fear No More
Bernard Wiesen
Mala Powers , Jacques Bergerac , Anna Lee Carroll
Thriller
Astor Pictures
A Fever in the Blood
Vincent Sherman
Efrem Zimbalist Jr. , Angie Dickinson , Don Ameche
Drama
Warner Bros.
The Fiercest Heart
George Sherman
Stuart Whitman , Juliet Prowse , Geraldine Fitzgerald
Drama
20th Century Fox
Five Minutes to Live
Bill Karn
Johnny Cash , Cay Forrester
Drama
Somera Productions-Flower Film Productions
Flight of the Lost Balloon
Nathan Juran
Mala Powers , Marshall Thompson
Science fiction
A.I.P.
The Flight That Disappeared
Reginald Le Borg
Craig Hill , Paula Raymond
Drama
United Artists
Flower Drum Song
Henry Koster
Nancy Kwan , James Shigeta , Jack Soo , Miyoshi Umeki
Musical
Universal ; based on play ; five Oscar nominations
Force of Impulse
Saul Swimmer
Robert Alda , Jeff Donnell , J. Carrol Naish
Drama
Astor Pictures
Francis of Assisi
Michael Curtiz
Bradford Dillman , Dolores Hart , Stuart Whitman
Drama
Fox
Frontier Uprising
Edward L. Cahn
Jim Davis , Nestor Paiva
Western
United Artists
The Gambler Wore a Gun
Edward L. Cahn
Jim Davis , Merry Anders
Western
United Artists
The George Raft Story
Joseph M. Newman
Ray Danton , Jayne Mansfield , Julie London
Biography
Allied Artists
Gidget Goes Hawaiian
Paul Wendkos
Deborah Walley , James Darren
Comedy
Columbia Pictures ; sequel to Gidget
Go Naked in the World
Ranald MacDougall
Gina Lollobrigida , Anthony Franciosa , Ernest Borgnine
Drama
MGM
Gold of the Seven Saints
Gordon Douglas
Clint Walker , Roger Moore
Adventure
Warner Bros.
Goodbye Again
Anatole Litvak
Ingrid Bergman , Anthony Perkins
Drama
United Artists ; based on Françoise Sagan novel
The Great Impostor
Robert Mulligan
Tony Curtis , Edmond O'Brien , Karl Malden
Biography
Universal ; based on Robert Crichton book
Greyfriars Bobby
Don Chaffey
Donald Crisp , Laurence Naismith
Drama
Disney
Gun Fight
Edward L. Cahn
James Brown , Joan Staley
Western
United Artists
Gun Street
Edward L. Cahn
James Brown , Jean Willes , John Clarke
Western
United Artists
The Happy Thieves
George Marshall
Rex Harrison , Rita Hayworth
Comedy
United Artists
Hey, Let's Twist!
Greg Garrison
Joey Dee , Jo Ann Campbell
Musical
Paramount
Homicidal
William Castle
Glenn Corbett , Patricia Breslin , Eugenie Leontovich
Thriller
Columbia
The Honeymoon Machine
Richard Thorpe
Steve McQueen , Jim Hutton , Paula Prentiss
Comedy
MGM ; based on play by Lorenzo Semple Jr.
The Hoodlum Priest
Irvin Kershner
Don Murray , Keir Dullea
Biography
United Artists
The Hustler
Robert Rossen
Paul Newman , Jackie Gleason , Piper Laurie , George C. Scott , Myron McCormick
Drama
20th Century Fox ; based on novel by Walter Tevis ; nine Oscar nominations
Title
Director
Cast
Genre
Note
Judgment at Nuremberg
Stanley Kramer
Spencer Tracy , Marlene Dietrich , Richard Widmark , Maximilian Schell , Burt Lancaster
Drama
United Artists ; Academy Awards for Schell, screenplay; eleven nominations
King of Kings
Nicholas Ray
Jeffrey Hunter , Robert Ryan , Hurd Hatfield , Rip Torn
Biblical drama
MGM ; remake of 1927 film
The Ladies Man
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis , Lillian Briggs , Helen Traubel
Comedy
Paramount
The Last Sunset
Robert Aldrich
Rock Hudson , Kirk Douglas , Dorothy Malone
Western
Universal ; based on Howard Rigsby novel
The Last Time I Saw Archie
Jack Webb
Robert Mitchum , Jack Webb , Martha Hyer
Comedy
United Artists
The Lawbreakers
Joseph M. Newman
Jack Warden , Vera Miles
Drama
MGM
The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come
Andrew McLaglen
Jimmie Rodgers , Luana Patten
Drama
20th Century Fox
The Long Rope
William Witney
Hugh Marlowe . Alan Hale, Jr.
Western
20th Century Fox
Look in Any Window
William Alland
Paul Anka , Gigi Perreau
Drama
Allied Artists
Love in a Goldfish Bowl
Jack Sher
Tommy Sands , Fabian
Comedy
Paramount
Lover Come Back
Delbert Mann
Doris Day , Rock Hudson , Tony Randall , Edie Adams
Comedy
Universal
Mad Dog Coll
Burt Balaban
John Davis Chandler , Brooke Hayward , Jerry Orbach
Drama
Columbia Pictures
Madison Avenue
H. Bruce Humberstone
Dana Andrews , Eleanor Parker , Jeanne Crain
Drama
20th Century Fox
A Majority of One
Mervyn LeRoy
Rosalind Russell , Alec Guinness
Comedy
Warner Bros. ; based on Leonard Spigelgass play
Man-Trap
Edmond O'Brien
Jeffrey Hunter , David Janssen , Stella Stevens
Drama
Paramount
Marines, Let's Go
Raoul Walsh
Tom Tryon , David Hedison
War
20th Century Fox
The Marriage-Go-Round
Walter Lang
Julie Newmar , James Mason , Susan Hayward
Comedy
Fox ; based on Leslie Stevens play
Master of the World
William Witney
Vincent Price , Charles Bronson
Adventure
A.I.P.
The Misfits
John Huston
Clark Gable , Marilyn Monroe , Montgomery Clift
Drama, Romance, Western
United Artists ; final film for Gable, Monroe
A Matter of Morals
John Cromwell
Maj-Britt Nilsson , Mogens Wieth , Eva Dahlbeck
Drama
United Artists
Misty
James B. Clark
Arthur O'Connell , Anne Seymour , David Ladd
Family
20th Century Fox
Most Dangerous Man Alive
Allan Dwan
Ron Randell , Debra Paget
Science fiction
Columbia ; Dwan's final film
Mr. Sardonicus
William Castle
Oskar Homolka , Ronald Lewis , Audrey Dalton . Guy Rolfe
Horror
Columbia
Mysterious Island
Cy Endfield
Gary Merrill , Herbert Lom , Beth Rogan
Science fiction
Columbia ; based on Jules Verne novel
The Naked Edge
Michael Anderson
Gary Cooper , Deborah Kerr
Suspense
United Artists ; Cooper's final film
Night Tide
Curtis Harrington
Dennis Hopper , Marjorie Cameron , Linda Lawson
Fantasy
A.I.P.
Nude on the Moon
Doris Wishman
Adult
Ole Rex
Robert Hinkle
Bill Coontz , Billy Hughes
Western
Universal
On the Double
Melville Shavelson
Danny Kaye , Dana Wynter
Comedy
Paramount
One-Eyed Jacks
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando , Karl Malden , Katy Jurado
Western
Paramount ; only film directed by Brando
One Hundred and One Dalmatians
Clyde Geronimi , Hamilton Luske , Wolfgang Reitherman
Ben Wright , Betty Lou Gerson , Rod Taylor (voices)
Animated
Disney ; live-action remake in 1996
One, Two, Three
Billy Wilder
James Cagney , Horst Bucholtz , Pamela Tiffin
Comedy
United Artists ; Cagney's last film until 1981
Operation Bottleneck
Edward L. Cahn
Ron Foster , Miiko Taka
War
United Artists
Operation Eichmann
R.G. Springsteen
Werner Klemperer , Ruta Lee
Drama
Allied Artists
The Outsider
Delbert Mann
Tony Curtis , James Franciscus , Bruce Bennett
Biography
Universal ; story of Ira Hayes
The Parent Trap
David Swift
Hayley Mills , Brian Keith , Maureen O'Hara
Comedy
Disney ; remade in 1998
Paris Blues
Martin Ritt
Sidney Poitier , Paul Newman , Joanne Woodward
Comedy
United Artists
Parrish
Delmer Daves
Troy Donahue , Claudette Colbert , Karl Malden
Drama
Warner Bros.
The Phantom Planet
William Marshall
Coleen Gray , Anthony Dexter
Science fiction
A.I.P.
Pirates of Tortuga
Robert D. Webb
Ken Scott , Letícia Román
Adventure
20th Century Fox
The Pit and the Pendulum
Roger Corman
Vincent Price , John Kerr
Horror
A.I.P. ; from Edgar Allan Poe story
The Pleasure of His Company
George Seaton
Fred Astaire , Debbie Reynolds , Lilli Palmer , Tab Hunter
Comedy
Paramount ; Golden Globe for Astaire
Pocketful of Miracles
Frank Capra
Bette Davis , Glenn Ford , Hope Lange , Arthur O'Connell , Thomas Mitchell , Peter Falk , Ann-Margret
Comedy
United Artists ; Capra's final film; based on a story by Damon Runyon
Police Dog Story
Edward L. Cahn
James Brown , Merry Anders
Crime
United Artists
Portrait of a Mobster
Joseph Pevney
Vic Morrow , Leslie Parrish
Crime
Warner Bros.
Posse from Hell
Herbert Coleman
Audie Murphy , Lee Van Cleef , Vic Morrow
Western
Universal
The Purple Hills
Maury Dexter
Gene Nelson , Kent Taylor
Western
20th Century Fox
Question 7
Stuart Rosenberg
Michael Gwynn , Erik Schumann
Drama
A Raisin in the Sun
Daniel Petrie
Sidney Poitier , Ruby Dee
Drama
Columbia ; based on Lorraine Hansberry play; remade in 2008
Reptilicus
Sidney W. Pink
Carl Ottosen
Science fiction
Saga Studios ; Danish-American production
Return to Peyton Place
José Ferrer
Carol Lynley , Jeff Chandler , Eleanor Parker
Drama
20th Century Fox ; sequel to Peyton Place
The Right Approach
David Butler
Frankie Vaughan , Martha Hyer , Juliet Prowse
Drama
20th Century Fox
Ring of Fire
Andrew L. Stone
David Janssen , Joyce Taylor
Drama
MGM
Romanoff and Juliet
Peter Ustinov
John Gavin , Sandra Dee
Comedy
Universal
The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone
Jose Quintero
Vivien Leigh , Warren Beatty
Drama
Warner Bros. ; based on Tennessee Williams play
Title
Director
Cast
Genre
Note
Sail a Crooked Ship
Irving Brecher
Robert Wagner , Dolores Hart , Ernie Kovacs
Comedy
Columbia
Sanctuary
Tony Richardson
Lee Remick , Yves Montand
Drama
20th Century Fox
The Second Time Around
Vincent Sherman
Debbie Reynolds , Steve Forrest , Andy Griffith
Comedy
20th Century Fox
Secret of Deep Harbor
Edward L. Cahn
Ron Foster , Merry Anders
Thriller
United Artists
The Secret Ways
Phil Karlson
Richard Widmark , Sonja Ziemann
Thriller
Universal
The Sergeant Was a Lady
Bernard Glasser
Venetia Stevenson , Bill Williams
Comedy
Universal
Seven Women from Hell
Robert D. Webb
Patricia Owens , Denise Darcel , Yvonne Craig
Drama
20th Century Fox
The Silent Call
John A. Bushelman
Gail Russell , David McLean
Drama
20th Century Fox
The Sinister Urge
Ed Wood
Kenne Duncan , Jean Fontaine
Drama
Headliner Productions
The Sins of Rachel Cade
Gordon Douglas
Angie Dickinson , Peter Finch , Roger Moore
Drama
Warner Bros.
Sniper's Ridge
John A. Bushelman
Jack Ging , Stanley Clements
War
20th Century Fox
Snow White and the Three Stooges
Walter Lang
The Three Stooges , Carol Heiss
Comedy
20th Century Fox
Something Wild
Jack Garfein
Carroll Baker , Ralph Meeker
Drama
United Artists
Splendor in the Grass
Elia Kazan
Warren Beatty , Natalie Wood , Barbara Loden
Drama
Warner Bros. ; Oscar for writer William Inge
Square of Violence
Leonardo Bercovici
Broderick Crawford , Valentina Cortese , Bibi Andersson
War
MGM
The Steel Claw
George Montgomery
George Montgomery
Action
Warner Bros.
Stop! Look! and Laugh!
Don Appell, Louis Brandt
The Three Stooges , Paul Winchell
Comedy
Columbia
Summer and Smoke
Peter Glenville
Laurence Harvey , Geraldine Page , Rita Moreno , Thomas Gomez , Una Merkel
Drama
Paramount ; from play by Tennessee Williams ; four Oscar nominations
Susan Slade
Delmer Daves
Troy Donahue , Connie Stevens , Dorothy McGuire
Drama
Warner Bros.
Swingin' Along
Charles Barton
Peter Marshall , Tommy Noonan , Barbara Eden
Comedy
20th Century Fox
Tammy Tell Me True
Harry Keller
Sandra Dee , John Gavin
Romance
Universal ; second film in Tammy series
Teenage Millionaire
Lawrence Doheny
Jimmy Clanton , Diane Jergens
Comedy
United Artists
Three Blondes in His Life
Leon Chooluck
Jock Mahoney , Greta Thyssen
Comedy
Golden Film Productions
A Thunder of Drums
Joseph M. Newman
Richard Boone , George Hamilton , Luana Patten
Western
MGM
Tomboy and the Champ
Francis D. Lyon
Candy Moore , Ben Johnson
Western
Universal
Too Late Blues
John Cassavetes
Bobby Darin , Stella Stevens
Drama
Paramount
Town Without Pity
Gottfried Reinhardt
Kirk Douglas , E. G. Marshall , Robert Blake
Drama
United Artists
Twenty Plus Two
Joseph M. Newman
David Janssen , Jeanne Crain , Dina Merrill
Drama
Allied Artists
Twist Around the Clock
Oscar Rudolph
Chubby Checker , Dion DiMucci
Musical
Columbia
The Two Little Bears
Randall Hood
Eddie Albert , Jane Wyatt
Comedy
20th Century Fox
Two Loves
Charles Walters
Shirley MacLaine , Laurence Harvey
Romance
MGM
Two Rode Together
John Ford
James Stewart , Richard Widmark , Shirley Jones
Western
Columbia
Underworld U.S.A.
Samuel Fuller
Cliff Robertson , Beatrice Kay
Film noir
Columbia
Valley of the Dragons
Edward Bernds
Cesare Danova , Sean McClory , Joan Staley
Science fiction
Columbia
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Irwin Allen
Walter Pidgeon , Joan Fontaine , Barbara Eden
Science fiction
20th Century Fox ; became TV series
Walk the Angry Beach
John Hayes
Rue McClanahan
Drama
War Is Hell
Burt Topper
Audie Murphy , Judy Dan
War
Allied Artists
West Side Story
Robert Wise , Jerome Robbins
Richard Beymer , Natalie Wood , Rita Moreno , Russ Tamblyn , George Chakiris , Simon Oakland
Musical
United Artists ; won 10 Oscars ; based on stage musical and Romeo and Juliet
When the Clock Strikes
Edward L. Cahn
James Brown , Merry Anders
Crime
United Artists
Wild in the Country
Philip Dunne
Elvis Presley , Tuesday Weld , Hope Lange , Millie Perkins , John Ireland , Gary Lockwood
Drama
20th Century Fox
Wings of Chance
Eddie Dew
James Brown , Frances Rafferty
Action
Universal
The Wizard of Baghdad
George Sherman
Dick Shawn , Diane Baker
Comedy
20th Century Fox
X-15
Richard Donner
Charles Bronson , Kenneth Tobey , David McLean , Mary Tyler Moore
Adventure
United Artists
You Have to Run Fast
Edward L. Cahn
Craig Hill , Grant Richards
Drama
United Artists
The Young Doctors
Phil Karlson
Ben Gazzara , Fredric March , Dick Clark
Drama
United Artists
The Young Savages
John Frankenheimer
Burt Lancaster , Dina Merrill , Shelley Winters
Drama
United Artists
See also [ edit ]
External links [ edit ]
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