1961 (Features/Shorts) Best to Worst
by J_Frank_Parnell | created - 6 months ago | updated - 1 week ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Hustler (1961)
Not Rated | 134 min | Drama, Sport
An up-and-coming pool player plays a long-time champion in a single high-stakes match.
Director: Robert Rossen | Stars: Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, Piper Laurie, George C. Scott
Votes: 86,812 | Gross: $8.28M
10/10
2. Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
Approved | 179 min | Drama, War
In 1948, an American court in occupied Germany tries four Nazis judged for war crimes.
Director: Stanley Kramer | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Marlene Dietrich
Votes: 85,561
10/10
3. One, Two, Three (1961)
Not Rated | 104 min | Comedy
In West Berlin during the Cold War, a Coca-Cola executive is given the task of taking care of his boss' socialite daughter.
Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: James Cagney, Horst Buchholz, Pamela Tiffin, Arlene Francis
Votes: 22,995
10/10*
4. The Innocents (1961)
Not Rated | 100 min | Horror
A young governess for two children becomes convinced that the house and grounds are haunted.
Director: Jack Clayton | Stars: Deborah Kerr, Peter Wyngarde, Megs Jenkins, Michael Redgrave
Votes: 33,073 | Gross: $2.62M
9/10
5. Blast of Silence (1961)
Approved | 77 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A hired killer from Cleveland has a job to do on a second-string mob boss in New York, but a special girl from his past and a gun dealer with pet rats get in his way.
Director: Allen Baron | Stars: Allen Baron, Molly McCarthy, Larry Tucker, Peter Clune
Votes: 5,670
9/10
6. The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961)
Unrated | 99 min | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
When the U.S. and Russia unwittingly test atomic bombs at the same time, it alters the nutation (axis of rotation) of the Earth.
Director: Val Guest | Stars: Edward Judd, Janet Munro, Leo McKern, Michael Goodliffe
Votes: 6,205
9/10
7. The Guns of Navarone (1961)
Not Rated | 158 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A team of Allied saboteurs is assigned an impossible mission: infiltrate an impregnable Nazi-held Greek island and destroy the two enormous long-range field guns that prevent the rescue of 2,000 trapped British soldiers.
Director: J. Lee Thompson | Stars: David Niven, Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, Anthony Quayle
Votes: 55,420 | Gross: $28.90M
9/10
8. Paris Blues (1961)
Approved | 98 min | Drama, Music, Romance
During the 1960s, two American expatriate jazz musicians living in Paris meet and fall in love with two American tourist girls.
Director: Martin Ritt | Stars: Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Sidney Poitier, Louis Armstrong
Votes: 3,961 | Gross: $1.30M
8/10
9. Splendor in the Grass (1961)
Not Rated | 124 min | Drama, Romance
The love of high school sweethearts Deanie and Bud is weighed down by the oppressive expectations of their parents and society in smalltown Kansas in 1928, threatening the future of their relationship.
Director: Elia Kazan | Stars: Natalie Wood, Warren Beatty, Pat Hingle, Audrey Christie
Votes: 22,649 | Gross: $8.72M
8/10
10. Zip 'N Snort (1961)
Approved | 6 min | Animation, Family, Short
Wile E. Coyote tries to catch the Road Runner using a sling shot, a grenade in a toy airplane whose propeller detaches and leaves the plane behind, a cannon on a cliff ledge that gives way,... See full summary »
Director: Chuck Jones | Stars: Mel Blanc, Paul Julian
Votes: 566
8/10
11. The Last Hungry Cat (1961)
7 min | Family, Animation, Short
Sylvester Cat slips when making a grab for Tweety Bird in Granny's flat, and falls dazed to the floor as one of Tweety's feathers lands in his mouth. Tweety runs off. Sylvester comes to and... See full summary »
Directors: Friz Freleng, Hawley Pratt | Stars: Mel Blanc, June Foray, Ben Frommer
Votes: 558
7/10
12. Lickety-Splat (1961)
Approved | 6 min | Family, Animation, Short
Wile E. Coyote releases a number of explosive darts to attack the Road Runner, only to have them bedevil him continually during his subsequent attempts.
Directors: Chuck Jones, Abe Levitow | Stars: Mel Blanc, Paul Julian, Paul Lynde
Votes: 394
7/10
13. Compressed Hare (1961)
Approved | 7 min | Family, Animation, Short
Bugs battles Wile E. Coyote. A ten billion volt electric magnet draws everything imaginable.
Directors: Chuck Jones, Maurice Noble | Star: Mel Blanc
Votes: 541
7/10
14. Town Without Pity (1961)
Approved | 105 min | Crime, Drama
Four American soldiers stationed near a German village face death in the rape of a local girl, and are defended by outside counsel Major Steve Garrett.
Director: Gottfried Reinhardt | Stars: Kirk Douglas, Barbara Rütting, Christine Kaufmann, E.G. Marshall
Votes: 1,983
6/10
15. Victim (1961)
Not Rated | 100 min | Drama
A closeted lawyer risks his career to bring a blackmailer to justice.
Director: Basil Dearden | Stars: Dirk Bogarde, Sylvia Syms, Dennis Price, Anthony Nicholls
Votes: 7,207
6/10
16. El Cid (1961)
Approved | 182 min | Biography, Drama, History
The fabled Spanish hero Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar (a.k.a. El Cid) overcomes a family vendetta and court intrigue to defend Christian Spain against the Moors.
Director: Anthony Mann | Stars: Charlton Heston, Sophia Loren, Raf Vallone, Geneviève Page
Votes: 15,693 | Gross: $26.62M
6/10
17. Whistle Down the Wind (1961)
Unrated | 99 min | Crime, Drama
When an injured wife murderer takes refuge on a remote Lancashire farm, the owner's three children mistakenly believe him to be the Second Coming of Christ.
Director: Bryan Forbes | Stars: Alan Bates, Bernard Lee, Hayley Mills, Norman Bird
Votes: 3,751
6/10
18. The Young Savages (1961)
Not Rated | 103 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A district attorney investigates three white teenagers accused of murdering a blind Puerto Rican kid.
Director: John Frankenheimer | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Dina Merrill, Edward Andrews, Vivian Nathan
Votes: 2,939
6/10
19. Daffy's Inn Trouble (1961)
TV-PG | 6 min | Animation, Short, Adventure
Daffy Duck vies with Porky Pig in the Western frontier hotel business. Porky has more success, attracting hordes of customers with a live-action saloon party. So, Daffy decides to "... See full summary »
Director: Robert McKimson | Star: Mel Blanc
Votes: 365
6/10
20. Prince Violent (1961)
Approved | 7 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
Bugs Bunny tries to protect a castle by kicking Sam the Terrible out and not letting him back in.
Directors: Friz Freleng, Hawley Pratt | Star: Mel Blanc
Votes: 389
6/10
21. The Abominable Snow Rabbit (1961)
TV-G | 7 min | Animation, Short, Adventure
Bugs and Daffy run into the abominable snowman in the Himalayas.
Directors: Chuck Jones, Maurice Noble | Star: Mel Blanc
Votes: 1,060
6/10
22. One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)
G | 79 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
When a litter of Dalmatian puppies are abducted by the minions of Cruella De Vil, the owners must find them before she uses them for a diabolical fashion statement.
Directors: Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, Wolfgang Reitherman | Stars: Rod Taylor, Betty Lou Gerson, J. Pat O'Malley, Martha Wentworth
Votes: 182,305 | Gross: $144.88M
5/10*
23. Goodbye Again (1961)
Not Rated | 120 min | Drama, Romance
A successful business woman, dissatisfied with her current, philandering lover, starts an affair with a much younger man.
Director: Anatole Litvak | Stars: Ingrid Bergman, Yves Montand, Anthony Perkins, Jessie Royce Landis
Votes: 3,122
5/10
24. Underworld U.S.A. (1961)
Not Rated | 99 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A teenager who witnesses the murder of his father vows to exact revenge on the four mobsters involved in the killing.
Director: Samuel Fuller | Stars: Cliff Robertson, Dolores Dorn, Beatrice Kay, Paul Dubov
Votes: 3,927
5/10
25. Master of the World (1961)
Approved | 102 min | Adventure, Sci-Fi
In 1868, an American scientist and his team become hostages of fanatical pacifist Robur who uses his airship Albatross to destroy military targets on Earth.
Director: William Witney | Stars: Vincent Price, Charles Bronson, Henry Hull, Mary Webster
Votes: 3,521
5/10
26. West Side Story (1961)
Approved | 153 min | Crime, Drama, Musical
Two youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy.
Directors: Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise | Stars: Natalie Wood, George Chakiris, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn
Votes: 121,227 | Gross: $43.66M
5/10
27. Beep Prepared (1961)
Approved | 6 min | Animation, Family, Short
Wile E. Coyote tries and fails to catch the Road Runner using his foot extended to trip, an arrow, a hole in the road, a winged-rocket outfit, two electronically activated machine guns, and... See full summary »
Directors: Chuck Jones, Maurice Noble | Star: Paul Julian
Votes: 742
5/10
28. Scream of Fear (1961)
Approved | 81 min | Horror, Thriller
A wheelchair-bound young woman returns to her father's estate after 10 years, and although she's told he's away, she keeps seeing his dead body on the estate.
Director: Seth Holt | Stars: Susan Strasberg, Ann Todd, Ronald Lewis, Christopher Lee
Votes: 5,499
5/10
29. Donald and the Wheel (1961)
Approved | 17 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
A father tells his son the invention of the wheel was most important; to prove it, the two hipsters visit the inventor caveman Donald Duck. There follows a survey of the progress of ... See full summary »
Director: Hamilton Luske | Stars: Bill Cole, Bill Lee, Thurl Ravenscroft, Max Smith
Votes: 301
5/10
30. Mysterious Island (1961)
Not Rated | 101 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
During the Civil War a group of Union soldiers, a Confederate and a civilian escape the stockade using a hot-air balloon and end up on a strange Pacific island.
Director: Cy Endfield | Stars: Michael Craig, Joan Greenwood, Michael Callan, Gary Merrill
Votes: 8,548
4/10
31. Mad Dog Coll (1961)
88 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Story of Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll, a notorious gangland killer in the 1930s.
Director: Burt Balaban | Stars: John Davis Chandler, Kay Doubleday, Brooke Hayward, Neil Burstyn
Votes: 372
4/10
32. One-Eyed Jacks (1961)
Not Rated | 141 min | Drama, Western
After robbing a Mexican bank, Dad Longworth takes the loot and leaves his partner Rio to be captured, but Rio escapes and searches for Dad in California.
Director: Marlon Brando | Stars: Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Pina Pellicer, Katy Jurado
Votes: 13,278 | Gross: $9.37M
4/10
33. The Litterbug (1961)
8 min | Family, Animation, Comedy
Donald and his nephews are litterbugs: they drop garbage everywhere they go - even when they are out for a drive in Donald's car - until they are stopped by a policeman who makes them pick ... See full synopsis »
Directors: Hamilton Luske, Jack Hannah | Stars: John Dehner, Jud Conlon's Rhythmaires
Votes: 277
4/10
34. Nelly's Folly (1961)
Approved | 7 min | Animation, Short, Drama
Nelly the singing giraffe begins a singing career, but finds that chasing fame brings her nothing but unhappiness.
Directors: Chuck Jones, Abe Levitow, Maurice Noble | Stars: Mel Blanc, Gloria Wood, John A. Ford, Ed Prentiss
Votes: 388
4/10
35. All Hands on Deck (1961)
Approved | 100 min | Comedy, Musical
Follows a Navy ship that has a captain obsessed with catching a fish, a singing executive officer who wants to get married, and an Indian with a turkey as a pet.
Director: Norman Taurog | Stars: Pat Boone, Buddy Hackett, Dennis O'Keefe, Barbara Eden
Votes: 299
3/10
36. The Naked Edge (1961)
Approved | 97 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Five years after George Radcliffe was the chief witness in a high profile murder case, his wife receives a blackmailing letter accusing him of the crime.
Director: Michael Anderson | Stars: Gary Cooper, Deborah Kerr, Eric Portman, Diane Cilento
Votes: 1,478
3/10
37. The Pied Piper of Guadalupe (1961)
Approved | 6 min | Family, Animation, Short
Sylvester the cat imitates the Pied Piper of Hamelin to lure a group of mice into a jug that he seals with a cork. But Speedy Gonzales won't be hypnotized by Sylvester's flute and gradually rescues his friends from Sylvester's clutches.
Directors: Friz Freleng, Hawley Pratt | Star: Mel Blanc
Votes: 648
3/10
38. Cannery Woe (1961)
Approved | 6 min | Family, Animation, Short
Speedy Gonzales is summoned to help supply cheese for a Mexican mouse festival, and he makes repeated raids on a cheese store guarded by Sylvester Cat, whose attempts to stop Speedy become extreme.
Director: Robert McKimson | Stars: Mel Blanc, Tom Holland
Votes: 338
3/10
39. Snow White and the Three Stooges (1961)
Approved | 107 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
An ice-skating Snow White finds refuge from the Wicked Queen with the Three Stooges.
Directors: Walter Lang, Frank Tashlin | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Carol Heiss, Joe DeRita
Votes: 1,183 | Gross: $2.62M
3/10
40. Then There Were Three (1961)
82 min | War, Drama
US Army personnel patrolling through Italy during World War 2, are being killed off by an unknown German agent posing as a fellow soldier.
Director: Alex Nicol | Stars: Frank Latimore, Alex Nicol, Barry Cahill, Sidney Clute
Votes: 135
2/10
41. The Devil at 4 O'Clock (1961)
Approved | 126 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
A crusty, eccentric priest recruits three reluctant convicts to help him rescue a children's leper colony from a Pacific island menaced by a smoldering volcano.
Director: Mervyn LeRoy | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Frank Sinatra, Kerwin Mathews, Jean-Pierre Aumont
Votes: 2,544
2/10
42. X-15 (1961)
107 min | Drama, History
During the Cold War in the 1960s the U.S.A.F. and NASA tested the experimental rocket-powered aircraft X-15 that set altitude and speed records and reached the edge of outer space.
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: David McLean, Charles Bronson, Ralph Taeger, Brad Dexter
Votes: 755
2/10
43. Switchin' Kitten (1961)
TV-PG | 9 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
Tom finds Jerry helping a mad scientist switch the minds of various creatures.
Director: Gene Deitch | Stars: Gene Deitch, Allen Swift
Votes: 473
2/10
44. The Choppers (1961)
Not Rated | 66 min | Crime, Drama
A gang of teenage delinquents terrorize a small community by stealing cars and stripping them for parts, then selling the parts to a crooked junkyard owner. The police and an insurance company investigator set out to break up the gang.
Director: Leigh Jason | Stars: Arch Hall Jr., Robert Paget, Burr Middleton, Rex Holman
Votes: 443
1/10
45. The Phantom Planet (1961)
Unrated | 82 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
After an invisible asteroid draws an astronaut and his ship to its surface, he is miniaturized by the phantom planet's exotic atmosphere.
Director: William Marshall | Stars: Dean Fredericks, Coleen Gray, Anthony Dexter, Francis X. Bushman
Votes: 3,320
1/10
46. The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961)
Unrated | 54 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A defecting Soviet scientist is hit by a nuclear explosion near Yucca Flats and roams around as a beast.
Director: Coleman Francis | Stars: Douglas Mellor, Barbara Francis, Bing Stafford, Larry Aten
Votes: 10,431
1/10
47. It's Greek to Me-ow! (1961)
TV-G | 7 min | Animation, Short, Adventure
The usual Tom and Jerry hijinks, set in ancient Greece; parts are set in the streets, parts in a temple.
Director: Gene Deitch | Star: Allen Swift
Votes: 443
1/10
48. Down and Outing (1961)
TV-PG | 7 min | Animation, Short, Adventure
Tom and Jerry head out for a fishing trip and do their best to get rid of each other.
Director: Gene Deitch | Star: Allen Swift
Votes: 494
1/10
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