1961 Golden Globes: Winners and Nominees

49 films were recognised at the 1961 Golden Globe Awards, across 20 categories. 25 of them took home at least one award.

The biggest winner of the year was The Apartment, with 3 awards. The categories below run from New Star Of The Year - Actor, New Star Of The Year - Actress and Actress In A Leading Role - Musical Or Comedy to the smaller prizes, and in every one the winner is listed first, followed by the other nominees.

Each title links to the film's full award history at all four awards, and the links at the bottom step to the previous and next ceremony.

Last updated August 12, 2026

New Star Of The Year - Actor

Because They're Young(1960)
Michael Callan
Winner
Desire in the Dust(1960)
Brett Halsey
Winner
House of Usher(1960)
Mark Damon
Winner
Hell to Eternity(1960)
David Janssen
Murder, Inc.(1960)
Peter Falk
Seven Samurai (The Magnificent Seven)(1954)
Robert Vaughn
The Magnificent Seven(1960)
Robert Vaughn

New Star Of The Year - Actress

From the Terrace(1960)
Ina Balin
Winner
Pollyanna(1960)
Hayley Mills
Winner
The World of Suzie Wong(1960)
Nancy Kwan
Winner
Exodus(1960)
Jill Hayworth
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs(1960)
Shirley Knight
The Marriage-Go-Round(1961)
Julie Newmar

Actress In A Leading Role - Musical Or Comedy

The Apartment(1960)
Shirley MacLaine
Winner
Bells Are Ringing(1960)
Judy Holliday
It Started in Naples(1960)
Sophia Loren
Song Without End(1960)
– Capucine
The Facts of Life(1960)
Lucille Ball

Best Director - Motion Picture

Sons and Lovers(1960)
Jack Cardiff
Winner
Elmer Gantry(1960)
Richard Brooks
Spartacus(1960)
Stanley Kubrick
The Apartment(1960)
Billy Wilder
The Sundowners(1960)
Fred Zinnemann

Best Motion Picture - Drama

Spartacus(1960)
Winner
Elmer Gantry(1960)
Inherit the Wind(1960)
Inherit the Wind - 1960
Sons and Lovers(1960)
Sunrise at Campobello(1960)

Best Original Score - Motion Picture

The Alamo(1960)
Dimitri Tiomkin
Winner
Exodus(1960)
Ernest Gold
Pepe(1960)
Johnny Green
Spartacus(1960)
Alex North
The World of Suzie Wong(1960)
George Duning

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

Elmer Gantry(1960)
Burt Lancaster
Winner
Inherit the Wind(1960)
Spencer Tracy
Sons and Lovers(1960)
Dean Stockwell
Sons and Lovers(1960)
Trevor Howard
Spartacus(1960)
Laurence Olivier

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

The Apartment(1960)
Jack Lemmon
Winner
Pepe(1960)
– Cantinflas
Song Without End(1960)
Dirk Bogarde
The Facts of Life(1960)
Bob Hope
The Grass Is Greener(1960)
Cary Grant

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

Exodus(1960)
Sal Mineo
Winner
Spartacus(1960)
Woody Strode
Spartacus(1960)
Peter Ustinov
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs(1960)
Lee Kinsolving
The Plunderers(1960)
Ray Stricklyn

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

Sunrise at Campobello(1960)
Greer Garson
Winner
BUtterfield 8(1960)
Elizabeth Taylor
Elmer Gantry(1960)
Jean Simmons
Midnight Lace(1960)
Doris Day
The World of Suzie Wong(1960)
Nancy Kwan

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

Psycho(1960)
Janet Leigh
Winner
Elmer Gantry(1960)
Shirley Jones
From the Terrace(1960)
Ina Balin
Sons and Lovers(1960)
Mary Ure
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs(1960)
Shirley Knight

Foreign Film - Foreign Language

The Truth (La Vérité)(1960)
La vérité (The Truth)
Winner
The Virgin Spring(1960)
Winner
Ballad of a Soldier(1959)
Ballad of A Soldier
Hiroshima Mon Amour(1959)
The World of Apu(1959)
The World Of Apu

Picture - Comedy

The Apartment(1960)
Apartment, The
Winner
It Started in Naples(1960)
Our Man in Havana(1959)
The Facts of Life(1960)
Facts of Life, The
The Grass Is Greener(1960)
Grass is Greener, The

Picture - Musical

Song Without End(1960)
Winner
Bells Are Ringing(1960)
Can-Can(1960)
Let's Make Love(1960)
Pepe(1960)

Foreign Film - English Language

The Trials of Oscar Wilde (The Trials of Oscar Wilde (The Man With The Green Carnation))(1960)
The Trials of Oscar Wilde (The Man With The Green Carnation)
Winner
The Angry Silence(1960)
Angry Silence, The
Tunes of Glory(1960)

Best Motion Picture – Non-English Language

Rocco and His Brothers(1960)
Winner
Macario(1960)

Promoting International Understanding

Hand in Hand(1961)
Hand In Hand
Winner
Conspiracy of Hearts(1960)

Special Achievement Award

Inherit the Wind(1960)
Stanley Kramer
Winner
The Sundowners(1960)
Fred Zinnemann
Winner

Television Achievement

Perry Mason(1957)
Winner
The Bell Telephone Hour(1959)
Bell Telephone Hour
Winner

Samuel Goldwyn International Award

Never on Sunday(1960)
Never On Sunday
Winner

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