Ringside Report Looks Back At The 1960s In Film

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By Geoffrey Huchel

The 1960s in film reflected the decade of fun, fashion, rock n roll, and tremendous social changes (i.e. the civil rights era). With movie audiences declining due to the domination of television, major American companies began to expand with other forms of entertainment: records, publishing, TV movies and the production of TV series.

The decade also saw the invasion of British cinema, foreign cinema, cold war political dramas, as well as the introduction of new directors, including Sidney Lumet, Robert Altman, Steven Spielberg, Brian DePalma, Woody Allen, Sydney Pollack, John Landis and George Lucas.
Though musicals had declined by the 1960s, there are some notable ones from the decade that have become and remained fan favorites, including WEST SIDE STORY (1961), MY FAIR LADY (1964), and THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965).

Disney released the animated films 101 DALMATIANS (1961), THE JUNGLE BOOK (1967), THE SWORD IN THE STONE (1963) and the live-action/animated masterpiece MARY POPPINS (1964), starring Julie Andrews in her Oscar winning role.

The decade produced an enormous amount of successful and popular films, all of them great in their own ways, but with such a large number, it was extremely difficult to select which to ones to highlight, and I would’ve loved to have listed all of them. I did my best to choose the ones that made an impact on the decade. As I previously mentioned in my 1950s tribute, if some of your favorite titles didn’t make this list, they may appear in a future piece.

BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S (1961) Running Time 1 hr 55 mins
Directed by Blake Edwards
With: Audrey Hepburn
George Peppard
Plot: A young New York socialite becomes interested in a young man who has moved into her apartment building, but her past threatens to get in the way.
Fun Fact: Winner of Best Original Song at the 1962 Academy Awards.

THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962) Running Time 2 hrs 6 mins
Directed by John Frankenheimer
With: Frank Sinatra
Laurence Harvey
Janet Leigh
Angela Lansbury
Plot: A former prisoner of war is brainwashed as an unwitting assassin for an international Communist conspiracy.
Fun Facts: Angela Lansbury was Oscar nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 1963 Academy Awards. Lansbury won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress at the 1963 Golden Globes.

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962) Running Time 2 hrs 9 mins
Directed by Robert Mulligan
With: Gregory Peck
John Megna
Plot: Atticus Finch, a lawyer in the Depression-era south, defends a black man against an undeserved rape charge, and his children against prejudice.
Fun Facts: Gregory Peck won an Oscar for Best Leading Actor at the 1963 Academy Awards. The film also won an Oscar for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium at the 1963 Academy Awards.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE (1962) Running Time 2 hrs 14 mins
Directed by Robert Aldrich
With: Bette Davis
Joan Crawford
Plot: A former child star torments her paraplegic sister in their decaying Hollywood mansion.
Fun Facts: Bette Davis was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 1963 Academy Awards.

THE MIRACLE WORKER (1962) Running Time 1 hr 46 mins
Directed by Arthur Penn
With: Anne Bancroft
Patty Duke
Plot: The story of Anne Sullivan’s struggle to teach the blind and deaf Helen Keller how to communicate.
Fun Facts: Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke each won an Oscar for their respective categories (Best Actress in a Leading Role and Best Actress in a Supporting Role) at the 1963 Academy Awards.

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962) Running Time 3 hrs 36 mins
Directed by David Lean
With: Peter O’Toole
Alec Guinness
Anthony Quinn
Plot: The story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and lead the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks.
Fun Facts: Winner of 7 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director at the 1963 Academy Awards.

WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (1966) 2 hrs 11 mins
Directed by Mike Nichols
With: Elizabeth Taylor
Richard Burton
George Segal
Plot: A bitter, aging couple, with the help of alcohol, uses a young couple to fuel anguish and emotional pain towards each other.
Fun Facts: Elizabeth Taylor and Sandy Dennis each won an Oscar for their respective categories (Best Actress in a Leading Role and Best Actress in a Supporting Role) at the 1967 Academy Awards.

GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER (1967) 1 hr 48 mins
Directed by Stanley Kramer
With: Spencer Tracy
Sidney Poitier
Katharine Hepburn
Plot: A couple’s attitudes are challenged when their daughter introduces them to her African-American fiancé.
Fun Facts: Winner of 2 Oscars; Katharine Hepburn for Best Actress in a Leading Role and Best Writing, Story and Screenplay at the 1968 Academy Awards.

BAREFOOT IN THE PARK (1967) Running time 1 hr 46 mins
Directed by Gene Saks
With: Robert Redford
Jane Fonda
Paul, a conservative young lawyer, marries the vivacious Corie. Their highly passionate relationship descends into comical discord in a five-flight New York City walk-up apartment.
Fun Fact: Writer Neil Simon based this story on his first marriage.

EASY RIDER (1969) Running Time 1 hr 35 mins
Directed by Dennis Hopper
With: Peter Fonda
Dennis Hopper
Jack Nicholson
Plot: Through the open country and desert lands, two bikers head from L. A. to New Orleans, and along the way, meet a man who bridges a counter-culture gap they are unaware of.
Fun Facts: Jack Nicholson was nominated for an Oscar for the Best Actor in the Supporting Role category.

MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969) Running Time 1 hr 53 mins
Directed by John Schlesinger
With: Dustin Hoffman
Jon Voight
Plot: A naïve hustler travels from Texas to New York City to seek personal fortune but, in the process, finds himself a new friend.
Fun Facts: Winner of 3 Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium.

BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID(1969) Running Time 1 hr 50 mins
Directed by George Roy Hill
With: Paul Newman
Robert Redford
Katharine Ross
Plot: Wyoming, early 1900s. Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid are the leaders of a band of outlaws. After a train robbery goes wrong they find themselves on the run with a posse hard on their heels. Their solution- Escape to Bolivia.
Fun Facts: Winner of 4 Oscars including Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Material Not Previously Published or Produced and Best Cinematography

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