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The History of American Cinema: 1961

January - June

19/1 -

Frank Sinatra organises a gala event in Washington in honour of President Kennedy’s inauguration.   Celebrities invited include Harry Belafonte, Shirley MacLaine, Bette Davis and Sidney Poitier. [ADD]

25/1 -

Walt Disney’s 101 Dalmations is released.   The film cost $4 million, and required 300 animation staff. [ADD]

1/2 -

Marilyn Monroe and Montgomery Clift attend the world premiere in New York of John Huston’s The Misfits, the film in which they co-starred with the late Clark Gable. [ADD]

25/2 -

The crew of MGM’s Mutiny on the Bounty is ordered back from Tahiti to Hollywood after director Carol Reed refuses to accept a new schedule drawn up by the studio.   Reed is replaced by Lewis Milestone. [ADD]

30/3 -

One-Eyed Jacks, Marlon Brando’s directorial debut, is released in 128 cinemas.   The film, in which he also stars, cost $6 million (three times its budget) and took 6 months to film, during which Brando shot a record-breaking million feet of film. [ADD]

18/4 -

Gary Cooper is awarded a Special Oscar for his services to film at the 33rd Annual Academy Awards ceremony, but is too ill to attend. [MORE]

13/5 -

Gary Cooper dies of prostate cancer at his Bel Air home less than a week after his sixtieth birthday.  [ADD]