In this article, we list the celebrated directors who were nominated for (and won) an Academy Award for movies made between 1950 and 1969.
Did your favourite directors miss out on an Oscar? Let us know in the comments below.
23rd Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1950
Nominated Directors
Billy Wilder – Sunset Blvd.
Carol Reed – The Third Man
George Cukor – Born Yesterday
John Huston – The Asphalt Jungle
Joseph L. Mankiewicz – All About Eve
Best Director Winner
Joseph L. Mankiewicz – All About Eve
24th Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1951
Nominated Directors
Elia Kazan – A Streetcar Named Desire
George Stevens – A Place in the Sun
John Huston – The African Queen
Vincente Minnelli – An American in Paris
William Wyler – Detective Story
Best Director Winner
George Stevens – A Place in the Sun
25th Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1952
Nominated Directors
Cecil B. DeMille – The Greatest Show on Earth
Fred Zinnemann – High Noon
John Ford – The Quiet Man
John Huston – Moulin Rouge
Joseph L. Mankiewicz – Five Fingers
Best Director Winner
John Ford – The Quiet Man
26th Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1953
Nominated Directors
Billy Wilder – Stalag 17
Charles Walters – Lili
Fred Zinnemann – From Here to Eternity
George Stevens – Shame
William Wyler – Roman Holiday
Best Director Winner
Fred Zinnemann – From Here to Eternity
27th Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1954
Nominated Directors
Alfred Hitchcock – Rear Window
Billy Wilder – Sabrina
Elia Kazan – On the Waterfront
George Seaton – The Country Girl
William A. Wellman – The High and the Mighty
Best Director Winner
Elia Kazan – On the Waterfront
28th Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1955
Nominated Directors
David Lean – Summertime
Delbert Mann – Marty
Elia Kazan – East of Eden
John Sturges – Bad Day at Black Rock
Joshua Logan – Picnic
Best Director Winner
Delbert Mann – Marty
29th Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1956
Nominated Directors
George Stevens – Giant
King Vidor – War and Peace
Michael Anderson – Around the World in 80 Days
Walter Lang – The King and I
William Wyler – Friendly Persuasion
Best Director Winner
George Stevens – Giant
30th Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1957
Nominated Directors
Billy Wilder – Witness for the Prosecution
David Lean – The Bridge on the River Kwai
Joshua Logan – Sayonara
Mark Robson – Peyton Place
Sidney Lumet – 12 Angry Men
Best Director Winner
David Lean – The Bridge on the River Kwai
31st Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1958
Nominated Directors
Mark Robson – The Inn of the Sixth Happiness
Richard Brooks – Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Robert Wise – I Want to Live!
Stanley Kramer – The Defiant Ones
Vincente Minnelli – Gigi
Best Director Winner
Vincente Minnelli – Gigi
32nd Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1959
Nominated Directors
Billy Wilder – Some Like It Hot
Fred Zinnemann – The Nun’s Story
George Stevens – The Diary of Anne Frank
Jack Clayton – Room at the Top
William Wyler – Ben-Hur
Best Director Winner
William Wyler – Ben-Hur
33rd Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1960
Nominated Directors
Alfred Hitchcock – Psycho
Billy Wilder – The Apartment
Fred Zinnemann – The Sundowners
Jack Cardiff – Sons and Lovers
Jules Dassin – Never on Sunday
Best Director Winner
Billy Wilder – The Apartment
34th Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1961
Nominated Directors
Frederico Fellini – La Dolce Vita
J. Lee Thompson – The Guns of Navarone
Robert Rossen – The Hustler
Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins – West Side Story
Stanley Kramer – Judgment at Nuremberg
Best Director Winner
Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins – West Side Story
35th Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1962
Nominated Directors
Arthur Penn – The Miracle Worker
David Lean – Lawrence of Arabia
Frank Perry – David and Lisa
Pietro Germi – Divorce Italian Style
Robert Mulligan – To Kill a Mockingbird
Best Director Winner
David Lean – Lawrence of Arabia
36th Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1963
Nominated Directors
Elia Kazan – America America
Federico Fellini – 8½
Martin Ritt – Hud
Otto Preminger – The Cardinal
Tony Richardson – Tom Jones
Best Director Winner
Tony Richardson – Tom Jones
37th Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1964
Nominated Directors
George Cukor – My Fair Lady
Michael Cacoyannis – Zorba the Greek
Peter Glenville – Becket
Robert Stevenson – Mary Poppins
Stanley Kubrick – Dr. Strangelove, or:
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Best Director Winner
George Cukor (My Fair Lady)
38th Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1965
Nominated Directors
David Lean – Doctor Zhivago
Hiroshi Teshigahara – Woman in the Dunes
John Schlesinger – Darling
Robert Wise – The Sound of Music
William Wyler – The Collector
Best Director Winner
Robert Wise – The Sound of Music
39th Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1966
Nominated Directors
Claude Lelouch – A Man and a Woman
Fred Zinnemann – A Man for All Seasons
Michelangelo Antonioni – Blowup
Mike Nichols – Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf
Richard Brooks – The Professionals
Best Director Winner
Fred Zinnemann – A Man For All Seasons
40th Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1967
Nominated Directors
Arthur Penn – Bonnie and Clyde
Mike Nichols – The Graduate
Norman Jewison – In the Heat of the Night
Richard Brooks – In Cold Blood
Stanley Kramer – Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
Best Director Winner
Mike Nichols – The Graduate
41st Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1968
Nominated Directors
Anthony Harvey – The Lion in Winter
Carol Reed – Oliver!
Franco Zeffirelli – Romeo and Juliet
Gillo Pontecorvo – The Battle of Algiers
Stanley Kubrick – 2001: A Space Odyssey
Best Director Winner
Carol Reed – Oliver!
42nd Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1969
Nominated Directors
Arthur Penn – Alice’s Restaurant
Costa-Gavras – Z
George Roy Hill – Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
John Schlesinger – Midnight Cowboy
Sydney Pollack – They Shoot Horses, Don’t They
Best Director Winner
John Schlesinger – Midnight Cowboy
How many of these movies have you seen? Let us know in the comments below.