In 1971, “The French Connection” competed with four other films for the Best Picture Oscar: Kubrick's “A Clockwork Orange,” Norman Jewison's musical “Fiddler on the Roof,” Bogdanovich's period drama “The Last Picture Show,” and the historical drama, “Nicholas and Alexandra.” Next to “French Connection,” the most nominated films were “Last Picture Show,” with 8 nods, wining two, and “Fiddler on the Roof,” with 7 nominations and three Oscars.

In 1957, “Bridge” was not the most nominated picture. That honored was claimed by “Sayonara,” with 10 nominations, and “Peyton Place,” with 9. The other two nominees were courtroom dramas: Sidney Lumet's brilliant feature debut, “Twelve Angry Men” and Billy Wilder's “Witness for the Prosecution.”

In 1958, “Gigi” was the only musical movie to vie for the Best Picture Oscar. The other nominees were: “Auntie Mame,” the Rosalind Russell stage vehicle; “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” adapted from the Tennessee Williams play; Stanley Kramer interracial drama “The Defiant Ones,” and the old-fashioned “Separate Tables,” based on the stage play from Terence Rattigan, adapted to the screen by him and John Gay.

In 1959, “Ben-Hur” won over Preminger's courtroom drama Anatomy of a Murder,” which lost in each of its 7 categories; the Holocaust drama, “The Diary of Anne Frank,” which received 7 nominations and won 3; Fred Zinnemann's morality tale “The Nine's Story,” which also lost in each of its 7 nominations, and the superb British drama “Room at the Top,” which won 2 out of its 6 nominations. “Ben-Hur” won 11 out of its 12 nominations, thus becoming the most honored film to date.

In 1970, “Patton” competed for the Best Picture Oscar with the schlocky disaster flick “Airport,” which inexplicably received 10 nominations but won only one (Supporting Actress to veteran Helen Hayes); “Five Easy Pieces,” which was nominated for 4, but didn't win any Oscar; the blockbuster “Love Story,” which won one out of its 6 nominations; and “M-A-S-H,” the first Robert Altman to be nominated for the top award.