Dec. 23, 1963 - “Tom Jones” has been chosen as the best motion picture of 1963 by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures. The organization also named Tony Richardson best director for his work on “Tom Jones.” The British comedy, based on the novel by Henry Fielding, is running at New York City’s Cinema I, with Albert Finney and Dame Edith Evans in leading roles. Federico Fellini’s “8½,” an Italian semi-autobiographical drama about a film director, portrayed by Marcello Mastroianni, was voted best foreign-language feature shown in the U.S. in 1963. Patricia Neal was named best actress for her performance as a Texas housekeeper in “Hud.” Rex Harrison was chosen best actor for his Caesar in “Cleopatra.” The best supporting players were listed as Margaret Rutherford in “The V.I.P.s” and Melvyn Douglas in “Hud.” Following “Tom Jones” on the board’s list of 10 best films of the year were, in order: “Lilies of the Field,” “All the Way Home,” “Hud,” “This Sporting Life,” “Lord of the Flies,” “The L-Shaped Room,” “The Great Escape,” “How the West Was Won,” and “The Cardinal.” Other foreign films cited, in order of preference, were “The Four Days of Naples,” “Winter Light,” “The Leopard,” and “Any Number Can Win.”
