| STANISLAWLEM | Polish author of the 1961 Sci-fi novel Solaris |
| LEM | Science-fiction author Stanislaw, whose novel "Solaris" was made into a Steven Soderbergh film |
| EDSON | JT, author of the 1961 novel Trail Boss (5) |
| SOLARIS | 2002 Soderbergh film based on a 1961 sci-fi novel |
| GROK | Word for "understand" coined in a 1961 sci-fi novel |
| YUCCA | "The Beast of ___ Flats" (1961 sci-fi bomb) |
| ALLEN | Irwin, director of the 1961 film Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (5) |
| TUSHINGHAM | Rita ---, Liverpudlian star of the 1961 film adaptation of A Taste of Honey |
| THEDAY | , 4D & 25A 1961 sci-fi film starring Janet Munro and Leo McKern |
| HAYLEYMILLS | Female star of the 1961 film Whistle Down the Wind (6,5) |
| WEREWOLF | 'The Curse of the -', 1961 Hammer horror film starring Oliver Reed (8) |
| CID | What completes the title of the 1961 Sophia Loren film El_? (3) |
| THEEARTH | 1961 sci-fi film starring Janet Munro and Leo McKern (3,3,3,5,6,4) |
| CAUGHTFIRE | 1961 sci-fi film starring Janet Munro and Leo McKern (3,3,3,5,6,4) |
| ANDRIC | Ivo, winner of the 1961 Nobel Prize in Literature (6) |
| LEIGHTON | Kenneth, English composer of the 1961 work Crucifixus Pro Nobis (8) |
| LITTLER | Gene ___, US golfer, winner of the 1961 US Open (7) |
| MORTIMER | Angela --, winner of the 1961 Wimbledon singles championship (8) |
| CHANNEL | Bruce --, singer of the 1961 hit single "Hey! Baby" (7) |
| RITA | _ Moreno, star of the 1961 musical film West Side Story (4) |
