LONDON, Jan 24: British director Alfred Hitchcock is the best film-maker never to have been handed an Oscar, according to a poll of British movie viewers released on Monday, a day before the 2005 nominations come out.

Hitchcock was nominated as best director at the Academy Awards six times between 1941 and 1961 for classic thrillers like "Psycho" and "Rear Window", but failed to win a single one.

In a poll of deserving non-Oscar winning directors by British viewers of cable film channel Turner Classic Movies, Hitchcock edged out Martin Scorsese and the late Stanley Kubrick.

Scorsese, who has been nominated five times since 1981, is widely expected to be a favourite for this year's directing Oscar for Howard Hughes biopic "The Aviator". In a similar list of actors who have never won, US star Samuel L. Jackson, who received a nomination for 1994's "Pulp Fiction", edged out Steve McQueen for the top spot.

Third was late Welsh actor Richard Burton, who received seven nominations for films ranging from "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" to "Equus". Perhaps more curiously, US actress Demi Moore - never a critics' favourite and without an Oscar nomination to her name - was top of the equivalent female list.

She beat Sharon Stone, who was nominated for 1995's "Casino" and queen of the romantic comedy Meg Ryan, with Marilyn Monroe fourth. The top 10 in each category was: Most deserving directors never to have won an Oscar:

1. Alfred Hitchcock, 2. Martin Scorsese, 3. Stanley Kubrick, 4. Ridley Scott, 5. Tim Burton, 6. Ingmar Bergman, 7. Spike Lee, 8. Mike Leigh, 9. Howard Hawks, 10. Roberto Rossellini.

Most deserving actor never to have won an Oscar:

1. Samuel L Jackson, 2. Steve McQueen, 3. Richard Burton, 4. Tom Cruise, 5. Brad Pitt, 6. Bruce Willis, 7. John Travolta, 8. Cary Grant, 9. Hugh Grant, 10. Kirk Douglas

Most deserving actress never to have won an Oscar:

1. Demi Moore, 2. Sharon Stone, 3. Meg Ryan, 4. Marilyn Monroe, 5. Michelle Pfeiffer, 6. Drew Barrymore, 7. Lauren Bacall, 8. Glenn Close, 9. Cate Blanchett, 10. Ava Gardner. -AFP