October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers (when adjusted for inflation)
February 5 - First showing of documentary films by the Free Cinema movement, at the National Film Theatre, London.
February - Warner Bros. sells much of its pre-1950 library to Associated Artists Productions (a.a.p.); after a series of mergers the films return to WB 40 years later.
August 4 - The last film serial, Blazing the Overland Trail from Columbia Pictures, is released.
November 15 - Elvis Presley's first film, Love Me Tender, opens.
(*) After theatrical re-issue(s)
Academy Awards:
Best Picture:
Around the World in 80 Days - Todd, United Artists
Best Director:
George Stevens -
Giant
Best Actor:
Yul Brynner -
The King and I
Best Actress:
Ingrid Bergman -
Anastasia
Best Supporting Actor:
Anthony Quinn -
Lust for Life
Best Supporting Actress:
Dorothy Malone -
Written on the Wind
Best Foreign Language Film:
La strada, directed by Federico Fellini, Italy
Golden Globe Awards:
Drama:
Best Picture:
Around the World in 80 Days
Best Actor:
Kirk Douglas -
Lust for Life
Best Actress:
Ingrid Bergman -
Anastasia
Musical or comedy:
Best Picture:
The King and I
Best Actor:
Cantinflas -
Around the World in 80 Days
Best Actress:
Deborah Kerr -
The King and I
Other
Best Director:
Elia Kazan -
Baby Doll
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture:
Earl Holliman -
The Rainmaker
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture:
Eileen Heckart -
The Bad Seed
Best Foreign Film:
Before Sundown, West Germany
Best Foreign Film:
A Girl in Black, Greece
Best Foreign Film:
Richard III, United Kingdom
Best Foreign Film:
Roses on the Arm, Japan
Best Foreign Film:
War and Peace, Italy
Best Foreign Film:
The White Reindeer, Finland
Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):
The Silent World (
Le monde du silence), directed by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Louis Malle, France
Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival): Not awarded
Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):
Invitation to the Dance, directed by Gene Kelly, United States
U.S.A. unless stated
#
7th Cavalry, starring Randolph Scott and Barbara Hale
23 Paces to Baker Street, starring Van Johnson and Vera Miles
1984, directed by Michael Anderson, starring Edmond O'Brien and Michael Redgrave - (GB)
A
Accused of Murder, starring Vera Ralston
Alexander the Great, starring Richard Burton
Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves (Alibabavum 40 Thirudargalum) - (India)
The Ambassador's Daughter, starring Olivia de Havilland, Myrna Loy, John Forsythe
Anastasia, starring Ingrid Bergman and Yul Brynner
And God Created Woman, directed by Roger Vadim, starring Brigitte Bardot - (France)
Aparajito (The Unvanquished), directed by Satyajit Ray - (India)
Around the World in 80 Days, directed by Michael Anderson, starring David Niven, Cantinflas, Shirley MacLaine - Academy Award for Best Picture
At Gunpoint, starring Fred MacMurray, Walter Brennan, Dorothy Malone
Attack, a.k.a. Attack!, directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Jack Palance, Eddie Albert, Lee Marvin
Autumn Leaves, starring Joan Crawford and Cliff Robertson
Away All Boats, starring Jeff Chandler
B
Baby Doll, directed by Elia Kazan, starring Carroll Baker, Karl Malden, Eli Wallach
Back from Eternity, starring Robert Ryan, Anita Ekberg, Rod Steiger
Backlash, starring Richard Widmark and Donna Reed
The Bad Seed, starring Nancy Kelly and Patty McCormack
Bandido, starring Robert Mitchum
The Battle of the River Plate, a.k.a. Pursuit of the Graf Spee, written and directed by Powell and Pressburger, starring John Gregson and Peter Finch - (GB)
Before Sundown (Vor Sonnenuntergang) - (West Germany)
Behind the Headlines, starring Paul Carpenter and Hazel Court
The Benny Goodman Story, starring Steve Allen and Donna Reed
The Best Things in Life Are Free, starring Gordon MacRae, Dan Dailey, Sheree North
Between Heaven and Hell, directed by Richard Fleischer, starring Robert Wagner and Buddy Ebsen
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, directed by Fritz Lang, starring Dana Andrews and Joan Fontaine
Bhowani Junction, starring Ava Gardner and Stewart Granger - (GB/U.S.A.)
Bigger Than Life, directed by Nicholas Ray, starring James Mason, Barbara Rush, Walter Matthau
The Birds and the Bees, starring George Gobel and Mitzi Gaynor
The Black Tent, directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, starring Donald Sinden, Anthony Steel, Anna Maria Sandri & Andre Morell - (U.K.)
Bob le flambeur (Bob the Gambler), directed by Jean-Pierre Melville - (France)
The Bold and the Brave, starring Wendell Corey and Mickey Rooney
The Boss, starring John Payne and Doe Avedon
The Bottom of the Bottle, directed by Henry Hathaway, starring Van Johnson, Joseph Cotten, Ruth Roman
The Brave One, directed by Irving Rapper
The Burmese Harp (Biruma no tategoto), directed by Kon Ichikawa - (Japan)
The Burning Hills, starring Natalie Wood and Tab Hunter
Bus Stop, starring Marilyn Monroe and Don Murray
C
C.I.D., starring Dev Anand - (India)
Calabuch (a.k.a. The Rocket from Calabuch), directed by Luis García Berlanga, starring Edmund Gwenn and Valentina Cortese - (Spain)
Calle Mayor (Main Street), directed by Juan Antonio Bardem, starring Betsy Blair - (Spain)
Carnival Night (Karnavalnaya noch) - (USSR)
Carousel, directed by Henry King, starring Shirley Jones and Gordon MacRae
The Case of the Mukkinese Battle Horn, comedy short starring Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan, Dick Emery - (GB)
The Catered Affair, starring Bette Davis, Ernest Borgnine, Debbie Reynolds
Checkpoint (1956 film), directed by Ralph Thomas, starring Anthony Steel, Odile Versois, Stanley Baker & James Robertson Justice - (U.K.)
Child of Sorrow (Anak dalita) - (Philippines)
Chori Chori, starring Nargis and Raj Kapoor - (India)
Comanche, starring Dana Andrews and Linda Cristal
Come Next Spring, starring Ann Sheridan and Steve Cochran
Congo Crossing, starring Virginia Mayo and Peter Lorre
The Conqueror, directed by Dick Powell, starring John Wayne (as Genghis Khan)
The Court Jester, starring Danny Kaye
Crazed Fruit (Kurutta kajitsu), directed by Kō Nakahira - (Japan)
Crime Against Joe, starring Julie London
Crime in the Streets, directed by Don Siegel, starring James Whitmore and John Cassavetes
A Cry in the Night, starring Edmond O'Brien, Natalie Wood, Raymond Burr
D
D-Day the Sixth of June, starring Robert Taylor
Dakota Incident, starring Dale Robertson
Dance with Me, Henry, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
Death in the Garden (La mort en ce jardin), directed by Luis Buñuel, starring Simone Signoret and Charles Vanel - (France)
Death of a Scoundrel, starring George Sanders and Zsa Zsa Gabor
Diane, starring Lana Turner in her final MGM film after nearly 20 years with the studio
Donatella, directed by Mario Monicelli, starring Elsa Martinelli - (Italy)
Don't Look Back, My Son (Ne okreći se sine) - (Yugoslavia)
The Dragon (O Drakos) - (Greece)
E
Early Spring (Soshun), directed by Yasujirō Ozu - (Japan)
Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, starring Hugh Marlowe
The Eddy Duchin Story, starring Tyrone Power and Kim Novak
Elena and Her Men, starring Ingrid Bergman - (France/Italy)
F
The Fastest Gun Alive, starring Glenn Ford and Broderick Crawford
The First Texan, starring Joel McCrea
The First Traveling Saleslady, starring Ginger Rogers, Barry Nelson, Carol Channing
Forbidden Planet, starring Walter Pidgeon, Leslie Nielsen, Anne Francis
Forever, Darling, starring Desi Arnaz, Lucille Ball, James Mason
Friendly Persuasion, directed by William Wyler, starring Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire, Anthony Perkins
Funtoosh (Funny Man), starring Dev Anand - (India)
G
Gaby, starring Leslie Caron
Gervaise, directed by René Clément, starring Maria Schell - (France)
Giant, directed by George Stevens, starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean in his final film
The Girl Can't Help It, starring Tom Ewell and Jayne Mansfield in her first starring role
The Girl He Left Behind, starring Tab Hunter and Natalie Wood
A Girl in Black, directed by Michael Cacoyannis - winner of Golden Globe - (Greece)
Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, starring Raymond Burr and Takashi Shimura - (Japan/U.S.A.)
Good-bye, My Lady, directed by William A. Wellman, starring Brandon deWilde, Walter Brennan, Phil Harris
Great Day in the Morning, directed by Jacques Tourneur, starring Robert Stack and Virginia Mayo
The Great Locomotive Chase, starring Fess Parker and Jeffrey Hunter
The Great Man, directed by and starring José Ferrer, with Julie London, Keenan Wynn, Ed Wynn
The Green Man, starring Alastair Sim, George Cole, Terry-Thomas - (GB)
Gun the Man Down, starring James Arness and Angie Dickinson in her film debut
Gunslinger, directed by Roger Corman, starring John Ireland and Beverly Garland
H
The Harder They Fall, starring Humphrey Bogart in his final film
The Harvest Month (Elokuu) - (Finland)
Helen of Troy, starring Rossana Podestà, Stanley Baker
High Society, starring Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Grace Kelly in her final film
Hilda Crane, starring Jean Simmons
Hold Back the Night, starring John Payne
Hollywood or Bust, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, with Anita Ekberg, in the final Martin and Lewis film
Hot Blood, starring Jane Russell and Cornel Wilde
The Houston Story, starring Barbara Hale and Gene Barry
The Hunchback of Notre Dame, starring Gina Lollobrigida and Anthony Quinn - (France/Italy)
I
Ich suche Dich (I Seek You), starring O. W. Fischer and Anouk Aimée - (West Germany)
The Indian Fighter, starring Kirk Douglas and Walter Matthau
Invasion of the Body Snatchers, directed by Don Siegel, starring Kevin McCarthy
Invitation to the Dance, directed by and starring Gene Kelly
It Conquered the World, directed by Roger Corman, starring Peter Graves and Beverly Garland
J
Jagte Raho (Stay Awake), starring Raj Kapoor - (India)
Johnny Concho, starring Frank Sinatra
Jubal, starring Glenn Ford, Rod Steiger, Ernest Borgnine, Felicia Farr, Charles Bronson
Judgement of Coyote
Julie, starring Doris Day and Louis Jourdan
K
Kanal, directed by Andrzej Wajda - (Poland)
The Killer Is Loose, directed by Budd Boetticher, starring Joseph Cotten, Rhonda Fleming, Wendell Corey
The Killers, a short film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky - (U.S.S.R.)
The Killing, directed by Stanley Kubrick, starring Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Marie Windsor, Vince Edwards
The King and Four Queens, starring Clark Gable
The King and I, starring Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner
A Kiss Before Dying, starring Robert Wagner and Joanne Woodward
L
The Last Hunt, directed by Richard Brooks, starring Robert Taylor and Stewart Granger
The Last Wagon, starring Richard Widmark
The Leech (Shabab emraa) - (Egypt)
The Lieutenant Wore Skirts, directed by Frank Tashlin, starring Tom Ewell and Sheree North
Lisbon, directed by and starring Ray Milland, with Maureen O'Hara and Claude Rains
The Long Arm, starring Jack Hawkins - (GB)
Love Me Tender, starring Elvis Presley in his film debut
Lust for Life, starring Kirk Douglas (as Vincent van Gogh) and Anthony Quinn
M
A Man Escaped (Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut), directed by Robert Bresson - (France)
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, starring Gregory Peck, Jennifer Jones, Fredric March, Keenan Wynn, Lee J. Cobb
Man on the Tracks (Człowiek na torze) - (Poland)
The Man Who Knew Too Much, directed by Alfred Hitchcock (a remake of his own 1934 British film), starring James Stewart and Doris Day
The Man Who Never Was, starring Clifton Webb and Gloria Grahame - (GB)
Meet Me in Las Vegas, starring Cyd Charisse
Merry-Go-Round (Körhinta) - (Hungary)
Michel Strogoff
Miracle in the Rain, starring Jane Wyman
Moby Dick, directed by John Huston, starring Gregory Peck, Richard Basehart, Leo Genn
Mukh O Mukhosh (The Face and the Mask) - (East Pakistan)
N
Naked Gun starring Mara Corday and Willard Parker
Nagareru (Flowing), directed by Mikio Naruse - (Japan)
Never Say Goodbye, starring Rock Hudson, David Janssen, Cornell Borchers
New Delhi - (India)
O
Old Khottabych (Starik Khottabych) - (U.S.S.R.)
On the Threshold of Space, starring Guy Madison
The Opposite Sex, starring June Allyson, Leslie Nielson, Joan Collins
Over-Exposed, starring Cleo Moore
P-Q
Pardners, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
Patterns, starring Van Heflin and Ed Begley
Pillars of the Sky, starring Jeff Chandler and Dorothy Malone
Please Murder Me, starring Angela Lansbury and Raymond Burr
Poor but Handsome (Poveri ma belli) - (Italy)
The Power and the Prize, starring Robert Taylor, Burl Ives, Mary Astor, Cedric Hardwicke, Elisabeth Müller
Private's Progress, a Boulting Brothers film starring Ian Carmichael and Richard Attenborough - (GB)
Professor Hannibal (Hannibál tanár úr), directed by Zoltán Fábri (Hungary)
The Proud and Profane, starring William Holden and Deborah Kerr
The Proud Ones, starring Robert Ryan and Virginia Mayo
Qivitoq - (Denmark)
R
The Rack, starring Paul Newman, Edmond O'Brien, Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis
The Railroad Man (Il Ferroviere), directed by and starring Pietro Germi - (Italy)
The Rainmaker, starring Burt Lancaster and Katharine Hepburn
Ransom!, starring Glenn Ford and Donna Reed
Reach for the Sky, a biopic of Douglas Bader starring Kenneth More - (GB)
The Red Balloon (Le Ballon rouge) - (France)
The Road of Life (El camino de la vida) - (Mexico)
Rock Around the Clock, featuring Bill Haley and His Comets
Rodan, directed by Ishirō Honda - (Japan)
The Roof (Il Tetto), directed by Vittorio De Sica - (Italy)
Run for the Sun, starring Richard Widmark, Trevor Howard, Jane Greer
S
Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island, directed by Hiroshi Inagaki, starring Toshiro Mifune - (Japan)
The Searchers, directed by John Ford, starring John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond, Ken Curtis, Natalie Wood
Serenade, directed by Anthony Mann, starring Mario Lanza and Joan Fontaine
Seven Men from Now, directed by Budd Boetticher, starring Randolph Scott and Lee Marvin
Seven Wonders of the World, a documentary film directed by Tay Garnett and others
Seven Years in Tibet - (GB)
The She-Creature, starring Marla English
The Silent World, a marine documentary by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Louis Malle - (France)
Sira` Fi al-Mina (a.k.a. Dark Water), directed by Youssef Chahine, starring Omar Sharif - (Egypt)
Slightly Scarlet, starring John Payne and Rhonda Fleming
The Solid Gold Cadillac, starring Judy Holliday
Somebody Up There Likes Me, starring Paul Newman
The Spanish Gardener, starring Dirk Bogarde - (GB)
The Square Jungle, starring Tony Curtis and Patricia Crowley
Star in the Dust, starring John Agar and Mamie Van Doren
Stars in Your Eyes - (GB)
Storm Center, starring Bette Davis and Kim Hunter
Street of Shame (Akasen chitai), directed by Kenji Mizoguchi - (Japan)
T-V
Tea and Sympathy, directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Deborah Kerr and John Kerr
The Teahouse of the August Moon, starring Marlon Brando and Glenn Ford
The Ten Commandments, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, Yvonne De Carlo, Edward G. Robinson
There's Always Tomorrow, starring Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Joan Bennett
Three Brave Men, starring Ray Milland
Time Table, directed by and starring Mark Stevens, with Felicia Farr
Toward the Unknown, starring William Holden and Virginia Leith
A Town Like Alice, starring Virginia McKenna and Peter Finch - (GB)
Trapeze, directed by Carol Reed, starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Gina Lollobrigida
Tribute to a Bad Man, directed by Robert Wise, starring James Cagney, Irene Papas, Stephen McNally, Don Dubbins, Vic Morrow
The Twelve Months (Dvenadtsat mesyatsev) - (USSR)
Uncle Hyacynth (Mi tío Jacinto) - (Spain)
Valley of Peace (Dolina miru) - (Yugoslavia)
I Vampiri (The Vampire) - (Italy)
W
War and Peace, directed by King Vidor, starring Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Mel Ferrer, Anita Ekberg
What a Woman!, starring Sophia Loren, Charles Boyer and Marcello Mastroianni - (Italy)
While the City Sleeps, starring Dana Andrews, Ida Lupino, Rhonda Fleming, George Sanders, Vincent Price
Who Done It?, starring Benny Hill - (GB)
A Woman's Devotion, starring Ralph Meeker and Janice Rule
Written on the Wind, directed by Douglas Sirk, starring Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall, Robert Stack, Dorothy Malone
The Wrong Man, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Henry Fonda and Vera Miles
X-Z
X the Unknown, starring Dean Jagger and Leo McKern - (GB)
Yield to the Night, starring Diana Dors - (GB)
You Can't Run Away from It, directed by Dick Powell, starring June Allyson and Jack Lemmon
Zarak, starring Victor Mature - (GB)
Blazing the Overland Trail, starring Lee Roberts and Dennis Moore
Perils of the Wilderness
Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
Terrytoons (1930–1964)
Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
Popeye (1933–1957)
The Three Stooges (1934–1959)
Bugs Bunny (1940–1962)
Tom and Jerry (1940–1958)
Droopy (1943–1958)
Yosemite Sam (1945–1963)
Speedy Gonzales (1953–1968)
Ending this year
Donald Duck (1934-1956)
Chip 'n' Dale (1943-1956)
Ranger Don (1953-1956)
January 3 - Mel Gibson, American Irish actor and director
January 7 - David Caruso, actor
January 9 - Kimberly Beck, actress
January 21 - Geena Davis, actress
January 25 - Dinah Manoff, actress and director
January 27 - Mimi Rogers, actress
February 3 - Nathan Lane, actor
February 17 - Richard Karn, actor
February 19 - Kathleen Beller, actress
March 1 - Tim Daly, actor
March 7 - Bryan Cranston, actor and director
March 11 - Rob Paulsen, voice actor
March 13 - Dana Delany, actress
April 12 - Andy García, Cuban-American actor
April 30 - Lars von Trier, Danish director
May 10 - Jonathan Roberts, American screenwriter, producer and author
May 12 - Kimiko Yo, Japanese actress
June 4 - Keith David, actor
July 1 - Alan Ruck, actor
July 9 - Tom Hanks, actor and director
July 11 - Sela Ward, actress
July 31 - Michael Biehn, actor
August 12 - Bruce Greenwood, Canadian actor
August 20 - Joan Allen, actress
August 21 - Kim Cattrall, English-born Canadian actress
September 20 - Gary Cole, actor
September 26 - Linda Hamilton, actress
October 20 - Danny Boyle, English director and producer
October 21 - Carrie Fisher, American actress (d. 2016)
October 26 – Rita Wilson, actress and producer
November 8 - Richard Curtis, New Zealand-born British director and screenwriter
November 20 - Bo Derek, actress and model
January 9 - Marion Leonard, 74, American early silent actress, The Prussian Spy, The Gibson Goddess
January 12 - Norman Kerry, 61, American actor, The Phantom of the Opera, The Unknown
January 19 - Charles Dingle, 68, American actor, Call Me Madam, State of the Union
January 23 - Alexander Korda, 62, Hungarian film director, the founder of London Films, That Hamilton Woman, The Private Life of Henry VIII
February 2 - Bob Burns, 65, American actor, Waikiki Wedding, Belle of the Yukon
February 2 - Charley Grapewin, 86, American actor, The Wizard of Oz, The Grapes of Wrath
February 26 - Elsie Janis, 66, American actress and screenwriter, A Regular Girl, Women in War
March 17 - Fred Allen, 61, American actor, It's in the Bag!, O. Henry's Full House
March 25 - Robert Newton, 50, English actor, Oliver Twist, Odd Man Out
April 15 - Kathleen Howard, 71, Canadian-American opera singer and actress, It's a Gift, Ball of Fire
April 21 - Charles MacArthur, 60, American screenwriter and playwright, Wuthering Heights, His Girl Friday
April 26 - Edward Arnold, 66, American actor, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Diamond Jim
May 12 - Louis Calhern, 61, American actor, Duck Soup, Notorious, The Asphalt Jungle, High Society
June 6 - Margaret Wycherly, 74, English-American actress, White Heat, Sergeant York
June 30 - Thorleif Lund, 76, Norwegian actor, Skibsrotten, Republikaneren
July 8 - Mona Mårtenson, 54, Swedish actress, Pippi Longstocking, The Saga of Gosta Berling
July 16 - Olof Winnerstrand, 80, Swedish actor, Torment, A Lesson in Love
August 16 - Bela Lugosi, 73, Hungarian-born American actor, Dracula, White Zombie, The Black Cat
August 23 - Kenji Mizoguchi, 58, Japanese director, The Life of Oharu, A Geisha
October 2 - George Bancroft, 74, American actor, Stagecoach, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
October 9 - Marie Doro, 74, American actress, Oliver Twist, Sally Bishop
October 17 - Anne Crawford, 35, British actress, Knights of the Round Table, Night Beat
November 26 - Tommy Dorsey, 56, American musician, The Fabulous Dorseys, DuBarry Was a Lady, Ship Ahoy
November 30 - Viggo Wiehe, 81, Danish actor, Doctor Nicholson and the Blue Diamond, Røverne fra Rold
December 12 - E. A. Dupont, 64, German writer, director, Jealousy, The Scarf
December 26 - Holmes Herbert, 74, British actor, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Invisible Man
Jean-Paul Belmondo - Molière
Michael Caine - Panic in the Parlor
James Garner - Toward the Unknown
Robert Loggia - Somebody Up There Likes Me
Robert Morse - The Proud and Profane
Leslie Nielsen - Forbidden Planet
Elvis Presley - Love Me Tender
John Schlesinger - Sunday in the Park
Maggie Smith - Child in the House
Rip Torn - Baby Doll
Christopher Walken - The Boy Who Saw Through