text:
1953 in film

The year 1953 in film involved some significant events.

Top-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1953 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Events

 * January 16 – A new Warner Bros. Pictures Inc. is incorporated following a Consent Judgment to divest their Stanley Warner Theaters.
 * February 5 – Walt Disney's production of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, starring Bobby Driscoll and Kathryn Beaumont, premieres to astounding acclaim from critics and audiences and quickly becomes one of the most beloved Disney films. This is the last Disney animated movie released in partnership with RKO Pictures, becoming the last ever smash hit movie of the later company before it bankrupted in 1959.
 * July 1 – Stalag 17, directed by Billy Wilder and starring William Holden, premieres and is considered by the critics and audiences to be one of the greatest WWII Prisoner of War films ever made. Holden wins the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film.
 * August 5 – Fred Zinnemann's romantic and war masterpiece From Here to Eternity, starring Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Frank Sinatra, and Donna Reed, premieres.
 * August 27 – William Wyler's immortal romantic tale of Roman Holiday, starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn, premieres and propels Hepburn to super stardom.
 * September 16 – Religious epic The Robe, starring Richard Burton and Jean Simmons, debuts as the first widescreen anamorphic film in cinema history, filmed in CinemaScope grossing a record $36,000 for a single theatre in its first day. It went on to gross a record (for a single theater) $264,428 in its first week.
 * November 21 – Monogram Pictures, which had stopped releasing pictures under that banner from the start of the year, changes its name to Allied Artists Pictures Corporation.

Notable films released in 1953
United States unless stated

#

 * 99 River Street, starring John Payne and Evelyn Keyes
 * The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T, starring Tommy Rettig, screenplay by Dr. Seuss

A

 * Abbott and Costello Go to Mars
 * Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
 * Act of Love (Un acte d'amour), starring Kirk Douglas – (US/France)
 * The Actress, starring Spencer Tracy and Jean Simmons
 * Albert R.N., directed by Lewis Gilbert, starring Anthony Steel, Jack Warner, Robert Beatty, William Sylvester – (GB)
 * The All-American, starring Tony Curtis
 * All I Desire, starring Barbara Stanwyck
 * All the Brothers Were Valiant, starring Ann Blyth
 * Anarkali – (India)
 * Appointment in Honduras, directed by Jacques Tourneur, starring Ann Sheridan and Glenn Ford
 * Arrowhead, starring Charlton Heston and Jack Palance

B

 * Baaz, directed by and starring Guru Dutt – (India)
 * The Band Wagon, starring Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Jack Buchanan, Nanette Fabray, Oscar Levant
 * The Bandit of Brazil (O Cangaceiro) – (Brazil)
 * Barabbas, directed by Alf Sjöberg – (Sweden)
 * The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, starring Paula Raymond and Cecil Kellaway
 * Beat the Devil, directed by John Huston, starring Humphrey Bogart, Jennifer Jones, Gina Lollobrigida – (Italy/GB/US)
 * The Beggar's Opera, starring Laurence Olivier and Dorothy Tutin – (GB)
 * Belinsky – (U.S.S.R.)
 * Ben and Me, featuring the voices of Sterling Holloway and Charles Ruggles
 * Beneath the 12-Mile Reef, starring Robert Wagner
 * Bienvenido Mr. Marshall, directed by Luis García Berlanga, starring Fernando Rey – (Spain)
 * The Big Heat, directed by Fritz Lang, starring Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Lee Marvin
 * Big Leaguer, starring Edward G. Robinson
 * The Bigamist, directed by and starring Ida Lupino, with Joan Fontaine, Edmond O'Brien
 * Black Ermine – (Argentina)
 * Blowing Wild, starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck
 * The Blue Gardenia, starring Anne Baxter and Raymond Burr
 * A Blueprint for Murder, starring Joseph Cotten and Jean Peters
 * Bread, Love and Dreams (Pane, amore e fantasia), starring Vittorio De Sica and Gina Lollobrigida – (Italy)
 * Bright Road, the first feature-film appearance of Harry Belafonte (US)
 * The Brute (El Bruto), directed by Luis Buñuel, starring Pedro Armendáriz and Katy Jurado – (Mexico)
 * By the Light of the Silvery Moon, starring Doris Day and Gordon MacRae

C

 * The Caddy, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
 * Calamity Jane, starring Doris Day
 * Call Me Madam, starring Ethel Merman
 * The Captain's Paradise, starring Alec Guinness – (GB)
 * Cease Fire
 * The Charge at Feather River, starring Guy Madison
 * City Beneath the Sea, starring Robert Ryan, Anthony Quinn, Mala Powers
 * City That Never Sleeps, starring Gig Young, William Talman, Paula Raymond, Mala Powers
 * The Clown, starring Red Skelton
 * Confidentially Connie, starring Van Johnson and Janet Leigh
 * The Conquest of Everest – (documentary) – (GB)
 * The Cruel Sea, starring Jack Hawkins and Denholm Elliott – (GB)
 * Cry of the Hunted, starring Vittorio Gassman, Barry Sullivan, Polly Bergen

D

 * Dangerous Crossing, starring Jeanne Crain and Michael Rennie
 * Dangerous When Wet, starring Esther Williams
 * Decameron Nights, starring Joan Fontaine and Louis Jourdan
 * The Desert Rats, starring Richard Burton and James Mason
 * Desperate Moment, starring Dirk Bogarde and Mai Zetterling – (GB)
 * Devdas – (India)
 * Do Bigha Zamin (Two Acres of Land), directed by Bimal Roy – (India)
 * Donovan's Brain, starring Lew Ayres and Nancy Davis
 * Down Among the Sheltering Palms, starring Mitzi Gaynor, Gloria DeHaven, Jane Greer
 * Dream Wife, starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr

E

 * The Earrings of Madame de..., directed by Max Ophüls, starring Charles Boyer – (France/Italy)
 * East of Sumatra, starring Anthony Quinn and Jeff Chandler
 * Easy to Love, starring Esther Williams
 * Easy Years (Anni facili), directed by Luigi Zampa – (Italy)
 * The Eddie Cantor Story, starring Keefe Brasselle
 * Él (Him), directed by Luis Buñuel, starring Arturo de Córdova – (Mexico)
 * Entotsu no mieru basho (The Four Chimneys) – (Japan)
 * Esa pareja feliz (That Happy Couple), directed by Juan Antonio Bardem and Luis García Berlanga – (Spain)
 * Escape By Night, starring Bonar Colleano and Sid James – (GB)
 * Escape from Fort Bravo, directed by John Sturges, starring William Holden, Eleanor Parker, John Forsythe

F

 * Fair Wind to Java, starring Fred MacMurray and Vera Ralston
 * The Farmer Takes a Wife, starring Betty Grable
 * Fast Company, starring Howard Keel and Polly Bergen
 * Fear and Desire, directed by Stanley Kubrick
 * The Final Test, directed by Anthony Asquith, starring Jack Warner (GB)
 * Folly to Be Wise, directed by Frank Launder, starring Alastair Sim – (GB)
 * Footpath, starring Dilip Kumar – (India)
 * From Here to Eternity, directed by Fred Zinnemann, starring Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Frank Sinatra, Donna Reed – winner of 8 Oscars

G

 * Gate of Hell (Jigokumon) – (Japan)
 * A Geisha (Gion Bayashi), directed by Kenji Mizoguchi – (Japan)
 * Genevieve, starring Dinah Sheridan, John Gregson, Kay Kendall – (GB)
 * Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, directed by Howard Hawks, starring Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe
 * The Girl Next Door, starring June Haver and Dan Dailey
 * The Girl Who Had Everything, starring Elizabeth Taylor, William Powell, Fernando Lamas, Gig Young
 * Give a Girl a Break, directed by Stanley Donen, starring Debbie Reynolds, Marge Champion, Gower Champion
 * The Glass Wall, starring Vittorio Gassman and Gloria Grahame
 * The Golden Blade, starring Rock Hudson and Piper Laurie
 * The Great Adventure (Det stora äventyret), directed by Arne Sucksdorff – (Sweden)
 * The Great Sioux Uprising, starring Jeff Chandler
 * Gun Fury, starring Rock Hudson and Donna Reed

H

 * The Heart of the Matter, starring Trevor Howard – (GB)
 * The Hitch-Hiker, directed by Ida Lupino, starring Edmond O'Brien and William Talman
 * Hondo, starring John Wayne and Geraldine Page in her film debut
 * Houdini, starring (husband and wife) Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh
 * House of Wax, starring Vincent Price
 * How to Marry a Millionaire, starring Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable, Lauren Bacall (Grable, Fox's top star of the 1940s, with Monroe, Fox's top star of the 1950s)

I

 * I Confess, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Montgomery Clift and Anne Baxter
 * The I Don't Care Girl, starring Mitzi Gaynor
 * I, the Jury, starring Biff Elliot and Peggie Castle
 * Inferno, starring Robert Ryan
 * Interim, directed by Stan Brakhage, short film (25 ½ minutes); music by James Tenney)
 * The Intruder, starring Jack Hawkins – (GB)
 * Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary?, starring Bonar Colleano and Diana Dors – (GB)
 * Island in the Sky, starring John Wayne
 * It Came from Outer Space, directed by Jack Arnold, starring Richard Carlson

J

 * Jennifer, starring Ida Lupino and Howard Duff
 * Jeopardy, starring Barbara Stanwyck, Barry Sullivan, Ralph Meeker
 * Julius Caesar, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, starring Marlon Brando, James Mason, John Gielgud, Louis Calhern, Greer Garson, Deborah Kerr

K

 * The Kidnappers, starring Jon Whiteley – (GB)
 * King of the Khyber Rifles, starring Tyrone Power
 * Kiss Me Kate, starring Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Ann Miller, released in 2-D and 3-D

L

 * The Lady Without Camelias (La signora senza camelie), directed by Michelangelo Antonioni – (Italy)
 * The Landowner's Daughter (Sinhá Moça), starring Anselmo Duarte – (Brazil)
 * Lagu Kenangan, starring Titien Sumarni and AN Alcaff (Indonesia)
 * Latin Lovers, starring Lana Turner
 * Law and Order, a western starring Ronald Reagan
 * The Lawless Breed, starring Rock Hudson
 * Lili, starring Leslie Caron
 * The Limping Man, starring Lloyd Bridges – (GB)
 * A Lion Is in the Streets, starring James Cagney, Barbara Hale, Anne Francis
 * Little Boy Lost, starring Bing Crosby
 * Little Fugitive
 * The Living Desert, winner of Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature
 * Love in the City (L'Amore in Città), an anthology film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, Dino Risi, Federico Fellini and others – (Italy)
 * Love Letter (Koibumi) – (Japan)

M

 * Malta Story, directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, starring Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Anthony Steel, Muriel Pavlow – (GB)
 * Man in the Attic, starring Jack Palance and Constance Smith
 * The Man Between, starring James Mason and Claire Bloom – (GB)
 * Man in the Dark, starring Edmond O'Brien and Audrey Totter
 * Man on a Tightrope, starring Fredric March and Gloria Grahame
 * Martin Luther – (US/West Germany)
 * The Master of Ballantrae, directed by William Keighley, starring Errol Flynn, Roger Livesey, Anthony Steel, Beatrice Campbell – (U.K.)
 * Meet Me at the Fair, starring Dan Dailey and Diana Lynn
 * Miss Sadie Thompson, starring Rita Hayworth
 * The Mississippi Gambler, starring Tyrone Power and Piper Laurie
 * Mogambo, starring Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly (remake of 1932's Red Dust which starred Gable with Jean Harlow)
 * Money from Home, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
 * Monsieur Hulot's Holiday (Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot), directed by and starring Jacques Tati – (France)
 * La montaña sin ley
 * The Moon Is Blue, first U.S. movie to use the words "pregnant" and "virgin", directed by Otto Preminger, starring William Holden, David Niven, Maggie McNamara
 * The Moonlighter, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray

N

 * The Naked Spur, starring James Stewart, Robert Ryan and Janet Leigh
 * The Net, directed by Anthony Asquith – (GB)
 * Niagara, starring Marilyn Monroe and Joseph Cotten
 * No Way Back (Weg Ohne Umkehr) – (West Germany)

P

 * Patita, starring Dev Anand and Usha Kiran – (India)
 * Peter Pan, a Walt Disney animation featuring the voice of Bobby Driscoll
 * The Phantom Stockman, starring Chips Rafferty – (Australia)
 * Pickup on South Street, directed by Sam Fuller, starring Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, Thelma Ritter
 * Plunder of the Sun, starring Glenn Ford
 * Pony Express, starring Charlton Heston (as Buffalo Bill)
 * The President's Lady (Charlton Heston's first turn at Andrew Jackson before The Buccaneer)

R

 * Remains to Be Seen, starring June Allyson and Van Johnson
 * Report News (Reportaje), starring Arturo de Córdova and Dolores del Río – (Mexico)
 * Return to Paradise, starring Gary Cooper
 * Ride, Vaquero!, starring Robert Taylor and Ava Gardner
 * The Robe, the first movie filmed in CinemaScope, starring Richard Burton and Jean Simmons
 * Rogue's March, starring Peter Lawford, Janice Rule
 * Roman Holiday, directed by William Wyler, starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn in her Oscar-winning first leading role
 * Rosanna (La Red) – (Mexico)

S

 * Salome, starring Rita Hayworth
 * Sawdust and Tinsel (Gycklarnas afton), directed by Ingmar Bergman – (Sweden)
 * Scared Stiff, starring Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Lizabeth Scott and Carmen Miranda
 * Sea Devils, starring Rock Hudson and Yvonne De Carlo – (GB/US)
 * Seminole, starring Rock Hudson and Anthony Quinn
 * Shane, directed by George Stevens, starring Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur (in her final film role), Brandon deWilde, Ben Johnson, Jack Palance
 * Siamo Donne (We, the Women), starring Alida Valli and Ingrid Bergman – (Italy)
 * Small Town Girl, starring Jane Powell and Ann Miller
 * So Big, directed by Robert Wise, starring Jane Wyman, Sterling Hayden, Steve Forrest
 * So This Is Love, starring Kathryn Grayson and Merv Griffin
 * South Sea Woman, starring Burt Lancaster and Virginia Mayo
 * Split Second, starring Alexis Smith and Jan Sterling
 * Stalag 17, directed by Billy Wilder, starring William Holden (in his Oscar-winning role), Don Taylor, Harvey Lembeck, Robert Strauss, Otto Preminger, Peter Graves
 * Stars of the Russian Ballet (Mastera russkogo baleta), starring Galina Ulanova – (USSR)
 * The State Department Store (Állami Áruház) – (Hungary)
 * The Steel Lady, starring Rod Cameron and Tab Hunter
 * The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan, starring Robert Morley and Maurice Evans – (GB)
 * The Story of Little Muck (Die Geschichte vom kleinen Muck) – (East Germany)
 * The Story of Three Loves, trilogy starring James Mason, Leslie Caron, Kirk Douglas
 * Summer with Monika (Sommaren med Monika), directed by Ingmar Bergman, starring Harriet Andersson – (Sweden)
 * The Sun Shines Bright, directed by John Ford, starring Charles Winninger

T

 * Take Me to Town, directed by Douglas Sirk, starring Ann Sheridan and Sterling Hayden
 * Take the High Ground!, starring Richard Widmark and Karl Malden
 * Thérèse Raquin, directed by Marcel Carné, starring Simone Signoret – (France)
 * Three Perfect Wives (Las Tres perfectas casadas), starring Arturo de Córdova – (Mexico)
 * Thunder Over the Plains, starring Randolph Scott
 * Titanic, starring Barbara Stanwyck, Clifton Webb, Thelma Ritter, Brian Aherne, Robert Wagner
 * The Titfield Thunderbolt, directed by Charles Crichton, starring Stanley Holloway – (GB)
 * Tokyo Story (Tōkyō Monogatari), directed by Yasujirō Ozu – (Japan)
 * Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom
 * Torch Song, starring Joan Crawford
 * Treasure of the Golden Condor, directed by Delmer Daves, starring Cornel Wilde
 * Tropic Zone, starring Ronald Reagan
 * Trouble Along the Way, starring John Wayne
 * Trouble in Store, starring Norman Wisdom – (GB)
 * Tumbleweed, starring Audie Murphy
 * Twice Upon a Time, directed by Emeric Pressburger – (GB)

U

 * Ugetsu Monogatari, directed by Kenji Mizoguchi – (Japan)

V

 * The Vanquished (I Vinti), directed by Michelangelo Antonioni – (Italy)
 * I Vitelloni, directed by Federico Fellini – (France/Italy)

W

 * The Wages of Fear (Le Salaire de la Peur), directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot, starring Yves Montand – winner of Golden Bear and Palme d'Or awards – (France)
 * Walking My Baby Back Home, starring Janet Leigh and Donald O'Connor
 * War Arrow, starring Maureen O'Hara and Jeff Chandler
 * The War of the Worlds, starring Gene Barry
 * White Lightning, starring Stanley Clements and Steve Brodie
 * White Mane (Crin Blanc, Cheval Sauvage) – (France)
 * White Witch Doctor, starring Robert Mitchum and Susan Hayward
 * The Wild One, starring Marlon Brando

Y

 * Young Bess, starring Jean Simmons, Deborah Kerr, Charles Laughton

Serials

 * Canadian Mounties vs Atomic Invaders, starring Bill Henry
 * The Great Adventures of Captain Kidd, starring Richard Crane
 * Jungle Drums of Africa, starring Clayton Moore and Phyllis Coates
 * The Lost Planet, starring Judd Holdren

Short film series

 * Mickey Mouse (1928)-(1953)
 * Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
 * Terrytoons (1930–1964)
 * Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
 * Popeye (1933–1957)
 * Donald Duck (1934)-(1956)
 * The Three Stooges (1934–1959)
 * Goofy (1939)-(1953)
 * Tom and Jerry (1940–1958)
 * Bugs Bunny (1940)-(1964)
 * Chip and Dale (1943–1956)
 * Droopy (1943–1958)
 * Sylvester the Cat (1944–1966)
 * Yosemite Sam (1945–1963)
 * Speedy Gonzales (1953-1968)

Births

 * January 1:
 * Brian Pettifer, South African actor
 * Mary Sweeney, American director, writer, editor and producer
 * January 7: John Dugan, American actor
 * January 8:
 * Damián Alcázar, Mexican actor
 * Tonita Castro, Mexican-born American actress (died 2016)
 * January 11: John Sessions, British actor and comedian (died 2020)
 * January 12: Phil Reeves, American actor and screenwriter
 * January 27: Richard Bremmer, English actor
 * January 28: Susan Buckner, American actress (died 2024)
 * January 30: Steven Zaillian, director
 * February 8: Mary Steenburgen, American actress
 * February 9:
 * Vito Antuofermo, Italian-American actor
 * Ciarán Hinds, British-Irish actor
 * February 11: Philip Anglim, actor
 * February 12: Peter Andersson, Swedish actor
 * February 14: Brian O'Connor, American actor and comedian
 * February 15: Lynn Whitfield, American actress
 * February 17: Evan C. Kim, American actor
 * February 18: Rocco Sisto, Italian-American actor
 * February 19: Massimo Troisi, actor (died 1994)
 * February 21:
 * Christine Ebersole, American actress and singer
 * William Petersen, American actor
 * March 2: Ezra Swerdlow, film producer (died 2018)
 * March 4:
 * Scott Hicks, director
 * Kay Lenz, American actress
 * Agustí Villaronga, Spanish director (died 2023)
 * March 6: Jacklyn Zeman, American actress (died 2023)
 * March 15: Frances Conroy, American actress
 * March 16: Isabelle Huppert, French actress
 * March 24: Louie Anderson, American stand-up comedian and actor (died 2022)
 * April 1: Barry Sonnenfeld, American filmmaker and television director
 * April 6: Patrick Doyle, Scottish film composer
 * April 13: Harry Waters Jr., American actor and singer
 * April 16:
 * Jay O. Sanders, actor
 * Marshall Teague, American actor
 * April 18: Rick Moranis, Canadian actor & comedian
 * April 19: Ruby Wax, American-British actress, comedian, writer and television personality
 * April 23: James Russo, American actor
 * April 24: Eric Bogosian, American actor
 * April 25: Ron Clements, American animator, director, screenwriter and producer
 * April 26: Nancy Lenehan, American actress
 * May 9: Amy Hill, American stand-up comedian, actress and voice actress
 * May 16: Pierce Brosnan, Irish actor
 * May 21: Nora Aunor, Filipino actress
 * May 24: Alfred Molina, English actor
 * May 29: Danny Elfman, American composer
 * May 30: Colm Meaney, Irish actor
 * June 3: Erland Van Lidth De Jeude, Dutch-American actor (d. 1987)
 * June 5: Kathleen Kennedy, American producer
 * June 7:
 * Colleen Camp, American character actress and producer
 * Robert Trebor, American character actor
 * June 12: David Thornton, American actor
 * June 13: Tim Allen, American actor
 * June 15: Renée Victor, American actress
 * June 19: Ken Davitian, American character actor and comedian
 * June 21: Michael Bowen, American actor
 * June 22: Cyndi Lauper, American singer, songwriter, actress and activist
 * June 26: Peng Xiaolian, director (died 2019)
 * July 1: David Gulpilil, Indigenous-Australian actor (died 2021)
 * July 5: Harish Patel, Indian actor
 * July 11: Mindy Sterling, American actress
 * July 13: Gil Birmingham, American actor
 * July 20: Lee Garlington, American actress
 * July 26: Lesli Linka Glatter, American director
 * August 7: Lesley Nicol, English actress
 * August 8: Don Most, American actor and singer
 * August 9: Alf Humphreys, Canadian actor (died 2018)
 * August 11: Hulk Hogan, wrestler
 * August 12: Selina Cadell, English actress
 * August 13: Victor Colicchio, American actor, screenwriter, musician and songwriter
 * August 14: James Horner, American composer (died 2015)
 * August 18: Sergio Castellitto, Italian actor, director and screenwriter
 * August 27: Peter Stormare, Swedish actor
 * August 28: Dee Dee Rescher, American actress
 * August 30: Robin Harris, American comedian and actor (died 1990)
 * September 2: Keith Allen, British actor
 * September 6:
 * Anne Lockhart, American actress
 * Patti Yasutake, American actress
 * September 10: Amy Irving, American actress
 * September 16:
 * Lenny Clarke, American comedian and actor
 * Kurt Fuller, American character actor
 * September 18: Anna Thomson, American actress
 * October 4:
 * Christopher Fairbank, English actor
 * Tchéky Karyo, French actor
 * October 9:
 * Barbara March, Canadian actress (died 2019)
 * Tony Shalhoub, American actor
 * October 11:
 * David Morse, American actor, singer, director and writer
 * Bill Randolph, American actor
 * October 12: David Threlfall, English actor and director
 * October 15: Larry Miller, American comedian, actor, news podcaster and columnist
 * October 20: Bill Nunn, American actor (died 2016)
 * October 26:
 * Roger Allam, British actor
 * Maureen Teefy, actress
 * October 27:
 * Peter Firth, English actor
 * Robert Picardo, American actor
 * October 30: Charles Martin Smith, American actor, writer and director
 * October 31: Michael J. Anderson, actor
 * November 3:
 * Kate Capshaw, American actress
 * Dennis Miller, American comedian and television host
 * November 6: Ron Underwood, American director
 * November 8: John Musker, American animator, director, screenwriter and producer
 * November 13: Tom Villard, American actor (died 1993)
 * November 18
 * Kevin Nealon, American stand-up comedian and actor
 * Kath Soucie, American voice actress
 * November 19: Robert Beltran, American actor
 * November 20: Bembol Roco, Filipino actor
 * November 24: Glenn Withrow, American actor, director, producer and writer
 * November 27: Curtis Armstrong, American actor and singer
 * November 28: Pamela Hayden, American actress and voice actress
 * December 6
 * Gina Hecht, American actress
 * Tom Hulce, American actor
 * Wil Shriner, American actor, comedian, director and screenwriter
 * December 8
 * Kim Basinger, American actress
 * Sam Kinison, American stand-up comedian (died 1992)
 * December 9: John Malkovich, American actor
 * December 11: Richard Carter, Australian actor and voice-over artist (died 2019)
 * December 14: Vijay Amritraj, Indian sports commentator and actor
 * December 17:
 * Sally Menke, American editor (died 2010)
 * Bill Pullman, American actor
 * December 18: Melanie Kinnaman, American dancer and actress
 * December 22:
 * Jay Brazeau, Canadian actor
 * Gregor Fisher, Scottish comedian and actor
 * December 23: John Callahan, actor (died 2020)
 * December 24: Timothy Carhart, American actor
 * December 29: Charlayne Woodard, American playwright and actress
 * December 31: James Remar, American actor

Deaths

 * January 19: Arthur Hoyt, 78, American actor, Her Private Affair, Goldie Gets Along
 * February 2: Alan Curtis, 43, American actor, High Sierra, Buck Privates
 * February 27: Jessie Coles Grayson, 66, African-American contralto and actress, Cass Timberlane
 * March 5: Herman J. Mankiewicz, 55, American screenwriter, Citizen Kane, The Pride of the Yankees, Dinner at Eight, Man of the World
 * March 19: Irene Bordoni, 68, Corsican-American actress and singer, Paris, Louisiana Purchase
 * April 26: Rian James, 53, American screenwriter, 42nd Street, The Housekeeper's Daughter
 * May 30: Dooley Wilson, 67, American actor, Casablanca, Stormy Weather
 * June 5: Roland Young, 65, British actor, Topper, Ruggles of Red Gap, The Philadelphia Story, And Then There Were None
 * June 27: Chris-Pin Martin, 59, American actor, The Gay Caballero, Ride on Vaquero, Robin Hood of Monterey, King of the Bandits
 * June 30: Vsevolod Pudovkin, Soviet film director (born 1893)
 * July 3: Irving Reis, 47, American director, The Big Street, All My Sons
 * August 6
 * John Reinhardt, Austrian director, Sofia, Chicago Calling
 * Houseley Stevenson, American actor, Dark Passage, Kidnapped
 * August 9: Henri Étiévant, French actor, director (born 1870)
 * August 13: Paul Kemp, German actor (born 1896), Charley's Aunt
 * August 17: Albert Austin, British actor and director (born 1882), Suds, A Prince of a King
 * September 12: Lewis Stone, American actor (born 1879), Andy Hardy film series, The Prisoner of Zenda, Grand Hotel
 * October 6: Porter Hall, American actor (born 1888), Double Indemnity, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Going My Way, Miracle on 34th Street
 * October 8: Nigel Bruce, British actor (born 1895), Sherlock Holmes film series, Suspicion, Rebecca, The Rains Came, Treasure Island
 * October 13: Millard Mitchell, American character actor (born 1903), Singin' in the Rain, Winchester '73, The Gunfighter, The Naked Spur, Twelve O'Clock High
 * November 29: Sam De Grasse, Canadian actor (born 1875), Robin Hood, Blind Husbands
 * December 29: Violet MacMillan, American actress (born 1887), The Magic Cloak of Oz, Violet's Dreams

Debuts

 * Claude Akins – From Here to Eternity
 * Harry Andrews – The Red Beret
 * Carroll Baker – Easy to Love
 * Harry Belafonte – Bright Road
 * Jeanne Cooper – The Redhead from Wyoming
 * Kathryn Crosby – So This Is Love
 * Shirley Eaton – Personal Affair
 * Anita Ekberg – The Mississippi Gambler
 * Götz George – When the White Lilacs Bloom Again
 * Leo Gordon – China Venture
 * Lola Herrera – The Portico of Glory
 * Lou Jacobi – Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary?
 * Stanley Kubrick (director) – Fear and Desire
 * Jan Malmsjö – Marianne
 * Paul Mazursky – Fear and Desire
 * Steve McQueen – Girl on the Run
 * Nanette Newman – Personal Affair
 * Geraldine Page – Hondo
 * Anthony Perkins – The Actress
 * Marion Ross – Forever Female
 * Romy Schneider – When the White Lilacs Bloom Again
 * Harry Shearer – Abbott and Costello Go to Mars
 * Maureen Stapleton – Main Street to Broadway
 * Mel Welles – Appointment in Honduras
 * Billie Whitelaw – The Fake

title: 1953 in film


text:
1952 in film

The year 1952 in film involved some significant events.

United States
The top ten 1952 released films by box office gross in the United States are as follows:

Events

 * January 10 – Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, is premièred at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
 * March 27 – The MGM musical Singin' in the Rain premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
 * May 26 – Decision reached in Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson determining that certain provisions of the New York Education Law allowing a censor to forbid the commercial showing of any non-licensed motion picture film, or revoke or deny the license of a film deemed to be "sacrilegious," was a "restraint on freedom of speech" and thereby a violation of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
 * September 19 – While Charlie Chaplin is at sea on his way to the United Kingdom, the United States Attorney-General, James P. McGranery, announces plans to review his right to return to the US.
 * September 30 – The Cinerama multiple-projection widescreen system, invented by Fred Waller, makes its début in New York with the film This Is Cinerama.
 * November 27 – Bwana Devil, the first American, feature-length, color 3-D film, is released, and begins the demand for 3-D films that lasts for the next two years.

Notable films released in 1952
United States unless stated

#

 * 1st of April, 2000 – (Austria)
 * 5 Fingers, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, starring James Mason

A

 * Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
 * Above and Beyond, starring Robert Taylor and Eleanor Parker
 * Affair in Trinidad, starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford
 * Against All Flags, starring Errol Flynn and Maureen O'Hara
 * Alraune, starring Hildegard Knef and Erich von Stroheim – (West Germany)
 * Andrine og Kjell – (Norway)
 * Androcles and the Lion, starring Jean Simmons and Victor Mature
 * Angel Face, starring Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons
 * Angels One Five, starring Jack Hawkins – (GB)
 * Anhonee, starring Raj Kapoor and Nargis – (India)
 * At Sword's Point, starring Maureen O'Hara and Cornel Wilde
 * The Atomic City, starring Gene Barry and Lydia Clarke

B

 * Babes in Bagdad, starring Paulette Goddard and Gypsy Rose Lee
 * The Bad and the Beautiful, starring Lana Turner, Kirk Douglas, Walter Pidgeon, Dick Powell, Barry Sullivan, Gloria Grahame
 * Baiju Bawra, starring Meena Kumari – (India)
 * The Beast Must Die (La Bestia debe morir) – (Argentina)
 * Because of You, starring Loretta Young
 * Because You're Mine, starring Mario Lanza
 * The Belle of New York, starring Fred Astaire and Vera-Ellen
 * Les Belles de nuit (Beauties of the Night), directed by René Clair – (France)
 * Belles on Their Toes, starring Myrna Loy, Jeanne Crain, Debra Paget
 * Bend of the River, directed by Anthony Mann, starring James Stewart, Arthur Kennedy, Julie Adams, Rock Hudson
 * Beware, My Lovely, starring Ida Lupino and Robert Ryan
 * Big Jim McLain, starring John Wayne and James Arness
 * The Big Sky, starring Kirk Douglas
 * The Big Trees, starring Kirk Douglas
 * The Black Castle, starring Stephen McNally, Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr.
 * Blackbeard the Pirate, starring Robert Newton
 * Brandy for the Parson, starring James Donald and Kenneth More – (GB)
 * Buffalo Bill in Tomahawk Territory, starring Clayton Moore
 * The Bushwackers, starring John Ireland and Lawrence Tierney

C

 * California Conquest, starring Cornel Wilde and Teresa Wright
 * Captive Women, starring Robert Clarke
 * Carbine Williams, starring James Stewart and Jean Hagen
 * The Card, starring Alec Guinness, Glynis Johns, Petula Clark – (GB)
 * Carrie, starring Laurence Olivier, Jennifer Jones, Miriam Hopkins
 * Carson City, starring Randolph Scott
 * Casque d'Or (Golden Helmet), directed by Jacques Becker, starring Simone Signoret – (France)
 * Children of Hiroshima (Gembaku no ko) – (Japan)
 * Ciguli Miguli – (Yugoslavia)
 * The City Stands Trial (Processo alla città), directed by Luigi Zampa – (Italy)
 * Clash by Night, directed by Fritz Lang, starring Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Ryan, Paul Douglas, Marilyn Monroe
 * Come Back, Little Sheba, starring Burt Lancaster and Shirley Booth
 * The Crimson Pirate, starring Burt Lancaster

D

 * Dark River (Las aguas bajan turbias) – (Argentina)
 * Deadline - U.S.A., directed by Richard Brooks, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ethel Barrymore, Kim Hunter, Jim Backus, Martin Gabel
 * Denver and Rio Grande, starring Edmond O'Brien and Sterling Hayden
 * Derby Day, starring Anna Neagle and Michael Wilding – (Britain)
 * Desperate Search, starring Howard Keel and Jane Greer
 * The Devil Makes Three, starring Gene Kelly
 * Diplomatic Courier, directed by Henry Hathaway, starring Tyrone Power
 * Don't Bother to Knock, starring Richard Widmark, Anne Bancroft, Marilyn Monroe
 * Down Among the Z Men, starring The Goons – (GB)
 * Dreamboat, starring Ginger Rogers, Clifton Webb, Elsa Lanchester, Anne Francis

E

 * Emergency Call, directed by Lewis Gilbert, starring Jack Warner, Anthony Steel, Joy Shelton and Freddie Mills – (U.K.)
 * Europa '51, directed by Roberto Rossellini, starring Ingrid Bergman – (Italy)
 * The Eyes Leave Tracks (Los ojos dejan huella), starring Raf Vallone – (Spain)

F

 * Face to Face, starring James Mason and Robert Preston
 * Fanfan la Tulipe (a.k.a. Fearless Little Soldier), starring Gérard Philipe and Gina Lollobrigida – (France)
 * Flaming Feather, starring Sterling Hayden
 * Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice ( Ochazuke no aji), directed by Yasujirō Ozu – (Japan)
 * Flesh and Fury, starring Tony Curtis and Jan Sterling
 * Forbidden Games (Jeux interdits), directed by René Clément – winner of Oscar for best foreign language film – (France)

G

 * A Girl in Every Port, starring Groucho Marx, William Bendix, Marie Wilson, Dee Hartford
 * Gloria Mairena, directed by Luis Lucia, starring Juanita Reina, Eduardo Fajardo, Rafael Arcos (Spain)
 * The Golden Coach (Le Carrosse d'or), directed by Jean Renoir, starring Anna Magnani – (France/Italy)
 * The Greatest Show on Earth, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Betty Hutton, Cornel Wilde, Charlton Heston, Gloria Grahame, Dorothy Lamour, James Stewart

H

 * Hangman's Knot, starring Randolph Scott, Donna Reed, Lee Marvin
 * Hans Christian Andersen, starring Danny Kaye and Farley Granger
 * The Happy Family, directed by Muriel Box, starring Stanley Holloway and Kathleen Harrison – (GB)
 * The Happy Time, starring Charles Boyer and Bobby Driscoll
 * Has Anybody Seen My Gal?, starring Piper Laurie, Rock Hudson, Charles Coburn
 * Heidi, directed by Luigi Comencini – (Switzerland)
 * Hellgate, starring Sterling Hayden
 * Hiawatha, starring Vince Edwards
 * High Noon, directed by Fred Zinnemann, starring Gary Cooper (Oscar for best actor) and Grace Kelly
 * Los hijos de María Morales (The Children of Maria Morales), starring Pedro Infante – (Mexico)
 * Holiday for Sinners, starring Gig Young and Janice Rule
 * The Holly and the Ivy, starring Ralph Richardson and Celia Johnson – (GB)
 * Home at Seven, directed by and starring Ralph Richardson – (GB)
 * Horizons West, starring Robert Ryan, Rock Hudson, Raymond Burr
 * Hunted, directed by Charles Crichton, starring Dirk Bogarde and Jon Whiteley – (GB)

I

 * The I Don't Care Girl, starring Mitzi Gaynor and Oscar Levant
 * I Dream of Jeanie, starring Bill Shirley
 * Ikiru (To Live), directed by Akira Kurosawa, starring Takashi Shimura – winner of Golden Bear – (Japan)
 * The Importance of Being Earnest, directed by Anthony Asquith, starring Michael Redgrave – (GB)
 * Indian Uprising, starring George Montgomery
 * It Grows on Trees, starring Irene Dunne
 * Ivanhoe, starring Robert Taylor, Joan Fontaine, Elizabeth Taylor

J

 * Jaal (Net), starring Dev Anand – (India)
 * Jack and the Beanstalk, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
 * Japanese War Bride, starring Shirley Yamaguchi and Don Taylor
 * The Jazz Singer, starring Danny Thomas and Peggy Lee
 * Jolanda la figlia del corsaro nero (Jolanda, the Daughter of the Black Corsair) – (Italy)
 * Jumping Jacks, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
 * Just This Once, starring Janet Leigh, Peter Lawford

K

 * Kangaroo, starring Maureen O'Hara, Peter Lawford
 * Kansas City Confidential, starring John Payne and Coleen Gray
 * Kid Monk Baroni, starring Leonard Nimoy

L

 * Lady in the Iron Mask, starring Louis Hayward
 * Lambert the Sheepish Lion
 * The Last Page, a.k.a. Man Bait, starring George Brent, Marguerite Chapman, Diana Dors – (GB)
 * The Life of Oharu (Saikaku ichidai onna), directed by Kenji Mizoguchi – (Japan)
 * Lightning (Inazuma), directed by Mikio Naruse – (Japan)
 * Limelight, directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin, with Claire Bloom
 * Lola the Coalgirl, directed by Luis Lucia and starring Juanita Reina, Virgílio Teixeira (Spain)
 * Lone Star, starring Clark Gable and Ava Gardner
 * Lost in Alaska, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
 * Lovely to Look At, starring Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Red Skelton
 * Lure of the Wilderness, starring Jean Peters, Jeffrey Hunter, Walter Brennan
 * The Lusty Men, starring Robert Mitchum

M

 * Macao, starring Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell
 * Mandy, starring Phyllis Calvert and Jack Hawkins – (GB)
 * The Marrying Kind, starring Judy Holliday
 * Meet Danny Wilson, starring Frank Sinatra
 * The Member of the Wedding, starring Julie Harris
 * The Merry Widow, starring Lana Turner
 * Mexican Bus Ride (Subida al cielo), directed by Luis Buñuel – (Mexico)
 * Million Dollar Mermaid, starring Esther Williams and Victor Mature
 * The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima, starring Gilbert Roland
 * Les Misérables, starring Michael Rennie, Robert Newton, Debra Paget
 * Monkey Business, starring Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, Charles Coburn, Marilyn Monroe
 * Monsoon, starring Diana Douglas and Ursula Thiess
 * Montana Belle, starring Jane Russell
 * Moulin Rouge, starring José Ferrer and Zsa Zsa Gabor – (GB)
 * My Cousin Rachel, starring Olivia de Havilland and Richard Burton
 * My Pal Gus, starring Richard Widmark and George Winslow
 * My Six Convicts, starring Gilbert Roland
 * My Son John, starring Robert Walker and Van Heflin

N

 * The Narrow Margin, directed by Richard Fleischer, starring Charles McGraw
 * Neighbours – (Canada)
 * Never Look Back directed by Francis Searle, starring Rosamund John – (GB)
 * No Room for the Groom, directed by Douglas Sirk, starring Tony Curtis and Piper Laurie

O

 * O. Henry's Full House, an anthology film starring Charles Laughton, David Wayne, Marilyn Monroe, Richard Widmark, Anne Baxter, Jeanne Crain
 * One Big Affair, starring Evelyn Keyes
 * One Minute to Zero, directed by Tay Garnett, starring Robert Mitchum and Ann Blyth
 * Othello (a.k.a. The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice), written, directed by and starring Orson Welles
 * Outcast of the Islands, directed by Carol Reed, starring Ralph Richardson and Trevor Howard – (GB)
 * The Overcoat (Il Cappotto) – (Italy)

P

 * Pahit-Pahit Manis, starring Titien Sumarni and Chatir Harro (Indonesia)
 * Panta Rhei, directed by Bert Haanstra
 * Pat and Mike, starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn
 * Phone Call from a Stranger, starring Shelley Winters and Gary Merrill
 * The Pickwick Papers, starring James Hayter and James Donald – (GB)
 * Le Plaisir (a.k.a. House of Pleasure), directed by Max Ophüls, starring Claude Dauphin – (France)
 * The Planter's Wife, directed by Ken Annakin, starring Claudette Colbert, Jack Hawkins & Anthony Steel – (GB)
 * Pony Soldier, starring Tyrone Power
 * The Pride of St. Louis, starring Dan Dailey
 * The Prisoner of Zenda, starring Stewart Granger, Deborah Kerr, James Mason, Jane Greer

Q

 * The Quiet Man, directed by John Ford, starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara

R

 * Rancho Notorious, starring Marlene Dietrich
 * Red Ball Express, starring Jeff Chandler
 * Red Planet Mars, starring Peter Graves
 * Retreat, Hell!, starring Frank Lovejoy
 * Return of the Texan, starring Dale Robertson and Joanne Dru
 * Reverón, directed by Margot Benacerraf
 * Road to Bali, starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope
 * Rome 11:00 – (Italy)
 * Room for One More, starring Cary Grant and Betsy Drake
 * Ruby Gentry, starring Jennifer Jones, Charlton Heston and Karl Malden

S

 * Sailor Beware, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
 * Sangdil, starring Dilip Kumar and Madhubala – (India)
 * Saturday Island, starring Linda Darnell and Tab Hunter – (GB)
 * The Savage, starring Charlton Heston and Susan Morrow
 * Scandal Sheet, starring Broderick Crawford and Donna Reed
 * Scaramouche, starring Stewart Granger and Janet Leigh
 * The Scarlet Flower (Alenkiy tsvetochek) – (U.S.S.R.)
 * Sea Tiger, starring Marguerite Chapman
 * Secrets of Women (Kvinnors väntan), directed by Ingmar Bergman, starring Eva Dahlbeck – (Sweden)
 * Siempre tuya (Forever Yours) – (Mexico)
 * Singin' in the Rain, starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen, Donald O'Connor
 * The Sniper, directed by Edward Dmytryk
 * The Snow Maiden (Snegurochka) – (U.S.S.R.)
 * The Snows of Kilimanjaro, starring Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner
 * Something Money Can't Buy, directed by Pat Jackson, starring Patricia Roc, Anthony Steel, Moira Lister & A.E. Matthews – (U.K.)
 * Something to Live For, directed by George Stevens, starring Joan Fontaine and Teresa Wright
 * Son of Paleface, directed by Frank Tashlin, starring Bob Hope, Jane Russell, Roy Rogers
 * Song of the Sea (O canto do mar), directed by Alberto Cavalcanti – (Brazil)
 * The Sound Barrier, directed by David Lean, starring Ralph Richardson – (GB)
 * Springfield Rifle, starring Gary Cooper and Phyllis Thaxter
 * The Star, starring Bette Davis and Sterling Hayden
 * Stars and Stripes Forever, starring Clifton Webb, Debra Paget, Robert Wagner and Ruth Hussey
 * Steel Town, starring Ann Sheridan and John Lund
 * The Steel Trap, starring Joseph Cotten and Teresa Wright
 * The Stooge, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
 * Stop, You're Killing Me, starring Broderick Crawford and Claire Trevor
 * The Story of Will Rogers, starring Will Rogers Jr. and Jane Wyman
 * Sudden Fear, starring Joan Crawford, Jack Palance, Gloria Grahame

T

 * The Hour of 13, starring Peter Lawford
 * The Thief, starring Ray Milland
 * This Is Cinerama, directed by Merian C. Cooper
 * Thunderbirds, starring John Derek
 * Tico-Tico no Fubá, directed by Adolfo Celi – (Brazil)
 * Toto in Colour (Totò a colori), starring Totò – (Italy)
 * Toxi, directed by Robert A. Stemmle (West Germany)
 * Trent's Last Case, starring Orson Welles and Michael Wilding – (GB)
 * The Turning Point, starring William Holden, Alexis Smith, Edmond O'Brien
 * Two Cents Worth of Hope (Due soldi di speranza) – (Italy)

U

 * Umberto D., directed by Vittorio De Sica – (Italy)
 * Untamed Frontier, starring Joseph Cotten and Shelley Winters

V

 * La villa Santo-Sospir, short film directed by Jean Cocteau – (France)
 * Viva Zapata!, starring Marlon Brando and Jean Peters

W

 * We're Not Married!, starring Ginger Rogers, Marilyn Monroe, Eve Arden, Paul Douglas, Eddie Bracken, Mitzi Gaynor
 * The White Reindeer (Valkoinen peura) – (Finland)
 * The White Sheik (Lo sceicco bianco), directed by Federico Fellini – (Italy)
 * Who Goes There!, starring Nigel Patrick and Valerie Hobson – (GB)
 * Wide Boy, starring Sydney Tafler and Susan Shaw – (GB)
 * The Wild North, starring Stewart Granger and Cyd Charisse
 * Wings of Danger, directed by Terence Fisher, starring Zachary Scott – (GB)
 * The Witch (Noita palaa elämään) – (Finland)
 * With a Song in My Heart, starring Susan Hayward
 * A Woman Without Love (Una mujer sin amor), directed by Luis Buñuel – (Mexico)
 * The World in His Arms, starring Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, Ann Blyth

Y

 * You for Me, starring Peter Lawford, Jane Greer, Gig Young
 * Young Man with Ideas, starring Glenn Ford and Ruth Roman

January–March

 * February 7 - Viva Zapata!
 * February 13 - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (re-release)
 * February 19 - Retreat, Hell!
 * February 22
 * 5 Fingers
 * One Big Affair

April–June

 * April 4 - With a Song in My Heart
 * May 2 - The Narrow Margin
 * May 15 - Outcast of the Islands
 * June 13 - No Room for the Groom
 * June 26 - The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men

July–September

 * July 21 - One Minute to Zero
 * July 23 - Untamed Frontier
 * August 21 - The Quiet Man
 * September 18 - O. Henry's Full House

October–December

 * November 26 - Bwana Devil
 * December 25
 * The Bad and the Beautiful
 * Come Back, Little Sheba

Serials

 * Blackhawk, starring Kirk Alyn
 * King of the Congo, starring Buster Crabbe
 * Radar Men from the Moon, starring George D. Wallace and Aline Towne
 * Son of Geronimo starring Clayton Moore
 * Zombies of the Stratosphere, starring Judd Holdren and Leonard Nimoy

Short film series

 * Mickey Mouse (1928–1953)
 * Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
 * Terrytoons (1930–1964)
 * Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
 * Popeye (1933–1957)
 * The Three Stooges (1934–1959)
 * Donald Duck (1936)-(1956)
 * Goofy (1939–1953)
 * Tom and Jerry (1940–1958)
 * Bugs Bunny (1940–1962)
 * Mighty Mouse (1942–1955)
 * Chip and Dale (1943–1956)
 * Droopy (1943–1958)
 * Yosemite Sam (1945–1963)

Births

 * January 1 - David Andrews, American character actor
 * January 6
 * Armelia McQueen, American actress (died 2020)
 * Frank Sivero, Italian-American character actor
 * January 11 - Bille Brown, Australian actor (died 2013)
 * January 18 - Michael Angelis, English actor (died 2020)
 * January 22 – Ace Vergel, Filipino actor (died 2007)
 * February 2 - Carol Ann Susi, American actress (died 2014)
 * February 4
 * Lisa Eichhorn, American actress
 * Richard Lineback, American actor
 * February 12 – Simon MacCorkindale, English actor (died 2010)
 * February 14 - Anton Lesser, English actor
 * February 23 – Tzi Ma, Hong Kong-American actor
 * March 2 – Laraine Newman, American actress, voice actress, comedian and writer
 * March 4 - Ronn Moss, American actor, musician and singer-songwriter
 * March 6 - John David Carson, American actor (died 2009)
 * March 11 - James Fleet, English actor
 * March 19 – Harvey Weinstein, American producer
 * March 24 - Nicholas Campbell, Canadian actor and filmmaker
 * March 27 – Kalju Orro, Estonian actor
 * April 1 – Annette O'Toole, American actress
 * April 5 - Mitch Pileggi, American actor
 * April 6 – Marilu Henner, American actress
 * April 7
 * Dennis Hayden, American actor, producer and writer
 * Clarke Peters, American-British actor, writer and director
 * April 8 - Andrew Stahl, American actor
 * April 10
 * Robert Miranda, American actor
 * Steven Seagal, American actor & martial artist
 * April 11 - Michael Thomas, British actor (died 2019)
 * April 13 - Erick Avari, Indian-American actor
 * April 15 – Glenn Shadix, American actor (died 2010)
 * April 16 – Billy West, American voice actor, musician, singer and songwriter
 * April 17 - Joe Alaskey, American stand-up comedian, actor, voice artist, and impressionist (died 2016)
 * April 26 - Spice Williams-Crosby, American actress
 * April 28 – Mary McDonnell, American actress
 * May 1 - Pierre van Pletzen, South African actor, writer and director
 * May 2
 * Christine Baranski, American actress
 * Thom Gossom Jr., American actor
 * May 6
 * Gregg Henry, American actor & musician
 * Fred Newman, American actor and comedian
 * May 9 - Patrick Ryecart, English actor
 * May 11
 * Shohreh Aghdashloo, Iranian-American actress
 * Frances Fisher, British-born American actress
 * May 14 – Robert Zemeckis, American director
 * May 15 – Chazz Palminteri, American actor
 * May 20 - Julia Deakin, English actress
 * May 21 - Mr. T, American actor, bodyguard, television personality and retired professional wrestler
 * May 22 - Mike Muscat, American actor
 * May 28 - Denis Akiyama, Canadian actor (died 2018)
 * May 31 – Carole Achache, French writer, photographer and actress (died 2016)
 * June 4 - Kerry Shale, Canadian actor and writer
 * June 5 - Connie Chiume, South African actress and filmmaker
 * June 7 – Liam Neeson, Northern Irish actor
 * June 18
 * Miriam Flynn, American voice actress and character actress
 * Carol Kane, American actress
 * Isabella Rossellini, Italian actress
 * June 19 - Virginia Hey, Australian actress
 * June 20
 * John Goodman, American actor
 * Larry Riley, American actor and musician (died 1992)
 * June 22 - Graham Greene, Canadian actor
 * June 26 - Peter Crombie, American actor (died 2024)
 * June 30 - Patrick Pinney, American actor
 * July 1
 * Dan Aykroyd, Canadian actor & comedian
 * Brian George, Israeli-English actor, voice artist, comedian and singer
 * July 3 - Rick Ducommun, Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, writer and producer (died 2015)
 * July 6 - Dean Parisot, American director
 * July 8 - Mary Ellen Trainor, American character actress (died 2015)
 * July 11
 * Tim de Zarn, American actor
 * Stephen Lang, American actor
 * July 13 - Rosemary Dunsmore, Canadian actress and director
 * July 14
 * Stan Shaw, American actor
 * Joel Silver, American producer
 * July 15
 * Celia Imrie, English actress
 * Terry O'Quinn, American actor
 * Judson Scott, American actor
 * July 17 - David Hasselhoff, American actor, singer, producer and television personality
 * July 20
 * Adrian Biddle, English cinematographer (died 2005)
 * Nathaniel Lees, New Zealand actor and director
 * July 21 - George Wallace, American comedian and actor
 * July 24 – Gus Van Sant, American director
 * August 10
 * Daniel Hugh Kelly, American actor
 * Diane Venora, American actress
 * August 12 - Ronald Guttman, Belgian actor and producer
 * August 16 – Reginald VelJohnson, American actor
 * August 18 – Patrick Swayze, American actor & dancer (died 2009)
 * August 19 – Jonathan Frakes, American actor & director
 * August 26 – Michael Jeter, American actor (died 2003)
 * August 27 – Paul Reubens, American actor, comedian, writer and producer (died 2023)
 * September 1 - Michael Massee, American actor (died 2016)
 * September 4
 * Alan Blumenfeld, American character actor
 * Rishi Kapoor, Indian actor (died 2020)
 * September 5 - Michael Horton, American actor
 * September 6 - Vitali Baganov, Russian actor
 * September 8 - David R. Ellis, American director and stunt performer (died 2013)
 * September 9 - Angela Cartwright, British-American actress
 * September 13 - Christine Estabrook, American actress
 * September 16 – Mickey Rourke, American actor and screenwriter
 * September 19 – Rein Aedma, Estonian actor
 * September 24 – Christopher Reeve, American actor (died 2004)
 * September 25 - Colin Friels, Scottish-born Australian actor
 * September 26 - James Keane, American actor
 * September 29 - Gábor Csupó, Hungarian animator, writer, director, producer, and graphic designer
 * September 30
 * John Finn, American character actor
 * Al Leong, American stuntman and actor
 * October 5 - Harold Faltermeyer, German musician and composer
 * October 7
 * Mary Badham, American actress
 * Tom McBride, American actor (died 1995)
 * October 8 - Edward Zwick, American filmmaker
 * October 13 - John Lone, Chinese-American actor
 * October 14 - Rick Aviles, American stand-up comedian and actor (died 1995)
 * October 22
 * Jeff Goldblum, American actor
 * John Howard, Australian actor
 * October 27 – Roberto Benigni, Italian actor
 * October 28
 * Annie Potts, American actress
 * Jim Turner, American actor and stand-up comedian
 * October 30 - Emily Kuroda, American actress
 * November 3
 * Roseanne Barr, American actress and stand-up comedian
 * Jim Cummings, American voice actor
 * November 6 - Gary Goetzman, American producer and actor
 * November 8 – Alfre Woodard, American actress
 * November 9 - John Megna, American actor and director (died 1995)
 * November 13 - Art Malik, Pakistani-born British actor
 * November 14
 * Bill Farmer, American voice actor and comedian
 * Chris Noonan, Australian filmmaker and actor
 * Maggie Roswell, American actress, comedian, writer and producer
 * November 15 – Randy Savage, American professional wrestler, commentator, actor, rapper and professional baseball player (died 2011)
 * November 18 – Delroy Lindo, British actor
 * November 24 – Ulrich Seidl, Austrian director
 * November 28 - S. Epatha Merkerson, American actress
 * November 29 - Jeff Fahey, American actor
 * November 30 – Mandy Patinkin, American actor
 * December 1 - Forry Smith, American actor
 * December 2 - Keith Szarabajka, American actor
 * December 3 - Mel Smith, English comedian, actor and director (died 2013)
 * December 8 - Greg Collins, American character actor and former professional football linebacker
 * December 9 - Michael Dorn, American actor
 * December 12 – Sarah Douglas, English actress
 * December 20 – Jenny Agutter, English actress
 * December 21 - Dennis Boutsikaris, American character actor
 * December 25 - CCH Pounder, Guayanese-born American actress
 * December 29 – Külliki Saldre, Estonian actress

Deaths

 * January 18 – Curly Howard, comedian (b. 1903), The Three Stooges
 * January 25 – Polly Moran, actress (b. 1883), Chasing Rainbows, Adam's Rib
 * March 1 – Gregory La Cava, director (b. 1892), My Man Godfrey, Stage Door
 * March 26 – J. P. McGowan, director (b. 1880), Where the West Begins, Tarzan and the Golden Lion
 * April 21 – Leslie Banks, actor (b. 1890), The Most Dangerous Game, Jamaica Inn
 * May 9 – Canada Lee, actor (b. 1907), Lifeboat, Lost Boundaries, Cry, the Beloved Country
 * May 21 – John Garfield, actor (b. 1913), Body and Soul, Nobody Lives Forever, Gentleman's Agreement
 * May 8 – William Fox, movie executive (b. 1879), 7th Heaven
 * May 26 – Richard Rober, actor (b. 1910), The Well, The File on Thelma Jordon
 * June 27 – Elmo Lincoln, actor (b. 1889), Tarzan of the Apes, The Adventures of Tarzan
 * July 6 – Gertrud Wolle, actress (b. 1891), The Hound of the Baskervilles
 * August 2 – J. Farrell MacDonald, actor (b. 1875), Me and My Gal, The Last Alarm
 * August 18 – Ralph Byrd, actor (b. 1909), Dick Tracy's Dilemma, The Vigilante
 * August 28 – Lamar Trotti, screenwriter (b. 1900), The Ox-Bow Incident, Cheaper by the Dozen
 * September 7 – Gertrude Lawrence, actress (b. 1898), Rembrandt, The Glass Menagerie
 * October 11 – Jack Conway, director (b. 1888), Boom Town, Libeled Lady, Viva Villa!
 * October 17 – Julia Dean, stage and screen actress (b. 1878), A Society Exile, The Curse of the Cat People
 * October 20 – Basil Radford, actor (b. 1887), Crook's Tour, The Galloping Major
 * October 23 – Susan Peters, actress (b. 1921), Song of Russia, Random Harvest
 * October 26 – Hattie McDaniel, actress (b. 1893), Gone with the Wind, Saratoga
 * November 1 – Dixie Lee, actress (b. 1912), Manhattan Love Song, Love in Bloom
 * November 6 – George H. Reed, actor, (b. 1866), Huckleberry Finn, Green Pastures

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: 1952 in film


text:
1951 in film

The year 1951 in film involved some significant events.

United States
The top ten 1951 released films by box office gross in the United States are as follows:

International
The highest-grossing 1951 films in countries outside of North America.

Worldwide gross
The following table lists known worldwide gross figures for several high-grossing films that originally released in 1951. Note that this list is incomplete and is therefore not representative of the highest-grossing films worldwide in 1951. This list also includes gross revenue from later re-releases.

Events

 * February 15 – new management takes over at United Artists with Arthur B. Krim, Robert Benjamin and Matty Fox now in charge.
 * April – French magazine Cahiers du cinéma is first published.
 * July 26 – Walt Disney's Alice in Wonderland premieres; while a disappointment at first and hardly released in theaters, it would later become one of the biggest cult classics in the animation medium as well as make millions in television viewings and subsequent releases on home video.
 * September 10 – Rashomon wins the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, bringing worldwide attention to Japanese film.
 * September – The House Un-American Activities Committee investigation into Communism in the film industry starts to wind up after four years. They report in February 1952 that Hollywood has not done enough against Communist employees and hearings and blacklisting continues.
 * December 14 – Raj Kapoor's first blockbuster movie, Awaara is released in India.
 * December 29 – The Wilhelm scream, one of the most frequently-used stock sound effects, makes its first use in the film Distant Drums. The scream would not get its name until The Charge at Feather River in 1953.

Top ten money making stars
The Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll was published by Quigley Publishing Company based on a poll of U.S. movie theater owners who were asked to name who they felt were the previous year's top 10 moneymaking stars.

They also published a Western stars poll which Roy Rogers topped for the ninth year running.

Notable films released in 1951
United States release unless stated

#

 * The 13th Letter, directed by Otto Preminger, starring Linda Darnell and Charles Boyer

A

 * Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
 * Ace in the Hole (a.k.a. The Big Carnival), directed by Billy Wilder, starring Kirk Douglas and Jan Sterling
 * Across the Wide Missouri, starring Clark Gable
 * The African Queen, directed by John Huston, starring Humphrey Bogart (Oscar for best actor) and Katharine Hepburn – (GB/US)
 * Air Cadet, starring Gail Russell and Stephen McNally
 * Alice in Wonderland, an animated film by Walt Disney
 * Along the Great Divide, starring Kirk Douglas
 * An American in Paris, directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron (Oscar for best picture)
 * Angels in the Outfield, starring Paul Douglas and Janet Leigh
 * Anna, starring Silvana Mangano, Raf Vallone and Vittorio Gassman – (Italy)
 * Another Man's Poison, directed by Irving Rapper, starring Bette Davis, Gary Merrill, Emlyn Williams and Anthony Steel – (GB)
 * Apache Drums, starring Stephen McNally and Coleen Gray
 * Appointment with Danger, starring Alan Ladd, with future Dragnet (series) co-stars Jack Webb and Harry Morgan
 * Appointment with Venus, starring Glynis Johns and David Niven – (U.K.)
 * As Young as You Feel, starring Monty Woolley
 * Atoll K, starring Laurel and Hardy in their final film
 * Awaara (Tramp), directed by and starring Raj Kapoor – (India)
 * The Axe of Wandsbek (Das Beil von Wandsbek) – (East Germany)

B

 * Badal (Cloud), starring Madhubala and Prem Nath – (India)
 * Baazi (Gamble), starring Dev Anand – (India)
 * Bedtime for Bonzo, starring Ronald Reagan (with a chimpanzee)
 * Bellissima, directed by Luchino Visconti, starring Anna Magnani – (Italy)
 * Blackmailed, starring Mai Zetterling and Dirk Bogarde – (GB)
 * The Blue Veil, starring Jane Wyman
 * Bright Victory, starring Arthur Kennedy
 * The Browning Version, directed by Anthony Asquith, starring Michael Redgrave and Jean Kent – (GB)
 * Bullfighter and the Lady, starring Robert Stack and Joy Page

C

 * Callaway Went Thataway, starring Fred MacMurray, Dorothy McGuire, Howard Keel
 * Call Me Mister, starring Betty Grable
 * Captain Horatio Hornblower, starring Gregory Peck – (GB)
 * Cattle Drive, starring Joel McCrea, Dean Stockwell and Chill Wills
 * Cause for Alarm!, starring Loretta Young and Barry Sullivan
 * China Corsair, starring Jon Hall
 * Circle of Danger, starring Ray Milland – (GB)
 * The Clouded Yellow, starring Trevor Howard and Jean Simmons – (GB)
 * Come Fill the Cup, starring James Cagney and Gig Young
 * Comin' Round The Mountain, starring Abbott and Costello
 * Cops and Robbers (Guardie e ladri), directed by Mario Monicelli – (Italy)
 * Cry Danger, starring Dick Powell and Rhonda Fleming
 * Cry, the Beloved Country, directed by Zoltan Korda, starring Sidney Poitier – (GB)

D

 * Darling, How Could You!, starring Joan Fontaine
 * Daughter of Deceit (La hija del engaño), directed by Luis Buñuel – (Mexico)
 * David and Bathsheba, starring Gregory Peck and Susan Hayward
 * The Day the Earth Stood Still, directed by Robert Wise, starring Michael Rennie and Patricia Neal
 * Death of a Salesman, starring Fredric March
 * Deburau, directed by Sacha Guitry – (France)
 * Decision Before Dawn, starring Richard Basehart, Gary Merrill and Oskar Werner
 * Deedar, starring Ashok Kumar, Dilip Kumar, Nargis – (India)
 * The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel, starring James Mason
 * Detective Story, starring Kirk Douglas, Eleanor Parker, William Bendix, Lee Grant, Horace McMahon, and George Macready
 * Diary of a Country Priest (Journal d'un curé de campagne), directed by Robert Bresson – (France)
 * Distant Drums, directed by Raoul Walsh, starring Gary Cooper
 * Double Dynamite, starring Jane Russell, Frank Sinatra and Groucho Marx
 * Dream of a Cossack (Kavalier zolotoy zvezdy), starring Sergei Bondarchuk – (U.S.S.R.)
 * Daar Doer in Die Bosveld (Far Away in the Bushveld), starring Jamie Uys – (South Africa)

E

 * Early Summer (Bakushū), directed by Yasujirō Ozu – (Japan)
 * Encore, starring Nigel Patrick and Kay Walsh – (GB)
 * The Enforcer (Murder, Inc.), starring Humphrey Bogart and Zero Mostel

F

 * FBI Girl, starring Audrey Totter and Cesar Romero
 * The Family Secret, starring John Derek and Lee J. Cobb
 * Father's Little Dividend, starring Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor
 * The Fighting Seventh (a.k.a. Little Big Horn), starring Lloyd Bridges
 * Flying Leathernecks, starring John Wayne and Robert Ryan
 * Follow the Sun, starring Glenn Ford (as Ben Hogan)
 * The Forbidden Christ (Il Cristo proibito), starring Raf Vallone – (Italy)
 * Fort Worth, starring Randolph Scott
 * Four in a Jeep (Die Vier im Jeep), starring Ralph Meeker and Viveca Lindfors – (Switzerland)
 * Fourteen Hours, starring Paul Douglas, Richard Basehart, Jeffrey Hunter and Grace Kelly
 * The Frogmen, starring Richard Widmark and Dana Andrews
 * Furrows (Surcos) – (Spain)

G

 * Go for Broke!, starring Van Johnson
 * Golden Girl, starring Mitzi Gaynor, Dale Robertson, Dennis Day
 * The Golden Horde, starring Ann Blyth
 * Goodbye My Fancy, starring Joan Crawford and Robert Young
 * The Great Caruso, starring Mario Lanza
 * The Great Missouri Raid, starring Wendell Corey
 * The Groom Wore Spurs, starring Ginger Rogers
 * Grounds for Marriage, starring Kathryn Grayson and Van Johnson
 * The Guy Who Came Back, starring Paul Douglas

H

 * Half Angel, starring Loretta Young
 * Happy Go Lovely, starring David Niven and Vera-Ellen – (GB)
 * He Ran All the Way, starring John Garfield and Shelley Winters
 * Here Comes the Groom, directed by Frank Capra, starring Bing Crosby
 * His Kind of Woman, starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell, Vincent Price and Raymond Burr
 * Hollywood Story, starring Richard Conte and Julie Adams
 * The House in Montevideo (Das Haus in Montevideo) – (West Germany)
 * The House on Telegraph Hill, starring Richard Basehart

I

 * I Can Get It for You Wholesale, starring Susan Hayward
 * I'll Never Forget You
 * I'll See You in My Dreams
 * I Want You, directed by Mark Robson, starring Dana Andrews
 * The Idiot (Hakuchi), directed by Akira Kurosawa – (Japan)
 * Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison, starring Steve Cochran

J

 * Jim Thorpe – All-American, starring Burt Lancaster
 * Journey Into Light, directed by Stuart Heisler, starring Sterling Hayden
 * Juliette, or Key of Dreams (Juliette ou La clef des songes), directed by Marcel Carné – (France)

K

 * Kind Lady, directed by John Sturges, starring Ethel Barrymore, Maurice Evans, Keenan Wynn, Angela Lansbury
 * Kon-Tiki, a documentary directed by and starring Thor Heyerdahl – (Norway)

L

 * The Last Outpost, starring Ronald Reagan
 * Laughter in Paradise, starring Alastair Sim – (GB)
 * The Lavender Hill Mob, directed by Charles Crichton, starring Alec Guinness, Stanley Holloway, Sid James and Alfie Bass, with an early appearance by Audrey Hepburn – (GB)
 * The Lemon Drop Kid, starring Bob Hope, Marilyn Maxwell, William Frawley and Tor Johnson
 * Let's Go Crazy, starring Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers – (GB)
 * Leva på 'Hoppet', starring Ingrid Thulin – (Sweden)
 * Lightning Strikes Twice, starring Ruth Roman and Mercedes McCambridge
 * Little Egypt, starring Rhonda Fleming and Mark Stevens
 * The Long Dark Hall, starring Rex Harrison – (GB)
 * Lost Continent, starring Cesar Romero
 * Love Nest, starring June Haver and Marilyn Monroe
 * Lullaby of Broadway

M

 * The Magic Box, starring Robert Donat, a biopic of William Friese-Greene – (GB)
 * The Man with a Cloak, starring Joseph Cotten
 * The Magnificent Yankee, starring Louis Calhern
 * Malliswari, starring N.T. Rama Rao – (India)
 * The Man in the White Suit, directed by Alexander Mackendrick, starring Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Cecil Parker, Michael Gough and Ernest Thesiger – (GB)
 * The Man With the Twisted Lip (British TV movie) a Sherlock Holmes mystery directed by Richard M. Grey, starring John Longden as Sherlock Holmes and Campbell Singer as Watson
 * The Mating Season, starring Gene Tierney, John Lund, Miriam Hopkins and Thelma Ritter
 * The Medium, starring Marie Powers – (Italy)
 * Miracle in Milan (Miracolo a Milano), directed by Vittorio De Sica – (Italy)
 * Miss Julie (Fröken Julie), directed by Alf Sjöberg – (Sweden)
 * The Model and the Marriage Broker, starring Jeanne Crain, Thelma Ritter, Scott Brady, Zero Mostel
 * Mr. Imperium, starring Lana Turner and Ezio Pinza
 * My Favorite Spy, starring Bob Hope and Hedy Lamarr

N

 * New Mexico, starring Lew Ayres and Marilyn Maxwell
 * The Night Before Christmas (Noch pered Rozhdestvom) – (U.S.S.R.)
 * No Highway in the Sky (No Highway), starring James Stewart, Glynis Johns and Marlene Dietrich – (GB)

O

 * Olivia, directed by Jacqueline Audry – (France)
 * On Dangerous Ground, starring Ida Lupino and Robert Ryan
 * On Moonlight Bay, starring Doris Day and Gordon MacRae
 * On the Riviera, starring Danny Kaye
 * One Summer of Happiness (Hon dansade en sommar) – (Sweden)
 * Only the Valiant, starring Gregory Peck

P

 * Painting the Clouds with Sunshine, starring Virginia Mayo
 * Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, starring Ava Gardner and James Mason – (GB)
 * Paris Vice Squad (Identité judiciaire) – (France)
 * Payment on Demand, starring Bette Davis and Barry Sullivan
 * Penny Points to Paradise, starring Harry Secombe, Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan – (GB)
 * The People Against O'Hara, starring Spencer Tracy
 * People Will Talk, starring Cary Grant, Jeanne Crain, Hume Cronyn and Finlay Currie
 * A Place in the Sun, directed by George Stevens, starring Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Shelley Winters and Raymond Burr
 * Pool of London, directed by Basil Dearden, starring Leslie Phillips, James Robertson Justice and Earl Cameron – (GB)
 * The Prowler, directed by Joseph Losey, starring Van Heflin and Evelyn Keyes

Q

 * Quo Vadis, directed by Mervyn LeRoy, starring Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr, Peter Ustinov and Leo Genn

R

 * The Racket, starring Robert Mitchum
 * The Raging Tide, starring Richard Conte and Shelley Winters
 * Rawhide, starring Tyrone Power and Susan Hayward
 * The Red Badge of Courage, directed by John Huston, starring Audie Murphy
 * Red Mountain, starring Alan Ladd and Lizabeth Scott
 * Repast (Meshi), directed by Mikio Naruse, written by the novelist Yasunari Kawabata – (Japan)
 * El revoltoso (The Rebellious) – (Mexico)
 * Rhubarb, starring Ray Milland, Jan Sterling, William Frawley and Leonard Nimoy
 * Rich, Young and Pretty, starring Jane Powell
 * The River (Le Fleuve), directed by Jean Renoir – (France/India/US)
 * Royal Wedding, starring Fred Astaire, Peter Lawford and Jane Powell

S

 * ...Sans laisser d'adresse (No Forwarding Address), starring Bernard Blier and Danièle Delorme – (France)
 * Santa Fe, starring Randolph Scott
 * Saturday's Hero, starring John Derek and Donna Reed
 * Scrooge (A Christmas Carol), starring Alastair Sim – (GB)
 * The Secret of Convict Lake, starring Glenn Ford and Gene Tierney
 * Selamat Berdjuang, Masku!, starring Raden Sukarno and Marlia Hardi – (Indonesia)
 * Sherlock Holmes (British) series of 6 made-for TV Sherlock Holmes films directed by C. A. Lajeune, all starring Alan Wheatley as Holmes and Raymond Francis as Watson
 * Show Boat, a remake of the hit musical, starring Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, and Ava Gardner, with songs by Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern
 * Silver City, starring Edmond O'Brien and Yvonne De Carlo
 * The Sinner, directed by Willi Forst, starring Hildegard Knef and Gustav Fröhlich (West Germany)
 * Sirocco, starring Humphrey Bogart and Märta Torén
 * Slaughter Trail, starring Gig Young and Virginia Grey
 * Smuggler's Island, starring Jeff Chandler and Evelyn Keyes
 * Spring Season (Bahar), first Hindi film of Vyjayanthimala and the producer A. V. Meiyappan – (India)
 * Starlift, starring Janice Rule and Ruth Roman
 * The Steel Helmet, directed by Samuel Fuller
 * Storm Warning, starring Ginger Rogers, Ronald Reagan and Doris Day
 * The Strange Door, starring Charles Laughton and Boris Karloff
 * Strangers on a Train, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Farley Granger and Robert Walker
 * A Streetcar Named Desire, directed by Elia Kazan, starring Vivien Leigh (Oscar for best actress), Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter and Karl Malden
 * Strictly Dishonorable, starring Ezio Pinza and Janet Leigh
 * The Strip, starring Mickey Rooney and Sally Forrest
 * Sugarfoot, starring Randolph Scott
 * Summer Interlude (Sommarlek), directed by Ingmar Bergman – (Sweden)
 * Superman and the Mole Men, starring George Reeves
 * Susana (a.k.a. The Devil and the Flesh), directed by Luis Buñuel – (Mexico)
 * The Sword of Monte Cristo, starring George Montgomery

T

 * Take Care of My Little Girl, directed by Jean Negulesco, starring Jeanne Crain and Mitzi Gaynor
 * A Tale of Five Cities (Passaporto per l'oriente) – (Italy/GB)
 * The Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari) – (Japan)
 * The Tales of Hoffmann, a cinematic opera directed by Powell and Pressburger and starring Moira Shearer – (GB)
 * The Tall Target, starring Dick Powell, Adolphe Menjou, Marshall Thompson and Ruby Dee
 * Tarana, starring Madhubala and Dilip Kumar – (India)
 * Tetsu no tsume, directed by Nobuo Adachi for Daiei Films
 * That Happy Couple (Esa pareja feliz), directed by Juan Antonio Bardem and Luis García Berlanga – (Spain)
 * That's My Boy, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
 * The Thing from Another World, produced by Howard Hawks, starring Kenneth Tobey and James Arness as the title creature
 * Three Guys Named Mike, starring Jane Wyman
 * Thunder on the Hill, directed by Douglas Sirk, starring Claudette Colbert and Ann Blyth
 * Tom Brown's Schooldays, starring John Howard Davies and Robert Newton – (GB)
 * Tomahawk, starring Van Heflin and Yvonne De Carlo
 * Two of a Kind, starring Edmond O'Brien and Lizabeth Scott
 * Two Tickets to Broadway, starring Janet Leigh, Tony Martin, Gloria DeHaven

V

 * Vengeance Valley, starring Burt Lancaster and Joanne Dru
 * Victimas del Pecado (Victims of Sin) – (Mexico)

W

 * Warpath, starring Edmond O'Brien, Forrest Tucker, Polly Bergen
 * Warsaw Premiere, directed by Jan Rybkowski (Poland)
 * The Well, starring Harry Morgan
 * Westward the Women, starring Robert Taylor
 * When Worlds Collide, starring Richard Derr, Barbara Rush, Larry Keating, John Hoyt and Hayden Rorke
 * Where No Vultures Fly, directed by Harry Watt, starring Anthony Steel, Dinah Sheridan, Harold Warrender and Meredith Edwards – (U.K.)

Y

 * You Never Can Tell, starring Dick Powell
 * Young Wives' Tale, starring Joan Greenwood – (GB)
 * You're in the Navy Now, starring Gary Cooper
 * Your Day Will Come (Lak Yawm Ya Zalem) – (Egypt)

Serials

 * Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere, starring Judd Holdren
 * Don Daredevil Rides Again, starring Ken Curtis and Aline Towne
 * Government Agents vs Phantom Legion, starring Walter Reed
 * Mysterious Island, starring Richard Crane
 * Roar of the Iron Horse, starring Buster Crabbe

Short film series

 * Mickey Mouse (1928–1953)
 * Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
 * Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
 * Popeye (1933–1957)
 * The Three Stooges (1934–1959)
 * Donald Duck (1936–1956)
 * Pluto (1937–1951)
 * Goofy (1939–1953)
 * Tom and Jerry (1940–1958)
 * Bugs Bunny (1940–1964)
 * Mighty Mouse (1942–1955)
 * Chip and Dale (1943–1956)
 * Yosemite Sam (1945–1963)
 * Terrytoons (1930–1971)
 * Noveltoons (1944–1967)

Births

 * January 1 - Nana Patekar, Indian actor, screenwriter, and film director
 * January 8 – John McTiernan, American director
 * January 12 – Kirstie Alley, American actress (died 2022)
 * January 15
 * Charo, Spanish American actress, singer and comedian
 * Basil Wallace, Jamaican-born American actor
 * January 22 - Steve J. Spears, Australian actor, writer and singer (died 2007)
 * January 23 - David Patrick Kelly, American actor and musician
 * January 29 - Maria Klenskaja, Estonian actress (died 2022)
 * January 30
 * Phil Collins, English drummer, singer-songwriter and actor
 * Charles S. Dutton, American retired actor and director
 * February 4 - Patrick Bergin, Irish actor and singer
 * February 5 - Robin Sachs, English actor (died 2013)
 * February 13 – David Naughton, American actor & singer
 * February 15
 * Paul Kandel, American actor and singer
 * Jane Seymour, English actress
 * February 16 – William Katt, American actor
 * February 20 - Eva Rueber-Staier, Austrian actress, television host and model
 * February 22 – Ellen Greene, American singer and actress
 * February 24 – Helen Shaver, Canadian actress and film and television director
 * March 17 – Kurt Russell, American actor
 * April 6 – Rita Raave, Estonian actress
 * April 11
 * Gerry Becker, American actor (died 2019)
 * Jay Benedict, American actor (died 2020)
 * April 12 – Tom Noonan, American actor
 * April 13
 * John Furey, American actor
 * Brent Jennings, American actor
 * April 17 – Olivia Hussey, Argentine-born English actress
 * April 21 – Tony Danza, American actor and boxer
 * April 22 - Robin Bartlett, American actress
 * May 4 - Gérard Jugnot, French actor, director, screenwriter and producer
 * May 8 - Cooper Huckabee, American actor
 * May 19 - Robert Harper, American actor (died 2020)
 * May 29 - Michael O'Neill, American actor
 * May 30 – Stephen Tobolowsky, American actor
 * June 1 - Lena Farugia, American-born South African actress, screenwriter, director and producer (died 2019)
 * June 2 - Frank C. Turner, Canadian actor
 * June 5 - Mark Harelik, American actor and playwright
 * June 9 – James Newton Howard, American film composer
 * June 13 - Stellan Skarsgård, Swedish actor
 * June 16 - John Salthouse, British actor and producer
 * June 20 - Tress MacNeille, American voice actress, and singer
 * June 23 - Jim Metzler, retired American actor
 * June 26 – Robert Davi, American actor, singer, writer and director
 * June 27 - Julia Duffy, American actress
 * June 28
 * David Gautreaux, American actor
 * Ellis E. Williams, American actor and comedian
 * July 1 - Trevor Eve, English actor
 * July 4 – Vincent Marzello, American-born actor (died 2020)
 * July 6 – Geoffrey Rush, Australian actor
 * July 7 - Roz Ryan, American actress, singer, voice actress and comedian
 * July 8 – Anjelica Huston, American actress
 * July 9 – Chris Cooper, American actor
 * July 10 – Phyllis Smith, American actress
 * July 12 – Cheryl Ladd, American actress
 * July 13 - Didi Conn, American actress
 * July 15 - Jesse Ventura, American actor and pro wrestler
 * July 18 - Margo Martindale, American character actress
 * July 20 - Jeff Rawle, English actor
 * July 21
 * Lillias White, American actress and singer
 * Robin Williams, American actor & comedian (died 2014)
 * July 24
 * Lynda Carter, American actress & singer
 * Fiona Reid, English-born Canadian actress
 * July 29
 * Jack Blessing, American actor (died 2017)
 * Gavan O'Herlihy, Irish-born American actor (died 2021)
 * August 2 - Marcel Iureș, Romanian actor
 * August 6 – Catherine Hicks, American actress
 * August 8 - Martin Brest, American director, screenwriter and producer
 * August 14 – Carl Lumbly, American actor
 * August 18 - Teri McMinn, American actress and model
 * August 21 - Randy Thom, American sound designer
 * August 22 - Gordon Liu, Chinese martial arts actor
 * August 30 – Timothy Bottoms, American actor
 * September 2
 * Michael Gray, American actor
 * Mark Harmon, American actor
 * September 4 - Judith Ivey, American actress
 * September 5 – Michael Keaton, American actor
 * September 9 - Tom Wopat, American actor and singer
 * September 10 - Harry Groener, German-born American actor
 * September 12 – Joe Pantoliano, American actor
 * September 13 - Jean Smart, American actress
 * September 17 – Cassandra Peterson, American actress
 * September 22 – Amanda Mackey, American casting director (died 2022)
 * September 25 – Mark Hamill, American actor
 * September 29 - Cindy Morgan, American actress (d. 2023)
 * October 5 - Karen Allen, American actress
 * October 16
 * Daniel Gerroll, English actor
 * Morgan Stevens, American actor (died 2022)
 * October 22 - Marshall Napier, New Zealand character actor (died 2022)
 * October 24 - Antoñito Ruiz, Spanish former child actor and stuntman
 * October 28 - Renato Cecchetto, Italian actor and voice actor (died 2022)
 * October 30 – Harry Hamlin, American actor
 * November 6 - Nigel Havers, English actor and presenter
 * November 9 – Lou Ferrigno, American actor
 * November 11 - Bill Moseley, American actor and musician
 * November 15 – Beverly D'Angelo, American actress
 * November 16 - Miguel Sandoval, American actor
 * November 17
 * Francis Guinan, American actor
 * Stephen Root, American actor and voice actor
 * November 20 – Rodger Bumpass, American actor & voice actor
 * November 27 – Kathryn Bigelow, American director
 * December 1 – Treat Williams, American actor (died 2023)
 * December 14 - Celia Weston, American character actress
 * December 16
 * Bill Johnson, American actor
 * David Schofield, English actor
 * December 22 - Dan Martin, American actor
 * December 26 - Steve Bisley, Australian writer and actor

Deaths

 * January 11 – Charles W. Goddard, American playwright, screenwriter (born 1879), The Exploits of Elaine
 * January 18 – Jack Holt, American actor (born 1888), Flight, San Francisco
 * March 6 – Ivor Novello, Welsh actor, singer, composer (born 1893), The Lodger, I Lived with You
 * March 14 – Val Lewton, Russian-American director (born 1904), Cat People, The Body Snatcher
 * March 25 – Oscar Micheaux, American director, author (born 1884), The Girl From Chicago
 * April 4 – Al Christie, Canadian-born director, producer (born 1881), Charley's Aunt
 * April 22 – Stanley Ridges, British actor (born 1890), To Be or Not to Be, Sergeant York
 * May 2 – Edwin L. Marin, American director (born 1899), Fort Worth, Maisie
 * May 2 – Paul L. Stein, Austrian director (born 1892), Red Wagon, The Twenty Questions Murder Mystery
 * May 7 – Warner Baxter, American actor (born 1882), 42nd Street, Crime Doctor
 * May 17 – S. Sylvan Simon, American director (born 1910), The Fuller Brush Man, I Love Trouble
 * May 29 – Fanny Brice, American entertainer and actress, My Man, Everybody Sing
 * June 2 – Ernst Pittschau, German actor (born 1883), The Picture of Dorian Gray
 * June 6 – Olive Tell, American actress (born 1894), The Trap
 * June 9 – Mayo Methot, American actress (born 1904), Marked Woman
 * July 23 – Robert J. Flaherty, American documentary filmmaker (born 1884), Nanook of the North
 * August 16 – Louis Jouvet, French actor (born 1887), Hôtel du Nord
 * August 28 – Robert Walker, American actor (born 1918), Strangers on a Train, The Clock
 * August 30 – Konstantin Märska, Estonian cinematographer (born 1896)
 * September 7 – Maria Montez, Dominican-born actress (born 1912), Arabian Nights, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
 * October 12 – Leon Errol, Australian-born actor (born 1881), Never Give a Sucker an Even Break, Joe Palooka
 * October 22 – Phil Rosen, Polish-American director (born 1876), Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat, Roar of the Press
 * November 3 – Richard Wallace, American director (born 1894), Tycoon, Framed

Film Debuts

 * Dawn Addams – Night into Morning
 * Bibi Andersson – Miss Julie
 * Ernest Borgnine – China Corsair
 * Willis Bouchey – Elopement
 * William Boyett – Street Bandits
 * Jeff Bridges – The Company She Keeps
 * Charles Bronson – You're in the Navy Now
 * Leslie Caron – An American in Paris
 * John Cassavetes – Fourteen Hours
 * Mara Corday – Two Tickets to Broadway
 * Scatman Crothers – Yes Sir, Mr. Bones
 * Harold Gould – The Man from Planet X
 * Lee Grant – Detective Story
 * Peter Graves – Rogue River
 * Nancy Kulp – The Model and the Marriage Broker
 * Harvey Lembeck – You're in the Navy Now
 * Terence Longdon – Appointment with Venus
 * Lee Marvin – You're in the Navy Now
 * Patty McCormack – Two Gals and a Guy
 * Ralph Meeker – Die Vier im Jeep
 * Mary Murphy – The Lemon Drop Kid
 * Burt Mustin – The Last Outpost
 * Leonard Nimoy – Queen for a Day
 * Aldo Ray – Saturday's Hero
 * William Shatner – The Butler's Night Off
 * Robert Shaw – The Lavender Hill Mob
 * Rod Steiger – Teresa
 * Harry Towb – The Quiet Woman
 * Mamie Van Doren – Footlight Varieties
 * Joyce Van Patten – Fourteen Hours
 * Stuart Whitman – When Worlds Collide

title: 1951 in film