text:
1956 in film

The following is an overview of 1956 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.

Top-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1956 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Events

 * February 5 – First showing of documentary films by the Free Cinema movement, at the National Film Theatre, London.
 * February 16 – Carousel is the first film released that was shot in CinemaScope 55.
 * February 23 – Arthur B. Krim and Robert Benjamin acquire Mary Pickford's interest in United Artists for $3 million giving them full ownership of UA.
 * 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.
 * February – Darryl F. Zanuck announces his resignation as head of production of 20th Century Fox after 20 years as the studio head. He is later replaced by Buddy Adler.
 * April 18 – Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier III and becomes Princess consort of Monaco. She stops acting. Her last feature film, High Society, is released in July.
 * May 30 – United Artists release Trapeze which becomes their highest-grosser until surpassed by Around the World in 80 Days the following year.
 * July – Harry and Albert Warner sell their stock in Warner Bros. Jack L. Warner retains his and becomes president.
 * July 25 – The comedy partnership between Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis ends. Their last film together, Hollywood or Bust, is released later in the year.
 * August 4 – The last film serial, Blazing the Overland Trail from Columbia Pictures, is released.
 * October 5 – The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas. It was the most expensive film of all time with a cost of $13 million and becomes one of the most successful and popular films of all time, currently ranking 6th on the list of all time moneymakers (when adjusted for inflation).  It was director Cecil B. DeMille's last film.
 * October 17 – Mike Todd's Around the World in 80 Days is released and goes on to become United Artists' highest-grossing film.
 * October 18 – Joseph Vogel becomes president of MGM.
 * November 1 – The film Oklahoma!, released in 1955 to select cities in Todd-AO, now receives a U.S. national release in CinemaScope, since not all theatres are yet equipped for Todd-AO. To accomplish this, the film has actually been shot twice, rather than printing one version in two different film processes, as is later done.
 * November 15 – Elvis Presley's first film, Love Me Tender, opens.
 * November 28
 * And God Created Woman opens in France making Brigitte Bardot an international star.
 * It is announced that production head Dore Schary will leave MGM at the end of the year.
 * December 14 – Dance with Me, Henry is the last film featuring the comedy duo Abbott and Costello.

January–March

 * January 1956
 * 11 January
 * The Lieutenant Wore Skirts
 * 12 January
 * Diane
 * 26 January
 * Helen of Troy
 * 29 January
 * Warning from Space (Japan)
 * February 1956
 * 5 February
 * Invasion of the Body Snatchers
 * 16 February
 * Carousel
 * 25 February
 * The Lone Ranger
 * March 1956
 * 3 March
 * Forbidden Planet
 * 6 March
 * 1984 (U.K.)
 * 9 March
 * Come Next Spring
 * Meet Me in Las Vegas
 * 10 March
 * Never Say Goodbye
 * 21 March
 * Rock Around the Clock
 * 23 March
 * Serenade
 * 24 March
 * Raw Edge
 * 25 March
 * Indestructible Man
 * World Without End
 * 28 March
 * The Conqueror

April–June

 * April 1956
 * 4 April
 * The Maverick Queen
 * 6 April
 * Jubal
 * 10 April
 * Seven Wonders of the World
 * 11 April
 * Backlash
 * 24 April
 * Our Miss Brooks
 * 26 April
 * The Creature Walks Among Us
 * 27 April
 * Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
 * May 1956
 * 8 May
 * The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
 * 9 May
 * The Harder They Fall
 * 15 May
 * Invitation to the Dance
 * 26 May
 * The Searchers
 * 30 May
 * Trapeze
 * While the City Sleeps
 * The Animal World
 * June 1956
 * 1 June
 * The Man Who Knew Too Much
 * 6 June
 * The Killing
 * 10 June
 * Crime in the Streets
 * 12 June
 * A Kiss Before Dying
 * 13 June
 * Earth vs. the Flying Saucers
 * Star in the Dust
 * 15 June
 * Gunslinger
 * 20 June
 * Safari
 * 21 June
 * The Eddy Duchin Story
 * 22 June
 * The Catered Affair
 * 27 June
 * Moby Dick
 * 29 June
 * The King and I

July–September

 * July 1956
 * 6 July
 * The Fastest Gun Alive
 * 12 July
 * Foreign Intrigue
 * 15 July
 * It Conquered the World
 * 17 July
 * High Society
 * 18 July
 * Davy Crockett and the River Pirates
 * 23 July
 * Dakota Incident
 * 25 July
 * Pardners
 * 29 July
 * Hold Back the Night
 * 30 July
 * Run for the Sun
 * August 1956
 * The Beast of Hollow Mountain
 * 1 August
 * Autumn Leaves
 * 3 August
 * Mukh O Mukhosh, highest grossing Dhallywood, Bangladesh film of 1956.
 * 17 August
 * A Cry in the Night
 * These Wilder Years
 * 21 August
 * War and Peace
 * 24 August
 * A Strange Adventure
 * 26 August
 * The Swan
 * 29 August
 * The First Traveling Saleslady
 * The Vagabond King
 * September 1956
 * 12 September
 * The Bad Seed
 * 15 September
 * Lust for Life
 * 21 September
 * The Last Wagon
 * 28 September
 * The Best Things in Life Are Free

October–December

 * October 1956
 * 5 October
 * The Ten Commandments
 * 17 October
 * Around the World in 80 Days
 * Attack
 * Julie
 * 26 October
 * The Opposite Sex
 * 31 October
 * Death of a Scoundrel
 * You Can't Run Away from It
 * November 1956
 * 1 November
 * Naked Gun
 * The White Squaw
 * 15 November
 * Love Me Tender
 * Gun the Man Down
 * 18 November
 * Yield to the Night (U.K.)
 * 24 November
 * Giant
 * 25 November
 * Friendly Persuasion
 * 29 November
 * The Teahouse of the August Moon
 * December 1956
 * 1 December
 * The Mole People
 * The Girl Can't Help It
 * Curucu, Beast of the Amazon
 * 5 December
 * Man Beast
 * 6 December
 * Hollywood or Bust
 * Nightfall
 * 12 December
 * Bundle of Joy
 * 13 December
 * Anastasia
 * The Rainmaker
 * 21 December
 * The King and Four Queens
 * 25 December
 * Written on the Wind
 * 26 December
 * Rodan (Japan)
 * Zarak
 * 29 December
 * Baby Doll
 * The Great Man

Notable films released in 1956
United States 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/United States)
 * 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 & André 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! directed by Terry Morse and Ishirō Honda, starring Raymond Burr and Takashi Shimura – (Japan/United States)
 * 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
 * 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 Lone Ranger, starring Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels
 * 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)
 * Marie Antoinette Queen of Francem directed by Jean Delannoy, starring Michèle Morgan and Richard Todd – (France)
 * The Maverick Queen, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Barry Sullivan
 * 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)
 * The Mystery of Picasso, a documentary featuring Pablo Picasso, directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot

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 Nielsen, Joan Collins
 * Othello, starring Sergei Bondarchuk – (U.S.S.R.)
 * Over-Exposed, starring Cleo Moore

P

 * 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

Q

 * Qivitoq – (Denmark)

R

 * The Rack, starring Paul Newman, Edmond O'Brien, Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Lee Marvin, and Cloris Leachman
 * The Railroad Man (Il Ferroviere), directed by and starring Pietro Germi – (Italy)
 * The Rainmaker, starring Burt Lancaster, Katharine Hepburn, Lloyd Bridges and Wendell Corey
 * Raj Hath, starring Madhubala – (India)
 * 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

 * 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)

U

 * Uncle Hyacynth (Mi tío Jacinto) – (Spain)

V

 * 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
 * Wakeful Eyes, directed by Ezz El-Dine Zulficar, starring Salah Zulfikar and Shadia – (Egypt)
 * 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

 * X the Unknown, starring Dean Jagger and Leo McKern – (GB)

Y

 * 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

Z

 * Zarak, starring Victor Mature – (GB)

Serials

 * Blazing the Overland Trail, starring Lee Roberts and Dennis Moore
 * Perils of the Wilderness

Short film series

 * 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)
 * Woody Woodpecker (1940-1972)

Ending this year
 * Donald Duck (1934-1956)
 * Chip 'n' Dale (1943-1956)

Births

 * January 1 - Sheila McCarthy, Canadian actress and singer
 * January 3 – Mel Gibson, American Irish actor and director
 * January 7 – David Caruso, American actor
 * January 9
 * Imelda Staunton, English actress
 * Kimberly Beck, American actress
 * January 13 - Janet Hubert, American actress
 * January 20 - Bill Maher, American comedian, writer, producer, actor and television host
 * January 21
 * Geena Davis, American actress
 * Robby Benson, American actor
 * January 22 - Michael Kopsa, Canadian actor (d. 2022)
 * January 24 - Peter Woodward, English actor, screenwriter and stuntman
 * January 25 – Dinah Manoff, American actress and director
 * January 27
 * Susan Blakeslee, American voice actress and musical theatre actress
 * Mimi Rogers, American actress
 * January 30 - Ann Dowd, American actress
 * January 31 - John Lydon, English actor
 * February 3 – Nathan Lane, American actor
 * February 12 – Arsenio Hall, American comedian, actor and talk show host
 * February 13 - Jimmy Yuill, Scottish actor
 * February 14 - Tom Burlinson, Canadian-Australian actor and singer
 * February 15 - Olga Merediz, American actress and singer
 * February 17 – Richard Karn, American actor
 * February 19 – Kathleen Beller, American actress
 * February 26 - Jonathan Schmock, American actor, director, producer and writer
 * February 28 – Lloyd Sherr, American voice actor
 * March 1 – Tim Daly, American actor
 * March 5 - Adriana Barraza, Mexican actress
 * March 7 – Bryan Cranston, American actor and director
 * March 8 - John Kapelos, Canadian actor
 * March 11 – Rob Paulsen, American voice actor
 * March 12 – Lesley Manville, English Actress
 * March 13 – Dana Delany, American actress
 * March 16 - Clifton Powell, American actor
 * March 25 - Matthew Garber, British actor and filmmaker (d. 1977)
 * March 26 – Erika Kaljusaar, Estonian actress
 * March 27 - Michael Harney, American actor
 * March 30 - Paul Reiser, American comedian, actor and musician
 * April 8 - Jim Piddock, English actor, producer and writer
 * April 12 – Andy García, Cuban-American actor
 * April 14 - Chris Ellis, American character actor
 * April 17 - Vyto Ruginis, English actor and producer
 * April 18 – Eric Roberts, American actor
 * April 20 - Georgie Glen, Scottish actress
 * April 22 - Bruce A. Young, American actor, writer and screenwriter
 * April 27 - Kevin McNally, English actor and writer
 * April 30 – Lars von Trier, Danish director
 * May 4 - Ralph Seymour, American actor
 * May 5 – Lisa Eilbacher, American actress
 * May 7 – S. Scott Bullock, American voice actor
 * May 9 – Wendy Crewson, Canadian actress
 * May 10
 * Paige O'Hara, American actress, voice actress, singer and painter
 * Jonathan Roberts, American screenwriter, producer and author
 * May 12 – Kimiko Yo, Japanese actress
 * May 13 - Fred Melamed, American actor, comedian and writer
 * May 17 - Bob Saget, American stand-up comedian, actor and television host (d. 2022)
 * May 19 - Steven Ford, American actor
 * June 1 - Tom Irwin, American actor
 * June 4 – Keith David, American actor
 * June 5 - Roger Michell, British director (d. 2021)
 * June 15
 * Ava Cadell, former actress, writer and producer
 * Robin Curtis, American actress
 * June 18 - Marsha Garces Williams, American producer
 * June 22 - Tim Russ, American actor, director, screenwriter and musician
 * June 25 - Chloe Webb, American actress
 * June 27 - John Michael Bolger, American actor
 * June 30 - David Alan Grier, American actor, singer and comedian
 * July 1 – Alan Ruck, American actor
 * July 2 - Jerry Hall, American actress and model
 * July 9 – Tom Hanks, American actor and director
 * July 11 – Sela Ward, American actress
 * July 16 - Tony Kushner, American author, playwright and screenwriter
 * July 19 - Peter Barton, American retired actor
 * July 25 - Roger Clinton Jr., American actor and musician
 * July 31
 * Michael Biehn, American actor
 * R. A. Mihailoff, American actor
 * August 10 - Peter Robbins, American child actor (d. 2022)
 * August 12 – Bruce Greenwood, Canadian actor
 * August 17 – Mahendra Perera, Sri Lankan actor
 * August 19 - Adam Arkin, American actor and director
 * August 20 – Joan Allen, American actress
 * August 21 – Kim Cattrall, English-born Canadian actress
 * August 23 - Skipp Sudduth, American actor
 * August 24 - Kevin Dunn, American actor
 * August 26 - Brett Cullen, American actor
 * August 28 – Luis Guzman, Puerto Rican character actor
 * September 5 - Debbie Turner, American actress
 * September 7 - Michael Beattie, Canadian-American actor
 * September 11
 * Tony Gilroy, American filmmaker
 * Adriane Lenox, American actress
 * September 16 - Jimmy Chisholm, Scottish actor
 * September 18 - Tim McInnerny, English actor
 * September 20 – Gary Cole, American actor
 * September 26 – Linda Hamilton, American actress
 * September 28 - Kiran Shah, Kenyan-Indian actor and stunt double
 * September 29 - Stuart Charno, American actor
 * October 2 - Charlie Adler, American voice actor and voice director
 * October 3 - Hart Bochner, Canadian actor, director, screenwriter and producer
 * October 4 – Christoph Waltz, Austrian-German actor
 * October 10
 * Amanda Burton, Northern Irish actress
 * Fiona Fullerton, British actress and singer
 * October 14 - Bruce MacVittie, American actor (d. 2022)
 * October 20 – Danny Boyle, English director and producer
 * October 21 – Carrie Fisher, American actress (d. 2016)
 * October 23 - Dwight Yoakam, American singer-songwriter, actor and filmmaker
 * October 24 - Erich Anderson, American actor (d. 2024)
 * October 26 – Rita Wilson, American actress and producer
 * October 30 - Juliet Stevenson, English actress
 * November 3 - Gary Ross, American director, writer and producer
 * November 8 – Richard Curtis, New Zealand-born British director and screenwriter
 * November 9 - Tyler Coppin, American-Australian actor
 * November 10
 * Matt Craven, Canadian character actor
 * Sinbad, American stand-up comedian and actor
 * November 13 - Rex Linn, American actor
 * November 16 - Dan Shor, American actor, director and writer
 * November 17 - Kelly Ward, American actor and voice director
 * November 20 – Bo Derek, American actress and model
 * November 21 - Timothy Stack, American actor, producer and screenwriter
 * November 22 – Richard Kind, American actor and voice actor
 * November 24 - Ruben Santiago-Hudson, American actor and director
 * November 26 - Don Lake, Canadian actor and writer
 * November 27 - William Fichtner, American actor
 * December 2 - Steven Bauer, Cuban-born American actor
 * December 7 - Mark Rolston, American character actor
 * December 8 – Michael C. Burgess, British actor
 * December 10 - Catherine Parks, American actress
 * December 17 – Peter Farrelly, American film director
 * December 20 - Blanche Baker, American actress and filmmaker
 * December 22 - Ray Lui, Hong Kong actor

Deaths

 * 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
 * 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 4 – Lloyd Ingraham, 81, American actor and director, Scaramouche, West of the Rio Grande
 * April 14 – Christian Rub, 70, Austrian actor, Father's Son, Something for the Birds
 * 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 24 – Henry Stephenson, 85, British actor, Mutiny on the Bounty, Oliver Twist
 * 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 2 – Jean Hersholt, 69, Danish-American actor, Heidi
 * 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 6 – Paul Kelly, 57, American actor, Juvenile Court, Adventure in Sahara
 * November 10 – Victor Young, 56, American composer, Around the World in 80 Days, For Whom the Bell Tolls
 * 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 8 – Jack Cohn, 67, co-founder of Columbia Pictures
 * 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

title: 1956 in film


text:
1955 in film

The year 1955 in film involved some significant events.

Top-grossing films (U.S.)
The top-grossing hits of 1955 in the United States.

Top-grossing films by country
The highest-grossing 1955 films from countries outside of North America.

Events

 * January 7 – U.K. release of the Halas and Batchelor film animation of George Orwell's Animal Farm (completed April 1954), the first full-length British-made animated feature on general theatrical release.
 * February 24 - 12th Golden Globe Awards announced: On The Waterfront, Marlon Brando, & Judy Garland win
 * March 18 – The film adaptation of Evan Hunter's novel Blackboard Jungle previews in New York City, featuring the single "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets over the opening credits, the first use of a rock and roll song in a major film. Teenagers jump from their seats to dance to it.
 * June 1 – Premiere of Billy Wilder's film of The Seven Year Itch featuring an iconic scene of Marilyn Monroe standing on a New York City Subway grating as her white dress is blown above her knees.
 * June 16 – Lady and the Tramp, the Walt Disney company's 15th animated film, premieres in Chicago, the first animated feature filmed in the CinemaScope widescreen process. Peggy Lee co-writes and sings the songs.
 * June 27 – The last Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released.
 * July 18 – Disneyland opens to the public in Anaheim, California.
 * September 30 – American actor James Dean dies in an automobile collision near Cholame, California, age 24. On October 27, the film Rebel Without a Cause, in which he stars, is released.
 * October 11 – Theatrical release in the United States of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical film Oklahoma!, the first feature photographed in the Todd-AO 70 mm widescreen process.
 * November 3 – The musical film Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, is premiered in New York City.
 * November 22 – The death of Shemp Howard requires use of a Fake Shemp to complete The Three Stooges films which he has commenced.
 * December – United Artists quit the Motion Picture Association of America over the decision to deny The Man With the Golden Arm a Production Code seal.
 * December 7 – The film Picnic starring William Holden and Kim Novak is released.

January–March

 * January 1955
 * January 1
 * Young at Heart
 * January 26
 * The Violent Men
 * January 29
 * The Americano
 * January 31
 * Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops
 * February 1955
 * February 2
 * Battle Cry
 * February 8
 * Cinerama Holiday
 * March 1955
 * A Man Called Peter
 * March 1
 * Untamed
 * March 4
 * Hit the Deck
 * March 20
 * Blackboard Jungle
 * March 23
 * Revenge of the Creature
 * March 24
 * The Glass Slipper
 * March 25
 * Strategic Air Command

April–June

 * April 1955
 * April 1
 * Magdana's Donkey (Georgia)
 * April 9
 * Escape to Burma
 * April 10
 * East of Eden
 * Marty
 * April 13
 * Rififi (France)
 * April 20
 * Violent Saturday
 * April 24
 * Godzilla Raids Again (Japan)
 * May 1955
 * May 6
 * The Prodigal
 * May 11
 * Bride of the Monster
 * May 25
 * Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier
 * May 30
 * Cult of the Cobra
 * June 1955
 * June 1
 * Son of Sinbad
 * June 3
 * The Seven Year Itch
 * June 4
 * The Sea Chase
 * June 10
 * 5 Against the House
 * This Island Earth
 * June 15
 * The Beast with a Million Eyes
 * June 17
 * King Dinosaur
 * June 22
 * Lady and the Tramp
 * Land of the Pharaohs
 * June 23
 * Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy
 * Date unknown
 * Footsteps in the Fog

July–September

 * July 1955
 * July 7
 * We're No Angels
 * July 13
 * Foxfire
 * July 22
 * How to Be Very, Very Popular
 * The Night of the Hunter
 * July 30
 * Mister Roberts
 * Pete Kelly's Blues
 * Dates Unknown
 * Not as a Stranger
 * It Came From Beneath the Sea
 * August 1955
 * August 3
 * To Catch a Thief
 * August 5
 * Journey to the Beginning of Time
 * The King's Thief
 * August 14
 * Half Human (Japan)
 * August 17
 * To Hell and Back
 * August 25
 * You're Never Too Young
 * August 26
 * The Quatermass Xperiment
 * September 1955
 * September 22
 * The Tall Men
 * September 30
 * The Trouble with Harry

October–December

 * October 1955
 * October 7
 * Trial
 * October 11
 * Oklahoma!
 * October 19
 * The Treasure of Pancho Villa
 * October 29
 * Rebel Without a Cause
 * November 1955
 * November 3
 * Guys and Dolls
 * November 7
 * Artists and Models
 * November 23
 * The Adventures of Quentin Durward
 * December 1955
 * December 7
 * Picnic
 * The Last Frontier
 * December 12
 * The Rose Tattoo
 * December 13
 * Richard III
 * December 15
 * The Man with the Golden Arm
 * December 22
 * The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell
 * Tarantula!
 * December 25
 * All That Heaven Allows
 * I'll Cry Tomorrow
 * Date unknown
 * Day the World Ended
 * The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues

Notable films released in 1955
United States unless stated

#

 * 5 Against the House, starring Kim Novak, Guy Madison, Brian Keith

A

 * Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, featuring an appearance by Mack Sennett
 * Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
 * Above Us the Waves, starring John Mills – (GB)
 * The Adventures of Quentin Durward, starring Robert Taylor, Kay Kendall
 * Ain't Misbehavin', starring Piper Laurie, Rory Calhoun, Mamie Van Doren
 * All That Heaven Allows, directed by Douglas Sirk, starring Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson
 * The Americano, starring Glenn Ford
 * Le Amiche (The Girlfriend), directed by Michelangelo Antonioni – (Italy)
 * Anděl na horách (Angel in the Mountains) – (Czechoslovakia)
 * Apache Ambush, starring Richard Jaeckel
 * Artists and Models, starring Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Dorothy Malone, Shirley MacLaine
 * Azaad, starring Dilip Kumar – (India)

B

 * Bad Day at Black Rock, directed by John Sturges, starring Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Walter Brennan
 * Battle Cry, starring Van Heflin, Aldo Ray, Anne Francis
 * The Beast with a Million Eyes
 * Bedevilled, starring Anne Baxter and Steve Forrest
 * The Big Combo, starring Cornel Wilde, Richard Conte, Brian Donlevy, Jean Wallace
 * The Big Knife, starring Jack Palance, Ida Lupino, Jean Hagen, Rod Steiger, Shelley Winters
 * Blackboard Jungle, starring Glenn Ford, Anne Francis, Louis Calhern, Sidney Poitier, Vic Morrow, Richard Kiley
 * Blood Alley, starring John Wayne and Lauren Bacall
 * A Bullet for Joey, starring Edward G. Robinson and George Raft

C

 * Captain Lightfoot, starring Rock Hudson
 * Carrington V.C., starring David Niven – (GB)
 * Cast a Dark Shadow, starring Dirk Bogarde – (GB)
 * Chief Crazy Horse, starring Victor Mature
 * Cinerama Holiday
 * Ciske de Rat (aka A Child Needs Love) – (Netherlands)
 * The Cobweb, directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Richard Widmark, Gloria Grahame, Lauren Bacall, Charles Boyer, Lillian Gish
 * The Cockleshell Heroes, directed by and starring José Ferrer, with Trevor Howard – (GB)
 * The Colditz Story, directed by Guy Hamilton, starring John Mills and Eric Portman – (GB)
 * Confession, directed by Ken Hughes, starring Sydney Chaplin – (GB)
 * The Constant Husband, starring Rex Harrison, Margaret Leighton, Kay Kendall – (GB)
 * Count Three and Pray, starring Van Heflin, Joanne Woodward and Raymond Burr
 * The Counterfeit Coin – (Greece)
 * The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell, directed by Otto Preminger, starring Gary Cooper, Ralph Bellamy, Rod Steiger, Elizabeth Montgomery
 * El Coyote
 * Crashout, starring Arthur Kennedy and William Bendix
 * The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz (Ensayo de un Crimen), directed by Luis Buñuel – (Mexico)

D

 * Daddy Long Legs, starring Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron
 * The Dam Busters, starring Richard Todd and Michael Redgrave, with an early role by Robert Shaw – (GB)
 * Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier, starring Fess Parker and Buddy Ebsen
 * Death of a Cyclist (Muerte de un ciclista), directed by Juan Antonio Bardem – (Spain)
 * The Deep Blue Sea, starring Vivien Leigh – (GB)
 * The Desperate Hours, starring Humphrey Bogart and Fredric March
 * Devdas, based on novel with same name, starring Dilip Kumar, Vyjayanthimala, Suchitra Sen – (India)
 * Les Diaboliques (The Devils), directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot, starring Simone Signoret – (France)
 * Dreams (Kvinnodröm), directed by Ingmar Bergman, starring Eva Dahlbeck – (Sweden)

E

 * East of Eden, directed by Elia Kazan, starring Julie Harris, James Dean (in his first major role), Raymond Massey
 * The Enchanted Boy (Zakoldovanyy malchik) – (USSR)
 * Escuela de vagabundos (School for Tramps), starring Pedro Infante – (Mexico)

F

 * The Far Horizons, starring Fred MacMurray, Charlton Heston, Donna Reed, Barbara Hale
 * The Fast and the Furious, starring John Ireland and Dorothy Malone
 * Female on the Beach, starring Joan Crawford, Jeff Chandler, Jan Sterling
 * Fire in the Night (Det brenner i natt!) – (Norway)
 * Floating Clouds (Ukigumo) – (Japan)
 * Footsteps in the Fog, starring Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons – (GB)
 * Foxfire, starring Jane Russell
 * Francis in the Navy, starring Donald O'Connor and Martha Hyer, with Clint Eastwood in an early role

G

 * Galapagos, a documentary by Thor Heyerdahl – (Norway)
 * A Generation (Pokolenie), directed by Andrzej Wajda – (Poland)
 * The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing, directed by Richard Fleischer, starring Ray Milland, Joan Collins, Farley Granger – (U.S.)
 * The Girl Rush, starring Rosalind Russell, Fernando Lamas, Gloria DeHaven
 * Godzilla Raids Again (Gojira no Gyakushū) – (Japan)
 * Good Morning, Miss Dove, starring Jennifer Jones and Robert Stack
 * The Good Soldier Schweik, animation directed by Jiří Trnka – (Czechoslovakia)
 * Guys and Dolls, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, starring Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra, Vivian Blaine

H

 * Hell on Frisco Bay, starring Alan Ladd and Edward G. Robinson
 * Hell's Island, starring John Payne and Mary Murphy
 * Heroes of Shipka (Geroite na Shipka) – (Bulgaria/USSR)
 * The Hidden One (La Escondida), starring Pedro Armendáriz – (Mexico)
 * Hit the Deck, directed by Roy Rowland, starring Jane Powell, Debbie Reynolds, Ann Miller, Tony Martin, Vic Damone
 * House of Bamboo, starring Robert Ryan
 * How to Be Very, Very Popular, starring Betty Grable in her final film role

I

 * I Am a Camera, starring Julie Harris and Laurence Harvey – (GB)
 * I Died a Thousand Times, starring Jack Palance, Shelley Winters, Earl Holliman, Lee Marvin
 * I Live in Fear (Ikimono no kiroku), directed by Akira Kurosawa – (Japan)
 * I'll Cry Tomorrow, starring Susan Hayward
 * Illegal, a film noir starring Edward G. Robinson and Jayne Mansfield
 * Interrupted Melody, starring Eleanor Parker and Glenn Ford
 * It Came from Beneath the Sea, starring Kenneth Tobey and Faith Domergue, with special effects by Ray Harryhausen
 * It Happened on July 20th (Es geschah am 20. Juli), directed by G. W. Pabst, starring Bernhard Wicki – (Austria)
 * It's Always Fair Weather, starring Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey, Michael Kidd, Cyd Charisse

J

 * Jedda, directed by Charles Chauvel – (Australia)
 * John and Julie, starring Moira Lister and Sid James – (GB)
 * Journey to the Beginning of Time (Cesta do Pravěku) – (Czechoslovakia)
 * Jupiter's Darling, directed by George Sidney, starring Esther Williams and Howard Keel

K

 * Kanyasulkam, starring N. T. Rama Rao – (India)
 * The Kentuckian, directed by and starring Burt Lancaster, featuring film debut of Walter Matthau
 * Killer's Kiss, directed by Stanley Kubrick
 * The King's Thief, starring Ann Blyth and David Niven
 * Kiss Me Deadly, directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Ralph Meeker as Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer

L

 * Lady and the Tramp, an animated Disney musical featuring voice of Peggy Lee
 * Lady Godiva of Coventry, starring Maureen O'Hara
 * The Ladykillers, directed by Alexander Mackendrick, starring Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers – (GB)
 * Land of the Pharaohs, starring Joan Collins and Jack Hawkins
 * The Last Frontier, directed by Anthony Mann, starring Victor Mature, Robert Preston, Anne Bancroft
 * The Last Ten Days (Der letzte Akt), directed by G. W. Pabst – (Austria/West Germany)
 * The Left Hand of God, starring Humphrey Bogart and Gene Tierney
 * Little Red Monkey, directed by Ken Hughes – (Britain)
 * Lola Montès, directed by Max Ophüls – (France)
 * The Long Gray Line, starring Tyrone Power and Maureen O'Hara
 * Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing, starring William Holden and Jennifer Jones
 * Love Me or Leave Me, starring Doris Day and James Cagney
 * Love Never Dies (El Amor nunca muere) – (Argentina)
 * Lucy Gallant (reissued as Oil Town), starring Jane Wyman

M

 * Magdana's Donkey, directed by Tengiz Abuladze and Revaz Chkheidze – (Georgia)
 * Magic Fire, starring Alan Badel
 * Mambo, directed by Robert Rossen, starring Silvana Mangano, Vittorio Gassman, Shelley Winters – (U.S./Italy)
 * A Man Alone, directed by and starring Ray Milland, with Mary Murphy
 * The Man from Laramie, directed by Anthony Mann, starring James Stewart
 * The Man Who Loved Redheads, starring Moira Shearer – (GB)
 * The Man with the Golden Arm, directed by Otto Preminger, starring Frank Sinatra, Eleanor Parker, Darren McGavin, Kim Novak, Arnold Stang
 * Man with the Gun, starring Robert Mitchum
 * Man Without a Star, starring Kirk Douglas and William Campbell
 * Marty, directed by Delbert Mann, starring Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair, Joe Mantell, Frank Sutton, Jerry Paris
 * The McConnell Story, starring Alan Ladd and June Allyson
 * The Mill of Good Luck (La 'Moara cu noroc') – (Romania)
 * Miracle of Marcelino (Marcelino Pan Y Vino) – (Spain)
 * Missamma, starring N. T. Rama Rao – (India)
 * Mister Roberts, co-directed by John Ford and Mervyn LeRoy, starring Henry Fonda, James Cagney, William Powell, Jack Lemmon
 * Moonfleet, starring Stewart Granger and Joan Greenwood
 * Mr. & Mrs. '55, starring Guru Dutt and Madhubala – (India)
 * Mr. Arkadin, directed by and starring Orson Welles – (France/Spain/Switzerland)
 * My Sister Eileen, starring Janet Leigh and Betty Garrett

N

 * New York Confidential, starring Broderick Crawford, Richard Conte, Marilyn Maxwell, Anne Bancroft
 * Night and Fog, a documentary directed by Alain Resnais – (France)
 * The Night My Number Came Up, starring Michael Redgrave – (GB)
 * The Night of the Hunter, directed by Charles Laughton, starring Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish, Peter Graves
 * Not as a Stranger, starring Robert Mitchum, Olivia de Havilland, Frank Sinatra, Gloria Grahame, Broderick Crawford, Lon Chaney Jr.

O

 * Oh, Ibuku (O, My Mother), directed by Ali Joego, debuting Aminah Cendrakasih – (Indonesia)
 * Oklahoma! (first film shot in widescreen process known as Todd-AO), starring Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Rod Steiger, Gloria Grahame
 * Ordet (The Word), directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer – (Denmark)
 * Our Best Days (Ayyamna al-Holwa), starring Omar Sharif – (Egypt)
 * Out of the Clouds, directed by Basil Dearden, starring Anthony Steel, Robert Beatty – (U.K.)

P

 * Passage Home, directed by Roy Ward Baker, starring Anthony Steel, Peter Finch, Diane Cilento – (U.K.)
 * Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road), directed by Satyajit Ray – (India)
 * Pete Kelly's Blues, starring Jack Webb, Janet Leigh, Edmond O'Brien, Peggy Lee
 * The Phenix City Story, starring Richard Kiley, John McIntire, John Larch, James Edwards, Edward Andrews
 * Picnic, directed by Joshua Logan, starring William Holden, Kim Novak, Cliff Robertson, Rosalind Russell
 * Prince of Players, starring Richard Burton
 * Princess Yang Kwei-Fei (aka Yôkihi) – (Japan)
 * The Prisoner, directed by Peter Glenville, starring Alec Guinness and Jack Hawkins – (GB)
 * The Private War of Major Benson, starring Charlton Heston
 * The Prodigal, starring Lana Turner

Q

 * The Quatermass Xperiment – (GB)
 * Queen Bee, starring Joan Crawford

R

 * The Racers, starring Kirk Douglas, Gilbert Roland, Bella Darvi
 * Radio Stories (Historias de la radio) – (Spain)
 * Die Ratten (The Rats), starring Maria Schell and Curd Jürgens – (West Germany) – Golden Bear award
 * Rage at Dawn, starring Randolph Scott
 * The Rains of Ranchipur, starring Lana Turner and Richard Burton
 * Rebel Without a Cause, directed by Nicholas Ray, starring James Dean, Sal Mineo, Natalie Wood
 * Red Fish (Los peces rojos), starring Arturo de Córdova – (Spain)
 * Richard III, directed by and starring Laurence Olivier, with Ralph Richardson, Claire Bloom, John Gielgud – (GB)
 * Rififi (Du rififi chez les hommes), directed by Jules Dassin – (France)
 * A Ripple in the Pond (Ena votsalo sti limni) – (Greece)
 * Romeo and Juliet (Romeo i Dzhulyetta), starring Yuri Zhdanov and Galina Ulanova – (USSR)
 * Roots (Raíces) – (Mexico)
 * The Rose Tattoo, starring Anna Magnani and Burt Lancaster
 * Run for Cover, starring James Cagney, John Derek, Ernest Borgnine

S

 * Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (Zoku Miyamoto Musashi: Ichijōji no kettō) – (Japan)
 * Scandal in Sorrento (Pane, amore e...), starring Vittorio De Sica and Sophia Loren – (Italy)
 * The Scarlet Coat, starring Cornel Wilde, George Sanders, Anne Francis
 * The Sea Chase, starring John Wayne and Lana Turner
 * Seagulls Die in the Harbour (Meeuwen sterven in de haven) – (Belgium)
 * Seema, starring Nutan – (India)
 * Seven Angry Men, starring Raymond Massey
 * The Seven Little Foys, starring Bob Hope, featuring James Cagney reprising role of George M. Cohan from Yankee Doodle Dandy
 * The Seven Year Itch, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell
 * Shree 420, directed by and starring Raj Kapoor, with Nargis – (India)
 * The Shrike, directed by and starring José Ferrer
 * The Sign of Venus (Il segno di Venere), starring Sophia Loren and Vittorio De Sica – (Italy)
 * Simba, starring Dirk Bogarde – (GB)
 * Sissi, starring Romy Schneider – (Austria)
 * Six Bridges to Cross, starring Tony Curtis
 * Smiles of a Summer Night (Sommarnattens leende), directed by Ingmar Bergman – (Sweden)
 * Son of Sinbad
 * So This Is Paris, starring Tony Curtis and Gloria DeHaven
 * The Spoilers, starring Anne Baxter and Jeff Chandler
 * Strategic Air Command, starring James Stewart
 * Stella, directed by Michael Cacoyannis, starring Melina Mercouri – (Greece)
 * Storm Over the Nile, starring Anthony Steel and Laurence Harvey – (U.K.)
 * Summertime, directed by David Lean, starring Katharine Hepburn, Rossano Brazzi, Darren McGavin – (Britain/U.S.)
 * The Swindle (Il bidone), directed by Federico Fellini, starring Broderick Crawford – (Italy)

T

 * Taira Clan Saga (Shin Heike Monogatari), directed by Kenji Mizoguchi – (Japan)
 * Tall Man Riding, starring Randolph Scott and Dorothy Malone
 * The Tall Men, starring Clark Gable, Jane Russell, Robert Ryan
 * Tarantula, directed by Jack Arnold, starring John Agar, Mara Corday, with Clint Eastwood in a bit part
 * The Tender Trap, starring Frank Sinatra, Debbie Reynolds, David Wayne, Celeste Holm
 * That Lady, starring Olivia de Havilland – (GB/Spain)
 * This Island Earth, directed by Joseph M. Newman, starring Jeff Morrow, Rex Reason, Faith Domergue, Russell Johnson
 * Three for the Show, starring Betty Grable
 * Tight Spot, starring Ginger Rogers, Edward G. Robinson, Brian Keith, Lorne Greene
 * To Catch a Thief, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly
 * To Hell and Back, starring Audie Murphy, Marshall Thompson, Charles Drake, David Janssen
 * The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues, starring Kent Taylor, Cathy Downs, Michael Whalen
 * The Treasure of Pancho Villa, starring Rory Calhoun and Shelley Winters
 * Trial, starring Glenn Ford
 * The Trouble with Harry, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Edmund Gwenn, John Forsythe, Shirley MacLaine

U

 * Unknown Soldier (Tuntematon sotilas) – (Finland)
 * Unchained, starring Barbara Hale
 * Underwater!, starring Jane Russell
 * Untamed, starring Tyrone Power and Susan Hayward

V

 * The Violent Men, starring Glenn Ford, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson, Brian Keith
 * Violent Saturday, starring Victor Mature, Ernest Borgnine, Lee Marvin
 * The Virgin Queen, starring Bette Davis, Richard Todd, Joan Collins

W

 * We're No Angels, starring Humphrey Bogart, Peter Ustinov, Aldo Ray, Basil Rathbone
 * White Feather, starring Robert Wagner, Jeffrey Hunter, Debra Paget
 * Wichita, starring Joel McCrea
 * The Woman in the Painting (Amici per la pelle) – (Italy)
 * Women's Prison, starring Ida Lupino, Jan Sterling, Audrey Totter, Phyllis Thaxter

Y

 * You're Never Too Young, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis

Serials

 * The Adventures of Captain Africa
 * King of the Carnival
 * Panther Girl of the Kongo

Short film series

 * Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
 * Terrytoons (1930–1964)
 * Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
 * Popeye (1933–1957)
 * Donald Duck (1934–1956)
 * The Three Stooges (1934–1959)
 * Tom and Jerry (1940–1958)
 * Bugs Bunny (1940–1962)
 * Mighty Mouse (1942–1955)
 * Chip 'n' Dale (1943–1956)
 * Droopy (1943–1958)
 * Yosemite Sam (1945–1963)
 * Ranger Don (1953–1956)
 * Speedy Gonzales (1953–1968)

Cartoon:
 * Good Will to Men (MGM Cartoon Series) (Frederick Quimby, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, producers; MGM)
 * The Legend of Rockabye Point (Walter Lantz Productions; Universal-International)
 * No Hunting (Donald Duck Series) (Walt Disney Productions; RKO Radio)
 * Speedy Gonzales (Merrie Melodies Series) (Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc.; Warner Bros.)

One-Reel:
 * Gadgets Galore (Warner Varieties Series) (Robert Youngson, producer; Warner Bros.)
 * Survival City (Movietone CinemaScope Series) (Edmund Reek, producer; Twentieth Century-Fox)
 * 3rd Ave. El (Carson Davidson Productions; Ardee Films)
 * Three Kisses (Topper Special Series) (Justin Herman, producer; Paramount)

Two-Reel:
 * The Battle of Gettysburg (Dore Schary, producer; MGM)
 * The Face of Lincoln (University of Southern California Presentation; Cavalcade Pictures, Inc.)
 * On The Twelfth Day...(United Kingdom Series) (Go Pictures, Inc.; George Brest and Associates)
 * Switzerland (People and Places Series) (Walt Disney Productions; Buena Vista)
 * 24-Hour Alert (Cedric Francis, producer; Warner Bros.)

Births

 * January 4 - Sergei Kolesnikov, Soviet-Russian actor (d. 2023)
 * January 6 – Rowan Atkinson, English comedian and actor
 * January 8 - Harriet Sansom Harris, American actress
 * January 9 – J. K. Simmons, American actor
 * January 16 - Steven Weisberg, American editor (d. 2023)
 * January 18 – Kevin Costner, American actor, producer and director
 * January 19 - Paul Rodriguez, Mexican-American actor and stand-up comedian
 * January 20 – Wyatt Knight, American actor (d. 2011)
 * January 28 - Lorenzo Caccialanza, American actor
 * February 5 - Kenji Ohba, Japanese actor
 * February 7 – Miguel Ferrer, American actor (d. 2017)
 * February 8 - Ethan Phillips, American actor
 * February 9 - Jim J. Bullock, American actor and comedian
 * February 14 - James Eckhouse, American actor
 * February 15 – Christopher McDonald, American actor
 * February 17 - Ellie Haddington, Scottish actress
 * February 19 – Jeff Daniels, American actor
 * February 21 – Kelsey Grammer, American actor and comedian
 * February 28 – Gilbert Gottfried, American stand-up comedian, actor and voice actor (d. 2022)
 * March 2 - William Hope, Canadian actor
 * March 3 – Riina Hein, Estonian actress, director, producer and screenwriter
 * March 6
 * Larry Cedar, American actor
 * James Saito, Japanese-American actor
 * Alberta Watson, Canadian actress (d. 2015)
 * March 9 – Ornella Muti, Italian actress
 * March 13 - Glenne Headley, American actress (d. 2017)
 * March 16 - Kuh Ledesma, Filipino actress and singer
 * March 17
 * Mark Boone Junior, American character actor
 * Gary Sinise, American actor, producer and director
 * March 19 – Bruce Willis, American actor
 * March 22 – Lena Olin, Swedish actress
 * March 28 - Reba McEntire, American country singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer
 * March 29
 * Brendan Gleeson, Irish actor and film director
 * Marina Sirtis, American-English actress
 * April 3 - Tomas Arana, American actor
 * April 4 - Casey Biggs, American actor
 * April 5 - Akira Toriyama, Japanese manga artist (d. 2024)
 * April 6 – Michael Rooker, American actor
 * April 8 - Kane Hodder, American actor and stuntman
 * April 23 – Judy Davis, Australian actress
 * April 24 – Michael O'Keefe, American actor
 * April 29
 * Leslie Jordan, American actor, comedian, writer and singer (d. 2022)
 * Kate Mulgrew, American actress
 * April 30 – Zlatko Topčić, Bosnian screenwriter
 * May 1 - Eric Goldberg, American animator, voice actor, director and producer
 * May 5 - Lisa Jane Persky, American actress
 * May 8 - Raoul Trujillo, American actor
 * May 9 - Kevin Peter Hall, American actor (d. 1991)
 * May 10 - Larry "Flash" Jenkins, American actor, director, producer and screenwriter (d. 2019)
 * May 13 - María Cecilia Botero, Colombian actress and television presenter
 * May 15 - Lee Horsley, American actor
 * May 16 – Debra Winger, American actress
 * May 17
 * Francesco Nuti, Italian actor, director and screenwriter (d. 2023)
 * Bill Paxton, American actor (d. 2017)
 * May 18 – Chow Yun-fat, Hong Kong actor
 * May 27 - Richard Schiff, American actor and director
 * May 31
 * Susie Essman, American actress
 * Julio Oscar Mechoso, American actor (d. 2017)
 * June 2 – Dana Carvey, American actor and comedian
 * June 6 - Cheryl Smith, American actress and musician (d. 2002)
 * June 7 – William Forsythe, American actor
 * June 8
 * Griffin Dunne, American actor and director
 * Andrew Stevens, American actor and producer
 * June 14 - Paul O'Grady, English comedian, broadcaster, actor and writer (d. 2023)
 * June 15
 * Polly Draper, American actress, writer, producer and director
 * Julie Hagerty, American actress
 * Andy Tennant, American screenwriter, director and actor
 * June 16 – Laurie Metcalf, American actress
 * June 25 - Michael McShane, American actor, singer and improvisational comedian
 * June 26 - Gedde Watanabe, American actor and comedian
 * June 27 – Isabelle Adjani, French actress
 * July 2 - Andrew Divoff, American actor and producer
 * July 3
 * Bruce Altman, American actor
 * Jesse Corti, American actor
 * Vince Martin, Dutch-Australian actor, editor, director and musician
 * July 8 - Lena Endre, Swedish actress
 * July 9
 * Lisa Banes, American actress (d. 2021)
 * Jimmy Smits, American actor
 * July 13 - Lance E. Nichols, American actor
 * July 21 – Béla Tarr, Hungarian director
 * July 22 – Willem Dafoe, American actor
 * July 25 - Iman, Somali-American model and actress
 * July 27 - Roger Guenveur Smith, American actor, director and writer
 * July 28
 * Maria Vacratsis, Canadian actress
 * Dey Young, American actress
 * August 3 – Corey Burton, American voice actor
 * August 4 – Billy Bob Thornton, American actor, director and screenwriter
 * August 7 – Wayne Knight, American actor and comedian
 * August 13 - Paul Greengrass, British director, producer and screenwriter
 * August 19 – Peter Gallagher, American actor
 * August 20 - Jay Acovone, American actor
 * August 22 - Gordon Liu, Chinese actor and martial artist
 * August 24 - Kevin Dunn, American actor
 * August 27 – Diana Scarwid, American actress
 * September 9 - Edward Hibbert, American-born British actor
 * September 10 - Giannina Facio, Costa Rican actress
 * September 12 - Peter Scolari, American actor (d. 2021)
 * September 17 - Charles Martinet, American actor and voice actor
 * September 20
 * Betsy Brantley, American actress
 * David Haig, English actor
 * September 21 - Rick Aiello, American actor (d. 2021)
 * September 26 - Mark Nelson, American actor and director
 * October 17 - Sam Bottoms, American actor and producer (d. 2008)
 * October 20 – Thomas Newman, American composer
 * October 21 - Catherine Hardwicke, American director and screenwriter
 * October 22 - Bill Condon, American director and screenwriter
 * October 27 - Michael Shamus Wiles, American character actor
 * November 5 - Nestor Serrano, American actor
 * November 9
 * Karen Dotrice, British actress
 * Thomas F. Duffy, American actor
 * November 10
 * Roland Emmerich, German director, screenwriter and producer
 * Clare Higgins, English actress
 * November 13 – Whoopi Goldberg, American actress and comedian
 * November 15 - Jun Kunimura, Japanese actor
 * November 23 - Peter Douglas, American actor and producer
 * November 25 - Bruce Hopkins, New Zealand actor
 * November 27 - Bill Nye, American television presenter
 * November 30
 * Kevin Conroy, American actor (d. 2022)
 * Malgorzata Gebel, Polish actress
 * December 2 – Dennis Christopher, American actor
 * December 3
 * Melody Anderson, Canadian actress
 * Steven Culp, American actor
 * December 6 - Steven Wright, American stand-up comedian, actor, writer and film producer
 * December 8 - Kevin McNulty, Canadian actor
 * December 9 - Hiroyuki Watanabe, Japanese actor (d. 2022)
 * December 11 - Donna Bullock, American actress
 * December 16 - Xander Berkeley, American actor
 * December 17 - Richard Young, American character actor, filmmaker and screenwriter
 * December 21 – Jane Kaczmarek, American actress
 * December 24
 * Clarence Gilyard, American actor (d. 2022)
 * Grand L. Bush, American former actor

Deaths

 * February 11 – Ona Munson, 51, American actress, Five Star Final, Gone with the Wind
 * February 12
 * Tom Moore, 71, Irish-American actor, Forever Amber, Road House
 * S. Z. Sakall, 72, Hungarian actor, Casablanca, Yankee Doodle Dandy
 * April 7 – Theda Bara, 69, American silent film actress, A Fool There Was, Cleopatra
 * April 25 – Constance Collier, 77, British actress, Stage Door, Rope
 * May 4 – Robert Kent, 46, American actor, Blonde Comet, The Phantom Rider
 * May 13 – Betty Ann Davies, 44, British actress, My Old Duchess, The Man in Black
 * May 22 - Richard "Skeets" Gallagher, 63, American actor, Possessed, Idiot's Delight
 * June 11 – Walter Hampden, 75, American actor, Sabrina, The Hunchback of Notre Dame
 * July 31 – Robert Francis, 25, American actor, The Caine Mutiny, The Long Gray Line, airplane accident
 * August 5 – Carmen Miranda, 46, Brazilian singer and actress, Copacabana, The Gang's All Here
 * August 6 – Janet Beecher, 70, American actress, The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle, The Mark of Zorro
 * August 10 – Jane Murfin, 70, American screenwriter, What Price Hollywood?, The Women
 * August 12 – Lynne Carver, 38, American actress, Everybody Sing, Young Dr. Kildare
 * September 20 –
 * Robert Riskin, 58, American screenwriter, It Happened One Night, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
 * Noel M. Smith, 60, American director, Secret Service of the Air, Cattle Town
 * September 30 – James Dean, 24, American actor, Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden, automobile accident
 * October 1 – Charles Christie, 73, Canadian pioneer film studio owner
 * October 9 – Alice Joyce, 65, American actress, The Green Goddess, White Man
 * October 19 – John Hodiak, 41, American actor, Lifeboat, A Bell for Adano, heart attack
 * October 20 – Frank Darien, 79, American actor, The Grapes of Wrath, Under Fiesta Stars
 * November 9 – Tom Powers, 65, American actor, Double Indemnity, The Blue Dahlia
 * November 14 – Robert E. Sherwood, 59, American screenwriter, The Best Years of Our Lives, Rebecca
 * November 15 – Lloyd Bacon, 65, American director, The Oklahoma Kid, Knute Rockne, All American
 * November 22 – Shemp Howard, 60, American actor, comedian of The Three Stooges, The Bank Dick, Pittsburgh
 * November 27 – William Nigh, 74, American director, Mr. Wong, Detective, The Gay Cavalier
 * December 5 – Paul Harvey, 73, American actor, April in Paris, Calamity Jane
 * December 24 – Nana Bryant, 67, American actress, Public Enemies, Bathing Beauty

Film Debuts

 * Lorella De Luca – Il Bidone
 * Ed Devereaux – Little Red Monkey
 * Sunil Dutt – Railway Platform
 * Clint Eastwood – Revenge of the Creature
 * Jamie Farr – Blackboard Jungle
 * Shirley Anne Field – Simon and Laura
 * Liz Fraser – Touch and Go
 * Kathy Garver – The Night of the Hunter
 * Dennis Hopper – Rebel Without a Cause
 * Jill Ireland – No Love for Judy
 * L. Q. Jones – Battle Cry
 * Shirley Jones – Oklahoma!
 * Cloris Leachman – Kiss Me Deadly
 * George Leech – The Ladykillers
 * Len Lesser – Shack Out on 101
 * Tanya Lopert – Summertime
 * Shirley MacLaine – The Trouble with Harry
 * Walter Matthau – The Kentuckian
 * Jody McCrea – Lucy Gallant
 * Patrick McGoohan – Passage Home
 * Dick Miller – Apache Woman
 * Sandra Milo – The Bachelor
 * Vic Morrow – Blackboard Jungle
 * Simon Oakland – The Desperate Hours
 * Jerry Orbach – Marty
 * Leslie Parrish – A Man Called Peter
 * Oliver Reed – Value for Money
 * Claude Rich – The Grand Maneuver
 * Maximilian Schell – Children, Mother, and the General
 * Paul Scofield – That Lady
 * James Sikking – Five Guns West
 * Lois Smith – East of Eden
 * George Takei – Godzilla Raids Again
 * Concha Velasco – The Moorish Queen
 * Joanne Woodward – Count Three and Pray

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

title: 1955 in film


text:
1954 in film

The year 1954 in film involved some significant events and memorable ones.

United States
The top ten 1954 released films by box office gross in the United States are as follows:

Events

 * A reproduction of "America's First Movie Studio", Thomas Edison's Black Maria, is constructed.
 * May 12 — The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces wife Marion Benda. The two were married in 1927.
 * September 29 — A Star is Born premieres and marks Judy Garland's comeback after her termination from her contract at MGM. An astounding success with critics and audiences, A Star is Born not only marks the first time that legendary director George Cukor has made a film musical or a film in Technicolor and in anamorphic widescreen format, but also becomes regarded as one of Garland's best performances in her film career.
 * November 3 — The film Godzilla premieres in Japan. It becomes a huge success and the first in the Godzilla film franchise, the longest running film series in history.

Top ten money-making stars
Exhibitors selected the following as the Top Ten Money Making Stars of the Year in Quigley Publishing Company's annual poll. John Wayne became the first actor to regain the number one spot after losing that position.

Top Western stars
The poll also revealed the top Western stars.

Notable films released in 1954
United States unless stated

#

 * 3 Ring Circus, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
 * 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, starring Kirk Douglas and James Mason

A

 * Aar Paar (This or That), directed by and starring Guru Dutt – (India)
 * About Mrs. Leslie, starring Shirley Booth
 * Robinson Crusoe (Aventuras de Robinson Crusoe), directed by Luis Buñuel – (Mexico)
 * Alaska Seas, starring Robert Ryan and Jan Sterling
 * Amar (Immortal), starring Madhubala, Nimmi and Dilip Kumar – (India)
 * An American in Rome (Un americano a Roma), starring Alberto Sordi – (Italy)
 * Andha Naal (That Day) – (India)
 * Animal Farm, an animated film – (GB)
 * Apache, starring Burt Lancaster
 * Attila, starring Anthony Quinn and Sophia Loren – (France/Italy)

B

 * Bahut Din Huwe, starring Madhubala – (India)
 * The Back of Beyond – (Australia)
 * The Barefoot Contessa, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien, Rossano Brazzi
 * Beachhead, starring Tony Curtis and Mary Murphy
 * Beau Brummell, starring Stewart Granger, Elizabeth Taylor, Peter Ustinov
 * Beautiful Stranger, aka Twist of Fate, starring Ginger Rogers – (GB/U.S.)
 * The Belles of St. Trinian's, starring Alastair Sim, Joyce Grenfell and George Cole – (GB)
 * Betrayed, fourth and final film co-starring Clark Gable and Lana Turner
 * A Big Family (Bolshaya semya) – (USSR)
 * The Black Knight, starring Alan Ladd – (GB/U.S.)
 * The Black Shield of Falworth, starring Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh
 * Black Tuesday, starring Edward G. Robinson and Peter Graves
 * Black Widow, starring Ginger Rogers, Gene Tierney, Peggy Ann Garner, Van Heflin, George Raft
 * Boot Polish – (India)
 * Boris Godunov – (USSR)
 * The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters, starring Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall and Ellen Corby
 * Bread, Love and Jealousy (Pane, Amore e Gelosia), starring Vittorio De Sica and Gina Lollobrigida – (Italy)
 * The Bridges at Toko-Ri, directed by Mark Robson, starring William Holden, Grace Kelly, Fredric March, Mickey Rooney
 * Brigadoon, directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Gene Kelly, Cyd Charisse, Van Johnson
 * Broken Lance, starring Spencer Tracy, Robert Wagner, Jean Peters, Richard Widmark, Katy Jurado

C

 * Cadet Rousselle, directed by André Hunebelle, starring François Périer and Dany Robin – (France)
 * The Caine Mutiny, directed by Edward Dmytryk, starring Humphrey Bogart, Van Johnson, Fred MacMurray, José Ferrer, Robert Francis, May Wynn, E. G. Marshall
 * Canaris, directed by Alfred Weidenmann – (West Germany)
 * Carmen Jones, starring Dorothy Dandridge (first African-American to be Oscar-nominated for Best Actress)
 * Casanova's Big Night, starring Bob Hope
 * Chronicle of Poor Lovers (Cronache di poveri amanti) – (Italy)
 * Circus Fandango – (Norway)
 * The Country Girl, directed by George Seaton, starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, William Holden
 * Creature from the Black Lagoon, directed by Jack Arnold
 * Crime Wave, directed by André de Toth, starring Sterling Hayden and Phyllis Kirk
 * Crossed Swords ([Il Maestro di Don Giovanni]), starring Errol Flynn and Gina Lollobrigida – (United States/Italy)
 * The Crucified Lovers (Chikamatsu Monogatari), directed by Kenji Mizoguchi, starring Kazuo Hasegawa – (Japan)

D

 * Dangerous Mission, starring Victor Mature and Piper Laurie
 * Deep in My Heart, directed by Stanley Donen, starring José Ferrer and Merle Oberon
 * Demetrius and the Gladiators, starring Victor Mature and Susan Hayward
 * Désirée, starring Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons
 * Dial M for Murder, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Ray Milland, Robert Cummings, Grace Kelly
 * Doctor in the House, starring Dirk Bogarde, first of "Doctor" series – (GB)
 * Down Three Dark Streets, starring Broderick Crawford and Ruth Roman
 * Drive a Crooked Road, starring Mickey Rooney and Dianne Foster
 * Drum Beat, directed by Delmer Daves, starring Alan Ladd

E

 * The Egyptian, starring Jean Simmons, Gene Tierney, Victor Mature, Bella Darvi, Edmund Purdom
 * Eight O'Clock Walk, starring Richard Attenborough and Cathy O'Donnell – (GB)
 * Elephant Walk, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Peter Finch
 * Executive Suite, starring William Holden, Barbara Stanwyck, June Allyson, Fredric March, Louis Calhern, Walter Pidgeon, Nina Foch

F

 * The Far Country, directed by Anthony Mann, starring James Stewart, Ruth Roman, Walter Brennan
 * Father Brown, starring Alec Guinness – (GB)
 * Fear (La Paura), directed by Roberto Rossellini, starring Ingrid Bergman – (West Germany/Italy)
 * Five Boys from Barska Street (Piątka z ulicy Barskiej) – (Poland)
 * Flame and the Flesh, starring Lana Turner
 * French Cancan, starring Jean Gabin – (France/Italy)
 * The French Line, starring Jane Russell

G

 * Garden of Evil, starring Gary Cooper, Susan Hayward, Richard Widmark
 * The Glenn Miller Story, directed by Anthony Mann, starring Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson
 * Godzilla (Gojira), directed by Ishirō Honda – (Japan)
 * The Gold of Naples (L'oro di Napoli), directed by Vittorio De Sica, starring Silvana Mangano and Sophia Loren – (Italy)
 * The Good Die Young, directed by Lewis Gilbert, starring Stanley Baker and Laurence Harvey – (GB)

H

 * Hansel and Gretel: An Opera Fantasy, a Stop motion animated film
 * Happy Ever After, starring David Niven and Yvonne De Carlo – (GB)
 * Hell and High Water, directed by Samuel Fuller, starring Richard Widmark
 * Hell Below Zero, starring Alan Ladd
 * Hell's Half Acre, starring Evelyn Keyes and Wendell Corey
 * The High and the Mighty, starring John Wayne, Robert Stack, Laraine Day, Claire Trevor, Phil Harris
 * Highway Dragnet, starring Richard Conte and Joan Bennett
 * Hobson's Choice, directed by David Lean, starring Charles Laughton and John Mills – (GB)
 * The House Across the Lake, aka Heat Wave, starring Alex Nicol and Hillary Brooke – (GB)
 * Human Desire, starring Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Broderick Crawford

I

 * Illusion Travels by Streetcar (La ilusión viaja en tranvía), directed by Luis Buñuel, starring Lilia Prado – (Mexico)
 * Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome, directed by Kenneth Anger
 * An Inspector Calls, with Alastair Sim, based on the J. B. Priestley play – (GB)
 * It Should Happen to You, starring Judy Holliday, Peter Lawford, Jack Lemmon

J

 * Jagriti (The Awakening) – (India)
 * Johnny Guitar, directed by Nicholas Ray, starring Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge
 * Journey to Italy (Viaggio in Italia), directed by Roberto Rossellini, starring Ingrid Bergman and George Sanders – (France/Italy)

K

 * King Richard and the Crusaders, starring Rex Harrison and Virginia Mayo
 * Knock on Wood, starring Danny Kaye

L

 * The Lady of the Camellias (La Mujer de las camelias) – (Argentina)
 * The Last Bridge (Die Letzte Brücke), starring Maria Schell and Bernhard Wicki – (Austria)
 * Late Chrysanthemums (bangiku), directed by Mikio Naruse – (Japan)
 * A Lesson in Love (En lektion i kärlek), directed by Ingmar Bergman, starring Eva Dahlbeck and Gunnar Björnstrand – (Sweden)
 * A Life at Stake, starring Angela Lansbury
 * Liliomfi – (Hungary)
 * Living It Up, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
 * The Long, Long Trailer, starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz
 * The Long Wait, starring Anthony Quinn
 * Loophole, starring Barry Sullivan and Dorothy Malone

M

 * Mad About Men, starring Glynis Johns and Margaret Rutherford – (U.K.)
 * Madame X (I Agnostos)Madame X (1954 film) – (Greece)
 * Maddalena – (Italy)
 * The Maggie, directed by Alexander Mackendrick – (GB)
 * Magnificent Obsession, directed by Douglas Sirk, starring Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson
 * The Million Pound Note, starring Gregory Peck – (GB)

N

 * Nagin, starring Vyjayanthimala and Pradeep Kumar – (India)
 * Naked Alibi, starring Sterling Hayden and Gloria Grahame
 * The Naked Jungle, starring Eleanor Parker and Charlton Heston
 * Neelakuyil (The Blue Cuckoo) – (India)
 * Night People, directed by Nunnally Johnson, starring Gregory Peck, Broderick Crawford, Buddy Ebsen
 * Nothing But Trouble (Aldri annet enn bråk) – (Norway)

O

 * On the Waterfront, directed by Elia Kazan, starring Marlon Brando with Eva Marie Saint, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger—winner of eight Oscars
 * On Trial (L'affaire Maurizius; Il caso Mauritius), directed by Julien Duvivier – (France/Italy)
 * The Outcast, starring John Derek

P

 * Phantom of the Rue Morgue, starring Karl Malden, Patricia Medina, Merv Griffin
 * Phffft, starring Judy Holliday, Jack Lemmon, Kim Novak
 * Pride of the Blue Grass, starring Lloyd Bridges and Vera Miles
 * Prince Valiant, starring Robert Wagner, James Mason, Janet Leigh
 * Prisoner of War, starring Ronald Reagan
 * Private Hell 36, directed by Don Siegel, starring Ida Lupino
 * Pushover, starring Fred MacMurray and Kim Novak (in her film debut)

R

 * Radio Cab Murder, directed by Vernon Sewell, starring Jimmy Hanley and Lana Morris – (GB)
 * The Raid, starring Van Heflin, Anne Bancroft, Lee Marvin
 * Rear Window, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Thelma Ritter, Wendell Corey, Raymond Burr
 * Red Garters, directed by George Marshall, starring Rosemary Clooney
 * Return to Treasure Island, starring Tab Hunter
 * Riot in Cell Block 11, directed by Don Siegel, starring Neville Brand
 * River of No Return, directed by Otto Preminger, starring Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe
 * Robinson Crusoe, starring Dan O'Herlihy
 * Rogue Cop, starring Robert Taylor and Janet Leigh
 * Romeo and Juliet, starring Laurence Harvey – (Italy/GB)

S

 * Sabrina, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, William Holden
 * Salt of the Earth, starring Rosaura Revueltas and Will Geer
 * Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (Miyamoto Musashi), directed by Hiroshi Inagaki, starring Toshiro Mifune – (Japan)
 * Sansho the Bailiff (Sanshō Dayũ), directed by Kenji Mizoguchi, starring Kinuyo Tanaka – (Japan)
 * Saskatchewan, starring Alan Ladd
 * The Sea Shall Not Have Them, directed by Lewis Gilbert, starring Michael Redgrave, Dirk Bogarde, Anthony Steel, Nigel Patrick – (GB)
 * Secret of the Incas, starring Charlton Heston
 * The Seekers, starring Jack Hawkins and Glynis Johns – (GB)
 * Senso, directed by Luchino Visconti, starring Alida Valli and Farley Granger – (Italy)
 * Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, directed by Stanley Donen, starring Jane Powell and Howard Keel
 * Seven Samurai (Shichinin no Samurai), directed by Akira Kurosawa, starring Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura – (Japan)
 * She Couldn't Say No, starring Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons
 * Shield for Murder, starring Edmond O'Brien
 * The Silver Chalice, starring Paul Newman (in his film debut)
 * Silver Lode, starring Dan Duryea
 * Sira` Fi al-Wadi (Struggle in the Valley), directed by Youssef Chahine – (Egypt)
 * Sitting Bull, starring Dale Robertson and J. Carrol Naish
 * Sound of the Mountain (Yama no Oto), directed by Mikio Naruse – (Japan)
 * A Star Is Born, directed by George Cukor, starring Judy Garland and James Mason, musical remake of 1937 film
 * Star of India, starring Cornel Wilde and Herbert Lom – (GB)
 * La strada (The Road), directed by Federico Fellini, starring Anthony Quinn – (Italy)
 * Stranger from Venus, directed by Burt Balaban, starring Patricia Neal and Derek Bond
 * Suddenly, starring Frank Sinatra and Sterling Hayden
 * Supir Istimewa, directed by Rempo Urip and starring MS Priyadi and Ermina Zaenah (Indonesia)
 * Susan Slept Here, starring Debbie Reynolds and Dick Powell

T

 * Tanganyika, starring Van Heflin and Ruth Roman
 * Taza, Son of Cochise, starring Rock Hudson
 * Them!, starring James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, James Arness
 * There's No Business Like Show Business, starring Ethel Merman, Dan Dailey, Donald O'Connor, Mitzi Gaynor, Marilyn Monroe
 * They Who Dare, starring Dirk Bogarde – (GB)
 * Three Coins in the Fountain, starring Jean Peters, Dorothy McGuire, Maggie McNamara
 * Three Young Texans, starring Jeffrey Hunter, Mitzi Gaynor, Keefe Brasselle
 * Too Bad She's Bad (Peccato che sia una canaglia), starring Marcello Mastroianni, Sophia Loren, Vittorio De Sica – (Italy)
 * Top Banana, starring Phil Silvers
 * Touchez pas au grisbi (Hands Off the Loot), starring Jean Gabin – (France/Italy)
 * Track of the Cat, directed by William A. Wellman, starring Robert Mitchum and Teresa Wright
 * Twenty-Four Eyes (Nijū-shi no Hitomi) – (Japan)
 * Twist of Fate, starring Ginger Rogers

V

 * Vera Cruz, starring Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster

W

 * The Weak and the Wicked, directed by J. Lee Thompson, starring Glynis Johns and Diana Dors – (GB)
 * West of Zanzibar (1954 film), directed by Harry Watt, starring Anthony Steel, Sheila Sim, Edric Connor & Orlando Martins – (U.K.)
 * White Christmas, directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen, Dean Jagger
 * Windfall in Athens (Kyriakatiko xypnima), directed by Michael Cacoyannis – (Greece)
 * Witness to Murder, directed by Roy Rowland, starring Barbara Stanwyck, Gary Merrill, George Sanders
 * Woman's World, starring June Allyson, Clifton Webb, Fred MacMurray, Van Heflin, Lauren Bacall, Arlene Dahl
 * Wyoming Renegades, starring Phil Carey

Y

 * Young at Heart, starring Frank Sinatra and Doris Day
 * The Young Lovers, directed by Anthony Asquith – (GB)

Serials

 * Gunfighters of the Northwest, starring Clayton Moore and Phyllis Coates
 * Man with the Steel Whip, starring Dick Simmons
 * Riding with Buffalo Bill
 * Trader Tom of the China Seas, starring Harry Lauter and Aline Towne

Short film series

 * 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)
 * Mighty Mouse (1942–1955)
 * Chip 'n' Dale (1943–1956)
 * Droopy (1943–1958)
 * Barney Bear (1939–1954)
 * Yosemite Sam (1945–1963)
 * Speedy Gonzales (1953–1968)
 * Ranger Don (1953–1956)

Births

 * January 1
 * Richard Edson, American actor and musician
 * Rawiri Paratene, New Zealand actor, director and writer
 * Helen Wellington-Lloyd, South African-born British artist and actress
 * January 6 – Anthony Minghella, English film director and screenwriter (d. 2008)
 * January 6 - John Sparkes, Welsh actor and comedian
 * January 19 - Katey Sagal, American actress and singer-songwriter
 * January 20 - Ken Page, American actor and singer
 * January 25 - Sean Lawlor, Irish character actor and playwright (d. 2009)
 * January 28 - Kaneto Shiozawa, Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator (d. 2000)
 * January 29
 * Juan de Marcos González, Cuban bandleader, musician and actor
 * Terry Kinney, American actor
 * Oprah Winfrey, American actress and television personality
 * February 2 – Christie Brinkley, American model and actress
 * February 6 – Aare Laanemets, Estonian actor (d. 2000)
 * February 8 - Alistair Browning, New Zealand actor (d. 2019)
 * February 9 - Leslie Bevis, retired American model and actress
 * February 12 - Zach Grenier, American character actor
 * February 15 – Matt Groening, American animator, writer, producer, voice actor and creator of The Simpsons and Futurama
 * February 17 – Rene Russo, American actress
 * February 18 – John Travolta, American actor
 * February 20 - Anthony Head, English actor and singer
 * February 21 - Christopher Mayer, American actor (d. 2011)
 * March 1
 * Ron Howard, American director and actor
 * Peter Spellos, American voice actor (d. 2023)
 * March 2 - Olwen Fouéré, Irish actress
 * March 4 – Catherine O'Hara, Canadian actress
 * March 8
 * James Carter Cathcart, retired American voice actor and voice director
 * Jay Arlen Jones, American actor
 * March 9 - Martin P. Robinson, American puppeteer
 * March 13 - Robin Duke, Canadian actress and comedian
 * March 15 – Craig Wasson, American actor
 * March 17 – Lesley-Anne Down, English actress
 * March 22 - Tommy Hollis, American actor (d. 2001)
 * March 24 – Robert Carradine, American actor
 * April 7 – Jackie Chan, Hong Kong-born actor
 * April 9 – Dennis Quaid, American actor
 * April 10 – Peter MacNicol, American actor
 * April 16 – Ellen Barkin, American actress
 * April 21 - James Morrison, American actor
 * April 23 - Lucinda Jenney, American actress
 * April 25 - George Spartels, Australian actor, presenter, director and musician
 * April 27 – John Cygan, American actor, voice artist and comedian (d. 2017)
 * April 29 – Jerry Seinfeld, American stand-up comedian and actor
 * May 4 - Pia Zadora, American actress and singer
 * May 7 – Amy Heckerling, American director
 * May 8
 * Stephen Furst, American actor, director and producer (d. 2017)
 * David Keith, American actor and director
 * May 10 - Mike Hagerty, American actor (d. 2022)
 * May 18 - Patrick St. Esprit, American character actor
 * May 21 - Jean Kasem, American former actress
 * June 2
 * Dennis Haysbert, American actor
 * Jeannine Taylor, American actress
 * June 5 - Haluk Bilginer, Turkish actor
 * June 6
 * Harvey Fierstein, American actor and screenwriter
 * Merle Talvik, Estonian actress
 * June 14
 * Will Patton, American actor
 * Jan Rabson, American actor and voice actor (d. 2022)
 * June 15 – Jim Belushi, American actor
 * June 19 – Kathleen Turner, American actress
 * June 21 - Robert Pastorelli, American actor (d. 2004)
 * June 22 – Chris Lemmon, American actor and author
 * June 26 - David Steen, American playwright, actor and writer
 * June 28 – Alice Krige, South African actress
 * July 2 - Eddie Rouse, American character actor (d. 2014)
 * July 31 - Rainer Bock, German actor
 * August 10 - Rick Overton, American actor, comedian and screenwriter
 * August 12 – Sam J. Jones, American actor
 * August 13 – Tõnu Kilgas, Estonian actor and singer
 * August 15 - Sean Bury, British actor
 * August 16 – James Cameron, Canadian-born director
 * August 20
 * Al Roker, American weather forecaster, journalist, television personality, actor and author
 * Theresa Saldana, American actress and writer (d. 2016)
 * August 22 - Jay Patterson, American actor
 * August 30 - David Paymer, American actor
 * September 4 - James Martin Kelly, American character actor
 * September 13 - Isiah Whitlock Jr., American actor
 * September 15
 * Brad Leland, American actor
 * Barry Shabaka Henley, American character actor
 * September 19
 * David Bamber, English actor
 * Blanche Ravalec, French actress and dubbing artist
 * September 23 - Giovanni Lombardo Radice, Italian actor and screenwriter (d. 2023)
 * September 29
 * Mark Mitchell, Australian actor and comedian
 * Cindy Morgan, American actress (d. 2023)
 * October 2 – Lorraine Bracco, American actress
 * October 9
 * Scott Bakula, American actor
 * John O'Hurley, American actor, comedian, singer, author, game show host and television personality
 * October 10
 * David Barron, British producer
 * Rekha, Indian actress
 * Patric Zimmerman, retired American voice actor
 * October 11 - Tim Choate, American actor (d. 2004)
 * October 14 - Elizabeth Sung, Chinese-American actress, director and screenwriter (d. 2018)
 * October 15 - Jere Burns, American actor
 * October 18
 * Arliss Howard, American actor, screenwriter and director
 * Bob Weinstein, American producer
 * October 19 - Ken Stott, Scottish actor
 * October 23 – Ang Lee, Taiwanese director
 * October 26
 * D. W. Moffett, American actor
 * James Pickens Jr., American actor
 * November 3 - Kathy Kinney, American actress and comedian
 * November 5 - Mike Gabriel, American animator and director
 * November 7 – Kamal Haasan, Indian actor, director, script-writer, producer and singer
 * November 13 - Chris Noth, American actor
 * November 19 – Kathleen Quinlan, American actress
 * November 20 - Richard Brooker, British actor and stuntman (d. 2013)
 * November 21 - Timothy Stack, American actor, producer and screenwriter
 * November 29 – Joel Coen, American director, producer and screenwriter
 * November 30 - Simonetta Stefanelli, Italian retired actress
 * December 2 - Dan Butler, American actor
 * December 4 – Tony Todd, American actor and producer
 * December 7 - Pascal Renwick, French voice actor (d. 2006)
 * December 9 - Ken Cheeseman, American actor
 * December 18 – Ray Liotta, American actor (d. 2022)
 * December 26 – Tony Rosato, Canadian actor and comedian (d. 2017)
 * December 28 – Denzel Washington, American actor

Deaths

 * January 5 – Lillian Rich, 54, English actress, The Golden Bed, On the Front Page
 * January 11 – Oscar Straus, 83, Viennese composer, La Ronde
 * January 16 – Baburao Painter, 63, Indian film director, Savkari Pash
 * January 18 – Sydney Greenstreet, 74, English actor, Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, Christmas in Connecticut, The Mask of Dimitrios
 * January 30 – John Murray Anderson, 67, Canadian director, King of Jazz
 * January 31 – Florence Bates, 65, American actress, Rebecca
 * February 1 – Yvonne de Bray, 64, French actress, Les Parents terribles
 * February 9 – Mabel Paige, 73, American actress, Lucky Jordan, Murder, He Says
 * February 12 – Dziga Vertov, 58, Russian filmmaker, Man with a Movie Camera
 * February 13 – Stephen Auer, 53, American producer, Trail of Kit Carson
 * February 21 – William K. Howard, 54, American director, The Power and the Glory, Johnny Come Lately
 * March 5 – John Eberson, 78, American movie palace architect
 * March 7 – Will H. Hays, 74, American movie censor, first chairman of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America
 * March 8 – John L. Balderston, 64, American screenwriter, The Prisoner of Zenda, Gaslight
 * March 14 – Otto Gebühr, 76, German actor, The Great King
 * March 18 – Louis Lipstone, 61, American conductor, head of Paramount Pictures music department
 * March 24 – Alberto Colombo, 65, American film composer and music director, Portia on Trial
 * March 30 – Pauline Brunius, 73, Swedish actress, director and screenwriter, Charles XII
 * April 1 – Jack Lait, 71, American author, New York Confidential
 * April 3 – Ernest Vajda, 67, Hungarian actor and screenwriter, Smilin' Through
 * April 4 – Frederick Lonsdale, 73, English playwright and screenwriter, The Private Life of Don Juan
 * April 10 – Auguste Lumiere, 91, French film pioneer
 * April 29 – Joe May, 73, Austrian director, The House of Fear, The Invisible Man Returns
 * May 1 – Arthur Johnston, 56, Composer, Pennies from Heaven
 * May 3 – Tom Tyler, 50, American actor, Adventures of Captain Marvel, The Phantom
 * May 15 – Herbert I. Leeds, 54, American director, Mr. Moto in Danger Island
 * May 17 – Ethel Hill, 56, American screenwriter, The Little Princess, In Old Oklahoma
 * May 18 – Fred Waller, 67, American film pioneer, inventor of Cinerama
 * May 20 – Hans von Wolzogen, 65, German film producer and director, Sprengbagger 1010
 * May 25 – Hans Janowitz, 63, German writer, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
 * May 31 – Guglielmo Barnabò, 66, Italian actor, Miracle in Milan
 * June 27 – Theodor Loos, 71, German actor, Die Nibelungen
 * June 28 – Ludwig Schmitz, 70, German actor, The Heath is Green
 * July 1 – Thea von Harbou, 65, German screenwriter, novelist, director and actress, Metropolis
 * July 6 – Gabriel Pascal, 60, Hungarian film producer and director, Pygmalion
 * July 8 – Gerald Geraghty, 47, American screenwriter, The Jungle Princess
 * July 12 – Lord Grantley, 62, British film executive
 * July 13 – Irving Pichel, 63, American director and actor, The Most Dangerous Game, Santa Fe, Oliver Twist, How Green Was My Valley
 * July 14 – Al Hill, 62, American actor, The Payoff, The Border Patrolman
 * July 23 – Leonard Goldstein, 51, American producer, Ma and Pa Kettle
 * July 24 – Effie Shannon, 87, American actress, Sally of the Sawdust
 * August 4 – Harald Paulsen, 58, German actor and director, Ave Maria
 * August 11 – Murray Kinnell, 65, English-born American actor, The Public Enemy
 * August 19 – Terry Ramsaye, 68, American producer and movie historian, author of A Million and One Nights: A History of the Motion Picture
 * August 24 – Lewis D. Collins, 55, American director, The Desert Trail
 * September 3 – Eugene Pallette, 65, American actor, My Man Godfrey, The Adventures of Robin Hood
 * September 28 – Bert Lytell, 69, American actor, The Lone Wolf
 * October 22 – Charles Skouras, 65, American movie executive and president of Fox West Coast
 * October 22 – George McManus, 70, American cartoonist, Bringing Up Father
 * November 11 – Reinhold Schünzel, 68, German director and actor, The Ice Follies of 1939, Notorious
 * November 15 – Lionel Barrymore, 76, American actor, It's a Wonderful Life, You Can't Take It with You, Key Largo, Treasure Island, Grand Hotel
 * November 22 – Moroni Olsen, 65, American actor, The Three Musketeers
 * November 22 – Roy Rene, 63, Australian comedian, Strike Me Lucky
 * November 29 – Eero Kilpi, 77, Finnish actor, Anna Liisa
 * December 6 – Truly Shattuck, 79, American actress, A Wise Fool
 * December 8 – Gladys George, 50, American actress, The Maltese Falcon, The Best Years of Our Lives, The Roaring Twenties, Detective Story
 * December 18 – Maria Eis, 58, Austrian actress, The Eternal Waltz

Film debuts

 * Stanley Adams – The Atomic Kid
 * Mario Adorf – 08/15
 * Ursula Andress – An American in Rome
 * R.G. Armstrong – Garden of Eden
 * Martin Balsam – On the Waterfront
 * Sean Connery – Lilacs in the Spring
 * Angie Dickinson – Lucky Me
 * Lisa Gastoni – They Who Dare
 * Charles Grodin – 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
 * Allison Hayes – Francis Joins the WACS
 * David Hemmings – The Rainbow Jacket
 * Pat Hingle – On the Waterfront
 * James Hong – Dragonfly Squadron
 * Jack Lemmon – It Should Happen to You
 * Elsa Martinelli – The Red and the Black
 * Paul Newman – The Silver Chalice
 * Kim Novak – The French Line
 * Patrick O'Neal – The Mad Magician
 * Terele Pávez – Boyfriend in Sight
 * Donald Pleasence – The Beachcomber
 * Stafford Repp – Fireman Save My Child
 * Eva Marie Saint – On the Waterfront
 * John Saxon – It Should Happen to You
 * Omar Sharif – Devil of the Sahara
 * Rod Taylor – King of the Coral Sea
 * Godzilla – Godzilla

title: 1954 in film