1955 in film

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The year 1955 in film involved some significant events.

Events

• November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts.
• June 27 - The last ever Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released.
• September 30 - American Actor James Dean died in a car crash.

Top grossing films (U.S.)

(*) After theatrical re-issue(s)

Awards

Academy Awards:

Best Picture: Marty - Hecht-Lancaster, United Artists

Best Director: Delbert Mann - Marty

Best Actor: Ernest Borgnine - Marty

Best Actress: Anna Magnani - The Rose Tattoo

Best Supporting Actor: Jack Lemmon - Mister Roberts

Best Supporting Actress: Jo Van Fleet - East of Eden

Golden Globe Awards:

Drama:

Best Picture: East of Eden

Best Actor: Ernest Borgnine - Marty

Best Actress: Anna Magnani - The Rose Tattoo

Musical or comedy:

Best Picture: Guys and Dolls

Best Actor: Tom Ewell - The Seven Year Itch

Best Actress: Jean Simmons - Guys and Dolls

Other

Best Director: Joshua Logan - Picnic

Best Foreign Film: Ordet (The Word), Denmark

Best Foreign Film: Stella, Greece

Best Foreign Film: Sons, Mothers, and a General, West Germany

Best Foreign Film: Eyes of Children, Japan

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):

Marty, directed by Delbert Mann, United States

Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival):

Ordet (The Word), directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer, Denmark

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):

Die Ratten (The Rats), directed by Robert Siodmak, West Germany

Films released in 1955

U.S.A. unless stated

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

A

• Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
• Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
• Above Us the Waves, starring John Mills - (U.K.)
• The Adventures of Quentin Durward, starring Robert Taylor and Kay Kendall
• All That Heaven Allows, starring Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson
• Anděl na horách - (Czechoslovakia)
• Apache Ambush
• Artists and Models, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis

B

• Bad Day at Black Rock, directed by John Sturges, starring Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Ernest Borgnine, Lee Marvin and Anne Francis
• Battle Cry, starring Van Heflin, Aldo Ray and Anne Francis
• Battle Taxi starring Sterling Hayden, Arthur Franz and Marshall Thompson
• The Big Combo, starring Cornel Wilde, Richard Conte, Brian Donlevy and Jean Wallace
• The Big Knife, starring Jack Palance, Ida Lupino, Jean Hagen, Rod Steiger and Shelley Winters
• Blackboard Jungle, starring Glenn Ford, Anne Francis, Louis Calhern, Sidney Poitier and Vic Morrow
• Blood Alley, starring John Wayne and Lauren Bacall
• The Brain Machine directed by Ken Hughes (U.K.)

C

• Carrington V.C., starring David Niven - (U.K.)
• Cast a Dark Shadow, starring Dirk Bogarde - (U.K.)
• Chief Crazy Horse
• Cinerama Holiday
• The Cobweb, directed by Vincente Minelli, starring Richard Widmark, Gloria Grahame and Lauren Bacall
• The Cockleshell Heroes, directed by and starring José Ferrer with Trevor Howard - (U.K.)
• The Colditz Story, directed by Guy Hamilton, starring John Mills and Eric Portman - (U.K.)
• Confession directed by Ken Hughes (U.K.)
• Confidential Report, starring Orson Welles and Michael Redgrave - (France/Spain/Switzerland)
• Continente Perduto (aka Lost Continent), a documentary from (Italy)
• Count Three and Pray, starring Van Heflin, Joanne Woodward and Raymond Burr
• The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell, starring Gary Cooper
• 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 - (U.K.)
• Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier
• Death of a Cyclist (Muerte de un ciclista), directed by Juan Antonio Bardem - (Spain)
• The Deep Blue Sea, staring Vivien Leigh - (U.K.)
• The Desperate Hours, starring Humphrey Bogart and Fredric March
• Devdas, based on novel with same name, starring Dilip Kumar, Vyjayanthimala and Suchitra Sen - (India)
• Les Diaboliques (The Devils), directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot, starring Simone Signoret - (France)

E-F

• East of Eden, directed by Elia Kazan, starring Julie Harris, James Dean (in his first major role) and Raymond Massey
• The Far Country, directed by Anthony Mann, starring James Stewart
• The Far Horizons, starring Fred MacMurray and Charlton Heston
• The Fast and the Furious, starring John Ireland and Dorothy Malone
• Floating Clouds (Ukigumo) - (Japan)
• Footsteps in the Fog, starring Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons - (U.K.)

G-H

• Galapagos, a documentary by Thor Heyerdahl - (Norway)
• A Generation (Pokolenie), directed by Andrzej Wajda - (Poland)
• Godzilla Raids Again (Gojira no Gyakushū) - (Japan)
• Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra and Vivian Blaine
• Hit the Deck, starring Jane Powell and Debbye Reynolds directed by Roy Rowland
• House of Bamboo, starring Robert Ryan
• How to Be Very, Very Popular, starring Betty Grable in her final film role

I-J

• 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
• It Happened on July 20th (Es geschah am 20. Juli), directed by G. W. Pabst - (Austria)
• It's Always Fair Weather, starring Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey, Michael Kidd and Cyd Charisse
• Jedda - (Australia)
• John and Julie starring Peter Sellers and Sid James - (U.K.)

K-L

• Kiss Me Deadly, directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Ralph Meeker
• Lady and the Tramp, an animated Disney musical featuring the voice of Peggy Lee
• The Ladykillers, directed by Alexander MacKendrick, starring Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom and Peter Sellers - (U.K.)
• Land of the Pharaohs, starring Joan Collins and Jack Hawkins
• The Left Hand of God, starring Humphrey Bogart and Gene Tierney
• Little Red Monkey, directed by Ken Hughes (U.K.)
• Lola Montès, directed by Max Ophuls - (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
• Lucy Gallant (reissued as Oil Town)

M

• The Man from Laramie, starring James Stewart
• The Man with the Golden Arm, starring Frank Sinatra, Eleanor Parker and Kim Novak
• Man Without a Star
• Marty, directed by Delbert Mann, starring Ernest Borgnine and Betsy Blair
• The Miracle of Marcelino (Marcelino Pan Y Vino) - (Spain)
• Mister Roberts, starring Henry Fonda, James Cagney, William Powell and Jack Lemmon
• Moonfleet
• Mr. Arkadin, directed by and starring Orson Welles - (France/Spain/Switzerland)
• My Sister Eileen, starring Janet Leigh and Betty Garrett

N-O

• Night and Fog, a documentary directed by Alain Resnais - (France)
• The Night My Number Came Up, starring Michael Redgrave - (U.K.)
• The Night of the Hunter, directed by Charles Laughton, starring Robert Mitchum and Shelley Winters
• Not as a Stranger, starring Olivia de Havilland and Gloria Grahame
• Oklahoma! (first film shot in widescreen process known as Todd-AO), starring Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Rod Steiger, Gloria Grahame, and Gene Nelson
• Ordet, directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer - (Denmark)
• Othello, starring Sergei Bondarchuk - (U.S.S.R.)

P-Q

• Pather Panchali, directed by Satyajit Ray - (India)
• Pete Kelly's Blues, starring Jack Webb, Janet Leigh, Edmond O'Brien and Peggy Lee. Also features Jayne Mansfield as a cigarette girl.
• The Phenix City Story
• Picnic, starring William Holden and Kim Novak
• Prince of Players, starring Richard Burton
• Princess Yang Kwei-Fei - (Japan)
• The Prisoner - (U.K.)
• The Private War of Major Benson, starring Charlton Heston
• The Prodigal, starring Lana Turner
• The Quatermass Xperiment, which probably qualifies as the first Hammer horror film - (U.K.)
• Queen Bee, starring Joan Crawford

R

• Die Ratten (The Rats), starring Maria Schell and Curd Jürgens - (West Germany) - Golden Bear award
• Rage at Dawn
• The Rains of Ranchipur, starring Lana Turner and Richard Burton
• Rebel Without a Cause, directed by Nicholas Ray, starring James Dean, Sal Mineo and Natalie Wood
• Reluctant Bride - (U.K.)
• Richard III, directed by and starring Laurence Olivier with Ralph Richardson, Claire Bloom and John Gielgud - (U.K.)
• Rififi (Du rififi chez les hommes), directed by Jules Dassin - (France)
• The Rose Tattoo, starring Anna Magnani and Burt Lancaster

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
• The Sea Chase, starring John Wayne and Lana Turner
• Seema - (India)
• The Seven Little Foys, starring Bob Hope
• The Seven Year Itch, starring Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell
• Shree 420, directed by and starring Raj Kapoor with Nargis - (India)
• Sissi, starring Romy Schneider - (Austria)
• Six Bridges to Cross, starring Tony Curtis
• Smiles of a Summer Night (Sommarnattens leende), directed by Ingmar Bergman - (Sweden)
• Strategic Air Command, starring James Stewart
• Stella, directed by Michael Cacoyannis, starring Melina Mercouri - (Greece)
• Summertime, directed by David Lean and starring Katharine Hepburn - (U.K./U.S.)
• The Swindlers (Il bidone), directed by Federico Fellini, starring Broderick Crawford - (Italy)

T-V

• Tarantula
• The Tender Trap, starring Frank Sinatra and Debbie Reynolds
• This Island Earth, starring Jeff Morrow, Rex Reason, and Faith Domergue
• Three for the Show, starring Betty Grable
• 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, and David Janssen
• The Treasure of Pancho Villa
• Trial
• The Trouble with Harry, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Edmund Gwenn, John Forsythe and Shirley MacLaine
• Unknown Soldier (Tuntematon sotilas) - (Finland)
• Unchained
• Underwater!
• The Violent Men, starring Glenn Ford and Barbara Stanwyck
• The Virgin Queen, starring Bette Davis

W-Z

• We're No Angels, starring Humphrey Bogart and Peter Ustinov
• White Feather
• Wichita
• 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 and 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 6 - Rowan Atkinson, English comedian and actor
• January 9 - J. K. Simmons, American actor
• January 18 - Kevin Costner, American actor, producer and director
• February 7 - Miguel Ferrer, American actor
• February 15 - Christopher McDonald, American actor
• February 19 - Jeff Daniels, American actor
• March 9 - Ornella Muti, Italian actress
• March 17 - Gary Sinise, American actor, producer and director
• March 19 - Bruce Willis, American actor
• March 22 - Lena Olin, Swedish actress
• April 23 - Judy Davis, Australian actress
• May 16 - Debra Winger, American actress
• May 17 - Bill Paxton, American actor
• May 18 - Chow Yun-fat, Hong Kong actor
• May 31 - Susie Essman, American actress
• June 2 - Dana Carvey, American actor and comedian
• June 8 - Griffin Dunne, American actor and director
• June 9 - Jimmy Smits, American actor
• June 27 - Isabelle Adjani, French actress
• July 22 - Willem Dafoe, American actor
• August 4 - Billy Bob Thornton, American actor, director and screenwriter
• August 19 - Peter Gallagher, American actor
• August 27 - Diana Scarwid, American actress
• November 13 - Whoopi Goldberg, American actress and comedienne
• December 3 - Melody Anderson, Canadian actress

Deaths

• February 12 - Tom Moore, American actor
• April 7 - Theda Bara, American actress
• August 5 - Carmen Miranda, Brazilian singer, actress
• September 30 - James Dean, American actor
• October 1 - Charles Christie, Canadian pioneer film studio owner in Hollywood
• November 22 - Shemp Howard, American actor, comedian, of The Three Stooges

Film Debuts

• James Dean
• Angie Dickinson
• Clint Eastwood
• Dennis Hopper
• Shirley MacLaine
• Walter Matthau
• Melina Mercouri
• Elizabeth Montgomery