1953 in film

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The year 1953 in film involved some significant events.

Events

• September 16 — The Robe debuts as the first anamorphic, widescreen CinemaScope film.

Top grossing films (U.S.)

Rank	Title	Studio	Actors	Gross
1.	Peter Pan*	Disney		$87,584,000
2.	House of Wax*	Warner Bros.	Vincent Price, Charles Bronson and Frank Lovejoy	$23,750,000
3.	The Robe	Fox	Richard Burton, Jean Simmons and Victor Mature	$17,500,000
4.	From Here to Eternity	Columbia	Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr and Montgomery Clift	$12,200,000
5.	Shane	Paramount	Alan Ladd and Jean Arthur	$9,500,000
6.	How to Marry a Millionaire	Fox	Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall	$9,000,000
7.	Gentlemen Prefer Blondes	Fox	Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell	$7,591,000
8.	Mogambo	MGM	Clark Gable, Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly	$5,100,000
9.	Salome	Columbia	Rita Hayworth	$4,864,000
10.	Roman Holiday	Paramount	Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn	$4,750,000
11.	Julius Caesar	MGM	Marlon Brando	$4,741,000
12.	Niagara	Fox	Marilyn Monroe and Joseph Cotten	$4,734,000

(*) After theatrical re-issue(s)

Awards

Academy Awards:

Best Picture: From Here to Eternity - Columbia Pictures

Best Director: Fred Zinnemann - From Here to Eternity

Best Actor: William Holden - Stalag 17

Best Actress: Audrey Hepburn - Roman Holiday

Best Supporting Actor: Frank Sinatra - From Here to Eternity

Best Supporting Actress: Donna Reed - From Here to Eternity

Golden Globe Awards:

Drama:

Best Picture: The Robe

Best Actor: Spencer Tracy - The Actress

Best Actress: Audrey Hepburn - Roman Holiday

Musical or comedy:

Best Picture: No award

Best Actor: David Niven - The Moon Is Blue

Best Actress: Ethel Merman - Call Me Madam

Other

Best Director: Fred Zinnemann - From Here to Eternity

Grand Prix (Cannes Film Festival):

The Wages of Fear (Le salaire de la peur), directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot, France / Italy

Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival): Not awarded

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):

The Wages of Fear (Le salaire de la peur), directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot, France / Italy

Notable films released in 1953

U.S.A. unless stated

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

A

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

B

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

C

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

D-F

• Dangerous Crossing, starring Jeanne Crain and Michael Rennie
• Dangerous When Wet, starring Esther Williams
• The Desert Rats, starring Richard Burton and James Mason
• Desperate Moment, starring Dirk Bogarde and Mai Zetterling - (GB)
• Devdas - (India)
• Do Bigha Zamin (Two Acres of Land), directed by Bimal Roy - (India)
• Donovan's Brain, starring Lew Ayres and Nancy Davis
• Down Among the Sheltering Palms, starring Mitzi Gaynor, Gloria DeHaven, Jane Greer
• Dream Wife, starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr
• Él (Him), directed by Luis Buñuel, starring Arturo de Córdova - (Mexico)
• The Earrings of Madame de..., directed by Max Ophüls, starring Charles Boyer - (France/Italy)
• East of Sumatra, starring Anthony Quinn and Jeff Chandler
• Easy to Love, starring Esther Williams
• Easy Years (Anni facili), directed by Luigi Zampa - (Italy)
• The Eddie Cantor Story, starring Keefe Brasselle
• Entotsu no mieru basho (The Four Chimneys) - (Japan)
• Esa pareja feliz (That Happy Couple), directed by Juan Antonio Bardem and Luis García Berlanga - (Spain)
• Escape By Night, starring Bonar Colleano and Sid James - (GB)
• Escape from Fort Bravo, directed by John Sturges, starring William Holden, Eleanor Parker, John Forsythe
• Fair Wind to Java, starring Fred MacMurray and Vera Ralston
• The Farmer Takes a Wife, starring Betty Grable
• Fast Company, starring Howard Keel and Polly Bergen
• Fear and Desire, directed by Stanley Kubrick
• The Final Test, directed by Anthony Asquith, starring Jack Warner (GB)
• Folly to Be Wise, directed by Frank Launder, starring Alastair Sim - (GB)
• Footpath, starring Dilip Kumar - (India)
• From Here to Eternity, directed by Fred Zinnemann, starring Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Frank Sinatra, Donna Reed - winner of 8 Oscars

G-H

• Gate of Hell (Jigokumon) - (Japan)
• A Geisha (Gion Bayashi), directed by Kenji Mizoguchi - (Japan)
• Genevieve, starring Dinah Sheridan, John Gregson, Kay Kendall - (GB)
• Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, directed by Howard Hawks, starring Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe
• The Girl Next Door, starring June Haver and Dan Dailey
• The Girl Who Had Everything, starring Elizabeth Taylor, William Powell, Fernando Lamas, Gig Young
• Give a Girl a Break, directed by Stanley Donen, starring Debbie Reynolds, Marge Champion, Gower Champion
• The Glass Wall, starring Vittorio Gassman and Gloria Grahame
• The Golden Blade, starring Rock Hudson and Piper Laurie
• The Great Adventure (Det stora äventyret), directed by Arne Sucksdorff - (Sweden)
• The Great Sioux Uprising, starring Jeff Chandler
• Gun Fury, starring Rock Hudson and Donna Reed
• The Heart of the Matter, starring Trevor Howard - (GB)
• The Hitch-Hiker, directed by Ida Lupino, starring Edmond O'Brien and William Talman
• Hondo, starring John Wayne and Geraldine Page in her film debut
• Houdini, starring (husband and wife) Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh
• House of Wax, starring Vincent Price
• How to Marry a Millionaire, starring Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable, Lauren Bacall (Grable, Fox's top star of the 1940s, with Monroe, Fox's top star of the 1950s)

I-J

• I Confess, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Montgomery Clift and Anne Baxter
• I Love Lucy, starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz
• I, the Jury, starring Biff Elliot and Peggie Castle
• I Vitelloni, directed by Federico Fellini - (France/Italy)
• Inferno, starring Robert Ryan
• Interim, directed by Stan Brakhage, short film (25 ½ minutes); music by James Tenney)
• The Intruder, starring Jack Hawkins - (GB
• Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary?, starring Bonar Colleano and Diana Dors - (GB)
• Island in the Sky, starring John Wayne
• It Came from Outer Space, directed by Jack Arnold, starring Richard Carlson
• Jennifer, starring Ida Lupino and Howard Duff
• Jeopardy, starring Barbara Stanwyck, Barry Sullivan, Ralph Meeker
• Julius Caesar, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, starring Marlon Brando, James Mason, John Gielgud, Louis Calhern, Greer Garson, Deborah Kerr

K-L

• The Kidnappers, starring Jon Whiteley - (GB)
• King of the Khyber Rifles, starring Tyrone Power
• Kiss Me Kate, starring Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Ann Miller, released in 2-D and 3-D
• The Lady Without Camelias (La signora senza camelie), directed by Michelangelo Antonioni - (Italy)
• The Landowner's Daughter (Sinhá Moça), starring Anselmo Duarte - (Brazil)
• Latin Lovers, starring Lana Turner
• Law and Order, a western starring Ronald Reagan
• The Lawless Breed, starring Rock Hudson
• Lili, starring Leslie Caron
• The Limping Man, starring Lloyd Bridges - (GB)
• A Lion Is in the Streets, starring James Cagney, Barbara Hale, Anne Francis
• Little Boy Lost, starring Bing Crosby
• Little Fugitive
• The Living Desert, winner of Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature
• Love in the City (L'Amore in Città), an anthology film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, Dino Risi, Federico Fellini and others - (Italy)
• Love Letter (Koibumi) - (Japan)

M

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

N-O

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

P-Q

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

R

• Report News (Reportaje), starring Arturo de Córdova and Dolores del Río - (Mexico)
• Return to Paradise, starring Gary Cooper
• Ride, Vaquero!, starring Robert Taylor and Ava Gardner
• The Robe, the first movie filmed in CinemaScope, starring Richard Burton and Jean Simmons
• Roman Holiday, directed by William Wyler, starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn in her Oscar-winning first leading role
• Rosanna (La Red) - (Mexico)

S

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

T-V

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

W-Z

• The Wages of Fear (Le Salaire de la Peur), directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot, starring Yves Montand - winner of Golden Bear and Palme d'Or awards - (France)
• War Arrow, starring Maureen O'Hara and Jeff Chandler
• The War of the Worlds, starring Gene Barry
• White Lightning, starring Stanley Clements and Steve Brodie
• White Mane (Crin Blanc, Cheval Sauvage) - (France)
• White Witch Doctor, starring Robert Mitchum and Susan Hayward
• The Wild One, starring Marlon Brando (a film thought by some to have started the generation gap between adults and young people)
• Young Bess, starring Jean Simmons, Deborah Kerr, Charles Laughton

Serials

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

Short film series

• Mickey Mouse (1928)-(1953)
• Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
• Terrytoons (1930–1964)
• Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
• Popeye (1933–1957)
• Donald Duck (1934)-(1956)
• The Three Stooges (1934–1959)
• Goofy (1939)-(1953)
• Tom and Jerry (1940–1958)
• Bugs Bunny (1940)-(1962)
• Chip and Dale (1943–1956)
• Droopy (1943–1958)
• Sylvester the Cat (1944–1966)
• Yosemite Sam (1945–1963)
• Ranger Don (1953-1956)
• Speedy Gonzales (1953-1968)

Births

• January 30: Steven Zaillian, director
• February 8: Mary Steenburgen, actress
• February 11: Philip Anglim, actor
• February 19: Massimo Troisi, actor (died 1994)
• March 4: Scott Hicks, director
• March 16: Isabelle Huppert, French actress
• April 18: Rick Moranis, Canadian actor & comedian
• May 16: Pierce Brosnan, Irish actor
• May 24: Alfred Molina, British-born American actor
• May 30: Colm Meaney, Irish actor
• June 13: Tim Allen, actor
• August 11: Hulk Hogan, wrestler
• August 27: Peter Stormare, Swedish actor
• September 10: Amy Irving, actress
• October 9: Tony Shalhoub, actor
• October 26: Maureen Teefy, actress
• October 31: Michael J. Anderson, actor
• November 3: Kate Capshaw, actress
• November 6: Ron Underwood, director
• December 6: Tom Hulce, actor
• December 8: Kim Basinger, actress
• December 8: Sam Kinison, stand-up comedian (died 1992)
• December 9: John Malkovich, actor
• December 17: Bill Pullman, actor
• December 31: James Remar, actor

Deaths

• March 5 – Herman J. Mankiewicz, American screenwriter (born 1897)
• June 20 – Vsevolod Pudovkin, Soviet film Director (born 1893)
• August 9 – Henri Étiévant, French actor, director (born 1870)
• October 8 – Nigel Bruce, British actor (born 1895)
• November 29 – Sam De Grasse, American actor (born 1875)

Debuts

• John Cassavetes
• Steve McQueen
• Jeanne Moreau