1955 in film

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The year 1955 in film involved some significant events.

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.
• March 20 - The film adaptation of Evan Hunter's novel Blackboard Jungle premieres 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 movie. 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 ever 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.

Top-grossing films (U.S.)

The top-grossing hits of 1955 in the United States.

Rank	Title	Studio	Gross
1.	Cinerama Holiday	Cinerama Productions	$10,000,000
2.	Mister Roberts	Warner Bros.	$8,500,000
3.	Battle Cry	Warner Bros.	$8,000,000
4.	Oklahoma!	RKO	$7,100,000
5.	Guys and Dolls	MGM	$6,900,000
6.	Lady and the Tramp	Walt Disney Productions	$6,500,000
7.	Not as a Stranger	United Artists	$6,200,000
8.	Strategic Air Command	Paramount Pictures	$6,000,000
	To Hell and Back	Universal
	The Sea Chase	Warner Bros.
	The Seven Year Itch	20th Century Fox
	The Tall Men	20th Century Fox
13.	Blackboard Jungle	MGM	$5,200,000
14.	A Man Called Peter	20th Century Fox	$4,700,000

Top-grossing films (international)

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

Country	Title	Studio	Gross
India	Shree 420	R. K. Films	$10,380,000
Soviet Union	Private Ivan	Gorky Film Studio	$2,520,000

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

Top ten money making stars

Rank	Actor/Actress
1.	James Stewart
2.	Grace Kelly
3.	John Wayne
4.	William Holden
5.	Gary Cooper
6.	Marilyn Monroe
7. (tie)	Dean Martin Jerry Lewis
8.	Marlon Brando
9.	Humphrey Bogart
10.	Clark Gable

Notable films released in 1955

U.S.A. 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 Minelli, 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 (Istoria mias kalpikis liras) - (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-F

• 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)
• 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

• Magic Fire, starring Alan Badel
• Mambo, directed by Robert Rossen, starring Silvana Mangano, Vittorio Gassman, Shelley Winters - (U.S.A./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)
• Othello, starring Sergei Bondarchuk - (U.S.S.R.)
• 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-Q

• 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
• 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)
• 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.A.)
• 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-V

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

• 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
• 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 6 - Rowan Atkinson, English comedian and actor
• January 9 - J. K. Simmons, American actor
• January 18 - Kevin Costner, American actor, producer and director
• January 20 - Wyatt Knight, American actor (d. 2011)
• February 7 - Miguel Ferrer, American actor (d. 2017)
• February 15 - Christopher McDonald, American actor
• February 19 - Jeff Daniels, American actor
• February 21 - Kelsey Grammer, American actor and comedian
• 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 (d. 2017)
• 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 27 - Isabelle Adjani, French actress
• July 9 - Jimmy Smits, American actor
• July 19 - Toborr Kristina Tomlinsen, American-Canadian voice actress
• July 21 - Béla Tarr, Hungarian director
• July 22 - Willem Dafoe, American actor
• August 4 - Billy Bob Thornton, American actor, director and screenwriter
• August 7 - Wayne Knight, American actor and comedian
• August 19 - Peter Gallagher, American actor
• August 27 - Diana Scarwid, American actress
• October 20 - Thomas Newman, American composer
• November 13 - Whoopi Goldberg, American actress and comedian
• December 3 - Melody Anderson, Canadian actress
• December 17 - Jim Doughan, American actor

Deaths

• February 11 - Ona Munson, 55, 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 13 - Betty Ann Davies, 44, British actress, My Old Duchess, The Man in Black
• 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, 75, 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
• 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

Film Debuts

• James Cromwell - Daddy Long Legs
• Clint Eastwood - Revenge of the Creature
• Dennis Hopper - Rebel Without a Cause
• Shirley MacLaine - The Trouble with Harry
• Jayne Mansfield - Female Jungle
• Walter Matthau - The Kentuckian
• Melina Mercouri - Stella
• Elizabeth Montgomery - The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell