1954 in film - Wikiwand

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

Top-grossing films

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Perspective

United States

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

More information Rank, Title ...

Highest-grossing films of 1954
Rank	Title	Distributor	Domestic rentals
1	White Christmas	Paramount	$12,000,000^[1]
2	The Caine Mutiny	Columbia	$8,700,000^[1]
3	20,000 Leagues Under the Sea	Buena Vista	$8,000,000^[1]
4	The Glenn Miller Story	Universal	$7,600,000^[1]
5	The Country Girl	Paramount	$6,500,000^[1]
6	The High and the Mighty A Star Is Born	Warner Bros.	$6,100,000^[1]
7	Seven Brides for Seven Brothers	MGM	$5,526,000^[2]
8	Rear Window	Paramount	$5,300,000^[1]
9	Magnificent Obsession	Universal	$5,200,000^[1]
10	There's No Business Like Show Business	20th Century Fox	$5,103,555^[3]

International

More information International market, Film ...

International market	Film	Studio	Revenue	Admissions	Production country
France	Royal Affairs in Versailles	Cocinor	—	6,986,788^[4]	France
West Germany	From Here to Eternity	Columbia Pictures	—	13,000,000^[5]	United States
India	Nagin	Filmistan	$6,090,000^[6]^[7]	—	India
Italy	Ulysses	Lux Film	—	13,170,322^[8]	Italy
Japan	What Is Your Name? Part 3	Shochiku	¥330,150,000^[9]	—	Japan
Soviet Union	Awaara	R. K. Films	$16,970,000^[d]	100,000,000^[12]	India
Spain	Quo Vadis	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer	—	3,721,532^[14]	United States
United Kingdom	Doctor in the House	Rank Organisation	—	12,200,000^[15]	United Kingdom

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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.^[16]

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Awards

More information Category/Organization, 12th Golden Globe Awards February 24, 1955 ...

Category/Organization	12th Golden Globe Awards February 24, 1955	27th Academy Awards March 30, 1955
Drama	Comedy or Musical
Best Film	On the Waterfront	Carmen Jones	On the Waterfront
Best Director	Elia Kazan On the Waterfront
Best Actor	Marlon Brando On the Waterfront	James Mason A Star Is Born	Marlon Brando On the Waterfront
Best Actress	Grace Kelly The Country Girl	Judy Garland A Star Is Born	Grace Kelly The Country Girl
Best Supporting Actor	Edmond O'Brien The Barefoot Contessa
Best Supporting Actress	Jan Sterling The High and the Mighty	Eva Marie Saint On the Waterfront
Best Screenplay, Adapted	Ernest Lehman Sabrina	George Seaton The Country Girl
Best Screenplay, Original	Budd Schulberg On the Waterfront
Best Foreign Language Film	Genevieve The Lady of the Camellias No Way Back Twenty-Four Eyes	Gate of Hell

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.^[17]

More information Rank, Actor/Actress ...

Rank	Actor/Actress
1.	John Wayne
2.	Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
3.	Gary Cooper
4.	James Stewart
5.	Marilyn Monroe
6.	Alan Ladd
7.	William Holden
8.	Bing Crosby
9.	Jane Wyman
10.	Marlon Brando

Top Western stars

The poll also revealed the top Western stars.

More information Rank, Actor/Actress ...

Rank	Actor/Actress
1.	Roy Rogers
2.	Gene Autry
3.	Rex Allen
4.	Wild Bill Elliott
5.	Gabby Hayes

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Notable films released in 1954

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Perspective

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)

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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

Births

January 1
- Richard Edson, American actor and musician
- Richard Gibson, British actor
- 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)
- John Sparkes, Welsh actor and comedian
- Trudie Styler, English actress, director and producer
January 19 - Katey Sagal, American actress and singer-songwriter
January 20 - Ken Page, American actor and cabaret singer (d. 2024)
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, American voice actor and voice director (d. 2025)
- 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
March 29 - Dianne Kay, retired American actress
April 7 – Jackie Chan, Hong Kong-born actor
April 9 – Dennis Quaid, American actor
April 10
- Peter MacNicol, American actor
- Deborah Rush, American actress
April 16 – Ellen Barkin, American actress
April 19 - Lucinda Dooling, Puerto-Rican-born American actress (d. 2015)
April 20 - Brett Rice, American actor
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
- Clive Wood, British actor
May 10 - Mike Hagerty, American actor (d. 2022)
May 18 - Patrick St. Esprit, American character actor
May 21 - Jean Kasem, American former actress
May 29 - Pankaj Kapur, Indian actor
June 2
- Dennis Haysbert, American actor
- Jeannine Taylor, American actress
June 5 - Haluk Bilginer, Turkish actor
June 6 – Merle Talvik, Estonian actress
June 7 - Bobby Di Cicco, American actor
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 18 - Winnie Holzman, American screenwriter, actor and producer
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 11 - Reed Birney, American 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 (d. 2024)
December 7 - Pascal Renwick [fr], French voice actor (d. 2006)
December 9 - Ken Cheeseman, American actor
December 18 – Ray Liotta, American actor (d. 2022)
December 20 - Michael Badalucco, American actor
December 26 – Tony Rosato, Canadian actor and comedian (d. 2017)
December 28 – Denzel Washington, American actor

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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

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Film debuts

Stanley Adams – The Atomic Kid
Mario Adorf – 08/15
Ursula Andress – An American in Rome
R.G. Armstrong – Garden of Eden
Malcolm Atterbury – Dragnet
Martin Balsam – On the Waterfront
Ray Barrett – The Desperate Women
John Bennett – Diplomatic Passport
Bernard Bresslaw – Doctor in the House
Sean Connery – Lilacs in the Spring
Allan Cuthbertson – Carrington V.C.
Angie Dickinson – Lucky Me
Roger Dumas – Wild Fruit
Lisa Gastoni – They Who Dare
Charles Grodin – 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Allison Hayes – Francis Joins the WACS
David Hemmings – The Rainbow Jacket
Percy Herbert – The Young Lovers
Pat Hingle – On the Waterfront
James Hong – Dragonfly Squadron
Jack Lemmon – It Should Happen to You
David Lodge – Orders Are Orders
Elsa Martinelli – The Red and the Black
Marisa Mell – Das Licht der Liebe
Gordon Mitchell – Prisoner of War
Warren Mitchell – Five Days
Rosenda Monteros – Reto a la vida
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
Dick Sargent – Prisoner of War
John Saxon – It Should Happen to You
Omar Sharif – Devil of the Sahara
Rod Taylor – King of the Coral Sea
Lino Ventura – Touchez pas au grisbi

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Notes

4 Rbls per US dollar from 1950 to 1960^[11]
35 million re-run admissions up until 1964-1966,^[12] average Soviet ticket price of 25 kopecks in the mid-1960s^[13]
0.9 Rbl per US$ from 1961 to 1971^[11]
Awaara in the Soviet Union:
- Initial run – 29 million Rbls^[10] ($7.25 million)^[a] in 1954
- Re-runs – 8.75 million Rbls^[b] – $9.72 million^[c]

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Top-grossing films

United States

International

Events

Awards

Top ten money-making stars

Top Western stars

Notable films released in 1954

#

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

V

W

Y

Serials

Short film series

Births

Deaths

Film debuts

Notes

References

External links