Cineliteracy: What You Need to Know about 1951 as a Movie and Pop Culture Year
Research in Progress: Please fill in Oscar winners except Best Actor and Best Actress
My Oscar Book:
Top-Grossing Films of 1951
Rank Title Studio Box-office gross rental
1 Quo Vadis, MGM, $11,143,000
2 Show Boat, MGM, $5,293,000
3 David and Bathsheba, 20th Century Fox $4,720,000
4 The Great Caruso MGM $4,309,000
5 A Streetcar Named Desire, Warner; $4,250,000
6 The African Queen United Artists, $4,100,000
7 That’s My Boy Paramount, $3,800,000
8 An American in Paris MGM, $3,750,000
9 A Place in the Sun Paramount, $3,500,000
10 At War with the Army, $3,300,000
International: Top-grossing films in countries outside of US
Country Title Studio Gross
France: Samson and Delilah, Paramount 7,116,442 admissions
India Awaara R. K. Films $4,830,000
Italy Anna Lux Film 8,965,624 admissions
Japan The Tale of Genji Daiei Kyoto ¥141,050,000
Soviet Union In Peaceful Time, Dovzhenko Film Studios $1,470,000
UK: The Great Caruso, MGM; 12,400,000 admissions
Worldwide gross
Quo Vadis, $30,028,513 US
Events
February 15 –
New management takes over at United Artists, Arthur B. Krim, Robert Benjamin, Matty Fox in charge.
April –
French magazine Cahiers du cinéma is first published.
July 26
Walt Disney’s Alice in Wonderland premieres; while a disappointment when first released, it would later become one of the biggest cult classics in animation, widely popular in TV viewings and subsequent releases.
September 10
Rashomon wins the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Fest, bringing worldwide attention to Japanese film.
September
The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUACC) investigation into Communism in the film industry winds up after four years. Reports in February 1952 that Hollywood has not done enough against Communist employees and hearings and blacklisting continues.
December 29
The Wilhelm scream, one of the most frequently-used stock sound effects, is first used in the film Distant Drums. The scream would not get its name until The Charge at Feather River in 1953.
Oscar Awards
February 21, 1952: 24th Academy Awards
Top Ten Money-Making Stars
The Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll was published by Quigley Publishing Company based on a poll of U.S. movie theater owners who were asked to name who they felt were the previous year’s top 10 moneymaking stars.
Rank Actor/Actress
1. John Wayne
2. Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
3. Betty Grable
4. Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
5. Bing Crosby
6. Bob Hope
7. Randolph Scott
8. Gary Cooper
9. Doris Day
10. Spencer Tracy
Western Stars Poll
Roy Rogers topped for the ninth year running.
Rank Actor/Actress
1. Roy Rogers
2. Gene Autry
3. Tim Holt
4. Charles Starrett
5. Rex Allen
6. Wild Bill Elliott
7. Smiley Burnette
8. Allan Lane
9. Dale Evans
10. Gabby Hayes
Acting Oscars
My Oscar Book
Best Actress (in various forums)
Oscar: Vivien Leigh, A Streetcar Named Desire
N.Y. Film Critics Circle: Vivien Leigh
National Board of Review: Jan Sterling, The Big Carnival
Cannes Film Festival: Bette Davis, All About Eve
Venice Film Festival: Vivien Leigh, A Streetcar Named Desire
Best Actor (in various forums)
Oscar: Humphrey Bogart, The African Queen
N.Y. Film Critics Circle: Arthur Kennedy, Bright Victory
National Board of Review: Richard Basehart, Fourteen Hours
Cannes Film Festival: Michael Redgrave, The Browning Version
Venice Film Festival: Jean Gabin, La Nuit et Mon Royaun
