Cineliteracy: What You Need to Know about 1953 as a Movie Year
Top-grossing films (U.S.)
Highest-grossing films of 1953
Rank Title Distributor Domestic Rentals
1 The Robe 20th Century Fox $17,500,000
2 From Here to Eternity Columbia $12,200,000
3 Shane Paramount $8,000,000
4 How to Marry a Millionaire 20th Century Fox $7,300,000
5 Peter Pan RKO/Disney, $6,000,000
6 House of Wax, Warner, $5,500,000
7 Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, 20th Century Fox, $5,100,000
8 Salome Columbia $4,750,000
9 Mogambo MGM $4,576,000
10 Knights of the Round Table, $4,518,000
Events
January 16 –
A new Warner Bros. is incorporated, after Consent Judgment to divest their Stanley Warner Theaters.
February 5 –
Disney’s production of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, starring Bobby Driscoll and Kathryn Beaumont, premieres to acclaim, quickly becoming one of Disney’s beloved films. Itis the last Disney animated released with RKO Pictures; the last smash hit movie of RKO before bankruptcy in 1959.
February 25 –
Jacques Tati’s Les Vacances de M. Hulot released in France, introducing the gauche character of Monsieur Hulot.
July 1 –
Stalag 17, WWII Prisoner of War films, directed by Billy Wilder, starring William Holden, who wins his first and only Best Actor Oscar.
August 5 –
Premiere of Fred Zinnemann’s romantic war melodrama, From Here to Eternity, starring Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Frank Sinatra, and Donna Reed, sweeping most Oscars.
August 27 –
Premiere of William Wyler’s romantic comedy, Roman Holiday, starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn, propelling the latter to super stardom and Best Actress Oscar.
September 16 –
Religious epic The Robe, starring Richard Burton and Jean Simmons, debuts as the first widescreen anamorphic film, shot in CinemaScope grossing a record $36,000 for single theatre in first day. It grossed a record (for a single theater) $264,428 in first week.
November 21 –
Monogram Pictures, which had stopped releasing pictures under that banner, changes its name to Allied Artists Pictures Corporation.
Oscar Awards: March 25, 1954
Best Film: From Here to Eternity
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
Best Screenplay, Daniel Taradash, From Here to Eternity
Best Screenplay, Original Charles Brackett, Walter Reisch and Richard L. Breen
Titanic
Notable films released in 1953
99 River Street, starring John Payne and Evelyn Keyes
The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T, starring Tommy Rettig, screenplay by Dr. Seuss
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 – (US/France)
The Actress, starring Spencer Tracy and Jean Simmons
Albert R.N., directed by Lewis Gilbert, starring Anthony Steel, Jack Warner, Robert Beatty, William Sylvester – (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
Arrowhead, starring Charlton Heston and Jack Palance
B
The Band Wagon, starring Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Jack Buchanan, Nanette Fabray, Oscar Levant
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/US)
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, Luis García Berlanga, starring Fernando Rey (Spain)
The Big Heat, 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, Edmond O’Brien
Black Ermine – (Argentina)
Blowing Wild, starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck
The Blue Gardenia, Fritz Lang, 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, Gina Lollobrigida (Italy)
Bright Road, the first film appearance of Harry Belafonte (US)
The Brute (El Bruto), Luis Buñuel, starring Pedro Armendáriz, 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 Merma
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
Dangerous Crossing, starring Jeanne Crain, Michael Rennie
Dangerous When Wet, starring Esther Williams
Decameron Nights, starring Joan Fontaine and Louis Jourdan
The Desert Rats, starring Richard Burton and James Mason
Desperate Moment, starring Dirk Bogarde, Mai Zetterling – (GB)
Dream Wife, starring Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr
E
The Earrings of Madame de…, Max Ophüls, starring Charles Boyer, Danielle Darieux (France/Italy)
East of Sumatra, starring Anthony Quinn and Jeff Chandler
Easy to Love, starring Esther Williams
The Eddie Cantor Story, starring Keefe Brasselle
Él (Him), Luis Buñuel, starring Arturo de Córdova – (Mexico)
Escape from Fort Bravo, John Sturges, starring William Holden, Eleanor Parker, John Forsythe
F
The Farmer Takes a Wife, starring Betty Grable
Fear and Desire, directed by Stanley Kubrick
The Final Test, Anthony Asquith, starring Jack Warner (GB)
From Here to Eternity, Fred Zinnemann, starring Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Frank Sinatra, Donna Reed – winner of 8 Oscars
G
Gate of Hell (Jigokumon) – (Japan)
A Geisha (Gion Bayashi), directed by Kenji Mizoguchi – (Japan)Gentlemen
Prefer Blondes, Howard Hawks, starring Jane Russell, Marilyn Monroe
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, Gloria Grahame
The Golden Blade, starring Rock Hudson, Piper Laurie
The Great Adventure, Arne Sucksdorff – (Sweden)
The Great Sioux Uprising, starring Jeff Chandler
Gun Fury, starring Rock Hudson, Donna Reed
H
The Hitch-Hiker, directed by Ida Lupino, starring Edmond O’Brien, William Talman
Hondo, starring John Wayne and Geraldine Page film debut (Oscar nominated)
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 1940s, Monroe, Fox’s top star of the 1950s)
I
I Confess, Hitchcock, starring Montgomery Clift, Anne Baxter
Interim, directed by Stan Brakhage, short film (25 ½ minutes); music by James Tenney
The Intruder, starring Jack Hawkins – (GB)
Island in the Sky, starring John Wayne
It Came from Outer Space, Jack Arnold, starring Richard Carlson
J
Jennifer, starring Ida Lupino and Howard Duff
Jeopardy, starring Stanwyck, Barry Sullivan, Ralph Meeker
Julius Caesar, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, starring Brando, James Mason, John Gielgud, Louis Calhern, Greer Garson, Deborah Kerr
K
Kiss Me Kate, starring Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Ann Miller, released in 2-D and 3-D
L
The Lady Without Camelias (La signora senza camelie), Michelangelo Antonioni (Italy)
Latin Lovers, starring Lana Turner
Law and Order, a western starring Ronald Reagan
The Lawless Breed, starring Rock Hudson
Lili, starring Leslie Caron
A Lion Is in the Streets, starring James Cagney, Barbara Hale, Anne FrancisThe
Living Desert, Oscar winner for Best Documentary Feature
Love in the City (L’Amore in Città), anthology film, Antonioni, Dino Risi, Fellini and others – (Italy)
M
Man on a Tightrope, Kazan, starring Fredric March, Gloria Grahame
Martin Luther – (US/West Germany)
Meet Me at the Fair, starring Dan Dailey and Diana Lynn
Miss Sadie Thompson, starring Rita Hayworth
Mogambo, starring Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly (remake of 1932’s 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,” Preminger, starring William Holden, David Niven, Maggie McNamara
N
The Naked Spur, starring James Stewart, Robert Ryan, Janet Leigh
Niagara, starring Marilyn Monroe and Joseph Cotten
No Way Back (Weg Ohne Umkehr) – (West Germany)
P
Peter Pan, Disney animation, voice of Bobby Driscoll
Pickup on South Street, Sam Fuller, starring Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, Thelma Ritter
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, Dolores del Río (Mexico)
Return to Paradise, starring Gary Cooper
Ride, Vaquero!, starring Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner
The Robe, the first movie filmed in CinemaScope, starring Richard Burton, Jean Simmons
Roman Holiday, directed by William Wyler, starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn in Oscar-winning first leading role
Rosanna (La Red) – (Mexico)
S
Salome, starring Rita Hayworth
Sawdust and Tinsel (Gycklarnas afton), Ingmar Bergman – (Sweden)
Scared Stiff, starring Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Lizabeth Scott, Carmen Miranda
Shane, George Stevens, starring Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur (final film role), Brandon deWilde, Ben Johnson, Jack Palance
Siamo Donne (We, the Women), starring Alida Valli Ingrid Bergman – (Italy)
So Big, Robert Wise, starring Jane Wyman, Sterling Hayden, Steve Forrest
Stalag 17, 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 Steel Lady, starring Rod Cameron and Tab Hunter
The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan, starring Robert Morley Maurice Evans (GB)
The Story of Three Loves, trilogy starring James Mason, Leslie Caron, Kirk Douglas
Summer with Monika (Sommaren med Monika), Ingmar Bergman, starring Harriet Andersson – (Sweden)
The Sun Shines Bright, directed by John Ford, starring Charles Winninger
T
Take Me to Town, Douglas Sirk, starring Ann Sheridan, Sterling Hayden
Thérèse Raquin, Marcel Carné, starring Simone Signoret – (France)
Titanic, starring Barbara Stanwyck, Clifton Webb, Thelma Ritter, Brian Aherne, Robert Wagner
Tokyo Story, Yasujirō Ozu – (Japan)Trouble Along the Way, starring John Wayne
Trouble in Store, starring Norman Wisdom – (GB)
Tumbleweed, starring Audie Murphy
Twice Upon a Time, Emeric Pressburger – (GB)
U
Ugetsu Monogatari, Kenji Mizoguchi – (Japan)
V
The Vanquished (I Vinti), Antonioni – (Italy)
I Vitelloni, Fellini – (France/Italy)
W
The Wages of Fear (Le Salaire de la Peur), Henri-Georges Clouzot, starring Yves Montand – winner of Golden Bear and Palme d’Or awards – (France)
The War of the Worlds, starring Gene Barry
White Lightning, starring Stanley Clements and Steve Brodie
White Witch Doctor, starring Robert Mitchum and Susan Hayward
The Wild One, starring Marlon Brando
Y
Young Bess, starring Jean Simmons, Deborah Kerr, Charles Laughton
Short Films
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)-(1964)
Chip and Dale (1943–1956)
Droopy (1943–1958)
Sylvester the Cat (1944–1966)
Yosemite Sam (1945–1963)
Speedy Gonzales (1953-1968)
Births
February 19: Massimo Troisi, actor (died 1994)
March 16:
Isabelle Huppert, French actress
December 17:
Sally Menke, American editor (died 2010)
Bill Pullman, American actor
Deaths
March 5:
Herman J. Mankiewicz, 55, American screenwriter, Citizen Kane, Pride of the Yankees, Dinner at Eight, Man of the World
May 30:
Dooley Wilson, 67, American actor, Casablanca, Stormy Weather
June 5: Roland Young, 65, British actor, Topper, Ruggles of Red Gap, The Philadelphia Story, And Then There Were None
June 30:
Vsevolod Pudovkin, Soviet film director (born 1893)
August 6
John Reinhardt, Austrian director, Sofia, Chicago Calling
Houseley Stevenson, American actor, Dark Passage, Kidnapped
August 9: Henri Étiévant, French actor, director (born 1870)
August 13: Paul Kemp, German actor (born 1896), Charley’s Aunt
September 12: Lewis Stone, American actor (born 1879), Andy Hardy films, Prisoner of Zenda, Grand Hotel
October 8:
Nigel Bruce, British actor (born 1895), Sherlock Holmes film series, Suspicion, Rebecca, The Rains Came, Treasure Island
Debuts
Claude Akins – From Here to Eternity
Harry Andrews – The Red Beret
Carroll Baker – Easy to Love
Harry Belafonte – Bright Road
Jeanne Cooper – The Redhead from Wyoming
Kathryn Crosby – So This Is Love
Shirley Eaton – Personal Affair
Anita Ekberg – The Mississippi Gambler
Götz George – When the White Lilacs Bloom Again
Leo Gordon – China Venture
Lola Herrera – The Portico of Glory
Lou Jacobi – Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary?
Stanley Kubrick (director) – Fear and Desire
Jan Malmsjö – Marianne
Paul Mazursky – Fear and Desire
Steve McQueen – Girl on the Run
Nanette Newman – Personal Affair
Geraldine Page – Hondo
Anthony Perkins – The Actress
Marion Ross – Forever Female
Romy Schneider – When the White Lilacs Bloom Again
Harry Shearer – Abbott and Costello Go to Mars
Maureen Stapleton – Main Street to Broadway
Mel Welles – Appointment in Honduras
Billie Whitelaw – The Fake
