Cinema 1956: You Must Remember This–Movies, Stars, Events

Cineliteracy: What You Need to Know about 1956 as a Movie Year

Top-grossing films 1956

Rank Title Distributor Domestic rentals

1 The Ten Commandments, Paramount $34,200,000
2 Around the World in 80 Days, UA $22,000,000
3 Giant, $12,000,000
4 Seven Wonders of the World, Cinerama Releasing, $9,300,000
5 The King and I, 20th Century Fox, $8,500,000
6 Trapeze, United Artists $7,300,000
7 War and Peace, Paramount $6,250,000
8 High Society, MGM $5,602,000
9 The Teahouse of the August Moon, $5,550,000
10 The Eddy Duchin Story, Columbia $5,300,000

Events
February 5 –

First showing of documentaries by the Free Cinema movement, at the National Film Theatre, London.

February 16 –

Carousel, the first film released shot in CinemaScope 55.

February 23 –

Arthur B. Krim and Robert Benjamin acquire Mary Pickford’s interest in UA for $3 million giving them full ownership of UA.

February – Warner sells much of its pre-1950 library to Associated Artists Productions (a.a.p.); after many mergers the films return to WB 40 years later.

February – Zanuck announces his resignation as head of production of 20th Century Fox after 20 years; he is replaced by Buddy Adler.

April 18 –

Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier III and becomes Princess consort of Monaco. She stops acting, her last feature, High Society, released in July.

May 30 –

UA release Trapeze becomes their highest-grosser until surpassed by Around the World in 80 Days the following year.

July –

Harry and Albert Warner sell their stock in Warner; Jack L. Warner retains his and becomes president.

July 25 –

Partnership between Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis ends, last film together, Hollywood or Bust, released later in the year.

August 4 –

Last film serial, Blazing the Overland Trail from Columbia is released.

October 5

The Ten Commandments, Cecil B. DeMille’s last film, opens in cinemas. The most expensive film of all time (cost of $13 million) becomes one of the most successful films of all time, ranking 6th on the list of all-time moneymakers (when adjusted for inflation).

October 17 –

Mike Todd’s Around the World in 80 Days is released, becoming United Artists’ highest-grossing film.

October 18 –

Joseph Vogel becomes president of MGM.

November 1 –

Oklahoma!, released in 1955 to select cities in Todd-AO, now receives a U.S. national release in CinemaScope, as not all theatres are equipped for Todd-AO. The film has been shot twice, rather than printing one version in 2 different film processes, as is later done.

November 15 –

Elvis Presley’s first film, Love Me Tender, opens.

November 28

And God Created Woman opens in France, making Brigitte Bardot international star.

December 14 –

Dance with Me, Henry is the last film of comedy duo Abbott and Costello.

My Oscar Book:

29th Academy (Oscar) Awards, March 27, 1957

Best Film: Around the World in 80 Days

Best Director: George Stevens, Giant
Best Actor: Yul Brynner, The King and I
Best Actress Ingrid Bergman, Anastasia

Best Supporting Actor: Anthony Quinn, Lust for Life
Best Supporting Actress: Dorothy Malone, Written on the Wind

Best Foreign Language Film

Top Ten Money Making Stars

Rank Actor/Actress

1. William Holden
2. John Wayne
3. James Stewart
4. Burt Lancaster
5. Glenn Ford
6. Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
7. Marilyn Monroe
8. Gary Cooper
9. Kim Novak
10. Frank Sinatra

1956 film releases

12 January
Diane
26 January
Helen of Troy
29 January
Warning from Space (Japan)

5 February
Invasion of the Body Snatchers

16 February
Carousel
3 March
Forbidden Planet

6 March
1984 (U.K.)

21 March
Rock Around the Clock

25 March
Indestructible Man

28 March
The Conqueror

10 April
Seven Wonders of the World

26 April
The Creature Walks Among Us
27 April
Godzilla, King of the Monsters!

8 May
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
9 May
The Harder They Fall
15 May
Invitation to the Dance
26 May
The Searchers
30 May
Trapeze
While the City Sleeps
The Animal World

1 June
The Man Who Knew Too Much, Hitchcock

6 June
The Killing

10 June
Crime in the Streets
12 June
A Kiss Before Dying

21 June
The Eddy Duchin Story
22 June
The Catered Affair
27 June
Moby Dick
29 June
The King and I

17 July
High Society

1 August
Autumn Leaves

21 August
War and Peace

24 August
A Strange Adventure
26 August
The Swan

29 August
The First Traveling Saleslady
The Vagabond King

12 September
The Bad Seed

15 September
Lust for Life

21 September
The Last Wagon
28 September
The Best Things in Life Are Free

5 October
The Ten Commandments

17 October
Around the World in 80 Days
Attack
Julie

1 November
Naked Gun

15 November
Love Me Tender

24 November
Giant

25 November
Friendly Persuasion

29 November
The Teahouse of the August Moon

1 December

The Girl Can’t Help It

13 December
Anastasia
The Rainmaker

21 December
The King and Four Queens

25 December
Written on the Wind

29 December
Baby Doll

Notable Films Released in 1956

#
7th Cavalry, starring Randolph Scott and Barbara Hale
23 Paces to Baker Street, starring Van Johnson and Vera Miles

1984, Michael Anderson, starring Edmond O’Brien, Michael Redgrave – (GB)

Alexander the Great, starring Richard Burton
Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves (Alibabavum 40 Thirudargalum) – (India)

Anastasia, starring Ingrid Bergman, Yul Brynner
And God Created Woman, Roger Vadim, starring Brigitte Bardot – (France)

Aparajito (The Unvanquished), directed by Satyajit Ray – (India)
Around the World in 80 Days, Michael Anderson, starring David Niven, Cantinflas, Shirley MacLaine – Best Picture Oscar

At Gunpoint, starring Fred MacMurray, Walter Brennan, Dorothy Malone
Attack, a.k.a. Attack!, Robert Aldrich, starring Jack Palance, Eddie Albert, Lee Marvin

Autumn Leaves, starring Joan Crawford, Cliff Robertson

B
Baby Doll, Kazan, starring Carroll Baker, Karl Malden, Eli Wallach
Back from Eternity, starring Robert Ryan, Anita Ekberg, Rod Steiger

The Bad Seed, starring Nancy Kelly, Patty McCormack

The Battle of the River Plate, a.k.a. Pursuit of the Graf Spee, Powell and Pressburger, starring John Gregson and Peter Finch – (GB)

The Benny Goodman Story, starring Steve Allen and Donna Reed
The Best Things in Life Are Free, starring Gordon MacRae, Dan Dailey, Sheree North
Between Heaven and Hell, Richard Fleischer, starring Robert Wagner, Buddy Ebsen
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, Fritz Lang, starring Dana Andrews, Joan Fontaine

Bhowani Junction, Cukor, starring Ava Gardner, Stewart Granger (GB/US)

Bigger Than Life, Nicholas Ray, starring James Mason, Barbara Rush, Walter Matthau

Bob le flambeur (Bob the Gambler), directed by Jean-Pierre Melville – (France)
The Bold and the Brave, starring Wendell Corey, Mickey Rooney
The Bottom of the Bottle, Hathaway, starring Van Johnson, Joseph Cotten, Ruth Roman
The Brave One, directed by Irving Rapper

The Burmese Harp (Biruma no tategoto), Kon Ichikawa – (Japan)

The Burning Hills, starring Natalie Wood and Tab Hunter
Bus Stop, starring Marilyn Monroe, Don Murray

C
Carousel, directed by Henry King, starring Shirley Jones and Gordon MacRae

The Catered Affair, starring Bette Davis, Ernest Borgnine, Debbie Reynolds
Checkpoint (1956 film), directed by Ralph Thomas, starring Anthony Steel, Odile Versois, Stanley Baker & James Robertson Justice – (U.K.)
Child of Sorrow (Anak dalita) – (Philippines)
Chori Chori, starring Nargis and Raj Kapoor – (India)
Comanche, starring Dana Andrews and Linda Cristal
Come Next Spring, starring Ann Sheridan and Steve Cochran
Congo Crossing, starring Virginia Mayo and Peter Lorre
The Conqueror, Dick Powell, starring John Wayne (Genghis Khan)
The Court Jester, starring Danny Kaye
Crazed Fruit (Kurutta kajitsu), directed by Kō Nakahira – (Japan)
Crime Against Joe, starring Julie London
Crime in the Streets, directed by Don Siegel, starring James Whitmore and John Cassavetes
A Cry in the Night, starring Edmond O’Brien, Natalie Wood, Raymond Burr

D
D-Day the Sixth of June, starring Robert Taylor

Dance with Me, Henry, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
Death in the Garden (La mort en ce jardin), Buñuel, starring Simone Signoret, Charles Vanel – (France)

Diane, starring Lana Turner in final MGM film after nearly 20 year contract

Donatella, Mario Monicelli, starring Elsa Martinelli – (Italy)

E
Early Spring (Soshun), directed by Yasujirō Ozu – (Japan)
Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, starring Hugh Marlowe

The Eddy Duchin Story, starring Tyrone Power, Kim Novak
Elena and Her Men, starring Ingrid Bergman – (France/Italy)

The First Traveling Saleslady, starring Ginger Rogers, Barry Nelson, Carol Channing
Forbidden Planet, starring Walter Pidgeon, Leslie Nielsen, Anne Francis

Friendly Persuasion, William Wyler, starring Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire, Anthony Perkins

G
Gaby, starring Leslie Caron

Gervaise, René Clément, starring Maria Schell – (France)

Giant, George Stevens, starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean in final film

The Girl Can’t Help It, starring Tom Ewell, Jayne Mansfield in first starring role

The Girl He Left Behind, starring Tab Hunter and Natalie Wood
A Girl in Black, directed by Michael Cacoyannis (Greece)

Godzilla, King of the Monsters! directed by Terry Morse and Ishirō Honda, starring Raymond Burr and Takashi Shimura – (Japan/US)

The Harder They Fall, starring Bogart in his final film
The Harvest Month (Elokuu) – (Finland)
Helen of Troy, starring Rossana Podestà, Stanley Baker

High Society, starring Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly in final film

Hollywood or Bust, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Anita Ekberg, final Martin and Lewis film

The Hunchback of Notre Dame, starring Gina Lollobrigida, Anthony Quinn (France/Italy)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Don Siegel, starring Kevin McCarthy
Invitation to the Dance, directed by and starring Gene Kelly
It Conquered the World, directed by Roger Corman, starring Peter Graves, Beverly Garland

J
Jagte Raho (Stay Awake), starring Raj Kapoor – (India)
Johnny Concho, starring Frank Sinatra
Jubal, starring Glenn Ford, Rod Steiger, Ernest Borgnine
Julie, starring Doris Day and Louis Jourdan

Kanal, directed by Andrzej Wajda – (Poland)

The Killer Is Loose, Budd Boetticher, starring Joseph Cotten, Rhonda Fleming, Wendell Corey
The Killers, a short film, Andrei Tarkovsky – (U.S.S.R.)
The Killing, Kubrick, starring Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Marie Windsor, Vince Edwards
The King and Four Queens, starring Clark Gable
The King and I, starring Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner
A Kiss Before Dying, starring Robert Wagner, Joanne Woodward

The Last Hunt, Richard Brooks, starring Robert Taylor, Stewart Granger
The Last Wagon, starring Richard Widmark
The Lone Ranger, starring Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels
The Long Arm, starring Jack Hawkins – (GB)
Love Me Tender, starring Elvis Presley in film debut
Lust for Life, starring Kirk Douglas (as Van Gogh), Anthony Quinn

M
A Man Escaped (Un condamné à mort s’est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut), Bresson – (France)

The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, starring Gregory Peck, Jennifer Jones, Fredric March, Keenan Wynn, Lee J. Cobb

The Man Who Knew Too Much, Hitchcock (remake of his own 1934 British film), starring James Stewart, Doris Day

The Man Who Never Was, starring Clifton Webb and Gloria Grahame – (GB)
Marie Antoinette Queen of Francem directed by Jean Delannoy, starring Michèle Morgan, Richard Todd – (France)
The Maverick Queen, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Barry Sullivan

Moby Dick, John Huston, starring Gregory Peck, Richard Basehart, Leo Genn
Mukh O Mukhosh (The Face and the Mask) – (East Pakistan)
The Mystery of Picasso, documentary directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot

Nagareru (Flowing), directed by Mikio Naruse – (Japan)

Old Khottabych (Starik Khottabych) – (U.S.S.R.)
On the Threshold of Space, starring Guy Madison
The Opposite Sex, starring June Allyson, Leslie Nielsen, Joan Collins
Othello, starring Sergei Bondarchuk – (U.S.S.R.)

P
Pardners, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis

Pillars of the Sky, starring Jeff Chandler, Dorothy Malone
Please Murder Me, starring Angela Lansbury and Raymond Burr

The Power and the Prize, starring Robert Taylor, Burl Ives, Mary Astor, Cedric Hardwicke, Elisabeth Müller

The Proud and Profane, starring William Holden, Deborah Kerr
The Proud Ones, starring Robert Ryan, Virginia Mayo

Qivitoq – (Denmark)

R
The Rack, starring Paul Newman, Edmond O’Brien, Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Lee Marvin, and Cloris Leachman

The Railroad Man (Il Ferroviere), directed by and starring Pietro Germi (Italy)
The Rainmaker, starring Burt Lancaster, Katharine Hepburn, Lloyd Bridges

Raj Hath, starring Madhubala – (India)
Ransom!, starring Glenn Ford, Donna Reed
Reach for the Sky, a biopic of Douglas Bader starring Kenneth More – (GB)
The Red Balloon (Le Ballon rouge) – (France)
The Road of Life (El camino de la vida) – (Mexico)

Rock Around the Clock, featuring Bill Haley and His Comets
Rodan, directed by Ishirō Honda – (Japan)
The Roof (Il Tetto), De Sica – (Italy)
Run for the Sun, starring Richard Widmark, Trevor Howard, Jane Greer

S
Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island, directed by Hiroshi Inagaki, starring Toshiro Mifune – (Japan)
The Searchers, John Ford, starring John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles

Serenade, Anthony Mann, starring Mario Lanza and Joan Fontaine
Seven Men from Now, Boetticher, starring Randolph Scott and Lee Marvin
Seven Wonders of the World, documentary directed by Tay Garnett and others
Seven Years in Tibet – (GB)
The She-Creature, starring Marla English
The Silent World, a marine documentary by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Louis Malle – (France); Cannes Fest winner
Sira Fi al-Mina (aka Dark Water), Youssef Chahine, starring Omar Sharif (Egypt)

The Solid Gold Cadillac, starring Judy Holliday
Somebody Up There Likes Me, starring Paul Newman

The Square Jungle, starring Tony Curtis and Patricia Crowley
Star in the Dust, starring John Agar and Mamie Van Doren
Stars in Your Eyes – (GB)
Storm Center, starring Bette Davis, Kim Hunter
Street of Shame (Akasen chitai), directed by Kenji Mizoguchi – (Japan)

Tea and Sympathy, Minnelli, starring Deborah Kerr, John Kerr

The Teahouse of the August Moon, starring Marlon Brando, Glenn Ford

The Ten Commandments, Cecil B. DeMille, starring Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, Yvonne De Carlo, Edward G. Robinson
There’s Always Tomorrow, starring Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Joan Bennett

Time Table, directed by and starring Mark Stevens, with Felicia Farr
Toward the Unknown, starring William Holden and Virginia Leith
A Town Like Alice, starring Virginia McKenna and Peter Finch – (GB)

Trapeze, Carol Reed, starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Gina Lollobrigida

Tribute to a Bad Man, Robert Wise, starring James Cagney, Irene Papas, Stephen McNally, Don Dubbins, Vic Morrow
The Twelve Months (Dvenadtsat mesyatsev) – (USSR)

U
Uncle Hyacynth (Mi tío Jacinto) – (Spain)
V
Valley of Peace (Dolina miru) – (Yugoslavia)
I Vampiri (The Vampire) – (Italy)

W
War and Peace, King Vidor, starring Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Mel Ferrer

What a Woman!, starring Sophia Loren, Charles Boyer, Mastroianni – (Italy)
While the City Sleeps, starring Dana Andrews, Ida Lupino, Rhonda Fleming, George Sanders, Vincent Price

Who Done It?, starring Benny Hill – (GB)

Written on the Wind, directed by Douglas Sirk, starring Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall, Robert Stack, Dorothy Malone

The Wrong Man, Hitchcock, starring Henry Fonda, Vera Miles

X the Unknown, starring Dean Jagger and Leo McKern – (GB)

Y
Yield to the Night, starring Diana Dors – (GB)
You Can’t Run Away from It, Dick Powell, starring June Allyson, Jack Lemmon

Z
Zarak, starring Victor Mature – (GB)

Serials
Blazing the Overland Trail, starring Lee Roberts and Dennis Moore
Perils of the Wilderness
Short film series
Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
Terrytoons (1930–1964)
Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
Popeye (1933–1957)
The Three Stooges (1934–1959)
Bugs Bunny (1940–1962)
Tom and Jerry (1940–1958)
Droopy (1943–1958)
Yosemite Sam (1945–1963)
Speedy Gonzales (1953–1968)
Woody Woodpecker (1940–1972)
Ending this year

Donald Duck (1934-1956)
Chip ‘n’ Dale (1943-1956)

Deaths

January 23 – Alexander Korda, 62, Hungarian film director, founder of London Films, That Hamilton Woman, The Private Life of Henry VIII
February 2
April 21 – Charles MacArthur, 60, American screenwriter and playwright, Wuthering Heights, His Girl Friday

April 24 – Henry Stephenson, 85, British actor, Mutiny on the Bounty, Oliver Twist

April 26 – Edward Arnold, 66, US actor, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Diamond Jim
May 12 – Louis Calhern, 61, US actor, Duck Soup, Notorious, Asphalt Jungle, High Society
June 2 – Jean Hersholt, 69, Danish-American actor, Heidi
June 6 – Margaret Wycherly, 74, Uk-US actress, White Heat, Sergeant York

July 16 – Olof Winnerstrand, 80, Swedish actor, Torment, A Lesson in Love
August 16 – Bela Lugosi, 73, Hungarian-born US actor, Dracula, White Zombie, The Black Cat
August 23 –

Kenji Mizoguchi, 58, Japanese director, The Life of Oharu, A Geisha
October 2 –

George Bancroft, 74, US actor, Stagecoach, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
November 10 –

Victor Young, 56, US composer, Around the World in 80 Days, For Whom the Bell Tolls
November 26 – Tommy Dorsey, 56, US musician, The Fabulous Dorseys, DuBarry Was a Lady, Ship Ahoy

December 8 – Jack Cohn, 67, co-founder of Columbia Pictures
December 26 – Holmes Herbert, 74, UK actor, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Invisible Man

Film Debuts

Michael Caine – Panic in the Parlor
Frank Campanella – Somebody Up There Likes Me
Roger Carel – Meeting in Paris
Andrew Duggan – Patterns
Barbara Eden – Back from Eternity
Barry Foster – The Baby and the Battleship
James Garner – Toward the Unknown
Frank Gorshin – The Proud and Profane
Rance Howard – Frontier Woman
Ron Howard – Frontier Woman
Glenda Jackson – The Extra Day
Dean Jones – Somebody Up There Likes Me
Alfredo Landa – Around the World in 80 Days
Robert Loggia – Somebody Up There Likes Me
Michael Lonsdale – It Happened in Aden
Nan Martin – The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
Francis Matthews – Bhowani Junction
Doug McClure – Friendly Persuasion
Donald Moffat – The Battle of the River Plate
Robert Morse – The Proud and Profane
Armin Mueller-Stahl – Heimliche Ehen
Don Murray – Bus Stop
Leslie Nielsen – Ransom!
Joan Plowright – Moby Dick
Elvis Presley – Love Me Tender
Maggie Smith – Child in the House
Harry Dean Stanton – The Wrong Man
Robert Stephens – War and Peace
Rip Torn – Baby Doll
Cicely Tyson – Carib Gold
Robert Vaughn – The Ten Commandments
John Vernon – 1984
Eli Wallach – Baby Doll
Tuesday Weld – Rock, Rock, Rock
Jason Wingreen – Three Brave Men
Salah Zulfikar – Wakeful Eyes