Cineliteracy: What You Need to Know about 1965 as Movie Year
Research in progress, June 16, 2025
Missing: Supp. Actress; notable films; deaths
Top-Grossing Films of 1965
1 The Sound of Music 20th Century Fox $72,000,000
2 Doctor Zhivago MGM $43,000,000
3 Thunderball United Artists / Eon $27,000,000
4 Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines 20th Century Fox $14,000,000
5 The Great Race Warner Bros. $11,400,000
6 That Darn Cat! Buena Vista $9,500,000
7 Cat Ballou Columbia $9,300,000
8 What’s New Pussycat? United Artists $8,469,000
9 Shenandoah Universal $7,771,000
10 Von Ryan’s Express 20th Century Fox $7,700,000
Events
February 15 –
George Stevens’ production of The Greatest Story Ever Told, a retelling of Jesus Christ tale, premieres in New York City. It was such a flop with critics and audiences that its failure discouraged production of religious epics for many years.
Even so, the film is notable for its astonishing landscapes, powerful cinematography, Max von Sydow’s debut acting in American film, and the final film performance of Claude Rains.
March 2 –
The Rodgers and Hammerstein film adaptation of The Sound of Music, directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, premieres. It quickly became a worldwide phenomenon and an instant classic.
It successfully displaced Gone with the Wind to become the highest-grossing film of all-time, and saved and restored Fox from bankruptcy after it suffered from high production costs of Cleopatra two years prior.
July 1 –
Blake Edwards’s comedy The Great Race, starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, Natalie Wood, premieres. Initially a flop, but later on it developed a following. Some admire Edwards’ direction, Henry Mancini’s music and its climactic pie fight.
August 10 –
Fire
A massive vault fire at MGM studios in California, destroys the only known copies of hundreds of archived silent films, including Lon Chaney’s London After Midnight and Garbo’s The Divine Woman.
December 22 –
David Lean’s film adaptation of Boris Pasternak’s Doctor Zhivago, starring Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, premieres and becomes worldwide phenom. Its message of a love and human spirit that defied the communist Soviet Union made the film a classic with critics and audiences.
Academy (Oscar) Awards:
Best Picture: The Sound of Music – Argyle Enterprises, 20th Century Fox
Best Director: Robert Wise – The Sound of Music
Best Actor: Lee Marvin – Cat Ballou
Best Actress: Julie Christie – Darling
Best Supporting Actor: Martin Balsam – A Thousand Clowns
Best Supporting Actress: Shelley Winters – A Patch of Blue
Best Foreign Language Film: The Shop on Main Street (Obchod na korze), directed by Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos, Czechoslovakia
BAFTA Film Awards:
Best Film from Any Source: My Fair Lady
Best British Film: The Ipcress File
Palme d’Or (Cannes Film Fest): The Knack …and How to Get It, directed by Richard Lester, UK
Golden Lion (Venice Film Fest): Vaghe stelle dell’Orsa (Sandra of a Thousand Delights), Visconti, Italy
Golden Bear (Berlin Film Fest): Alphaville, Godard, France / Italy
Film Releases 1965
January 8
Dear Brigitte
January 15
Baby the Rain Must Fall
January 28
36 Hours
February 15
Lord Jim (UK)
February 23
Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors UK)
February 24
Love Has Many Faces
Crack in the World
March 2
The Sound of Music
March 15
Major Dundee, Peckinpah
March 21
Die! Die! My Darling! (U.K.)
April 6
In Harm’s Way, Preminger, John Wayne
April 8
The World of Abbott and Costello
April 9
The Greatest Story Ever Told
April 14
Beach Blanket Bingo
The Satan Bug
Girl Happy
5 May
Alphaville (France)
7 May
Joy in the Morning
13 May
The Yellow Rolls-Royce
14 May
Harlow
26 May
Mirage
June 1965
June 2
What’s New Pussycat?
June 3
Shenandoah
June 16
Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines
June 18
I’ll Take Sweden
June 23
Genghis Khan (1965 film)
The Hallelujah Trail
Harlow
Von Ryan’s Express
June 24
Cat Ballou
July 1
The Great Race
The Sons of Katie Elder, John Wayne
July 3
The Hill (UK)
July 12
The Art of Love
July 14
How to Stuff a Wild Bikini
July 21
July 29
Ship of Fools
August 1
Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet
August 3
Darling (UK)
August 25
Morituri
Wild on the Beach
September 1
Billie
September 3
The Battle of the Villa Fiorita (UK)
September 8
Operation C.I.A.
September 15
The Reward
September 20
How to Murder Your Wife
September 24
Marriage on the Rocks
September 27
Mickey One
October 1965
October 6
Who Killed Teddy Bear
October 7
The Agony and the Ecstasy
October 11
The Bedford Incident (US/UK)
October 13
Situation Hopeless… But Not Serious
October 15
The Cincinnati Kid
October 17
Sting of Death
October 27
King Rat
November 1965
November 4
Never Too Late
November 6
Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine
November 10
The War Lord
November 15
Bunny Lake Is Missing (UK)
November 18
For a Few Dollars More (Italy)
November 25
Lady L
November 26
Carry On Cowboy UK)
December 2
That Darn Cat!
December 8
The Return of Ringo (Italy)
December 10
A Patch of Blue
December 13
A Thousand Clowns
December 15
The Flight of the Phoenix
December 16
Battle of the Bulge
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (UK)
December 19
December 22
Doctor Zhivago (UK/Italy/US)
December 23
The Slender Thread
December 24
Bad Girls Go to Hell
December 29
Thunderball (UK/US)
Oscar Awards (detailed)
Best Actress
Oscar Award: Julie Christie, Darling
N.Y. Film Critics Circle:
National Board of Review: Julie Christie
Cannes Film Fest: Collective Awards to Samantha Eggar and Terence Stamp, The Collector
Venice Film Fest: Annie Girardot, Trois Chambres (France)
Berlin Film Fest: Madhur Jaffrey (Shakespeare)
British Awards: Anne Bancroft, The Pumpkin Eater; Audrey Hepburn, My Fair Lady
Best Actor
Oscar Award: Lee Marvin, Cat Ballou
N.Y. Film Critics Circle: Oskar Werner, Ship of Fools
National Board of Review: Lee Marvin, Cat Ballou and Ship of Fools
Cannes Film Fest: Collective Awards to Samantha Eggar and Terence Stamp, The Collector
Venice Film Fest: Toshiro Mifune, Akahige
Berlin Film Fest: Lee Marvin, Cat Ballou, The Killers; Dirk Bogarde
British Awards: Lee Marvin, Cat Ballou
Supporting Actor
Oscar Award: Martin Balsam, A Thousand Clowns
National Board of Review: Harry Andrews, The Agony and the Ecstasy; The Hill
Supporting Actress:
