Cineliteracy: What You Need to Know about 1954 as a Movie Year
My Oscar Book:
Top grossing films in the US:
Rank Title Distributor Domestic rentals
1 White Christmas Paramount $12,000,000
2 The Caine Mutiny Columbia $8,700,000
3 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Buena Vista $8,000,000
4 The Glenn Miller Story Universal $7,600,000
5 The Country Girl Paramount $6,500,000
6 The High and the Mighty Warner Bros. $6,100,000
7 A Star Is Born Warner Bros. $6,100,000
8 Seven Brides for Seven Brothers MGM $5,526,000
9 Rear Window Paramount $5,300,000
10 Magnificent Obsession Universal $5,200,000
11 There’s No Business Like Show Business 20th Century Fox $5,103,555
Grace Kelly was in two of the year’s blockbusters, The Country Girl and Rear Window.
International Hits
International market Film Studio Revenue Admissions Production country
France Royal Affairs in Versailles, Cocinor — 6,986,788 France
West Germany From Here to Eternity Columbia Pictures — 13,000,000 US
India Nagin Filmistan $6,090,000— India
Italy Ulysses Lux Film — 13,170,322 Italy
Japan What Is Your Name? Part 3 Shochiku ¥330,150,000 — Japan
Soviet Union Awaara R. K. Films $16,970,000, 100,000,000, India
Spain Quo Vadis? MGM — 3,721,532 US
UK Doctor in the House Rank Organization — 12,200,000 UK
My Oscar Book:
Best Picture Nominees
The Caine Mutiny
The Country Girl
On the Waterfront (winner)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Three Coins in the Fountain
N.Y. Film Critics Circle: On the Waterfront
British Awards: The Wages of War; Hobson’s Choice (UK film)
Cannes Festival: Gate of Hell (Japan)
Venice Festival: Romeo and Juliet (Italy-UK)
Best Actress and Best Actor Oscars
My Oscar Book:
Best Actress
Oscar: Grace Kelly (The Country Girl)
N.Y. Film Critics Circle: Grace Kelly, The Country Girl, Dial M for Murder, Rear Window; Judy Garland, A Star Is Born
National Board: Grace Kelly (for three films)
Cannes Film Fest: Not Awarded
Best Actor
Oscar: Marlon Brando, On the Waterfront
N.Y. Film Critics Circle: Marlon Brando, On the Waterfront
National Board: Bing Crosby, The Country Girl
Cannes Film Fest: Not Awarded
Venice Film Fest: Not Awarded
British: Kenneth Moore, Doctor in the House; Marlon Brando, On the Waterfront
Best Supporting Actress Oscar
Eva Marie Saint, On the Waterfront
Nina Foch, Executive Suite
Katie Jurado, Broken Lance
Jan Sterling, The High and the Mighty
Claire Trevor, The High and the Mighty
While no doubt giving a good performance, Eva Marie Saint benefited from the dramatic momentum of the picture for which she was nominated, Kazan’s “On the Waterfront,” with a bravura star performance from Brando, who won Best Actor.
The national Board of Review chose Nina Foch.
This was the only Oscar nomination of Saint, Jurado, Foch, and Sterling.
Claire Trevor was first nominated for William Wyler’s “Dead End,” in 1937, and won the Supporting Oscar in 1948 for John Huston’s crime-gangster “Key Largo,” which co-starred Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart in major roles.
Movie Events
September 29 —
A Star is Born premieres, marking Judy Garland’s comeback after being terminated from her contract at MGM. An astounding success with critics and audiences, A Star is Born marks the first time director George Cukor made musical in Technicolor and anamorphic widescreen format; it’s regarded as containing Garland’s best dramatic performance, for which she won her first and only Best Actress Oscar nomination.
My biography of George Cukor
November 3 —
The film Godzilla premieres in Japan, huge success and the first in the Godzilla film franchise, the longest running film series in history.
Awards
Oscars: 27th Academy Awards, March 30, 1955
Best Film: On the Waterfront Carmen Jones On the Waterfront
Best Director Elia Kazan, On the Waterfront
Best Actor Marlon Brando, On the Waterfront
Best Actress Grace Kelly, The Country Girl
Best Supporting Actor: Edmond O’Brien, The Barefoot Contessa
Best Supporting Actress: Eva Marie Saint, On the Waterfront
Best Screenplay, Adapted, George Seaton, The Country Girl
Best Screenplay, Original Budd Schulberg, On the Waterfront
Best Foreign Language Film:
Top Money-Making Stars
Exhibitors selected the Top Ten Money Making Stars in Quigley Publishing Company’s annual poll.
John Wayne became first actor to regain number one spot after losing that position.
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.
Rank Actor/Actress
1. Roy Rogers
2. Gene Autry
3. Rex Allen
4. Wild Bill Elliott
5. Gabby Hayes
Notable films released in 1954
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, starring Kirk Douglas, James Mason
Robinson Crusoe (Aventuras de Robinson Crusoe), Buñuel (Mexico)
Animal Farm, an animated film – (GB)
Apache, starring Burt Lancaster
Attila, starring Anthony Quinn, Sophia Loren – (France/Italy)
B
The Barefoot Contessa, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ava Gardner, Edmond O’Brien, Rossano Brazzi
Betrayed, fourth and final film co-starring Clark Gable and Lana Turner
Boris Godunov – (USSR)
The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters, starring Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Ellen Corby
Bread, Love and Jealousy (Pane, Amore e Gelosia), starring De Sica. Gina Lollobrigida – (Italy)
The Bridges at Toko-Ri, Mark Robson, starring William Holden, Grace Kelly
Broken Lance, starring Spencer Tracy, Robert Wagner, Jean Peters, Richard Widmark, Katy Jurado
C
The Caine Mutiny, Edward Dmytryk, starring Bogart, Van Johnson, Fred MacMurray, José Ferrer, Robert Francis, May Wynn, E. G. Marshall
Carmen Jones, starring Dorothy Dandridge (first African-American nominated for Best Actress Oscar)
The Country Girl, George Seaton, starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, William Holden
Creature from the Black Lagoon, Jack Arnold
Crime Wave, André de Toth, starring Sterling Hayden, Phyllis Kirk
Crossed Swords ([Il Maestro di Don Giovanni]), starring Errol Flynn, Gina Lollobrigida – (United States/Italy)
The Crucified Lovers (Chikamatsu Monogatari), Mizoguchi, starring Kazuo Hasegawa – (Japan)
D
Deep in My Heart, Stanley Donen, starring José Ferrer, Merle Oberon
Demetrius and the Gladiators, starring Victor Mature, Susan Hayward
Désirée, starring Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons
Dial M for Murder, Hitchcock, starring Ray Milland, Robert Cummings, Grace Kelly
Doctor in the House, starring Dirk Bogarde, first of “Doctor” series – (GB)
Drum Beat, directed by Delmer Daves, starring Alan Ladd
E
The Egyptian, starring Jean Simmons, Gene Tierney, Victor Mature, Bella Darvi, Edmund Purdom
Elephant Walk, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Peter Finch
Executive Suite, starring William Holden, Barbara Stanwyck, June Allyson, Fredric March, Louis Calhern, Walter Pidgeon, Nina Foch
F
The Far Country, Anthony Mann, starring James Stewart, Ruth Roman, Walter Brennan
Fear (La Paura), Rossellini, starring Ingrid Bergman – (West Germany/Italy)
Five Boys from Barska Street (Piątka z ulicy Barskiej) – (Poland)
Flame and the Flesh, starring Lana Turner
French Cancan, starring Jean Gabin – (France/Italy)
G
Garden of Evil, starring Gary Cooper, Susan Hayward, Richard Widmark
The Glenn Miller Story, Anthony Mann, starring Jimmy Stewart, June Allyson
Godzilla (Gojira), directed by Ishirō Honda – (Japan)
The Gold of Naples (L’oro di Napoli), De Sica, starring Silvana Mangano, Sophia Loren – (Italy)
H
Hansel and Gretel: An Opera Fantasy, Stop motion animated
Hell and High Water, Samuel Fuller, starring Richard Widmark
The High and the Mighty, starring John Wayne, Robert Stack, Laraine Day, Claire Trevor, Phil Harris
Hobson’s Choice, David Lean, starring Charles Laughton, John Mills – (GB)
Human Desire, Fritz Lang, starring Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Broderick Crawford
I
Illusion Travels by Streetcar (La ilusión viaja en tranvía), Buñuel, starring Lilia Prado – (Mexico)
Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome, Kenneth Anger
An Inspector Calls, with Alastair Sim, based on the J. B. Priestley play – (GB)
It Should Happen to You, starring Judy Holliday, Peter Lawford, Jack Lemmon
J
Johnny Guitar, directed by Nicholas Ray, starring Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge
Journey to Italy (Viaggio in Italia), Rossellini, starring Ingrid Bergman, George Sanders – (France/Italy)
K
King Richard and the Crusaders, Rex Harrison and Virginia Mayo
Knock on Wood, starring Danny Kaye
L
Late Chrysanthemums (bangiku), Mikio Naruse – (Japan)
A Lesson in Love (En lektion i kärlek), directed by Ingmar Bergman, starring Eva Dahlbeck, Gunnar Björnstrand – (Sweden)
A Life at Stake, starring Angela Lansbury
Living It Up, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
The Long, Long Trailer, Minnelli, starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz
M
Magnificent Obsession, Douglas Sirk, starring Jane Wyman, Rock Hudson
N
Naked Alibi, starring Sterling Hayden and Gloria Grahame
The Naked Jungle, starring Eleanor Parker, Charlton Heston
Night People, Nunnally Johnson, starring Gregory Peck, Broderick Crawford, Buddy Ebsen
O
On the Waterfront, Kazan, starring Marlon Brando with Eva Marie Saint, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger—winner of eight Oscars
On Trial (L’affaire Maurizius; Il caso Mauritius), Julien Duvivier – (France/Italy)
P
Phffft, starring Judy Holliday, Jack Lemmon, Kim Novak
Prince Valiant, starring Robert Wagner, James Mason, Janet Leigh
Private Hell 36, Don Siegel, starring Ida Lupino
Pushover, starring Fred MacMurray, Kim Novak (in her film debut)
R
The Raid, starring Van Heflin, Anne Bancroft, Lee Marvin
Rear Window, directed Hitchcock, starring James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Thelma Ritter, Wendell Corey, Raymond Burr
Red Garters, directed by George Marshall, Rosemary Clooney
Return to Treasure Island, starring Tab Hunter
Riot in Cell Block 11, Don Siegel, starring Neville Brand
River of No Return, Preminger, starring Robert Mitchum, Marilyn Monroe
Robinson Crusoe, Bunuel, starring Dan O’Herlihy
Rogue Cop, starring Robert Taylor and Janet Leigh
S
Sabrina, Billy Wilder, starring Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, William Holden
Salt of the Earth, starring Rosaura Revueltas, Will Geer
Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (Miyamoto Musashi), directed by Hiroshi Inagaki, starring Toshiro Mifune – (Japan)
Sansho the Bailiff (Sanshō Dayũ), Mizoguchi, starring Kinuyo Tanaka (Japan)
Saskatchewan, starring Alan Ladd
Senso, Visconti, starring Alida Valli and Farley Granger – (Italy)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, directed by Stanley Donen, starring Jane Powell, Howard Keel
Seven Samurai (Shichinin no Samurai), Kurosawa, starring Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura – (Japan)
The Silver Chalice, starring Paul Newman (in film debut)
Sira` Fi al-Wadi (Struggle in the Valley), directed by Youssef Chahine – (Egypt)
Sitting Bull, starring Dale Robertson and J. Carrol Naish
Sound of the Mountain (Yama no Oto), directed by Mikio Naruse – (Japan)
A Star Is Born, Cukor, starring Judy Garland, James Mason, musical remake of 1937 film
La strada (The Road), Fellini, starring Anthony Quinn – (Italy)
Suddenly, starring Frank Sinatra and Sterling Hayden
T
Taza, Son of Cochise, starring Rock Hudson
Them!, starring James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, James Arness
There’s No Business Like Show Business, starring Ethel Merman, Dan Dailey, Donald O’Connor, Mitzi Gaynor, Marilyn Monro
Three Coins in the Fountain, starring Jean Peters, Dorothy McGuire, Maggie McNamara
Too Bad She’s Bad (Peccato che sia una canaglia), starring Mastroianni, Sophia Loren, Vittorio De Sica – (Italy)
Track of the Cat, William A. Wellman, starring Robert Mitchum, Teresa Wright
V
Vera Cruz, starring Gary Cooper, Burt Lancaster
W
The Weak and the Wicked, J. Lee Thompson, starring Glynis Johns, Diana Dors – (GB)
White Christmas, directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen, Dean Jagger
Y
Young at Heart, starring Frank Sinatra, Doris Day
Deaths
January 18 –
Sydney Greenstreet, 74, Uk actor, Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon
February 12 –
Dziga Vertov, 58, Russian filmmaker, Man with a Movie Camera
March 7 –
Will H. Hays, 74, movie censor, first chair of Motion Picture Producers and Distributors
April 10 –
Auguste Lumiere, 91, French film pioneer
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, Most Dangerous Game, Santa Fe, Oliver Twist, How Green Was My Valley
August 19 – Terry Ramsaye, 68, American producer and movie historian, author of A Million and One Nights: A History of the Motion Picture
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 Musketeer
December 8 – Gladys George, 50, US actress, The Maltese Falcon, The Best Years of Our Lives, The Roaring Twenties, Detective Story
Film Debuts
Ursula Andress – An American in Rome
R.G. Armstrong – Garden of Eden
Martin Balsam – On the Waterfront
Sean Connery – Lilacs in the Spring
Allan Cuthbertson – Carrington V.C.
Angie Dickinson – Lucky Me
Charles Grodin – 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Allison Hayes – Francis Joins the WACS
David Hemmings – The Rainbow Jacket
Pat Hingle – On the Waterfront
James Hong – Dragonfly Squadron
Jack Lemmon – It Should Happen to You
Elsa Martinelli – The Red and the Black
Paul Newman – The Silver Chalice
Kim Novak – The French Line
Patrick O’Neal – The Mad Magician
Donald Pleasence – The Beachcomber
Eva Marie Saint – On the Waterfront
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 Grisby
My Oscar Book:
