Overview of the events of 1953 in film
The year 1953 in film involved some significant events.
The top ten 1953 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
Highest-grossing films of 1953
Rank
Title
Distributor
Domestic rentals
1
The Robe 20th Century Fox
$17,500,000[ 1]
2
From Here to Eternity Columbia
$12,200,000[ 1]
3
Shane Paramount
$8,000,000[ 1]
4
How to Marry a Millionaire 20th Century Fox
$7,300,000[ 1]
5
Peter Pan RKO /Walt Disney
$6,000,000[ 1]
6
House of Wax Warner Bros.
$5,500,000[ 2]
7
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes 20th Century Fox
$5,100,000[ 1]
8
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms Warner Bros.
$5,000,000[ 3]
9
Salome Columbia
$4,750,000[ 2]
10
Mogambo MGM
$4,576,000[ 4]
Events
January 16 – A new Warner Bros. Pictures Inc. is incorporated following a Consent Judgment to divest their Stanley Warner Theaters.February 5 – Walt Disney 's production of J.M. Barrie 's Peter Pan Bobby Driscoll and Kathryn Beaumont , premieres to astounding acclaim from critics and audiences and quickly becomes one of the most beloved Disney films. This is the last Disney animated movie released in partnership with RKO Pictures , becoming the last ever smash hit movie of the later company before it bankrupted in 1959.February 25 – Jacques Tati 's film Les Vacances de M. Hulot gauche character of Monsieur Hulot.[ 5] July 1 – Stalag 17 Billy Wilder and starring William Holden , premieres and is considered by the critics and audiences to be one of the greatest WWII Prisoner of War films ever made. Holden wins the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film.August 5 – Fred Zinnemann 's romantic and war masterpiece From Here to Eternity Burt Lancaster , Montgomery Clift , Deborah Kerr , Frank Sinatra , and Donna Reed , premieres.August 27 – William Wyler 's romantic comedy Roman Holiday Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn , is premièred and propels Hepburn to super stardom.September 16 – Religious epic The Robe Richard Burton and Jean Simmons , debuts as the first widescreen anamorphic film in cinema history, filmed in CinemaScope grossing a record $36,000 for a single theatre in its first day. It went on to gross a record (for a single theater) $264,428 in its first week.November 21 – Monogram Pictures , which had stopped releasing pictures under that banner from the start of the year, changes its name to Allied Artists Pictures Corporation .
Awards
Notable films released in 1953
United States unless stated
A
Abbott and Costello Go to Mars Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Act of Love Kirk Douglas – (US /France )The Actress Spencer Tracy and Jean Simmons Albert R.N. Lewis Gilbert , starring Anthony Steel , Jack Warner , Robert Beatty , William Sylvester – (GB )The All-American Tony Curtis All I Desire Barbara Stanwyck All the Brothers Were Valiant Ann Blyth Anarkali India )Appointment in Honduras Jacques Tourneur , starring Ann Sheridan and Glenn Ford Arrowhead Charlton Heston and Jack Palance
B
Baaz Guru Dutt – (India )The Band Wagon Fred Astaire , Cyd Charisse , Jack Buchanan , Nanette Fabray , Oscar Levant The Bandit of Brazil Brazil )Barabbas Alf Sjöberg – (Sweden )The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms Paula Raymond and Cecil Kellaway Beat the Devil John Huston , starring Humphrey Bogart , Jennifer Jones , Gina Lollobrigida – (Italy /GB/US )The Beggar's Opera Laurence Olivier and Dorothy Tutin – (GB )Belinsky U.S.S.R. )Ben and Me Sterling Holloway and Charles Ruggles Beneath the 12-Mile Reef 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 Edward G. Robinson The Bigamist Ida Lupino , with Joan Fontaine , Edmond O'Brien Black Ermine Argentina )Blowing Wild Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck The Blue Gardenia Anne Baxter and Raymond Burr A Blueprint for Murder Joseph Cotten and Jean Peters Bread, Love and Dreams Vittorio De Sica and Gina Lollobrigida – (Italy )Bright Road Harry Belafonte (US )The Brute Luis Buñuel , starring Pedro Armendáriz and Katy Jurado – (Mexico )By the Light of the Silvery Moon Doris Day and Gordon MacRae
C
The Caddy Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis Calamity Jane Doris Day Call Me Madam Ethel Merman The Captain's Paradise Alec Guinness – (GB )Cease Fire The Charge at Feather River Guy Madison City Beneath the Sea Robert Ryan , Anthony Quinn , Mala Powers City That Never Sleeps Gig Young , William Talman , Paula Raymond , Mala Powers The Clown Red Skelton Confidentially Connie Van Johnson and Janet Leigh The Conquest of Everest The Cruel Sea Jack Hawkins and Denholm Elliott – (GB )Cry of the Hunted Vittorio Gassman , Barry Sullivan , Polly Bergen
D
Dangerous Crossing Jeanne Crain and Michael Rennie Dangerous When Wet Esther Williams Decameron Nights Joan Fontaine and Louis Jourdan The Desert Rats Richard Burton and James Mason Desperate Moment Dirk Bogarde and Mai Zetterling – (GB )Devdas India )Do Bigha Zamin Bimal Roy – (India )Donovan's Brain Lew Ayres and Nancy Davis Down Among the Sheltering Palms Mitzi Gaynor , Gloria DeHaven , Jane Greer Dream Wife Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr
E
The Earrings of Madame de... Max Ophüls , starring Charles Boyer – (France /Italy )East of Sumatra Anthony Quinn and Jeff Chandler Easy to Love Esther Williams Easy Years Luigi Zampa – (Italy )The Eddie Cantor Story Keefe Brasselle Él Luis Buñuel , starring Arturo de Córdova – (Mexico )Entotsu no mieru basho Japan )Esa pareja feliz Juan Antonio Bardem and Luis García Berlanga – (Spain )Escape By Night Bonar Colleano and Sid James – (GB )Escape from Fort Bravo John Sturges , starring William Holden , Eleanor Parker , John Forsythe
F
Fair Wind to Java Fred MacMurray and Vera Ralston The Farmer Takes a Wife Betty Grable Fast Company Howard Keel and Polly Bergen Fear and Desire Stanley Kubrick The Final Test Anthony Asquith , starring Jack Warner (GB)Folly to Be Wise Frank Launder , starring Alastair Sim – (GB )Footpath Dilip Kumar – (India )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 A Geisha Kenji Mizoguchi – (Japan )Genevieve Dinah Sheridan , John Gregson , Kay Kendall – (GB )Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Howard Hawks , starring Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe The Girl Next Door June Haver and Dan Dailey The Girl Who Had Everything Elizabeth Taylor , William Powell , Fernando Lamas , Gig Young Give a Girl a Break Stanley Donen , starring Debbie Reynolds , Marge Champion , Gower Champion The Glass Wall Vittorio Gassman and Gloria Grahame The Golden Blade Rock Hudson and Piper Laurie The Great Adventure Arne Sucksdorff – (Sweden )The Great Sioux Uprising Jeff Chandler Gun Fury Rock Hudson and Donna Reed
H
The Heart of the Matter Trevor Howard – (GB )The Hitch-Hiker Ida Lupino , starring Edmond O'Brien and William Talman Hondo John Wayne and Geraldine Page in her film debutHoudini Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh House of Wax Vincent Price How to Marry a Millionaire Marilyn Monroe , Betty Grable , Lauren Bacall (Grable, Fox's top star of the 1940s, with Monroe, Fox's top star of the 1950s)
I
I Confess Alfred Hitchcock , starring Montgomery Clift and Anne Baxter The I Don't Care Girl Mitzi Gaynor I, the Jury Biff Elliot and Peggie Castle Inferno Robert Ryan Interim Stan Brakhage , short film (25 ½ minutes); music by James Tenney )The Intruder Jack Hawkins – (GB )Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary? Bonar Colleano and Diana Dors – (GB )Island in the Sky John Wayne It Came from Outer Space Jack Arnold , starring Richard Carlson
J
Jennifer Ida Lupino and Howard Duff Jeopardy Barbara Stanwyck , Barry Sullivan , Ralph Meeker Julius Caesar Joseph L. Mankiewicz , starring Marlon Brando , James Mason , John Gielgud , Louis Calhern , Greer Garson , Deborah Kerr
K
L
The Lady Without Camelias Michelangelo Antonioni – (Italy )The Landowner's Daughter Anselmo Duarte – (Brazil )Lagu Kenangan L. Inata [id ] ), starring Titien Sumarni and AN Alcaff (Indonesia)Latin Lovers Lana Turner Law and Order Ronald Reagan The Lawless Breed Rock Hudson Lili Leslie Caron The Limping Man Lloyd Bridges – (GB)A Lion Is in the Streets James Cagney , Barbara Hale , Anne Francis Little Boy Lost Bing Crosby Little Fugitive The Living Desert Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Love in the City Michelangelo Antonioni , Dino Risi , Federico Fellini and others – (Italy )Love Letter Japan )
M
Malta Story Brian Desmond Hurst , starring Alec Guinness , Jack Hawkins , Anthony Steel , Muriel Pavlow – (GB )Man in the Attic Jack Palance and Constance Smith The Man Between James Mason and Claire Bloom – (GB )Man in the Dark Edmond O'Brien and Audrey Totter Man on a Tightrope Fredric March and Gloria Grahame Martin Luther US /West Germany )The Master of Ballantrae William Keighley , starring Errol Flynn , Roger Livesey , Anthony Steel , Beatrice Campbell – (U.K. )Meet Me at the Fair Dan Dailey and Diana Lynn Miss Sadie Thompson Rita Hayworth The Mississippi Gambler Tyrone Power and Piper Laurie Mogambo Clark Gable , Ava Gardner , Grace Kelly (remake of 1932's Red Dust Jean Harlow )Money from Home Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis Monsieur Hulot's Holiday Jacques Tati – (France )La montaña sin ley The Moon Is Blue pregnant " and "virgin ", directed by Otto Preminger , starring William Holden , David Niven , Maggie McNamara The Moonlighter Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray
N
P
R
Remains to Be Seen June Allyson and Van Johnson Report News Arturo de Córdova and Dolores del Río – (Mexico )Return to Paradise Gary Cooper Ride, Vaquero! Robert Taylor and Ava Gardner The Robe CinemaScope , starring Richard Burton and Jean Simmons Rogue's March Peter Lawford , Janice Rule Roman Holiday William Wyler , starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn in her Oscar-winning first leading roleRosanna Mexico )
S
Salome Rita Hayworth Sawdust and Tinsel Ingmar Bergman – (Sweden )Scared Stiff Dean Martin , Jerry Lewis , Lizabeth Scott and Carmen Miranda Sea Devils Rock Hudson and Yvonne De Carlo – (GB /US )Seminole Rock Hudson and Anthony Quinn Shane George Stevens , starring Alan Ladd , Jean Arthur (in her final film role), Brandon deWilde , Ben Johnson , Jack Palance Siamo Donne Alida Valli and Ingrid Bergman – (Italy )Small Town Girl Jane Powell and Ann Miller So Big Robert Wise , starring Jane Wyman , Sterling Hayden , Steve Forrest So This Is Love Kathryn Grayson and Merv Griffin South Sea Woman Burt Lancaster and Virginia Mayo Split Second Alexis Smith and Jan Sterling 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 Galina Ulanova – (USSR )The State Department Store Hungary )The Steel Lady , starring Rod Cameron and Tab Hunter The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan Robert Morley and Maurice Evans – (GB )The Story of Little Muck East Germany )The Story of Three Loves James Mason , Leslie Caron , Kirk Douglas Summer with Monika Ingmar Bergman , starring Harriet Andersson – (Sweden )The Sun Shines Bright John Ford , starring Charles Winninger
T
Take Me to Town Douglas Sirk , starring Ann Sheridan and Sterling Hayden Take the High Ground! Richard Widmark and Karl Malden Thérèse Raquin Marcel Carné , starring Simone Signoret – (France )Three Perfect Wives Arturo de Córdova – (Mexico )Thunder Over the Plains Randolph Scott Titanic Barbara Stanwyck , Clifton Webb , Thelma Ritter , Brian Aherne , Robert Wagner The Titfield Thunderbolt Charles Crichton , starring Stanley Holloway – (GB )Tokyo Story Yasujirō Ozu – (Japan )Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom Torch Song Joan Crawford Treasure of the Golden Condor Delmer Daves , starring Cornel Wilde Tropic Zone Ronald Reagan Trouble Along the Way John Wayne Trouble in Store Norman Wisdom – (GB)Tumbleweed Audie Murphy Twice Upon a Time Emeric Pressburger – (GB )
U
V
W
Y
1953 wide release films
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(July 2024 )
Serials
Short film series
Births
January 1:
January 7: John Dugan , American actor
January 8:
January 11: John Sessions , British actor and comedian (died 2020)
January 12: Phil Reeves , American actor and screenwriter
January 27:
January 28: Susan Buckner , American actress (died 2024)
January 30: Steven Zaillian , director
February 8: Mary Steenburgen , American actress
February 9:
February 11: Philip Anglim , actor
February 12: Peter Andersson , Swedish actor
February 14: Brian O'Connor , American actor and comedian
February 15: Lynn Whitfield , American actress
February 17: Evan C. Kim , American actor
February 18: Rocco Sisto , Italian-American actor
February 19: Massimo Troisi , actor (died 1994 )
February 21:
March 2: Ezra Swerdlow , film producer (died 2018)
March 4:
March 6: Jacklyn Zeman , American actress (died 2023)
March 15: Frances Conroy , American actress
March 16: Isabelle Huppert , French actress
March 24: Louie Anderson , American stand-up comedian and actor (died 2022)
April 1: Barry Sonnenfeld , American filmmaker and television director
April 6: Patrick Doyle , Scottish film composer
April 13:
April 16:
April 18: Rick Moranis , Canadian actor & comedian
April 19: Ruby Wax , American-British actress, comedian, writer and television personality
April 23: James Russo , American actor
April 24: Eric Bogosian , American actor
April 25: Ron Clements , American animator, director, screenwriter and producer
April 26: Nancy Lenehan , American actress
May 9: Amy Hill , American stand-up comedian, actress and voice actress
May 16: Pierce Brosnan , Irish actor
May 21: Nora Aunor , Filipino actress
May 24: Alfred Molina , English actor
May 29: Danny Elfman , American composer
May 30: Colm Meaney , Irish actor
June 3: Erland Van Lidth De Jeude , Dutch-American actor (d. 1987)
June 5: Kathleen Kennedy , American producer
June 7:
June 12: David Thornton , American actor
June 13: Tim Allen , American actor
June 15: Renée Victor , American actress
June 16: Valerie Mahaffey , American character actress and producer
June 19: Ken Davitian , American character actor and comedian
June 21: Michael Bowen , American actor
June 22: Cyndi Lauper , American singer, songwriter, actress and activist
June 26: Peng Xiaolian , director (died 2019)
July 1: David Gulpilil , Indigenous-Australian actor (died 2021)
July 5: Harish Patel , Indian actor
July 6: Stanley DeSantis , American actor (died 2005)
July 11:
July 13: Gil Birmingham , American actor
July 20: Lee Garlington , American actress
July 26: Lesli Linka Glatter , American director
August 7: Lesley Nicol , English actress
August 8: Don Most , American actor and singer
August 9: Alf Humphreys , Canadian actor (died 2018)
August 11: Hulk Hogan , wrestler
August 12: Selina Cadell , English actress
August 13: Victor Colicchio , American actor, screenwriter, musician and songwriter
August 14: James Horner , American composer (died 2015)
August 18: Sergio Castellitto , Italian actor, director and screenwriter
August 27: Peter Stormare , Swedish actor
August 28: Dee Dee Rescher , American actress
August 30: Robin Harris , American comedian and actor (died 1990)
September 2: Keith Allen , British actor
September 6:
September 10: Amy Irving , American actress
September 14: Robert Wisdom , American actor
September 16:
September 18: Anna Thomson , American actress
October 4:
October 9:
October 11:
October 12: David Threlfall , English actor and director
October 15: Larry Miller , American comedian, actor, news podcaster and columnist
October 20: Bill Nunn , American actor (died 2016)
October 26:
October 27:
October 30: Charles Martin Smith , American actor, writer and director
October 31: Michael J. Anderson , actor
November 3:
November 6: Ron Underwood , American director
November 8: John Musker , American animator, director, screenwriter and producer
November 13: Tom Villard , American actor (died 1993)
November 18
November 19: Robert Beltran , American actor
November 20: Bembol Roco , Filipino actor
November 23: George DelHoyo , Uruguayan-born American actor
November 24: Glenn Withrow , American actor, director, producer and writer
November 27: Curtis Armstrong , American actor and singer
November 28: Pamela Hayden , American actress and voice actress
December 6
December 8
December 9: John Malkovich , American actor
December 11: Richard Carter , Australian actor and voice-over artist (died 2019)
December 14: Vijay Amritraj , Indian sports commentator and actor
December 17:
December 18:
December 22:
December 23: John Callahan , actor (died 2020)
December 24: Timothy Carhart , American actor
December 29: Charlayne Woodard , American playwright and actress
December 31: James Remar , American actor
Deaths
January 19: Arthur Hoyt , 78, American actor, Her Private Affair Goldie Gets Along
February 2: Alan Curtis , 43, American actor, High Sierra Buck Privates
February 27: Jessie Coles Grayson , 66, African-American contralto and actress, Cass Timberlane
March 5: Herman J. Mankiewicz , 55, American screenwriter, Citizen Kane The Pride of the Yankees Dinner at Eight Man of the World
March 19: Irene Bordoni , 68, Corsican-American actress and singer, Paris Louisiana Purchase
April 26: Rian James , 53, American screenwriter, 42nd Street The Housekeeper's Daughter
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 27: Chris-Pin Martin , 59, American actor, The Gay Caballero Ride on Vaquero Robin Hood of Monterey King of the Bandits
June 30: Vsevolod Pudovkin , Soviet film director (born 1893)
July 3: Irving Reis , 47, American director, The Big Street All My Sons
August 6
August 9: Henri Étiévant , French actor, director (born 1870)
August 13: Paul Kemp , German actor (born 1896), Charley's Aunt
August 17: Albert Austin , British actor and director (born 1882), Suds A Prince of a King
September 12: Lewis Stone , American actor (born 1879), Andy Hardy film series The Prisoner of Zenda Grand Hotel
October 6: Porter Hall , American actor (born 1888), Double Indemnity Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Going My Way Miracle on 34th Street
October 8: Nigel Bruce , British actor (born 1895), Sherlock Holmes film series Suspicion Rebecca The Rains Came Treasure Island
October 13: Millard Mitchell , American character actor (born 1903), Singin' in the Rain Winchester '73 The Gunfighter The Naked Spur Twelve O'Clock High
November 29: Sam De Grasse , Canadian actor (born 1875), Robin Hood Blind Husbands
December 29: Violet MacMillan , American actress (born 1887), The Magic Cloak of Oz Violet's Dreams
Debuts
Notes
External links
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