The year 1955 in film involved some significant events, most notably the death of actor James Dean. __TOC__
Top-grossing films (U.S.)
The top-grossing hits of 1955 in the United States.
+ Highest-grossing films of 1955 Rank Title Distributor Domestic rentals 1 Cinerama Holiday Cinerama Releasing $10,000,000 2 Mister RobertsWarner Bros. $8,500,000 3 Battle Cry $8,100,000 4 Oklahoma! RKO $7,100,000 5 Guys and Dolls MGM $6,801,000. 6 Lady and the Tramp Buena Vista $6,500,000 7 Picnic Columbia $6,300,000 8 Not as a Stranger United Artists $6,200,000 9Strategic Air CommandThe Seven Year ItchThe Sea ChaseParamount20th Century FoxWarner Bros. $6,000,000 10 I'll Cry Tomorrow MGM $5,873,000
Top-grossing films by country The highest-grossing 1955 films from countries outside of North America.
Country Title Studio Gross India Shree 420 R. K. Films $1,190,000 Soviet Union Private Ivan Gorky Film Studio $2,520,000
Events January 7 – UK release of the Halas and Batchelor film animation of George Orwell's Animal Farm (completed April 1954), the first full-length British-made animated feature on general theatrical release, covertly funded by the CIA. February 24 – 12th Golden Globe Awards announced: On The Waterfront, Marlon Brando and Judy Garland win. March 18 – The film adaptation of Evan Hunter's novel Blackboard Jungle previews in New York City, featuring the single "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets over the opening credits, the first use of a rock and roll song in a major film. Teenagers jump from their seats to dance to it. June 1 – Premiere of Billy Wilder's film of The Seven Year Itch featuring an iconic scene of Marilyn Monroe standing on a New York City Subway grating as her white dress is blown above her knees.Filmed on location September 1954. June 16 – Lady and the Tramp, the Walt Disney company's 15th animated film, premieres in Chicago, the first animated feature filmed in the CinemaScope widescreen process. Peggy Lee co-writes and sings the songs. June 27 – The last Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released. July 18 – Disneyland opens to the public in Anaheim, California. September 30 – American actor James Dean dies in an automobile collision near Cholame, California, age 24. On October 27, the film Rebel Without a Cause, in which he stars, is released. October 11 – Theatrical release in the United States of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical film Oklahoma!, the first feature photographed in the Todd-AO 70 mm widescreen process. November 3 – The musical film Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, is premiered in New York City. November 22 – The death of Shemp Howard requires use of a Fake Shemp to complete The Three Stooges films which he has commenced. December – United Artists quit the Motion Picture Association of America over the decision to deny The Man With the Golden Arm a Production Code seal. December 7 – The film Picnic starring William Holden and Kim Novak is released.
Awards Category/Organization 13th Golden Globe AwardsFebruary 23, 1956 28th Academy AwardsMarch 21, 1956 Drama Comedy or Musical Best Film East of Eden Guys and Dolls Marty Best Director Joshua LoganPicnic Delbert MannMarty Best Actor Ernest BorgnineMarty Tom EwellThe Seven Year Itch Ernest BorgnineMarty Best Actress Anna MagnaniThe Rose Tattoo Jean SimmonsGuys and Dolls Anna MagnaniThe Rose Tattoo Best Supporting Actor Arthur KennedyTrial Jack LemmonMister Roberts Best Supporting Actress Marisa PavanThe Rose Tattoo Jo Van FleetEast of Eden Best Foreign Language Film Children, Mother, and the GeneralDangerous CurvesEyes of ChildrenOrdetStella Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto
1955 film releases
January–March January 1955 January 1 Young at Heart January 26 The Violent Men January 29 The Americano January 31 Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops February 1955 February 2 Battle Cry February 8 Cinerama Holiday March 1955 A Man Called Peter March 1 Untamed March 4 Hit the Deck March 20 Blackboard Jungle March 23 Revenge of the Creature March 24 The Glass Slipper March 25 Strategic Air Command
April–June April 1955 April 1 Magdana's Donkey (Georgia) April 9 Escape to Burma April 10 East of Eden April 11 Marty April 13 Rififi (France) April 20 Violent Saturday April 24 Godzilla Raids Again (Japan) May 1955 May 6 The Prodigal May 11 Bride of the Monster May 25 Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier May 30 Cult of the Cobra June 1955 June 1 Son of Sinbad June 3 The Seven Year Itch June 4 The Sea Chase June 10 5 Against the House This Island Earth June 15 The Beast with a Million Eyes June 17 King Dinosaur June 22 Lady and the Tramp Land of the Pharaohs June 23 Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy Date unknown Footsteps in the Fog
July–September July 1955 July 7 We're No Angels July 13 Foxfire July 22 How to Be Very, Very Popular The Night of the Hunter July 30 Mister Roberts Pete Kelly's Blues Dates Unknown Not as a Stranger It Came From Beneath the Sea August 1955 August 3 To Catch a Thief August 5 Journey to the Beginning of Time The King's Thief August 14 Half Human (Japan) August 17 To Hell and Back August 25 You're Never Too Young August 26 The Quatermass Xperiment September 1955 September 22 The Tall Men September 30 The Trouble with Harry
October–December
October 1955 October 7 Trial October 11 Oklahoma! October 19 The Treasure of Pancho Villa October 29 Rebel Without a Cause November 1955 November 3 Guys and Dolls November 7 Artists and Models November 23 The Adventures of Quentin Durward December 1955 December 7 Picnic The Last Frontier December 12 The Rose Tattoo December 13 Richard III December 15 The Man with the Golden Arm December 22 The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell Tarantula! December 25 All That Heaven Allows I'll Cry Tomorrow Date unknown Day the World Ended The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues
Top ten money making stars RankActor/Actress1.James Stewart2.Grace Kelly3.John Wayne4.William Holden5.Gary Cooper6.Marilyn Monroe7. (tie)Dean MartinJerry Lewis8.Marlon Brando9.Humphrey Bogart10.Clark Gable
Notable films released in 1955 United States unless stated
# 5 Against the House, starring Kim Novak, Guy Madison, Brian Keith
A Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, featuring an appearance by Mack Sennett Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Above Us the Waves, starring John Mills – (GB) The Adventures of Quentin Durward, starring Robert Taylor, Kay Kendall Ain't Misbehavin', starring Piper Laurie, Rory Calhoun, Mamie Van Doren All That Heaven Allows, directed by Douglas Sirk, starring Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson The Americano, starring Glenn Ford Le Amiche (The Girlfriend), directed by Michelangelo Antonioni – (Italy) Anděl na horách (Angel in the Mountains) – (Czechoslovakia) Apache Ambush, starring Richard Jaeckel Artists and Models, starring Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Dorothy Malone, Shirley MacLaine Azaad, starring Dilip Kumar – (India)
B Bad Day at Black Rock, directed by John Sturges, starring Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Walter Brennan Battle Cry, starring Van Heflin, Aldo Ray, Anne Francis The Beast with a Million Eyes Bedevilled, starring Anne Baxter and Steve Forrest The Big Combo, starring Cornel Wilde, Richard Conte, Brian Donlevy, Jean Wallace The Big Knife, starring Jack Palance, Ida Lupino, Jean Hagen, Rod Steiger, Shelley Winters Blackboard Jungle, starring Glenn Ford, Anne Francis, Louis Calhern, Sidney Poitier, Vic Morrow, Richard Kiley Blood Alley, starring John Wayne and Lauren Bacall A Bullet for Joey, starring Edward G. Robinson and George Raft
C Captain Lightfoot, starring Rock Hudson Carrington V.C., starring David Niven – (GB) Cast a Dark Shadow, starring Dirk Bogarde – (GB) Chief Crazy Horse, starring Victor Mature Cinerama Holiday Ciske de Rat (aka A Child Needs Love) – (Netherlands) The Cobweb, directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Richard Widmark, Gloria Grahame, Lauren Bacall, Charles Boyer, Lillian Gish The Cockleshell Heroes, directed by and starring José Ferrer, with Trevor Howard – (GB) The Colditz Story, directed by Guy Hamilton, starring John Mills and Eric Portman – (GB) Confession, directed by Ken Hughes, starring Sydney Chaplin – (GB) The Constant Husband, starring Rex Harrison, Margaret Leighton, Kay Kendall – (GB) Count Three and Pray, starring Van Heflin, Joanne Woodward and Raymond Burr The Counterfeit Coin () – (Greece) The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell, directed by Otto Preminger, starring Gary Cooper, Ralph Bellamy, Rod Steiger, Elizabeth Montgomery El Coyote Crashout, starring Arthur Kennedy and William Bendix The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz (Ensayo de un Crimen), directed by Luis Buñuel – (Mexico)
D Daddy Long Legs, starring Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron The Dam Busters, starring Richard Todd and Michael Redgrave, with an early role by Robert Shaw – (GB) Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier, starring Fess Parker and Buddy Ebsen Death of a Cyclist (Muerte de un ciclista), directed by Juan Antonio Bardem – (Spain) The Deep Blue Sea, starring Vivien Leigh – (GB) The Desperate Hours, starring Humphrey Bogart and Fredric March Devdas, based on novel with same name, starring Dilip Kumar, Vyjayanthimala, Suchitra Sen – (India) Les Diaboliques (The Devils), directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot, starring Simone Signoret – (France) Dreams (Kvinnodröm), directed by Ingmar Bergman, starring Eva Dahlbeck – (Sweden)
E East of Eden, directed by Elia Kazan, starring Julie Harris, James Dean (in his first major role), Raymond Massey The Enchanted Boy (Zakoldovanyy malchik) – (USSR) Escuela de vagabundos (School for Tramps), starring Pedro Infante – (Mexico)
F The Far Horizons, starring Fred MacMurray, Charlton Heston, Donna Reed, Barbara Hale The Fast and the Furious, starring John Ireland and Dorothy Malone Female on the Beach, starring Joan Crawford, Jeff Chandler, Jan Sterling Fire in the Night (Det brenner i natt!) – (Norway) Floating Clouds (Ukigumo) – (Japan) Footsteps in the Fog, starring Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons – (GB) Foxfire, starring Jane Russell Francis in the Navy, starring Donald O'Connor and Martha Hyer, with Clint Eastwood in an early role
G Galapagos, a documentary by Thor Heyerdahl – (Norway) A Generation (Pokolenie), directed by Andrzej Wajda – (Poland) The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing, directed by Richard Fleischer, starring Ray Milland, Joan Collins, Farley Granger – (U.S.) The Girl Rush, starring Rosalind Russell, Fernando Lamas, Gloria DeHaven Godzilla Raids Again (Gojira no Gyakushū) – (Japan) Good Morning, Miss Dove, starring Jennifer Jones and Robert Stack The Good Soldier Schweik, animation directed by Jiří Trnka – (Czechoslovakia) Guys and Dolls, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, starring Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra, Vivian Blaine
H Hell on Frisco Bay, starring Alan Ladd and Edward G. Robinson Hell's Island, starring John Payne and Mary Murphy Heroes of Shipka (Geroite na Shipka) – (Bulgaria/USSR) The Hidden One (La Escondida), starring Pedro Armendáriz – (Mexico) Hit the Deck, directed by Roy Rowland, starring Jane Powell, Debbie Reynolds, Ann Miller, Tony Martin, Vic Damone House of Bamboo, starring Robert Ryan How to Be Very, Very Popular, starring Betty Grable in her final film role
I I Am a Camera, starring Julie Harris and Laurence Harvey – (GB) I Died a Thousand Times, starring Jack Palance, Shelley Winters, Earl Holliman, Lee Marvin I Live in Fear (Ikimono no kiroku), directed by Akira Kurosawa – (Japan) I'll Cry Tomorrow, starring Susan Hayward Illegal, a film noir starring Edward G. Robinson and Jayne Mansfield Interrupted Melody, starring Eleanor Parker and Glenn Ford It Came from Beneath the Sea, starring Kenneth Tobey and Faith Domergue, with special effects by Ray Harryhausen