Overview of the events of 1953 in film
Overview of the events of 1953 in film
The year 1953 in film involved some significant events.
Top-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1953 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
Highest-grossing films of 1953
Rank
Title
Studio
Domestic rentals
1
The Robe
20th Century Fox
$17,500,000[1]
2
From Here to Eternity
Columbia Pictures
$12,200,000[1]
3
Shane
Paramount Pictures
$8,000,000[1]
4
How to Marry a Millionaire
20th Century Fox
$7,300,000[1]
5
Peter Pan
Walt Disney /RKO Radio Pictures
$6,000,000[1]
6
House of Wax
Warner Bros. Pictures
$5,500,000[2]
7
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
20th Century Fox
$5,100,000[1]
8
Salome
Columbia Pictures
$4,750,000[2]
9
Mogambo
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
$4,576,000[3]
10
Knights of the Round Table
$4,518,000[3]
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 (Un acte d'amour), starring Kirk Douglas – (US /France )
The Actress , starring Spencer Tracy and Jean Simmons
Albert R.N. , directed by Lewis Gilbert , starring Anthony Steel , Jack Warner , Robert Beatty , William Sylvester – (GB )
The All-American , starring Tony Curtis
All I Desire , starring Barbara Stanwyck
All the Brothers Were Valiant , starring Ann Blyth
Anarkali – (India )
Appointment in Honduras , directed by Jacques Tourneur , starring Ann Sheridan and Glenn Ford
Arrowhead , starring Charlton Heston and Jack Palance
B
Baaz , directed by and starring Guru Dutt – (India )
The Band Wagon , starring Fred Astaire , Cyd Charisse , Jack Buchanan , Nanette Fabray , Oscar Levant
The Bandit of Brazil (O Cangaceiro) – (Brazil )
Barabbas , directed by Alf Sjöberg – (Sweden )
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms , starring Paula Raymond and Cecil Kellaway
Beat the Devil , directed by John Huston , starring Humphrey Bogart , Jennifer Jones , Gina Lollobrigida – (Italy /GB/US )
The Beggar's Opera , starring Laurence Olivier and Dorothy Tutin – (GB )
Belinsky – (U.S.S.R. )
Ben and Me , featuring the voices of Sterling Holloway and Charles Ruggles
Beneath the 12-Mile Reef , starring Robert Wagner
Bienvenido Mr. Marshall , directed by Luis García Berlanga , starring Fernando Rey – (Spain )
The Big Heat , directed by Fritz Lang , starring Glenn Ford , Gloria Grahame , Lee Marvin
Big Leaguer , starring Edward G. Robinson
The Bigamist , directed by and starring Ida Lupino , with Joan Fontaine , Edmond O'Brien
Black Ermine – (Argentina )
Blowing Wild , starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck
The Blue Gardenia , starring Anne Baxter and Raymond Burr
A Blueprint for Murder , starring Joseph Cotten and Jean Peters
Bread, Love and Dreams (Pane, amore e fantasia), starring Vittorio De Sica and Gina Lollobrigida – (Italy )
Bright Road , the first feature-film appearance of Harry Belafonte (US )
The Brute (El Bruto), directed by Luis Buñuel , starring Pedro Armendáriz and Katy Jurado – (Mexico )
By the Light of the Silvery Moon , starring Doris Day and Gordon MacRae
C
The Caddy , starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
Calamity Jane , starring Doris Day
Call Me Madam , starring Ethel Merman
The Captain's Paradise , starring Alec Guinness – (GB )
Cease Fire
The Charge at Feather River , starring Guy Madison
City Beneath the Sea , starring Robert Ryan , Anthony Quinn , Mala Powers
City That Never Sleeps , starring Gig Young , William Talman , Paula Raymond , Mala Powers
The Clown , starring Red Skelton
Confidentially Connie , starring Van Johnson and Janet Leigh
The Conquest of Everest – (documentary) – (GB)
The Cruel Sea , starring Jack Hawkins and Denholm Elliott – (GB )
Cry of the Hunted , starring Vittorio Gassman , Barry Sullivan , Polly Bergen
D
Dangerous Crossing , starring Jeanne Crain and Michael Rennie
Dangerous When Wet , starring Esther Williams
Decameron Nights , starring Joan Fontaine and Louis Jourdan
The Desert Rats , starring Richard Burton and James Mason
Desperate Moment , starring Dirk Bogarde and Mai Zetterling – (GB )
Devdas – (India )
Do Bigha Zamin (Two Acres of Land), directed by Bimal Roy – (India )
Donovan's Brain , starring Lew Ayres and Nancy Davis
Down Among the Sheltering Palms , starring Mitzi Gaynor , Gloria DeHaven , Jane Greer
Dream Wife , starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr
E
Él (Him), directed by Luis Buñuel , starring Arturo de Córdova – (Mexico )
The Earrings of Madame de... , directed by Max Ophüls , starring Charles Boyer – (France /Italy )
East of Sumatra , starring Anthony Quinn and Jeff Chandler
Easy to Love , starring Esther Williams
Easy Years (Anni facili), directed by Luigi Zampa – (Italy )
The Eddie Cantor Story , starring Keefe Brasselle
Entotsu no mieru basho (The Four Chimneys) – (Japan )
Esa pareja feliz (That Happy Couple), directed by Juan Antonio Bardem and Luis García Berlanga – (Spain )
Escape By Night , starring Bonar Colleano and Sid James – (GB )
Escape from Fort Bravo , directed by John Sturges , starring William Holden , Eleanor Parker , John Forsythe
F
Fair Wind to Java , starring Fred MacMurray and Vera Ralston
The Farmer Takes a Wife , starring Betty Grable
Fast Company , starring Howard Keel and Polly Bergen
Fear and Desire , directed by Stanley Kubrick
The Final Test , directed by Anthony Asquith , starring Jack Warner (GB)
Folly to Be Wise , directed by Frank Launder , starring Alastair Sim – (GB )
Footpath , starring Dilip Kumar – (India )
From Here to Eternity , directed by Fred Zinnemann , starring Burt Lancaster , Montgomery Clift , Deborah Kerr , Frank Sinatra , Donna Reed – winner of 8 Oscars
G
Gate of Hell (Jigokumon) – (Japan)
A Geisha (Gion Bayashi), directed by Kenji Mizoguchi – (Japan )
Genevieve , starring Dinah Sheridan , John Gregson , Kay Kendall – (GB )
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes , directed by Howard Hawks , starring Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe
The Girl Next Door , starring June Haver and Dan Dailey
The Girl Who Had Everything , starring Elizabeth Taylor , William Powell , Fernando Lamas , Gig Young
Give a Girl a Break , directed by Stanley Donen , starring Debbie Reynolds , Marge Champion , Gower Champion
The Glass Wall , starring Vittorio Gassman and Gloria Grahame
The Golden Blade , starring Rock Hudson and Piper Laurie
The Great Adventure (Det stora äventyret), directed by Arne Sucksdorff – (Sweden )
The Great Sioux Uprising , starring Jeff Chandler
Gun Fury , starring Rock Hudson and Donna Reed
H
The Heart of the Matter , starring Trevor Howard – (GB )
The Hitch-Hiker , directed by Ida Lupino , starring Edmond O'Brien and William Talman
Hondo , starring John Wayne and Geraldine Page in her film debut
Houdini , starring (husband and wife) Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh
House of Wax , starring Vincent Price
How to Marry a Millionaire , starring 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 , directed by Alfred Hitchcock , starring Montgomery Clift and Anne Baxter
The I Don't Care Girl , starring Mitzi Gaynor
I Love Lucy , starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz
I, the Jury , starring Biff Elliot and Peggie Castle
Inferno , starring Robert Ryan
Interim , directed by Stan Brakhage , short film (25 ½ minutes); music by James Tenney )
The Intruder , starring Jack Hawkins – (GB )
Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary? , starring Bonar Colleano and Diana Dors – (GB )
Island in the Sky , starring John Wayne
It Came from Outer Space , directed by Jack Arnold , starring Richard Carlson
J
Jennifer , starring Ida Lupino and Howard Duff
Jeopardy , starring Barbara Stanwyck , Barry Sullivan , Ralph Meeker
Julius Caesar , directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz , starring Marlon Brando , James Mason , John Gielgud , Louis Calhern , Greer Garson , Deborah Kerr
K
L
The Lady Without Camelias (La signora senza camelie), directed by Michelangelo Antonioni – (Italy )
The Landowner's Daughter (Sinhá Moça), starring Anselmo Duarte – (Brazil )
Lagu Kenangan (L. Inata [id ] ), starring Titien Sumarni and AN Alcaff (Indonesia)
Latin Lovers , starring Lana Turner
Law and Order , a western starring Ronald Reagan
The Lawless Breed , starring Rock Hudson
Lili , starring Leslie Caron
The Limping Man , starring Lloyd Bridges – (GB)
A Lion Is in the Streets , starring James Cagney , Barbara Hale , Anne Francis
Little Boy Lost , starring Bing Crosby
Little Fugitive
The Living Desert , winner of Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature
Love in the City (L'Amore in Città), an anthology film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni , Dino Risi , Federico Fellini and others – (Italy )
Love Letter (Koibumi) – (Japan )
M
Malta Story , directed by Brian Desmond Hurst , starring Alec Guinness , Jack Hawkins , Anthony Steel , Muriel Pavlow – (GB )
Man in the Attic , starring Jack Palance and Constance Smith
The Man Between , starring James Mason and Claire Bloom – (GB )
Man in the Dark , starring Edmond O'Brien and Audrey Totter
Man on a Tightrope , starring Fredric March and Gloria Grahame
Martin Luther – (US /West Germany )
The Master of Ballantrae , directed by William Keighley , starring Errol Flynn , Roger Livesey , Anthony Steel , Beatrice Campbell – (U.K. )
Meet Me at the Fair , starring Dan Dailey and Diana Lynn
Miss Sadie Thompson , starring Rita Hayworth
The Mississippi Gambler , starring Tyrone Power and Piper Laurie
Mogambo , starring Clark Gable , Ava Gardner , Grace Kelly (remake of 1932's Red Dust which starred Gable with Jean Harlow )
Money from Home , starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
Monsieur Hulot's Holiday (Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot), directed by and starring Jacques Tati – (France )
La montaña sin ley
The Moon Is Blue , first U.S. movie to use the words "pregnant " and "virgin ", directed by Otto Preminger , starring William Holden , David Niven , Maggie McNamara
The Moonlighter , starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray
N
P
R
Remains to Be Seen , starring June Allyson and Van Johnson
Report News (Reportaje), starring Arturo de Córdova and Dolores del Río – (Mexico )
Return to Paradise , starring Gary Cooper
Ride, Vaquero! , starring Robert Taylor and Ava Gardner
The Robe , the first movie filmed in CinemaScope , starring Richard Burton and Jean Simmons
Rogue's March , starring Peter Lawford , Janice Rule
Roman Holiday , directed by William Wyler , starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn in her Oscar-winning first leading role
Rosanna (La Red) – (Mexico )
S
Salome , starring Rita Hayworth
Sawdust and Tinsel (Gycklarnas afton), directed by Ingmar Bergman – (Sweden )
Scared Stiff , starring Dean Martin , Jerry Lewis , Lizabeth Scott and Carmen Miranda
Sea Devils , starring Rock Hudson and Yvonne De Carlo – (GB /US )
Seminole , starring Rock Hudson and Anthony Quinn
Shane , directed by George Stevens , starring Alan Ladd , Jean Arthur (in her final film role), Brandon deWilde , Ben Johnson , Jack Palance
Siamo Donne (We, the Women), starring Alida Valli and Ingrid Bergman – (Italy )
Small Town Girl , starring Jane Powell and Ann Miller
So Big , directed by Robert Wise , starring Jane Wyman , Sterling Hayden , Steve Forrest
So This Is Love , starring Kathryn Grayson and Merv Griffin
South Sea Woman , starring Burt Lancaster and Virginia Mayo
Split Second , starring Alexis Smith and Jan Sterling
Stalag 17 , directed by 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 (Mastera russkogo baleta), starring Galina Ulanova – (USSR )
The State Department Store (Állami Áruház) – (Hungary )
The Steel Lady , starring Rod Cameron and Tab Hunter
The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan , starring Robert Morley and Maurice Evans – (GB )
The Story of Little Muck (Die Geschichte vom kleinen Muck) – (East Germany )
The Story of Three Loves , trilogy starring James Mason , Leslie Caron , Kirk Douglas
Summer with Monika (Sommaren med Monika), directed by Ingmar Bergman , starring Harriet Andersson – (Sweden )
The Sun Shines Bright , directed by John Ford , starring Charles Winninger
T
Take Me to Town , directed by Douglas Sirk , starring Ann Sheridan and Sterling Hayden
Take the High Ground! , starring Richard Widmark and Karl Malden
Thérèse Raquin , directed by Marcel Carné , starring Simone Signoret – (France )
Three Perfect Wives (Las Tres perfectas casadas), starring Arturo de Córdova – (Mexico )
Thunder Over the Plains , starring Randolph Scott
Titanic , starring Barbara Stanwyck , Clifton Webb , Thelma Ritter , Brian Aherne , Robert Wagner
The Titfield Thunderbolt , directed by Charles Crichton , starring Stanley Holloway – (GB )
Tokyo Story (Tōkyō Monogatari), directed by Yasujirō Ozu – (Japan )
Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom
Torch Song , starring Joan Crawford
Treasure of the Golden Condor , directed by Delmer Daves , starring Cornel Wilde
Tropic Zone , starring Ronald Reagan
Trouble Along the Way , starring John Wayne
Trouble in Store , starring Norman Wisdom – (GB)
Tumbleweed , starring Audie Murphy
Twice Upon a Time , directed by Emeric Pressburger – (GB )
U
V
W
Y