Overview of the events of 1959 in film
Overview of the events of 1959 in film
The year 1959 in film involved some significant events, with Ben-Hur Academy Awards .
Top-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1959 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
Highest-grossing films of 1959
Rank
Title
Distributor
Domestic rentals
1
Ben-Hur MGM
$36,000,000[1]
2
The Shaggy Dog Buena Vista
$9,600,000[2]
3
Operation Petticoat Universal
$9,321,555[3]
4
Some Like It Hot United Artists
$8,127,835[3]
5
Pillow Talk Universal
$7,669,713[3]
6
Imitation of Life $6,417,807[3]
7
Suddenly, Last Summer Columbia
$6,375,000[3]
8
Rio Bravo The Nun's Story Warner Bros.
$5,750,000[3]
9
North by Northwest MGM
$5,740,000[4]
10
Anatomy of a Murder Columbia
$5,500,000[1]
Awards
Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):
Black Orpheus Orfeu Negro ), directed by Marcel Camus , FranceGolden Lion (Venice Film Festival):
Il Generale della Rovere General della Rovere ), directed by Roberto Rossellini , Italy / FranceLa grande guerra The Great War ), directed by Mario Monicelli , Italy / FranceGolden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):
Les Cousins The Cousins ), directed by Claude Chabrol , France
Notable films released in 1959
United States unless stated
#
A
The Adventures of Buratino USSR )Al Capone Rod Steiger [8] Alias Jesse James Bob Hope The Alligator People Beverly Garland Anari Raj Kapoor – (India )Anatomy of a Murder Otto Preminger , starring James Stewart , Lee Remick , Ben Gazzara , Eve Arden , Arthur O'Connell , Kathryn Grant , George C. Scott The Angry Hills Robert Mitchum and Gia Scala The Angry Red Planet Gerald Mohr Argument About Basia Poland )
B
Bad Girls Don't Cry Rosanna Schiaffino – (Italy )Ballad of a Soldier Grigory Chukhray – (U.S.S.R. )The Bat Vincent Price and Agnes Moorehead Battle Beyond the Sun Nebo zovet Battle in Outer Space Ishirō Honda – (Japan )The Battle of the Sexes Peter Sellers – (Britain )The Beat Generation Steve Cochran and Mamie Van Doren Beloved Infidel Gregory Peck and Deborah Kerr Ben-Hur William Wyler , starring Charlton Heston , Stephen Boyd , Jack Hawkins – winner of 11 Academy Awards and 4 Golden Globes The Best of Everything Hope Lange , Diane Baker , Suzy Parker , Stephen Boyd , Joan Crawford The Big Circus Victor Mature , Rhonda Fleming , Red Buttons , Gilbert Roland , Kathryn Grant The Big Fisherman Howard Keel The Big Operator Mickey Rooney , Steve Cochran , Mamie Van Doren The Birth of Japan Toshiro Mifune – (Japan )Black Orpheus Marcel Camus – winner of Palme d'Or, Golden Globe, Oscar and Bafta – (Brazil /France /Italy )Blessings of the Land Rosa Rosal – (Philippines )Breakout Hazel Court The Bridge Bernhard Wicki – (West Germany )A Bucket of Blood Roger Corman But Not for Me Walter Lang , starring Clark Gable , Carroll Baker , Lee J. Cobb
C
The Captain's Table John Gregson and Peggy Cummins – (Britain )Career Dean Martin , Shirley MacLaine , Anthony Franciosa Carlton-Browne of the F.O. Peter Sellers , Terry-Thomas , John Le Mesurier – (Britain )Carry On Nurse Shirley Eaton and Kenneth Connor – (Britain)Carry On Teacher Kenneth Connor and Leslie Phillips – (Britain)The Chasers Norway )City of Fear Come Dance with Me Brigitte Bardot – (France/Italy )Compulsion Orson Welles , Bradford Dillman , Dean Stockwell , Diane Varsi , E. G. Marshall Court Martial West Germany )Les Cousins Claude Chabrol – (France )The Crimson Kimono Samuel Fuller , starring James Shigeta
D
Danger Within Richard Todd , Bernard Lee , Richard Attenborough – (Britain )Darby O'Gill and the Little People Sean Connery Date With Death , starring Gerald Mohr Day of the Outlaw Robert Ryan , Tina Louise , Burl Ives The Death Ship Horst Buchholz – (West Germany )Destiny of a Man Sergei Bondarchuk – (U.S.S.R. )The Devil's Disciple Laurence Olivier , Burt Lancaster , Kirk Douglas – (U.S. /Britain )The Diary of Anne Frank George Stevens , starring Millie Perkins , Joseph Schildkraut , Shelley Winters , Richard Beymer , Diane Baker , Ed Wynn Dil Deke Dekho Shammi Kapoor – (India )Donald in Mathmagic Land Don't Give Up The Ship Jerry Lewis Dust on the Brain Norway )
E
F
The FBI Story James Stewart Face of a Fugitive Fred MacMurray The Facts of Murder Pietro Germi with Claudia Cardinale – (Italy )La fièvre monte à El Pao Luis Buñuel – (France /Mexico )Fires on the Plain Kon Ichikawa – (Japan )The Five Pennies Danny Kaye Floating Weeds Yasujirō Ozu – (Japan)Follow a Star Norman Wisdom , Ron Moody , Hattie Jacques – (Britain )Forbidden Women Mahmoud Zulfikar , starring Salah Zulfikar and Huda Sultan – (Egypt )The Fugitive Kind Sidney Lumet , starring Marlon Brando , Anna Magnani , Joanne Woodward
G
The Gazebo Glenn Ford , Debbie Reynolds , Carl Reiner Il Generale della Rovere Roberto Rossellini , starring Vittorio De Sica – (Italy )The Giant Behemoth Gene Evans and André Morell Gidget Sandra Dee Girls Town Mamie Van Doren Good Morning Yasujirō Ozu – (Japan )La grande guerra Mario Monicelli , starring Alberto Sordi and Vittorio Gassman – (Italy)The Gunfight at Dodge City Joel McCrea Guns, Girls and Gangsters Edward L. Cahn
H
The Hanging Tree Delmer Daves , starring Gary Cooper , Karl Malden , George C. Scott The Hangman Robert Taylor and Tina Louise Hannibal Victor Mature and Rita Gam Happy Anniversary David Niven and Mitzi Gaynor The Heart of a Man Frankie Vaughan and Anne Heywood – (Britain )Hiroshima Mon Amour Alain Resnais – (France /Japan)A Hole in the Head Frank Sinatra , Edward G. Robinson , Carolyn Jones , Eddie Hodges Holiday for Lovers Jane Wyman , Clifton Webb , Jill St. John A Home for Tanya USSR )Honeymoon Michael Powell – (Britain /Spain )The Horse Soldiers John Wayne , William Holden , Constance Towers The Hound of the Baskervilles Peter Cushing as Holmes, Andre Morell as Watson and Christopher Lee as Sir Henry Baskerville – (Britain )House on Haunted Hill Vincent Price
I
I'm All Right Jack Boulting Brothers , starring Peter Sellers and Ian Carmichael – (Britain )Imitation of Life Douglas Sirk , starring Lana Turner , John Gavin , Sandra Dee , Susan Kohner , Juanita Moore The Immoral Mr. Teas Russ Meyer The Indian Tomb Fritz Lang – (West Germany)Insan Jaag Utha Madhubala – (India )It Happened to Jane Doris Day , Jack Lemmon , Ernie Kovacs It Started with a Kiss Debbie Reynolds and Glenn Ford
J
Jazz on a Summer's Day concert film of the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival , directed by Bert Stern and Aram Avakian The Jazz Singer Jerry Lewis Jet Over the Atlantic Guy Madison and Virginia Mayo Jet Storm Richard Attenborough , Stanley Baker , Diane Cilento , Mai Zetterling – (Britain )John Paul Jones Robert Stack The Journey Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr Journey to the Center of the Earth James Mason and Pat Boone
K
L
The Last Angry Man Paul Muni Last Train from Gun Hill Kirk Douglas , Anthony Quinn , Carolyn Jones , Earl Holliman The Law Gina Lollobrigida and Yves Montand – (Italy)El Lazarillo de Tormes Golden Bear – (Spain )Le signe du lion , directed by Éric Rohmer – (France )The Legend of Tom Dooley Michael Landon Les liaisons dangereuses Roger Vadim , starring Jeanne Moreau – (France )Letter Never Sent USSR )Little Greaser Libel Anthony Asquith , starring Dirk Bogarde and Olivia de Havilland – (Britain )Li'l Abner Melvin Frank , starring Peter Palmer , Leslie Parrish , Stella Stevens , Julie Newmar , Stubby Kaye Look Back in Anger Tony Richardson , starring Richard Burton and Claire Bloom – (Britain )
M
Magic Boy Maigret et l'affaire Saint-Fiacre Jean Delannoy , starring Jean Gabin – (France )Make Mine a Million Lance Comfort and starring Arthur Askey and Sid James – (Britain )The Man in the Net Michael Curtiz , starring Alan Ladd and Carolyn Jones The Man Who Could Cheat Death Anton Diffring and Hazel Court Model for Murder Keith Andes and Hazel Court The Master and His Servants Norway )A Midsummer Night's Dream Jiří Trnka – (Czechoslovakia )The Miracle Carroll Baker and Roger Moore Mise Éire Ireland )The Mouse That Roared Peter Sellers and Jean Seberg – (Britain )The Mummy Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee – (Britain)My Second Brother Shōhei Imamura – (Japan )
N
Nazarín Luis Buñuel – (Mexico )Never So Few Frank Sinatra , Gina Lollobrigida , Peter Lawford , Steve McQueen Night Train Poland )The Nightingale's Prayer Egypt )No Name on the Bullet Audie Murphy North by Northwest Alfred Hitchcock , starring Cary Grant , Eva Marie Saint , James Mason North West Frontier Flame Over India , starring Kenneth More and Lauren Bacall – (Britain )The Nun's Story Fred Zinnemann , starring Audrey Hepburn
O
Odd Obsession Kon Ichikawa – (Japan )Odds Against Tomorrow Harry Belafonte and Robert Ryan On the Beach Stanley Kramer , starring Gregory Peck , Ava Gardner , Fred Astaire , Anthony Perkins Operation Petticoat Cary Grant and Tony Curtis Our Man in Havana Carol Reed , starring Alec Guinness , Maureen O'Hara , Noël Coward , Ernie Kovacs – (Britain )The Overcoat USSR )
P
Paigham S. S. Vasan , starring Dilip Kumar , Vyjayanthimala , Raaj Kumar , B. Saroja Devi – (India )Pickpocket Robert Bresson – (France )Pillow Talk Doris Day and Rock Hudson El Pisito Marco Ferreri – (Spain )Plan 9 from Outer Space Edward D. Wood, Jr. , starring Tor Johnson , Vampira , Bela Lugosi Porgy and Bess Otto Preminger , starring Sidney Poitier and Dorothy Dandridge , music by George and Ira Gershwin Pork Chop Hill Gregory Peck
R
The Rest Is Silence Hardy Krüger – (West Germany )Return of the Fly Vincent Price Ride Lonesome Randolph Scott Rio Bravo Howard Hawks , starring John Wayne , Dean Martin , Ricky Nelson , Walter Brennan , Angie Dickinson The Rookie Julie Newmar , Tommy Noonan , Peter Marshall Room at the Top Jack Clayton , starring Simone Signoret and Laurence Harvey – (Britain )The Roots of Heaven John Huston , starring Errol Flynn , Trevor Howard , Juliette Gréco , Eddie Albert , Orson Welles
S
Sampo U.S.S.R. /Finland )Sapphire Basil Dearden – (Britain )Say One for Me Bing Crosby , Debbie Reynolds and Robert Wagner The Scapegoat Alec Guinness and Bette Davis – (Britain)Serious Charge Anthony Quayle – (Britain)Shadows John Cassavetes The Shaggy Dog Fred MacMurray , Jean Hagen and Tommy Kirk The Shakedown Donald Pleasence and Hazel Court Shake Hands with the Devil James Cagney – (U.S./Ireland )Sleeping Beauty Walt Disney The Soldiers of Pancho Villa María Félix and Dolores del Río – (Mexico )Solomon and Sheba Yul Brynner and Gina Lollobrigida Some Like It Hot Billy Wilder , starring Marilyn Monroe , Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon SOS Pacific Richard Attenborough – (Britain )The Sound and the Fury Yul Brynner and Joanne Woodward Stars Konrad Wolf – (East Germany /Bulgaria )A Stranger in My Arms Jeff Chandler , June Allyson , Mary Astor and Sandra Dee Suddenly, Last Summer Joseph L. Mankiewicz , starring Elizabeth Taylor , Montgomery Clift and Katharine Hepburn A Summer Place Troy Donahue and Sandra Dee
T
Tarzan's Greatest Adventure John Guillermin , starring Gordon Scott , Anthony Quayle , Sean Connery Telegrame Romania )Ten Seconds to Hell Robert Aldrich , starring Jack Palance Terror Is a Man Francis Lederer – (U.S. /Philippines )That Kind of Woman Sidney Lumet , starring Sophia Loren and Tab Hunter The Unknown Woman Mahmoud Zulfikar , starring Shadia , Shoukry Sarhan and Kamal El-Shennawi – (Egypt )There Will Be No Leave Today Andrei Tarkovsky – (USSR )These Thousand Hills Richard Egan , Don Murray , Lee Remick They Came to Cordura Gary Cooper , Rita Hayworth , Van Heflin , Richard Conte , Dick York , Tab Hunter Third Man on the Mountain Michael Rennie Tiger Bay John Mills and Hayley Mills – (Britain )The Tiger of Eschnapur Fritz Lang – (West Germany)The Tingler Vincent Price Tommy the Toreador Tommy Steele – (Britain)Too Many Crooks Terry-Thomas and George Cole – (Britain)Train Without a Timetable Yugoslavia )The Trap Richard Widmark , Lee J. Cobb , Earl Holliman , Tina Louise Two Men in Manhattan Jean-Pierre Melville – (France )
U
V
W
Warlock Edward Dmytryk , starring Henry Fonda , Richard Widmark and Anthony Quinn The Wasp Woman Susan Cabot We Are Altogether Crazy Denmark )Westbound Randolph Scott and Virginia Mayo When the Woman Butts In Czechoslovakia )The Wild and the Innocent Audie Murphy , Joanne Dru , Sandra Dee Woman Obsessed Susan Hayward The Wonderful Country Robert Mitchum and Julie London The World, the Flesh and the Devil Harry Belafonte and Inger Stevens The World of Apu Satyajit Ray – (India )The Wreck of the Mary Deare Gary Cooper and Charlton Heston – (Britain /U.S. )
Y
Z
