1951 in film explained
The year 1951 in film involved some significant events.
Top-grossing films
United States
See also: List of 1951 box office number-one films in the United States. The top ten 1951 released films by box office gross in the United States are as follows:
Highest-grossing films of 1951| Rank | Title | Distributor | Domestic rentals |
|---|
| 1 | Quo Vadis | MGM | $11,143,000[1] |
|---|
| 2 | Show Boat | $5,293,000 |
|---|
| 3 | David and Bathsheba | 20th Century Fox | $4,720,000[2] |
|---|
| 4 | The Great Caruso | MGM | $4,309,000 |
|---|
| 5 | A Streetcar Named Desire | Warner Bros. | $4,250,000[3] |
|---|
| 6 | The African Queen | United Artists | $4,100,000 |
|---|
| 7 | That's My Boy | Paramount | $3,800,000[4] |
|---|
| 8 | An American in Paris | MGM | $3,750,000 |
|---|
| 9 | A Place in the Sun | Paramount | $3,500,000 |
|---|
| 10 | At War with the Army | $3,300,000[5] | |
|---|
International
The highest-grossing 1951 films in countries outside of North America.
| Country | Title | Studio | Gross | |
|---|
| France | Samson and Delilah | Paramount Pictures | 7,116,442 admissions | [6] |
| India | Awaara | R. K. Films | $4,830,000 | |
| Italy | Anna | Lux Film | 8,965,624 admissions | [7] |
| Japan | The Tale of Genji | Daiei Kyoto | | [8] |
| Soviet Union | In Peaceful Time | Dovzhenko Film Studios | $1,470,000 | |
| United Kingdom | The Great Caruso | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | 12,400,000 admissions | [9] | |
Worldwide gross
The following table lists known worldwide gross figures for several high-grossing films that originally released in 1951. Note that this list is incomplete and is therefore not representative of the highest-grossing films worldwide in 1951. This list also includes gross revenue from later re-releases.
Events
Awards
Top ten money making stars
The Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll was published by Quigley Publishing Company based on a poll of U.S. movie theater owners who were asked to name who they felt were the previous year's top 10 moneymaking stars.[11]
They also published a Western stars poll which Roy Rogers topped for the ninth year running.[11]
Notable films released in 1951
United States release unless stated
A
- Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
- Ace in the Hole (a.k.a. The Big Carnival), directed by Billy Wilder, starring Kirk Douglas and Jan Sterling
- Across the Wide Missouri, starring Clark Gable
- The African Queen, directed by John Huston, starring Humphrey Bogart (Oscar for best actor) and Katharine Hepburn – (GB/US)
- Air Cadet, starring Gail Russell and Stephen McNally
- Alice in Wonderland, an animated film by Walt Disney
- Along the Great Divide, starring Kirk Douglas
- An American in Paris, directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron (Oscar for best picture)
- Angels in the Outfield, starring Paul Douglas and Janet Leigh
- Anna, starring Silvana Mangano, Raf Vallone and Vittorio Gassman – (Italy)
- Another Man's Poison, directed by Irving Rapper, starring Bette Davis, Gary Merrill, Emlyn Williams and Anthony Steel – (GB)
- Apache Drums, starring Stephen McNally and Coleen Gray
- Appointment with Danger, starring Alan Ladd, with future Dragnet (series) co-stars Jack Webb and Harry Morgan
- Appointment with Venus, starring Glynis Johns and David Niven – (U.K.)
- As Young as You Feel, starring Monty Woolley
- Atoll K, starring Laurel and Hardy in their final film
- Awaara (Tramp), directed by and starring Raj Kapoor – (India)
- The Axe of Wandsbek (Das Beil von Wandsbek) – (East Germany)
B
- Badal (Cloud), starring Madhubala and Prem Nath – (India)
- Baazi (Gamble), starring Dev Anand – (India)
- Bedtime for Bonzo, starring Ronald Reagan (with a chimpanzee)
- Bellissima, directed by Luchino Visconti, starring Anna Magnani – (Italy)
- Blackmailed, starring Mai Zetterling and Dirk Bogarde – (GB)
- The Blue Veil, starring Jane Wyman
- Bright Victory, starring Arthur Kennedy
- The Browning Version, directed by Anthony Asquith, starring Michael Redgrave and Jean Kent – (GB)
- Bullfighter and the Lady, starring Robert Stack and Joy Page
C
- Callaway Went Thataway, starring Fred MacMurray, Dorothy McGuire, Howard Keel
- Call Me Mister, starring Betty Grable
- Captain Horatio Hornblower, starring Gregory Peck – (GB)
- Cattle Drive, starring Joel McCrea, Dean Stockwell and Chill Wills
- Cause for Alarm!, starring Loretta Young and Barry Sullivan
- China Corsair, starring Jon Hall
- Circle of Danger, starring Ray Milland – (GB)
- The Clouded Yellow, starring Trevor Howard and Jean Simmons – (GB)
- Come Fill the Cup, starring James Cagney and Gig Young
- Comin' Round The Mountain, starring Abbott and Costello
- Cops and Robbers (Guardie e ladri), directed by Mario Monicelli – (Italy)
- Cry Danger, starring Dick Powell and Rhonda Fleming
- Cry, the Beloved Country, directed by Zoltan Korda, starring Sidney Poitier – (GB)
D
- Darling, How Could You!, starring Joan Fontaine
- Daughter of Deceit (La hija del engaño), directed by Luis Buñuel – (Mexico)
- David and Bathsheba, starring Gregory Peck and Susan Hayward
- The Day the Earth Stood Still, directed by Robert Wise, starring Michael Rennie and Patricia Neal
- Death of a Salesman, starring Fredric March
- Deburau, directed by Sacha Guitry – (France)
- Decision Before Dawn, starring Richard Basehart, Gary Merrill and Oskar Werner
- Deedar, starring Ashok Kumar, Dilip Kumar, Nargis – (India)
- , starring James Mason
- Detective Story, starring Kirk Douglas, Eleanor Parker, William Bendix, Lee Grant, Horace McMahon, and George Macready
- Diary of a Country Priest (Journal d'un curé de campagne), directed by Robert Bresson – (France)
- Distant Drums, directed by Raoul Walsh, starring Gary Cooper
- Double Dynamite, starring Jane Russell, Frank Sinatra and Groucho Marx
- Dream of a Cossack (Kavalier zolotoy zvezdy), starring Sergei Bondarchuk – (U.S.S.R.)
- Daar Doer in Die Bosveld (Far Away in the Bushveld), starring Jamie Uys – (South Africa)
E
F
- FBI Girl, starring Audrey Totter and Cesar Romero
- The Family Secret, starring John Derek and Lee J. Cobb
- Father's Little Dividend, starring Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor
- The Fighting Seventh (a.k.a. Little Big Horn), starring Lloyd Bridges
- Flying Leathernecks, starring John Wayne and Robert Ryan
- Follow the Sun, starring Glenn Ford (as Ben Hogan)
- The Forbidden Christ (Il Cristo proibito), starring Raf Vallone – (Italy)
- Fort Worth, starring Randolph Scott
- Four in a Jeep (Die Vier im Jeep), starring Ralph Meeker and Viveca Lindfors – (Switzerland)
- Fourteen Hours, starring Paul Douglas, Richard Basehart, Jeffrey Hunter and Grace Kelly
- The Frogmen, starring Richard Widmark and Dana Andrews
- Furrows (Surcos) – (Spain)
G
- Go for Broke!, starring Van Johnson
- Golden Girl, starring Mitzi Gaynor, Dale Robertson, Dennis Day
- The Golden Horde, starring Ann Blyth
- Goodbye My Fancy, starring Joan Crawford and Robert Young
- The Great Caruso, starring Mario Lanza
- The Great Missouri Raid, starring Wendell Corey
- The Groom Wore Spurs, starring Ginger Rogers
- Grounds for Marriage, starring Kathryn Grayson and Van Johnson
- The Guy Who Came Back, starring Paul Douglas
H
I
J
K
L
- The Last Outpost, starring Ronald Reagan
- Laughter in Paradise, starring Alastair Sim – (GB)
- The Lavender Hill Mob, directed by Charles Crichton, starring Alec Guinness, Stanley Holloway, Sid James and Alfie Bass, with an early appearance by Audrey Hepburn – (GB)
- The Lemon Drop Kid, starring Bob Hope, Marilyn Maxwell, William Frawley and Tor Johnson
- Let's Go Crazy, starring Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers – (GB)
- Leva på 'Hoppet', starring Ingrid Thulin – (Sweden)
- Lightning Strikes Twice, starring Ruth Roman and Mercedes McCambridge
- Little Egypt, starring Rhonda Fleming and Mark Stevens
- The Long Dark Hall, starring Rex Harrison – (GB)
- Lost Continent, starring Cesar Romero
- Love Nest, starring June Haver and Marilyn Monroe
- Lullaby of Broadway
M
- The Magic Box, starring Robert Donat, a biopic of William Friese-Greene – (GB)
- The Man with a Cloak, starring Joseph Cotten
- The Magnificent Yankee, starring Louis Calhern
- Malliswari, starring N.T. Rama Rao – (India)
- The Man in the White Suit, directed by Alexander Mackendrick, starring Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Cecil Parker, Michael Gough and Ernest Thesiger – (GB)
- The Man With the Twisted Lip (British TV movie) a Sherlock Holmes mystery directed by Richard M. Grey, starring John Longden as Sherlock Holmes and Campbell Singer as Watson
- The Mating Season, starring Gene Tierney, John Lund, Miriam Hopkins and Thelma Ritter
- The Medium, starring Marie Powers – (Italy)
- Miracle in Milan (Miracolo a Milano), directed by Vittorio De Sica – (Italy)
- Miss Julie (Fröken Julie), directed by Alf Sjöberg – (Sweden)
- The Model and the Marriage Broker, starring Jeanne Crain, Thelma Ritter, Scott Brady, Zero Mostel
- Mr. Imperium, starring Lana Turner and Ezio Pinza
- My Favorite Spy, starring Bob Hope and Hedy Lamarr
N
O
P
- Painting the Clouds with Sunshine, starring Virginia Mayo
- Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, starring Ava Gardner and James Mason – (GB)
- Paris Vice Squad (Identité judiciaire) – (France)
- Payment on Demand, starring Bette Davis and Barry Sullivan
- Penny Points to Paradise, starring Harry Secombe, Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan – (GB)
- The People Against O'Hara, starring Spencer Tracy
- People Will Talk, starring Cary Grant, Jeanne Crain, Hume Cronyn and Finlay Currie
- A Place in the Sun, directed by George Stevens, starring Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Shelley Winters and Raymond Burr
- Pool of London, directed by Basil Dearden, starring Leslie Phillips, James Robertson Justice and Earl Cameron – (GB)
- The Prowler, directed by Joseph Losey, starring Van Heflin and Evelyn Keyes
Q
R
- The Racket, starring Robert Mitchum
- The Raging Tide, starring Richard Conte and Shelley Winters
- Rawhide, starring Tyrone Power and Susan Hayward
- The Red Badge of Courage, directed by John Huston, starring Audie Murphy
- Red Mountain, starring Alan Ladd and Lizabeth Scott
- Repast (Meshi), directed by Mikio Naruse, written by the novelist Yasunari Kawabata – (Japan)
- El revoltoso (The Rebellious) – (Mexico)
- Rhubarb, starring Ray Milland, Jan Sterling, William Frawley and Leonard Nimoy
- Rich, Young and Pretty, starring Jane Powell
- The River (Le Fleuve), directed by Jean Renoir – (France/India/US)
- Royal Wedding, starring Fred Astaire, Peter Lawford and Jane Powell
S
- ...Sans laisser d'adresse (No Forwarding Address), starring Bernard Blier and Danièle Delorme – (France)
- Santa Fe, starring Randolph Scott
- Saturday's Hero, starring John Derek and Donna Reed
- Scrooge (A Christmas Carol), starring Alastair Sim – (GB)
- The Secret of Convict Lake, starring Glenn Ford and Gene Tierney
- Selamat Berdjuang, Masku!, starring Raden Sukarno and Marlia Hardi – (Indonesia)
- Sherlock Holmes (British) series of 6 made-for TV Sherlock Holmes films directed by C. A. Lajeune, all starring Alan Wheatley as Holmes and Raymond Francis as Watson
- Show Boat, a remake of the hit musical, starring Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, and Ava Gardner, with songs by Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern
- Silver City, starring Edmond O'Brien and Yvonne De Carlo
- The Sinner, directed by Willi Forst, starring Hildegard Knef and Gustav Fröhlich (West Germany)
- Sirocco, starring Humphrey Bogart and Märta Torén
- Slaughter Trail, starring Gig Young and Virginia Grey
- Smuggler's Island, starring Jeff Chandler and Evelyn Keyes
- Spring Season (Bahar), first Hindi film of Vyjayanthimala and the producer A. V. Meiyappan – (India)
- Starlift, starring Janice Rule and Ruth Roman
- The Steel Helmet, directed by Samuel Fuller
- Storm Warning, starring Ginger Rogers, Ronald Reagan and Doris Day
- The Strange Door, starring Charles Laughton and Boris Karloff
- Strangers on a Train, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Farley Granger and Robert Walker
- A Streetcar Named Desire, directed by Elia Kazan, starring Vivien Leigh (Oscar for best actress), Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter and Karl Malden
- Strictly Dishonorable, starring Ezio Pinza and Janet Leigh
- The Strip, starring Mickey Rooney and Sally Forrest
- Sugarfoot, starring Randolph Scott
- Summer Interlude (Sommarlek), directed by Ingmar Bergman – (Sweden)
- Superman and the Mole Men, starring George Reeves
- Susana (a.k.a. The Devil and the Flesh), directed by Luis Buñuel – (Mexico)
- The Sword of Monte Cristo, starring George Montgomery
T
- Take Care of My Little Girl, directed by Jean Negulesco, starring Jeanne Crain and Mitzi Gaynor
- A Tale of Five Cities (Passaporto per l'oriente) – (Italy/GB)
- The Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari) – (Japan)
- The Tales of Hoffmann, a cinematic opera directed by Powell and Pressburger and starring Moira Shearer – (GB)
- The Tall Target, starring Dick Powell, Adolphe Menjou, Marshall Thompson and Ruby Dee
- Tarana, starring Madhubala and Dilip Kumar – (India)
- Tetsu no tsume, directed by Nobuo Adachi for Daiei Films[12]
- That Happy Couple (Esa pareja feliz), directed by Juan Antonio Bardem and Luis García Berlanga – (Spain)
- That's My Boy, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
- The Thing from Another World, produced by Howard Hawks, starring Kenneth Tobey and James Arness as the title creature
- Three Guys Named Mike, starring Jane Wyman
- Thunder on the Hill, directed by Douglas Sirk, starring Claudette Colbert and Ann Blyth
- Tom Brown's Schooldays, starring John Howard Davies and Robert Newton – (GB)
- Tomahawk, starring Van Heflin and Yvonne De Carlo
- Two of a Kind, starring Edmond O'Brien and Lizabeth Scott
- Two Tickets to Broadway, starring Janet Leigh, Tony Martin, Gloria DeHaven
V
W
- Warpath, starring Edmond O'Brien, Forrest Tucker, Polly Bergen
- Warsaw Premiere, directed by Jan Rybkowski (Poland)
- The Well, starring Harry Morgan
- Westward the Women, starring Robert Taylor
- When Worlds Collide, starring Richard Derr, Barbara Rush, Larry Keating, John Hoyt and Hayden Rorke
- Where No Vultures Fly, directed by Harry Watt, starring Anthony Steel, Dinah Sheridan, Harold Warrender and Meredith Edwards – (U.K.)
Y
Serials
Short film series
Births
- January 1 - Nana Patekar, Indian actor, screenwriter, and film director
- January 8 – John McTiernan, American director
- January 12 – Kirstie Alley, American actress (died 2022)
- January 15
- Charo, Spanish American actress, singer and comedian
- Basil Wallace, Jamaican-born American actor
- January 22 - Steve J. Spears, Australian actor, writer and singer (died 2007)
- January 23 - David Patrick Kelly, American actor and musician
- January 29 - Maria Klenskaja, Estonian actress (died 2022)
- January 30
- Phil Collins, English drummer, singer-songwriter and actor
- Charles S. Dutton, American retired actor and director
- February 4 - Patrick Bergin, Irish actor and singer
- February 5 - Robin Sachs, English actor (died 2013)
- February 13 – David Naughton, American actor & singer
- February 15
- Paul Kandel, American actor and singer
- Jane Seymour, English actress
- February 16 – William Katt, American actor
- February 20 - Eva Rueber-Staier, Austrian actress, television host and model
- February 22 – Ellen Greene, American singer and actress
- February 24 – Helen Shaver, Canadian actress and film and television director
- March 17 – Kurt Russell, American actor
- April 6 – Rita Raave, Estonian actress
- April 11
- April 12 – Tom Noonan, American actor
- April 13
- April 17 – Olivia Hussey, Argentine-born English actress
- April 21 – Tony Danza, American actor and boxer
- April 22 - Robin Bartlett, American actress
- May 4 - Gérard Jugnot, French actor, director, screenwriter and producer
- May 8 - Cooper Huckabee, American actor
- May 19 - Robert Harper, American actor (died 2020)
- May 29 - Michael O'Neill, American actor
- May 30 – Stephen Tobolowsky, American actor
- June 1 - Lena Farugia, American-born South African actress, screenwriter, director and producer (died 2019)
- June 2 - Frank C. Turner, Canadian actor
- June 5 - Mark Harelik, American actor and playwright
- June 9 – James Newton Howard, American film composer
- June 13 - Stellan Skarsgård, Swedish actor
- June 16 - John Salthouse, British actor and producer
- June 20 - Tress MacNeille, American voice actress, and singer
- June 23 - Jim Metzler, retired American actor
- June 26 – Robert Davi, American actor, singer, writer and director
- June 27 - Julia Duffy, American actress
- June 28
- July 1 - Trevor Eve, English actor
- July 4 – Vincent Marzello, American-born actor (died 2020)
- July 6 – Geoffrey Rush, Australian actor
- July 7 - Roz Ryan, American actress, singer, voice actress and comedian
- July 8 – Anjelica Huston, American actress
- July 9 – Chris Cooper, American actor
- July 10 – Phyllis Smith, American actress
- July 12 – Cheryl Ladd, American actress
- July 13 - Didi Conn, American actress
- July 15 - Jesse Ventura, American actor and pro wrestler
- July 18 - Margo Martindale, American character actress
- July 20 - Jeff Rawle, English actor
- July 21
- Lillias White, American actress and singer
- Robin Williams, American actor & comedian (died 2014)
- July 24
- July 29
- August 2 - Marcel Iureș, Romanian actor
- August 6 – Catherine Hicks, American actress
- August 8 - Martin Brest, American director, screenwriter and producer
- August 14 – Carl Lumbly, American actor
- August 18 - Teri McMinn, American actress and model
- August 21 - Randy Thom, American sound designer
- August 22 - Gordon Liu, Chinese martial arts actor
- August 30 – Timothy Bottoms, American actor
- September 2
- September 4 - Judith Ivey, American actress
- September 5 – Michael Keaton, American actor
- September 9 - Tom Wopat, American actor and singer
- September 10 - Harry Groener, German-born American actor
- September 12 – Joe Pantoliano, American actor
- September 13 - Jean Smart, American actress
- September 17 – Cassandra Peterson, American actress
- September 22 – Amanda Mackey, American casting director (died 2022)
- September 25 – Mark Hamill, American actor
- September 29 - Cindy Morgan, American actress (d. 2023)
- October 5 - Karen Allen, American actress
- October 16
- October 22 - Marshall Napier, New Zealand character actor (died 2022)
- October 24 - Antoñito Ruiz, Spanish former child actor and stuntman
- October 28 - Renato Cecchetto, Italian actor and voice actor (died 2022)
- October 30 – Harry Hamlin, American actor
- November 6 - Nigel Havers, English actor and presenter
- November 9 – Lou Ferrigno, American actor
- November 11 - Bill Moseley, American actor and musician
- November 15 – Beverly D'Angelo, American actress
- November 16 - Miguel Sandoval, American actor
- November 17
- November 20 – Rodger Bumpass, American actor & voice actor
- November 27 – Kathryn Bigelow, American director
- December 1 – Treat Williams, American actor (died 2023)
- December 14 - Celia Weston, American character actress
- December 16
- December 22 - Dan Martin, American actor
- December 26 - Steve Bisley, Australian writer and actor
Deaths
- January 11 – Charles W. Goddard, American playwright, screenwriter (born 1879), The Exploits of Elaine
- January 18 – Jack Holt, American actor (born 1888), Flight, San Francisco
- March 6 – Ivor Novello, Welsh actor, singer, composer (born 1893), The Lodger, I Lived with You
- March 14 – Val Lewton, Russian-American director (born 1904), Cat People, The Body Snatcher
- March 25 – Oscar Micheaux, American director, author (born 1884), The Girl From Chicago
- April 4 – Al Christie, Canadian-born director, producer (born 1881), Charley's Aunt
- April 22 – Stanley Ridges, British actor (born 1890), To Be or Not to Be, Sergeant York
- May 2 – Edwin L. Marin, American director (born 1899), Fort Worth, Maisie
- May 2 – Paul L. Stein, Austrian director (born 1892), Red Wagon, The Twenty Questions Murder Mystery
- May 7 – Warner Baxter, American actor (born 1882), 42nd Street, Crime Doctor
- May 17 – S. Sylvan Simon, American director (born 1910), The Fuller Brush Man, I Love Trouble
- May 29 – Fanny Brice, American entertainer and actress, My Man, Everybody Sing
- June 2 – Ernst Pittschau, German actor (born 1883), The Picture of Dorian Gray
- June 6 – Olive Tell, American actress (born 1894), The Trap
- June 9 – Mayo Methot, American actress (born 1904), Marked Woman
- July 23 – Robert J. Flaherty, American documentary filmmaker (born 1884), Nanook of the North
- August 16 – Louis Jouvet, French actor (born 1887), Hôtel du Nord
- August 28 – Robert Walker, American actor (born 1918), Strangers on a Train, The Clock
- August 30 – Konstantin Märska, Estonian cinematographer (born 1896)
- September 7 – Maria Montez, Dominican-born actress (born 1912), Arabian Nights, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
- October 12 – Leon Errol, Australian-born actor (born 1881), Never Give a Sucker an Even Break, Joe Palooka
- October 22 – Phil Rosen, Polish-American director (born 1876), Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat, Roar of the Press
- November 3 – Richard Wallace, American director (born 1894), Tycoon, Framed
Film Debuts
External links
Notes and References
- .
- October 15, 1990. All Time Film Rental Champs. Variety. 0042-2738. M-152. Lawrence. Cohn.
- All-Time Top Grossers. 10. Variety. January 13, 1954. February 27, 2018.
- The Top Box Office Hits of 1951. Variety. January 2, 1952. 70. May 12, 2020. Archive.org.
- Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20080615023703/http://www.boxofficereport.com/database/1950.shtml . 2008-06-15 . Top 20 Films of 1950 by Domestic Revenue . boxofficereport.com.
- Web site: Bilan Annuel France – 1951 . JP's Box-Office . 10 December 2018.
- Web site: Bilan Annuel Italie – 1951 . JP's Box-Office . 10 December 2018.
- Book: May 2012. キネマ旬報ベスト・テン85回全史 1924–2011. Kinema Junpo. Kinema Junposha. 978-4873767550. 88.
- Web site: The Great Caruso. 28 November 2004. British Film Institute. 24 November 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20120803005912/http://old.bfi.org.uk/features/ultimatefilm/chart/details.php?ranking=35. 3 August 2012. dead.
- Web site: Quo Vadis? (1951) – Financial Information . . 6 January 2019.
- Exhibitors Pick Money Making Stars. Motion Picture Herald. December 28, 1951. 1.
- http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1951/ca000310.htm accessed 25 May 2009
