1955 in film

video File:Placeholder
The year 1955 in film involved some significant events.

## Events

January 7 - U.K. 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.[1][2]
March 20 - The film adaptation of Evan Hunter's novel Blackboard Jungle premieres 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 movie. 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.[3]
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 ever 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.

## Awards

Academy Awards:
Best Picture: Marty - Hecht-Lancaster, United ArtistsBest Director: Delbert Mann - MartyBest Actor: Ernest Borgnine - MartyBest Actress: Anna Magnani - The Rose TattooBest Supporting Actor: Jack Lemmon - Mister RobertsBest Supporting Actress: Jo Van Fleet - East of Eden
Golden Globe Awards:
Drama:Best Picture: East of EdenBest Actor: Ernest Borgnine – MartyBest Actress: Anna Magnani – The Rose TattooMusical or comedy:Best Picture: Guys and DollsBest Actor: Tom Ewell – The Seven Year ItchBest Actress: Jean Simmons – Guys and DollsOtherBest Director: Joshua Logan – PicnicBest Foreign Film: Ordet (The Word), DenmarkBest Foreign Film: Stella, GreeceBest Foreign Film: Sons, Mothers, and a General, West GermanyBest Foreign Film: Eyes of Children, Japan
Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):
Marty, directed by Delbert Mann, United States
Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival):
Ordet (The Word), directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer, Denmark
Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):
Die Ratten (The Rats), directed by Robert Siodmak, West Germany

## Top ten money making stars

Rank

Actor/Actress

1. James Stewart
2. Grace Kelly
3. John Wayne
4. William Holden
5. Gary Cooper
6. Marilyn Monroe
7. (tie) Dean Martin
Jerry Lewis
8. Marlon Brando
9. Humphrey Bogart
10. Clark Gable

## Serials

The Adventures of Captain Africa
King of the Carnival
Panther Girl of the Kongo

## Short film series

Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
Terrytoons (1930–1964)
Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
Popeye (1933–1957)
Donald Duck (1934–1956)
The Three Stooges (1934–1959)
Tom and Jerry (1940–1958)
Bugs Bunny (1940–1962)
Mighty Mouse (1942-1955)
Chip 'n' Dale (1943–1956)
Droopy (1943–1958)
Yosemite Sam (1945–1963)
Ranger Don (1953–1956)
Speedy Gonzales (1953–1968)

Cartoon:
Good Will to Men (MGM Cartoon Series) (Frederick Quimby, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, producers; MGM)
The Legend of Rockabye Point (Walter Lantz Productions; Universal-International)
No Hunting (Donald Duck Series) (Walt Disney Productions; RKO Radio)
Speedy Gonzales (Merrie Melodies Series) (Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc.; Warner Bros.)

One-Reel:
Gadgets Galore (Warner Varieties Series) (Robert Youngson, producer; Warner Bros.)
Survival City (Movietone CinemaScope Series) (Edmund Reek, producer; Twentieth Century-Fox)
3rd Ave. El (Carson Davidson Productions; Ardee Films)
Three Kisses (Topper Special Series) (Justin Herman, producer; Paramount)

Two-Reel:
The Battle of Gettysburg (Dore Schary, producer; MGM)
The Face of Lincoln (University of Southern California Presentation; Cavalcade Pictures, Inc.)
On The Twelfth Day…(United Kingdom Series) (Go Pictures, Inc.; George Brest and Associates)
Switzerland (People and Places Series) (Walt Disney Productions; Buena Vista)
24-Hour Alert (Cedric Francis, producer; Warner Bros.)

## Film Debuts

James Cromwell - Daddy Long Legs
Clint Eastwood - Revenge of the Creature
Dennis Hopper - Rebel Without a Cause
Shirley MacLaine - The Trouble with Harry
Jayne Mansfield - Female Jungle
Walter Matthau - The Kentuckian
Melina Mercouri - Stella
Elizabeth Montgomery - The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell

## References

1.Jump up ^ McFarlane, Brian, ed. (2003). The Encyclopedia of British Film. London: Methuen; BFI. p. 48. ISBN 9780413773012.
2.Jump up ^ Leab, Daniel J. (2007). Orwell Subverted. Pennsylvania State Press. p. xiii-xiv. ISBN 978-0-271-02979-5.
3.Jump up ^ Filmed on location September 1954. "The Seven Year Itch (1955)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
4.Jump up ^ 'The Top Box-Office Hits of 1955,' Variety Weekly, January 25, 1956.

1. ↑ 'The Top Box-Office Hits of 1955,' *Variety Weekly*, January 25, 1956.