1955 in film

Top-grossing films (U.S.)

Top-grossing films by country

Events

• January 7 – U.K. release of the Halas and Batchelor film animation of George Orwell's Animal Farm, the first full-length British-made animated feature on general theatrical release.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

  Awards

Top ten money making stars

Notable films released in 1955

#

• 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 –
• 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, directed by Michelangelo Antonioni –
• Anděl na horách –
• Apache Ambush, starring Richard Jaeckel
• Artists and Models, starring Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Dorothy Malone, Shirley MacLaine
• Azaad, starring Dilip Kumar –

  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 –
• Cast a Dark Shadow, starring Dirk Bogarde –
• Chief Crazy Horse, starring Victor Mature
• Cinerama Holiday
• Ciske de Rat –
• 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 –
• The Colditz Story, directed by Guy Hamilton, starring John Mills and Eric Portman –
• Confession, directed by Ken Hughes, starring Sydney Chaplin –
• The Constant Husband, starring Rex Harrison, Margaret Leighton, Kay Kendall –
• Count Three and Pray, starring Van Heflin, Joanne Woodward and Raymond Burr
• The Counterfeit Coin –
• 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, directed by Luis Buñuel –

  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 –
• Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier, starring Fess Parker and Buddy Ebsen
• Death of a Cyclist, directed by Juan Antonio Bardem –
• The Deep Blue Sea, starring Vivien Leigh –
• The Desperate Hours, starring Humphrey Bogart and Fredric March
• Devdas, based on novel with same name, starring Dilip Kumar, Vyjayanthimala, Suchitra Sen –
• Les Diaboliques, directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot, starring Simone Signoret –
• Dreams, directed by Ingmar Bergman, starring Eva Dahlbeck –

  E-F

• East of Eden, directed by Elia Kazan, starring Julie Harris, James Dean, Raymond Massey
• The Enchanted Boy –
• Escuela de vagabundos, starring Pedro Infante –
• 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 –
• Floating Clouds –
• Footsteps in the Fog, starring Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons –
• 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 –
• A Generation, directed by Andrzej Wajda –
• The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing, directed by Richard Fleischer, starring Ray Milland, Joan Collins, Farley Granger –
• The Girl Rush, starring Rosalind Russell, Fernando Lamas, Gloria DeHaven
• Godzilla Raids Again –
• Good Morning, Miss Dove, starring Jennifer Jones and Robert Stack
• The Good Soldier Schweik, animation directed by Jiří Trnka –
• 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 –
• The Hidden One, starring Pedro Armendáriz –
• 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 –
• I Died a Thousand Times, starring Jack Palance, Shelley Winters, Earl Holliman, Lee Marvin
• I Live in Fear, directed by Akira Kurosawa –
• 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
• It Happened on July 20th, directed by G. W. Pabst, starring Bernhard Wicki –
• It's Always Fair Weather, starring Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey, Michael Kidd, Cyd Charisse

  J

• Jedda, directed by Charles Chauvel –
• John and Julie, starring Moira Lister and Sid James –
• Journey to the Beginning of Time –
• Jupiter's Darling, directed by George Sidney, starring Esther Williams and Howard Keel

  K

• Kanyasulkam, starring N. T. Rama Rao –
• The Kentuckian, directed by and starring Burt Lancaster, featuring film debut of Walter Matthau
• Killer's Kiss, directed by Stanley Kubrick
• The King's Thief, starring Ann Blyth and David Niven
• Kiss Me Deadly, directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Ralph Meeker as Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer

  L

• Lady and the Tramp, an animated Disney musical featuring voice of Peggy Lee
• Lady Godiva of Coventry, starring Maureen O'Hara
• The Ladykillers, directed by Alexander Mackendrick, starring Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers –
• Land of the Pharaohs, starring Joan Collins and Jack Hawkins
• The Last Frontier, directed by Anthony Mann, starring Victor Mature, Robert Preston, Anne Bancroft
• The Last Ten Days, directed by G. W. Pabst –
• The Left Hand of God, starring Humphrey Bogart and Gene Tierney
• Little Red Monkey, directed by Ken Hughes –
• Lola Montès, directed by Max Ophüls –
• The Long Gray Line, starring Tyrone Power and Maureen O'Hara
• Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing, starring William Holden and Jennifer Jones
• Love Me or Leave Me, starring Doris Day and James Cagney
• Love Never Dies –
• Lucy Gallant, starring Jane Wyman

  M

• Magic Fire, starring Alan Badel
• Mambo, directed by Robert Rossen, starring Silvana Mangano, Vittorio Gassman, Shelley Winters –
• A Man Alone, directed by and starring Ray Milland, with Mary Murphy
• The Man from Laramie, directed by Anthony Mann, starring James Stewart
• The Man Who Loved Redheads, starring Moira Shearer –
• The Man with the Golden Arm, directed by Otto Preminger, starring Frank Sinatra, Eleanor Parker, Darren McGavin, Kim Novak, Arnold Stang
• Man with the Gun, starring Robert Mitchum
• Man Without a Star, starring Kirk Douglas and William Campbell
• Marty, directed by Delbert Mann, starring Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair, Joe Mantell, Frank Sutton, Jerry Paris
• The McConnell Story, starring Alan Ladd and June Allyson
• The Mill of Good Luck –
• Miracle of Marcelino –
• Missamma, starring N. T. Rama Rao –
• Mister Roberts, co-directed by John Ford and Mervyn LeRoy, starring Henry Fonda, James Cagney, William Powell, Jack Lemmon
• Moonfleet, starring Stewart Granger and Joan Greenwood
• Mr. & Mrs. '55, starring Guru Dutt and Madhubala –
• Mr. Arkadin, directed by and starring Orson Welles –
• My Sister Eileen, starring Janet Leigh and Betty Garrett

  N

• New York Confidential, starring Broderick Crawford, Richard Conte, Marilyn Maxwell, Anne Bancroft
• Night and Fog, a documentary directed by Alain Resnais –
• The Night My Number Came Up, starring Michael Redgrave –
• The Night of the Hunter, directed by Charles Laughton, starring Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish, Peter Graves
• Not as a Stranger, starring Robert Mitchum, Olivia de Havilland, Frank Sinatra, Gloria Grahame, Broderick Crawford, Lon Chaney, Jr.

  O

• Oh, Ibuku, directed by Ali Joego, debuting Aminah Cendrakasih –
• Oklahoma!, starring Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Rod Steiger, Gloria Grahame
• Ordet, directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer –
• Our Best Days, starring Omar Sharif –
• Out of the Clouds, directed by Basil Dearden, starring Anthony Steel, Robert Beatty –

  P-Q

• Passage Home, directed by Roy Ward Baker, starring Anthony Steel, Peter Finch, Diane Cilento –
• Pather Panchali, directed by Satyajit Ray –
• Pete Kelly's Blues, starring Jack Webb, Janet Leigh, Edmond O'Brien, Peggy Lee
• The Phenix City Story, starring Richard Kiley, John McIntire, John Larch, James Edwards, Edward Andrews
• Picnic, directed by Joshua Logan, starring William Holden, Kim Novak, Cliff Robertson, Rosalind Russell
• Prince of Players, starring Richard Burton
• Princess Yang Kwei-Fei –
• The Prisoner, directed by Peter Glenville, starring Alec Guinness and Jack Hawkins –
• The Private War of Major Benson, starring Charlton Heston
• The Prodigal, starring Lana Turner
• The Quatermass Xperiment –
• Queen Bee, starring Joan Crawford

  R

• The Racers, starring Kirk Douglas, Gilbert Roland, Bella Darvi
• Radio Stories –
• Die Ratten, starring Maria Schell and Curd Jürgens – – Golden Bear award
• Rage at Dawn, starring Randolph Scott
• The Rains of Ranchipur, starring Lana Turner and Richard Burton
• Rebel Without a Cause, directed by Nicholas Ray, starring James Dean, Sal Mineo, Natalie Wood
• Red Fish, starring Arturo de Córdova –
• Richard III, directed by and starring Laurence Olivier, with Ralph Richardson, Claire Bloom, John Gielgud –
• Rififi, directed by Jules Dassin –
• A Ripple in the Pond –
• Romeo and Juliet, starring Yuri Zhdanov and Galina Ulanova –
• Roots –
• The Rose Tattoo, starring Anna Magnani and Burt Lancaster
• Run for Cover, starring James Cagney, John Derek, Ernest Borgnine

  S

• –
• Scandal in Sorrento, starring Vittorio De Sica and Sophia Loren –
• The Scarlet Coat, starring Cornel Wilde, George Sanders, Anne Francis
• The Sea Chase, starring John Wayne and Lana Turner
• Seagulls Die in the Harbour –
• Seema, starring Nutan –
• Seven Angry Men, starring Raymond Massey
• The Seven Little Foys, starring Bob Hope, featuring James Cagney reprising role of George M. Cohan from Yankee Doodle Dandy
• The Seven Year Itch, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell
• Shree 420, directed by and starring Raj Kapoor, with Nargis –
• The Shrike, directed by and starring José Ferrer
• The Sign of Venus, starring Sophia Loren and Vittorio De Sica –
• Simba, starring Dirk Bogarde –
• Sissi, starring Romy Schneider –
• Six Bridges to Cross, starring Tony Curtis
• Smiles of a Summer Night, directed by Ingmar Bergman –
• Son of Sinbad
• So This Is Paris, starring Tony Curtis and Gloria DeHaven
• The Spoilers, starring Anne Baxter and Jeff Chandler
• Strategic Air Command, starring James Stewart
• Stella, directed by Michael Cacoyannis, starring Melina Mercouri –
• Storm Over the Nile, starring Anthony Steel and Laurence Harvey –
• Summertime, directed by David Lean, starring Katharine Hepburn, Rossano Brazzi, Darren McGavin –
• The Swindle, directed by Federico Fellini, starring Broderick Crawford –

  T

• Taira Clan Saga, directed by Kenji Mizoguchi –
• Tall Man Riding, starring Randolph Scott and Dorothy Malone
• The Tall Men, starring Clark Gable, Jane Russell, Robert Ryan
• Tarantula, directed by Jack Arnold, starring John Agar, Mara Corday, with Clint Eastwood in a bit part
• The Tender Trap, starring Frank Sinatra, Debbie Reynolds, David Wayne, Celeste Holm
• That Lady, starring Olivia de Havilland –
• This Island Earth, directed by Joseph M. Newman, starring Jeff Morrow, Rex Reason, Faith Domergue, Russell Johnson
• Three for the Show, starring Betty Grable
• Tight Spot, starring Ginger Rogers, Edward G. Robinson, Brian Keith, Lorne Greene
• To Catch a Thief, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly
• To Hell and Back, starring Audie Murphy, Marshall Thompson, Charles Drake, David Janssen
• The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues, starring Kent Taylor, Cathy Downs, Michael Whalen
• The Treasure of Pancho Villa, starring Rory Calhoun and Shelley Winters
• Trial, starring Glenn Ford
• The Trouble with Harry, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Edmund Gwenn, John Forsythe, Shirley MacLaine

  U-V

• Unknown Soldier –
• Unchained, starring Barbara Hale
• Underwater!, starring Jane Russell
• Untamed, starring Tyrone Power and Susan Hayward
• The Violent Men, starring Glenn Ford, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson, Brian Keith
• Violent Saturday, starring Victor Mature, Ernest Borgnine, Lee Marvin
• The Virgin Queen, starring Bette Davis, Richard Todd, Joan Collins

  W-Z

• We're No Angels, starring Humphrey Bogart, Peter Ustinov, Aldo Ray, Basil Rathbone
• White Feather, starring Robert Wagner, Jeffrey Hunter, Debra Paget
• Wichita, starring Joel McCrea
• The Woman in the Painting –
• Women's Prison, starring Ida Lupino, Jan Sterling, Audrey Totter, Phyllis Thaxter
• You're Never Too Young, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis

  Serials

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

  Short film series

• Looney Tunes
• Terrytoons
• Merrie Melodies
• Popeye
• Donald Duck
• The Three Stooges
• Tom and Jerry
• Bugs Bunny
• Mighty Mouse
• Chip 'n' Dale
• Droopy
• Yosemite Sam
• Ranger Don
• Speedy Gonzales

• Good Will to Men
• The Legend of Rockabye Point
• No Hunting
• Speedy Gonzales

• Gadgets Galore
• Survival City
• 3rd Ave. El
• Three Kisses

• The Battle of Gettysburg
• The Face of Lincoln
• On The Twelfth Day...
• Switzerland
• 24-Hour Alert

  Births

• January 6 – Rowan Atkinson, English comedian and actor
• January 9 – J. K. Simmons, American actor
• January 18 – Kevin Costner, American actor, producer and director
• January 20 – Wyatt Knight, American actor
• February 7 – Miguel Ferrer, American actor
• February 15 – Christopher McDonald, American actor
• February 19 – Jeff Daniels, American actor
• February 21 – Kelsey Grammer, American actor and comedian
• March 9 – Ornella Muti, Italian actress
• March 17 – Gary Sinise, American actor, producer and director
• March 19 – Bruce Willis, American actor
• March 22 – Lena Olin, Swedish actress
• April 6 – Michael Rooker, American actor
• April 23 – Judy Davis, Australian actress
• April 24 – Michael O'Keefe, American actor
• April 30 – Zlatko Topčić, Bosnian screenwriter
• May 16 – Debra Winger, American actress
• May 17 – Bill Paxton, American actor
• May 18 – Chow Yun-fat, Hong Kong actor
• May 31 – Susie Essman, American actress
• June 2 – Dana Carvey, American actor and comedian
• June 7 – William Forsythe, American actor
• June 8 – Griffin Dunne, American actor and director
• June 15 – Julie Hagerty, American actress
• June 16 – Laurie Metcalf, American actress
• June 27 – Isabelle Adjani, French actress
• July 9 – Jimmy Smits, American actor
• July 19 – Toborr Kristina Tomlinsen, American-Canadian voice actress
• July 21 – Béla Tarr, Hungarian director
• July 22 – Willem Dafoe, American actor
• August 3 – Corey Burton, American voice actor
• August 4 – Billy Bob Thornton, American actor, director and screenwriter
• August 7 – Wayne Knight, American actor and comedian
• August 19 – Peter Gallagher, American actor
• August 27 – Diana Scarwid, American actress
• October 15 – Tanya Roberts, American actress
• October 20 – Thomas Newman, American composer
• November 13 – Whoopi Goldberg, American actress and comedian
• December 2 – Dennis Christopher, American actor
• December 3 – Melody Anderson, Canadian actress

  Deaths

• February 11 – Ona Munson, 55, American actress, Five Star Final, Gone with the Wind
• February 12
• * Tom Moore, 71, Irish-American actor, Forever Amber, Road House
• * S. Z. Sakall, 72, Hungarian actor, Casablanca, Yankee Doodle Dandy
• April 7 – Theda Bara, 69, American silent film actress, A Fool There Was, Cleopatra
• April 25 – Constance Collier, 77, British actress, Stage Door, Rope
• May 13 – Betty Ann Davies, 44, British actress, My Old Duchess, The Man in Black
• June 11 – Walter Hampden, 75, American actor, Sabrina, The Hunchback of Notre Dame
• July 31 – Robert Francis, 25, American actor, The Caine Mutiny, The Long Gray Line, airplane accident
• August 5 – Carmen Miranda, 46, Brazilian singer and actress, Copacabana, The Gang's All Here
• August 6 – Janet Beecher, 70, American actress, The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle, The Mark of Zorro
• August 10 – Jane Murfin, 70, American screenwriter, What Price Hollywood?, The Women
• August 12 – Lynne Carver, 38, American actress, Everybody Sing, Young Dr. Kildare
• September 20 –
• * Robert Riskin, 58, American screenwriter, It Happened One Night, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
• * Noel M. Smith, 60, American director, Secret Service of the Air, Cattle Town
• September 30 – James Dean, 24, American actor, Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden, automobile accident
• October 1 – Charles Christie, 75, Canadian pioneer film studio owner
• October 9 – Alice Joyce, 65, American actress, The Green Goddess, White Man
• October 19 – John Hodiak, 41, American actor, Lifeboat, A Bell for Adano, heart attack
• November 9 – Tom Powers, 65, American actor, Double Indemnity, The Blue Dahlia
• November 14 – Robert E. Sherwood, 59, American screenwriter, The Best Years of Our Lives, Rebecca
• November 15 – Lloyd Bacon, 65, American director, The Oklahoma Kid, Knute Rockne, All American
• November 22 – Shemp Howard, 60, American actor, comedian of The Three Stooges, The Bank Dick, Pittsburgh
• November 27 – William Nigh, 74, American director, Mr. Wong, Detective, The Gay Cavalier

  Film Debuts

• James Cromwell – Daddy Long Legs
• Clint Eastwood – Revenge of the Creature
• Dennis Hopper – Rebel Without a Cause
• Jill Ireland – No Love for Judy
• Shirley Jones – Oklahoma!
• Cloris Leachman – Kiss Me Deadly
• Shirley MacLaine – The Trouble with Harry
• Jayne Mansfield – Female Jungle
• Walter Matthau – The Kentuckian
• Sal Mineo – Six Bridges to Cross
• Elizabeth Montgomery – The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell
• Vic Morrow – Blackboard Jungle
• Jerry Orbach – Marty
• Maximilian Schell – Children, Mother, and the General
• Paul Scofield – That Lady
• Joanne Woodward – Count Three and Pray