The year 1954 in film involved some significant events and memorable ones.

Events

• May 12 - The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces wife Marion Benda. The two were married in 1927.
• A reproduction of "America's First Movie Studio", Thomas Edison's Black Maria, is constructed
• September 29 - A Star is Born premieres and marks Judy Garland's comeback after her termination from her contract at MGM.
• November 3 - The movie Godzilla premieres in Japan. It became a huge success and became the first in series of Godzilla movies, the longest running film series in history.

Top grossing films (U.S.)

(*) After theatrical re-issue(s)

Awards

Academy Awards:

Best Picture: On the Waterfront - Horizon-American, Columbia

Best Director: Elia Kazan - On The Waterfront

Best Actor: Marlon Brando - On the Waterfront

Best Actress: Grace Kelly - The Country Girl

Best Supporting Actor: Edmond O'Brien - The Barefoot Contessa

Best Supporting Actress: Eva Marie Saint - On The Waterfront

Golden Globe Awards:

Drama:

Best Picture: On the Waterfront

Best Actor: Marlon Brando - On the Waterfront

Best Actress: Grace Kelly - The Country Girl

Musical or comedy:

Best Picture: Carmen Jones

Best Actor: James Mason - A Star Is Born

Best Actress: Judy Garland - A Star Is Born

Other

Best Director: Elia Kazan - On the Waterfront

Best Foreign Film: Twenty-Four Eyes (Nijushi no hitomi), Japan

Best Foreign Film: No Way Back (Weg Ohne Umkehr), West Germany

Best Foreign Film: The Lady of the Camellias (La Mujer de las camelias), Argentina

Best Foreign Film: Genevieve, United Kingdom

Grand Prix (Cannes Film Festival):

Jigokumon , (Gate of Hell), directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa, Japan

Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival):

Romeo and Juliet (Romeo e Giulietta), directed by Renato Castellani, Italy / U.K.

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):

Hobson's Choice, directed by David Lean, United Kingdom

Films released in 1954

U.S.A. unless stated

• 3 Ring Circus, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, starring Kirk Douglas and James Mason

A

• The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (Aventuras de Robinson Crusoe), directed by Luis Bu uel - (Mexico)
• Alaska Seas, starring Robert Ryan
• Animal Farm, an animated film - (U.K.)
• Apache, starring Burt Lancaster
• The Atomic Kid
• Attila, starring Anthony Quinn and Sophia Loren - (France/Italy)

B

• The Barefoot Contessa, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien, Rossano Brazzi
• Beau Brummell, starring Stewart Granger, Elizabeth Taylor, Peter Ustinov
• Beautiful Stranger - (U.K./U.S.)
• The Belles of St Trinian's, starring Alastair Sim, Joyce Grenfell and George Cole - (U.K.)
• Betrayed, fourth and final film co-starring Clark Gable and Lana Turner
• The Black Knight - (U.K./U.S.)
• The Black Shield of Falworth, starring Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh
• Black Tuesday
• Black Widow, starring Ginger Rogers and Gene Tierney
• Boot Polish - (India)
• Bread, Love and Dreams (U.S. release)
• The Bridges at Toko-Ri, starring William Holden, Grace Kelly, Fredric March, Mickey Rooney
• Brigadoon, starring Gene Kelly and Van Johnson
• Broken Lance, starring Spencer Tracy, Robert Wagner, Jean Peters, Richard Widmark, Katy Jurado

C

• The Caine Mutiny, directed by Edward Dmytryk, starring Humphrey Bogart, Van Johnson, Fred MacMurray
• Carmen Jones, starring Dorothy Dandridge (first African-American to be Oscar-nominated for Best Actress)
• Casanova's Big Night, starring Bob Hope
• The Country Girl, starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, William Holden
• Creature from the Black Lagoon
• Crime Wave, starring Sterling Hayden
• The Crucified Lovers (Chikamatsu Monogatari), directed by Kenji Mizoguchi, starring Kazuo Hasegawa - (Japan)

D

• Dangerous Mission, starring Victor Mature and Piper Laurie
• Demetrius and the Gladiators, starring Victor Mature and Susan Hayward
• D sir e, starring Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons
• Dial M for Murder, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Ray Milland and Grace Kelly
• Doctor in the House, starring Dirk Bogarde first of "Doctor" series - (U.K.)

E-F

• The Egyptian, starring Jean Simmons and Gene Tierney
• Elephant Walk, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Peter Finch
• Executive Suite, starring William Holden, Barbara Stanwyck, June Allyson, Fredric March, Louis Calhern, Walter Pidgeon
• Father Brown, starring Alec Guinness - (U.K.)
• Fear, directed by Roberto Rossellini, starring Ingrid Bergman - (Germany/Italy)
• Flame and the Flesh, starring Lana Turner
• French Cancan - (France/Italy)

G-H

• Gate of Hell (American release)
• The Glenn Miller Story starring Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson
• Godzilla, directed by Ishir Honda - (Japan)
• The Gold of Naples (L'oro di Napoli), directed by Vittorio de Sica, starring Silvana Mangano and Sophia Loren - (Italy)
• The Good Die Young, directed by Lewis Gilbert, starring Stanley Baker and Laurence Harvey - (U.K.)
• Hansel and Gretel: An Opera Fantasy, a Stop motion animated film
• Hell and High Water
• The High and the Mighty, starring John Wayne, Robert Stack, Laraine Day, Claire Trevor, Phil Harris
• Hobson's Choice, directed by David Lean, starring Charles Laughton and John Mills - (U.K.)
• Human Desire, starring Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Broderick Crawford

I-J

• Indiscretion of an American Wife, starring Jennifer Jones and Montgomery Clift (U.S. release)
• An Inspector Calls, with Alastair Sim, based on the J.B. Priestley play - (U.K.)
• It Should Happen to You, starring Judy Holliday, Peter Lawford, Jack Lemmon
• Jagriti - (India)
• Johnny Guitar, starring Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge
• Journey to Italy (Viaggio in Italia), directed by Roberto Rossellini, starring Ingrid Bergman and George Sanders - (France/Italy)

K-L

• King Richard and the Crusaders, starring Rex Harrison and Virginia Mayo
• Knights of the Round Table, starring Robert Taylor and Ava Gardner
• Knock on Wood, starring Danny Kaye
• The Lady of the Camellias (La Mujer de las camelias) - (Argentina)
• The Last Bridge (Die Letzte Br cke), starring Maria Schell and Bernhard Wicki - (Austria)
• Late Chrysanthemums (bangiku) - (Japan)
• Letter with Feather - (China)
• Living It Up, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
• The Long, Long Trailer, starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz
• The Long Wait, starring Anthony Quinn

M-N

• The Maggie - (U.K.)
• Magnificent Obsession, starring Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson
• The Million Pound Note, starring Gregory Peck - (U.K.)
• Monster from the Ocean Floor
• Naked Alibi, starring Sterling Hayden and Gloria Grahame
• The Naked Jungle
• Night People, starring Gregory Peck, Broderick Crawford, Buddy Ebsen

O-P

• On the Waterfront, directed by Elia Kazan, starring Marlon Brando with Eva Marie Saint, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger -- winner of eight Oscars
• The Outcast
• Phffft!, starring Judy Holliday, Jack Lemmon, Kim Novak
• Prince Valiant, starring Robert Wagner, James Mason, Janet Leigh
• Pushover, starring Fred MacMurray and Kim Novak (in her film debut)

Q-R

• Radio Cab Murder directed by Vernon Sewell, starring Jimmy Hanley and Lana Morris (U.K.)
• Rear Window, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly
• Riot in Cell Block 11
• River of No Return, starring Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe
• Robinson Crusoe
• Rogue Cop, starring Robert Taylor and Janet Leigh
• Romeo and Juliet, starring Lawrence Harvey - (Italy/U.K.)
• La Ronde (American release)

S

• Sabrina, starring Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, William Holden
• Salt of the Earth
• Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (Miyamoto Musashi), directed by Hiroshi Inagaki, starring Toshir Mifune - (Japan)
• Sansho the Bailiff (Sansh Day ), directed by Kenji Mizoguchi, starring Kinuyo Tanaka - (Japan)
• Saskatchewan, starring Alan Ladd
• The Sea Shall Not Have Them, starring Dirk Bogarde and Michael Redgrave - (U.K.)
• Secret of the Incas, starring Charlton Heston
• Senso, directed by Luchino Visconti, starring Alida Valli and Farley Granger - (Italy)
• Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, directed by Stanley Donen, starring Jane Powell and Howard Keel
• Seven Samurai (Shichinin no Samurai), directed by Akira Kurosawa, starring Toshir Mifune and Takashi Shimura - (Japan)
• The Silver Chalice, starring Paul Newman (in his film debut)
• Silver Lode, starring Dan Duryea
• Sira` Fi al-Wadi, directed by Youssef Chahine - (Egypt)
• Sitting Bull
• Sound of the Mountain (Yama no Oto), directed by Mikio Naruse - (Japan)
• A Star Is Born, starring Judy Garland and James Mason, musical remake of 1937 film
• La strada (The Road), directed by Federico Fellini, starring Anthony Quinn - (Italy)
• Suddenly, starring Frank Sinatra and Sterling Hayden
• Susan Slept Here, starring Debbie Reynolds and Dick Powell

T-V

• Tanganyika
• Taza, Son of Cochise
• Them!, starring James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, James Arness, cameos by Fess Parker and Leonard Nimoy.
• There's No Business Like Show Business, starring Ethel Merman, Dan Dailey, Donald O'Connor, Mitzi Gaynor, Marilyn Monroe
• They Who Dare - (U.K.)
• Three Coins in the Fountain, starring Jean Peters, Dorothy McGuire, Maggie McNamara
• Top Banana
• Touchez pas au grisbi (Hands Off the Loot), starring Jean Gabin - (France/Italy)
• Twenty-Four Eyes (Nij -shi no Hitomi) - (Japan)
• Vera Cruz, starring Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster

W-Z

• White Christmas, starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen, Dean Jagger
• Woman's World
• Wyoming Renegades
• Young at Heart, starring Frank Sinatra and Doris Day
• The Young Lovers, directed by Anthony Asquith (U.K.)

Serials

• Gunfighters of the Northwest, starring Clayton Moore and Phyllis Coates
• Man with the Steel Whip, starring Dick Simmons
• Riding with Buffalo Bill
• Trader Tom of the China Seas, starring Harry Lauter and Aline Towne

Short film series

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

Births

• January 1 - Helen Wellington-Lloyd, actress
• January 6 - Anthony Minghella, director (died 2008)
• January 22 - Chris Lemmon, actor & author
• January 29 - Oprah Winfrey (The Color Purple)
• Febrauary 2 - Christie Brinkley (National Lampoon's Vacation)
• February 17 - Rene Russo, actress
• February 18 - John Travolta, actor & dancer
• March 1 - Ron Howard, director & actor
• March 4 - Catherine O'Hara, Canadian actress
• March 15 - Craig Wasson, actor
• March 17 - Lesley-Anne Down, English actress
• March 24 - Robert Carradine, actor
• April 7 - Jackie Chan, Hong Kong-born actor
• April 9 - Dennis Quaid, actor
• April 16 - Ellen Barkin, actress
• May 7 - Amy Heckerling, director
• May 8 - David Keith, actor
• June 14 - Will Patton, actor
• June 15 - James Belushi, actor
• June 19 - Kathleen Turner, actress
• June 28 - Alice Krige, South African actress
• August 12 - Sam J. Jones, actor
• August 16 - James Cameron, Canadian-born director
• October 23 - Ang Lee, Taiwanese director
• November 7 - Kamal Haasan, actor/director/script-writer/producer/singer
• November 29 - Joel Coen, director, producer & screenwriter
• December 4 - Tony Todd, actor & producer
• December 28 - Denzel Washington, actor

Deaths

• January 18 - Sydney Greenstreet, actor (born 1879)
• February 12 - Dziga Vertov, filmmaker (born 1896)
• April 10 - Auguste Lumiere, French film pioneer (born 1862)
• July 24 - Effie Shannon, stage and film actress (born 1867)
• November 15 - Lionel Barrymore, actor (1878)
• December 8 - Gladys George, actress (born 1904)

Film Debuts

• Zbigniew Cybulski
• Jack Lemmon
• Paul Newman
• Eva Marie Saint
• Omar Sharif
• Godzilla

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