The year 1956 in film involved some significant events. [edit] Events [edit] Top grossing films (U.S.) | Rank | Title | Leading Star | Studio | Gross | | 1. | The Ten Commandments | Charlton Heston | Paramount | $43,000,000 | | 2. | Around the World in Eighty Days | David Niven | United Artists | $23,120,000 | | 3. | Giant | Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean | Warner Brothers | $14,000,000 | | 4. | Seven Wonders of the World | | Cinerama | $12,500,000 | | 5. | The King and I | Deborah Kerr, Yul Brynner | 20th Century Fox | $8,500,000 | | 6. | War and Peace | Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda | Paramount | $7,269,000 | | 7. | The Girl Can't Help It | Jayne Mansfield | 20th Century Fox | $6,250,000 | | 8. | High Society | Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra | MGM | $5,878,000 | | 9. | Teahouse of the August Moon | Marlon Brando | MGM | $5,712,000 | | 10. | The Eddy Duchin Story | Tyrone Power, Kim Novak | Columbia | $5,300,000 | (*) After theatrical re-issue(s) [edit] Awards Academy Awards: - Best Picture: Around the World in Eighty Days - Todd, United Artists
- Best Director: George Stevens - Giant
- Best Actor: Yul Brynner - The King and I
- Best Actress: Ingrid Bergman - Anastasia
- Best Supporting Actor: Anthony Quinn - Lust for Life
- Best Supporting Actress: Dorothy Malone - Written on the Wind
- Best Foreign Language Film: La strada, directed by Federico Fellini, Italy
Golden Globe Awards: - Drama:
- Best Picture: Around the World in Eighty Days
- Best Actor: Kirk Douglas - Lust for Life
- Best Actress: Ingrid Bergman - Anastasia
- Musical or comedy:
- Best Picture: The King and I
- Best Actor: Cantinflas - Around the World in Eighty Days
- Best Actress: Deborah Kerr - The King and I
- Other
- Best Director: Elia Kazan - Baby Doll
- Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture: Earl Holliman - The Rainmaker
- Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture: Eileen Heckart - The Bad Seed
- Best Foreign Film: Before Sundown, West Germany
- Best Foreign Film: The Girl in Black, Greece
- Best Foreign Film: Richard III, United Kingdom
- Best Foreign Film: Roses on the Arm, Japan
- Best Foreign Film: War and Peace, Italy
- Best Foreign Film: The White Reindeer, Finland
Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival): - The Silent World (Le monde du silence), directed by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Louis Malle, France
Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival): Not awarded Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival): - Invitation to the Dance, directed by Gene Kelly, United States
[edit] Films released in 1956 - 7 Wonders of the World
- Accused of Murder
- Alexander the Great, starring Richard Burton
- Anastasia, starring Ingrid Bergman and Yul Brynner
- And God Created Woman, starring Brigitte Bardot
- Around the World in 80 Days, starring David Niven, Cantinflas and Shirley MacLaine
- Autumn Leaves, starring Joan Crawford and Cliff Robertson
- Baby Doll, starring Carroll Baker, Karl Malden and Eli Wallach
- The Bad Seed, starring Nancy Kelly and Patty McCormack
- The Battle of the River Plate, written and directed by Powell and Pressburger
- Between Heaven and Hell, directed by Richard Fleischer
- Bhowani Junction, starring Ava Gardner and Stewart Granger
- Bigger Than Life
- The Birds and the Bees
- The Brave One
- The Bold and the Brave
- Bus Stop, starring Marilyn Monroe and Don Murray
- Carousel
- The Case of the Mukkinese Battle Horn
- Comanche
- Congo Crossing
- The Conqueror
- The Court Jester
- D-Day the Sixth of June
- Dance With Me Henry, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
- Diane, starring Lana Turner. This was Lana Turner's final film under her MGM contract. She had been with the studio for nearly 20 years since she was discovered.
- Earth vs. the Flying Saucers
- The Eddy Duchin Story, starring Tyrone Power and Kim Novak
- Elena and Her Men
- Forbidden Planet
- Friendly Persuasion, starring Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire and Anthony Perkins
- Gaby
- Gervaise
- Giant, starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean in his final film.
- The Girl Can't Help It, starring Tom Ewell and Jayne Mansfield in her first starring role.
- Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
- The Great Man
- Gun The Man Down, starring James Arness and Angie Dickinson in her film debut.
- The Harder They Fall, starring Humphrey Bogart in his final film
- High Society, starring Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Grace Kelly in her final film prior to her marriage to Rainier III, Prince of Monaco
- Hollywood or Bust, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis with Anita Ekberg
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- Ich suche Dich, starring O.W. Fischer and Anouk Aimée
- The Indian Fighter
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers
- Invitation to the Dance
- Johnny Concho
- Jubal
- Julie, starring Doris Day
- The King and I, starring Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner
- A Kiss Before Dying, starring Robert Wagner and Joanne Woodward
- The Lady Killers (U.S. release)
- Love Me Tender, starring Elvis Presley in his film debut
- Lust for Life, starring Kirk Douglas
- The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (film), starring Gregory Peck and Jennifer Jones
- The Man Who Knew Too Much, directed by Alfred Hitchcock (a remake of his own 1934 british film). Starring James Stewart and Doris Day
- Moby Dick, starring Gregory Peck
- Never Say Goodbye (film)
- Pardners, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
- Private's Progress
- The Proud and Profane
- The Proud Ones
- The Rainmaker, starring Burt Lancaster and Katharine Hepburn
- Ransom!
- Reach for the Sky
- The Red Balloon
- Richard III (U.S. release)
- Rock Around the Clock
- Rodan
- The Solid Gold Cadillac
- Old Khottabych
- The Searchers, starring John Wayne
- Seven Samurai (U.S. release)
- The Silent World
- Singing in the Dark
- Somebody Up There Likes Me, starring Paul Newman
- Star in the Dust, starring John Agar and Mamie Van Doren
- La Strada (U.S. release)
- Tea and Sympathy, starring Deborah Kerr
- The Teahouse of the August Moon, starring Marlon Brando and Glenn Ford
- The Ten Commandments, starring Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, Yvonne De Carlo and Edward G. Robinson
- A Town Like Alice
- Trapeze
- War and Peace, starring Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Mel Ferrer and Anita Ekberg
- Written on the Wind, starring Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall, Robert Stack and Dorothy Malone
- The Wrong Man, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Henry Fonda and Vera Miles
- X the Unknown
- Yield to the Night, starring Diana Dors
[edit] Serials [edit] Short film series Ending this year [edit] Births [edit] Deaths [edit] Film Debuts |
