1951 in film

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The year 1951 in film involved some significant events.

Top-grossing films

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
2	Show Boat	MGM	$5,293,000
3	David and Bathsheba	20th Century Fox	$4,720,000
4	The Great Caruso	MGM	$4,309,000
5	A Streetcar Named Desire	Warner Bros.	$4,250,000
6	The African Queen	United Artists	$4,100,000
7	That's My Boy	Paramount	$3,800,000
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	Paramount	$3,300,000

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
India	Awaara	R. K. Films	$4,830,000
Italy	Anna	Lux Film	8,965,624 admissions
Japan	The Tale of Genji	Daiei Kyoto	¥141,050,000
Soviet Union	In Peaceful Time	Dovzhenko Film Studios	$1,470,000
United Kingdom	The Great Caruso	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer	12,400,000 admissions

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.

Title	Worldwide gross	Country	Ref
Awaara	$30,660,000	India
Quo Vadis	$30,028,513	United States

Events

February 15 – new management takes over at United Artists with Arthur B. Krim, Robert Benjamin and Matty Fox now in charge.
April – French magazine Cahiers du cinéma is first published.
July 26 – Walt Disney's Alice in Wonderland premieres; while a disappointment at first and hardly released in theaters, it would later become one of the biggest cult classics in the animation medium as well as make millions in television viewings and subsequent releases on home video.
September 10 – Rashomon wins the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, bringing worldwide attention to Japanese film.
September – The House Un-American Activities Committee investigation into Communism in the film industry starts to wind up after four years. They report in February 1952 that Hollywood has not done enough against Communist employees and hearings and blacklisting continues.
December 14 – Raj Kapoor's first blockbuster movie, Awaara is released in India.
December 29 – The Wilhelm scream, one of the most frequently-used stock sound effects, makes its first use in the film Distant Drums. The scream would not get its name until The Charge at Feather River in 1953.

Awards

Category/Organization	9th Golden Globe Awards February 21, 1952		24th Academy Awards March 20, 1952
Category/Organization	Drama	Comedy or Musical	24th Academy Awards March 20, 1952
Best Film	A Place in the Sun	An American in Paris
Best Director	László Benedek Death of a Salesman		George Stevens A Place in the Sun
Best Actor	Fredric March Death of a Salesman	Danny Kaye On the Riviera	Humphrey Bogart The African Queen
Best Actress	Jane Wyman The Blue Veil	June Allyson Too Young to Kiss	Vivien Leigh A Streetcar Named Desire
Best Supporting Actor	Peter Ustinov Quo Vadis		Karl Malden A Streetcar Named Desire
Best Supporting Actress	Kim Hunter A Streetcar Named Desire
Best Screenplay, Adapted	Robert Buckner Bright Victory		Michael Wilson and Harry Brown A Place in the Sun
Best Screenplay, Original	Robert Buckner Bright Victory		Alan Jay Lerner An American in Paris

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.

Rank	Actor/Actress
1.	John Wayne
2.	Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
3.	Betty Grable
4.	Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
5.	Bing Crosby
6.	Bob Hope
7.	Randolph Scott
8.	Gary Cooper
9.	Doris Day
10.	Spencer Tracy

They also published a Western stars poll which Roy Rogers topped for the ninth year running.

Rank	Actor/Actress
1.	Roy Rogers
2.	Gene Autry
3.	Tim Holt
4.	Charles Starrett
5.	Rex Allen
6.	Wild Bill Elliott
7.	Smiley Burnette
8.	Allan Lane
9.	Dale Evans
10.	Gabby Hayes

Notable films released in 1951

United States release unless stated

Serials

Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere, starring Judd Holdren
Don Daredevil Rides Again, starring Ken Curtis and Aline Towne
Government Agents vs Phantom Legion, starring Walter Reed
Mysterious Island, starring Richard Crane
Roar of the Iron Horse, starring Buster Crabbe

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
- Gerry Becker, American actor (died 2019)
- Jay Benedict, American actor (died 2020)
April 12 – Tom Noonan, American actor
April 13
- John Furey, American actor
- Brent Jennings, American actor
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
- David Gautreaux, American actor
- Ellis E. Williams, American actor and comedian
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
- Lynda Carter, American actress & singer
- Fiona Reid, English-born Canadian actress
July 29
- Jack Blessing, American actor (died 2017)
- Gavan O'Herlihy, Irish-born American actor (died 2021)
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
- Michael Gray, American actor
- Mark Harmon, American actor
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
October 4 - James Rankin, Canadian actor and voice actor
October 5 - Karen Allen, American actress
October 14 - John Sumner, English character actor
October 16
- Daniel Gerroll, English actor
- Morgan Stevens, American actor (died 2022)
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
- Francis Guinan, American actor
- Stephen Root, American actor and voice actor
November 20 – Rodger Bumpass, American actor & voice actor
November 27 – Kathryn Bigelow, American director
December 1
- Obba Babatundé, American actor
- Treat Williams, American actor (died 2023)
December 14 - Celia Weston, American character actress
December 16
- Bill Johnson, American actor
- David Schofield, English actor
December 22 - Dan Martin, American actor
December 26 - Steve Bisley, Australian writer and actor

Deaths

The Oscar winner Warner Baxter publicity photo.

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

Dawn Addams – Night into Morning
Bibi Andersson – Miss Julie
Ernest Borgnine – China Corsair
Willis Bouchey – Elopement
William Boyett – Street Bandits
Jeff Bridges – The Company She Keeps
Charles Bronson – You're in the Navy Now
Leslie Caron – An American in Paris
John Cassavetes – Fourteen Hours
Mara Corday – Two Tickets to Broadway
Scatman Crothers – Yes Sir, Mr. Bones
Harold Gould – The Man from Planet X
Lee Grant – Detective Story
Peter Graves – Rogue River
Nancy Kulp – The Model and the Marriage Broker
Harvey Lembeck – You're in the Navy Now
Terence Longdon – Appointment with Venus
Lee Marvin – You're in the Navy Now
Patty McCormack – Two Gals and a Guy
Ralph Meeker – Die Vier im Jeep
Mary Murphy – The Lemon Drop Kid
Burt Mustin – The Last Outpost
Leonard Nimoy – Queen for a Day
Aldo Ray – Saturday's Hero
William Shatner – The Butler's Night Off
Robert Shaw – The Lavender Hill Mob
Rod Steiger – Teresa
Harry Towb – The Quiet Woman
Mamie Van Doren – Footlight Varieties
Joyce Van Patten – Fourteen Hours
Stuart Whitman – When Worlds Collide