1953 in film

The year 1953 in film involved some significant events.

Top-grossing films (U.S.)

The top ten 1953 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Rank	Title	Distributor	Domestic rentals
1	The Robe	20th Century Fox	$17,500,000
2	From Here to Eternity	Columbia	$12,200,000
3	Shane	Paramount	$8,000,000
4	How to Marry a Millionaire	20th Century Fox	$7,300,000
5	Peter Pan	RKO/Walt Disney	$6,000,000
6	House of Wax	Warner Bros.	$5,500,000
7	Gentlemen Prefer Blondes	20th Century Fox	$5,100,000
8	Salome	Columbia	$4,750,000
9	Mogambo	MGM	$4,576,000
10	Knights of the Round Table	MGM	$4,518,000

Events

January 16 – A new Warner Bros. Pictures Inc. is incorporated following a Consent Judgment to divest their Stanley Warner Theaters.
February 5 – Walt Disney's production of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, starring Bobby Driscoll and Kathryn Beaumont, premieres to astounding acclaim from critics and audiences and quickly becomes one of the most beloved Disney films. This is the last Disney animated movie released in partnership with RKO Pictures, becoming the last ever smash hit movie of the later company before it bankrupted in 1959.
February 25 - Jacques Tati's film Les Vacances de M. Hulot is released in France, introducing the gauche character of Monsieur Hulot.
July 1 – Stalag 17, directed by Billy Wilder and starring William Holden, premieres and is considered by the critics and audiences to be one of the greatest WWII Prisoner of War films ever made. Holden wins the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film.
August 5 – Fred Zinnemann's romantic and war masterpiece From Here to Eternity, starring Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Frank Sinatra, and Donna Reed, premieres.
August 27 – William Wyler's romantic comedy Roman Holiday, starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn, is premièred and propels Hepburn to super stardom.
September 16 – Religious epic The Robe, starring Richard Burton and Jean Simmons, debuts as the first widescreen anamorphic film in cinema history, filmed in CinemaScope grossing a record $36,000 for a single theatre in its first day. It went on to gross a record $264,428 in its first week.
November 21 – Monogram Pictures, which had stopped releasing pictures under that banner from the start of the year, changes its name to Allied Artists Pictures Corporation.

Notable films released in 1953

United States unless stated

Serials

Canadian Mounties vs Atomic Invaders, starring Bill Henry
The Great Adventures of Captain Kidd, starring Richard Crane
Jungle Drums of Africa, starring Clayton Moore and Phyllis Coates
The Lost Planet, starring Judd Holdren

Short film series

Births

January 1:
*Paul Antony-Barber, English actor
*Brian Pettifer, South African actor
*Mary Sweeney, American director, writer, editor and producer
January 4: Richard Frank, American actor
January 7: John Dugan, American actor
January 8:
*Damián Alcázar, Mexican actor
*Tonita Castro, Mexican-born American actress
January 11: John Sessions, British actor and comedian
January 12: Phil Reeves, American actor and screenwriter
January 27:
*Richard Bremmer, English actor
*Joe Bob Briggs, American film critic, writer and actor
January 28: Susan Buckner, American actress
January 30: Steven Zaillian, director
February 8: Mary Steenburgen, American actress
February 9:
*Vito Antuofermo, Italian-American actor
*Ciarán Hinds, British-Irish actor
February 11: Philip Anglim, actor
February 12: Peter Andersson, Swedish actor
February 14: Brian O'Connor, American actor and comedian
February 15: Lynn Whitfield, American actress
February 17:
*Becky Ann Baker, American actress
*Evan C. Kim, American actor
February 18: Rocco Sisto, Italian-American actor
February 19: Massimo Troisi, actor
February 21:
*Christine Ebersole, American actress and singer
*William Petersen, American actor
March 2: Ezra Swerdlow, film producer
March 4:
*Scott Hicks, director
*Kay Lenz, American actress
*Agustí Villaronga, Spanish director
March 6: Jacklyn Zeman, American actress
March 10: Paul Haggis, Canadian screenwriter, producer and director
March 15: Frances Conroy, American actress
March 16: Isabelle Huppert, French actress
March 24: Louie Anderson, American stand-up comedian and actor
April 1: Barry Sonnenfeld, American filmmaker and television director
April 6: Patrick Doyle, Scottish film composer
April 13:
*Esther Scott, American actress
*Harry Waters Jr., American actor and singer
April 16:
*Jay O. Sanders, actor
*Marshall Teague, American actor
April 18: Rick Moranis, Canadian actor & comedian
April 19: Ruby Wax, American-British actress, comedian, writer and television personality
April 23: James Russo, American actor
April 24: Eric Bogosian, American actor
April 25: Ron Clements, American animator, director, screenwriter and producer
April 26: Nancy Lenehan, American actress
May 4: Anang Desai, Indian actor
May 9:
*Dennie Gordon, American director
*Amy Hill, American stand-up comedian, actress and voice actress
May 16: Pierce Brosnan, Irish actor
May 21: Nora Aunor, Filipino actress
May 24: Alfred Molina, English actor
May 29: Danny Elfman, American composer
May 30: Colm Meaney, Irish actor
June 1: Tim Bentinck, Australian-born British actor and writer
June 3: Erland Van Lidth De Jeude, Dutch-American actor
June 5: Kathleen Kennedy, American producer
June 7:
*Colleen Camp, American character actress and producer
*Robert Trebor, American character actor
June 9: Ron White, Canadian actor
June 12: David Thornton, American actor
June 13: Tim Allen, American actor
June 16: Valerie Mahaffey, American character actress and producer
June 19: Ken Davitian, American character actor and comedian
June 21: Michael Bowen, American actor
June 22: Cyndi Lauper, American singer, songwriter, actress and activist
June 26: Peng Xiaolian, director
June 29: Deirdre O'Connell, American character actress
July 1: David Gulpilil, Indigenous-Australian actor
July 5: Harish Patel, Indian actor
July 6: Stanley DeSantis, American actor
July 10: Marco Rodríguez, American actor
July 11:
*Angélica Aragón, Mexican actress and singer
*Mindy Sterling, American actress
July 13: Gil Birmingham, American actor
July 20: Lee Garlington, American actress
July 26: Lesli Linka Glatter, American director
August 6: Valerie Wildman, American actress
August 7: Lesley Nicol, English actress
August 8: Don Most, American actor and singer
August 9: Alf Humphreys, Canadian actor
August 11: Hulk Hogan, American professional wrestler and occasional actor
August 12: Selina Cadell, English actress
August 13: Victor Colicchio, American actor, screenwriter, musician and songwriter
August 14: James Horner, American composer
August 16: Vincent Curatola, American actor
August 18: Sergio Castellitto, Italian actor, director and screenwriter
August 27: Peter Stormare, Swedish actor
August 28: Dee Dee Rescher, American actress
August 30: Robin Harris, American comedian and actor
September 2: Keith Allen, British actor
September 6:
*Anne Lockhart, American actress
*Patti Yasutake, American actress
September 10: Amy Irving, American actress
September 14: Robert Wisdom, American actor
September 16:
*Lenny Clarke, American comedian and actor
*Kurt Fuller, American character actor
September 18: Anna Thomson, American actress
October 4:
*Christopher Fairbank, English actor
*Tchéky Karyo, Turkish-born French actor and musician
*Kerry Sherman, American actress
October 9:
*Barbara March, Canadian actress
*Tony Shalhoub, American actor
October 11:
*David Morse, American actor, singer, director and writer
*Bill Randolph, American actor
October 12: David Threlfall, English actor and director
October 15: Larry Miller, American comedian, actor, news podcaster and columnist
October 20: Bill Nunn, American actor
October 26:
*Roger Allam, British actor
*Maureen Teefy, actress
October 27:
*Peter Firth, English actor
*Robert Picardo, American actor
October 30: Charles Martin Smith, American actor, writer and director
October 31: Michael J. Anderson, actor
November 3:
*Kate Capshaw, American actress
*Dennis Miller, American comedian and television host
November 6: Ron Underwood, American director
November 8: John Musker, American animator, director, screenwriter and producer
November 13: Tom Villard, American actor
November 18:
*Kevin Nealon, American stand-up comedian and actor
*Kath Soucie, American voice actress
November 19: Robert Beltran, American actor
November 20: Bembol Roco, Filipino actor
November 23: George DelHoyo, Uruguayan-born American actor
November 24: Glenn Withrow, American actor, director, producer and writer
November 27:
*Curtis Armstrong, American actor and singer
*Mohammad Bakri, Palestinian actor and director
November 28: Pamela Hayden, American actress and voice actress
December 6:
*Gina Hecht, American actress
*Tom Hulce, American actor
*Wil Shriner, American actor, comedian, director and screenwriter
December 8:
*Kim Basinger, American actress
*Sam Kinison, American stand-up comedian
December 9: John Malkovich, American actor
December 11: Richard Carter, Australian actor and voice-over artist
December 14: Vijay Amritraj, Indian sports commentator and actor
December 17:
*Barry Livingston, American actor
*Sally Menke, American editor
*Bill Pullman, American actor
December 18:
*Melanie Kinnaman, American dancer and actress
*Jeff Kober, American actor
December 22:
*Jay Brazeau, Canadian actor
*Gregor Fisher, Scottish comedian and actor
December 23: John Callahan, actor
December 24: Timothy Carhart, American actor
December 28: James Foley, American director
December 29: Charlayne Woodard, American playwright and actress
December 31: James Remar, American actor

Deaths

January 19: Arthur Hoyt, 78, American actor, Her Private Affair, Goldie Gets Along
February 2: Alan Curtis, 43, American actor, High Sierra, Buck Privates
February 27: Jessie Coles Grayson, 66, African-American contralto and actress, Cass Timberlane
March 5: Herman J. Mankiewicz, 55, American screenwriter, Citizen Kane, The Pride of the Yankees, Dinner at Eight, Man of the World
March 19: Irene Bordoni, 68, Corsican-American actress and singer, Paris, Louisiana Purchase
April 26: Rian James, 53, American screenwriter, 42nd Street, The Housekeeper's Daughter
May 30: Dooley Wilson, 67, American actor, Casablanca, Stormy Weather
June 5: Roland Young, 65, British actor, Topper, Ruggles of Red Gap, The Philadelphia Story, And Then There Were None
June 27: Chris-Pin Martin, 59, American actor, The Gay Caballero, Ride on Vaquero, Robin Hood of Monterey, King of the Bandits
June 30: Vsevolod Pudovkin, Soviet film director
July 3: Irving Reis, 47, American director, The Big Street, All My Sons
August 6
*John Reinhardt, Austrian director, Sofia, Chicago Calling
*Houseley Stevenson, American actor, Dark Passage, Kidnapped
August 9: Henri Étiévant, French actor, director
August 13: Paul Kemp, German actor, Charley's Aunt
August 17: Albert Austin, British actor and director, Suds, A Prince of a King
September 12: Lewis Stone, American actor, Andy Hardy film series, The Prisoner of Zenda, Grand Hotel
October 6: Porter Hall, American actor, Double Indemnity, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Going My Way, Miracle on 34th Street
October 8: Nigel Bruce, British actor, Sherlock Holmes film series, Suspicion, Rebecca, The Rains Came, Treasure Island
October 13: Millard Mitchell, American character actor, Singin' in the Rain, Winchester '73, The Gunfighter, The Naked Spur, Twelve O'Clock High
November 29: Sam De Grasse, Canadian actor, Robin Hood, Blind Husbands
December 29: Violet MacMillan, American actress, The Magic Cloak of Oz, ''Violet's Dreams''

Debuts

Claude Akins – From Here to Eternity
Harry Andrews – The Red Beret
Carroll Baker – Easy to Love
Henry Beckman – Niagara
Fanny Carby – Meet Mr. Lucifer
Jeanne Cooper – The Redhead from Wyoming
Kathryn Crosby – So This Is Love
Richard Deacon – Invaders from Mars
Carl Duering – Appointment in London
Shirley Eaton – Personal Affair
Anita Ekberg – The Mississippi Gambler
Biff Elliot – I, the Jury
Götz George – When the White Lilacs Bloom Again
Leo Gordon – China Venture
Lou Jacobi – Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary?
David Kossoff – The Good Beginning
Stanley Kubrick – Fear and Desire
Jan Malmsjö – Marianne
Paul Mazursky – Fear and Desire
Alec McCowen – The Cruel Sea
Steve McQueen – Girl on the Run
Jill Melford – Will Any Gentleman...?
Nanette Newman – Personal Affair
Geraldine Page – Hondo
Lee Patterson – Malta Story
Anthony Perkins – The Actress
Marion Ross – Forever Female
Bing Russell – Big Leaguer
Romy Schneider – When the White Lilacs Bloom Again
Harry Shearer – Abbott and Costello Go to Mars
Joan Sims – Will Any Gentleman...?
Mel Welles – Appointment in Honduras
Billie Whitelaw – ''The Fake''

1953 in film

Top-grossing films (U.S.)

Events

Notable films released in 1953

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