The following is an overview of 1956 in film, with The Ten Commandments dominating the U.S. box office and becoming one of the highest-grossing films of all time (unadjusted for inflation) and Around the World in 80 Days winning the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Top-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1956 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
+ Highest-grossing films of 1956 Rank Title Distributor Domestic rentals 1 The Ten Commandments Paramount $34,200,000 2 Around the World in 80 Days United Artists $22,000,000 3Giant Warner Bros. $12,000,000 4 Seven Wonders of the World Cinerama Releasing $9,300,000 5 The King and I 20th Century Fox $8,500,000 6Trapeze United Artists $7,300,000 7War and Peace Paramount $6,250,000 8 High SocietyMGM $5,602,000. 9The Teahouse of the August Moon $5,550,000 10The Eddy Duchin Story Columbia $5,300,000
Events February 5 – First showing of documentary films by the Free Cinema movement, at the National Film Theatre, London. February 16 – Carousel is the first film released that was shot in CinemaScope 55. February 23 Arthur B. Krim and Robert Benjamin acquire Mary Pickford's interest in United Artists for $3 million giving them full ownership of UA. Norma Jean Mortenson alters to Marilyn Monroe. February – Warner Bros. sells much of its pre-1950 library to Associated Artists Productions (a.a.p.); after a series of mergers the films return to WB 40 years later. February – Darryl F. Zanuck announces his resignation as head of production of 20th Century Fox after 20 years as the studio head. He is later replaced by Buddy Adler. April 18 – Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier III and becomes Princess consort of Monaco. She stops acting. Her last feature film, High Society, is released in July. May 30 – United Artists release Trapeze which becomes their highest-grosser until surpassed by Around the World in 80 Days the following year. June 28 - The King and I is released in the United States. July – Harry and Albert Warner sell their stock in Warner Bros. Jack L. Warner retains his and becomes president. July 25 – The comedy partnership between Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis ends. Their last film together, Hollywood or Bust, is released later in the year. August 4 – The last film serial, Blazing the Overland Trail from Columbia Pictures, is released. October 5 – The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas. It was the most expensive film of all time with a cost of $13 million and becomes one of the most successful and popular films of all time, currently ranking 6th on the list of all time moneymakers (when adjusted for inflation). It was director Cecil B. DeMille's last film. October 17 – Mike Todd's Around the World in 80 Days is released and goes on to become United Artists' highest-grossing film. October 18 – Joseph Vogel becomes president of MGM. November 1 – The film Oklahoma!, released in 1955 to select cities in Todd-AO, now receives a U.S. national release in CinemaScope, since not all theatres are yet equipped for Todd-AO. To accomplish this, the film has actually been shot twice, rather than printing one version in two different film processes, as is later done. November 15 – Elvis Presley's first film, Love Me Tender, opens. November 28 And God Created Woman opens in France making Brigitte Bardot an international star. It is announced that production head Dore Schary will leave MGM at the end of the year. December 14 – Dance with Me, Henry is the last film featuring the comedy duo Abbott and Costello.
Awards Category/Organization 14th Golden Globe AwardsFebruary 28, 1957 29th Academy AwardsMarch 27, 1957 Drama Comedy or Musical Best Film Around the World in 80 Days The King and I Around the World in 80 Days Best Director Elia KazanBaby Doll George StevensGiant Best Actor Kirk DouglasLust for Life CantinflasAround the World in 80 Days Yul BrynnerThe King and I Best Actress Ingrid BergmanAnastasia Deborah KerrThe King and I Ingrid BergmanAnastasia Best Supporting Actor Earl HollimanThe Rainmaker Anthony QuinnLust for Life Best Supporting Actress Eileen HeckartThe Bad Seed Dorothy MaloneWritten on the Wind Best Foreign Language Film Before SundownA Girl in BlackRoses on the ArmWar and PeaceThe White Reindeer La Strada
Top ten money making stars RankActor/Actress1.William Holden2.John Wayne3.James Stewart4.Burt Lancaster5.Glenn Ford6.Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis7.Marilyn Monroe8.Gary Cooper9.Kim Novak10.Frank Sinatra
1956 film releases January–March January 1956 11 January The Lieutenant Wore Skirts 12 January Diane 26 January Helen of Troy 29 January Warning from Space (Japan) February 1956 5 February Invasion of the Body Snatchers 16 February Carousel 25 February The Lone Ranger March 1956 3 March Forbidden Planet 6 March 1984 (U.K.) 9 March Come Next Spring Meet Me in Las Vegas 10 March Never Say Goodbye 21 March Rock Around the Clock 23 March Serenade 24 March Raw Edge 25 March Indestructible Man World Without End 28 March The Conqueror
April–June April 1956 4 April The Maverick Queen 6 April Jubal 10 April Seven Wonders of the World 11 April Backlash 24 April Our Miss Brooks 26 April The Creature Walks Among Us 27 April Godzilla, King of the Monsters! May 1956 8 May The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit 9 May The Harder They Fall 15 May Invitation to the Dance 26 May The Searchers 30 May Trapeze While the City Sleeps The Animal World June 1956 1 June The Man Who Knew Too Much 6 June The Killing 10 June Crime in the Streets 12 June A Kiss Before Dying 13 June Earth vs. the Flying Saucers Star in the Dust 15 June Gunslinger 20 June Safari 21 June The Eddy Duchin Story 22 June The Catered Affair 27 June Moby Dick 29 June The King and I
July–September July 1956 6 July The Fastest Gun Alive 12 July Foreign Intrigue 15 July It Conquered the World 17 July High Society 18 July Davy Crockett and the River Pirates 23 July Dakota Incident 25 July Pardners 29 July Hold Back the Night 30 July Run for the Sun August 1956 The Beast of Hollow Mountain 1 August Autumn Leaves 3 August Mukh O Mukhosh, highest grossing Dhallywood, Bangladesh film of 1956. 17 August A Cry in the Night These Wilder Years 21 August War and Peace 24 August A Strange Adventure 26 August The Swan 29 August The First Traveling Saleslady The Vagabond King September 1956 12 September The Bad Seed 15 September Lust for Life 21 September The Last Wagon 28 September The Best Things in Life Are Free
October–December October 1956 5 October The Ten Commandments 17 October Around the World in 80 Days Attack Julie 26 October The Opposite Sex 31 October Death of a Scoundrel You Can't Run Away from It November 1956 1 November Naked Gun The White Squaw 15 November Love Me Tender Gun the Man Down 18 November Yield to the Night (U.K.) 24 November Giant 25 November Friendly Persuasion 29 November The Teahouse of the August Moon December 1956 1 December The Mole People The Girl Can't Help It Curucu, Beast of the Amazon 5 December Man Beast 6 December Hollywood or Bust Nightfall 12 December Bundle of Joy 13 December Anastasia The Rainmaker 21 December The King and Four Queens 25 December Written on the Wind 26 December Rodan (Japan) Zarak 29 December Baby Doll The Great Man
Notable films released in 1956 United States unless stated
# 7th Cavalry, starring Randolph Scott and Barbara Hale 23 Paces to Baker Street, starring Van Johnson and Vera Miles 1984, directed by Michael Anderson, starring Edmond O'Brien and Michael Redgrave – (GB)
A Accused of Murder, starring Vera Ralston Alexander the Great, starring Richard Burton Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves (Alibabavum 40 Thirudargalum) – (India) The Ambassador's Daughter, starring Olivia de Havilland, Myrna Loy, John Forsythe Anastasia, starring Ingrid Bergman and Yul Brynner And God Created Woman, directed by Roger Vadim, starring Brigitte Bardot – (France) Aparajito (The Unvanquished), directed by Satyajit Ray – (India) Around the World in 80 Days, directed by Michael Anderson, starring David Niven, Cantinflas, Shirley MacLaine – Academy Award for Best Picture At Gunpoint, starring Fred MacMurray, Walter Brennan, Dorothy Malone Attack, a.k.a. Attack!, directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Jack Palance, Eddie Albert, Lee Marvin Autumn Leaves, starring Joan Crawford and Cliff Robertson Away All Boats, starring Jeff Chandler
B Baby Doll, directed by Elia Kazan, starring Carroll Baker, Karl Malden, Eli Wallach Back from Eternity, starring Robert Ryan, Anita Ekberg, Rod Steiger Backlash, starring Richard Widmark and Donna Reed The Bad Seed, starring Nancy Kelly and Patty McCormack Bandido, starring Robert Mitchum The Battle of the River Plate, a.k.a. Pursuit of the Graf Spee, written and directed by Powell and Pressburger, starring John Gregson and Peter Finch – (GB) Before Sundown (Vor Sonnenuntergang) – (West Germany) Behind the Headlines, starring Paul Carpenter and Hazel Court The Benny Goodman Story, starring Steve Allen and Donna Reed The Best Things in Life Are Free, starring Gordon MacRae, Dan Dailey, Sheree North Between Heaven and Hell, directed by Richard Fleischer, starring Robert Wagner and Buddy Ebsen Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, directed by Fritz Lang, starring Dana Andrews and Joan Fontaine Bhowani Junction, starring Ava Gardner and Stewart Granger – (GB/United States) Bigger Than Life, directed by Nicholas Ray, starring James Mason, Barbara Rush, Walter Matthau The Birds and the Bees, starring George Gobel and Mitzi Gaynor The Black Tent, directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, starring Donald Sinden, Anthony Steel, Anna Maria Sandri & André Morell – (U.K.) Bob le flambeur (Bob the Gambler), directed by Jean-Pierre Melville – (France) The Bold and the Brave, starring Wendell Corey and Mickey Rooney The Boss, starring John Payne and Doe Avedon The Bottom of the Bottle, directed by Henry Hathaway, starring Van Johnson, Joseph Cotten, Ruth Roman The Brave One, directed by Irving Rapper The Burmese Harp (Biruma no tategoto), directed by Kon Ichikawa – (Japan) The Burning Hills, starring Natalie Wood and Tab Hunter Bus Stop, starring Marilyn Monroe and Don Murray
C C.I.D., starring Dev Anand – (India) Calabuch (a.k.a. The Rocket from Calabuch), directed by Luis García Berlanga, starring Edmund Gwenn and Valentina Cortese – (Spain) Calle Mayor (Main Street), directed by Juan Antonio Bardem, starring Betsy Blair – (Spain) Carnival Night (Karnavalnaya noch) – (USSR) Carousel, directed by Henry King, starring Shirley Jones and Gordon MacRae The Case of the Mukkinese Battle Horn, comedy short starring Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan, Dick Emery – (GB) The Catered Affair, starring Bette Davis, Ernest Borgnine, Debbie Reynolds Checkpoint (1956 film), directed by Ralph Thomas, starring Anthony Steel, Odile Versois, Stanley Baker & James Robertson Justice – (U.K.) Child of Sorrow (Anak dalita) – (Philippines) Chori Chori, starring Nargis and Raj Kapoor – (India) Comanche, starring Dana Andrews and Linda Cristal Come Next Spring, starring Ann Sheridan and Steve Cochran Congo Crossing, starring Virginia Mayo and Peter Lorre The Conqueror, directed by Dick Powell, starring John Wayne (as Genghis Khan) The Court Jester, starring Danny Kaye Crazed Fruit (Kurutta kajitsu), directed by Kō Nakahira – (Japan) Crime Against Joe, starring Julie London Crime in the Streets, directed by Don Siegel, starring James Whitmore and John Cassavetes A Cry in the Night, starring Edmond O'Brien, Natalie Wood, Raymond Burr
D D-Day the Sixth of June, starring Robert Taylor Dakota Incident, starring Dale Robertson Dance with Me, Henry, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Death in the Garden (La mort en ce jardin), directed by Luis Buñuel, starring Simone Signoret and Charles Vanel – (France) Death of a Scoundrel, starring George Sanders and Zsa Zsa Gabor Diane, starring Lana Turner in her final MGM film after nearly 20 years with the studio Donatella, directed by Mario Monicelli, starring Elsa Martinelli – (Italy)