The following events in film occurred in the year 1951.
Top-grossing films
United States
The top ten 1951 released films by box office gross in the United States are as follows:
International
The highest-grossing 1951 films in countries outside of North America.
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.
Events
Awards
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.
They also published a Western stars poll which Roy Rogers topped for the ninth year running.
Notable films released in 1951
United States release unless stated
#
A
- Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
- Ace in the Hole (a.k.a. The Big Carnival), directed by Billy Wilder, starring Kirk Douglas and Jan Sterling
- Across the Wide Missouri, starring Clark Gable
- The African Queen, directed by John Huston, starring Humphrey Bogart (Oscar for best actor) and Katharine Hepburn â (GB/US)
- Air Cadet, starring Gail Russell and Stephen McNally
- Alice in Wonderland, an animated film by Walt Disney
- Along the Great Divide, starring Kirk Douglas
- An American in Paris, directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron (Oscar for best picture)
- Angels in the Outfield, starring Paul Douglas and Janet Leigh
- Anna, starring Silvana Mangano, Raf Vallone and Vittorio Gassman â (Italy)
- Another Man's Poison, directed by Irving Rapper, starring Bette Davis, Gary Merrill, Emlyn Williams and Anthony Steel â (GB)
- Apache Drums, starring Stephen McNally and Coleen Gray
- Appointment with Danger, starring Alan Ladd, with future Dragnet (series) co-stars Jack Webb and Harry Morgan
- Appointment with Venus, starring Glynis Johns and David Niven â (U.K.)
- As Young as You Feel, starring Monty Woolley
- Atoll K, starring Laurel and Hardy in their final film
- Awaara (Tramp), directed by and starring Raj Kapoor â (India)
- The Axe of Wandsbek (Das Beil von Wandsbek) â (East Germany)
B
- Badal (Cloud), starring Madhubala and Prem Nath â (India)
- Baazi (Gamble), starring Dev Anand â (India)
- Bedtime for Bonzo, starring Ronald Reagan (with a chimpanzee)
- Bellissima, directed by Luchino Visconti, starring Anna Magnani â (Italy)
- Blackmailed, starring Mai Zetterling and Dirk Bogarde â (GB)
- The Blue Veil, starring Jane Wyman
- Bright Victory, starring Arthur Kennedy
- The Browning Version, directed by Anthony Asquith, starring Michael Redgrave and Jean Kent â (GB)
- Bullfighter and the Lady, starring Robert Stack and Joy Page
C
- Callaway Went Thataway, starring Fred MacMurray, Dorothy McGuire, Howard Keel
- Call Me Mister, starring Betty Grable
- Captain Horatio Hornblower, starring Gregory Peck â (GB)
- Cattle Drive, starring Joel McCrea, Dean Stockwell and Chill Wills
- Cause for Alarm!, starring Loretta Young and Barry Sullivan
- China Corsair, starring Jon Hall
- Circle of Danger, starring Ray Milland â (GB)
- The Clouded Yellow, starring Trevor Howard and Jean Simmons â (GB)
- Come Fill the Cup, starring James Cagney and Gig Young
- Comin' Round The Mountain, starring Abbott and Costello
- Cops and Robbers (Guardie e ladri), directed by Mario Monicelli â (Italy)
- Cry Danger, starring Dick Powell and Rhonda Fleming
- Cry, the Beloved Country, directed by Zoltan Korda, starring Sidney Poitier â (GB)
D
- Darling, How Could You!, starring Joan Fontaine
- Daughter of Deceit (La hija del engaño), directed by Luis Buñuel â (Mexico)
- David and Bathsheba, starring Gregory Peck and Susan Hayward
- The Day the Earth Stood Still, directed by Robert Wise, starring Michael Rennie and Patricia Neal
- Death of a Salesman, starring Fredric March
- Deburau, directed by Sacha Guitry â (France)
- Decision Before Dawn, starring Richard Basehart, Gary Merrill and Oskar Werner
- Deedar, starring Ashok Kumar, Dilip Kumar, Nargis â (India)
- ', starring James Mason
- Detective Story, starring Kirk Douglas, Eleanor Parker, William Bendix, Lee Grant, Horace McMahon, and George Macready
- Diary of a Country Priest (Journal d'un curé de campagne), directed by Robert Bresson â (France)
- Distant Drums, directed by Raoul Walsh, starring Gary Cooper
- Double Dynamite, starring Jane Russell, Frank Sinatra and Groucho Marx
- Dream of a Cossack (Kavalier zolotoy zvezdy), starring Sergei Bondarchuk â (U.S.S.R.)
- Daar Doer in Die Bosveld (Far Away in the Bushveld), starring Jamie Uys â (South Africa)
E
F
- FBI Girl, starring Audrey Totter and Cesar Romero
- The Family Secret, starring John Derek and Lee J. Cobb
- Father's Little Dividend, starring Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor
- The Fighting Seventh (a.k.a. Little Big Horn), starring Lloyd Bridges
- Flying Leathernecks, starring John Wayne and Robert Ryan
- Follow the Sun, starring Glenn Ford (as Ben Hogan)
- The Forbidden Christ (Il Cristo proibito), starring Raf Vallone â (Italy)
- Fort Worth, starring Randolph Scott
- Four in a Jeep (Die Vier im Jeep), starring Ralph Meeker and Viveca Lindfors â (Switzerland)
- Fourteen Hours, starring Paul Douglas, Richard Basehart, Jeffrey Hunter and Grace Kelly
- The Frogmen, starring Richard Widmark and Dana Andrews
- Furrows (Surcos) â (Spain)
G
- Go for Broke!, starring Van Johnson
- Golden Girl, starring Mitzi Gaynor, Dale Robertson, Dennis Day
- The Golden Horde, starring Ann Blyth
- Goodbye My Fancy, starring Joan Crawford and Robert Young
- The Great Caruso, starring Mario Lanza
- The Great Missouri Raid, starring Wendell Corey
- The Groom Wore Spurs, starring Ginger Rogers
- Grounds for Marriage, starring Kathryn Grayson and Van Johnson
- The Guy Who Came Back, starring Paul Douglas
H
- Half Angel, starring Loretta Young
- Happy Go Lovely, starring David Niven and Vera-Ellen â (GB)
- He Ran All the Way, starring John Garfield and Shelley Winters
- Here Comes the Groom, directed by Frank Capra, starring Bing Crosby
- His Kind of Woman, starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell, Vincent Price and Raymond Burr
- Hollywood Story, starring Richard Conte and Julie Adams
- The House in Montevideo (Das Haus in Montevideo) â (West Germany)
- The House on Telegraph Hill, starring Richard Basehart
I
J
K
L
- The Last Outpost, starring Ronald Reagan
- Laughter in Paradise, starring Alastair Sim â (GB)
- The Lavender Hill Mob, directed by Charles Crichton, starring Alec Guinness, Stanley Holloway, Sid James and Alfie Bass, with an early appearance by Audrey Hepburn â (GB)
- The Lemon Drop Kid, starring Bob Hope, Marilyn Maxwell, William Frawley and Tor Johnson
- Let's Go Crazy, starring Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers â (GB)
- Leva pÃÂ¥ 'Hoppet', starring Ingrid Thulin â (Sweden)
- Lightning Strikes Twice, starring Ruth Roman and Mercedes McCambridge
- Little Egypt, starring Rhonda Fleming and Mark Stevens
- The Long Dark Hall, starring Rex Harrison â (GB)
- Lost Continent, starring Cesar Romero
- Love Nest, starring June Haver and Marilyn Monroe
- Lullaby of Broadway
M
- The Magic Box, starring Robert Donat, a biopic of William Friese-Greene â (GB)
- The Man with a Cloak, starring Joseph Cotten
- Malliswari, starring N.T. Rama Rao â (India)
- The Man in the White Suit, directed by Alexander Mackendrick, starring Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Cecil Parker, Michael Gough and Ernest Thesiger â (GB)
- The Man With the Twisted Lip (British TV movie) a Sherlock Holmes mystery directed by Richard M. Grey, starring John Longden as Sherlock Holmes and Campbell Singer as Watson
- The Mating Season, starring Gene Tierney, John Lund, Miriam Hopkins and Thelma Ritter
- The Medium, starring Marie Powers â (Italy)
- Miracle in Milan (Miracolo a Milano), directed by Vittorio De Sica â (Italy)
- Miss Julie (Fröken Julie), directed by Alf Sjöberg â (Sweden)
- The Model and the Marriage Broker, starring Jeanne Crain, Thelma Ritter, Scott Brady, Zero Mostel
- Mr. Imperium, starring Lana Turner and Ezio Pinza
- My Favorite Spy, starring Bob Hope and Hedy Lamarr
N
O
P
- Painting the Clouds with Sunshine, starring Virginia Mayo
- Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, starring Ava Gardner and James Mason â (GB)
- Paris Vice Squad (Identité judiciaire) â (France)
- Payment on Demand, starring Bette Davis and Barry Sullivan
- Penny Points to Paradise, starring Harry Secombe, Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan â (GB)
- The People Against O'Hara, starring Spencer Tracy
- People Will Talk, starring Cary Grant, Jeanne Crain, Hume Cronyn and Finlay Currie
- A Place in the Sun, directed by George Stevens, starring Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Shelley Winters and Raymond Burr
- Pool of London, directed by Basil Dearden, starring Leslie Phillips, James Robertson Justice and Earl Cameron â (GB)
- The Prowler, directed by Joseph Losey, starring Van Heflin and Evelyn Keyes
Q
R
- The Racket, starring Robert Mitchum
- The Raging Tide, starring Richard Conte and Shelley Winters
- Rawhide, starring Tyrone Power and Susan Hayward
- The Red Badge of Courage, directed by John Huston, starring Audie Murphy
- Red Mountain, starring Alan Ladd and Lizabeth Scott
- Repast (Meshi), directed by Mikio Naruse, written by the novelist Yasunari Kawabata â (Japan)
- El revoltoso (The Rebellious) â (Mexico)
- Rhubarb, starring Ray Milland, Jan Sterling, William Frawley and Leonard Nimoy
- Rich, Young and Pretty, starring Jane Powell
- The River (Le Fleuve), directed by Jean Renoir â (France/India/US)
- Royal Wedding, starring Fred Astaire, Peter Lawford and Jane Powell
S
- ...Sans laisser d'adresse (No Forwarding Address), starring Bernard Blier and Danièle Delorme â (France)
- Santa Fe, starring Randolph Scott
- Saturday's Hero, starring John Derek and Donna Reed
- Scrooge (A Christmas Carol), starring Alastair Sim â (GB)
- The Secret of Convict Lake, starring Glenn Ford and Gene Tierney
- Selamat Berdjuang, Masku!, starring Raden Sukarno and Marlia Hardi â (Indonesia)
- Sherlock Holmes (British) series of 6 made-for TV Sherlock Holmes films directed by C. A. Lajeune, all starring Alan Wheatley as Holmes and Raymond Francis as Watson
- Show Boat, a remake of the hit musical, starring Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, and Ava Gardner, with songs by Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern
- Silver City, starring Edmond O'Brien and Yvonne De Carlo
- The Sinner, directed by Willi Forst, starring Hildegard Knef and Gustav Fröhlich (West Germany)
- Sirocco, starring Humphrey Bogart and Märta Torén
- Slaughter Trail, starring Gig Young and Virginia Grey
- Smuggler's Island, starring Jeff Chandler and Evelyn Keyes
- Spring Season (Bahar), first Hindi film of Vyjayanthimala and the producer A. V. Meiyappan â (India)
- Starlift, starring Janice Rule and Ruth Roman
- The Steel Helmet, directed by Samuel Fuller
- Storm Warning, starring Ginger Rogers, Ronald Reagan and Doris Day
- The Strange Door, starring Charles Laughton and Boris Karloff
- Strangers on a Train, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Farley Granger and Robert Walker
- A Streetcar Named Desire, directed by Elia Kazan, starring Vivien Leigh (Oscar for best actress), Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter and Karl Malden
- Strictly Dishonorable, starring Ezio Pinza and Janet Leigh
- The Strip, starring Mickey Rooney and Sally Forrest
- Sugarfoot, starring Randolph Scott
- Summer Interlude (Sommarlek), directed by Ingmar Bergman â (Sweden)
- Superman and the Mole Men, starring George Reeves
- Susana (a.k.a. The Devil and the Flesh), directed by Luis Buñuel â (Mexico)
- The Sword of Monte Cristo, starring George Montgomery
T
- Take Care of My Little Girl, directed by Jean Negulesco, starring Jeanne Crain and Mitzi Gaynor
- A Tale of Five Cities (Passaporto per l'oriente) â (Italy/GB)
- The Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari) â (Japan)
- The Tales of Hoffmann, a cinematic opera directed by Powell and Pressburger and starring Moira Shearer â (GB)
- The Tall Target, starring Dick Powell, Adolphe Menjou, Marshall Thompson and Ruby Dee
- Tarana, starring Madhubala and Dilip Kumar â (India)
- Tetsu no tsume, directed by Nobuo Adachi for Daiei Films
- That Happy Couple (Esa pareja feliz), directed by Juan Antonio Bardem and Luis GarcÃÂa Berlanga â (Spain)
- That's My Boy, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
- The Thing from Another World, produced by Howard Hawks, starring Kenneth Tobey and James Arness as the title creature
- Three Guys Named Mike, starring Jane Wyman
- Thunder on the Hill, directed by Douglas Sirk, starring Claudette Colbert and Ann Blyth
- Tom Brown's Schooldays, starring John Howard Davies and Robert Newton â (GB)
- Tomahawk, starring Van Heflin and Yvonne De Carlo
- Two of a Kind, starring Edmond O'Brien and Lizabeth Scott
- Two Tickets to Broadway, starring Janet Leigh, Tony Martin, Gloria DeHaven
V
W
- Warpath, starring Edmond O'Brien, Forrest Tucker, Polly Bergen
- Warsaw Premiere, directed by Jan Rybkowski (Poland)
- The Well, starring Harry Morgan
- Westward the Women, starring Robert Taylor
- When Worlds Collide, starring Richard Derr, Barbara Rush, Larry Keating, John Hoyt and Hayden Rorke
- Where No Vultures Fly, directed by Harry Watt, starring Anthony Steel, Dinah Sheridan, Harold Warrender and Meredith Edwards â (U.K.)
Y
Serials
Short film series
Births
- January 1 - Nana Patekar, Indian actor, screenwriter, and film director
- January 8 â John McTiernan, American director
- January 11 - Sondra Currie, American actress
- January 12 â Kirstie Alley, American actress (died 2022)
- January 15
- Charo, Spanish American actress, singer and comedian
- Basil Wallace, Jamaican-born American actor
- January 19 - Arthur Taxier, American character 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 1 - Tom Butler, Canadian actor
- February 4 - Patrick Bergin, Irish actor and singer
- February 5 - Robin Sachs, English actor (died 2013)
- February 13 â David Naughton, American actor & singer
- February 15
- Paul Kandel, American actor and singer
- Jane Seymour, English actress
- February 16 â William Katt, American actor
- February 20
- Eva Rueber-Staier, Austrian actress, television host and model
- John Voldstad, American actor
- February 22 â Ellen Greene, American singer and actress
- February 24 â Helen Shaver, Canadian actress and film and television director
- March 6 - Virendra Razdan, Indian actor (died 2003)
- March 17 â Kurt Russell, American actor
- April 6 â Rita Raave, Estonian actress
- April 11
- Gerry Becker, American actor (died 2019)
- Jay Benedict, American actor (died 2020)
- Rohini Hattangadi, Indian actress
- April 12 â Tom Noonan, American actor
- April 13
- John Furey, American actor
- Brent Jennings, American actor
- April 17 â Olivia Hussey, Argentine-born English actress (died 2024)
- April 21 â Tony Danza, American actor and boxer
- April 22 - Robin Bartlett, American actress
- May 4 - Gérard Jugnot, French actor, director, screenwriter and producer
- May 5
- Marion Bailey, English actress
- Jeanie Drynan, Australian actress
- May 8 - Cooper Huckabee, American actor
- May 19 - Robert Harper, American actor (died 2020)
- May 29 - Michael O'Neill, American actor
- May 30 â 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
- Ellen Foley, American singer and actress
- Mark Harelik, American actor and playwright
- June 9 â James Newton Howard, American film composer
- June 13 - Stellan SkarsgÃÂ¥rd, Swedish actor
- June 15 - Tim Colceri, American actor and comedian
- 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 â 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 â Vincent Marzello, American-born actor (died 2020)
- July 6
- Allyce Beasley, American actress
- Geoffrey Rush, Australian actor
- July 7 - Roz Ryan, American actress, singer, voice actress and comedian
- July 8 â Anjelica Huston, American actress
- July 9 â Chris Cooper, American actor
- July 10 â Phyllis Smith, American actress
- July 12
- Brian Grazer, American producer
- Cheryl Ladd, American actress
- Jamey Sheridan, American actor
- July 13 - Didi Conn, American actress
- July 15 - Jesse Ventura, American actor and pro wrestler
- July 18 - Margo Martindale, American character actress
- July 19 - Daniel Zacapa, Honduran-American actor
- 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 IureÃÂ, Romanian actor
- August 3 - Jay North, American actor (died 2025)
- August 6 â Catherine Hicks, American actress
- August 7 - Deborah Offner, American actress
- August 8
- Martin Brest, American director, screenwriter and producer
- Mamoru Oshii, Japanese filmmaker, television director and writer
- August 14 â 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 24 - Tony Amendola, American actor
- August 30 â Timothy Bottoms, American actor
- September 1 - Luce Rains, American actor
- September 2
- Michael Gray, American actor
- Mark Harmon, American actor
- September 4 - Judith Ivey, American actress
- September 5 â Michael Keaton, American actor
- September 9 - Tom Wopat, American actor and singer
- September 10 - Harry Groener, German-born American actor
- September 12 â Joe Pantoliano, American actor
- September 13 - Jean Smart, American actress
- September 17 â Cassandra Peterson, American actress
- September 22 â Amanda Mackey, American casting director (died 2022)
- September 25 â Mark Hamill, American actor
- October 3 - Joel Polis, American actor
- October 5 - Karen Allen, American actress and director
- October 9 - Robert Wuhl, American actor, comedian and writer
- October 16
- Daniel Gerroll, English actor
- Morgan Stevens, American actor (died 2022)
- October 19 - Floyd Vivino, American actor (died 2026)
- 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 â Harry Hamlin, American actor
- November 2 - Steven Reuther, American producer (died 2010)
- November 6 - Nigel Havers, English actor and presenter
- November 9 â Lou Ferrigno, American actor
- November 11 - Bill Moseley, American actor and musician
- November 14 - Sandahl Bergman, American former actress
- November 15 â Beverly D'Angelo, American actress
- November 16 - Miguel Sandoval, American actor
- November 17
- Francis Guinan, American actor
- Stephen Root, American actor and voice actor
- Libby Villari, American actress
- November 20 â Rodger Bumpass, American actor & voice actor
- November 23 â Aaron Norris, American director, actor, and stunt performer
- November 27 â Kathryn Bigelow, American director
- November 30 - Ian Roberts, South African actor and singer
- December 1 â Treat Williams, American actor (died 2023)
- December 14 - Celia Weston, American character actress
- December 16
- Bill Johnson, American actor
- David Schofield, English actor
- December 18 - Everett Quinton, American actor and writer (died 2023)
- December 22 - Dan Martin, American actor
- December 26 - Steve Bisley, Australian writer and actor
- December 27 â Charles Band, American film producer and director
Deaths
- January 11 â Charles W. Goddard, American playwright, screenwriter (born 1879), The Exploits of Elaine
- January 18 â Jack Holt, American actor (born 1888), Flight, San Francisco
- March 6 â Ivor Novello, Welsh actor, singer, composer (born 1893), The Lodger, I Lived with You
- March 14 â Val Lewton, Russian-American director (born 1904), Cat People, The Body Snatcher
- March 25 â Oscar Micheaux, American director, author (born 1884), The Girl From Chicago
- April 4 â Al Christie, Canadian-born director, producer (born 1881), Charley's Aunt
- April 22 â Stanley Ridges, British actor (born 1890), To Be or Not to Be, Sergeant York
- May 2 â Edwin L. Marin, American director (born 1899), Fort Worth, Maisie
- May 2 â Paul L. Stein, Austrian director (born 1892), Red Wagon, The Twenty Questions Murder Mystery
- May 7 â Warner Baxter, American actor (born 1882), 42nd Street, Crime Doctor
- May 17 â S. Sylvan Simon, American director (born 1910), The Fuller Brush Man, I Love Trouble
- May 29 â Fanny Brice, American entertainer and actress, My Man, Everybody Sing
- June 2 â Ernst Pittschau, German actor (born 1883), The Picture of Dorian Gray
- June 6 â Olive Tell, American actress (born 1894), The Trap
- June 9 â Mayo Methot, American actress (born 1904), Marked Woman
- July 23 â Robert J. Flaherty, American documentary filmmaker (born 1884), Nanook of the North
- August 16 â Louis Jouvet, French actor (born 1887), Hôtel du Nord
- August 28 â Robert Walker, American actor (born 1918), Strangers on a Train, The Clock
- August 30 â Konstantin Märska, Estonian cinematographer (born 1896)
- August 31 â Paul Demel, Czech actor (born 1903)
- September 7 â Maria Montez, Dominican-born actress (born 1912), Arabian Nights, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
- October 12 â Leon Errol, Australian-born actor (born 1881), Never Give a Sucker an Even Break, Joe Palooka
- October 22 â Phil Rosen, Polish-American director (born 1876), Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat, Roar of the Press
- November 3 â Richard Wallace, American director (born 1894), Tycoon, Framed
Film Debuts
Notes
References
External links