1959 IN FILM

The year '1959 in film' involved some significant events.

Contents

Events

Top grossing films

Awards

Films released in 1959

Short Film Series

Births

Deaths

Events

★ The Three Stooges make their 180th and last short film, ''Sappy Bullfighters''.

★ September 18 - The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx marries his second wife, Barbara Blakely.

★ November 18 - William Wyler's film ''Ben-Hur'' premieres at Loew's Theater in New York City.

★ Sammy Davis, Jr. and May Britt start dating.

Top grossing films

:North America
# ''Ben-Hur''
# ''Auntie Mame''
# ''The Shaggy Dog''
# ''Some Like It Hot'', starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon
# ''Pillow Talk''
# ''Imitation of Life''
# ''The Nun's Story''
# tie ''Anatomy of a Murder'' and ''North by Northwest'', by Alfred Hitchcock
# ''Sleeping Beauty''
# ''Rio Bravo''

Awards

'Academy Awards:'
:Best Picture: '''Ben-Hur''' - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
:Best Director: 'William Wyler' - ''Ben-Hur''
:Best Actor: 'Charlton Heston' - ''Ben-Hur''
:Best Actress: 'Simone Signoret' - ''Room at the Top''
:Best Supporting Actor: 'Hugh Griffith' - ''Ben-Hur''
:Best Supporting Actress: 'Shelley Winters' - ''The Diary of Anne Frank''
:Best Foreign Language Film: '''Black Orpheus''' (''Orfeu Negro''), directed by Marcel Camus, Brazil / France / Italy
'Golden Globe Awards:'
:'Drama:'
:Best Picture: '''Ben-Hur'''
:Best Actor: 'Anthony Franciosa' - ''Career''
:Best Actress: 'Elizabeth Taylor' - ''Suddenly, Last Summer''
:'Musical or comedy:'
:Best Picture (tie): '''Some Like It Hot'''
:Best Picture (tie): '''Porgy and Bess'''
:Best Actor: 'Jack Lemmon' - ''Some Like It Hot''
:Best Actress: 'Marilyn Monroe' - ''Some Like It Hot''
:'Other'
:Best Director: 'William Wyler' - ''Ben-Hur''
'Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):'
:'''Black Orpheus''' (''Orfeu Negro''), directed by Marcel Camus, France
'Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival):'
:'''Il Generale della Rovere''' (''General della Rovere''), directed by Roberto Rosselini, Italy / France
:'''La grande guerra''' (''The Great War''), directed by Mario Monicelli, Italy / France
'Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):'
:'''Les cousins''' (''The Cousins''), directed by Claude Chabrol, France

Films released in 1959

★ ''The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock''

★ ''The 39 Steps''

★ ''4D Man''

★ ''The 400 Blows''

★ ''Anatomy of a Murder''

★ ''The Angry Red Planet''

★ ''Apur Sansar'' (''The World of Apu'')

★ ''The Atomic Submarine''

★ ''Ballad of a Soldier'' (''Ballada o soldate'')

★ ''Ben-Hur''

★ ''Beyond This Place'' (also known as ''Web of Evidence'')

★ ''Black Orpheus'' Palm d'Or winner

★ ''Career''

★ ''Carry On Teacher''

★ ''La Casa del Terror''

★ ''Les Cousins''

★ ''A Date with Death''

★ ''The Diary of Anne Frank''

★ ''Donald in Mathmagic Land'' (short subject)

★ ''Don't Give Up The Ship''

★ ''Fires on the Plain''

★ ''The Giant Behemoth''

★ ''Il Generale della Rovere''

★ '' Gidget''

★ ''La grande guerra'' (''The Great War'')

★ ''Hercules and the Queen of Lydia'' (also known as ''Ercole e la regina di Lidia'' and ''Hercules Unchained'')

★ ''Hiroshima Mon Amour''

★ ''The Horse Soldiers''

★ ''Imitation of Life''

★ ''The Jazz Singer'' (performance)

★ ''Journey to the Center of the Earth''

★ ''John Paul Jones''

★ ''Kapò''

★ ''Killer Shrews''

★ ''The Miracle''

★ ''Mise Éire''

★ ''North by Northwest''

★ ''The Nun's Story''

★ ''On the Beach''

★ ''Pillow Talk''

★ ''Porgy and Bess''

★ ''Rio Bravo''

★ ''Room at the Top''

★ ''Sampo'' (''The Day the Earth Froze'')

★ ''Sapphire''

★ ''The Shaggy Dog''

★ ''Sleeping Beauty'' (Walt Disney animation)

★ ''Some Like It Hot''

★ ''Suddenly, Last Summer''

★ ''Terror is a Man''

★ ''The World, the Flesh and the Devil''

Short Film Series

★ ''Looney Tunes'' (1930-1969)

★ ''Terrytoons'' (1930-1964)

★ ''Merrie Melodies'' (1931-1969)

★ ''Bugs Bunny'' (1940-1962)

★ ''Yosemite Sam'' (1945-1963)

★ ''Speedy Gonzales'' (1953-1968)

Births

★ January 22 - Linda Blair, actress

★ March 18 - Irene Cara, actress, singer

★ April 15 - Emma Thompson, British actor

★ July 29 - Sanjay Dutt, Indian actor

★ October 21 - Ken Watanabe, Japanese actor

★ November 14 - Paul McGann, British actor

★ December 31 - Val Kilmer, American actor

Deaths

★ February 1 - Madame Sul-Te-Wan, actress

★ February 4 - Una O'Connor, actress

★ March 3 - Lou Costello, comedian and actor, half of Abbott and Costello comedy team

★ February 5 - Gwili Andre, actress

★ June 16 - George Reeves, actor

★ June 18 - Ethel Barrymore, actress

★ October 14 - Errol Flynn, actor

★ October 23 - Gerda Lundequist, actress

★ November 20 – Sylvia Lopez, European actress

★ November 25 - Gérard Philipe, French actor