Overview of the events of 1951 in film
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[1]
2
Show Boat
$5,293,000[1]
3
David and Bathsheba
20th Century Fox
$4,720,000[2]
4
The Great Caruso
MGM
$4,309,000[1]
5
A Streetcar Named Desire
Warner Bros.
$4,250,000[3]
6
The African Queen
United Artists
$4,100,000[3]
7
That's My Boy
Paramount
$3,800,000[4]
8
An American in Paris
MGM
$3,750,000[1]
9
A Place in the Sun
Paramount
$3,500,000[4]
10
At War with the Army
$3,300,000[5]
International
The highest-grossing 1951 films in countries outside of North America.
Country
Title
Studio
Gross
Ref
France
Samson and Delilah
Paramount Pictures
7,116,442 admissions
[6]
India
Awaara
R. K. Films
$4,830,000
[n 2]
Italy
Anna
Lux Film
8,965,624 admissions
[9]
Japan
The Tale of Genji
Daiei Kyoto
¥141,050,000
[10]
Soviet Union
In Peaceful Time
Dovzhenko Film Studios
$1,470,000
[n 4]
United Kingdom
The Great Caruso
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
12,400,000 admissions
[14]
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.
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.[22]
They also published a Western stars poll which Roy Rogers topped for the ninth year running.[22]
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 – (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 – (Italy )
Another Man's Poison , directed by Irving Rapper , starring Bette Davis , Gary Merrill , Emlyn Williams and Anthony Steel – (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 – (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 – (India )
The Axe of Wandsbek (Das Beil von Wandsbek ) – (East Germany )
B
Badal (Cloud) , starring Madhubala and Prem Nath – (India )
Baazi (Gamble ), starring Dev Anand – (India)
Bedtime for Bonzo , starring Ronald Reagan (with a chimpanzee)
Bellissima , directed by Luchino Visconti , starring Anna Magnani – (Italy )
Blackmailed , starring Mai Zetterling and Dirk Bogarde – (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 – (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 – (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 – (GB )
The Clouded Yellow , starring Trevor Howard and Jean Simmons – (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 – (Italy )
Cry Danger , starring Dick Powell and Rhonda Fleming
Cry, the Beloved Country , directed by Zoltan Korda , starring Sidney Poitier – (GB )
D
Darling, How Could You! , starring Joan Fontaine
Daughter of Deceit (La hija del engaño ), directed by Luis Buñuel – (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 – (France )
Decision Before Dawn , starring Richard Basehart , Gary Merrill and Oskar Werner
Deedar , starring Ashok Kumar , Dilip Kumar , Nargis – (India )
The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel , 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 – (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 – (U.S.S.R. )
Daar Doer in Die Bosveld (Far Away in the Bushveld ), starring Jamie Uys – (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 – (Italy )
Fort Worth , starring Randolph Scott
Four in a Jeep (Die Vier im Jeep), starring Ralph Meeker and Viveca Lindfors – (Switzerland )
Fourteen Hours , starring Paul Douglas , Richard Basehart , Jeffrey Hunter and Grace Kelly
The Frogmen , starring Richard Widmark and Dana Andrews
Furrows (Surcos ) – (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 – (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) – (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 – (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 – (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 – (GB )
Leva på 'Hoppet' , starring Ingrid Thulin – (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 – (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 – (GB)
The Man with a Cloak , starring Joseph Cotten
The Magnificent Yankee , starring Louis Calhern
Malliswari , starring N.T. Rama Rao – (India )
The Man in the White Suit , directed by Alexander Mackendrick , starring Alec Guinness , Joan Greenwood , Cecil Parker , Michael Gough and Ernest Thesiger – (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 – (Italy)
Miracle in Milan (Miracolo a Milano ), directed by Vittorio De Sica – (Italy )
Miss Julie (Fröken Julie ), directed by Alf Sjöberg – (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 – (GB)
Paris Vice Squad (Identité judiciaire ) – (France )
Payment on Demand , starring Bette Davis and Barry Sullivan
Penny Points to Paradise , starring Harry Secombe , Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan – (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 – (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 – (Japan )
El revoltoso (The Rebellious) – (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 – (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 – (France )
Santa Fe , starring Randolph Scott
Saturday's Hero , starring John Derek and Donna Reed
Scrooge (A Christmas Carol ), starring Alastair Sim – (GB )
The Secret of Convict Lake , starring Glenn Ford and Gene Tierney
Selamat Berdjuang, Masku! , starring Raden Sukarno and Marlia Hardi – (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 – (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 – (Sweden )
Superman and the Mole Men , starring George Reeves
Susana (a.k.a. The Devil and the Flesh ), directed by Luis Buñuel – (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 ) – (Italy /GB )
The Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari ) – (Japan )
The Tales of Hoffmann , a cinematic opera directed by Powell and Pressburger and starring Moira Shearer – (GB )
The Tall Target , starring Dick Powell , Adolphe Menjou , Marshall Thompson and Ruby Dee
Tarana , starring Madhubala and Dilip Kumar – (India )
Tetsu no tsume , directed by Nobuo Adachi for Daiei Films[23]
That Happy Couple (Esa pareja feliz ), directed by Juan Antonio Bardem and Luis García Berlanga – (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 – (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 – (U.K. )
Y