1973 in film

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The year 1973 in film involved some significant events.

Events

• The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces his second wife, Barbara Blakely. Blakely would later marry actor/singer Frank Sinatra.
• Martial arts legend Bruce Lee dies before Enter the Dragon was released.
• The Exorcist reawakens the horror film genre and becomes one of the most popular and controversial films ever released.

Top grossing films (U.S.)

Rank	Title	Studio	Actors	Gross
1.	The Exorcist	Warner Bros.	Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Jason Miller, and Linda Blair	$89,000,000
2.	The Sting	Universal	Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Robert Shaw	$78,212,000
3.	American Graffiti	Universal	Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat and Harrison Ford	$55,128,000
4.	Enter the Dragon	Warner Bros.	Bruce Lee	$25,000,000
5.	Papillon	Allied Artists	Steve McQueen, Dustin Hoffman	$22,500,000
6.	The Way We Were	Columbia	Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford	$22,457,000
7.	Magnum Force	Warner Bros.	Clint Eastwood, Hal Holbrook	$20,100,000
8.	Robin Hood*	Walt Disney	Roger Miller, Phil Harris, Andy Devine	$18,000,000
9.	Last Tango in Paris	United Artists	Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider	$16,711,000
10.	Paper Moon	Paramount	Ryan O'Neal, Madeleine Kahn, Tatum O'Neal	$16,559,000
11.	Live and Let Die	United Artists	Roger Moore, Jane Seymour	$15,925,000

(*) After theatrical re-issue(s)

Awards

Academy Awards:

Best Picture: The Sting - Bill/Phillips-Hill, Zanuck/Brown, Universal

Best Director : George Roy Hill - The Sting

Best Actor: Jack Lemmon - Save the Tiger

Best Actress: Glenda Jackson - A Touch of Class

Best Supporting Actor : John Houseman - The Paper Chase

Best Supporting Actress : Tatum O'Neal - Paper Moon

Best Foreign Language Film: Day for Night (La Nuit américaine), directed by François Truffaut, France

Golden Globe Awards:

Drama:

Best Picture: The Exorcist

Best Actor: Al Pacino - Serpico

Best Actress: Marsha Mason - Cinderella Liberty

Musical or comedy:

Best Picture: American Graffiti

Best Actor: George Segal - A Touch of Class

Best Actress: Glenda Jackson - A Touch of Class

Other

Best Director: William Friedkin - The Exorcist

Best Foreign Language Film: The Pedestrian (Der Fußgänger), W. Germany

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):

The Hireling, directed by Alan Bridges, United Kingdom

Scarecrow, directed by Jerry Schatzberg, United States

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):

Ashani Sanket (Distant Thunder), directed by Satyajit Ray, India

Films released in 1973

U.S. unless stated

A

• The Adventures of Rabbi Jacob (Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob) - (France)
• The Alpha Caper, starring Henry Fonda
• Alvin Purple - (Australia)
• Amarcord, directed by Federico Fellini - (Italy)
• American Graffiti, directed by George Lucas, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Cindy Williams, Paul Le Mat
• Ashani Sanket (Distant Thunder), directed by Satyajit Ray - Golden Bear winner - (India)

B

• Badlands, directed by Terrence Malick, starring Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek
• Bang the Drum Slowly, starring Robert De Niro and Michael Moriarty
• Battle for the Planet of the Apes, starring Roddy McDowall, Claude Akins, John Huston
• Battles Without Honour and Humanity (ingi naki tatakai) - (Japan)
• Baxter! - (U.K.)
• Black Holiday (La Villeggiatura), starring Adolfo Celi - (Italy)
• Blood Brothers, directed by Chang Cheh - (Hong Kong)
• Blood in the Streets aka Revolver - (Italy/France/West Germany)
• Blood of the Dragon - (Hong Kong)
• Blume in Love, starring George Segal and Susan Anspach
• The Boy Who Cried Werewolf
• Breezy, directed by Clint Eastwood, starring William Holden and Kay Lenz
• A Brief Vacation (Una breve vacanza), directed by Vittorio de Sica - (Italy)
• Brother of the Wind

C

• Cahill U.S. Marshal, starring John Wayne
• The Candy Snatchers
• Carry On Girls - (U.K.)
• Charley and the Angel, starring Fred MacMurray, Cloris Leachman, Kurt Russell
• Charley Varrick, directed by Don Siegel, starring Walter Matthau, John Vernon, Joe Don Baker, Andy Robinson, Felicia Farr
• Charlotte's Web, an animated film directed by Charles A. Nichols and Iwao Takamoto, with the voices of Debbie Reynolds and Henry Gibson
• Cinderella Liberty, directed by Mark Rydell, starring James Caan and Marsha Mason
• Cleopatra Jones, starring Tamara Dobson and Shelley Winters
• Coffy, starring Pam Grier
• Cops and Robbers, starring Joseph Bologna and Cliff Gorman
• The Crazies, directed by George A. Romero
• The Creeping Flesh, starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing - (U.K.)

D

• Day for Night, directed by François Truffaut, starring Jacqueline Bisset, Valentina Cortese, Jean-Pierre Aumont - Academy Award and Bafta winner - (France)
• The Day of the Jackal, directed by Fred Zinnemann, starring Edward Fox, Michael Lonsdale, Delphine Seyrig - (U.K./France)
• The Devil in Miss Jones
• Dillinger, starring Warren Oates, Harry Dean Stanton, Richard Dreyfuss, Geoffrey Lewis
• A Doll's House, starring Claire Bloom and Anthony Hopkins - (U.K.)
• Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, starring Kim Darby and Jim Hutton
• Don't Look Now, directed by Nicolas Roeg, starring Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland - (U.K./Italy)

E

• Electra Glide in Blue, starring Robert Blake
• Emperor of the North Pole, directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Keith Carradine
• England Made Me, starring Peter Finch and Michael York - (U.K.)
• Enter the Dragon, starring Bruce Lee - (Hong Kong/U.S.)
• Executive Action, starring Burt Lancaster and Robert Ryan
• The Exorcist, directed by William Friedkin, starring Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Max von Sydow -- winner of 5 Golden Globes and 2 Oscars

F

• Fantastic Planet (La Planète Sauvage) - (France/Czechoslovakia)
• Fist of Fury (U.S. release), starring Bruce Lee - (Hong Kong)
• Five on the Black Hand Side
• The Friends of Eddie Coyle, starring Robert Mitchum, Richard Jordan, Peter Boyle
• From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

G

• Godspell
• Godzilla vs. Megalon - (Japan)
• Golden Apples of the Sun - (Canada)

H

• The Hare Census - (Bulgaria)
• Heavy Traffic, an animated film by Ralph Bakshi
• High Plains Drifter, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood with Verna Bloom, Marianna Hill, Geoffrey Lewis
• The Hireling, directed by Alan Bridges, starring Robert Shaw and Sarah Miles - Palme d'Or winner - (U.K.)
• Hitler: The Last Ten Days, starring Alec Guinness - (U.K./Italy)
• The Holy Mountain (La Montaña Sagrada), directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky - (Mexico/U.S.)
• The Homecoming, directed by Peter Hall, starring Cyril Cusack, Ian Holm, Vivien Merchant - U.K.)
• Hot Winds (गर्म हवा), directed by M.S. Sathyu - (India)
• The Hour-Glass Sanatorium (Sanatorium pod klepsydrą), directed by Wojciech Has - (Poland)

I

• The Iceman Cometh, directed by John Frankenheimer, starring Lee Marvin, Fredric March, Robert Ryan
• Idaho Transfer, directed by Peter Fonda
• L' Invitation (aka The Invitation), directed by Claude Goretta - Academy Award for Best Foreign Film - (France/Switzerland)
• Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future (Ivan Vasilyevich menyayet professiyu) - (U.S.S.R.)

J

• Jesus Christ Superstar, directed by Norman Jewison, starring Ted Neeley and Yvonne Elliman, music and songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber
• Jeremy
• Jonathan Livingston Seagull

K

• Kanashimi no Belladonna, Anime feature film - (Japan)

L

• Lady Ice, starring Donald Sutherland and Jennifer O'Neill
• The Last American Hero, starring Jeff Bridges
• The Last Detail, directed by Hal Ashby, starring Jack Nicholson, Randy Quaid, Otis Young
• The Last of Sheila, written by Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins, starring Raquel Welch, Dyan Cannon, James Mason, James Coburn
• The Laughing Policeman, starring Walter Matthau and Bruce Dern
• Little Tiger of Canton, starring Jackie Chan - (Hong Kong)
• Live and Let Die, starring Roger Moore as James Bond with Jane Seymour and Yaphet Kotto - (U.K.)
• Lolly-Madonna XXX
• The Long Goodbye, directed by Robert Altman, starring Elliott Gould, Nina Van Pallandt, Sterling Hayden, Jim Bouton
• Lost Horizon, starring Peter Finch, John Gielgud, Liv Ullman, George Kennedy, Olivia Hussey
• Love and Anarchy (d'amore e d'anarchia), directed by Lina Wertmuller - (Italy)
• Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing, directed by Alan J. Pakula

M

• The Mackintosh Man, starring Paul Newman - (U.K./U.S.)
• Magnum Force, directed by Ted Post, starring Clint Eastwood, Hal Holbrook, David Soul
• Malizia - (Italy)
• Le Magnifique', directed by Philippe de Broca, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jacqueline Bisset - (France)
• Massacre in Rome (Rappresaglia), directed by George Pan Cosmatos, starring Richard Burton and Marcello Mastroianni - (Italy)
• Mean Streets, directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro
• The Mother and the Whore (La Maman et la Putain) - (France)
• My Name is Nobody (Il mio nome è Nessuno) - (Italy)

N

• Night Watch, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Laurence Harvey - (U.K.)

O

• O Lucky Man!, directed by Lindsay Anderson, starring Malcolm McDowell, Ralph Richardson, Rachel Roberts - (U.K.)

P

• The Paper Chase, starring Timothy Bottoms
• Paper Moon, directed by Peter Bogdanovich, starring Ryan O'Neal, Tatum O'Neal, Madeline Kahn
• Paperback Hero - (Canada)
• Papillon, directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman
• Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, directed by Sam Peckinpah, starring James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson with music from Bob Dylan
• The Pedestrian (Der Fußgänger), directed by Maximilian Schell, starring Peggy Ashcroft - winner of Golden Globe for best foreign film - (West Germany/Switzerland/Israel)

R

• El Retorno de Walpurgis = (Spain/Mexico)
• Robin Hood (Walt Disney) with the voices of Roger Miller, Phil Harris, Andy Devine, Peter Ustinov, Terry-Thomas

S

• Save the Tiger, directed by John G. Avildsen, starring Jack Lemmon
• Scarecrow, directed by Jerry Schatzberg, starring Gene Hackman and Al Pacino - Palme d'Or winner
• Scenes from a Marriage, directed by Ingmar Bergman, starring Liv Ullman and Erland Josephson - (Sweden)
• Scream Blacula Scream
• Serpico, directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Al Pacino
• The Seven Madmen (Los siete locos), directed by Leopoldo Torre Nilsson - (Argentina)
• The Seven-Ups, starring Roy Scheider
• Sisters, directed by Brian De Palma
• Slaughter's Big Rip-Off, starring Jim Brown, Brock Peters, Ed McMahon
• Sleeper, directed by and starring Woody Allen with Diane Keaton
• Slither, starring James Caan, Sally Kellerman, Peter Boyle
• Soul Hustler, directed by Bert Topper, starring Fabian, Nai Bonet, Tony Russel, Casey Kasem
• Soylent Green, directed by Richard Fleischer, starring Charlton Heston, Leigh Taylor-Young, Edward G. Robinson
• The Spirit of the Beehive (El espíritu de la colmena) - (Spain)
• Steelyard Blues, starring Donald Sutherland and Jane Fonda
• Steptoe and Son Ride Again, starred Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett - (U.K.)
• The Sting, directed by George Roy Hill, starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Robert Shaw - winner of 7 Academy Awards
• The Stone Killer, starring Charles Bronson
• Sweet Kill

T

• The Tenderness of Wolves (Die Zärtlichkeit der Wölfe) - (West Germany)
• That´ll Be the Day, starring David Essex, Rosemary Leach and Ringo Starr - (U.K.)
• The Three-Day Reign - (South Korea)
• The Three Musketeers, directed by Richard Lester, starring Michael York and Oliver Reed - (U.K./U.S.)
• The Train Robbers, starring John Wayne and Ann-Margret
• A Touch of Class, starring George Segal and Glenda Jackson - (U.K.)
• Tom Sawyer
• Touki Bouki (Journey of the Hyena) - (Senegal)
• Tsugaru Folk Song - (Japan)
• Turkish Delight (Turks Fruit), directed by Paul Verhoeven, starring Rutger Hauer - (Holland)
• Two Men in Town (Deux hommes dans la ville), starring Jean Gabin and Alain Delon - (France)

W

• Walking Tall
• The Way We Were, directed by Sydney Pollack, starring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford
• The Werewolf of Washington
• Westworld, directed by Michael Crichton, starring Yul Brynner, Richard Benjamin and James Brolin
• The Wicker Man, directed by Robin Hardy, starring Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee and Diane Cilento - (U.K.)
• The World's Greatest Athlete

Births

• February 12 - Tara Strong, voice actor
• March 20 - Jane March, actress and model
• April 14 - Adrien Brody, actor
• April 30 - Antonino Isordia, Mexican director
• May 5 - Tina Yothers, actress
• June 15 - Neil Patrick Harris, actor
• June 21 - Juliette Lewis, actress
• July 26 - Kate Beckinsale, actress
• August 24 - Dave Chappelle actor
• September 12 - Paul Walker, actor and producer
• September 26 - Julienne Davis, actress and model
• October 3 - Neve Campbell, actress
• November 26 - Peter Facinelli, actor
• November 27 - Sharlto Copley, actor

Deaths

• January 26 - Edward G Robinson, actor
• February 15 - Tim Holt, actor
• February 22 - Katina Paxinou, actress
• March 10 - Robert Siodmak, director
• March 26 - Noel Coward, prolific English actor, playwright and composer of popular music
• April 26 - Irene Ryan, actress
• May 11 - Lex Barker, actor
• June 23 - Fay Holden, actress
• July 2 - Betty Grable, actress
• July 6 - Joe E. Brown, actor
• July 7 - Veronica Lake, actress
• July 11 - Robert Ryan, actor
• July 12 - Lon Chaney Jr, actor
• July 18 - Jack Hawkins, actor
• July 20 - Bruce Lee, actor
• August 10 Douglas Kennedy, actor
• August 22 - Louise Huff, actress
• September 13 - Betty Field, actress
• September 21 - Diana Sands, actress
• September 26 - Anna Magnani, actress
• October 16 - Gene Krupa, musician, actor
• October 25 - Cleo Moore, actress
• November 23 - Sessue Hayakawa, actor
• November 23 - Claire Dodd, actress
• November 23 - Constance Talmadge, actress
• November 25 - Laurence Harvey, actor
• December 26 - William Haines, actor

Debuts

• John Candy
• Gérard Depardieu
• Nick Nolte
• Bernadette Peters
• Victor Garber