1959 in film

The year 1959 in film involved some significant events.

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 (U.S.)

(*) After theatrical re-issue(s)
source: http://www.boxofficereport.com/database/1959.shtml

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")
*"The Big Fisherman"
*"Black Orpheus" Palme 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"
*"The FBI Story"
*"Fires on the Plain"
*"The Five Pennies"
*"The Giant Behemoth"
*"Il Generale della Rovere"
*" Gidget"
*"La grande guerra" ("The Great War")
*"The Hanging Tree"
*"Happy Anniversary"
*"Hercules and the Queen of Lydia" (also known as "Ercole e la regina di Lidia" and "Hercules Unchained")
*"Hiroshima Mon Amour"
*"A Hole in the Head"
*"The Horse Soldiers"
*"The Hound of the Baskervilles"
*"House on Haunted Hill", starring Vincent Price
*"Imitation of Life"
*"The Jazz Singer" (performance)
*"Journey to the Center of the Earth"
*"John Paul Jones"
*"Kapò"
*"Killer Shrews"
*"The Last Angry Man"
*"Last Train from Gun Hill"
*"Magic Boy"
*"The Miracle"
*"Mise Éire"
*"The Mummy"
*"North by Northwest"
*"The Nun's Story"
*"Operation Petticoat"
*"On the Beach"
*"Pillow Talk"
*"Plan 9 from Outer Space"
*"Porgy and Bess"
*"Pork Chop Hill"
*"Rio Bravo"
*"Room at the Top"
*"Sampo" ("The Day the Earth Froze")
*"Sapphire"
*"The Shaggy Dog"
*"Sleeping Beauty" (Walt Disney animation)
*"Solomon and Sheba"
*"Some Like It Hot"
*"It Started with a Kiss"
*"Suddenly, Last Summer"
*"Terror is a Man"
*"Wild Strawberries" (U.S. release)
*"The World, the Flesh and the Devil"
*"The Young Philadelphians"

hort 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)
*"The Three Stooges" (1934-1959)

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