Film Data For 1951

The Film Daily's 10 Best of 1951

1) A Place in the Sun- 385 votes
2) A Streetcar Named Desire- 362
3) An American in Paris- 341
4) Detective Story- 298
5) Born Yesterday (1950)- 257
6) Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)- 221
7) Death of a Salesman- 188
8) Quo Vadis?- 181
9) Bright Victory- 164
10) The Great Caruso- 159

The Honor Roll

11) The Blue Veil- 156
12) Decision Before Dawn- 150
13) Show Boat- 142
14) The Red Badge of Courage- 135
15) The River- 113
16) David and Bathsheba- 102
17) Harvey (1950)- 93
18) Samson and Delilah (1949)- 92
19) Oliver Twist (1948)- 89
20) People Will Talk- 82
21) Strangers on a Train- 76
22) The Lavender Hill Mob- 72
23) Fourteen Hours- 69
24) The Well- 63
25) Here Comes the Groom- 61
26) The Big Carnival- 57
27) Tales of Hoffman- 52
28) The Brave Bulls- 51
      Go for Broke- 51
30) Kon-Tiki- 50
31) The Day the Earth Stood Still- 46

"Filmdom's Famous Fives" (Selected by the critics of America in a poll conducted by The Film Daily- no vote counts given, but I think the results were listed in the order of preference)

Best Performances By Male Stars
1) Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire
2) Arthur Kennedy in Bright Victory
3) Jose Ferrer in Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)
4) Kirk Douglas in Detective Story
5) Fredric March in Death of a Salesman

Best Performances By Feminine Stars
1) Vivien Leigh in A Streetcar Named Desire
2) Shelley Winters in A Place in the Sun
3) Judy Holliday in Born Yesterday (1950)
4) Jan Wyman in The Blue Veil
5) Eleanor Parker in Detective Story

Best Performances By Supporting Actors
1) Karl Malden in A Streetcar Named Desire
2) Kevin McCarthy in Death of a Salesman
3) Peter Ustinov in Quo Vadis?
4) Leo Genn in Quo Vadis?
5) Eddie Mayehoff in That's My Boy

Best Performances By Supporting Actresses
1) Kim Hunter in A Streetcar Named Desire
2) Lee Grant in Detective Story
3) Thelma Ritter in The Mating Season
4) Josephine Hull in Harvey (1950)
5) Mildred Dunnock in Death of a Salesman

Best Performances By Juvenile Actors
1) John Howard Davies in Oliver Twist
2) Jackie Geneel in Here Comes the Groom
3) Billy Gray in The Day the Earth Stood Still
4) Peter Miles in Quo Vadis?
5) Dean Stockwell in Cattle Drive

Best Performances By Juvenile Actresses
1) Gigi Perreau in Weekend With Father
2) Donna Corcoran in Angels in the Outfield
3) Natalie Wood in The Blue Veil
4) Anna Maria Alberghetti in Here Comes the Groom
5) Beverly Washburn in Here Comes the Groom

The Year's Outstanding Photography
1) Alfred Gilks for An American in Paris
2) Robert Surtees for Quo Vadis?
3) William C. Mellor for A Place in the Sun
4) Claude Renoir for The River
5) Christopher Challis for Tales of Hoffman

The Year's Outstanding Directors
1) George Stevens for A Place in the Sun
2) Elia Kazan for A Streetcar Named Desire
3) William Wyler for Detective Story
4) John Huston for The Red Badge of Courage
5) Mervyn LeRoy for Quo Vadis?

Outstanding "Finds" of the Year
1) Leslie Caron in An American in Paris
2) Mitzi Gaynor in Golden Girl
3) Oskar Werner in Decision Before Dawn
4) Lee Grant in Detective Story
5) Kevin McCarthy in Death of a Salesman

The National Board of Review (Voting results announced on December 17, 1951)

The Top Ten Pictures (in order of preference)
1) A Place in the Sun
2) The Red Badge of Courage
3) An American in Paris
4) Death of a Salesman
5) Detective Story
6) A Streetcar Named Desire
7) Decision Before Dawn
8) Strangers on a Train
9) Quo Vadis?
10) Fourteen Hours

Best Director
Akira Kurosawa for Rashomon

Best Actor
Richard Basehart for Fourteen Hours

Best Actress
Jan Sterling for The Big Carnival

Best Screenplay
T. E. B. Clarke for The Lavender Hill Mob

Best Foreign Films (in order of preference)
Rashomon (Japan)
The River (India)
Miracle in Milan (Italy)
Kon-Tiki (Norway/Sweden)
The Browning Version (U.K.)

The New York Film Critics (Winners announced on December 27, 1951. Awards presented on January 20, 1952. Sources: Tom O'Neil's Movie Awards and Donald Lyons, "The Lights of New York," Film Comment, March-April, 1993)

Best Picture
A Streetcar Named Desire (8 votes on ballot VI)
Runner-up: The River (7 votes).

Best Director
Elia Kazan for A Streetcar Named Desire (9 votes on ballot VI)
Runner-up: George Stevens for A Place in the Sun (6 votes)

1st ballot: Kazan (6 votes), Stevens (4 votes), Jean Renoir for The River (4 votes)

Best Actor
Arthur Kennedy in Bright Victory (10 votes on ballot III)
Runner-up: Marlon Brando for A Streetcar Named Desire (5 votes)

Best Actress
Vivien Leigh in A Streetcar Named Desire (10 votes on ballot V)
Runner-up: Shelley Winters in A Place in the Sun (5 votes)

Best Foreign Film
Miracle in Milan (Italy)

The British Academy Awards (Source: Film Facts, 1980, edited by Cobbett Steinberg).

Best Film:

La Ronde (1950)

Best British Film:

The Sound Barrier

United Nations Award:

Four in a Jeep

Best Documentary:

Beaver Valley (1950)

Best Specialized Film:

Gerald McBoing Boing (1950)

The Golden Globes (Nominations announced on January 31, 1952. Awards presented on February 21, 1952. Source: Tom O'Neil's Movie Awards (Winners in bold print).

Best Drama Picture
Bright Victory
Detective Story
A Place in the Sun
Quo Vadis?
A Streetcar Named Desire

Best Comedy or Musical
An American in Paris

Best Picture Promoting International Understanding
The Day the Earth Stood Still

Best Director
Laslo Benedek for Death of a Salesman
Mervyn Leroy for Quo Vadis?
Vincente Minnelli for An American in Paris
George Stevens for A Place in the Sun

Best Actor, Drama
Kirk Douglas in Detective Story
Arthur Kennedy in Bright Victory
Fredric March in Death of a Salesman

Best Actress, Drama
Vivien Leigh in A Streetcar Named Desire
Shelley Winters in A Place in the Sun
Jane Wyman in The Blue Veil

Best Actor, Comedy or Musical
Bing Crosby in Here Comes the Groom
Danny Kaye in On the Riviera
Gene Kelly in An American in Paris

Best Actress, Musical or Comedy
June Allyson in Too Young to Kiss

Best Supporting Actor

Peter Ustinov in Quo Vadis?

Best Supporting Actress
Lee Grant in Detective Story
Kim Hunter in A Streetcar Named Desire
Thelma Ritter in The Mating Season

Most Promising Newcomer- Male
Kevin McCarthy in Death of a Salesman

Most Promising Newcomer- Female
Pier Angeli in Teresa

Best Cinematography, Black and White
Frank Planer for Death of a Salesman

Best Cinematography, Color
William V. Skall and Robert Surtess for Quo Vadis?

Best Original Score
Victor Young for September Affair (1950)

Best Screenplay
Robert Buckner for Bright Victory

Special Achievement Award
Esther Williams, Henrietta Award for Most Popular Actress

Cecil B. DeMille Award
Cecil B. DeMille

The Academy Awards (Nominations announced February 11, 1952. Awards presented on March 20, 1952. Sources: Tom O'Neil's Movie Awards and Mason Wiley and Damien Bona's Inside Oscar). (Winners in bold).

Best Picture
An American in Paris, MGM. Produced by Arthur Freed.
Decision Before Dawn, 20th Century-Fox. Produced by Anatole Litvak and Frank McCarthy.
A Place in the Sun, Paramount. Produced by George Stevens.
Quo Vadis?, MGM. Produced by Sam Zimbalist.
A Streetcar Named Desire, Feldman, Warner Bros. Produced by Charles K. Feldman.

Best Director
John Huston for The African Queen (Horizon, UA).
Elia Kazan for A Streetcar Named Desire (Feldman, Warner Bros.).
Vincente Minnelli for An American in Paris (MGM).
George Stevens for A Place in the Sun (Paramount).
William Wyler for Detective Story (Paramount).           

Best Actor

Humphrey Bogart in The African Queen (Horizon, UA).
Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire (Feldman, Warner Bros.).
Montgomery Clift in A Place in the Sun (Paramount). 
Arthur Kennedy in Bright Victory (U-I).
Fredric March in Death of a Salesman (Kramer, Columbia).

Best Actress
Katharine Hepburn in The African Queen (Horizon, UA).
Vivien Leigh in A Streetcar Named Desire (Feldman, Warner Bros.).
Eleanor Parker in Detective Story (Paramount). 
Shelley Winters in A Place in the Sun (Paramount). 
Jane Wyman in The Blue Veil (Wald-Krasna, RKO Radio).

Best Supporting Actor
Leo Genn in Quo Vadis? (MGM).
Karl Malden in A Streetcar Named Desire (Feldman, Warner Bros.).
Kevin McCarthy in Death of a Salesman (Kramer, Columbia).
Peter Ustinov in Quo Vadis? (MGM).
Gig Young in Come Fill the Cup (Warner Bros.).

Best Supporting Actress
Joan Blondell in The Blue Veil (Wald-Krasna, RKO Radio).
Mildred Dunnock in Death of a Salesman (Kramer, Columbia).
Kim Hunter in A Streetcar Named Desire (Feldman, Warner Bros.).
Lee Grant in Detective Story (Paramount). 
Thelma Ritter in The Mating Season (Paramount). 

Best Writing (Motion Picture Story)
The Bullfighter and the Lady, Republic. Budd Boetticher and Ray Nazarro.
The Frogmen, Warner Bros. Oscar Millard.

Here Comes the Groom, Paramount. Liam O'Brien and Robert Riskin.
Seven Days to Noon, Boulting Bros., Mayer-Kingsley-Distinguished Films (British). James Bernard and Paul Dehn.
Teresa, MGM. Alfred Hayes and Stewart Stern.

Best Screenplay
The African Queen, Horizon, UA. James Agee and John Huston.
 Detective Story, Paramount. Philip Yordan and Robert Wyler.
Jacques Natanson and Max Ophuls for La Ronde (1950), Commercial Pictures (French). Jacques Natanson and Max Ophuls. 
A Place in the Sun, Paramount. Michael Wilson and Harry Brown.
A Streetcar Named Desire, Feldman, Warner Bros., Tennessee Williams.

Best Story and Screenplay
An American in Paris, MGM. Alan Jay Lerner .
The Big Carnival, Paramount. Billy Wilder, Lesser Samuels, and Walter Newman.
David and Bathsheba, 20th Century-Fox. Philip Dunne.
Go for Broke!, MGM. Robert Pirosh.
The Well, Popkin, UA. Clarence Greene and Russell Rouse.

Best Cinematography (Black and White)
Death of a Salesman, Kramer, Columbia. Frank Planer.
The Frogmen, 20th Century-Fox. Norbert Brodine.
A Place in the Sun, Paramount. William C. Mellor.
Strangers on a Train, Warner Bros. Robert Burks. 

A Streetcar Named Desire, Feldman, Warner Bros. Harry Stradling.

Best Cinematography (Color)
An American in Paris, MGM. Alfred Gilks and John Alton.
David and Bathsheba, 20th Century-Fox. Leon Shamroy.
Quo Vadis?, MGM. Robert Surtees and William V. Skall.
Show Boat, MGM. Charles Rosher.
When Worlds Collide, Paramount. John F. Seitz and W. Howard Greene.

Best Art Direction-Set Direction (Black-and-White)
Fourteen Hours, 20th Century-Fox. Lyle Wheeler and Leland Fuller; Thomas Little and Fred J. Rode. 

House on Telegraph Hill, 20th Century-Fox. Lyle Wheeler and John DeCuir; Thomas Little and Paul S. Fox. 

La Ronde (1950), Commercial Pictures (French). D'Eaubonne.

A Streetcar Named Desire, Feldman, Warner Bros. Richard Day; George James Hopkins.
Too Young to Kiss, MGM. Cedric Gibbons and Paul Groesse; Edwin B. Willis and Jack D. Moore.
                                     
Best Art Direction-Set Direction (Color)
An American in Paris, MGM. Cedric Gibbons and Preston Ames; Edwin B. Willis and Keogh Gleason.
David and Bathsheba, 20th Century-Fox. Lyle Wheeler and George Davis; Thomas Little and Paul S. Fox.

On the Riviera, 20th Century-Fox. Lyle Wheeler and Leland Fuller; Joseph C. Wright, Thomas Little and Walter M. Scott. 

Quo Vadis, MGM. William A. Horning, Cedric Gibbons and Edward Carfagno; Hugh Hunt.

Tales of Hoffman, Powell-Pressburger, Lopert (British). Hein Heckroth.

Best Sound Recording
Bright Victory, U-I. Leslie I. Carey, sound director.

The Great Caruso, MGM. Douglas Shearer, sound director.

I Want You, Goldwyn, RKO Radio. Gordon Sawyer, sound director.

A Streetcar Named Desire, Feldman, Warner Bros. Col. Nathan Levinson, sound director.

Two Tickets to Broadway, RKO Radio. John O. Aalberg, sound director.

Best Song
"In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening" (Here Comes the Groom, Paramount); Music by Hoagy Carmichael. Lyrics by Johnny Mercer.

"A Kiss to Build a Dream On" (The Strip, MGM); Music and Lyrics by Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby and Oscar Hammerstein II.

"Never" (Golden Girl, 20th Century-Fox); Music by Lionel Newman. Lyrics by Eliot Daniel.

"Too Late Now" (Royal Wedding, MGM); Music by Burton Lane. Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner.

"Wonder Why" (Rich, Young and Pretty, MGM); Music by Nicholas Brodszky. Lyrics by Sammy Cahn.

Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture

David and Bathsheba, 20th Century-Fox. Alfred Newman.

Death of a Salesman, Kramer, Columbia. Alex North.

A Place in the Sun, Paramount. Franz Waxman.

Quo Vadis, MGM. Miklos Rozsa. 

A Streetcar Named Desire, Feldman, Warner Bros. Alex North.

                                    
Best Scoring of a Musical Picture

Alice in Wonderland, Disney, RKO Radio. Oliver Wallace.
An American in Paris, MGM. Johnny Green and Saul Chaplin.

The Great Caruso, MGM. Peter Herman Adler and Johnny Green.

On the Riviera, 20th Century-Fox. Alfred Newman.

Show Boat, MGM. Adolph Deutsch and Conrad Salinger.

Best Film Editing
An American in Paris, MGM. Adrienne Fazan.

Decision Before Dawn, 20th Century-Fox. Dorothy Spencer.

A Place in the Sun, Paramount. William Hornbeck.

Quo Vadis, MGM. Ralph E. Winters.

The Well, Popkin, UA. Chester Schaeffer.

Best Costume Design (Black-and-White)

Kind Lady, MGM. Walter Plunkett and Gile Steele. 

The Model and the Marriage Broker, 20th Century-Fox. Charles LeMaire and Renie.

The Mudlark, 20th Century-Fox. Edward Stevenson and Margaret Furse.

A Place in the Sun, Paramount. Edith Head.

A Streetcar Named Desire, Feldman, Warner Bros. Lucinda Ballard.

                 
Best Costume Design (Color)
An American in Paris, MGM. Orry-Kelly, Walter Plunkett and Irene Sharaff.

David and Bathsheba, 20th Century-Fox. Charles LeMaire and Edward Stevenson.

The Great Caruso, MGM. Helen Rose and Gile Steele.

Quo Vadis, MGM. Herschel McCoy.

Tales of Hoffman, Powell-Pressburger, Lopert (British). Hein Heckroth.
           

       

Best Special Effects
When Worlds Collide, Pal, Paramount.

Best Short Subject Cartoon
Lambert, The Sheepish Lion, Disney, RKO Radio (Special). Walt Disney, producer.

Rooty Toot Toot, UPA, Columbia (Jolly Frolics), Stephen Bosustow, executive producer.
Two Mouseketeers, MGM (Tom & Jerry), Fred Quimby, producer.

Best One-Reel Short Subject
Ridin' the Rails, Paramount (Sportslights). Jack Eaton, producer.

The Story of Time, A Signal Films Production by Robert G. Leffingwell, Cornell Film Company (British).

World of Kids, Warner Bros. (Vitaphone Novelties). Robert Youngson, producer.

Best Two-Reel Short Subject
Balzac, Les Films Du Compass, A.F. Films, Inc. (French); Les Films Du Compass, producer.

Danger Under the Sea, U-I. Tom Mead, producer.

Nature's Half Acre, Disney, RKO Radio (True-Life Adventures). Walt Disney, producer.

Best Documentary Short Subject
Benjy, Made by Fred Zinnemann with the cooperation of Paramount Pictures Corp. for the Los Angeles Orthopaedic Hospital. 

One Who Came Back, Owen Crump, producer. (Film sponsored by the Disabled American Veterans, in cooperation with the United State Department of Defense and the Association of Motion Picture Producers.)

The Seeing Eye, Warner Bros. Gordon Hollingshead, producer.

Best Documentary Feature
I Was a Communist for the F.B.I., Warner Bros. Bryan Foy, producer.

Kon-Tiki, Artfilm Prod., RKO Radio (Norwegian). Olle Nordemar, producer.

Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award
Arthur Freed.

Honorary Awards
Gene Kelly in appreciation of his versatility as an actor, singer, director and dancer, and specifically for his brilliant achievements in the art of choreography on film (statuette).

Rashomon (Japanese)- voted by the Board of Governors as the most outstanding foreign language film released in the United States during 1951 (statuette).

Scientific or Technical

Class I (Statuette)

None.

Class II (Plaque)

Gordon Jennings, S.L. Stancliffe and the Paramount Studio Special Photographic and Engineering Departments for the design, construction and application of a servo-operated recording and repeating device.

Olin L. Dupy of MGM Studio for the design, construction and application of a motion picture reproducing system.

Radio Corporation of America, Victor Division, for pioneering direct positive recording with anticipatory noise reduction.

Class III (Citation)

Richard M. Haff, Frank P. Herrnfeld, Garland C. Misener and the Ansco Film Division of General Aniline and Film Corp. for the development of the Ansco color scene tester.

Fred Ponedel, Ralph Ayres and George Brown of Warner Bros. Studio for an air-driven water motor to provide flow, wake and white water for marine sequences in motion pictures.

Glen Robinson and the MGM Studio Construction Department for the development of a new music wire and cable cutter.

Jack Gaylord and the MGM Studio Construction Department for the development of balsa falling snow.

Carlos Rivas of MGM Studios for the development of an automatic magnetic film splicer.

Screen Directors Guild of America (Award for Best Director presented January 27, 1952. Source: Tom O'Neil's Movie Awards)

Best Director
George Stevens for A Place in the Sun

Quarterly Winners for Best Director (only three winners, due to early presentation of Best Director prize)
Alfred Hitchcock for Strangers on a Train
Vincente Minnelli for An American in Paris
George Stevens for A Place in the Sun

Other directors mentioned:

Laslo Benedek for Death of a Salesman
Michael Gordon for Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)
Elia Kazan for A Streetcar Named Desire
Henry King for David and Bathsheba
Mervyn LeRoy for Quo Vadis?
Anatole Litvak for Decision Before Dawn
George Sidney for Show Boat
Richard Thorpe for The Great Caruso
William Wyler for Detective Story

Screen Writers Guild of America (Winners announced February 18, 1951. Awards presented February 25, 1952. Source: Tom O'Neil's Movie Awards). (Winners in bold print).

Best Written Drama
Death of a Salesman, Stanley Roberts, based on a play by Arthur Miller.

Detective Story, Philip Yordan and Robert Wyler, based on the play by Sidney Kingsley.

Fourteen Hours, John Paxton and Joel Sayre.
A Place in the Sun, Michael Wilson and Harry Brown, based on the novel An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser and the play adapted by Patrick Kearney.

A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams, based on the Williams play, as adapted by Oscar Saul.

Best Written Comedy
Father's Little Dividend, Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett.
People Will Talk, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, based on the play Dr. Praetorius by Curt Goetz.

That's My Boy, Cy Howard.
You're in the Navy Now, Richard Murphy, based on a New Yorker Magazine article by John W. Hazard.

Best Written Musical
An American in Paris, Alan Jay Lerner.
The Great Caruso, Sonya Levien and William Ludwig.
Here Comes the Groom, Virginia Van Upp, Liam O'Brien, Myles Connolly, and Robert Riskin.
On the Riviera, Valentine Davies, Phoebe Ephron, and Henry Ephron, based on the play by Rudolph Lothar and Hans Adler, adapted by Jessie Ernst.

Show Boat, John Lee Mahin, adapted from the musical play by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II, based on the novel by Edna Ferber.

Best Screenplay Dealing Most Ably with Problems of the American Scene
Bright Victory, Robert Buckner, based on the novel Lights Out by Baynard Kendrick.

Death of a Salesman, Stanley Roberts, based on a play by Arthur Miller.

A Place in the Sun, Michael Wilson and Harry Brown, based on the novel An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser and the play adapted by Patrick Kearney.

Saturday's Hero, Millard Lampell and Sidney Buchman, based on the novel The Hero by Millard Lampell.

The Well, Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene.

Best Written Low-Budget Film
The First Legion, Emmet Lavery.
Five, Arch Oboler.
Little Big Horn, Charles Marquis Warren and Harold Shumate.
Pick-Up, Hugo Haas and Arnold Phillips, based on the novel by Joseph Kopta.

The Steel Helmet, Samuel Fuller.

Robert Meltzer Award
Robert Buckner for Bright Victory

Berlin Film Festival (Source: Film Facts, 1980, edited by Cobbett Steinberg).

Dramatic Films:

1) Four in a Jeep (Switzerland)

2) The Way of Hope (Italy)

3) The Browning Version (England)

Comedies:

1) Sans Lasser d'Advance (France)

2) Fahrt in Blanc (Sweden)
3) The Mating Season (USA)

Crime and Adventure:

1) Justice is Done (France)

2) Award not given

3) Destination Moon (1950- USA)

Musicals:

1) Cinderella (1950- USA)

2) Tales of Hoffman (Germany)

3) Award not given

Audience Awards:

1) Cinderella (1950- USA)

2) The Browning Version (England)

3) Justice is Done (France)

Cannes Film Festival (Source: Film Facts, 1980, edited by Cobbett Steinberg).

Best Film:

Miracle in Milan (Vittorio De Sica, Italy) and Miss Julie (Alf Sjoberg, Sweden) (tied: awarded ex aequo)

Best Director:

Luis Bunuel, Los Olvidados

Best Actor:

Michael Redgrave, The Browning Version

Best Actress:

Bette Davis, All About Eve (1950)

Special Jury Prize:

All About Eve (1950- Joseph Mankiewicz, USA)

Venice Film Festival (Source: Film Facts, 1980, edited by Cobbett Steinberg).

Best Film, Lion of St. Mark:

Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa, Japan)

Best Direction:

No longer awarded.

Best Actor:

Jean Gabin, La Nuit est Mon Royaume

Best Actress:

Vivien Leigh, A Streetcar Named Desire

Best Scenario:

T.E.B. Clarke, The Lavender Hill Mob

Best Photography:

L.H. Burel, (France)

Best Music:

Hugo Friedhofer, The Big Carnival (USA)

Best Documentary:

Nature's Half Acre (Walt Disney, USA)

Special Jury Prize:

Elia Kazan, A Streetcar Named Desire

International Prizes:

Robert Bresson, Le Journal d'un Cure de Campagne 

Billy Wilder, The Big Carnival

Jean Renoir, The River

Best Italian Film:

La Citta si difende (Pietro Germi)

                         

Time Magazine's "Ten Best" of 1951 (in chronological order) (Source: Film Facts, 1980, edited by Cobbett Steinberg).

Isle of Sinners (1950- France)

Oliver Twist (1948- British)

A Place in the Sun

A Streetcar Named Desire

An American in Paris

The Red Badge of Courage

The Lavender Hill Mob

La Ronde (1950)

Detective Story

Miracle in Milan                            

The New York Times' "Ten Best" of 1951 (in chronological order) (Source: Film Facts, 1980, edited by Cobbett Steinberg).

Fourteen Hours

The Brave Bulls

Oliver Twist (1948- British)

A Place in the Sun

People Will Talk

A Streetcar Named Desire

An American in Paris

Detective Story

Death of a Salesman

Best Foreign Film:

Rashomon (1950- Japan)

The Top Box-Office Hits of 1951 (According to Variety, January 2, 1952. Includes actual and estimated domestic rentals to theaters in U.S. and Canada, not box-office takes, which would be higher. If the final first-run rental take for films gaining $4,000,000 or more in rentals varies from the total originally listed in 1952, I'm showing that figure after the 1952 total. Final first-run rentals data comes from Variety's January 9, 1957 "All-Time Top Film Grosses" list (only films taking $4,000,000 or more in rentals were mentioned on the "All-Time" list; unfortunately, I have no data for films with a final gross under $4,000,000 that may have ended up with a higher take than shown below). Occasionally a film will end up on the "All-Time" list with a lower rental box-office take than when the film originally appeared on the yearly list of top box-office films. This is due to the estimated rentals, which were sometimes revised to a lower amount for the All-Time list).

1) David and Bathsheba $7,000,000 (final first-run rentals of $7,100,000)
2) Show Boat $5,200,000
3) An American in Paris $4,500,000 (final first-run rentals of $4,000,000)
    The Great Caruso $4,500,000
5) A Streetcar Named Desire $4,250,000
6) Born Yesterday (1950) $4,150,000

7) That's My Boy $3,800,000
8) A Place in the Sun $3,500,000
9) At War With the Army $3,350,000
10) Father's Little Dividend $3,100,000
11) Detective Story $2,800,000
      Kim $2,800,000
13) Across the Wide Missouri $2,750,000
      Captain Horatio Hornblower $2,750,000
15) Halls of Montezuma $2,650,000
16) Flying Leathernecks $2,600,000
       Harvey (1950) $2,600,000
       Royal Wedding $2,600,000
19) Here Comes the Groom $2,550,000

20) Go for Broke $2,500,000
       On Moonlight Bay $2,500,000
       On the Riviera $2,500,000
23) Operation Pacific $2,450,000
24) Alice in Wonderland $2,400,000
      The Desert Fox $2,400,000
26) Ma and Pa Kettle on the Farm $2,350,000
27) Francis Goes to the Races $2,300,000
      The Lemon Drop Kid $2,300,000
      Mr. Music $2,300,000
30) Texas Carnival $2,250,000
31) Lullaby of Broadway $2,225,000
32) The Blue Veil $2,200,000
      Branded $2,200,000
      Dallas (1950)$2,200,000
35) Call Me Mister $2,175,000
36) I'd Climb the Highest Mountain $2,150,000
37) The Frogmen $2,100,000
      People Will Talk $2,100,000
39) Elopement $2,000,000
      The Enforcer $2,000,000
      His Kind of Woman $2,000,000
      Meet Me After the Show $2,000,000
      Only the Valiant $2,000,000
      Tomahawk $2,000,000
      Two Tickets to Broadway $2,000,000
46) Rawhide $1,950,000
     The Thing $1,950,000
     Up Front $1,950,000
49) Come Fill the Cup $1,900,000
      Cyrano de Bergerac $1,900,000
      Starlift $1,900,000
52) The Day the Earth Stood Still $1,850,000
      Take Care of My Little Girl $1,850,000
54) Painting the Clouds With Sunshine $1,800,000
      Strangers on a Train $1,800,000
      Ten Tall Men $1,800,000
      Vengeance Valley $1,800,000
      West Point Story $1,800,000
59) Excuse My Dust $1,750,000
      I'll Never Forget You $1,750,000
      Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell $1,750,000
      The Racket $1,750,000
      Rich, Young, and Pretty $1,750,000
      Too Young to Kiss $1,750,000
65) For Heaven's Sake $1,700,000
      Three Guys Named Mike $1,700,000
67) Bird of Paradise $1,650,000

68) The Mating Season $1,625,000
69) Payment on Demand $1,600,000
      The People Against O'Hara $1,600,000
      Sugarfoot $1,600,000
      When Worlds Collide $1,600,000
      You're in the Navy Now $1,600,000
74) Abbott & Costello Meet the Invisible Man $1,550,000
      Anne of the Indies $1,550,000
     Jim Thorpe- All American $1,550,000
     Valentino $1,550,000
     Comin' Round the Mountain $1,550,000
79) Golden Girl $1,500,000
      The Golden Horde $1,500,000
      Half-Angel $1,500,000

82) The Prince Who Was a Thief $1,475,000
83) Appointment With Danger $1,450,000
      Fixed Bayonets $1,450,000
      Fort Worth $1,450,000
      Frenchie $1,450,000
      Rhubarb $1,450,000
88) I Can Get it For You Wholesale $1,425,000
      Never a Dull Moment $1,425,000
      September Affair (1950)$1,425,000
91) Along the Great Divide $1,400,000
      Angels in the Outfield $1,400,000
      Apache Drums $1,400,000
94) The Secret of Convict Lake $1,350,000
95) Ace in the Hole $1,300,000
      Goodbye, My Fancy $1,300,000
       I Was a Communist for the FBI $1,300,000
      Raton Pass $1,300,000
      Sirocco $1,300,000
      The Tanks are Coming $1,300,000
101) Crosswinds $1,250,000
        Hong Kong $1,250,000
        Let's Make it Legal $1,250,000
        The Redhead and the Cowboy $1,250,000
        Storm Warning $1,250,000
        Warpath $1,250,000
        Watch the Birdie $1,250,000
108) The Last Outpost $1,225,000
109) Bedtime for Bonzo $1,200,000
        Force of Arms $1,200,000
        Kansas Raiders $1,200,000

112) Follow the Sun $1,150,000
        My Forbidden Past $1,150,000
        No Highway in the Sky $1,150,000
        Saturday's Hero $1,150,000
116) Grounds for Marriage $1,100,000
        The Light Touch $1,100,000
        Little Eygpt $1,100,000
        Peking Express $1,100,000
120) Sante Fe $1,075,000
121) Fabiola $1,050,000
        The Mob $1,050,000
        Smuggler's Island $1,050,000
        Soldier's Three $1,050,000
125) Passage West $1,025,000
126) Behave Yourself $1,000,000
        He Ran All the Way $1,000,000
        Iron Man $1,000,000
        A Millionaire for Christy $1,000,000
        The Mudlark $1,000,000
        Teresa $1,000,000

The Top Ten Box Office Stars of 1951 (according to Quigley Publishing's poll of film exhibitors found in The Motion Picture Herald)

1) John Wayne
2) Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis
3) Betty Grable
4) Abbott & Costello
5) Bing Crosby
6) Bob Hope
7) Randolph Scott
8) Gary Cooper
9) Doris Day
10) Spencer Tracy

The Next Fifteen:
11) Gregory Peck
12) Esther Williams
13) Mario Lanza
14) Red Skelton
15) Marjorie Main
16) James Stewart
17) Alan Ladd
18) Clark Gable
19) Susan Hayward
20) Jane Powell
21) Clifton Webb
22) Cary Grant
23) Jeanne Crain
24) Van Johnson
25) Burt Lancaster

The Stars of Tomorrow (according to Quigley Publishing's poll of film exhibitors).

1) Howard Keel

2) Thelma Ritter

3) Shelley Winters

4) Frank Lovejoy

5) Debra Paget

6) David Brian

7) Piper Laurie

8) Gene Nelson

9) Dale Robertson

10) Corinne Calvet

The Top Ten Western Stars of 1951 (according to Quigley Publishing's poll of film exhibitors).

1) Roy Rogers

2) Gene Autry

3) Tim Holt

4) Charles Starrett

5) Rex Allen

6) Bill Elliot

7) Smiley Burnette

8) Allan Lane

9) Dale Evans

10) Gabby Hayes

Britain's Top Ten British Box-Office Stars of 1951 (according to Quigley Publishing's poll of Britain's film exhibitors)
1) Alec Guinness
2) Anna Neagle
3) Jean Simmons
4) Michael Wilding
5) Trevor Howard
6) Alastair Sim
7) Robert Newton
8) Jean Kent
9) Michael Redgrave
10) Glynis Johns

Britain's Top Ten International Box-Office Stars of 1951 (according to the Quigley Publishing's poll of Britain's film exhibitors)
1) Bob Hope
2) James Stewart
3) John Wayne
4) Abbott & Costello
5) Alec Guinness
6) Anna Neagle
7) Bette Davis
8) Alan Ladd
9) Betty Hutton
10) Mario Lanza

Harvard Lampoon's Movie Worst Awards (Source: Film Facts, 1980, edited by Cobbett Steinberg).

Ten Worst:

Tales of Hoffman

Valentino

Alice in Wonderland

That's My Boy

Texas Carnival

Take Care of My Little Girl

The Flame of Araby

Here Comes the Groom

David and Bathsheba

I Want You

Worst Performances of the Year:

Robert Taylor, Quo Vadis

Corinne Calvet, On the Riviera

Worst Supporting Performances:

Peter Lawford, Royal Wedding

Ava Gardner, Show Boat

Worst Musical:

Painting the Clouds with Sunshine

Worst Double-bill:

Hard, Fast and Beautiful

Rich, Young and Pretty

Biggest Argument for Stricter Immigration Laws:

Mario Lanza

Finest Example of Idyllic Young Love:

Ava Gardner, Frank Sinatra

Most Unexpected Revival:

The Ape-man of Kawaloa starring Barbara Payton

Most Miscast:

Franchot Tone as a Boston Brahmin in Here Comes the Groom

Most Noteworthy Examples of Physical Fitness:

Franchot Tone kicking Miss Florabella Muir

Humphrey Bogart felling unidentified girl in El Morocco

Great Travesty of the Year:

Alice in Wonderful

Should Have Stayed Home:

Ezio Pinza, principal victim of Mr. Imperium and Strictly Dishonorable

Most Unattractive Connotations:

The Model and the Marriage Broker

Worst Dialogue:

St. Peter interviewing God in Quo Vadis

Worst Comic Duo:

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis