Film Data For 1955

The Film Daily- 10 Best Pictures of 1955
1) Mister Roberts- 281 votes
2) Marty- 270
3) East of Eden- 196
4) Blackboard Jungle- 190
5) Bad Day at Black Rock- 170
6) A Man Called Peter- 166
7) Trial- 134
8) Love Me or Leave Me- 130
9) Summertime- 120
10) Love is a Many-Splendored Thing- 114

The Honor Roll-
11) The Bridges at Toko-Ri- 109
12) To Catch a Thief- 103
13) The Tender Trap- 96
14) Battle Cry- 83
15) Not as a Stranger- 79
16) Rebel Without a Cause- 77
17) The Seven-Year Itch- 76
18) Lady and the Tramp- 66
19) I Am a Camera- 59
      Strategic Air Command- 59
21) Gate of Hell (1953)- 57
22) The Long Gray Line- 51
23) To Hell and Back- 48
      The Private War of Major Benson- 48
25) The Shrike- 47
26) The African Lion- 44

27) Pete Kelly's Blues- 42
28) The Phenix City Story- 41
29) The Seven Little Foys- 39

30) The Big Knife- 28
31) The Desperate Hours- 27
32) Ulysses (1954)- 24
       The Wages of Fear (1952)- 24
34) My Sister Eileen- 22
35) Aida- 17
      Doctor in the House (1954)- 17
      The Kentuckian- 17
      To Paris With Love- 17
39) The Divided Heart (1954)- 16
The Man From Laramie- 16
41) The Game of Love (1954)- 15
42) Guys and Dolls- 14
     The Rose Tattoo- 14
     The Tall Men- 14
     Ugetsu (1953)- 14
46) Daddy Long Legs- 13
                                         

Filmdom’s Famous Fives of 1955 (No vote counts given for the following categories, but I believe The Film Daily lists them in the order of preference):

Best Performances by Male Stars
1) Ernest Borgnine in Marty
2) James Dean in East of Eden
3) Henry Fonda in Mister Roberts
4)James Cagney in Love Me or Leave Me
5) Spencer Tracy in Bad Day at Black Rock

Best Performances by Female Stars
1) Jennifer Jones in Love is a Many-Splendored Thing
2) Katharine Hepburn in Summertime
3) Doris Day in Love Me or Leave Me
4) Julie Harris in I Am a Camera
5) Betsy Blair in Marty

Best Male Supporting Performances
1) Jack Lemmon in Mister Roberts
2) Arthur Kennedy in Trial
3) David Wayne in The Tender Trap
4) James Cagney in Mister Roberts
5) William Powell in Mister Roberts

Best Female Supporting Performances
1) Peggy Lee in Pete Kelly's Blues
2) Jo Van Fleet in East of Eden
3) Celeste Holm in The Tender Trap
4) Katy Jurado in Trial
5) Jessie Royce Landis in To Catch a Thief

Best Performances By Juvenile Actors
1) Tim Hovey in The Private War of Major Benson
2) Rafael Campos in Trial
3) Tim Considine in The Private War of Major Benson
4) Sal Mineo in Rebel Without a Cause
5) Richard Eyer in The Desperate Hours

Best Performances By Juvenile Actresses
1) Natalie Wood in Rebel Without a Cause
2) Lois Smith in East of Eden
3) Linda Bennett in The Seven Little Foys
4) Susan Strasberg in The Cobweb
5) Angela Clarke in The Seven Little Foys

The Year's Outstanding Directors
1) Delbert Mann for Marty
2) Elia Kazan for East of Eden
3) Richard Brooks for The Blackboard Jungle
4) John Sturges for Bad Day at Black Rock
5) John Ford and Mervyn LeRoy for Mister Roberts

Best Screenplays of the Year
1) Paddy Chayefsky for Marty
2) Eleanore Griffin for A Man Called Peter
3) Frank Nugent and Joshua Logan for Mister Roberts
4) Billy Wilder and George Axelrod for The Seven-Year Itch
5) Richard Brooks for The Blackboard Jungle

"Finds of the Year"
1) James Dean in East of Eden
2) Ernest Borgnine in Marty
3) Fess Parker in Davy Crockett
4) Julie Harris in I Am a Camera
5) Dana Wynter in The View From Pompey's Head

Best Photographed Pictures of the Year
1) Kohei Sugiyama for Gate of Hell
2) Jack Hildyard for Summertime
3) William Daniels for Strategic Air Command
4) Robert Burks for To Catch a Thief
5) Leon Shamroy for Love is a Many-Splendored Thing

The National Board of Review (Voting results announced December 20, 1955)

The Top Ten Films (in order of preference)
1) Marty
2) East of Eden
3) Mister Roberts
4) Bad Day at Black Rock
5) Summertime
6) The Rose Tattoo
7) A Man Called Peter
8) Not as a Stranger
9) Picnic
10) The African Lion

Best Director
William Wyler for The Desperate Hours

Best Actor
Ernest Borgnine in Marty

Best Actress
Anna Magnani in The Rose Tattoo

Best Supporting Actor
Charles Bickford in Not as a Stranger

Best Supporting Actress
Marjorie Rambeau in A Man Called Peter and The View from Pompey's Head

Best Foreign Film (in order of preference)
The Prisoner (Italy)
The Great Adventure (Sweden)
The Divided Heart (U.K.)
Les Diaboliques (France)
The End of the Affair (U.K.)

Special Citation
For aerial photography in Strategic Air Command

The New York Film Critics (Winners were announced on December 27, 1955. Awards were presented on January 21, 1956. Sources: Tom O'Neil's Movie Awards, 2001 and Donald Lyons, "The Lights of New York," Film Comment, March-April, 1993).

Best Picture
Marty (12 votes on ballot III)
Runner- up: Mister Roberts (4 votes)

On ballot I, Summertime, The Rose Tattoo, and Oklahoma! each received one vote.

Best Director
David Lean for Summertime (9 votes on ballot VI)
Runner-up:
Otto Preminger for The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell and The Man with the Golden Arm (6 votes)
3rd Place: William Wyler for The Desperate Hours (1 vote)

Others directors who received votes earlier in the polling (no films were listed, so I'm including the major work or works of each director for 1955): John Ford (The Long Gray Line, Mister Roberts), Peter Glenville (The Prisoner), Mervyn LeRoy (Mister Roberts), Delbert Mann (Marty), Daniel Mann (I'll Cry Tomorrow, The Rose Tattoo), Nicholas Ray (Rebel Without a Cause), and John Sturges (Bad Day at Black Rock).

Best Actor
Ernest Borgnine in Marty (9 votes on ballot VI)
Runner-up: Frank Sinatra in The Man with the Golden Arm (4 votes)
3rd Place: Alec Guinness in The Prisoner (3 votes)

Other actors receiving votes on earlier ballots (no films were listed, so I'm including the major work or works of each actor for 1955): James Cagney (Love Me or Leave Me, Mister Roberts), Jose Ferrer (The Shrike), Jack Hawkins (The Prisoner), Rossano Brazzi (Summertime), Richard Todd (A Man Called Peter, The Dam Busters, The Virgin Queen) and Spencer Tracy (Bad Day at Black Rock).

Best Actress
Anna Magnani in The Rose Tattoo (13 votes on ballot I)
Runner-up: Katharine Hepburn in Summertime (2 votes)
3rd Place: Jennifer Jones in Love is a Many-Splendored Thing (1 vote)

Best Foreign Film
Les Diaboliques (France) tied with
Umberto D (1952- Italy) (each film received 8 votes on final ballot VI)

The Golden Globes Awards (presented on February 23, 1956. Source: Tom O'Neil's Movie Awards, 2001).

Best Drama
East of Eden

Best Comedy or Musical
Guys and Dolls

Best Outdoor Drama
Wichita

Best Motion Picture Promoting International Understanding
Love is a Many-Splendored Thing

Best Director
Joshua Logan for Picnic

Best Actor, Drama
Ernest Borgnine in Marty

Best Actress, Drama
Anna Magnani in The Rose Tattoo

Best Actor, Comedy or Musical
Tom Ewell in The Seven Year Itch

Best Actress, Comedy or Musical
Jean Simmons in Guys and Dolls

Best Supporting Actor
Arthur Kennedy in Trial

Best Supporting Actress
Marsia Pavan in The Rose Tattoo

Best Foreign Films
Dangerous Curves (England)
Eyes of Children (Japan)
Ordet (Denmark)
Sons, Mothers and a General (Germany)
Stella (Greece)

World Film Favorites
Marlon Brando
Grace Kelly

Special Posthumous Award for Best Dramatic Actor
James Dean

Most Promising Newcomer- Male
Ray Danton
Russ Tamblyn

Most Promising Newcomer- Female
Victoria Shaw
Anita Ekberg
Dana Wynter

Hollywood Citizenship Award
Esther Williams

Cecil B. DeMille
Jack Warner
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards (Source: "The BAFTA Film Awards" 1989, edited by Bo Smith). (Winners in bold print).

Best Film from Any Source and Best British Film
Bad Day at Black Rock (U.S.)
Carmen Jones (U.S.- 1954)
The Colditz Story (Great Britain)
The Dambusters (G.B.)
East of Eden (U.S.)
The Ladykillers (G.B.)
La Strada (Italy)
Marty (U.S.)
The Night My Number Came Up (G.B.)
The Prisoner (G.B.)
Richard III (G.B.)- won both awards
The Seven Samurai (Japan)
Simba (G.B.)
Summer Madness (Summertime) (Italy/U.S.)

Best British Actor
Alfie Bass in The Bespoke Overcoat
Alec Guinness in The Prisoner
Jack Hawkins in The Prisoner
David Kossoff in A Kid for Two Farthings
Kenneth More in The Deep Blue Sea
Laurence Olivier in Richard III
Michael Redgrave in The Night My Number Came Up

Best British Actress
Katie Johnson in The Ladykillers
Margaret Johnson in Touch and Go
Deborah Kerr in The End of the Affair
Margaret Lockwood in Cast a Dark Shadow

Best Foreign Actor
Ernest Borgnine in Marty
James Dean in East of Eden
Jack Lemmon in Mister Roberts
Toshiro Mifune in The Seven Samurai
Takashi Shimura in The Seven Samurai
Frank Sinatra in Not as a Stranger

Best Foreign Actress
Betsy Blair in Marty
Dorothy Dandridge in Carmen Jones (1954)
Judy Garland in A Star is Born (1954)
Julie Harris in I Am a Camera
Katharine Hepburn in Summer Madness (Summertime)
Grace Kelly in The Country Girl (1954)
Giulietta Masina in La Strada
Marilyn Monroe in The Seven Year Itch

Most Promising Newcomer
Paul Scofield in That Lady
Jo Van Fleet in East of Eden
Best British Screenplay
R.C. Sherriff for The Dambusters
Terence Rattigan for The Deep Blue Sea
Nicholas Phipps and Jack Davies for Doctor at Sea
William Rose for The Ladykillers
R.C. Sherriff for The Night My Number Came Up
Bridget Bolund for The Prisoner
John Baines for Simba
William Rose for Touch and Go

Best Documentary
Gold (Canada)
Miner's World (International)
The Rival World (G.B.)
The Vanishing Prairie (U.S.)

Special Award
The Bespoke Overcoat (U.S.)
Mr. Mensah Builds a House (The Gold Coast)
The Steps of Age (U.S.)

Best Animated Film
Animal Farm (G.B.)
Blinkity Blank (Canada)
Down a Long Way (G.B.)
Fudget's Budget (U.S.)
Lady & the Tramp (U.S.)
Magoo Express (U.S.)

United Nations Award
Bad Day at Black Rock (U.S.)
Children of Hiroshima (Japan)
Escapade (G.B.)
Simba (G.B.)

The Academy Awards (Nominations were announced on February 18, 1956. Awards were presented on March 21, 1956. Sources: Tom O'Neil's Movie Awards, 2001 and Mason Wiley and Damien Bona's Inside Oscar, 1984). (Winners in bold print).

Best Picture
Love is a Many-Splendored Thing, 20th Century-Fox. Produced by Buddy Adler
Marty, Hecht-Lancaster, UA. Produced by Harold Hecht.
Mister Roberts, Orange, Warner Bros. Produced by Leland Hayward.
Picnic, Columbia. Produced by Fred Kohlmar.
The Rose Tattoo, Wallis, Paramount. Produced by Hal Wallis.

Best Director
Elia Kazan for East of Eden (Warner Bros.).
David Lean for Summertime (Lopert-Lean, UA)(Anglo-American).
Joshua Logan for Picnic (Columbia).
Delbert Mann for Marty (Hecht-Lancaster, UA).
John Sturges for Bad Day at Black Rock (MGM).

Best Actor
Ernest Borgnine in Marty (Hecht-Lancaster, UA).
James Cagney in Love Me or Leave Me (MGM).
James Dean in East of Eden (Warner Bros.).
Frank Sinatra in The Man With the Golden Arm (Preminger, UA).
Spencer Tracy in Bad Day at Black Rock (MGM).

Best Actress
Susan Hayward in I'll Cry Tomorrow (MGM).
Katharine Hepburn in Summertime (Lopert-Lean, UA)(Anglo-American).
Jennifer Jones in Love is a Many-Splendored Thing (20th Century-Fox).
Anna Magnani in The Rose Tattoo (Wallis, Paramount).
Eleanor Parker in Interrupted Melody (MGM).

Best Supporting Actor
Arthur Kennedy in Trial (MGM). 
Jack Lemmon in Mister Roberts (Orange, Warner Bros.).
Joe Mantell in Marty (Hecht-Lancaster, UA).
Sal Mineo in Rebel Without a Cause (Warner Bros.).
Arthur O'Connell in Picnic (Columbia).

                                                     

Best Supporting Actress
Betsy Blair in Marty (Hecht-Lancaster, UA).
Peggy Lee in Pete Kelly's Blues (Mark VII, Warner Bros.).
Marisa Pavan in The Rose Tattoo (Wallis, Paramount).
Jo Van Fleet in East of Eden (Warner Bros.).
Natalie Wood in Rebel Without a Cause (Warner Bros.).

Best Motion Picture Story
Love Me or Leave Me, MGM. Daniel Fuchs.
The Private War of Major Benson, U-I. Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher.
Rebel Without a Cause, Warner Bros. Nicholas Ray.
The Sheep Has 5 Legs, U.M.P.O. (French). Jean Marsan, Henry Troyat, Jacques Perret, Henri Verneuil and Raul Ploquin.
Strategic Air Command, Paramount. Beirne Lay, Jr.

Best Screenplay
Bad Day at Black Rock, MGM. Millard Kaufman.
Blackboard Jungle, MGM. Richard Brooks.
East of Eden, Warner Bros. Paul Osborn. 
Love Me or Leave Me, MGM. Daniel Fuchs and Isobel Lennart.
Marty, Hecht-Lancaster. Paddy Chayefsky.

                                      
Best Story and Screenplay
The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell, United States Pictures, Warner Bros. Milton Sperling and Emmet Lavery.
Interrupted Melody, MGM. William Ludwig and Sonya Levien.
It's Always Fair Weather, MGM. Betty Comden and Adolph Green.
Mr. Hulot's Holiday (1953), GBD International Releasing (French). Jacques Tati and Henri Marquet. 
The Seven Little Foys, Hope Enterprises, Inc., and Scribe Prods., Paramount. Melville Shavelson and Jack Rose.

Cinematography (Black-and-White)
Blackboard Jungle, MGM. Russell Harlan.
I'll Cry Tomorrow, MGM. Arthur E. Arling.
Marty, Hecht-Lancaster, UA. Joseph LaShelle.
Queen Bee, Columbia. Charles Lang.
The Rose Tattoo, Paramount. James Wong Howe.

                                           
Best Cinematography (Color)
Guys and Dolls, Goldwyn, MGM. Harry Stradling.
Love is a Many-Splendored Thing, 20th Century-Fox. Leon Shamroy.
A Man Called Peter, 20th Century-Fox. Harold Lipstein.

Oklahoma!, Hornblow, Magna Corp. Robert Surtees.
To Catch a Thief, Hitchcock, Paramount. Robert Burks.

Best Art Direction-Set Direction (Black-and-White)

Blackboard Jungle, MGM. Cedric Gibbons and Randall Duell; Edwin B. Willis and Henry Grace.

I'll Cry Tomorrow, MGM. Cedric Gibbons and Malcolm Brown; Edwin B. Willis and Hugh B. Hunt.

The Man with the Golden Arm, Preminger, UA. Joseph C. Wright; Darrell Silvera. 

Marty, Hecht-Lancaster, UA. Edward S. Haworth and Walter Simonds; Robert Priestley.

The Rose Tattoo, Wallis, Paramount. Hal Pereira and Tambi Larsen; Sam Comer and Arthur Krams. 

Best Art Direction-Set Direction (Color)

Daddy Long Legs, 20th Century-Fox. Lyle Wheeler and John DeCuir; Walter M. Scott and Paul S. Fox.

Guys and Dolls, Goldwyn, MGM. Oliver Smith and Joseph C. Wright; Howard Bristol.

Love is a Many-Splendored Thing, 20th Century-Fox. Lyle Wheeler and George W. Davis; Walter M. Scott and Jack Stubbs.

Picnic, Columbia. William Flannery and Jo Mielziner; Robert Priestley.

To Catch a Thief, Hitchcock, Paramount. Hal Pereira and Joseph McMillan Johnson; Sam Comer and Arthur Krams.

Sound Recording
Love is a Many-Splendored Thing, 20th Century-Fox. Carl W. Faulkner, sound director.
Love Me or Leave Me, MGM. Wesley C. Miller, sound director.
Mister Roberts, Warner Bros. William A. Mueller, sound director.
Not as a Stranger, Kramer UA. RCA Sound Department; Watson Jones, sound director.
Oklahoma!, Hornblow, Magna. Todd-AO Sound Department; Fred Hynes, sound
director.

Best Song
"I'll Never Stop Loving You" (Love Me or Leave Me, MGM); Music by Nicholas Brodszky. Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
"Love is a Many-Splendored Thing" (Love is a Many-Splendored Thing, 20th Century-Fox); Music by Sammy Fain. Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
"Something's Gotta Give" (Daddy Long Legs, 20th Century-Fox). Music and Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
"(Love Is) The Tender Trap" (The Tender Trap, MGM); Music by James Van Heusen. Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
"Unchained Melody" (Unchained, Bartlett, Warner Bros.); Music by Alex North. Lyrics by Hy Zaret

Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture
Battle Cry Max Steiner
Love is a Many-Splendored Thing Alfred Newman
The Man With the Golden Arm Elmer Bernstein
Picnic George Duning
The Rose Tattoo Alex North

                                     
Best Scoring of a Musical Picture
Daddy Long Legs Alfred Newman
Guys and Dolls Jay Blackton and Cyril J. Mockridge
It's Always Fair Weather Andre Previn
Love Me or Leave Me Percy Faith and George Stoll
Oklahoma! Robert Russell Bennett, Jay Blackton and Adolph Deutsch

Best Film Editing
Blackboard Jungle, MGM. Ferris Webster.
The Bridges at Toko-Ri, Perlberg-Seaton, Paramount. Alma Macrorie.
Oklahoma!, Hornblow, Magna Corp. Gene Ruggiero and George Boemler.
Picnic, Columbia. Charles Nelson and William A. Lyon.
The Rose Tattoo, Wallis, Paramount. Warren Low.

                                       
Best Costume Design (Black-and-White)
I'll Cry Tomorrow, MGM. Helen Rose.
The Pickwick Papers, Renown, Kingsley International (British). Beatrice Dawson.
Queen Bee, Columbia. Jean Louis.
The Rose Tattoo, Wallis, Paramount. Edith Head.
Ugetsu (1953), Datei, Edward Harrison Releasing (Japanese). Tadaoto Kainoscho.

Best Costume Design (Color)
Guys and Dolls, Goldwyn, MGM. Irene Sharaff.
Interrupted Melody, MGM. Helen Rose.
Love is a Many-Splendored Thing, 20th Century-Fox. Charles LeMaire.
To Catch a Thief, Hitchcock, Paramount. Edith Head.
The Virgin Queen, 20th Century-Fox. Charles LeMarie and Mary Wills.

Best Special Effects
The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954), Paramount.
The Dam Busters, Associated British Picture Corp., Ltd., Warner Brothers (British).
The Rains of Ranchipur, 20th Century-Fox.

Best Short Subject Cartoon
Good Will to Men, MGM. Fred Quimby, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, producers.
The Legend of Rock-a-Bye Point, Lantz, U-I. Walter Lantz, producer.
No Hunting, Disney, RKO Radio. Walt Disney, producer.
Speedy Gonzales, Warner Bros. Edward Selzer, producer.

Best One-Reel Short Subject
Gadgets Galore, Warner Bros. Robert Youngson, producer.
Survival City, 20th Century-Fox. Edmund Reek, producer.
3rd Ave El, Carson Davidson Prods., Ardee Films. Carson Davidson, producer.
Three Kisses, Paramount. Justin Herman, producer.

Best Two-Reel Short Subject
The Battle of Gettysburg, MGM. Dore Schary, producer.
The Face of Lincoln, University of Southern California, Cavalcade Pictures. Wilbur T. Blume, producer.
On the Twelfth Day . . ., Go Pictures, George Brest & Assocs. George K. Arthur, producer.
Switzerland, Disney, Buena Vista. Walt Disney, producer.
24 Hour Alert, Warner Bros. Cedric Francis, producer.

Best Documentary Short Subject
The Battle of Gettysburg, MGM. Dore Schary, producer.
The Face of Lincoln, University of Southern California, Cavalcade Pictures. Wilbur T. Blume, producer.

Men Against the Arctic, Disney, Buena Vista. Walt Disney, producer.

Best Documentary Feature
Heartbreak Ridge, Rene Risacher Prod., Tudor Pictures (French). Rene Risacher, producer.
Helen Keller in Her Story, Nancy Hamilton Presentation. Nancy Hamilton, producer.

Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award

Not given this year.

                                        
Honorary Award
Samurai, The Legend of Musahi (1954-Japanese)- Best Foreign Language Film first released in the United States during 1955 (statuette)

Scientific or Technical

Class I (Statuette)

National Carbon Co. for the development and production of a high-efficiency yellow flame carbon for motion picture color photography.

Class II (Plaque)

Eastman Kodak Co. for Eastman Tri-X panchromatic negative film.

Farciot Edouart, Hal Corl and the Paramount Studio Transparency Dept. for the engineering and development of a double-frame, triple-head background projector.

Class III (Citation)

20th Century-Fox Studio and Bausch & Lomb Co. for the new combination lenses for CinemaScope photography.

Walter Jolley, Maurice Larson and R.H. Spies of 20th Century-Fox Studio for a spraying process which creates simulated metallic surfaces.

Steve Krilanovich for an improved camera dolly incorporating multi-directional steering.

Dave Anderson of 20th Century-Fox Studio for an improved spotlight capable of maintaining a fixed circle of light at constant intensity over varied distances.

Loren L. Ryder, Charles West, Henry Fracker and Paramount Studio for a projection film index to establish proper framing for various aspect ratios.

Farciot Edouart, Hal Corl and the Paramount Studio Transparency Department for an improved dual stereopticon background projector.

 

Screen Directors Guild of America (Best Director awarded January 29, 1956. Source: Tom O'Neil's Movie Awards, 2001).

Best Director
Delbert Mann for Marty

Quarterly Winners:
John Ford and Mervyn LeRoy for Mister Roberts
Elia Kazan for East of Eden
Joshua Logan for Picnic
John Sturges for Bad Day at Black Rock

Other directors mentioned:
Richard Brooks for Blackboard Jungle
John Ford for The Long Gray Line
Henry Koster for A Man Called Peter
Daniel Mann for The Rose Tattoo
Mark Robson for The Bridges at Toko-Ri
Charles Vidor for Love Me or Leave Me
Billy Wilder for The Seven-Year Itch

Screen Writers Guild of America (Awards were presented on March 8, 1956 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Source: Tom O'Neil's Movie Awards). (Winners in bold print).

Best Written Drama

Bad Day at Black Rock, Millard Kaufman, Don McGuire, from the short story "Bad Times at Hondo" by Howard Breslin

Blackboard Jungle, Richard Brooks, based on the novel by Evan Hunter

East of Eden, Paul Osborn, based on the book by John Steinbeck

Marty, Paddy Chyefsky

Picnic, Daniel Taradash, based on the play by William Inge

Best Written Comedy

Mister Roberts, Frank Nugent, Joshua Logan, adapted from the play by Thomas Heggen, Joshua Logan, based on the novel by Thomas Heggen

Phfft!, George Axelrod

The Seven-Year Itch, Billy Wilder, George Axelrod, based on the play by George Axelrod

The Tender Trap, Julius J. Epstein, based on the play by Max Schulman and Robert Paul Smith

To Catch a Thief, John Michael Hayes, based on the novel by David Dodge

Best Written Musical

Daddy Long Legs, Phoebe Ephron, Henry Ephron, based on the novel by Jean Webster

Guys and Dolls, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, adapted from the play by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, based on a story by Damon Runyon

It's Always Fair Weather, Betty Comden, Adolph Green

Love Me or Leave Me, Daniel Fuchs, Isobel Lennart

Oklahoma!, Sonya Levien, William Ludwig

Laurel Award

Julius and Philip Epstein, Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich

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

Audience Awards:

1) The Rats (Germany)

2) Marcellino (Italy)

3) Carmen Jones (1954- USA)

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

Best Film:

Marty (Delbert Mann, USA)

Best Director:

Jules Dassin, Rififi

Serge Vasiliev, Heroes of Shipka

Best Actor:

Spencer Tracy, Bad Day at Black Rock

Ernest Borgnine, Marty

Best Actress:

Betsy Blair, Marty

Special Prize:

The Lost Continent (Italy)

Best Documentary:

Isle of Fire (Italy)

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

Best Film, Lion of St. Mark:

Ordet (Carl Dreyer, Denmark)

Best Actor:

Kenneth More, The Deep Blue Sea (England), Curt Jurgens, The Devil's General (Germany) and Les Heros sont Fatigues (France)

Best Actress:

Not awarded this year

Silver Prize Winners:

La Cicala (Samsonov, USSR)

The Big Knife (Robert Aldrich, USA)

Le Amiche (Michelangelo Antonioni, Italy)

Ciske de Rat (Wolfgang Staudte, Holland)

Most Promising New Directors:

Alexandre Astruc (France)

Vaclav Kraka (Czechoslovakia)

William Fairchild (England)

Francesco Maselli (Italy)

Andrzej Munk (Poland)

Special Jury Prize for Ensemble Acting:

Executive Suite (with William Holden, June Allyson, Barbara Stanwyck, Fredric March, Walter Pidgeon, Shelley Winters)

The New York Times Ten Best List (in chronological order)
The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954)
Bad Day at Black Rock
A Man Called Peter
Marty
The Great Adventure (1953)
Mister Roberts
The Phoenix City Story
It's Always Fair Weather
Oklahoma!

The Prisoner
Time Magazine's Best List (eight films in chronological order)

Game of Love (1954)
Wages of Fear (1952)
Marty
The Great Adventure (1953)
Summertime
The Desperate Hours
Umberto D. (1952)
The Man With the Golden Arm
  

The Council of Motion Pictures Organizations' 1st Annual Audience Award Poll
Polling took place from November 17th-November 27th, 1955 at 8,000 theaters nationwide. 15,000,000 ballots were cast during the poll. Consider this the People's Choice Awards, circa 1955. Winners were announced on December 6, 1955 at a gala dinner at the Beverly Hills Hotel (source- The Film Daily)

Best Picture
Mister Roberts

Runners-up (all runners-up listed alphabetically, as no vote count was given):
Battle Cry
The Blackboard Jungle
Love is a Many-Splendored Thing
A Man Called Peter

Best Actor
James Dean in East of Eden

Runners-up:
Marlon Brando in Desiree (1954)
Henry Fonda in Mister Roberts
Glenn Ford in The Blackboard Jungle
William Holden in Love is a Many-Splendored Thing

Best Actress
Jennifer Jones in Love is a Many-Splendored Thing

Runners-up:
June Allyson in Strategic Air Command
Doris Day in Love Me or Leave Me
Judy Garland in A Star is Born (1954)
Grace Kelly in The Country Girl (1954)

Most Promising Male Personality
Tab Hunter

Runners-up:
Harry Belafonte
Jack Lemmon
Jack Palance
Fess Parker

Most Promising Female Personality
Peggy Lee

Runners-up:
Joan Collins
Dorothy Malone
Terry Moore
Kim Novak

The Top Box-Office Hits of 1955 (According to Variety Weekly, January 25, 1956. 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 1955, I'm showing that figure after the 1955 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) Cinerama Holiday $10,000,000
2) Mister Roberts $8,500,000
3) Battle Cry $8,000,000
    20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) $8,000,000
5) Not as a Stranger $7,100,000 (note: Oklahoma, which had roadshow engagements starting in 1955, never appeared on one of Variety's yearly lists of Top Box-Office hits. However, starting in 1957 it began appearing on Variety's "All-Time" list of box-office hits, with a first-run rental total of $7,100,000. This total ranks it with Stranger as one of 1955's top hits).
6) The Country Girl (1954) $6,900,000 (final first-run rentals of $6,500,000)

7) Lady and the Tramp $6,500,000
    Strategic Air Command $6,500,000 (final first-run rentals of $6,000,000)
9) To Hell and Back $6,000,000
     The Sea Chase $6,000,000
     A Star is Born (1954) $6,000,000

12) Blackboard Jungle $5,200,000 (final first-run rentals of $5,250,000)
13) East of Eden $5,000,000
      Pete Kelly's Blues $5,000,000
     The Seven-Year Itch $5,000,000 (final first-run rentals of $6,000,000)
16) The Bridges of Toko-Ri $4,700,000 (final first-run rentals of $4,500,000)
17) A Man Called Peter $4,500,000 (final first-run rentals of $5,000,000)
      There's No Business Like Show Business (1954) $4,500,000 (final first-run rentals of $5,000,000)
     To Catch a Thief $4,500,000
     Vera Cruz (1954) $4,500,000 (final first-run rentals of $5,000,000)

21) The Tall Men $4,250,000 (Final first-run rentals of $6,000,000)
22) The Long Grey Line $4,100,000
      Love Me or Leave Me $4,100,000
24) The Seven Little Foys $4,000,000
      Three Ring Circus (1954)$4,000,000
26) Deep in My Heart (1954)$3,500,000 (final first-run rentals of $4,100,000)
      The McConnell Story $3,500,000
28) You're Never Too Young $3,400,000
29) The Man From Laramie $3,300,000
30) The Silver Chalice (1954)$3,200,000
31) Drum Beat (1954)$3,000,000
     The Left Hand of God $3,000,000 (final first-run rentals of $4,000,000)
     Love is a Many-Splendored Thing $3,000,000 (final first-run rentals of $4,000,000)
     My Three Angels $3,000,000
     The Tender Trap $3,000,000
36) The Last Time I Saw Paris $2,750,000
      Soldier of Fortune $2,750,000

38) Land of the Pharaohs $2,700,000
39) The Kentuckian $2,600,000
40) Carmen Jones $2,500,000
      Daddy Long Legs $2,500,000
     The Desperate Hours $2,500,000
     The Far Country $2,500,000
     The Sign of the Pagan $2,500,000
     Untamed $2,500,000
     Young at Heart $2,500,000
47) Wichita $2,400,000
48) The Prodigal $2,250,000
49) Man Without a Star $2,200,000
      The Phenix City Story $2,200,000
     Ulysses $2,200,000
     Underwater $2,200,000
53) Davy Crockett $2,150,000
54) The African Lion $2,100,000
     Hit the Deck $2,100,000
56) It's Always Fair Weather $2,000,000
      Bad Day At Black Rock $2,000,000
     Many Rivers to Cross $2,000,000
     Marty $2,000,000
     Strange Lady in Town $2,000,000
     Summertime $2,000,000
    Track of the Cat $2,000,000
    Trial $2,000,000
64) The Violent Men $1,950,000
65) Fox Fire $1,900,000
     Green Fire $1,900,000
67) Interrupted Melody $1,800,000
      Man With a Gun $1,800,000
      My Sister Eileen $1,800,000
      Six Bridges to Cross $1,800,000
71) Chief Crazy Horse $1,750,000
     The Racers $1,750,000
73) House of Bamboo $1,700,000
      It Came From Beneath the Sea $1,700,000
     This Island Earth $1,700,000
76) How to Be Very, Very Popular $1,650,000
     White Feather $1,650,000


78) The Far Horizons $1,600,000
     Jupiter's Darling $1,600,000
80) Pffft! $1,550,000
81) The Cobweb $1,500,000
      Destry $1,500,000
     Gentlemen Marry Brunettes $1,500,000
     The Kettles at Waikiki $1,500,000
     Run For Cover $1,500,000
     So This is Paris $1,500,000
    The View From Pompey's Head $1,500,000
88) The Glass Slipper $1,400,000
     Tall Man Riding $1,400,000
90) The Black Knight $1,300,000
      Captain Lightfoot $1,300,000
     The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing $1,300,000
     Lucy Gallant $1,300,000
     N.Y. Confidential $1,300,000
     The Purple Plain $1,300,000

96) Americano $1,250,000
     Three For the Show $1,250,000
     Violent Saturday $1,250,000
99) Quentin Durward $1,200,000
100) The Treasure of Pancho Villa $1,150,000
101) Revenge of the Creature $1,100,000
        Tennessee's Partner $1,100,000
103) Ain't Misbehavin' $1,000,000
       Conquest of Space $1,000,000
       The Girl Rush $1,000,000
       Hell's Island $1,000,000
       Smoke Signal $1,000,000

The Top Ten Box-Office Stars of 1955 (According to Quigley Publishing's poll of film exhibitors)
1) James Stewart
2) Grace Kelly
3) John Wayne
4) William Holden
5) Gary Cooper
6) Marlon Brando
7) Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis
8) Humphrey Bogart
9) June Allyson
10) Clark Gable

The Next Fifteen:
11) Marilyn Monroe
12) Glenn Ford
13) Bing Crosby
14) Doris Day
15) Audie Murphy
16) Burt Lancaster
17) Alan Ladd
18) Jane Wyman
19) Susan Hayward
20) Jeff Chandler
21) Jane Russell
22) Randolph Scott
23) Roberth Mitchum
24) Rock Hudson
25) Percy Kilbride & Marjorie Main

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

1) Jack Lemmon

2) Tab Hunter

3) Dorothy Malone

4) Kim Novak

5) Ernest Borgnine

6) James Dean

7) Anne Francis

8) Richard Egan

9) Eva Marie Saint

10) Russ Tamblyn

Britain's Top Ten British Box-Office Stars of 1955 (according to Quigley Publishing's poll of Britain's film exhibitors)
1) Dirk Bogarde
2) John Mills
3) Norman Wisdom
4) Alastair Sim
5) Kenneth More
6) Jack Hawkins
7) Richard Todd
8) Michael Redgrave
9) Diana Dors
10) Alec Guinness

Britain's Top Ten International Box-Office Stars of 1955 (according to Quigley Publishing's poll of Britain's film exhibitors)
1) Dirk Bogarde
2) James Stewart
3) Bing Crosby
4) Doris Day
5) John Mills
6) Norman Wisdom
7) Jeff Chandler
8) Alastair Sim
9) Rock Hudson
10) Humphrey Bogart

Box Office Magazine's All-American Favorites of 1955- 19th annual poll* (Source: Boxoffice, January 28th, 1956)

1) June Allyson
2) Grace Kelly
3) Humphrey Bogart
4) Marlon Brando
5) Jane Wyman
6) William Holden
7) Doris Day
8) James Stewart
9) Gary Cooper
10) Bing Crosby
11) John Wayne
12) Elizabeth Taylor

Male Stars:                  The Runners-up:
1) Humphrey Bogart     13) Jeff Chandler            31) Fred Astaire
2) Marlon Brando         14) Gregory Peck            32) Tony Curtis
3) William Holden        15) Henry Fonda             33) Gene Kelly
4) James Stewart          16) Spencer Tracy           34) Robert Mitchum
5) Gary Cooper             17) Alan Ladd                 35) Richard Widmark
6) Bing Crosby             18) Jose Ferrer                 36) Danny Kaye
7) John Wayne              19) Dean Martin/             37) Dana Andrews
8) Cary Grant                      Jerry Lewis                38) Fredric March
9) Glenn Ford               20) Rock Hudson             39) Robert Taylor
10) James Cagney        21) Kirk Douglas              40) Van Heflin
11) Clark Gable            22) Charlton Heston         41) Lee J. Cobb
12) Frank Sinatra          23) Burt Lancaster            42) Van Johnson
                                      24) Bob Hope                   43) Fred MacMurray
                                      25) Jack Lemmon             44) Laurence Olivier
                                      26) Montgomery Clift       45) Rory Calhoun
                                      27) Stewart Granger         46) Dan Dailey
                                      28) Audie Murphy             47) Joseph Cotton
                                      29) Ernest Borgnine          48) Donald O'Connor
                                      30) James Dean

Female Stars:              The Runners-up:
1) June Allyson             13) Joan Crawford             32) Greer Garson
2) Grace Kelly               14) Jane Russell                33) Kim Novak
3) Jane Wyman              15) Leslie Caron               34) Rosalind Russell
4) Doris Day                  16) Jennifer Jones             35) Thelma Ritter
5) Elizabeth Taylor        17) Katharine Hepburn     36) Claudette Colbert
6) Ava Gardner              18) Jean Simmons             37) Lucille Ball
7) Marilyn Monroe        19) Janet Leigh                  38) Shirley Booth
8) Audrey Hepburn        20) Barbara Stanwyck       39) Lana Turner
9) Susan Hayward         21) Lauren Bacall              40) Donna Reed
10) Esther Williams       22) Bette Davis                  41) Jane Powell
11) Debbie Reynolds     23) Olivia de Havilland     42) Julie Harris
12) Judy Garland           24) Rosemary Clooney      43) Betty Grable
                                       25) Ann Blyth                    44) Ethel Barrymore
                                       26) Cyd Charisse               45) Dorothy McGuire
                                       27) Eleanor Parker             46) Maureen O'Hara
                                       28) Jean Peters                   47) Marjorie Main
                                       29) Deborah Kerr               48) Virginia Mayo
                                       30) Jeannie Crain               49) Shelley Winters
                                       31) Judy Holliday        

How the Exhibitors Voted:

Overall:                         Male Stars:                    Female Stars:
1) June Allyson              1) Humphrey Bogart      1) June Allyson
2) Grace Kelly                2) James Stewart            2) Grace Kelly
3) Jane Wyman              3) Gary Cooper              3) Jane Wyman
4) Doris Day                   4) Clark Gable               4) Doris Day
5) Humphrey Bogart       5) William Holden          5) Susan Hayward
6) James Stewart            6) John Wayne              6) Jane Russell
7) Gary Cooper               7) Marlon Brando          7) Marilyn Monroe
8) Clark Gable                 8) Bing Crosby              8) Ava Gardner
9) William Holden           9) Glenn Ford                9) Debbie Reynolds
10) John Wayne             10) Jeff Chandler          10) Esther Williams
11) Susan Hayward        11) Alan Ladd               11) Elizabeth Taylor
12) Marlon Brando          12) Dean Martin/          12) Audrey Hepburn
                                                Jerry Lewis

The All-American Western Favorites:
1) Randolph Scott
2) Roy Rogers
3) Rod Cameron
4) George Montgomery
5) Gene Autry
6) Dale Evans

* Concerning the above poll, Boxoffice states the following:

"The All-American Screen Favorites Poll is conducted by sending ballots listing eligible stars to the following individuals and groups:
               
       1. Motion picture editors of newspapers and magazines
       2. Theaters- circuits and independents in both large cities and
           small towns.
       3. The working press comprising domestic, foreign and radio
           personalities.
       4. Radio and TV commentators.
       5. National Screen Council members, who each month select the film most suitable for family entertainment to be given the BOXOFFICE Blue Ribbon Award. The Council is composed of motion picture editors, radio film commentators and representatives of better films councils, women's club, civic and educational organizations."

Boxoffice Magazine's Blue Ribbon Award Winners for 1955 (films deemed "most suitable for family entertainment"):

January- There's No Business Like Show Business
February- The Bridges at Toko-Ri
March- The Long Gray Line
April- A Man Called Peter
May- Daddy Long Legs
June- Strategic Air Command
July- The Seven Little Foys
August- Mister Roberts
September- The McConnell Story
October- The African Lion
November- My Sister Eileen
December- Good Morning, Miss Dove
      

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

Ten Worst:

Not As a Stranger

Ulysses (1954)

The Prodigal

Hit the Deck

The Tall Men

The Rains of Ranchipur

Battle Cry

The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954)

The Long Grey Line

Underwater

Worst Actor:

Kirk Douglas, Ulysses (1954); Indian Fighter

Worst Actress:

Debbie Reynolds, Hit the Deck; Susan Slept Here (1954)

Worst Supporting Actor:

Vic Damone, Kismet

Worst Supporting Actress:

Gloria Grahame, Not as a Stranger

First Annual Award for Crude Symbolism:

The fireworks in mounting crescendo as a backdrop for Grace Kelly and Cary Grant in their big scene in To Catch a Thief

Title With Most Interesting Alternatives:

Love Me or Leave Me

Most Pathetic Remnant of a Vanishing Race:

Victor Mature as Chief Crazy Horse in the movie of the same title

Most Mature Nature Movie:

The Seven-Year Itch

Most Unpropitious Return:

To Hell and Back

Greatest Threat to the Church Since Luther:

Johnny Ray becoming a priest in There's No Business Like Show Business (1954)

Most Heartening Decease:

Elizabeth Taylor, with Van Johnson at his bedside, in The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954)

Greatest Gift to the Animal World Since Noah:

Walt Disney

Title With the Most Unattractive Connotations:

You're Never Too Young

Most Cretinous Performance:

Robert Mitchum, Not as a Stranger

Best Reason for Closing the Open Door:

Love is a Many-Splendored Thing

Title With the Most Futile Advice:

Bring You Smile Along

Most Monolithic Sleuth:

Jack Webb, Pete Kelly's Blues

Most Embarrassing Interlude:

Jennifer Jones, om Love is a Many-Splendored Thing, standing disconsolately on the proverbial high and windy hill, waiting for the show to end, to the tune of a stirring chant from an archangel chorus: "When your fingers touched my heart and taught it how to sing"

Bosco: 

(In recognition of the advances recently made in the science of geriatrics)

June Allyson, who with eternally girlish hominess, an aura of fresh-baked deep-dish apple pie loke Mother used to make, and an endless supply of tears, bravely but vainly attempts to resist the onslaught of the advancing years

The Roscoe Award:

Sheree North (This award was followed by a parody of a Sheree North questionnaire, which is too long to be reprinted here)