1948 in film
The year 1948 in film involved some significant events.
Top-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1948 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:Rank | Title | Studio | Box-office gross rental |
1 | The Red Shoes | The Rank Organisation/Eagle-Lion Films | $5,000,000 |
2 | Red River | United Artists | $4,506,825 |
3 | The Paleface | Paramount Pictures | $4,500,000 |
4 | Johnny Belinda | Warner Bros. | $4,266,000 |
5 | Easter Parade | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | $4,144,000 |
6 | The Three Musketeers | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | $4,124,000 |
7 | The Snake Pit Joan of Arc | 20th Century Fox RKO Radio Pictures | $4,100,000 |
8 | The Emperor Waltz | Paramount Pictures | $4,000,000 |
9 | Homecoming | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | $3,699,000 |
10 | Sitting Pretty | 20th Century Fox | $3,600,000 |
Events
- May 3 – The Supreme Court of the United States decide in United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. holding that the practice of block booking and ownership of theater chains by film studios constituted anti-competitive and monopolistic trade practices.
- Laurence Olivier's Hamlet becomes the first British film to win the American Academy Award for Best Picture.
Awards
Top ten money making stars
Notable films released in 1948
unless stated#
- 3 Godfathers, starring John Wayne
A
- Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
- Act of Violence, starring Van Heflin, Robert Ryan, Janet Leigh
- Adventures of Don Juan, starring Errol Flynn
- Albuquerque, starring Randolph Scott and Barbara Britton
- The Amazing Mr. X, starring Turhan Bey and Lynn Bari
- L'Amore, directed by Roberto Rossellini, starring Anna Magnani –
- Anna Karenina, starring Vivien Leigh and Ralph Richardson –
- Another Part of the Forest, starring Fredric March
- April Showers, starring Ann Sothern and Jack Carson
- Arch of Triumph, starring Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, Charles Laughton, Ruth Warrick
B
- B.F.'s Daughter, starring Barbara Stanwyck
- Berlin Express, starring Merle Oberon and Robert Ryan
- The Berliner, starring Gert Fröbe –
- Bicycle Thieves, directed by Vittorio De Sica –
- The Big Clock, starring Ray Milland, Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester, Maureen O'Sullivan
- Blanche Fury, starring Valerie Hobson and Stewart Granger –
- Blonde Ice, starring Leslie Brooks
- Blood on the Moon, starring Robert Mitchum
- Bodyguard, starring Lawrence Tierney and Priscilla Lane
- The Boy with Green Hair, directed by Joseph Losey, starring Dean Stockwell and Robert Ryan
- The Bride Goes Wild, directed by Norman Taurog, starring June Allyson and Van Johnson
C
- Call Northside 777, starring James Stewart
- La calle sin sol –
- Campus Honeymoon, starring Lee and Lyn Wilde
- Canon City, starring Scott Brady
- Command Decision, starring Clark Gable
- Counterblast, directed by Paul L. Stein, starring Mervyn Johns –
- Cry of the City, starring Victor Mature and Richard Conte
D
- The Dark Past, starring William Holden, Lee J. Cobb, Nina Foch
- A Date with Judy, starring Wallace Beery, Jane Powell, Elizabeth Taylor and Carmen Miranda
- Dédée d'Anvers, starring Simone Signoret –
- Drunken Angel, directed by Akira Kurosawa, starring Takashi Shimura and Toshiro Mifune –
E
- The Eagle with Two Heads, directed by Jean Cocteau –
- Easter Parade, starring Judy Garland and Fred Astaire
- The Emperor Waltz, starring Bing Crosby
- Escape, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, starring Rex Harrison –
- Eva –
- Every Girl Should Be Married, starring Cary Grant
F
- The Fallen Idol, written by Graham Greene and directed by Carol Reed, starring Ralph Richardson –
- Fighter Squadron, directed by Raoul Walsh, starring Edmond O'Brien and Robert Stack
- Force of Evil, starring John Garfield
- A Foreign Affair, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Jean Arthur and Marlene Dietrich
- Fort Apache, directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Shirley Temple
- Four Faces West, starring Joel McCrea and Frances Dee
G
- Germany Year Zero, directed by Roberto Rossellini –
- God Reward You, starring Arturo de Córdova –
- Good Sam, directed by Leo McCarey, starring Gary Cooper
- Good-Time Girl, starring Jean Kent and Dennis Price –
- Green Grass of Wyoming, starring Peggy Cummins and Charles Coburn
- The Green Promise, starring Marguerite Chapman and Walter Brennan
- The Guinea Pig, a Boulting Brothers film starring Richard Attenborough –
H
- Half Past Midnight, starring Kent Taylor and Peggy Knudsen
- Hamlet, directed by and starring Laurence Olivier, with Basil Sydney and Jean Simmons –
- He Walked by Night, starring Richard Basehart and Jack Webb
- A Hen in the Wind, directed by Yasujirō Ozu –
- Hollow Triumph, starring Paul Henreid and Joan Bennett
- Homecoming, starring Clark Gable, Lana Turner, Anne Baxter, John Hodiak
I
- I Remember Mama, directed by George Stevens, starring Irene Dunne
- I Walk Alone, starring Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas
- The Iron Curtain, directed by William Wellman, starring Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, June Havoc
- Isn't It Romantic?, starring Veronica Lake
J
- Joan of Arc, starring Ingrid Bergman
- Johnny Belinda, starring Jane Wyman and Lew Ayres
- June Bride, starring Bette Davis
K
- Key Largo, directed by John Huston, starring Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Lauren Bacall, Lionel Barrymore, Claire Trevor
- Kiss the Blood off My Hands, starring Joan Fontaine and Burt Lancaster
- The Kissing Bandit, starring Kathryn Grayson and Frank Sinatra
L
- Ladies of the Chorus, starring Marilyn Monroe
- The Lame Devil, directed by and starring Sacha Guitry –
- Letter from an Unknown Woman, directed by Max Ophüls, starring Joan Fontaine and Louis Jourdan
- London Belongs to Me, starring Richard Attenborough and Alastair Sim –
- Louisiana Story, documentary by Robert J. Flaherty
- The Loves of Carmen, starring Rita Hayworth
- The Luck of the Irish, starring Tyrone Power and Anne Baxter
- Luxury Liner, starring Jane Powell and George Brent
M
- Macbeth, directed by and starring Orson Welles
- The Mating of Millie, starring Evelyn Keyes and Glenn Ford
- Mela, starring Dilip Kumar –
- Melody Time, starring Roy Rogers & Trigger and The Andrews Sisters
- Mexican Hayride, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
- Michurin, directed by Alexander Dovzhenko –
- Miranda, directed by Ken Annakin, starring Glynis Johns –
- Miss Tatlock's Millions, starring Wanda Hendrix, Barry Fitzgerald, John Lund
- The Monkey's Paw, starring Milton Rosmer –
- Moonrise, directed by Frank Borzage, starring Gail Russell and Dane Clark
- Morituri –
- Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, starring Cary Grant and Myrna Loy
- My Dear Secretary, starring Kirk Douglas, Laraine Day
- Myriad of Lights –
- The Mysterious Apartment –
N
- The Naked City, directed by Jules Dassin, starring Barry Fitzgerald
- Night Has a Thousand Eyes, starring Edward G. Robinson
- No Orchids for Miss Blandish –
- No Room at the Inn, starring Freda Jackson and Hermione Baddeley –
- Noose, starring Carole Landis
- The Noose Hangs High, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
- Nosotros los Pobres'', starring Pedro Infante –
O
- One Sunday Afternoon, starring Dennis Morgan
- One Touch of Venus, starring Robert Walker and Ava Gardner
- Oliver Twist, directed by David Lean, starring Alec Guinness and Robert Newton –
- On Our Own Land –
P
- The Paleface, starring Bob Hope and Jane Russell
- Les Parents terribles, directed by Jean Cocteau, starring Jean Marais –
- The Pirate, starring Gene Kelly and Judy Garland
- Pitfall, starring Dick Powell, Lizabeth Scott, Jane Wyatt, Raymond Burr
- Port of Call, directed by Ingmar Bergman –
- Portrait of Jennie, starring Jennifer Jones
Q
- Quartet, starring Mai Zetterling –
R
- Race Street, starring George Raft and William Bendix
- Rachel and the Stranger, starring Loretta Young, William Holden, Robert Mitchum
- Raw Deal, directed by Anthony Mann, starring Dennis O'Keefe, Claire Trevor, Marsha Hunt, Raymond Burr
- Red River, directed by Howard Hawks, starring John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, Walter Brennan, Joanne Dru, John Ireland
- The Red Shoes, directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, starring Moira Shearer and Anton Walbrook –
- Relentless, starring Robert Young
- The Return of October, starring Glenn Ford
- Road House, starring Ida Lupino
- Rogues' Regiment, directed by Robert Florey and starring Dick Powell, Märta Torén, Vincent Price
- Romance on the High Seas, starring Jack Carson, Janis Paige, Doris Day
- Rope, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring James Stewart
- Ruthless, starring Zachary Scott and Diana Lynn
S
- Saigon, the final of 4 films starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake
- The Sainted Sisters, starring Veronica Lake and Joan Caulfield
- Saraband for Dead Lovers, starring Stewart Granger and Joan Greenwood –
- Scott of the Antarctic, starring John Mills –
- Sealed Verdict, starring Ray Milland
- The Search, directed by Fred Zinnemann, starring Montgomery Clift –
- Secret Beyond the Door, directed by Fritz Lang, starring Joan Bennett and Michael Redgrave
- Senza pietà –
- Shaheed, starring Dilip Kumar –
- Silver River, starring Errol Flynn and Ann Sheridan
- Sitting Pretty, starring Robert Young and Maureen O'Hara
- Sleep, My Love, starring Claudette Colbert
- Sleeping Car to Trieste, starring Jean Kent –
- Smart Girls Don't Talk, starring Virginia Mayo
- The Snake Pit, starring Olivia de Havilland
- So Evil My Love, starring Ray Milland, Ann Todd, Geraldine Fitzgerald –
- A Song Is Born, starring Danny Kaye
- Sorry, Wrong Number, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Burt Lancaster
- Spring in a Small Town, directed by Fei Mu –
- Spring in Park Lane, starring Anna Neagle and Michael Wilding –
- State of the Union, starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn
- Station West, starring Dick Powell and Jane Greer
- The Street with No Name, starring Richard Widmark
T
- Tap Roots, starring Van Heflin and Susan Hayward
- La Terra Trema, directed by Luchino Visconti –
- They Live by Night, directed by Nicholas Ray, starring Farley Granger and Cathy O'Donnell
- The Three Muskteers, starring Lana Turner and Gene Kelly
- The Time of Your Life, starring James Cagney
- Tragic Hunt –
- The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, directed by John Huston, starring Humphrey Bogart and Walter Huston
- Treasured Earth –
- Los tres huastecos, starring Pedro Infante –
U
- Under the Sun of Rome, directed by Renato Castellani –
- Unfaithfully Yours, starring Linda Darnell and Rex Harrison
- Up in Central Park, directed by William A. Seiter, starring Deanna Durbin and Vincent Price
- Ustedes los ricos, starring Pedro Infante –
V
- Vidya, starring Dev Anand –
W
- – documentary
- Western Heritage, starring Tim Holt
- When My Baby Smiles at Me, starring Betty Grable and Dan Dailey
- When You Come Home
- Whiplash, starring Alexis Smith and Dane Clark
- Whispering Smith, starring Alan Ladd and Robert Preston
- The Winslow Boy, directed by Anthony Asquith, starring Robert Donat and Margaret Leighton –
Y
- Yellow Sky, starring Gregory Peck, Anne Baxter, Richard Widmark
- You Gotta Stay Happy, starring Joan Fontaine and James Stewart
- The Young Guard –
Serials
- G-Men Never Forget, starring Clayton Moore
- Dangers of the Canadian Mounted
- Adventures of Frank and Jesse James, starring Clayton Moore
- Superman, starring Kirk Alyn and Noel Neill
- Tex Granger
- Congo Bill
Short film series
- 1928 – 1952 – Mickey Mouse
- 1930 – 1964 – Terrytoons
- 1933 –- 1957 – Popeye
- 1934 –- 1959 – The Three Stooges
- 1936 –- 1956 – Donald Duck
- 1939 – 1953 – Goofy
- 1940 –- 1958 – Tom and Jerry
- 1940 – 1964 – Bugs Bunny
- 1941 – 1950 – The Fox and the Crow
- 1941 – 1949 – Woody Woodpecker
- 1942 – 1955 – Mighty Mouse
- 1943 – 1956 – Chip and Dale
- 1943 – 1958 – Droopy
- 1945 – 1964 – Yosemite Sam
- 1946—1948 – George and Junior
- 1947 – 1949 – Blackie the Sheep
Births
- January 10 – William Sanderson, American actor
- January 14 – Carl Weathers, American actor and football player
- January 16 – John Carpenter, American director, producer and screenwriter
- January 29 – Marc Singer, Canadian actor
- February 5
- *Barbara Hershey, American actress
- *Tom Wilkinson, English actor
- February 20 – Jennifer O'Neill, American actress
- February 22 – John Ashton, American actor
- February 28
- *Mike Figgis, English director and screenwriter
- *Bernadette Peters, American actress and singer
- *Mercedes Ruehl, American actress
- March 11 – Dominique Sanda, French actress
- March 14 – Billy Crystal, American actor and comedian
- March 20 – Helene Vannari, Estonian actress
- March 25 – Bonnie Bedelia, American actress
- March 28
- *Matthew Corbert, English television personality, writer, puppeteer and comedian
- *Dianne Wiest, American actress
- March 29 – Bud Cort, American actor
- April 9 – Jaya Bachchan, Indian actress
- May 3 – Chris Mulkey, American actor
- May 12 – Lindsay Crouse, American actress
- May 21 – Jonathan Hyde, Australian-born English actor
- June 28 – Kathy Bates, American actress
- July 12 – Ben Burtt, American sound designer
- July 13 – Catherine Breillat, French director
- July 30 – Jean Reno, French actor
- August 30 – Lewis Black, American actor and comedian
- September 7 – Susan Blakely, American actress
- September 19 – Jeremy Irons, English actor
- October 2 – Persis Khambatta, Indian actress and model
- October 16 – Hema Malini, Indian actress and politician
- October 17 – Margot Kidder, Canadian actress
- October 29 – Kate Jackson, American actress
- November 11 – Vincent Schiavelli, American actor
- November 13 – Adelle Lutz, American model, actress, and costume designer
- November 14 – Robert Ginty, American actor and producer
- November 28 – Agnieszka Holland, Polish director and screenwriter
- December 6 – JoBeth Williams, American actress and director
- December 15 – Dee Wallace, American actress
- December 21 – Samuel L. Jackson, American actor and producer
- December 27 – Gérard Depardieu, French actor and filmmaker
Deaths
- February 11 – Sergei Eisenstein, 50, Russian film director, Battleship Potemkin, Alexander Nevsky, Ivan the Terrible, Part One, Ivan the Terrible, Part Two
- February 14 – James Baskett, 44, American actor, Song of the South
- May 3 – Gideon Wahlberg, 58, Swedish actor, writer and film director
- May 12 – Dante Cappelli, 82, Italian actor, Macbeth, Love Everlasting, The Mysterious Mirror
- May 26 – Torsten Bergström, 51, Swedish actor and director, The Pilgrimage to Kevlaar, Trollebokungen, Ungdom
- July 5 – Carole Landis, 29, American actress, Topper Returns, I Wake Up Screaming, One Million B.C., Four Jills in a Jeep
- July 15 – William Selig, 84, American pioneer studio builder
- July 23 – David Wark Griffith, 73, American film director, The Birth of a Nation, Intolerance, Broken Blossoms, Orphans of the Storm
- August 13 – Elaine Hammerstein, 51, American actress, Paint and Powder, The Midnight Express
- August 13 – Edwin Maxwell, 62, American actor, Duck Soup, Cleopatra, His Girl Friday
- September 24 – Warren William, 53, American actor, Gold Diggers of 1933, The Wolf Man, Lady for a Day, Imitation of Life
- September 28 – Gregg Toland, 44, American cinematographer, Citizen Kane, The Best Years of Our Lives, The Long Voyage Home, , Wuthering Heights, The Grapes of Wrath, Song of the South, The Little Foxes
- October 10 – Mary Eaton, 47, American actress, Glorifying the American Girl, The Cocoanuts
- October 13 – Samuel S. Hinds, 73, American actor, It's a Wonderful Life, Buck Privates
- October 16 – Nora Lane, 43, American actress, The Cisco Kid, Six-Gun Trail
- December 20 – C. Aubrey Smith, 85, English actor, A Bill of Divorcement, Madame Curie
Film debuts
- Beau Bridges – No Minor Vices
- Pat Buttram – The Strawberry Roan
- Montgomery Clift – The Search
- Doris Day – Romance on the High Seas
- José Ferrer – Joan of Arc
- Laurence Harvey – House of Darkness
- Audrey Hepburn – Dutch in Seven Lessons
- Rock Hudson – Fighter Squadron
- Howard Keel – The Small Voice
- Klaus Kinski – Morituri
- Christopher Lee – Corridor of Mirrors
- Margaret Leighton – Bonnie Prince Charlie
- Audie Murphy – Texas, Brooklyn and Heaven
- Irene Papas – Fallen Angels
- Debbie Reynolds – June Bride