Forbidden Planet is a 1956 American science fiction film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, produced by Nicholas Nayfack, and directed by Fred M. Wilcox from a script by Cyril Hume that was based on an original film story by Allen Adler and Irving Block. It stars Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, and Leslie Nielsen. Shot in Eastmancolor and CinemaScope, this landmark film is considered one of the great science fiction films of the 1950s, a precursor of contemporary science fiction cinema. The characters and isolated setting have been compared to those in William Shakespeare's The Tempest, and the plot contains certain happenings analogous to the play, leading many to consider it a loose adaptation.
The Searchers is a 1956 American epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas–Indian wars, and stars John Wayne as a middle-aged Civil War veteran who spends years looking for his abducted niece, accompanied by his adopted nephew. It was shot in VistaVision on Eastmancolor negative with processing and prints by Technicolor.
The Ten Commandments is a 1956 American epic religious drama film produced, directed, and narrated by Cecil B. DeMille, shot in VistaVision, and released by Paramount Pictures. The film is based on the 1949 novel Prince of Egypt by Dorothy Clarke Wilson, the 1859 novel Pillar of Fire by J. H. Ingraham, the 1937 novel On Eagle's Wings by A. E. Southon, and the Book of Exodus, found in the Bible. The Ten Commandments dramatizes the biblical story of the life of Moses, an adopted Egyptian prince who becomes the deliverer of his real brethren, the enslaved Hebrews, and thereafter leads the Exodus to Mount Sinai, where he receives, from God, the Ten Commandments. The film stars Charlton Heston in the lead role, Yul Brynner as Rameses, Anne Baxter as Nefretiri, Edward G. Robinson as Dathan, Yvonne De Carlo as Zipporah, Debra Paget as Lilia, and John Derek as Joshua; and features Sir Cedric Hardwicke as Seti I, Nina Foch as Bithiah, Martha Scott as Yochabel, Judith Anderson as Memnet, and Vincent Price as Baka, among others.
Giant is a 1956 American epic Western drama film directed by George Stevens, from a screenplay adapted by Fred Guiol and Ivan Moffat from Edna Ferber's 1952 novel.
Lust for Life is a 1956 American biographical film about the life of the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, based on the 1934 novel of the same title by Irving Stone which was adapted for the screen by Norman Corwin.
Shemp Howard was an American comedian and actor. He is best known as the third Stooge in The Three Stooges, a role he played when the act began in the early 1920s (1923–1932), while it was still associated with Ted Healy and known as "Ted Healy and his Stooges"; and again from 1946 until his death in 1955. During the fourteen years between his times with the Stooges, he had a successful solo career as a film comedian, including a series of shorts by himself and with partners. He reluctantly returned to the Stooges as a favor to his brother Moe and friend Larry Fine to replace his brother Curly as the third Stooge after Curly's illness.
Thomas Lee Kirk was an American actor, best known for his performances in films made by Walt Disney Studios such as Old Yeller, The Shaggy Dog, Swiss Family Robinson, The Absent-Minded Professor, and The Misadventures of Merlin Jones, as well as the beach party films of the mid-1960s. He frequently appeared as a love interest for Annette Funicello or as part of a family with Kevin Corcoran as his younger brother and Fred MacMurray as his father.
Jacques Tourneur was a French-American filmmaker, active during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known as an auteur of stylish and atmospheric genre films, many of them for RKO Pictures, including the horror films Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie, and The Leopard Man, and the classic film noir Out of the Past. He is also known for directing Night of the Demon, which was released by Columbia Pictures.
Around the World in 80 Days is a 1956 American epic adventure-comedy film starring David Niven, Cantinflas, Robert Newton and Shirley MacLaine, produced by the Michael Todd Company and released by United Artists.
Moby Dick is a 1956 American color adventure film directed and produced by John Huston, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ray Bradbury. A film adaptation of Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby-Dick, the film stars Gregory Peck, Richard Basehart and Leo Genn and follows the exploits of Captain Ahab in pursuing and killing a gigantic sperm whale with whom he has a personal vendetta.
The Man Who Knew Too Much is a 1956 American mystery thriller film directed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, starring James Stewart and Doris Day. It is Hitchcock's second film using this title, following his own 1934 film of the same name but featuring a significantly altered plot and script.
The King and I is a 1956 American musical film made by 20th Century-Fox, directed by Walter Lang and produced by Charles Brackett and Darryl F. Zanuck. The screenplay by Ernest Lehman is based on the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, which is itself based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon. That novel in turn was based on memoirs written by Anna Leonowens, who became school teacher to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the early 1860s. Leonowens' stories were autobiographical, although various elements of them have been called into question. The film stars Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner.
The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's David, a symbolic statue of the Italian Renaissance, are film awards given out each year by the Accademia del Cinema Italiano. There are 26 award categories, as of 2023. The industry-voted awards are considered the Italian equivalent of the American Academy Awards.
The Werewolf is a 1956 American horror science fiction film directed by Fred F. Sears and starring Don Megowan and Joyce Holden.
The Mystery of Picasso is a 1956 French documentary film directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot. In it, the painter Pablo Picasso produces 20 drawings and paintings, at first using inks that bleed through the paper on which he is drawing, with the act of creation filmed in real-time from the backside of the easel, and later using oil paints, with Clouzot employing a stop-motion-like effect to depict the development and modification of the works. The film begins with Picasso creating simple marker drawings in black and white, and he gradually progresses to full-scale collages and oil paintings.
The Sun Also Rises is a 1957 American drama film adaptation of the 1926 Ernest Hemingway novel of the same name directed by Henry King. The screenplay was written by Peter Viertel and it starred Tyrone Power, Ava Gardner, Mel Ferrer, and Errol Flynn. Much of it was filmed on location in France and Spain as well as Mexico in Cinemascope and color by Deluxe. A highlight of the film is the famous "running of the bulls" in Pamplona, Spain and two bullfights.
Warwick Films was a film company founded by film producers Irving Allen and Albert R. Broccoli in London in 1951. The name was taken from the Warwick Hotel in New York City where Broccoli and his wife were staying at the time of the final negotiations for the company's creation. Their films were released by Columbia Pictures.
Anything Goes is a 1956 American musical film directed by Robert Lewis, and starring Bing Crosby, Donald O'Connor, Zizi Jeanmaire, and Mitzi Gaynor. Adapted from the 1934 stage musical Anything Goes by Cole Porter, Guy Bolton, and P. G. Wodehouse, the film is about two entertainers scheduled to appear in a Broadway show who travel to Europe, where each discovers the perfect leading lady for the female role. Bing Crosby's character, Bill Benson, goes to England and meets Mitzi Gaynor's character Patsy Blair, and he signs her as the female lead. Meanwhile, Donald O'Connor's character, Ted Adams, travels to France and meets Jeanmaire's character, Gaby Duval, and he signs her to the same role. On the return voyage, with each man having brought his leading lady along, the Atlantic becomes a stormy crossing when each man must tell his discovery that she might not get the role.
On October 8, 1956, in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series, pitcher Don Larsen of the New York Yankees threw a perfect game against the Brooklyn Dodgers at Yankee Stadium. It was the only no-hitter in World Series history until the Houston Astros pitching staff of Cristian Javier, Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero and Ryan Pressly threw a combined no-hitter in the 2022 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. It remains the only perfect game in the history of the World Series.
