The year 1951 in film involved some significant events.
Shelley Winters was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades. She appeared in numerous films. She won Academy Awards for The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) and A Patch of Blue (1965), and received nominations for A Place in the Sun (1951) and The Poseidon Adventure (1972). She also appeared in A Double Life (1947), The Night of the Hunter (1955), Lolita (1962), Alfie (1966), Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976), and Pete's Dragon (1977). In addition to film, Winters appeared in television, including a tenure on the sitcom Roseanne, and wrote three autobiographical books.
Nicholas Peter Conte, known professionally as Richard Conte, was an American actor. He appeared in more than 100 films from 1939 through the 1970s, including I'll Cry Tomorrow, Ocean's 11, and The Godfather.
The Donna Reed Show is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the middle-class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz co-stars as her pediatrician husband Dr. Alex Stone, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children, Mary and Jeff. The show originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1958, to March 19, 1966.
Charles Ambrose Bickford was an American actor known for supporting roles. He was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for The Song of Bernadette (1943), The Farmer's Daughter (1947), and Johnny Belinda (1948). His other roles include Whirlpool (1950), A Star Is Born (1954), and The Big Country (1958).
No Way Out is a 1950 American film noir crime drama film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and starring Richard Widmark, Linda Darnell, Sidney Poitier, and Stephen McNally, who portrays a doctor tending to slum residents whose ethics are tested when confronted with racism, personified by Widmark as hateful robber Ray Biddle.
Stephen McNally was an American actor remembered mostly for his appearances in many Westerns and action films. He often played hard-hearted characters, criminals, bullies, and other villains.
Cry of the City is a 1948 American film noir starring Victor Mature, Richard Conte, and Shelley Winters. Directed by Robert Siodmak, it is based on the novel by Henry Edward Helseth, The Chair for Martin Rome. The screenwriter Ben Hecht worked on the film's script, but is not credited. The film was partly shot on location in New York City.
John Herrick McIntire was an American character actor who appeared in 65 theatrical films and many television series. McIntire is well known for having replaced Ward Bond, upon Bond's sudden death in November 1960, as the star of NBC's Wagon Train. He played Christopher Hale, the leader of the wagon train from early 1961 to the series' end in 1965. He also replaced Charles Bickford, upon Bickford's death in 1967, as ranch owner Clay Grainger on NBC's The Virginian for four seasons.
The Unforgiven is a 1960 American Western film directed by John Huston, and starring Burt Lancaster and Audrey Hepburn. Filmed in Durango, Mexico, the supporting cast features Audie Murphy, Charles Bickford, Lillian Gish, John Saxon, Joseph Wiseman, Doug McClure and Albert Salmi. The story is based upon the 1957 novel by Alan Le May, author of The Searchers. Uncommonly for its time, the film spotlights the issue of racism against Native Americans and people who were believed to have Native American blood in the Old West. The film is also known for its problems behind the scenes.
Alexander Livingston Nicol Jr. was an American actor and film director. Nicol appeared in many Westerns including The Man from Laramie (1955). He appeared in more than forty feature films as well as directing many television shows including The Wild Wild West (1967), Tarzan (1966), and Daniel Boone (1966). He also played many roles on Broadway.
The Sleeping City is a 1950 American film noir crime film in semidocumentary style that was set in and filmed at New York's Bellevue Hospital. Directed by George Sherman, it stars Richard Conte and Coleen Gray.
The Black Castle is a 1952 American gothic horror film directed by Nathan H. Juran and starring Richard Greene, Boris Karloff, Stephen McNally, Rita Corday and Lon Chaney Jr. It was produced by William Alland. The film was made in the United States but premiered in Sweden.
The Young Runaways is a 1968 American drama film directed by Arthur Dreifuss and starring Brooke Bundy, Kevin Coughlin and Patty McCormack. The supporting players are Lloyd Bochner, Dick Sargent, and in one of his early roles, Richard Dreyfuss, who as a small part as Terry, a juvenile delinquent who meets a bad end.
Air Cadet is a 1951 American drama war film directed by Joseph Pevney and starring Stephen McNally, Gail Russell, Alex Nicol and Richard Long. Air Cadet featured United States Air Force (USAF) pilots in training along with actors mixed into the training courses. The film had a small early role for 26-year-old Rock Hudson and a scene with future astronaut Gus Grissom.
The Gilded Cage is a 1955 second feature British crime film directed by John Gilling and starring Alex Nicol, Veronica Hurst and Clifford Evans.
Meet Danny Wilson is a 1952 American drama musical film directed by Joseph Pevney and starring Frank Sinatra, Shelley Winters and Alex Nicol.
Iron Man is a 1951 American film noir drama sport film directed by Joseph Pevney and starring Jeff Chandler, Evelyn Keyes and Stephen McNally. The film features an early appearance by Rock Hudson playing a competing boxer. The film is a remake of a film produced two decades earlier by director Tod Browning, also titled Iron Man.
Lightning Strikes Twice is a 1951 Warner Bros-produced crime melodrama starring Ruth Roman and Richard Todd, and directed by King Vidor.
The Cop in Blue Jeans is an Italian crime and comedy film directed by Bruno Corbucci. The film was a major commercial success and generated a film series consisting of eleven entries starring Tomas Milian as Inspector Nico Giraldi.
