The following is an overview of 1956 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
The year 1955 in film involved some significant events.
Richard Ewing Powell was an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and studio head. Though he came to stardom as a musical comedy performer, he showed versatility and successfully transformed into a hardboiled leading man, starring in projects of a more dramatic nature. He was the first actor to portray private detective Philip Marlowe on screen.
June Allyson was an American stage, film, and television actress.
Matt Moore was an Irish-born American actor and director. He appeared in at least 221 motion pictures from 1912 to 1958.
Rhonda Fleming was an American film and television actress and singer. She acted in more than 40 films, mostly in the 1940s and 1950s, and became renowned as one of the most glamorous actresses of her day, nicknamed the "Queen of Technicolor" because she photographed so well in that medium.
Norman Rae Taurog was an American film director and screenwriter. From 1920 to 1968, Taurog directed 180 films. At the age of 32, he received the Academy Award for Best Director for Skippy (1931), becoming the youngest person to win the award for eight and a half decades until Damien Chazelle won for La La Land in 2017. He was later nominated for Best Director for the film Boys Town (1938). He directed some of the best-known actors of the twentieth century, including his nephew Jackie Cooper, Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Deanna Durbin, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Deborah Kerr, Peter Lawford, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Elvis Presley and Vincent Price. Taurog directed six Martin and Lewis films, and nine Elvis Presley films, more than any other director.
John Francis Regis Toomey was an American film and television actor.
Duchess of Idaho is an American musical romantic comedy produced in 1950 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Directed by Robert Z. Leonard, it was the fourth film pairing Esther Williams and Van Johnson. It was filmed at the MGM Studios lot and exteriors shot in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Jonathan Hale was a Canadian-born film and television actor.
The 22nd Academy Awards were held on March 23, 1950, at the RKO Pantages Theatre, honoring the films in 1949. This was the final year in which all five Best Picture nominees were in Black & White, and the first year in which every film nominated for Best Picture won multiple Oscars.
Ralph Byrd was an American actor. He was most famous for playing the comic strip character Dick Tracy on screen, in serials, films and television.
Right Cross is a 1950 American sports drama film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by John Sturges, written by Charles Schnee and starring June Allyson, Ricardo Montalbán, Dick Powell, Lionel Barrymore and Marilyn Monroe.
The Shrike is a 1955 American film noir drama film based on Joseph Kramm's play of the same name. José Ferrer directed and starred in Ketti Frings' screenplay adaptation.
The McConnell Story is a 1955 dramatization of the life and career of United States Air Force (USAF) pilot Joseph C. McConnell (1922–1954) directed by Gordon Douglas. McConnell served as a navigator in World War II before becoming the top American ace during the Korean War and was killed on August 25, 1954, while serving as a test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert, California. The Warner Brothers production, filmed in CinemaScope and Warner Color, stars Alan Ladd as McConnell and June Allyson as his wife. Longtime Warners staff composer Max Steiner wrote the musical score for the film.
The Razzie Award for Worst Remake, Rip-off or Sequel is an award presented at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards for the worst film adapted from some form of previous material. The category covers films that are prequels, sequels, remakes, reboots, spin-offs, film adaptations of other media franchises, mockbusters and "rip-offs".
Hollywood Without Make-Up is a 1963 American film produced by Ken Murray and directed by Rudy Behlmer, Loring d'Usseau and Ken Murray (uncredited).
The Bride Goes Wild is a 1948 American romantic comedy film directed by Norman Taurog.
