1952 in film

The year 1952 in film involved some significant events.

Events

 * January 10 – Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
 * March 27 – The MGM musical Singin' in the Rain premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
 * May 26 – Decision reached in Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson determining that certain provisions of the New York Education Law allowing a censor to forbid the commercial showing of any non-licensed motion picture film, or revoke or deny the license of a film deemed to be "sacrilegious," was a "restraint on freedom of speech" and thereby a violation of the First Amendment.
 * September 30 – The Cinerama multiple-projection widescreen system, invented by Fred Waller, debuts in New York with the film This Is Cinerama.
 * November 27 – Bwana Devil, the first American, feature-length, color 3-D film, is released, and begins the demand for 3-D films that lasts for the next two years.

Notable films released in 1952
U.S.A. unless stated

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A B C D E-F G-H I J K-L M N O P-Q R S T U-V W-Z
 * 1st of April, 2000 – (Austria)
 * 5 Fingers, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, starring James Mason
 * Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
 * Above and Beyond, starring Robert Taylor and Eleanor Parker
 * Affair in Trinidad, starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford
 * Against All Flags, starring Errol Flynn and Maureen O'Hara
 * Alraune, starring Hildegard Knef and Erich von Stroheim – (West Germany)
 * Andrine og Kjell – (Norway)
 * Androcles and the Lion, starring Jean Simmons and Victor Mature
 * Angel Face, starring Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons
 * Angels One Five, starring Jack Hawkins – (GB)
 * Anhonee, starring Raj Kapoor and Nargis – (India)
 * At Sword's Point, starring Maureen O'Hara and Cornel Wilde
 * The Atomic City, starring Gene Barry and Lydia Clarke
 * Babes in Bagdad, starring Paulette Goddard and Gypsy Rose Lee
 * The Bad and the Beautiful, starring Lana Turner, Kirk Douglas, Walter Pidgeon, Dick Powell, Barry Sullivan, Gloria Grahame
 * Baiju Bawra, starring Meena Kumari – (India)
 * The Beast Must Die (La Bestia debe morir) – (Argentina)
 * Because of You, starring Loretta Young
 * Because You're Mine, starring Mario Lanza
 * The Belle of New York, starring Fred Astaire and Vera-Ellen
 * Les Belles de nuit (Beauties of the Night), directed by René Clair – (France)
 * Belles on Their Toes, starring Myrna Loy, Jeanne Crain, Debra Paget
 * Bend of the River, directed by Anthony Mann, starring James Stewart, Arthur Kennedy, Julie Adams, Rock Hudson
 * Beware, My Lovely, starring Ida Lupino and Robert Ryan
 * Big Jim McLain, starring John Wayne and James Arness
 * The Big Sky, starring Kirk Douglas
 * The Big Trees, starring Kirk Douglas
 * The Black Castle, starring Stephen McNally, Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney, Jr.
 * Blackbeard the Pirate, starring Robert Newton
 * Brandy for the Parson, starring James Donald and Kenneth More – (GB)
 * Buffalo Bill in Tomahawk Territory, starring Clayton Moore
 * The Bushwackers, starring John Ireland and Lawrence Tierney
 * California Conquest, starring Cornel Wilde and Teresa Wright
 * Captive Women, starring Robert Clarke
 * Carbine Williams, starring James Stewart and Jean Hagen
 * The Card, starring Alec Guinness, Glynis Johns, Petula Clark – (GB)
 * Carrie, starring Laurence Olivier, Jennifer Jones, Miriam Hopkins
 * Carson City, starring Randolph Scott
 * Casque d'Or (Golden Helmet), directed by Jacques Becker, starring Simone Signoret – (France)
 * Children of Hiroshima (Gembaku no ko) – (Japan)
 * Ciguli Miguli – (Yugoslavia)
 * The City Stands Trial (Processo alla città), directed by Luigi Zampa – (Italy)
 * Clash by Night, directed by Fritz Lang, starring Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Ryan, Paul Douglas, Marilyn Monroe
 * Come Back, Little Sheba, starring Burt Lancaster and Shirley Booth
 * The Crimson Pirate, starring Burt Lancaster
 * Dark River (Las aguas bajan turbias) – (Argentina)
 * Deadline - U.S.A., directed by Richard Brooks, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ethel Barrymore, Kim Hunter, Jim Backus, Martin Gabel
 * Denver and Rio Grande, starring Edmond O'Brien and Sterling Hayden
 * Derby Day, starring Anna Neagle and Michael Wilding – (Britain)
 * Desperate Search, starring Howard Keel and Jane Greer
 * The Devil Makes Three, starring Gene Kelly
 * Diplomatic Courier, directed by Henry Hathaway, starring Tyrone Power
 * Don't Bother to Knock, starring Richard Widmark, Anne Bancroft, Marilyn Monroe
 * Down Among the Z Men, starring The Goons – (GB)
 * Dreamboat, starring Ginger Rogers, Clifton Webb, Elsa Lanchester, Anne Francis
 * Emergency Call, directed by Lewis Gilbert, starring Jack Warner, Anthony Steel, Joy Shelton and Freddie Mills – (U.K.)
 * Europa '51, directed by Roberto Rossellini, starring Ingrid Bergman – (Italy)
 * The Eyes Leave Tracks (Los ojos dejan huella), starring Raf Vallone – (Spain)
 * Face to Face, starring James Mason and Robert Preston
 * Fanfan la Tulipe (a.k.a. Fearless Little Soldier), starring Gérard Philipe and Gina Lollobrigida – (France)
 * Flaming Feather, starring Sterling Hayden
 * Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice ( Ochazuke no aji), directed by Yasujirō Ozu – (Japan)
 * Flesh and Fury, starring Tony Curtis and Jan Sterling
 * Forbidden Games (Jeux interdits), directed by René Clément – winner of Oscar for best foreign language film – (France)
 * A Girl in Every Port, starring Groucho Marx, William Bendix, Marie Wilson, Dee Hartford
 * The Golden Coach (Le Carrosse d'or), directed by Jean Renoir, starring Anna Magnani – (France/Italy)
 * The Greatest Show on Earth, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Betty Hutton, Cornel Wilde, Charlton Heston, Gloria Grahame, Dorothy Lamour, James Stewart
 * Hangman's Knot, starring Randolph Scott, Donna Reed, Lee Marvin
 * Hans Christian Andersen, starring Danny Kaye and Farley Granger
 * The Happy Family, directed by Muriel Box, starring Stanley Holloway and Kathleen Harrison – (GB)
 * The Happy Time, starring Charles Boyer and Bobby Driscoll
 * Has Anybody Seen My Gal?, starring Piper Laurie, Rock Hudson, Charles Coburn
 * Heidi, directed by Luigi Comencini – (Switzerland)
 * Hellgate, starring Sterling Hayden
 * Hiawatha, starring Vince Edwards
 * High Noon, directed by Fred Zinnemann, starring Gary Cooper (Oscar for best actor) and Grace Kelly
 * Los hijos de María Morales (The Children of Maria Morales), starring Pedro Infante – (Mexico)
 * Holiday for Sinners, starring Gig Young and Janice Rule
 * The Holly and the Ivy, starring Ralph Richardson and Celia Johnson – (GB)
 * Home at Seven, directed by and starring Ralph Richardson – (GB)
 * Horizons West, starring Robert Ryan, Rock Hudson, Raymond Burr
 * Hunted, directed by Charles Crichton, starring Dirk Bogarde and Jon Whiteley – (GB)
 * The I Don't Care Girl, starring Mitzi Gaynor and Oscar Levant
 * Ikiru (To Live), directed by Akira Kurosawa, starring Takashi Shimura – winner of Golden Bear – (Japan)
 * The Importance of Being Earnest, directed by Anthony Asquith, starring Michael Redgrave – (GB)
 * Indian Uprising, starring George Montgomery
 * It Grows on Trees, starring Irene Dunne
 * Ivanhoe, starring Robert Taylor, Joan Fontaine, Elizabeth Taylor
 * Jaal (Net), starring Dev Anand – (India)
 * Jack and the Beanstalk, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
 * Japanese War Bride, starring Shirley Yamaguchi and Don Taylor
 * The Jazz Singer, starring Danny Thomas and Peggy Lee
 * Jolanda la figlia del corsaro nero (Jolanda, the Daughter of the Black Corsair) – (Italy)
 * Jumping Jacks, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
 * Just This Once, starring Janet Leigh, Peter Lawford
 * Kangaroo, starring Maureen O'Hara, Peter Lawford
 * Kansas City Confidential, starring John Payne and Coleen Gray
 * Kid Monk Baroni, starring Leonard Nimoy
 * Lambert the Sheepish Lion
 * The Last Page, a.k.a. Man Bait, starring George Brent, Marguerite Chapman, Diana Dors – (GB)
 * The Life of Oharu (Saikaku ichidai onna), directed by Kenji Mizoguchi – (Japan)
 * Lightning (Inazuma), directed by Mikio Naruse – (Japan)
 * Limelight, directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin, with Claire Bloom
 * Lone Star, starring Clark Gable and Ava Gardner
 * Lost in Alaska, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
 * Lovely to Look At, starring Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Red Skelton
 * Lure of the Wilderness, starring Jean Peters, Jeffrey Hunter, Walter Brennan
 * The Lusty Men, starring Robert Mitchum
 * Macao, starring Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell
 * Mandy, starring Phyllis Calvert and Jack Hawkins – (GB)
 * The Marrying Kind, starring Judy Holliday
 * Meet Danny Wilson, starring Frank Sinatra
 * The Member of the Wedding, starring Julie Harris
 * The Merry Widow, starring Lana Turner
 * Mexican Bus Ride (Subida al cielo), directed by Luis Buñuel – (Mexico)
 * Million Dollar Mermaid, starring Esther Williams and Victor Mature
 * The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima, starring Gilbert Roland
 * Les Misérables, starring Michael Rennie, Robert Newton, Debra Paget
 * Monkey Business, starring Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, Charles Coburn, Marilyn Monroe
 * Monsoon, starring Diana Douglas and Ursula Thiess
 * Montana Belle, starring Jane Russell
 * Moulin Rouge, starring José Ferrer and Zsa Zsa Gabor – (GB)
 * My Cousin Rachel, starring Olivia de Havilland and Richard Burton
 * My Pal Gus, starring Richard Widmark and George Winslow
 * My Six Convicts, starring Gilbert Roland
 * My Son John, starring Robert Walker and Van Heflin
 * The Narrow Margin, directed by Richard Fleischer, starring Charles McGraw
 * Neighbours – (Canada)
 * Never Look Back directed by Francis Searle, starring Rosamund John – (GB)
 * No Room for the Groom, directed by Douglas Sirk, starring Tony Curtis and Piper Laurie
 * O. Henry's Full House, an anthology film starring Charles Laughton, David Wayne, Marilyn Monroe, Richard Widmark, Anne Baxter, Jeanne Crain
 * One Big Affair, starring Evelyn Keyes
 * One Minute to Zero, directed by Tay Garnett, starring Robert Mitchum and Ann Blyth
 * Othello (a.k.a. The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice), written, directed by and starring Orson Welles
 * Outcast of the Islands, directed by Carol Reed, starring Ralph Richardson and Trevor Howard – (GB)
 * The Overcoat (Il Cappotto) – (Italy)
 * Pahit-Pahit Manis, starring Titien Sumarni and Chatir Harro (Indonesia)
 * Pat and Mike, starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn
 * Phone Call from a Stranger, starring Shelley Winters and Gary Merrill
 * The Pickwick Papers, starring James Hayter and James Donald – (GB)
 * Le Plaisir (a.k.a. House of Pleasure), directed by Max Ophüls, starring Claude Dauphin – (France)
 * The Planter's Wife, directed by Ken Annakin, starring Claudette Colbert, Jack Hawkins & Anthony Steel – (GB)
 * Pony Soldier, starring Tyrone Power
 * The Pride of St. Louis, starring Dan Dailey
 * The Prisoner of Zenda, starring Stewart Granger, Deborah Kerr, James Mason, Jane Greer
 * The Quiet Man, directed by John Ford, starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara
 * Rancho Notorious, starring Marlene Dietrich
 * Red Ball Express, starring Jeff Chandler
 * Red Planet Mars, starring Peter Graves
 * Retreat, Hell!, starring Frank Lovejoy
 * Return of the Texan, starring Dale Robertson and Joanne Dru
 * Road to Bali, starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope
 * Rome 11:00 – (Italy)
 * Ruby Gentry, starring Jennifer Jones, Charlton Heston and Karl Malden
 * Sailor Beware, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
 * Sangdil, starring Dilip Kumar and Madhubala – (India)
 * Saturday Island, starring Linda Darnell and Tab Hunter – (GB)
 * The Savage, starring Charlton Heston and Susan Morrow
 * Scandal Sheet, starring Broderick Crawford and Donna Reed
 * Scaramouche, starring Stewart Granger and Janet Leigh
 * The Scarlet Flower (Alenkiy tsvetochek) – (U.S.S.R.)
 * Sea Tiger, starring Marguerite Chapman
 * Secrets of Women (Kvinnors väntan), directed by Ingmar Bergman, starring Eva Dahlbeck – (Sweden)
 * Siempre tuya (Forever Yours) – (Mexico)
 * Singin' in the Rain, starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen, Donald O'Connor
 * The Sniper, directed by Edward Dmytryk
 * The Snow Maiden (Snegurochka) – (U.S.S.R.)
 * The Snows of Kilimanjaro, starring Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner
 * Something Money Can't Buy, directed by Pat Jackson, starring Patricia Roc, Anthony Steel, Moira Lister & A.E. Matthews – (U.K.)
 * Something to Live For, directed by George Stevens, starring Joan Fontaine and Teresa Wright
 * Son of Paleface, directed by Frank Tashlin, starring Bob Hope, Jane Russell, Roy Rogers
 * Song of the Sea (O canto do mar), directed by Alberto Cavalcanti – (Brazil)
 * The Sound Barrier, directed by David Lean, starring Ralph Richardson – (GB)
 * Springfield Rifle, starring Gary Cooper and Phyllis Thaxter
 * The Star, starring Bette Davis and Sterling Hayden
 * Steel Town, starring Ann Sheridan and John Lund
 * The Steel Trap, starring Joseph Cotten and Teresa Wright
 * The Stooge, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
 * Stop, You're Killing Me, starring Broderick Crawford and Claire Trevor
 * The Story of Will Rogers, starring Will Rogers, Jr. and Jane Wyman
 * Sudden Fear, starring Joan Crawford, Jack Palance, Gloria Grahame
 * The Hour of 13, starring Peter Lawford
 * The Thief, starring Ray Milland
 * This is Cinerama, directed by Merian C. Cooper
 * Thunderbirds, starring John Derek
 * Tico-Tico no Fubá, directed by Adolfo Celi – (Brazil)
 * Toto in Colour (Totò a colori), starring Totò – (Italy)
 * Toxi, directed by Robert A. Stemmle (West Germany)
 * Trent's Last Case, starring Orson Welles and Michael Wilding – (GB)
 * The Turning Point, starring William Holden, Alexis Smith, Edmond O'Brien
 * Two Cents Worth of Hope (Due soldi di speranza) – (Italy)
 * Umberto D., directed by Vittorio De Sica – (Italy)
 * Untamed Frontier, starring Joseph Cotten and Shelley Winters
 * La villa Santo-Sospir, short film directed by Jean Cocteau – (France)
 * Viva Zapata!, starring Marlon Brando and Jean Peters
 * We're Not Married!, starring Ginger Rogers, Marilyn Monroe, Eve Arden, Paul Douglas, Eddie Bracken, Mitzi Gaynor
 * The White Reindeer (Valkoinen peura) – (Finland)
 * The White Sheik (Lo sceicco bianco), directed by Federico Fellini – (Italy)
 * Who Goes There!, starring Nigel Patrick and Valerie Hobson – (GB)
 * Wide Boy, starring Sydney Tafler and Susan Shaw – (GB)
 * The Wild North, starring Stewart Granger and Cyd Charisse
 * Wings of Danger, directed by Terence Fisher, starring Zachary Scott – (GB)
 * The Witch (Noita palaa elämään) – (Finland)
 * With a Song in My Heart, starring Susan Hayward
 * A Woman Without Love (Una mujer sin amor), directed by Luis Buñuel – (Mexico)
 * The World in His Arms, starring Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, Ann Blyth
 * You for Me, starring Peter Lawford, Jane Greer, Gig Young
 * Young Man with Ideas, starring Glenn Ford and Ruth Roman

January-March

 * February 7 - Viva Zapata!
 * February 13 - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (re-release)
 * February 22
 * 5 Fingers
 * One Big Affair

April-June

 * May 2 - The Narrow Margin
 * May 15 - Outcast of the Islands
 * June 13 - No Room for the Groom
 * June 26 - The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men

July-September

 * July 21 - One Minute to Zero
 * July 23 - Untamed Frontier
 * September 18 - O. Henry's Full House

Serials

 * Blackhawk, starring Kirk Alyn
 * King of the Congo, starring Buster Crabbe
 * Radar Men from the Moon, starring George D. Wallace and Aline Towne
 * Son of Geronimo starring Clayton Moore
 * Zombies of the Stratosphere, starring Judd Holdren and Leonard Nimoy

Short film series

 * Mickey Mouse (1928–1953)
 * Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
 * Terrytoons (1930–1964)
 * Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
 * Popeye (1933–1957)
 * The Three Stooges (1934–1959)
 * Donald Duck (1936)-(1956)
 * Goofy (1939–1953)
 * Tom and Jerry (1940–1958)
 * Bugs Bunny (1940–1962)
 * Mighty Mouse (1942–1955)
 * Chip and Dale (1943–1956)
 * Droopy (1943–1958)
 * Yosemite Sam (1945–1963)

Births

 * January 22 – Ace Vergel, Filipino actor (died 2007)
 * February 4 – Lisa Eichhorn, American actress
 * February 12 – Simon MacCorkindale, English actor (died 2010)
 * March 19 – Harvey Weinstein, American producer
 * March 27 – Kalju Orro, Estonian actor
 * April 1 – Annette O'Toole, American actress
 * April 6 – Marilu Henner, American actress
 * April 10 – Steven Seagal, American actor & martial artist
 * April 15 – Glenn Shadix, American actor (died 2010)
 * April 28 – Mary McDonnell, American actress
 * May 2 – Christine Baranski, American actress
 * May 6 – Gregg Henry, American actor & musician
 * May 11 – Frances Fisher, British-born American actress
 * May 14 – Robert Zemeckis, American director
 * May 15 – Chazz Palminteri, American actor
 * June 7 – Liam Neeson, Northern Irish actor
 * June 18
 * Carol Kane, American actress
 * Isabella Rossellini, Italian actress
 * June 20 – John Goodman, American actor
 * July 1 – Dan Aykroyd, Canadian actor & comedian
 * July 11 – Stephen Lang, American actor
 * July 15 – Terry O'Quinn, American actor
 * July 24 – Gus Van Sant, American director
 * August 10
 * Daniel Hugh Kelly, American actor
 * Diane Venora, American actress
 * August 18 – Patrick Swayze, American actor & dancer (died 2009)
 * August 26 – Michael Jeter, American actor (died 2003)
 * September 24 – Christopher Reeve, American actor (died 2004)
 * October 22 – Jeff Goldblum, American actor
 * October 27 – Roberto Benigni, Italian actor
 * October 28 – Annie Potts, American actress
 * November 3
 * Jim Cummings, American voice actor
 * Roseanne Barr, American actress and stand-up comedian
 * November 8 – Alfre Woodard, American actress
 * November 24 – Ulrich Seidl, Austrian director
 * December 12 – Sarah Douglas, English actress
 * December 20 – Jenny Agutter, English actress
 * December 29 – Külliki Saldre, Estonian actress

Deaths

 * January 18 – Curly Howard, comedian (born 1903), The Three Stooges
 * January 25 – Polly Moran, actress (born 1883), Chasing Rainbows, Adam's Rib
 * March 1 – Gregory La Cava, director (born 1892), My Man Godfrey, Stage Door
 * March 26 – J. P. McGowan, director (born 1880), Where the West Begins, Tarzan and the Golden Lion
 * April 21 – Leslie Banks, actor (born 1890), The Most Dangerous Game, Jamaica Inn
 * May 21 – John Garfield, actor (born 1913), Body and Soul, Nobody Lives Forever, Gentleman's Agreement
 * May 8 – William Fox, movie executive (born 1879), 7th Heaven
 * May 26 – Richard Rober, actor (born 1910), The Well, The File on Thelma Jordon
 * June 27 – Elmo Lincoln, actor (born 1889), Tarzan of the Apes, The Adventures of Tarzan
 * July 6 – Gertrud Wolle, actress (born 1891), The Hound of the Baskervilles
 * August 18 – Ralph Byrd, actor (born 1909), Dick Tracy's Dilemma, The Vigilante
 * August 28 – Lamar Trotti, screenwriter (born 1900), The Ox-Bow Incident, Cheaper by the Dozen
 * September 7 – Gertrude Lawrence, actress (born 1898), Rembrandt, The Glass Menagerie
 * October 11 – Jack Conway, director (born 1888), Boom Town, Libeled Lady, Viva Villa!
 * October 17 – Julia Dean, stage and screen actress (born 1878), A Society Exile, The Curse of the Cat People
 * October 20 – Basil Radford, actor (born 1887), actor, Crook's Tour, The Galloping Major
 * October 23 – Susan Peters, actress (born 1921), Song of Russia, Random Harvest
 * October 26 – Hattie McDaniel, actress (born 1895), Gone with the Wind, Saratoga
 * November 1 – Dixie Lee, actress (born 1912), Manhattan Love Song, Love in Bloom
 * November 6 – George H. Reed, actor, (born 1866), Huckleberry Finn, Green Pastures

Film Debuts

 * Anne Bancroft – Don't Bother to Knock
 * Brigitte Bardot – Crazy for Love
 * May Britt – Jolanda la figlia del corsaro nero (Jolanda, the Daughter of the Black Corsair)
 * Geraldine Chaplin – Limelight
 * Earl Holliman – Pony Soldier
 * Julie Harris – The Member of the Wedding
 * Carolyn Jones – The Turning Point