1952 in film

Top-grossing films

United States

International

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 to the United States Constitution.
• 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.

  Awards

Notable films released in 1952

#

• 1st of April, 2000 –
• 5 Fingers, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, starring James Mason

  A

• 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 –
• Andrine og Kjell –
• Androcles and the Lion, starring Jean Simmons and Victor Mature
• Angel Face, starring Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons
• Angels One Five, starring Jack Hawkins –
• Anhonee, starring Raj Kapoor and Nargis –
• At Sword's Point, starring Maureen O'Hara and Cornel Wilde
• The Atomic City, starring Gene Barry and Lydia Clarke

  B

• 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 –
• The Beast Must Die –
• 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, directed by René Clair –
• 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 –
• Buffalo Bill in Tomahawk Territory, starring Clayton Moore
• The Bushwackers, starring John Ireland and Lawrence Tierney

  C

• 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 –
• Carrie, starring Laurence Olivier, Jennifer Jones, Miriam Hopkins
• Carson City, starring Randolph Scott
• Casque d'Or, directed by Jacques Becker, starring Simone Signoret –
• Children of Hiroshima –
• Ciguli Miguli –
• The City Stands Trial, directed by Luigi Zampa –
• 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

  D

• Dark River –
• 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 –
• 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 –
• Dreamboat, starring Ginger Rogers, Clifton Webb, Elsa Lanchester, Anne Francis

  E-F

• Emergency Call, directed by Lewis Gilbert, starring Jack Warner, Anthony Steel, Joy Shelton and Freddie Mills –
• Europa '51, directed by Roberto Rossellini, starring Ingrid Bergman –
• The Eyes Leave Tracks, starring Raf Vallone –
• Face to Face, starring James Mason and Robert Preston
• Fanfan la Tulipe, starring Gérard Philipe and Gina Lollobrigida –
• Flaming Feather, starring Sterling Hayden
• Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice, directed by Yasujirō Ozu –
• Flesh and Fury, starring Tony Curtis and Jan Sterling
• Forbidden Games, directed by René Clément – winner of Oscar for best foreign language film –

  G-H

• A Girl in Every Port, starring Groucho Marx, William Bendix, Marie Wilson, Dee Hartford
• The Golden Coach, directed by Jean Renoir, starring Anna Magnani –
• 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 –
• 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 –
• Hellgate, starring Sterling Hayden
• Hiawatha, starring Vince Edwards
• High Noon, directed by Fred Zinnemann, starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly
• Los hijos de María Morales, starring Pedro Infante –
• Holiday for Sinners, starring Gig Young and Janice Rule
• The Holly and the Ivy, starring Ralph Richardson and Celia Johnson –
• Home at Seven, directed by and starring Ralph Richardson –
• Horizons West, starring Robert Ryan, Rock Hudson, Raymond Burr
• Hunted, directed by Charles Crichton, starring Dirk Bogarde and Jon Whiteley –

  I

• The I Don't Care Girl, starring Mitzi Gaynor and Oscar Levant
• I Dream of Jeanie, starring Bill Shirley
• Ikiru, directed by Akira Kurosawa, starring Takashi Shimura – winner of Golden Bear –
• The Importance of Being Earnest, directed by Anthony Asquith, starring Michael Redgrave –
• Indian Uprising, starring George Montgomery
• It Grows on Trees, starring Irene Dunne
• Ivanhoe, starring Robert Taylor, Joan Fontaine, Elizabeth Taylor

  J

• Jaal, starring Dev Anand –
• 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 –
• Jumping Jacks, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
• Just This Once, starring Janet Leigh, Peter Lawford

  K-L

• Kangaroo, starring Maureen O'Hara, Peter Lawford
• Kansas City Confidential, starring John Payne and Coleen Gray
• Kid Monk Baroni, starring Leonard Nimoy
• Lady in the Iron Mask, starring Louis Hayward
• Lambert the Sheepish Lion
• The Last Page, a.k.a. Man Bait, starring George Brent, Marguerite Chapman, Diana Dors –
• The Life of Oharu, directed by Kenji Mizoguchi –
• Lightning, directed by Mikio Naruse –
• 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

  M

• Macao, starring Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell
• Mandy, starring Phyllis Calvert and Jack Hawkins –
• 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, directed by Luis Buñuel –
• 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 –
• 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

  N

• The Narrow Margin, directed by Richard Fleischer, starring Charles McGraw
• Neighbours –
• Never Look Back directed by Francis Searle, starring Rosamund John –
• No Room for the Groom, directed by Douglas Sirk, starring Tony Curtis and Piper Laurie

  O

• 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, written, directed by and starring Orson Welles
• Outcast of the Islands, directed by Carol Reed, starring Ralph Richardson and Trevor Howard –
• The Overcoat –

  P-Q

• Pahit-Pahit Manis, starring Titien Sumarni and Chatir Harro
• 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 –
• Le Plaisir, directed by Max Ophüls, starring Claude Dauphin –
• The Planter's Wife, directed by Ken Annakin, starring Claudette Colbert, Jack Hawkins & Anthony Steel –
• 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

  R

• 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
• –
• Ruby Gentry, starring Jennifer Jones, Charlton Heston and Karl Malden

  S

• Sailor Beware, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
• Sangdil, starring Dilip Kumar and Madhubala –
• Saturday Island, starring Linda Darnell and Tab Hunter –
• 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 –
• Sea Tiger, starring Marguerite Chapman
• Secrets of Women, directed by Ingmar Bergman, starring Eva Dahlbeck –
• Siempre tuya –
• Singin' in the Rain, starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen, Donald O'Connor
• The Sniper, directed by Edward Dmytryk
• The Snow Maiden –
• 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 –
• 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, directed by Alberto Cavalcanti –
• The Sound Barrier, directed by David Lean, starring Ralph Richardson –
• 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

  T

• 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 –
• Toto in Colour, starring Totò –
• Toxi, directed by Robert A. Stemmle
• Trent's Last Case, starring Orson Welles and Michael Wilding –
• The Turning Point, starring William Holden, Alexis Smith, Edmond O'Brien
• Two Cents Worth of Hope –

  U-V

• Umberto D., directed by Vittorio De Sica –
• Untamed Frontier, starring Joseph Cotten and Shelley Winters
• La villa Santo-Sospir, short film directed by Jean Cocteau –
• Viva Zapata!, starring Marlon Brando and Jean Peters

  W-Z

• We're Not Married!, starring Ginger Rogers, Marilyn Monroe, Eve Arden, Paul Douglas, Eddie Bracken, Mitzi Gaynor
• The White Reindeer –
• The White Sheik, directed by Federico Fellini –
• Who Goes There!, starring Nigel Patrick and Valerie Hobson –
• Wide Boy, starring Sydney Tafler and Susan Shaw –
• The Wild North, starring Stewart Granger and Cyd Charisse
• Wings of Danger, directed by Terence Fisher, starring Zachary Scott –
• The Witch –
• With a Song in My Heart, starring Susan Hayward
• A Woman Without Love, directed by Luis Buñuel –
• 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

  Film releases

January–March

• February 7 - Viva Zapata!
• February 13 - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
• 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

  October–December

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
• Looney Tunes
• Terrytoons
• Merrie Melodies
• Popeye
• The Three Stooges
• Donald Duck -
• Goofy
• Tom and Jerry
• Bugs Bunny
• Mighty Mouse
• Chip and Dale
• Droopy
• Yosemite Sam

  Births

• January 22 – Ace Vergel, Filipino actor
• February 4 – Lisa Eichhorn, American actress
• February 12 – Simon MacCorkindale, English actor
• March 2 – Laraine Newman, American actress, voice actress, comedian and writer
• 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
• April 16 – Billy West, American voice actor, musician, singer and songwriter
• April 17 - Joe Alaskey, American stand-up comedian, actor, voice artist, and impressionist
• 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
• May 21 - Mr.T, American actor, bodyguard, television personality and retired professional wrestler
• 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
• August 26 – Michael Jeter, American actor
• September 4 – Rishi Kapoor, Indian actor
• September 24 – Christopher Reeve, American actor
• October 22 – Jeff Goldblum, American actor
• October 27 – Roberto Benigni, Italian actor
• October 28 – Annie Potts, American actress
• November 3
• *Roseanne Barr, American actress and stand-up comedian
• *Jim Cummings, American voice actor
• November 8 – Alfre Woodard, American actress
• November 14 - Bill Farmer, American voice actor and comedian
• 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, The Three Stooges
• January 25 – Polly Moran, actress, Chasing Rainbows, Adam's Rib
• March 1 – Gregory La Cava, director, My Man Godfrey, Stage Door
• March 26 – J. P. McGowan, director, Where the West Begins, Tarzan and the Golden Lion
• April 21 – Leslie Banks, actor, The Most Dangerous Game, Jamaica Inn
• May 21 – John Garfield, actor, Body and Soul, Nobody Lives Forever, Gentleman's Agreement
• May 8 – William Fox, movie executive, 7th Heaven
• May 26 – Richard Rober, actor, The Well, The File on Thelma Jordon
• June 27 – Elmo Lincoln, actor, Tarzan of the Apes, The Adventures of Tarzan
• July 6 – Gertrud Wolle, actress, The Hound of the Baskervilles
• August 18 – Ralph Byrd, actor, Dick Tracy's Dilemma, The Vigilante
• August 28 – Lamar Trotti, screenwriter, The Ox-Bow Incident, Cheaper by the Dozen
• September 7 – Gertrude Lawrence, actress, Rembrandt, The Glass Menagerie
• October 11 – Jack Conway, director, Boom Town, Libeled Lady, Viva Villa!
• October 17 – Julia Dean, stage and screen actress, A Society Exile, The Curse of the Cat People
• October 20 – Basil Radford, actor, actor, Crook's Tour, The Galloping Major
• October 23 – Susan Peters, actress, Song of Russia, Random Harvest
• October 26 – Hattie McDaniel, actress, Gone with the Wind, Saratoga
• November 1 – Dixie Lee, actress, Manhattan Love Song, Love in Bloom
• November 6 – George H. Reed, actor,, Huckleberry Finn, Green Pastures

  Film Debuts

• Anne Bancroft – Don't Bother to Knock
• Brigitte Bardot – Crazy for Love
• Geraldine Chaplin – Limelight
• George Hamilton – Lone Star
• Earl Holliman – Pony Soldier
• Julie Harris – The Member of the Wedding
• Carolyn Jones – The Turning Point