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The History of American Cinema: 1950

October - December

14/9 -

At a reception in New York in his honour, Joseph L. Mankiewicz denounces both the industry blacklist prompted by the HUAC hearings and Cecil B. DeMille's demand that members of the Screen Directors' Guild should swear an oath of loyalty. [ADD]

13/10 -

Writer-director Joseph L. Mankiewicz's All About Eve is released by 20^th Century-Fox.  The film stars Anne Baxter as a young actress who schemes her way to the top at the expense of the career of ageing Broadway star Margo Channing (Bette Davis).   George Sanders also stars as theatre critic Addison de Witt.   Manckiewicz claims the story is based on the experience of real-life film couple Elisabeth Bergner and Paul Czinner. [ADD]

21/11 -

RKO agree to split into two separate companies in line with the Justice Departments ruling regarding monopolistic practices within the film industry.   RKO Pictures Corporation manages film production, while RKO Theaters Corporation concentrates on the cinemas. [ADD]

12/12 -

The Paris Cinema in Manhattan screens a triple bill of Roberto Rossellini’s L’Amore, Jean Renoir's Partie de Campagne and Marcel Pagnol's Jofroi.   Despite receiving a certificate from the New York Board of Regents, the ‘Il Miracolo’ segment of Rossellini’s L’Amore is condemned as sacrilegious and blasphemous by the Catholic church's Legion of Decency. [MORE]

26/12 -

In a role Columbia chief Harry Cohn originally intended for his major female star, Rita Hayworth, Judy Holliday becomes a star as Billie Dawn in George Cukor’s Born Yesterday.   Based on Garson Kanin’s stage play in which Holliday appeared for four years – and for which Columbia paid $1 million – the film also stars William Holden and Broderick Crawford. [ADD]

– The Harry Lime Theme from Orson Welles’ The Third Man stays at number one of the US hit parade for eleven weeks, notching up sales of 4 million copies. [ADD]

 – There are approximately 11,300 cinemas and 4,700 drive-ins in America.   More than 3 billion tickets are sold at US cinemas. [ADD]

– James Stewart becomes the first Hollywood star to receive a share of profits in addition to a fee.   Winchester '73 earns him $600,000. [ADD]

– Groucho Marx and Gene Autry both sign contracts to make television series. [ADD]

– The first computer animation is created: an animation of a bouncing ball created at MIT by Saxenian. [ADD]

– TV Arts Productions goes out of business. [ADD]

Top Ten US Box-office Stars of 1950

1.       John Wayne

2.       Bob Hope

3.       Bing Crosby

4.       Betty Grable

5.       James Stewart

6.       Abbott & Costello

7.       Clifton Webb

8.       Esther Williams

9.       Spencer Tracy

10.     Randolph Scott

Source: Quigley Poll

Other Key American Films of 1950

The History of Cinema: 1950