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The History of American Cinema: 1959 |
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July - December |
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1/7 - |
Otto Preminger’s Anatomy of a Murder challenges Production Code rules with the use of words such as ‘panties’ and 'contraception'. James Stewart stars as a small-town lawyer defending Ben Gazzara against a murder charge. [ADD] |
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29/7 - |
William Castle’s The Tingler, starring Vincent Price, is released. In some first-run cinemas seats are shaken by vibrators at crucial moments in the film. [ADD] |
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6/8 - |
Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest, starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason, is released. [ADD] |
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6/8 - |
The French film En cas de malheur (Love Is My Profession), directed by Claude Autant-Lara, is passed by the censor without cuts despite containing scenes featuring Brigitte Bardot in the nude. [ADD] |
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19/9 - |
A dinner is held in Hollywood in honour of Russian leader Nikita Kruschev. Stars attending include Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra and Gary Cooper. [ADD] |
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7/10 - |
Rock Hudson and Doris Day star in Michael Gordon’s sophisticated romantic comedy, Pillow Talk. The supporting cast includes Tony Randall and Thelma Ritter. [ADD] |
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22/10 - |
Errol Flynn’s will bequeaths the bulk of his $50 million fortune to his estranged third wife, Patrice Wymore. [ADD] |
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18/11 - |
MGM’s mammoth epic Ben-Hur, directed by William Wyler, is released. The film cost $14.5 million to produce, making it the most expensive production to date, and stars Charlton Heston and Stephen Boyd. [ADD] |
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25/11 - |
Eleanor Powell and Glenn Ford divorce after sixteen years of marriage. [ADD] |
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Nov - |
David O Selznick is blacklisted by the Cinematograph Exhibitors’ Association after selling TV rights to 22 of his feature films to the BBC. [ADD] |
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21/12 - |
Marcel Camus' Orfeu Nego (Black Orpheus) is released in the US. [ADD] |
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22/12 - |
Joseph L. Manckiewicz’s screen adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ Suddenly, Last Summer is released by Columbia. Elizabeth Taylor, Katharine Hepburn and Montgomery Clift star, with support provided by Albert Dekker and Mercedes McCambridge. Taylor receives a salary of $500,000 plus 10% of the gross. [ADD] |
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– Panavision is introduced and becomes the industry standard for 'scope and wide-screen productions. [ADD] |
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Other Key American Films of 1959 |
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| The Nun's Story (Fred Zinnemann) [ADD] | ||||
| On the Beach (Stanley Kramer) [ADD] | ||||
| Imitation of Life (Douglas Sirk) [ADD] | ||||
| Journey to the Center of the Earth (Henry Levin) [ADD] | ||||
| Operation Petticoat (Blake Edwards) [ADD] | ||||
The History of Cinema: 1959 |
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| Argentina - Japan | ||||
| France | ||||
| Gt. Britain | ||||
| Macedonia - Vietnam | ||||
| USA January - June | ||||
