1955 in film

The top-grossing hits of 1955 in the United States.

The highest-grossing 1955 films from countries outside of North America.

• January 7 – U.K. release of the Halas and Batchelor film animation of George Orwell's Animal Farm (completed April 1954), the first full-length British-made animated feature on general theatrical release.[6][7]
• March 18 – The film adaptation of Evan Hunter's novel Blackboard Jungle previews in New York City, featuring the single "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets over the opening credits, the first use of a rock and roll song in a major film. Teenagers jump from their seats to dance to it.
• June 1 – Premiere of Billy Wilder's film of The Seven Year Itch featuring an iconic scene of Marilyn Monroe standing on a New York City Subway grating as her white dress is blown above her knees.[8]
• June 16 – Lady and the Tramp, the Walt Disney company's 15th animated film, premieres in Chicago, the first animated feature filmed in the CinemaScope widescreen process. Peggy Lee co-writes and sings the songs.
• June 27 – The last ever Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released.
• July 18 – Disneyland opens to the public in Anaheim, California.
• September 30 – American actor James Dean dies in an automobile collision near Cholame, California, age 24. On October 27, the film Rebel Without a Cause, in which he stars, is released.
• October 11 – Theatrical release in the United States of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical film Oklahoma!, the first feature photographed in the Todd-AO 70 mm widescreen process.
• November 3 – The musical film Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, is premiered in New York City.
• December – United Artists quit the Motion Picture Association of America over the decision to deny The Man With the Golden Arm a Production Code seal.

United States unless stated

• The Adventures of Captain Africa
• King of the Carnival
• Panther Girl of the Kongo

• Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
• Terrytoons (1930–1964)
• Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
• Popeye (1933–1957)
• Donald Duck (1934–1956)
• The Three Stooges (1934–1959)
• Tom and Jerry (1940–1958)
• Bugs Bunny (1940–1962)
• Mighty Mouse (1942–1955)
• Chip 'n' Dale (1943–1956)
• Droopy (1943–1958)
• Yosemite Sam (1945–1963)
• Ranger Don (1953–1956)
• Speedy Gonzales (1953–1968)

Cartoon:

• Good Will to Men (MGM Cartoon Series) (Frederick Quimby, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, producers; MGM)
• The Legend of Rockabye Point (Walter Lantz Productions; Universal-International)
• No Hunting (Donald Duck Series) (Walt Disney Productions; RKO Radio)
• Speedy Gonzales (Merrie Melodies Series) (Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc.; Warner Bros.)

One-Reel:

• Gadgets Galore (Warner Varieties Series) (Robert Youngson, producer; Warner Bros.)
• Survival City (Movietone CinemaScope Series) (Edmund Reek, producer; Twentieth Century-Fox)
• 3rd Ave. El (Carson Davidson Productions; Ardee Films)
• Three Kisses (Topper Special Series) (Justin Herman, producer; Paramount)

Two-Reel:

• The Battle of Gettysburg (Dore Schary, producer; MGM)
• The Face of Lincoln (University of Southern California Presentation; Cavalcade Pictures, Inc.)
• On The Twelfth Day...(United Kingdom Series) (Go Pictures, Inc.; George Brest and Associates)
• Switzerland (People and Places Series) (Walt Disney Productions; Buena Vista)
• 24-Hour Alert (Cedric Francis, producer; Warner Bros.)

• January 6 – Rowan Atkinson, English comedian and actor
• January 9 – J. K. Simmons, American actor
• January 18 – Kevin Costner, American actor, producer and director
• January 20 – Wyatt Knight, American actor (d. 2011)
• February 7 – Miguel Ferrer, American actor (d. 2017)
• February 15 – Christopher McDonald, American actor
• February 19 – Jeff Daniels, American actor
• February 21 – Kelsey Grammer, American actor and comedian
• March 9 – Ornella Muti, Italian actress
• March 17 – Gary Sinise, American actor, producer and director
• March 19 – Bruce Willis, American actor
• March 22 – Lena Olin, Swedish actress
• April 6 – Michael Rooker, American actor
• April 23 – Judy Davis, Australian actress
• April 24 – Michael O'Keefe, American actor
• April 30 – Zlatko Topčić, Bosnian screenwriter
• May 16 – Debra Winger, American actress
• May 17 – Bill Paxton, American actor (d. 2017)
• May 18 – Chow Yun-fat, Hong Kong actor
• May 31 – Susie Essman, American actress
• June 2 – Dana Carvey, American actor and comedian
• June 7 – William Forsythe, American actor
• June 8 – Griffin Dunne, American actor and director
• June 15 – Julie Hagerty, American actress
• June 16 – Laurie Metcalf, American actress
• June 27 – Isabelle Adjani, French actress
• July 9 – Jimmy Smits, American actor
• July 19 – Toborr Kristina Tomlinsen, American-Canadian voice actress
• July 21 – Béla Tarr, Hungarian director
• July 22 – Willem Dafoe, American actor
• August 4 – Billy Bob Thornton, American actor, director and screenwriter
• August 7 – Wayne Knight, American actor and comedian
• August 19 – Peter Gallagher, American actor
• August 27 – Diana Scarwid, American actress
• October 15 – Tanya Roberts, American actress
• October 20 – Thomas Newman, American composer
• November 13 – Whoopi Goldberg, American actress and comedian
• December 2 – Dennis Christopher, American actor
• December 3 – Melody Anderson, Canadian actress

• February 11 – Ona Munson, 55, American actress, Five Star Final, Gone with the Wind
• February 12
  • Tom Moore, 71, Irish-American actor, Forever Amber, Road House
  • S. Z. Sakall, 72, Hungarian actor, Casablanca, Yankee Doodle Dandy
• April 7 – Theda Bara, 69, American silent film actress, A Fool There Was, Cleopatra
• April 25 – Constance Collier, 77, British actress, Stage Door, Rope
• May 13 – Betty Ann Davies, 44, British actress, My Old Duchess, The Man in Black
• June 11 – Walter Hampden, 75, American actor, Sabrina, The Hunchback of Notre Dame
• July 31 – Robert Francis, 25, American actor, The Caine Mutiny, The Long Gray Line, airplane accident
• August 5 – Carmen Miranda, 46, Brazilian singer and actress, Copacabana, The Gang's All Here
• August 6 – Janet Beecher, 70, American actress, The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle, The Mark of Zorro
• August 10 – Jane Murfin, 70, American screenwriter, What Price Hollywood?, The Women
• August 12 – Lynne Carver, 38, American actress, Everybody Sing, Young Dr. Kildare
• September 20 –
  • Robert Riskin, 58, American screenwriter, It Happened One Night, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
  • Noel M. Smith, 60, American director, Secret Service of the Air, Cattle Town
• September 30 – James Dean, 24, American actor, Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden, automobile accident
• October 1 – Charles Christie, 75, Canadian pioneer film studio owner
• October 9 – Alice Joyce, 65, American actress, The Green Goddess, White Man
• October 19 – John Hodiak, 41, American actor, Lifeboat, A Bell for Adano, heart attack
• November 9 – Tom Powers, 65, American actor, Double Indemnity, The Blue Dahlia
• November 14 – Robert E. Sherwood, 59, American screenwriter, The Best Years of Our Lives, Rebecca
• November 15 – Lloyd Bacon, 65, American director, The Oklahoma Kid, Knute Rockne, All American
• November 22 – Shemp Howard, 60, American actor, comedian of The Three Stooges, The Bank Dick, Pittsburgh
• November 27 – William Nigh, 74, American director, Mr. Wong, Detective, The Gay Cavalier

• James Cromwell – Daddy Long Legs
• Clint Eastwood – Revenge of the Creature
• Dennis Hopper – Rebel Without a Cause
• Jill Ireland – No Love for Judy
• Shirley Jones – Oklahoma!
• Cloris Leachman – Kiss Me Deadly
• Shirley MacLaine – The Trouble with Harry
• Jayne Mansfield – Female Jungle
• Walter Matthau – The Kentuckian
• Sal Mineo – Six Bridges to Cross
• Elizabeth Montgomery – The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell
• Vic Morrow – Blackboard Jungle
• Jerry Orbach – Marty
• Maximilian Schell – Children, Mother, and the General
• Paul Scofield – That Lady
• Joanne Woodward – Count Three and Pray