Seventy years in the past, the Hollywood studio system was in gradual decline, with fixed reshuffling in company suites and diminished attendance spurred by the rise of tv. By the 1955–56 season, the variety of US households with tv entry had risen to 71 %, up from simply 9 % a mere 5 years earlier.
As soon as the world’s greatest moviemaker, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was weakened by company warfare and on the point of collapse. Shortly after Joseph Vogel grew to become the studio’s third president in simply two years, a Time journal article summed up the scenario as “A Gunfight on the M-G-M Corral.”
Early in 1956, Arthur B. Krim and Robert Benjamin took full possession of United Artists after buying Mary Pickford’s U.A. curiosity for $3 million. In July, two of the three Warner Brothers stepped apart after Harry and Albert bought their inventory in Warner Bros., leaving Jack L. Warner as president.
On the optimistic aspect, Cecil B. de Mille’s “The Ten Commandments,” which might be the director’s final movie, opened in cinemas on Oct. 5. Regardless of its then-astronomical price of $13 million, it went on to change into one of the vital profitable and well-liked movies ever, now rating at No. 8 on the checklist of all-time best moneymakers (when adjusted for inflation). In the meantime, Elvis Presley’s first movie, “Love Me Tender,” a Civil Warfare–period romance, opened on Nov. 15 and made again its $1 million manufacturing price on its opening weekend.
With that, listed below are another cinematic firsts and lasts, with a give attention to feminine filmmakers, for 1956:
The comeback of Ingrid Bergman: After being exiled for nearly seven years, cinema icon returned to Hollywood to make “Anastasia” (1956); she had been banished for having an affair with director Roberto Rossellini and for having their baby. She received her second Finest Actress Oscar for this function as an amnesia sufferer who tries to move herself off because the Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia.
One and executed: Bergman bested Nancy Kelly, nominated in the identical 12 months for “The Dangerous Seed” (1956), and who had received a Finest Actress Tony for her function within the Broadway manufacturing. “The Dangerous Seed” additionally served as Kelly’s final theatrical movie, and solely Oscar nomination; although her movie profession stretched again to the silent period, when she was a baby actress, she made solely TV motion pictures and sequence, and targeting Broadway afterward.
Additionally receiving an Oscar nomination, within the supporting actress class, was Eileen Heckart, as Hortense Daigle, the distraught mom of Claude, a sufferer in “The Dangerous Seed.” The 12 months 1956 additionally marked Heckart’s display screen debut, with roles in 4 movies: “Miracle within the Rain,” “Anyone Up There Likes Me,” “The Dangerous Seed,” and “Bus Cease.”
One other “Dangerous Seed” footnote: Though stage actress Joan Croydon, because the headmistress Miss Fern, made just a few tv appearances, “The Dangerous Seed” was her solely movie function.
Swan music for Grace Kelly: Hollywood’s princess, who claimed her crown when she received the Finest Actress Oscar for “The Nation Lady” the 12 months earlier than, grew to become royalty for actual when she married Prince Rainier of Monaco on April 18, 1956. MGM organized to have her penultimate movie, “The Swan,” with its art-imitates-life storyline, launched on April 18. Her final movie, “Excessive Society,” a musical adaptation of “The Philadelphia Story,” starring Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, got here out in July.
Regardless of makes an attempt to lure her again to Hollywood, Kelly by no means made one other movie. Coincidentally, she grew to become the primary actress to look on a USPS postage stamp, collectively issued by the USA and Monaco on March 24, 1993.
The ripening of two tomatoes: Two abilities got here contemporary off the vine in 1956: Brigitte Bardot and Jayne Mansfield.
Shot in September and rushed into theaters in time for Christmas, writer-director Frank Tashlin’s “The Lady Can’t Assist It” cemented the sexpot standing of Jayne Mansfield, a classically educated violinist who spoke 5 languages. (Her daughter, Mariska Hargitay, star of the long-running sequence “Regulation and Order SUV,” explores the star’s advanced legacy in her 2025 documentary “My Mother Jayne.”)
Though Brigitte Bardot, the so-called Princess of Pout, had small roles in a number of earlier movies, “And God Created Lady” (1956) reworked her into a global film star and intercourse image. Shot in Saint Tropez in spring 1956 by her then-husband, cinematic flesh peddler Roger Vadim, “And God Created Lady” introduced in $12 million (practically $145 million in 2026) on a $300,000 price range. Bardot, who died on Dec. 28, 2025, at age 91, tarnished her legacy over time along with her right-wing views; a tribute to her at this 12 months’s César Awards (the French Oscars) on Feb. 26 was booed.
Goodbye, Norma Jean: Talking of sirens, Norma Jeane Mortenson legally modified her identify to Marilyn Monroe on Feb. 23.
A rose blooms: Italian sensation Anna Magnani took on her first English-language portrayal in a Hollywood movie: “The Rose Tattoo” (1955). Tennessee Williams had written the function of Serafina along with her in thoughts, however she declined the half on Broadway, nervous over her lack of fluency in English. Magnani’s movie efficiency was broadly acclaimed, and he or she received the 1956 Oscar for Finest Actress, turning into the primary Italian to win an Academy Award for appearing.
A pathfinder: Magnani paved the way in which for fellow Italians resembling Sophia Loren, who, for her American movie debut, selected “A Boy on a Dolphin,” which was shot in 1956 however launched in April 1957. It was the preliminary manufacturing of Loren’s four-picture take care of twentieth Century Fox.
Extra Debuts
Different actresses, starting from future stars to supporting abilities, made their movie debuts in 1956, together with:
Cicely Tyson: The long run Oscar nominee (for “Sounder,” 1972) made her movie debut within the indie film “Carib Gold” as Dottie, a member of a bunch of shrimpers trying to find treasure.
Diana Sands: This actress, who costarred within the film model of “A Raisin within the Solar,” additionally made her function movie debut in “Carib Gold.”
Angie Dickinson: After a sequence of supporting roles on TV,the longer term “Police Lady” superior her movie profession along with her first credited roles within the 1956 Westerns “Hidden Weapons,” “Pressure at Desk Rock,” and “Gun the Man Down.”
Carroll Baker: Following a string of uncredited elements, she scored her leading-role debut in “Child Doll,” for which she earned an Academy Award nomination for Finest Actress.
Patty McCormack: Reprising her Broadway function because the murderous Rhoda Penmark within the movie model of “The Dangerous Seed” (1956), she obtained a Supporting Actress Oscar nomination, marking one of many first occasions {that a} baby had been nominated for an precise Academy Award. Earlier than the Fifties, baby and teenage stars resembling Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, and Margaret O’Brien obtained honorary juvenile Oscars.
A long time later, McCormack returned to the franchise, performing in a 2018 TV model and its 2022 sequel, “Dangerous Seed Returns,” because the killer baby’s psychiatrist.
Births of 1956
Joan Allen: (Born Aug. 20) A founding member of Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre, she is a three-time Oscar nominee: Finest Actress for “The Contender” (2000), and Supporting Actress for “The Crucible” (1996) and “Nixon” (1995).
Adam Arkin: (Born Aug. 19) An actor-director-producer and the son of Alan Arkin, Adam is finest identified for his roles on the sequence “Chicago Hope” and “Northern Publicity,” and the Coen Brothers’ “A Severe Man” (2009).
Steven Bauer: (Born Dec. 3) The Cuban-American actor-producer received a SAG award for finest efficiency by the forged of a theatrical movement image for “Site visitors” (2000).
Michael Biehn: (Born July 31): The action-movie stalwart stays finest often known as Kyle Reese in “The Terminator” franchise.
Danny Boyle: (Born Oct. 20) The British filmmaker received a Finest Director Oscar for “Slumdog Millionaire” (2008), together with DGA, BAFTA, and Golden Globe honors for a similar title.
Kim Cattrall: (Born Aug. 21) The long run “Intercourse and the Metropolis” costar had early roles in Otto Preminger’s “Rosebud” (1975) and “Tribute” (1980).
Leslie Cheung: (Born Sept. 12) A local of Hong Kong, the actor made his breakthrough in John Woo’s “A Higher Tomorrow” (1986). He died in 2003.
Bryan Cranston: (Born March 7): A seven-time Emmy winner for the sequence “Breaking Dangerous” (which he additionally produced), he obtained a Finest Actor Oscar nomination as blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo in “Trumbo” (2015).
Geena Davis: (Born Jan. 21) The “Thelma & Louise” costar (and Finest Actress Oscar nominee for this movie) received a Finest Supporting Actress Oscar for “The Unintentional Vacationer” (1987) and received the 2020 Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award Oscar.
Bo Derek: (Born Nov. 20) American actress finest identified for her breakout function as Dudley Moore’s object of need in “10” (1979).
Carrie Fisher: (Born Oct. 21) Daughter of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, she launched the function of Princess Leia within the “Star Wars” (1977) unique trilogy, wrote best-selling novels, acclaimed screenplays, and was a script physician. She died in 2016.
Andy Garcia: (Born April 12) The Cuban-American actor-director-producer obtained a supporting actor nomination for “The Godfather, Half III” (1990) and has received two ALMAs, for finest supporting actor in “Ocean’s Eleven” (2001) and the 2006 Anthony Quinn Achievement Award in Movement Footage.
Mel Gibson: (Born Jan. 3) The actor-director-producer received two Oscars (finest image and director) for “Braveheart” (1995).
Linda Hamilton: (Born Sept. 26) Finest often known as Sarah Connor within the “Terminator” franchise.
Tom Hanks: (Born July 9) Actor-director-producer, a two-time Finest Actor Oscar winner for “Philadelphia” (1993) and “Forrest Gump” (1994), he’s additionally the recipient of the 2002 Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Movie Institute.
Nicholas Hytner: (Born Might 7) The British-born director of “The Insanity of King George” (1994), he’s a BAFTA winner of the Alexander Korda Award for Finest British Movie 1995.
Nathan Lane: (Born Feb. 3) The Broadway mainstay made his film breakthrough because the voice of Timon the meerkat in Disney’s “The Lion King” (1994), adopted by Albert in “The Birdcage” (1996).
Man Maddin: (Born Feb. 28) The Canadian-born filmmaker is finest identified for guiding “The Saddest Music within the World” (2003) and “My Winnipeg” (2007).
Lesley Manville: (Born March 12) British actress identified for her work with director Mike Leigh was a supporting actress nominee for “The Phantom Thread” (1997).
Eric Roberts: (Born April 18) American actor, brother of Julia Roberts, he was a finest supporting actor nominee for “Runaway Practice” (1985).
Mimi Rogers: (Born Jan. 27) The American actress-producer broke by with “Somebody to Watch Over Me” (1987).
Christoph Waltz: (Born Oct. 4) The Austrian-German actor-producer has received two supporting actor Oscars, each for Quentin Tarantino movies: “Inglourious Basterds” (2009) and “Django Unchained” (2012).
Rita Wilson: (Born Oct. 26) Actress-producer (and second spouse of Tom Hanks), she organized a film deal for Nia Vardalos’ “My Huge Fats Greek Wedding ceremony” (2002), one of many top-grossing impartial movie hits of all time.
Deaths of 1956
Anne Crawford: (Died Oct. 17) The Scottish actress, finest identified for MGM’s “Knights of the Spherical Desk” (1953), succumbed to leukemia at age 33.
Jehanne D’Alcy: (Died Oct. 14) Finest often known as the mistress and eventual spouse of French cinema pioneer Georges Méliès, D’Alcy acted in Méliès’ “Le Manoir du diable” (1896), “Jeanne d’Arc” (1900), and “Le Voyage dans la lune” (1902). In Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” (2011), D’Alcy is portrayed by actress Helen McCrory.
Marie Doro: (Died Oct. 9) The American actress of the early silent movie period (“The Coronary heart of Nora Flynn,” “The White Pearl”) was identified for her magnificence and performances each on Broadway and in early cinema. One of the vital well-liked actresses of the Edwardian period, she segued from the stage to silent movies between 1915 and 1924.
Ruth Draper (Died Dec. 30): The American actress and dramatist, thought to be the mom of the monologue, was finest identified for “The Italian Lesson,” a day-in-the-life of a rich matron through the Jazz Age.
Edith Edwards: (Died March 6) The German-born actress was identified for “The Love Pirate” (1925), produced by Germany’s UFA, with Rudolph Maté as considered one of its three cinematographers.
Marion Leonard: (Died Jan. 9) The silent movie star was identified for the Biograph Studios’ manufacturing of “In Outdated California” (1910), the primary film ever filmed in Hollywood. Leonard and Florence Auer had been the primary main girls of Biograph, working usually for D.W. Griffith. Along with her husband, writer-director Stanner E.V. Taylor, Leonard began her personal manufacturing firm.
Katherine MacDonald: (Died June 4) An enormous field workplace attraction for First Nationwide Footage through the silent period, the American star was one of many first actresses to arrange her personal manufacturing firm, Katherine MacDonald Footage (1919–1921).
Mary Mersch: (Died Feb. 26) Actress identified for “The Rainbow Path” (1918) and “Riders of the Purple Sage” (1918).
Mistinguett: (Died Jan. 5) Born as Jeanne Florentine Bourgeois, the French actress-singer was finest identified for her time on the Moulin Rouge, the Paris cabaret based in 1889. However she made a number of motion pictures, beginning within the silent period, when she portrayed Éponine in a model of “Les Misérables” (1913).
Mary Warren: (Died Aug. 4) The silent period actress was married to fellow actor Lee Phelps, who, with 600 confirmed roles over 35 years, is amongst Hollywood’s most prolific however nearly unknown supporting gamers.
Margaret Wycherly: (Died June 6) The English actress had roles on Broadway and in Hollywood, most notably as Ma Jarrett in “White Warmth” (1949), immortalized with the dying phrases of son Cody Jarrett (James Cagney): “Made it, Ma! High of the world!”