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1952 in film

overview of the events of 1952 in film

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 24, 2026
Entity authorityQ755658 ↗
Source-derived summary

The year 1952 in film involved some significant events in cinema history, including the releases of Ivanhoe, Singin' in the Rain, and the Best Picture-winning The Greatest Show on Earth.

Events

January 10 – Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, is premièred 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 19 – While Charlie Chaplin is at sea on his way to the United Kingdom, the United States Attorney-General, James P. McGranery, announces plans to review his right to return to the US.

September 30 – The Cinerama multiple-projection widescreen system, invented by Fred Waller, makes its début 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.

Top-grossing films

United States

The top ten 1952 released films by box office gross in the United States are as follows:

International

Awards

Notable films released in 1952

United States unless stated

#

1st of April, 2000 – (Austria)

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 – (West Germany)

Andrine og Kjell – (Norway)

Androcles and the Lion, starring Jean Simmons and Victor Mature

Angel Face, starring Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons

Angels One Five, starring Jack Hawkins – (GB)

Anhonee, starring Raj Kapoor and Nargis – (India)

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 – (India)

The Beast Must Die (La Bestia debe morir) – (Argentina)

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 (Beauties of the Night), directed by René Clair – (France)

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 – (GB)

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 – (GB)

Carrie, starring Laurence Olivier, Jennifer Jones, Miriam Hopkins

Carson City, starring Randolph Scott

Casque d'Or (Golden Helmet), directed by Jacques Becker, starring Simone Signoret – (France)

Children of Hiroshima (Gembaku no ko) – (Japan)

Ciguli Miguli – (Yugoslavia)

The City Stands Trial (Processo alla città), directed by Luigi Zampa – (Italy)

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 (Las aguas bajan turbias) – (Argentina)

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 – (Britain)

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 – (GB)

Dreamboat, starring Ginger Rogers, Clifton Webb, Elsa Lanchester, Anne Francis

E

Emergency Call, directed by Lewis Gilbert, starring Jack Warner, Anthony Steel, Joy Shelton and Freddie Mills – (U.K.)

Europa '51, directed by Roberto Rossellini, starring Ingrid Bergman – (Italy)

The Eyes Leave Tracks (Los ojos dejan huella), starring Raf Vallone – (Spain)

F

Face to Face, starring James Mason and Robert Preston

Fanfan la Tulipe (a.k.a.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “1952 in film” is overview of the events of 1952 in film. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through film, overview and events, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA productive route into publication, performance and collection histories when the underlying object or edition remains clearly identified. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1952, 2000—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, film, overview and events is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “overview of the events of 1952 in film” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q755658. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1952 and 2000.

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Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “1952 in film” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.