1958 in film



The year 1958 in film involved some significant events, including the hit musicals South Pacific and Gigi.

Events

 * February 16 - In the Money by William Beaudine is released. It would be the last installment of The Bowery Boys series which began in 1946.
 * The second installment of Sergei Eisenstein's Ivan the Terrible is officially released, having previously been shelved for political reasons. It would be the last of Eisenstein's Ivan the Terrible trilogy as the director died during production on Part III.
 * May 15 - As the twilight of the movie musical was declining from people's interest and taste, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer released a film that ended the popularity of movie musicals with dignity, class, eloquence, and respect. Directed by Vincente Minnelli, produced by Arthur Freed, and written by Alan Jay Lerner, Gigi set a standard for future film musicals on how to appeal to audiences young and old, as well as to be taken seriously as a true art form of filmmaking (e.g. West Side Story, Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music, The Jungle Book, Oliver!, Fiddler on the Roof, Beauty and the Beast, Moulin Rouge!, Chicago, Les Misérables, to name more worthy titles.) Gigi was released to tremendous critical and commercial success and became the highest-grossing musical ever made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, until That's Entertainment! in 1974.
 * November 15 - During production of Solomon and Sheba in Madrid, Spain, actor Tyrone Power dies of a massive heart attack. Production of the movie was halted and was later finished in late 1959. Power, who was playing the role of King Solomon, was replaced in the film by Yul Brynner.

Top-grossing films (U.S.)
(*) After theatrical re-issue(s)

Awards
Academy Awards:


 * Best Picture: Gigi – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
 * Best Director: Vincente Minnelli – Gigi
 * Best Actor: David Niven – Separate Tables
 * Best Actress: Susan Hayward – I Want to Live!
 * Best Supporting Actor: Burl Ives – The Big Country
 * Best Supporting Actress: Wendy Hiller – Separate Tables
 * Best Foreign Language Film: Mon Oncle (My Uncle), directed by Jacques Tati, France

Golden Globe Awards:


 * Drama:
 * Best Picture: The Defiant Ones
 * Best Actor: David Niven – Separate Tables
 * Best Actress: Susan Hayward – I Want to Live!


 * Musical or comedy:
 * Best Picture: Gigi
 * Best Actor: Danny Kaye – Me and the Colonel
 * Best Actress: Rosalind Russell – Auntie Mame


 * Other
 * Best Director: Vincente Minnelli – Gigi

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):
 * The Cranes Are Flying (Летят журавли, Letyat zhuravli), directed by Mikheil Kalatozishvili, Soviet Union

Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival):
 * The Rickshaw Man (Muhomatsu no issho), directed by Hiroshi Inagaki, Japan

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):
 * Wild Strawberries (Smultronstället), directed by Ingmar Bergman, Sweden

Notable films released in 1958

 * 1) Vertigo