The year 1965 in film involved several significant events, with The Sound of Music topping the U.S. box office and winning five Academy Awards. Fox Film (now 20th Century-Fox), Universal City, California and Universal Studios Lot celebrated their 50th anniversaries.
Top-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1965 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
+ Highest-grossing films of 1965 Rank Title Distributor Domestic rentals 1 The Sound of Music 20th Century Fox $72,000,000 2 Doctor Zhivago MGM $43,000,000 3Thunderball United Artists / Eon $27,000,000 4 Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines 20th Century Fox $14,000,000Aubrey Solomon, Twentieth Century-Fox: A Corporate and Financial History Rowman & Littlefield, 2002 p 229 5The Great Race Warner Bros. $11,400,000Top 20 Films of 1965 by Domestic Revenue 6 That Darn Cat! Buena Vista $9,500,000 7 Cat Ballou Columbia $9,300,000 8 What's New Pussycat? United Artists $8,469,000 9 Shenandoah Universal $7,771,000 10 Von Ryan's Express 20th Century Fox $7,700,000
Events February 15 – George Stevens' production of The Greatest Story Ever Told, a retelling of the life of Jesus, premieres in New York City. It is such a flop with critics and audiences that its failure discourages production of religious epics for many years. It is considered notable in the 21st century for its astonishing landscapes, powerful and provocative cinematography, Max von Sydow's debut acting performance in an American film, and the final film performance of Claude Rains. March 2 – The Rodgers and Hammerstein film adaptation of The Sound of Music, directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, premieres. It quickly becomes a worldwide phenomenon and an instant classic. It successfully displaces Gone with the Wind to become, at the time, the highest-grossing film of all-time. The Sound of Music is credited as the film that saves and restores Twentieth Century-Fox from bankruptcy after it suffered from extremely high production costs of Cleopatra two years prior. July 1 – Blake Edwards's epic comedy The Great Race, starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, Natalie Wood, Peter Falk and Keenan Wynn, premieres. Initially a flop with critics and audiences, some do admire Edwards' direction, the acting by its ensemble cast, Henry Mancini's music, and its climactic pie fight. August 10 - A massive vault fire at MGM studios in Culver City, California, destroys the only known copies of hundreds of archived silent films, including Lon Chaney's London After Midnight and Greta Garbo's The Divine Woman. December 22 – David Lean's film adaptation of Boris Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago, starring Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Rod Steiger and Alec Guinness, premieres and, like The Sound of Music, quickly becomes a worldwide phenomenon. Its moral story and message of a love and human spirit that defies the communist Soviet Union make the film a true classic with critics and audiences. It is included among top films by the American Film Institute. In a decade of very difficult times for its studio, Zhivago becomes the most successful and acclaimed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film since How the West Was Won (1962) and the greatest MGM film since Ben-Hur (1959).
Awards Academy Awards:
Best Picture: The Sound of Music – Argyle Enterprises, 20th Century Fox Best Director: Robert Wise – The Sound of Music Best Actor: Lee Marvin – Cat Ballou Best Actress: Julie Christie – Darling Best Supporting Actor: Martin Balsam – A Thousand Clowns Best Supporting Actress: Shelley Winters – A Patch of Blue Best Foreign Language Film: The Shop on Main Street (Obchod na korze), directed by Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos, Czechoslovakia
BAFTA Film Awards:
Best Film from Any Source: My Fair Lady Best British Film: The Ipcress File
Golden Globe Awards:
Drama: Best Picture: Doctor Zhivago Best Actor: Omar Sharif – Doctor Zhivago Best Actress: Samantha Eggar – The Collector
Comedy or Musical: Best Picture: The Sound of Music Best Actor: Lee Marvin – Cat Ballou Best Actress: Julie Andrews – The Sound of Music
Other Best Supporting Actor: Oskar Werner – The Spy Who Came in from the Cold Best Supporting Actress: Ruth Gordon – Inside Daisy Clover Best Director: David Lean – Doctor Zhivago
Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival): The Knack ...and How to Get It, directed by Richard Lester, United Kingdom
Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival): Vaghe stelle dell'Orsa (Sandra of a Thousand Delights), directed by Luchino Visconti, Italy
Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival): Alphaville, directed by Jean-Luc Godard, France / Italy
1965 film releases United States unless stated
January–March January 1965 January 8 Dear Brigitte January 15 Baby the Rain Must Fall January 28 36 Hours February 1965 February 10 Strange Bedfellows Sylvia February 15 Lord Jim UK) February 23 Dr. Terror's House of Horrors UK) February 24 Love Has Many Faces Crack in the World March 1965 March 2 The Sound of Music March 5 Face of the Screaming Werewolf The Rounders March 6 Empire Nightmare in the Sun March 15 Major Dundee March 21 Die! Die! My Darling! (U.K.) March 24 John Goldfarb, Please Come Home! Bus Riley's Back in Town March 31 The Truth About Spring
April–June April 1965 April 3 The Man from Button Willow April 6 In Harm's Way April 8 The World of Abbott and Costello April 9 The Greatest Story Ever Told April 14 Beach Blanket Bingo The Satan Bug Girl Happy April 20 The Pawnbroker (U.S. release date) May 1965 5 May Alphaville (France) Brainstorm 7 May Joy in the Morning 13 May The Yellow Rolls-Royce 14 May Harlow 26 May Mirage June 1965 June 2 What's New Pussycat? June 3 Shenandoah June 9 Up from the Beach French international co-production June 16 Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines June 18 I'll Take Sweden June 23 Genghis Khan (1965 film) The Hallelujah Trail Harlow Von Ryan's Express Willy McBean and his Magic Machine June 24 Cat Ballou June 30 Ski Party Tickle Me
July–September July 1965 July 1 The Family Jewels The Great Race The Sons of Katie Elder July 3 The Hill (UK) July 12 The Art of Love July 14 How to Stuff a Wild Bikini July 21 I Saw What You Did July 22 The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders July 29 Ship of Fools August 1965 August 1 Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet August 3 Darling (UK) You Must Be Joking! (UK) August 8 Frankenstein Conquers the World (Japan) August 9 The Brigand of Kandahar August 14 A Very Special Favor August 18 Catch Us If You Can (UK) The Monkey's Uncle Sergeant Deadhead August 23 Dr. Who and the Daleks (U.K.) August 25 Morituri That Funny Feeling Wild on the Beach September 1965 September 1 Billie September 3 The Battle of the Villa Fiorita (UK) September 8 Operation C.I.A. September 15 The Reward September 20 How to Murder Your Wife September 24 Marriage on the Rocks September 27 Mickey One
October–December October 1965 October 6 Who Killed Teddy Bear October 7 The Agony and the Ecstasy October 11 The Bedford Incident (US/UK) October 13 Situation Hopeless... But Not Serious October 15 The Cincinnati Kid October 17 Sting of Death October 27 King Rat November 1965 November 4 Never Too Late November 6 Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine November 8 Rapture November 15 Bunny Lake Is Missing (UK) November 17 The War Lord November 18 For a Few Dollars More (Italy) November 19 Return from the Ashes November 24 Harum Scarum November 25 Lady L November 26 Carry On Cowboy UK) November 27 Gamera, the Giant Monster (Japan) December 1965 December 2 That Darn Cat! December 8 The Return of Ringo (Italy) December 10 A Patch of Blue December 13 A Thousand Clowns December 15 The Flight of the Phoenix December 16 Battle of the Bulge The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (UK) December 19 Invasion of Astro-Monster December 22 Doctor Zhivago (UK/Italy/US) December 23 The Slender Thread December 24 Bad Girls Go to Hell December 29 Thunderball (UK/US)
Notable films released in 1965 United States unless stated
# The 10th Victim (La decima vittima), starring Marcello Mastroianni and Ursula Andress – (Italy/France) 36 Hours, starring James Garner, Rod Taylor and Eva Marie Saint The 317th Platoon (La 317ème section), written and directed by Pierre Schoendoerffer – (France)
A Abashiri Prison (Abashiri Bangaichi), starring Ken Takakura – (Japan) Adventures of a Dentist (Pokhozhdyeniya zubnovo vracha), directed by Elem Klimov – (U.S.S.R.) The Adventures of the Smurfs (Les aventures des Schtroumpfs) – (Belgium) The Agony and the Ecstasy, directed by Carol Reed, starring Charlton Heston and Rex Harrison The Alphabet Murders, directed by Frank Tashlin, starring Tony Randall and Anita Ekberg Alphaville (Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution), directed by Jean-Luc Godard – (France) Always Further On (Tarahumara (Cada vez más lejos)), directed by Luis Alcoriza – (Mexico) The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders, starring Kim Novak, Richard Johnson and Angela Lansbury The Art of Love, directed by Norman Jewison, starring James Garner, Angie Dickinson, Elke Sommer and Dick Van Dyke Arzoo (Wish), starring Sadhana – (India) The Ashes (Popioły), directed by Andrzej Wajda – (Poland)
B Baby the Rain Must Fall, starring Steve McQueen and Lee Remick Bad Girls Go to Hell, directed by Doris Wishman Battle of the Bulge, starring Henry Fonda, Robert Shaw and Robert Ryan The Battle of the Villa Fiorita, directed by Delmer Daves, starring Maureen O'Hara, Rossano Brazzi, Olivia Hussey Beach Blanket Bingo, directed by William Asher, starring Annette Funicello, Frankie Avalon, Deborah Walley, Don Rickles The Bedford Incident, starring Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier – (US/UK) Behind the Mask of Zorro, directed by Ricardo Blasco and starring Tony Russel – (Italy/Spain) Billie, directed by Don Weis and starring Patty Duke Black Humor, anthology film directed by Claude Autant-Lara, Giancarlo Zagni and José María Forqué – (France/Italy/Spain) Black Wind (Viento negro), directed by Servando González – (Mexico) Boeing Boeing, starring Jerry Lewis and Tony Curtis La Bohème, directed by Franco Zeffirelli – (West Germany) Le Bonheur, directed by Agnès Varda – (France) Brainstorm, directed by William Conrad, starring Anne Francis and Jeffrey Hunter The Brigand of Kandahar, starring Oliver Reed and Yvonne Romain Bunny Lake Is Missing, directed by Otto Preminger, starring Laurence Olivier and Carol Lynley – (U.K.) Bus Riley's Back in Town, starring Ann-Margret and Michael Parks
C The Camp Followers (Le soldatesse), starring Anna Karina – (Italy) Carry On Cowboy, starring Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Jim Dale – (U.K.) Casanova 70, starring Marcello Mastroianni and Virna Lisi – (Italy) Cat Ballou, starring Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin Catch Us If You Can (a.k.a. Having a Wild Weekend), starring the Dave Clark Five – (U.K.) China!, a documentary written by Felix Greene Chronicle of a Boy Alone (Crónica de un niño solo) – (Argentina) The Cincinnati Kid, directed by Norman Jewison, starring Steve McQueen, Edward G. Robinson, Ann-Margret, Karl Malden, Tuesday Weld, Joan Blondell City Under the Sea (a.k.a. War-Gods of the Deep), starring Vincent Price and Tab Hunter Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion, starring Marshall Thompson and Betsy Drake Cloportes (La aétamorphose des cloportes), directed by Pierre Granier-Deferre – (France/Italy) Coast of Skeletons, directed by Robert Lynn and starring Richard Todd and Dale Robertson – (U.K./South Africa) The Collector, directed by William Wyler, starring Terence Stamp and Samantha Eggar – (U.K./U.S.) Crack in the World, starring Dana Andrews, Kieron Moore, Janette Scott Cup Fever, starring Bernard Cribbins – (U.K.) Curse of the Fly, starring Brian Donlevy, George Baker, Carole Gray Curse of the Voodoo (a.k.a. Curse of Simba / Voodoo Blood Death), directed by Lindsay Shonteff – (U.K.)
D Darling, directed by John Schlesinger, starring Laurence Harvey, Dirk Bogarde, Julie Christie – (U.K.)