The year 1974 in film involved some significant events.
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Highest-grossing films (U.S.)
editThe top ten 1974 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
| Rank | Title | Distributor(s) | Domestic rentals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Towering Inferno | 20th Century Fox / Warner Bros. | $50,000,000[1] |
| 2 | Blazing Saddles | Warner Bros. | $45,200,000[1] |
| 3 | Young Frankenstein | 20th Century Fox | $38,800,000[1] |
| 4 | Earthquake | Universal | $36,300,000[1] |
| 5 | The Trial of Billy Jack | Warner Bros. | $31,100,000[2] |
| 6 | The Godfather Part II | Paramount | $30,700,000[1] |
| 7 | Airport 1975 | Universal Pictures | $25,800,000[1] |
| 8 | The Longest Yard | Paramount | $23,000,000[1] |
| 9 | Death Wish | $22,000,000[3] | |
| 10 | The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams | Sunn Classic | $21,895,000[4] |
Events
edit- February 7 – Blazing Saddles is released in the United States.
- May 28 - Joseph E. Levine, the founder of Embassy Pictures, resigns as president.
- June 20 – Chinatown, directed by Roman Polanski and featured Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, and John Huston, is released to worldwide critical acclaim.
- November 1 – Technicolor ceases its legendary dye-transfer printing process.
- November 8 – Frank Yablans announces his resignation as president of Paramount Pictures with effect from January 5, 1975 following Barry Diller earlier becoming chairman and chief executive office.
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer celebrated its fiftieth anniversary with big fanfare, including That's Entertainment!, a retrospective documentary celebrating its prestigious musicals (e.g. The Wizard of Oz, Singin' in the Rain, Meet Me in St. Louis, Gigi, An American in Paris, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers).
- October–December – Three "disaster films" are released in three consecutive months: Airport 1975, Earthquake, and The Towering Inferno respectively. All were box office successes.
- Kevin Costner made his film debut in Sizzle Beach, U.S.A., although the film was not released until 1986.
Awards
editPalme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):
- The Conversation, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, United States
Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):
- The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, directed by Ted Kotcheff, Canada
1974 films
editBy country/region
edit- List of American films of 1974
- List of Argentine films of 1974
- List of Australian films of 1974
- List of Bangladeshi films of 1974
- List of British films of 1974
- List of Canadian films of 1974
- List of French films of 1974
- List of Hong Kong films of 1974
- List of Indian films of 1974
- List of Japanese films of 1974
- List of Mexican films of 1974
- List of Pakistani films of 1974
- List of South Korean films of 1974
- List of Soviet films of 1974
- List of Spanish films of 1974
By genre/medium
editBirths
edit- January 1 – Jennifer Podemski, Canadian actress
- January 5 – Daisy Bates, English actress
- January 10
- Jemaine Clement, New Zealand actor, musician, comedian, singer, director and writer
- Kelly Marcel, English screenwriter, director and former actress
- Mehdi Nebbou, French actor
- Hrithik Roshan, Indian actor
- January 14 - Kevin Durand, Canadian actor
- January 16 - Johnny Trí Nguyễn, Vietnamese–American actor
- January 18 - Maulik Pancholy, American actor
- January 19 - Natassia Malthe, Norwegian actress and model
- January 21 - Vincent Laresca, American actor
- January 24 – Ed Helms, American actor and comedian
- January 28 - Ty Olsson, Canadian actor
- January 30
- Christian Bale, English actor[5]
- Olivia Colman, English actress[5]
- February 2 - Oz Perkins, American actor, screenwriter and director
- February 4 – Urmila Matondkar, Indian actress
- February 8
- Seth Green, American actor, voice artist, comedian, producer, writer and director
- Susan May Pratt, American actress
- February 9
- Erra Fazira, Malaysian actress
- Amber Valletta, American model and actress
- February 10
- Elizabeth Banks, American actress, director, writer and producer
- María Botto, Argentine-Spanish actress
- Tanoai Reed, American stuntman and actor
- February 11 - Isaiah Mustafa, American actor
- February 12 - Lisa Brenner, American actress
- February 15
- Miranda July (née Grossinger), American filmmaker, performance artist and fiction writer
- Gina Lynn, American former pornographic actress
- February 16 – Mahershala Ali, American actor and rapper
- February 17
- David Lipper, Canadian actor
- Jerry O'Connell, American actor
- February 18 – Nadine Labaki, Lebanese actress, director and activist
- February 25 – Divya Bharti, Indian actress (d. 1993)
- March 5
- Kevin Connolly, American actor and director
- Matt Lucas, English actor, comedian, writer and television presenter
- Eva Mendes, American actress
- March 7
- Jenna Fischer, American actress
- Tobias Menzies, English actor
- March 8
- Cesar Velasco Broca, Spanish actor and cult filmmaker
- Danny Corkill, American former child actor
- March 14 - Etan Cohen, Israeli-American screenwriter and director
- March 15 - Renoly Santiago, Puerto Rican actor, singer and writer
- March 21 - Rhys Darby, New Zealand actor, comedian and voice actor
- March 23 - Randall Park, American actor, comedian and writer
- March 24 – Alyson Hannigan, American actress
- March 25 - Laz Alonso, American actor
- March 31
- Adrian Holmes, Canadian actor
- Victoria Smurfit, Irish actress
- April 2 - Harold Hunter, American professional skateboarder and actor (d. 2006)
- April 10 - Omar Metwally, American actor
- April 11 - David Banner, American rapper and actor
- April 12 - Marley Shelton, American actress
- April 15
- Fay Masterson, English actress
- Danny Pino, American actor
- April 18 - Edgar Wright, English filmmaker
- April 21
- John Hasler, English actor and voice-over artist
- Tony Kgoroge, South African actor
- April 24 – Jennifer Paz, Filipino actress
- April 26 – Ivana Miličević, American actress
- April 28 – Penélope Cruz, Spanish actress
- May 2 - Matt Berry, English actor, voice actor, comedian, writer and musician
- May 3 - Joseph Kosinski, American filmmaker
- May 7 – Breckin Meyer, American actor, voice actor, writer and producer
- May 10 - Craig Hall, New Zealand actor
- May 11 – Benoît Magimel, French actor
- May 14 - Carla Jimenez, American actress
- May 15 – Russell Hornsby, American actor
- May 21 – Fairuza Balk, American actress
- May 22 – Sean Gunn, American actor
- May 23 - Jewel, American singer-songwriter and actress
- May 24 - Dash Mihok, American actor and director
- May 25 - Maria Fernanda Cândido, Brazilian actress and television presenter
- June 2 - Leah Cairns, Canadian actress
- June 6 - Danny Strong, American actor, writer, director and producer
- June 11 - Lenny Jacobson, American actor
- June 12
- Jared Bush, American screenwriter, producer and director
- Jason Mewes, American actor, comedian, film producer and podcaster
- June 13 - Brande Roderick, American model and actress
- June 14 - Phillip Rhys, English actor and filmmaker
- June 16 - Joseph May, British-born Canadian-American actor
- June 20 – Lenin M. Sivam, Sri Lankan-Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
- June 23 – Joel Edgerton, Australian actor
- June 25
- Jeff Cohen, American former child actor
- Karisma Kapoor, Indian actress
- June 28 - Kirsty Mitchell, Scottish actress
- July 1 - Jonathan Roumie, American actor
- July 3 - Corey Reynolds, American actor
- July 4 - Mick Wingert, American voice actor
- July 8 – Tami Erin, American actress
- July 10 - Imelda May, Irish actress and singer
- July 16 - Robinne Lee, American actress
- July 20 - Simon Rex, American actor, rapper and comedian
- July 22
- Donald Faison, American actor, comedian and voice actor
- Franka Potente, German actress
- Johnny Strong, American actor, musician and singer-songwriter
- July 27 - Amy Hathaway, American former actress
- July 29 - Josh Radnor, American actor and filmmaker
- July 30 – Hilary Swank, American actress
- July 31
- Emilia Fox, English actress and presenter
- Asher Keddie, Australian actress
- August 2 - Angie Cepeda, Colombian actress
- August 5 – Kajol, Indian actress
- August 7 – Michael Shannon, American actor
- August 8 - Enzo Cilenti, English actor
- August 10 - Craig Kirkwood, American former actor
- August 11 - Chris Messina, American actor, director, writer and producer
- August 14 - Tomer Sisley, Israeli-French actor and comedian
- August 15 – Natasha Henstridge, Canadian actress and model
- August 20
- Amy Adams, American actress
- Misha Collins, American actor
- August 23 – Ray Park, Scottish actor and stuntman
- August 31 - Marc Webb, American music video director and filmmaker
- September 1 - Burn Gorman, English actor and musician
- September 4 - Nona Gaye, American singer and retired actress
- September 5 - Romina Yan, Argentine actress, screenwriter and singer (d. 2010)
- September 6
- Sarah Danielle Madison, American actress (d. 2014)
- Justin Whalin, American former actor
- September 7 - Noah Huntley, English actor
- September 10 – Ryan Phillippe, American actor
- September 11 - Ben Best, American actor, writer, musician and producer (d. 2021)
- September 18 - Xzibit, American rapper, actor and broadcaster
- September 19
- Jimmy Fallon, American television host, comedian and actor
- Victoria Silvstedt, Swedish actress and model
- September 30 - Ashley Hamilton, American actor, comedian and singer-songwriter
- October 1 - Sherri Saum, American actress
- October 2 - Michelle Krusiec, American actress, writer and producer
- October 6
- Fernando Chien, Taiwanese actor and stunt performer
- Alexis Georgoulis, Greek actor
- Jeremy Sisto, American actor, producer and writer
- October 7 - Numan Acar, Turkish-German actor and producer
- October 17
- Matthew Macfadyen, English actor
- Rizwan Manji, Canadian actor
- October 20 – Brian Limond, Scottish comedian, actor and writer
- October 28
- Michael Dougherty, American director, screenwriter, producer and animator
- Jake Kasdan, American filmmaker and actor
- Joaquin Phoenix, American actor
- October 31
- David Dencik, Danish-Swedish actor
- Ruben Fleischer, American director and producer
- November 2 - Nelly, American actor, rapper and singer
- November 4 – Matthew Rhys, Welsh actor
- November 7 - Carl Steven, American child actor (d. 2011)
- November 9 - Ryo Kase, Japanese actor
- November 10 – Simone Singh, Indian actress
- November 11 – Leonardo DiCaprio, American actor
- November 14
- Fatima Adoum, French actress
- David Moscow, American actor and producer
- November 16 – Chloë Sevigny, American actress
- November 17 – Leslie Bibb, American actress and model
- November 21 – Tiit Sukk, Estonian actor
- November 24 - Stephen Merchant, English comedian, actor, writer, director and presenter
- November 25 - Kenneth Mitchell, Canadian actor (d. 2024)
- November 26 - Omar Chaparro, Mexican actor, comedian, television host and singer
- November 30 - Hinnerk Schönemann, German actor
- December 1 – Érica Rivas, Argentinian actress
- December 11 - Lisa Ortiz, American voice actress and voice director
- December 15 - P. J. Byrne, American actor
- December 17
- Paul Briggs, American animator and voice actor
- Sarah Paulson, American actress
- Giovanni Ribisi, American actor
- December 24 - Thure Lindhardt, Danish actor
- December 25 - Andrew McNee, Canadian actor
- December 27 - Masi Oka, Japanese actor, producer and digital effects artist
- December 29 - Mekhi Phifer, American actor
Deaths
edit| Month | Date | Name | Age | Country | Profession | Notable films |
| January | 2 | Tex Ritter | 68 | US | Actor, Singer | |
| 3 | Gino Cervi | 72 | Italy | Actor | ||
| 14 | Paul Whitsun-Jones | 50 | UK | Actor | ||
| 31 | Samuel Goldwyn | 94 | Poland | Producer, Studio Executive | ||
| 31 | Roger Pryor | 72 | US | Actor | ||
| February | 7 | Arline Judge | 61 | US | Actress | |
| 11 | Anna Q. Nilsson | 85 | Sweden | Actress | ||
| 23 | Florence Rice | 67 | US | Actress | ||
| 23 | Harry Ruby | 79 | US | Screenwriter, Composer | ||
| 27 | Orry-Kelly | 66 | Australia | Costume Designer | ||
| 28 | Carole Lesley | 38 | UK | Actress | ||
| March | 3 | Barbara Ruick | 43 | US | Actress, Singer | |
| 5 | Billy De Wolfe | 67 | US | Actor | ||
| 7 | Alberto Rabagliati | 67 | Italy | Actor, Singer | ||
| 8 | Martha Wentworth | 84 | US | Actress, Voice Actress | ||
| 13 | Howard St. John | 68 | US | Actor | ||
| 19 | Edward Platt | 58 | US | Actor | ||
| 28 | Dorothy Fields | 68 | US | Songwriter | ||
| 28 | Françoise Rosay | 82 | France | Actress | ||
| 29 | Seton I. Miller | 71 | US | Screenwriter | ||
| April | 2 | Douglass Dumbrille | 84 | Canada | Actor | |
| 10 | Patricia Collinge | 81 | Ireland | Actress | ||
| 13 | Stanley Smith | 71 | US | Actor | ||
| 18 | Betty Compson | 77 | US | Actress | ||
| 20 | Peter Lee Lawrence | 30 | Germany | Actor | ||
| 24 | Bud Abbott | 78 | US | Actor | ||
| 30 | Agnes Moorehead | 73 | US | Actress | ||
| May | 18 | Mary Maguire | 55 | Australia | Actress | |
| 24 | Duke Ellington | 75 | US | Composer | ||
| 25 | Donald Crisp | 91 | UK | Actor | ||
| June | 6 | Blanche Yurka | 86 | US | Actress | |
| 10 | Lewis R. Foster | 75 | US | Director, Screenwriter | ||
| 17 | Pamela Britton | 51 | US | Actress | ||
| 28 | Frank Sutton | 50 | US | Actor | ||
| July | 13 | Joe Flynn | 48 | US | Actor | |
| 13 | Marthe Vinot | 79 | France | Actress | ||
| 27 | Julián de Meriche | 65 | Mexico | Actor | ||
| 28 | Truman Bradley | 69 | US | Actor, Narrator | ||
| August | 13 | Ilona Massey | 64 | Hungary | Actress | |
| 16 | Maxwell Reed | 55 | Ireland | Actor | ||
| September | 6 | Olga Baclanova | 78 | Russia | Actress | |
| 6 | Otto Kruger | 89 | US | Actor | ||
| 14 | Barbara Jo Allen | 68 | US | Actress | ||
| 14 | Warren Hull | 71 | US | Actor | ||
| 18 | Edna Best | 74 | UK | Actress | ||
| 21 | Jacqueline Susann | 56 | US | Author, Actress | ||
| 21 | Walter Brennan | 80 | US | Actor | ||
| 22 | Stephanie Bidmead | 45 | UK | Actress | ||
| 27 | James R. Webb | 64 | US | Screenwriter | ||
| October | 13 | Ed Sullivan | 73 | US | Actor | |
| November | 7 | Rodolfo Acosta | 54 | Mexico | Actor | |
| 13 | Vittorio De Sica | 73 | Italy | Actor, Director, Screenwriter | ||
| 14 | Johnny Mack Brown | 70 | US | Actor | ||
| 17 | Clive Brook | 87 | UK | Actor | ||
| 25 | Rosemary Lane | 61 | US | Actress, Singer | ||
| December | 4 | Lee Kinsolving | 36 | US | Actor | |
| 5 | Pietro Germi | 60 | Italy | Actor, Director, Screenwriter | ||
| 10 | Paul Richards | 50 | US | Actor | ||
| 11 | Reed Hadley | 63 | US | Actor | ||
| 15 | Anatole Litvak | 72 | Ukraine | Director, Producer | ||
| 21 | Richard Long | 47 | US | Actor | ||
| 26 | Jack Benny | 80 | US | Actor |
Film debuts
edit- Armand Assante – The Lords of Flatbush
- Richard Belzer – The Groove Tube
- Tom Bower – The Trial of Billy Jack
- Tony Burton – The Black Godfather
- Chevy Chase – The Groove Tube
- Bill Cobbs – The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
- Robert Englund – Buster and Billie
- Jaime Fabregas – Black Mamba
- Jeff Goldblum – Death Wish[6]
- Chris Haywood – The Cars That Ate Paris
- Lawrence Hilton Jacobs – Claudine
- Clyde Kusatsu – Airport 1975
- Sean McCann – A Quiet Day in Belfast
- Edward James Olmos – Black Fist
- Raymond Serra – The Gambler
- Ray Sharkey – The Lords of Flatbush
- Delia Sheppard – The Spots on My Leopard
- Peter Simonischek – Die Auslieferung
- Steven Spielberg (director) – The Sugarland Express
- Fred Ward – Ginger in the Morning
- Kenneth Welsh – Piaf
- Henry Winkler – Crazy Joe
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g Finler, Joel Waldo (2003). The Hollywood Story. Wallflower Press. pp. 360–361. ISBN 978-1-903364-66-6.
- ^ Rental champs: Rate of return
- ^ "Death Wish - Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
- ^ Top 20 Films of 1974 by Domestic Revenue
- ^ a b Chase's Calendar of Events 2022: The Ultimate Go-to Guide for Special Days, Weeks and Months. Rowman & Littlefield. 15 November 2021. p. 106. ISBN 978-1-64143-504-8.
- ^ Allon, Yoram; Cullen, Del; Patterson, Hannah (2001). Contemporary British and Irish Film Directors: A Wallflower Critical Guide. Wallflower Press. p. 352. ISBN 978-1-903364-21-5.
