1974 in film

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The year 1974 in film involved some significant events.

Highest-grossing films (U.S.)[]

The top ten 1974 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Highest-grossing films of 1974

Rank	Title	Distributor(s)	Box-office gross rental
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 Pictures	$30,700,000[1]
7	Airport 1975	Universal	$25,800,000[1]
8	The Longest Yard	Paramount	$23,000,000[1]
9	The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams	Sunn Classic	$21,895,000[3]
10	Murder on the Orient Express	Paramount	$19,124,000[3]

Events[]

• 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.
• June 26 - Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton divorce.
• 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[]

Category/Organization	32nd Golden Globe Awards January 25, 1975		28th BAFTA Awards February 18, 1975	47th Academy Awards April 8, 1975
	Drama	Comedy or Musical
Best Film	Chinatown	The Longest Yard	Lacombe, Lucien	The Godfather Part II
Best Director	Roman Polanski Chinatown		Roman Polanski Chinatown	Francis Ford Coppola The Godfather: Part II
Best Actor	Jack Nicholson Chinatown	Art Carney Harry and Tonto	Jack Nicholson The Last Detail / Chinatown	Art Carney Harry and Tonto
Best Actress	Gena Rowlands A Woman Under the Influence	Raquel Welch The Three Musketeers	Joanne Woodward Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams	Ellen Burstyn Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
Best Supporting Actor	Fred Astaire The Towering Inferno		John Gielgud Murder on the Orient Express	Robert De Niro The Godfather: Part II
Best Supporting Actress	Karen Black The Great Gatsby		Ingrid Bergman Murder on the Orient Express	Ingrid Bergman Murder on the Orient Express
Best Screenplay, Adapted	Chinatown Robert Towne		Chinatown / The Last Detail Robert Towne	The Godfather Part II Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo
Best Screenplay, Original				Chinatown Robert Towne
Best Original Score	Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe The Little Prince		Richard Rodney Bennett Murder on the Orient Express	Nino Rota and Carmine Coppola The Godfather Part II Nelson Riddle The Great Gatsby
Best Original Song	"I Feel Love" Benji		N/A	"We May Never Love Like This Again" The Towering Inferno
Best Foreign Language Film	Scenes from a Marriage		N/A	Amarcord

Palme 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

Notable films released in 1974[]

United States unless stated

• The 6 Ultra Brothers vs. the Monster Army (Urutora Roku Kyōdai tai Kaijū Gundan) – (Japan/Thailand)
• 11 Harrowhouse, starring Charles Grodin, Candice Bergen, James Mason
• 36 Ghante, starring Raaj Kumar and Sunil Dutt – (India)
• 99 and 44/100% Dead, starring Richard Harris, Ann Turkel, Edmond O'Brien, Chuck Connors

A[]

• Aap Ki Kasam, starring Rajesh Khanna and Mumtaz – (India)
• Abby, starring William Marshall
• A Performance of Hamlet in the Village of Mrdusa Donja (Predstava Hamleta u Mrduši Donjoj) – (Yugoslavia)
• Aina (The Mirror) – (Pakistan)
• Airport 1975, starring Charlton Heston, Karen Black, George Kennedy, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Susan Clark, Helen Reddy, Myrna Loy, Gloria Swanson
• Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (Angst essen Seele auf), directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder – (West Germany)
• Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Ellen Burstyn, Kris Kristofferson, Harvey Keitel, Alfred Lutter, Jodie Foster
• Alice in the Cities (Alice in den Städten), directed by Wim Wenders – (West Germany)
• Alien Thunder, starring Donald Sutherland
• All the Kind Strangers, directed by Burt Kennedy, starring Stacy Keach and Samantha Eggar
• Allonsanfàn, starring Marcello Mastroianni – (Italy)
• Almost Human (Milano odia: la polizia non può sparare), starring Tomas Milian and Henry Silva – (Italy)
• And Now My Love (Toute une vie), directed by Claude Lelouch, starring Marthe Keller – (France)
• And Then There Were None, starring Richard Attenborough, Charles Aznavour, Gert Fröbe, Herbert Lom, Oliver Reed, Adolfo Celi, Elke Sommer
• Animals Are Beautiful People – (South Africa)
• Angkur (The Seedling) – (India)
• The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, directed by Ted Kotcheff, starring Richard Dreyfuss – Golden Bear winner – (Canada)
• Arabian Nights (Il fiore delle mille e una notte), directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini – (Italy)
• At Home Among Strangers (Svoy sredi chuzhikh, chuzhoy sredi svoikh) – (U.S.S.R.)
• The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (made for TV), starring Cicely Tyson

B[]

• Barry McKenzie Holds His Own, starring Barry Crocker and Barry Humphries – (Australia)
• The Beast Must Die, starring Peter Cushing – (U.K.)
• Benji, starring Patsy Garrett
• Big Bad Mama, starring Angie Dickinson
• Billy Two Hats, starring Gregory Peck and Desi Arnaz, Jr.
• Black Belt Jones, starring Jim Kelly
• Black Christmas (a.k.a. Silent Night, Evil Night), starring Olivia Hussey, Margot Kidder, Keir Dullea – (Canada)
• The Black Windmill, starring Michael Caine and Janet Suzman – (U.K.)
• Blazing Saddles, directed by Mel Brooks, starring Gene Wilder, Cleavon Little, Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn, Slim Pickens, Alex Karras
• Blood for Dracula (Andy Warhol's Dracula), directed by Paul Morrissey
• Bread and Chocolate (Pane e cioccolata), starring Nino Manfredi – (Italy)
• Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, directed by Sam Peckinpah, starring Warren Oates, Isela Vega, Gig Young, Robert Webber
• Buster and Billie, starring Jan-Michael Vincent
• Butley, directed by Harold Pinter, starring Alan Bates and Jessica Tandy – (U.K.)

C[]

• Caged Heat, directorial debut of Jonathan Demme
• California Split, directed by Robert Altman, starring George Segal, Elliott Gould, Ann Prentiss
• Callan, starring Edward Woodward – (U.K.)
• Carry On Dick, starring Sid James and Barbara Windsor – (U.K.)
• The Cars that Ate Paris, directorial debut of Peter Weir – (Australia)
• The Castaway Cowboy, directed by Vincent McEveety, starring James Garner, Vera Miles, Eric Shea, and Robert Culp
• Celine and Julie Go Boating (Céline et Julie vont en bateau), directed by Jacques Rivette – (France)
• Chinatown, directed by Roman Polanski, starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway – Golden Globe Awards for Best Picture, Director and Actor
• Claudine, starring Diahann Carroll and James Earl Jones
• The Clockmaker (L' Horloger de Saint-Paul), directed by Bertrand Tavernier, starring Philippe Noiret and Jean Rochefort – (France)
• Closed Mondays (animated short) - Academy Awards for Best Animated Short Film
• Cockfighter, starring Warren Oates and Harry Dean Stanton
• Conrack, directed by Martin Ritt, starring Jon Voight
• The Conscript (De loteling) – (Belgium)
• The Conversation, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, starring Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Cindy Williams, Frederic Forrest, Teri Garr, Harrison Ford
• Conversation Piece (Gruppo di famiglia in un interno), directed by Luchino Visconti, starring Burt Lancaster – (Italy)
• Crazy Joe, starring Peter Boyle, Paula Prentiss, Eli Wallach
• The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder, starring Timothy Bottoms and Barbara Hershey

D[]

• Daisy Miller, directed by Peter Bogdanovich, starring Cybill Shepherd and Barry Brown
• Dark Star, directed by John Carpenter, starring Dan O'Bannon
• Death Wish, directed by Michael Winner, starring Charles Bronson, Vincent Gardenia, Hope Lange
• The Deluge (Potop) – (Poland)
• Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry, starring Peter Fonda and Susan George
• Dost (Friend), starring Dharmendra – (India)
• Drama of the Rich (Fatti di gente perbene), starring Giancarlo Giannini and Catherine Deneuve – (Italy)

E[]

• Earthquake, directed by Mark Robson, starring Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, George Kennedy, Richard Roundtree, Geneviève Bujold, Victoria Principal
• Edvard Munch – (Norway/Sweden)
• Effi Briest, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, starring Hanna Schygulla – (West Germany)
• Electra, My Love (Szerelmem, Elektra), directed by Miklós Jancsó – (Hungary)
• Emmanuelle, starring Sylvia Kristel – (France)
• The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (a.k.a. Every Man For Himself and God Against All), directed by Werner Herzog – (West Germany)

F[]

• F for Fake (originally Vérités et Mensonges), directed by and starring Orson Welles – (France/West Germany/Iran)
• Female Trouble, directed by John Waters, starring Divine
• Five Shaolin Masters (Shao Lin wu zu), directed by Chang Cheh – (Hong Kong)
• Flesh for Frankenstein (Andy Warhol's Frankenstein), directed by Paul Morrissey
• For Pete's Sake, starring Barbra Streisand
• The Four Musketeers (a.k.a. The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge), starring Michael York, Oliver Reed, Frank Finlay, Richard Chamberlain – (U.K.)
• Foxy Brown, starring Pam Grier
• Freebie and the Bean, starring James Caan and Alan Arkin
• The Front Page, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Susan Sarandon, Carol Burnett

G[]

• The Gambler, directed by Karel Reisz, starring James Caan, Lauren Hutton, Paul Sorvino
• Gavaznha (The Deer) – (Iran)
• General Idi Amin Dada: A Self Portrait (Général Idi Amin Dada: Autoportrait), a documentary film by Barbet Schroeder – (France/Switzerland)
• Ginger in the Morning, starring Sissy Spacek
• The Girl from Petrovka, starring Goldie Hawn, Hal Holbrook, Anthony Hopkins
• The Godfather Part II, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, starring Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Robert De Niro, John Cazale, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Michael V. Gazzo, Lee Strasberg
• Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, directed by Jun Fukuda – (Japan)
• Going Places (Les Valseuses), directed by Bertrand Blier, starring Gérard Depardieu, Miou-Miou, Jeanne Moreau – (France)
• Gold, starring Roger Moore and Susannah York
• Golden Needles, starring Joe Don Baker and Elizabeth Ashley
• The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, starring John Phillip Law and Tom Baker with special effects by Ray Harryhausen – (U.K.)
• Gone in 60 Seconds, directed by and starring H. B. Halicki
• Great Expectations, starring Michael York, Sarah Miles, James Mason – (U.S./U.K.)
• The Great Gatsby, directed by Jack Clayton, starring Robert Redford, Mia Farrow, Sam Waterston, Bruce Dern, Lois Chiles, Karen Black
• La Gueule ouverte (The Mouth Agape), directed by Maurice Pialat – (France)

H[]

• Harry and Tonto, directed by Paul Mazursky, starring Art Carney, Herbert Berghof, Larry Hagman, Ellen Burstyn
• Hearts and Minds, directed by Peter Davis – Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature
• Herbie Rides Again, starring Helen Hayes, Stefanie Powers, Ken Berry
• Heroes Two (Fang Shiyu yu Hong Xiguan), directed by Chang Cheh – (Hong Kong)
• The Holy Office (El santo oficio) – (Mexico)
• The Homeless (Yadonashi) – (Japan)
• Hotel Angel (Theptida rong ram) – (Thailand)

I[]

• The Internecine Project, starring James Coburn and Lee Grant – (U.K.)
• The Island at the Top of the World, starring David Hartman and Donald Sinden
• It's Alive, starring John P. Ryan and Sharon Farrell

J[]

• Jáchyme, hoď ho do stroje! (Joachim, Put It in the Machine) – (Czechoslovakia)
• Jock Petersen, starring Jack Thompson – (Australia)
• Journey Back to Oz
• Juggernaut, starring Richard Harris, Omar Sharif, Anthony Hopkins – (U.K.)
• A Jungle Book of Regulations (Nie ma rózy bez ognia) – (Poland)

K[]

• Karafuto 1945 Summer Hyosetsu no Mon – (Japan)
• The Klansman, directed by Terence Young, starring Lee Marvin and Richard Burton
• Kunwara Baap, directed by and starring Mehmood – (India)

L[]

• Lacombe, Lucien, directed by Louis Malle, starring Pierre Blaise and Aurore Clément – (France)
• Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones, a concert film
• Lancelot du Lac, directed by Robert Bresson – (France)
• Lemora, directed by Richard Blackburn, starring Cheryl Smith and Lesley Gilb.
• Lenny, a biopic of Lenny Bruce, directed by Bob Fosse, starring Dustin Hoffman and Valerie Perrine
• Little House on the Prairie
• The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, starring Dan Haggerty
• The Longest Yard (a.k.a. The Mean Machine), directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Burt Reynolds, Eddie Albert, Ed Lauter, Michael Conrad, Richard Kiel
• The Lords of Flatbush, starring Perry King, Sylvester Stallone, Henry Winkler
• Lost in the Stars, starring Brock Peters, Melba Moore, Clifton Davis
• Lovin' Molly, starring Blythe Danner, Anthony Perkins, Beau Bridges
• Luther, a biopic of Martin Luther, starring Stacy Keach – (U.K./U.S./Canada)

M[]

• Macon County Line, starring Max Baer, Jr.
• Madhouse, starring Vincent Price
• Mahler, a biopic of Gustav Mahler directed by Ken Russell – (U.K.)
• Majboor (Compulsed) – (India)
• Mame, directed by Gene Saks, starring Lucille Ball, Beatrice Arthur, Robert Preston
• Man on a Swing, directed by Frank Perry, starring Cliff Robertson, Joel Grey, Dorothy Tristan, Elizabeth Wilson, George Voskovec
• The Man Who Sleeps (Un homme qui dort) – (France) – winner of the Prix Jean Vigo
• The Man with the Golden Gun, directed by Guy Hamilton, starring Roger Moore (as James Bond), with Christopher Lee and Britt Ekland – (U.K.)
• The Mark of Zorro
• The Marseille Contract, starring Michael Caine, James Mason, Anthony Quinn
• Mashti Mamdali's Car by Reza Fazeli (Iran)
• McQ, directed by John Sturges, starring John Wayne, Al Lettieri, Eddie Albert, Clu Gulager, Colleen Dewhurst, Diana Muldaur
• Le meravigliose avventure di Zorro
• The Middle of the World (Le Milieu du monde) – (France/Switzerland)
• The Midnight Man, directed by and starring Burt Lancaster, with Susan Clark, Cameron Mitchell, Ed Lauter
• The Missiles of October, made for TV, directed by Anthony Page, starring William Devane, Martin Sheen, Ralph Bellamy, Howard Da Silva, James Hong
• Mr. Majestyk, directed by Richard Fleischer, starring Charles Bronson, Linda Cristal, Al Lettieri
• Murder on the Orient Express, directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Sean Connery, Vanessa Redgrave, Ingrid Bergman, John Gielgud, Anthony Perkins, Richard Widmark – (U.K.)
• My Little Loves (Mes Petites Amoureuses) – (France)

N[]

• Newman's Law, starring George Peppard
• The Night of the Scarecrow (A Noite do Espantalho) – (Brazil)
• The Night Porter (Il Portiere di notte), directed by Liliana Cavani, starring Dirk Bogarde and Charlotte Rampling – (Italy)
• The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat, an adult animated film

O[]

• The Odessa File, directed by Ronald Neame, starring Jon Voight, Maximilian Schell, Maria Schell – (U.K./West Germany)
• One or the Other of Us, directed by Wolfgang Petersen, starring Jürgen Prochnow – (West Germany)
• Orders (Les Ordres), starring Jean Lapointe – (Canada)

P[]

• Parade, directed by and starring Jacques Tati – (France/Sweden)
• The Parallax View, directed by Alan J. Pakula, starring Warren Beatty, Hume Cronyn, William Daniels, Paula Prentiss
• Pastoral: To Die in the Country (Den-en ni shisu) – (Japan)
• A Peasant on a Bicycle (Selyaninat s Koleloto), directed by Lyudmil Kirkov, starring Georgi Georgiev-Getz and Georgi Rusev – (Bulgaria)
• The Phantom of Liberty (Le Fantôme de la liberté), directed by Luis Buñuel – (France)
• Phantom of the Paradise, directed by Brian De Palma, starring William Finley, Paul Williams and Jessica Harper
• Phase IV, directed by Saul Bass, starring Michael Murphy, Nigel Davenport and Lynne Frederick
• La prima Angélica (a.k.a. Cousin Angelica), directed by Carlos Saura – (Spain)

Q[]

• QB VII, mini-series for TV, starring Anthony Hopkins, Ben Gazzara, Lee Remick, Leslie Caron

R[]

• The Red Snowball Tree (Kalina krasnaya) – (U.S.S.R.)
• The Rehearsal (I Dokimi), directed by and starring Jules Dassin with Olympia Dukakis – (Greece)
• Report to the Commissioner, starring Michael Moriarty and Yaphet Kotto
• Return of the Street Fighter (Satsujin ken 2) – (Japan)
• Rhinoceros, starring Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel

S[]

• Sandakan No. 8 (Brothel 8) – (Japan)
• The Sannikov Land (Zemlya Sannikova) – (U.S.S.R.)
• Scent of a Woman (Profumo di donna), directed by Dino Risi, starring Vittorio Gassman – (Italy)
• Sister Street Fighter (Onna Hissatsu Ken) – (Japan)
• Sister Street Fighter: Hanging by a Thread (Onna hissatsu ken: kiki ippatsu) – (Japan)
• Son of Dracula, starring Harry Nilsson and Ringo Starr – (U.K.)
• The Spikes Gang, directed by Richard Fleischer, starring Lee Marvin, Ron Howard, Gary Grimes, Charles Martin Smith
• S*P*Y*S, starring Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould
• Stardust, directed by Michael Apted, starring David Essex, Adam Faith and Larry Hagman – (U.K.)
• Stavisky, directed by Alain Resnais, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo – (France/Italy)
• Still Life (Tabiate bijan) – (Iran)
• Stone, a cult Australian film
• The Street Fighter (Gekitotsu! Satsujin Ken), starring Sonny Chiba – (Japan)
• The Street Fighter's Last Revenge – (Japan)
• The Sugarland Express, directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Goldie Hawn, William Atherton, Ben Johnson
• The Super Cops, directed by Gordon Parks, starring Ron Leibman, David Selby, Sheila Frazier, Pat Hingle, Dan Frazer
• Sweet Movie, directed by Dušan Makavejev – (Canada/France/West Germany)
• Swept Away (Travolti da un insolito destino nell'azzurro mare d'agosto), starring Giancarlo Giannini and Mariangela Melato – (Italy)
• The Swinging Cheerleaders, directed by Jack Hill, starring Colleen Camp, Cheryl Smith, Rosanne Katon
• Symptoms, starring Angela Pleasence – (U.K.)

T[]

• The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, directed by Joseph Sargent, starring Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, Héctor Elizondo, Jerry Stiller
• The Tamarind Seed, directed by Blake Edwards, starring Julie Andrews and Omar Sharif – (U.K./U.S.)
• The Terminal Man, starring George Segal and Joan Hackett
• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, directed by Tobe Hooper, starring Marilyn Burns
• That's Entertainment!, a documentary directed by Jack Haley, Jr., featuring Frank Sinatra, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, Bing Crosby, Mickey Rooney, Liza Minnelli
• Thieves Like Us, directed by Robert Altman, starring Keith Carradine and Shelley Duvall
• Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, directed by Michael Cimino, starring Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges
• Torkaman by Amir Shervan (Iran)
• The Towering Inferno, starring Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Jennifer Jones, Robert Wagner, O. J. Simpson, Fred Astaire
• Three Tough Guys, starring Lino Ventura, Fred Williamson, Isaac Hayes
• Truck Turner, starring Isaac Hayes
• The Traveler (Mossafer), directed by Abbas Kiarostami – (Iran)

U[]

• The Ultimate Thrill, starring Barry Brown and Britt Ekland

V[]

• Vampyres, starring Marianne Morris and Anulka – (U.K.)
• Vase de Noces, directed by Thierry Zéno – (Belgium)

W[]

• We All Loved Each Other So Much (C'eravamo tanto amati), directed by Ettore Scola, starring Stefania Sandrelli and Vittorio Gassman – (Italy)
• Weighed But Found Wanting (Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang) – (Philippines)
• When the North Wind Blows, starring Dan Haggerty
• Where the Lilies Bloom, starring Harry Dean Stanton
• The White Dawn, starring Warren Oates, Louis Gossett, Jr., Timothy Bottoms – (Canada)
• Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too (animated short)
• A Woman Under the Influence, directed by John Cassavetes, starring Gena Rowlands (Golden Globe Award) and Peter Falk

Y[]

• Young Frankenstein, directed by Mel Brooks, starring Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, Teri Garr, Cloris Leachman, Madeline Kahn, Peter Boyle

Z[]

• Zandy's Bride, starring Gene Hackman and Liv Ullmann
• Zardoz, starring Sean Connery and Charlotte Rampling – (U.K.)

1974 Wide-release movies[]

United States unless stated

January–March[]

• January 1974
  • 1 January
    • Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones
  • 4 January
    • McQ
  • 13 January
    • The Satanic Rites of Dracula
  • 15 January
    • The Arena
  • 21 January
    • Luther
    • Rhinoceros
  • 28 January
    • Black Belt Jones
  • 30 January
    • The Bat People
  • 31 January
    • The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
• February 1974
  • 2 February
    • The Street Fighter
  • 6 February
    • Zardoz
  • 7 February
    • Blazing Saddles
    • Sugar Hill
  • 11 February
    • Thieves Like Us
  • 15 February
    • Crazy Joe
  • 20 February
    • A Case of Rape
  • 22 February
    • Alien Thunder
  • 23 February
    • From Beyond the Grave
  • 27 February
    • Busting
    • Man on a Swing
• March 1974
  • 7 March
    • Billy Two Hats
  • 14 March
    • Alice in Wonderland (re-release)
  • 15 March
    • Three Tough Guys
  • 20 March
    • The Super Cops (debut in its plot and filming city, New York, with its Los Angeles debut on April 10)
  • 21 March
    • Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla – (Japan)
  • 22 March
    • Catch My Soul
  • 27 March
    • Conrack
    • Mame
  • 28 March
    • John Carpenter's directoral debut, Dark Star, limited to Los Angeles' International Film Exposition, aka 'Filmex'.
  • 29 March
    • The Great Gatsby

April–June[]

• April 1974
• Jumborg Ace & Giant (Thailand)
  • 3 April
    • The Night Porter
  • 5 April
    • The Golden Voyage of Sinbad
    • The Sugarland Express
    • Foxy Brown
  • 7 April
    • Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter
    • The Conversation
  • 10 April
    • Our Time
    • Thomasine & Bushrod
  • 14 April
    • Lovin' Molly
  • 16 April
    • Score
  • 19 April
    • Caged Heat
    • Son of Dracula
  • 22 April
    • The Beast Must Die
    • Claudine
  • 24 April
    • Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell
  • 29 April
    • The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
    • The Spikes Gang
• May 1974
  • 1 May
    • The Lords of Flatbush
  • 2 May
    • Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell
  • 10 May
    • Symptoms
  • 15 May
    • Stavisky
  • 17 May
    • Alice in the Cities
    • The Black Windmill
    • Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry
    • That's Entertainment!
    • People Toys
  • 19 May
    • Zandy's Bride
  • 20 May
    • The Driver's Seat
  • 22 May
    • Chosen Survivors
    • Daisy Miller
    • The Nickel Ride
    • Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
  • 24 May
    • Huckleberry Finn
    • Welcome to Arrow Beach
• June 1974
  • 6 June
    • Birds Do It, Bees Do It
    • Bootleggers
    • Herbie Rides Again
  • 9 June
    • Little Malcolm
  • 14 June
    • The Midnight Man
    • The Parallax View
  • 20 June
    • Chinatown
  • 21 June
    • The Terminal Man
    • Where the Red Fern Grows
  • 23 June
    • The Groove Tube
  • 26 June
    • The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat
    • For Pete's Sake
    • Three the Hard Way
    • Truck Turner
  • 28 June
    • The Gravy Train
    • S*P*Y*S
    • W

July–September[]

• July 1974
  • 8 July
    • Down and Dirty Duck
  • 12 July
    • Carry On Dick
    • Mr. Majestyk
    • The Take
  • 17 July
    • The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob
    • My Name Is Nobody
    • The Education of Sonny Carson
    • Golden Needles
  • 21 July
    • The White Dawn
  • 24 July
    • Death Wish
    • Gone in 60 Seconds
    • The Internecine Project
  • 26 July
    • Born to Kill
    • Uptown Saturday Night
  • 31 July
    • Bank Shot
    • The Bears and I
• August 1974
  • 2 August
    • The Castaway Cowboy
  • 3 August
    • Prophecies of Nostradamus (Japan)
  • 7 August
    • California Split
    • Together Brothers
    • Way of the Dragon (re-release)
  • 8 August
    • Macon County Line
  • 12 August
    • Harry and Tonto
  • 14 August
    • Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
  • 15 August
    • 11 Harrowhouse
  • 18 August
    • Act of Vengeance
  • 21 August
    • Buster and Billie
    • The Longest Yard (New York)
    • Newman's Law
  • 22 August
    • The Girl from Petrovka
  • 30 August
    • 99 and 44/100% Dead
    • Amazing Grace
• September 1974
  • 3 September
    • The Black Godfather
  • 5 September
    • Gold
  • 6 September
    • Phase IV
  • 10 September
    • Born Innocent
  • 13 September
    • Homebodies
  • 14 September
    • The Dove
  • 18 September
    • Gone with the Wind (re-release)
  • 19 September
    • Big Bad Mama
  • 20 September
    • Nightmare Honeymoon
  • 25 September
    • The California Kid
    • The Mutations
    • Juggernaut
  • 29 September
    • 11 Harrowhouse

October–December[]

• October 1974
• The House on Skull Mountain
  • 1 October
    • The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Austin, hometown of its director, Tobe Hooper, with Los Angeles and New York City on the 30th.)
  • 2 October
    • The Gambler
    • The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
  • 4 October
    • Female Trouble
  • 9 October
    • Law and Disorder
    • Shanks
  • 10 October
    • The Cars That Ate Paris (Australia)
  • 11 October
    • Black Christmas (Canada)
  • 17 October
    • Benji
  • 18 October
    • Airport 1975
    • It's Alive
    • The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder
    • The Odessa File
    • Mixed Company
    • A Woman Under the Influence (New York Film Festival)
  • 24 October
    • Mahler
    • Stardust
  • 25 October
    • The Klansman
  • 31 October
    • Phantom of the Paradise
    • The Four Musketeers
    • The Savage Is Loose
• November 1974
  • 1 November
    • Open Season
  • 6 November
    • Blood for Dracula
  • 7 November
    • The Little Prince
  • 8 November
    • Confessions of a Window Cleaner
  • 12 November
    • All the Kind Strangers
  • 13 November
    • The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams
    • The Trial of Billy Jack
  • 15 November
    • The Abdication
    • Earthquake
    • Lenny
    • Seizure
  • 21 November
    • Beyond the Door
  • 22 November
    • Animals Are Beautiful People
    • Great Expectations
    • The Tamarind Seed
    • A Woman Under the Influence
  • 26 November
    • The 6 Ultra Brothers vs. the Monster Army (Japan)-(Thailand)
  • 29 November
    • The Phantom of Liberty
    • Murder on the Orient Express
    • The Land That Time Forgot
• December 1974
  • 3 December
    • Emmanuelle
    • The Marseille Contract
    • Soft Beds, Hard Battles
  • 5 December
    • The Photographer
  • 9 December
    • Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
  • 12 December
    • Barry McKenzie Holds His Own (Australia)
  • 14 December
    • F for Fake
    • The Towering Inferno
  • 15 December
    • Young Frankenstein
  • 18 December
    • The Front Page
  • 20 December
    • Black Christmas
    • The Godfather Part II
    • Hearts and Minds
    • The Island at the Top of the World
    • The Man with the Golden Gun
    • Swept Away (Italy)
  • 25 December
    • Abby
    • Freebie and the Bean
    • Where the Lilies Bloom
  • 28 December
    • ESPY (Japan)

Births[]

• January 5 – Daisy Bates, English actress
• January 10
  • Jemaine Clement, New Zealand actor, musician, comedian, singer, director and writer
  • Hrithik Roshan, Indian actor
• January 19 - Natassia Malthe, Norwegian actress and model
• January 21 - Vincent Laresca, American actor
• January 24 – Ed Helms, American actor and comedian
• January 30
  • Christian Bale, English actor
  • Olivia Colman, English actress
• February 4 – Urmila Matondkar, Indian actress
• February 8 – Seth Green, American actor, voice artist, comedian, producer, writer and director
• February 9
  • Erra Fazira, Malaysian actress
  • Amber Valletta, American model and actress
• February 10 – Elizabeth Banks, American actress, director, writer and producer
• February 15 – Miranda July (née Grossinger), American filmmaker, performance artist and fiction writer
• February 16 – Mahershala Ali, American actor and rapper
• February 17
  • David Lipper, Canadian actor
  • Jerry O'Connell, American actor
• February 25 – Divya Bharti, Indian actress (d. 1993)
• March 5 – Eva Mendes, American actress
• March 8 – Cesar Velasco Broca, Spanish actor and cult filmmaker
• March 21 - Rhys Darby, New Zealand actor, comedian and voice actor
• March 24 – Alyson Hannigan, American actress
• April 10 - Omar Metwally, American actor
• April 12 - Marley Shelton, American actress
• April 15 – Danny Pino, American actor
• April 21 - John Hasler, English actor and voice-over artist
• 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 7 – Breckin Meyer, American actor, voice actor, writer, producer and drummer
• May 11 – Benoit Magimel, French actor
• May 15 – Russell Hornsby, American actor
• May 21 – Fairuza Balk, American actress
• May 22 – Sean Gunn, American actor
• May 24 - Dash Mihok, American actor and director
• 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 – Karisma Kapoor, Indian actress
• July 8 – Tami Erin, American actress
• July 22
  • Donald Faison, American actor, comedian and voice actor
  • Franka Potente, German actress
• July 30 – Hilary Swank, American actress
• August 5 – Kajol, Indian actress
• August 7 – Michael Shannon, American actor
• August 10 - Craig Kirkwood, American former actor
• August 15 – Natasha Henstridge, Canadian actress and model
• August 20
  • Amy Adams, American actress
  • Misha Collins, American actor
• August 23 – Ray Park, English actor
• September 10 – Ryan Phillippe, American actor
• September 18 - Xzibit, American rapper, actor and broadcaster
• September 19 – Victoria Silvstedt, Swedish actress and model
• October 17 – Matthew Macfadyen, English actor
• October 20 – Brian Limond, Scottish comedian, actor and writer
• October 28 – Joaquin Phoenix, American actor
• October 31 - David Dencik, Danish-Swedish actor
• November 4 – Matthew Rhys, Welsh actor
• November 10 – Simone Singh, Indian actress
• November 11 – Leonardo DiCaprio, American actor
• 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
• December 1 – Erica Rivas, Argentinian actress
• December 17
  • Sarah Paulson, American actress
  • Giovanni Ribisi, American actor
• December 25 - Patrick Brennan (actor), American actor

Deaths[]

Month	Date	Name	Age	Country	Profession	Notable films
January	2	Tex Ritter	68	US	Actor, Singer	Trouble in Texas Where the Buffalo Roam
	3	Gino Cervi	72	Italy	Actor	Becket Black Eagle
	14	Paul Whitsun-Jones	50	UK	Actor	The Moonraker The Masque of the Red Death
	31	Samuel Goldwyn	94	Poland	Producer, Studio Executive	The Best Years of Our Lives Guys and Dolls
	31	Roger Pryor	72	US	Actor	Glamour for Sale The Return of Jimmy Valentine
February	7	Arline Judge	61	US	Actress	The Sin of Harold Diddlebock Pigskin Parade
	11	Anna Q. Nilsson	85	Sweden	Actress	Sunset Boulevard Sorrell and Son
	23	Florence Rice	67	US	Actress	At the Circus Double Wedding
	23	Harry Ruby	79	US	Screenwriter, Composer	Horse Feathers Duck Soup
	27	Orry-Kelly	66	Australia	Costume Designer	An American in Paris Some Like It Hot
	28	Carole Lesley	38	UK	Actress	Woman in a Dressing Gown Three on a Spree
March	3	Barbara Ruick	43	US	Actress, Singer	Carousel The Affairs of Dobie Gillis
	5	Billy De Wolfe	67	US	Actor	Dixie Tea for Two
	7	Alberto Rabagliati	67	Italy	Actor, Singer	The Barefoot Contessa Street Angel
	8	Martha Wentworth	84	US	Actress, Voice Actress	Santa Fe Uprising One Hundred and One Dalmatians
	13	Howard St. John	68	US	Actor	Born Yesterday Li'l Abner
	19	Edward Platt	58	US	Actor	North by Northwest Rebel Without a Cause
	28	Dorothy Fields	68	US	Songwriter	Swing Time Annie Get Your Gun
	28	Francoise Rosay	82	France	Actress	September Affair The Seventh Sin
	29	Seton I. Miller	71	US	Screenwriter	Scarface Here Comes Mr. Jordan
April	2	Douglass Dumbrille	84	Canada	Actor	Mr. Deeds Goes to Town The Ten Commandments
	10	Patricia Collinge	81	Ireland	Actress	Shadow of a Doubt The Nun's Story
	18	Betty Compson	77	US	Actress	The Docks of New York The Miracle Man
	20	Peter Lee Lawrence	30	Germany	Actor	For a Few Dollars More Black Beauty
	24	Bud Abbott	78	US	Actor	Abbott and Costello in Hollywood Little Giant
	24	Agnes Moorehead	73	US	Actress	Citizen Kane The Magnificent Ambersons
May	18	Mary Maguire	55	Australia	Actress	The Outsider Sergeant Murphy
	24	Duke Ellington	75	US	Composer	Paris Blues Anatomy of a Murder
	25	Donald Crisp	91	UK	Actor	How Green Was My Valley National Velvet
June	6	Blanche Yurka	86	US	Actress	A Tale of Two Cities Queen of the Mob
	10	Lewis R. Foster	75	US	Director, Screenwriter	Manhandled Hong Kong
	17	Pamela Britton	51	US	Actress	Anchors Aweigh D.O.A.
	28	Frank Sutton	50	US	Actor	Marty Town Without Pity
July	13	Joe Flynn	48	US	Actor	McHale's Navy The Barefoot Executive
	13	Marthe Vinot	79	France	Actress
	27	Julián de Meriche	65	Mexico	Actor	The Incredible Invasion
	28	Truman Bradley	69	US	Actor, Narrator	Millionaires in Prison Murder Among Friends
August	13	Ilona Massey	64	Hungary	Actress	Invisible Agent Love Happy
	16	Maxwell Reed	55	Ireland	Actor	Blackout The Notorious Landlady
September	6	Olga Baclanova	78	Russia	Actress	Freaks The Wolf of Wall Street
	6	Otto Kruger	89	US	Actor	High Noon Magnificent Obsession
	14	Barbara Jo Allen	68	US	Actress	Girl Rush Lake Placid Serenade
	14	Warren Hull	71	US	Actor	Star Reporter Mandrake the Magician
	18	Edna Best	74	UK	Actress	The Man Who Knew Too Much The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
	21	Jacqueline Susann	56	US	Author, Actress	Valley of the Dolls Once Is Not Enough
	21	Walter Brennan	80	US	Actor	The Westerner Rio Bravo
	22	Stephanie Bidmead	45	UK	Actress	Invasion Running Scared
	27	James R. Webb	64	US	Screenwriter	How the West Was Won Cape Fear
October	13	Ed Sullivan	73	US	Actor	Bye Bye Birdie The Singing Nun
November	7	Rodolfo Acosta	54	Mexico	Actor	The Sons of Katie Elder One-Eyed Jacks
	13	Vittorio De Sica	73	Italy	Actor, Director, Screenwriter	Bicycle Thieves Miracle in Milan
	14	Johnny Mack Brown	70	US	Actor	Coquette Our Dancing Daughters
	17	Clive Brook	87	UK	Actor	Shanghai Express Sherlock Holmes
	25	Rosemary Lane	61	US	Actress, Singer	Four Wives The Return of Doctor X
December	4	Lee Kinsolving	36	US	Actor	The Dark at the Top of the Stairs The Explosive Generation
	5	Pietro Germi	60	Italy	Actor, Director, Screenwriter	Divorce, Italian Style Seduced and Abandoned
	10	Paul Richards	50	US	Actor	The Houston Story Beneath the Planet of the Apes
	11	Reed Hadley	63	US	Actor	The Baron of Arizona Big House, U.S.A.
	15	Anatole Litvak	72	Ukraine	Director, Producer	The Snake Pit Anastasia
	21	Richard Long	47	US	Actor	House on Haunted Hill The Stranger
	26	Jack Benny	80	US	Actor	To Be or Not to Be Broadway Melody of 1936

Film debuts[]

• Armand Assante – The Lords of Flatbush
• Richard Belzer – The Groove Tube
• Tony Burton – The Black Godfather
• Chevy Chase – The Groove Tube
• Jeff Goldblum – Death Wish
• Edward James Olmos – Black Fist
• Joe Pantoliano – Road Movie
• Fred Ward – Ginger in the Morning
• Henry Winkler – Crazy Joe

References[]