1966 in film


The year 1966 in film involved some significant events. A [Man for All Seasons (1966 film)|A Man for All Seasons] won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Top-grossing films

North America

The top ten 1966 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
RankTitleDistributorDomestic rentals
1HawaiiUnited Artists$15,600,000
2The Bible: In the Beginning...20th Century Fox$15,000,000
3Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?Warner Bros.$14,500,000
4The Sand Pebbles20th Century Fox$13,500,000
5A Man for All SeasonsColumbia$12,800,000
6The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are ComingUnited Artists$9,800,000
7Grand PrixMGM$9,300,000
8The ProfessionalsColumbia$8,800,000
9AlfieParamount$8,500,000
10Georgy GirlColumbia$7,600,000

Outside North America

The highest-grossing 1966 films in countries outside North America.
CountryTitleStudioGross
IndiaPhool Aur PattharRalhan Productions$11,790,000
Soviet UnionWar and PeaceMosfilm$64,000,000

Events

Awards

Academy Awards:
BAFTA Film Awards:
Golden Globe Awards:
Palme d'Or :
Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists, Location: Italy
Silver Ribbon
Golden Lion :
'''Golden Bear :'''

1966 film releases

unless stated

January–March

April–June

July–September

October–December

Notable films released in 1966

unless stated

#

10:30 P.M. Summer, directed by Jules Dassin and starring Melina Mercouri and Romy Schneider7 Women, the last film of John Ford, starring Anne Bancroft, Flora Robson, Margaret Leighton, Mildred Dunnock, Anna Lee

A

Aakhri Khat – After the Fox, starring Peter Sellers and Victor MatureAlfie, directed by Lewis Gilbert, starring Michael Caine, Shelley Winters, Millicent Martin – Alice in Wonderland, a TV film starring John Gielgud, Peter Cook, Peter Sellers – Alvarez Kelly, starring William HoldenAmbush Bay, starring Hugh O'Brian, Mickey Rooney and James MitchumAn American Dream, starring Stuart Whitman, Janet Leigh, Eleanor ParkerAmrapali, starring Vyjayanthimala and Sunil Dutt – Andrei Rublev, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky – The Appaloosa, starring Marlon BrandoArabesque, directed by Stanley Donen, starring Sophia Loren and Gregory PeckAround the World Under the Sea, starring Lloyd BridgesAs Long as You've Got Your Health, directed by and starring Pierre Étaix – Assault on a Queen, starring Frank Sinatra, Virna Lisi, Anthony FranciosaAu hasard Balthazar, directed by Robert Bresson – Aybolit-66 –

B

Bariera, directed by Jerzy Skolimowski – Batman, starring Adam West, Burt Ward, Burgess Meredith, Cesar Romero, Lee Meriwether, Frank GorshinThe Battle of Algiers, directed by Gillo Pontecorvo – Golden Lion winner – Beau Geste, directed by Douglas HeyesBeregis Avtomobilya – The Bible: In the Beginning..., directed by John Huston, starring Stephen Boyd, Franco Nero, Ava Gardner, Richard Harris, Peter O'TooleThe Big Gundown, starring Lee Van Cleef – A Big Hand for the Little Lady, starring Henry Fonda, Joanne Woodward, Jason Robards, Burgess Meredith, Kevin McCarthyThe Birds, the Bees and the Italians, directed by Pietro Germi – Birds Do It, starring Soupy SalesBlack Girl, directed by Ousmane Sembène – Blindfold, directed by Philip Dunne, starring Rock Hudson and Claudia CardinaleBlowup, directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, starring David Hemmings and Vanessa Redgrave—winner of Palme d'Or, 1967 Cannes Film Festival – The Blue Max, starring George Peppard, James Mason, Ursula Andress – Borom Sarret – Born Free, starring Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers – Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number!, starring Bob Hope, Phyllis Diller, Elke SommerA Bullet for the General, starring Gian Maria Volonté and Klaus Kinski –

C

Cairo 30, directed by Salāḥ Abu Seif – Carry On Screaming!, starring Harry H. Corbett and Kenneth Williams – Cast a Giant Shadow, starring Kirk Douglas, Senta Berger, Yul Brynner, John Wayne and Frank SinatraChafed Elbows, directed by Robert Downey Sr.Chappaqua, featuring William S. BurroughsThe Chase, directed by Arthur Penn, starring Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda, Angie Dickinson and Robert RedfordChelsea Girls, directed by Andy Warhol, starring NicoChimes at Midnight, directed by and starring Orson Welles, with Jeanne Moreau and John Gielgud – Cinerama's Russian Adventure, a documentary on the USSR introduced by Bing CrosbyCircus of Fear, starring Christopher Lee, Leo Genn, Klaus Kinski– Closely Watched Trains, directed by Jiří Menzel – Come Drink with Me, directed by King Hu – The Crazy-Quilt, directed by John KortyCul-de-sac, directed by Roman Polanski, starring Donald Pleasence and Françoise Dorléac – Curse of the Swamp Creature, starring John Agar, Francine YorkCurse of the Vampires, directed by Gerardo de León – Cyborg 2087, starring Michael Rennie and Wendell Corey

D

Daimajin, directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda – Daisies, directed by Věra Chytilová – Daleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D., starring Peter Cushing – The Daydreamer, a Rankin-Bass and Embassy Pictures stop-motion/live-action filmDead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round, starring James Coburn, Camilla Sparv, Robert Webber and Rose MarieThe Deadly Bees, directed by Freddie Francis and starring Suzanna Leigh – Death of a Bureaucrat, directed by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea – The Defector, directed by Raoul Lévy and starring Montgomery Clift, Hardy Krüger and Macha Méril – Degueyo, directed by Giuseppe Vari – Destination Inner Space, starring Gary Merrill and Sheree NorthThe Diabolical Dr. Z, directed by Jesús Franco – Dimension 5, starring Jeffrey HunterDjango, starring Franco Nero – Don't Look Now, We're Being Shot At, starring Terry-Thomas and Bourvil – Le deuxieme souffle, directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, starring Lino Ventura – Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs, directed by Mario Bava – Dracula: Prince of Darkness, starring Christopher Lee – Drop Dead Darling, starring Tony CurtisDuel at Diablo, starring James Garner and Sidney PoitierDutchman, starring Al Freeman, Jr. and Shirley Knight

E

Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, directed by Jun Fukuda – El Dorado, directed by Howard Hawks, starring John Wayne, Robert Mitchum and James CaanThe Elusive Avengers, directed by Edmond Keosayan – Eye of the Devil, directed by J. Lee Thompson, starring Deborah Kerr, David Niven and Sharon Tate

F

The Face of Another – Fahrenheit 451, directed by François Truffaut, starring Julie Christie and Oskar Werner – The Family Way, a Boulting brothers film, starring Hayley Mills and Hywel Bennett – Fantastic Voyage, directed by Richard Fleischer, starring Stephen Boyd and Raquel WelchThe Fat Spy, starring Phyllis Diller, Jayne Mansfield, Brian DonlevyFighting Elegy, directed by Seijun Suzuki – A Fine Madness, starring Sean Connery and Joanne WoodwardFireball 500, starring Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Fabian ForteFollow Me, Boys!, directed by Norman Tokar, starring Fred MacMurray, Vera Miles, Kurt RussellFor Love and Gold, directed by Mario Monicelli, starring Vittorio Gassman – The Fortune Cookie, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Jack Lemmon and Walter MatthauFrankie and Johnny, starring Elvis Presley and Donna DouglasFuneral in Berlin, starring Michael Caine – A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, directed by Richard Lester, starring Zero Mostel, Jack Gilford, Phil Silvers, Michael Crawford –

G

Galia, directed by Georges Lautner and starring Mireille Darc – Gambit, starring Michael Caine and Shirley MacLaineThe Game Is Over, directed by Roger Vadim and starring Jane Fonda – Gamera vs. Barugon, directed by Shigeo Tanaka – Georgy Girl, directed by Silvio Narizzano, starring Lynn Redgrave, James Mason and Alan Bates – The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, starring Don KnottsThe Ghost in the Invisible Bikini, starring Deborah Walley, Tommy Kirk, Nancy SinatraThe Glass Bottom Boat, starring Doris Day and Rod TaylorGodzilla vs. the Sea Monster – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, directed by Sergio Leone, starring Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach and Lee Van Cleef– Grand Prix, directed by John Frankenheimer, starring James Garner, Yves Montand, Toshiro Mifune, Eva Marie Saint, Jessica WalterThe Great St Trinian's Train Robbery, starring Frankie Howerd and Dora Bryan – The Group, directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Candice Bergen, Shirley Knight, Joan Hackett, Joanna Pettet and Jessica Walter Gunpoint, starring Audie Murphy, Joan Staley and Warren Stevens

H

Harper, starring Paul Newman, Robert Wagner, Lauren Bacall, Pamela Tiffin, Julie Harris, Arthur Hill, Janet LeighHawaii, directed by George Roy Hill, starring Julie Andrews, Max von Sydow, Richard HarrisThe Hawks and the Sparrows, directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini, starring Totò – The Hellbenders, starring Joseph Cotten – Here Is Your Life – The Hills Run Red, directed by Carlo Lizzani – Hold On!, starring Peter Noone and Shelley FabaresHow to Steal a Million, directed by William Wyler, starring Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'TooleHotel Paradiso, directed by Peter Glenville and starring Alec Guinness – The Hunchback of Soho, directed by Alfred Vohrer – Hunger – The Hunt, directed by Carlos Saura –

I

The Idol, directed by Daniel Petrie and starring Jennifer Jones and Michael Parks – Incident at Phantom Hill, directed by Earl BellamyIs Paris Burning?, directed by René Clément, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Charles Boyer, Leslie Caron – Island of Terror, starring Peter Cushing, Edward Judd, Carole GrayIt Happened Here, starring Sebastian Shaw –

J

Jack Frost, directed by Alexander Rou – John F. Kennedy: Years of Lightning, Day of Drums, a documentary narrated by Gregory Peck and directed by Bruce HerschensohnJohnny Reno, starring Jane RussellJohnny Yuma, directed by Romolo Girolami and starring Mark Damon – Judith, starring Sophia Loren and Peter Finch –

K

Kaleidoscope, directed by Jack Smight, starring Warren Beatty – Khartoum, directed by Basil Dearden, starring Charlton Heston and Laurence Olivier – Kill, Baby, Kill, directed by Mario Bava– King of Hearts, directed by Philippe de Broca, starring Alan Bates – Kriminal –

L

Let's Kill Uncle, directed by William CastleLightning Bolt, directed by Antonio Margheriti – Lord Love a Duck, starring Roddy McDowall and Tuesday WeldLost Command, directed by Mark Robson, starring Anthony Quinn, George Segal, Alain Delon, Claudia CardinaleLt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N., starring Dick Van Dyke and Nancy Kwan

M

Madame X, starring Lana TurnerMade in Paris, starring Ann-Margret, Louis Jourdan, Chad Everett, Edie AdamsMade in U.S.A., directed by Jean-Luc Godard, starring Anna Karina and Jean-Pierre Léaud – Mademoiselle, directed by Tony Richardson, starring Jeanne Moreau – Mamta, starring Ashok Kumar – A Man and a Woman, directed by Claude Lelouch, starring Anouk Aimée and Jean-Louis Trintignant -- Palme d'Or winner – The Man Called Flintstone, directed by Joseph Barbera and William HannaA Man for All Seasons, directed by Fred Zinnemann, starring Paul Scofield, Robert Shaw, Orson Welles – winner of 6 Academy Awards and 5 BAFTAs – A Man Could Get Killed, starring James Garner and Sandra DeeManos: The Hands of Fate, starring and written, directed and produced by Harold P. WarrenMasculine-Feminine by Jean-Luc Godard, starring Jean-Pierre Léaud – Mera Saaya, starring Sunil Dutt and Sadhana – Mission to DeathMister Buddwing, directed by Delbert Mann, starring James Garner, Jean Simmons, Angela Lansbury, Suzanne Pleshette, Katharine RossMisunderstood, directed by Luigi Comencini – Modesty Blaise, starring Monica Vitti and Terence Stamp – Moment to Moment, starring Jean Seberg and Honor BlackmanMorgan!, directed by Karel Reisz – Munster, Go Home!, starring Fred Gwynne, Yvonne De Carlo, Al LewisMurderers' Row, starring Dean Martin, with Karl Malden, Camilla Sparv, Ann-MargretMy Wife, the Director General, directed by Fatin Abdel Wahab, starring Salah Zulfikar and Shadia –

N

Namu, the Killer Whale, directed by László BenedekNavajo Joe, starring Burt Reynolds – Nayak, directed by Satyajit Ray – Nevada Smith, starring Steve McQueen, Karl Malden, Martin Landau, Suzanne Pleshette and Arthur KennedyNight Games, directed by Mai Zetterling and starring Ingrid Thulin – Nobody Wanted to Die – Not with My Wife, You Don't!, starring Tony Curtis, George C. Scott and Virna LisiThe Nun, directed by Jacques Rivette, starring Anna Karina –

O

Once Before I Die, starring Ursula Andress and John DerekOne Million Years B.C., starring Raquel Welch – Operazione San Gennaro, starring Nino Manfredi and Senta Berger – The Oscar, starring Stephen Boyd, Elke Sommer, Jill St. John, Tony BennettOur Man Flint, starring James CoburnOur Man in Marrakesh, a.k.a. Bang! Bang! You're Dead!, starring Tony Randall

P

The Pad and How to Use It, directed by Brian G. HuttonParadise, Hawaiian Style, starring Elvis PresleyPenelope, starring Natalie Wood, Peter Falk, Dick Shawn, Jonathan Winters, Ian Bannen and Arlene GolonkaLe Père Noël a les yeux bleus, starring Jean-Pierre Léaud – Persona, directed by Ingmar Bergman, starring Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann – Pharaoh, directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz – Phool Aur Patthar, starring Dharmendra – Picture Mommy Dead, starring Don Ameche and Zsa Zsa GaborThe Plague of the Zombies, starring André Morell – The Plainsman, starring Don Murray, Abby Dalton and Leslie NielsenThe Poppy Is Also a Flower, directed by Terence Young, starring Senta Berger, Stephen Boyd, Rita Hayworth, Yul Brynner and Angie DickinsonThe Pornographers, directed by Shōhei Imamura – The Priest and the Girl – The Professionals, directed by Richard Brooks, starring Lee Marvin, Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, Woody Strode, Jack Palance and Claudia CardinaleThe Projected Man, starring Mary Peach, Bryant Haliday and Ronald Allen–

Q

Queen of Blood, starring John Saxon, Basil Rathbone and Dennis HopperThe Quiller Memorandum, starring George Segal, Alec Guinness, Max von Sydow and Senta Berger –

R

Rage, starring Glenn Ford and Stella StevensThe Rare Breed, starring James Stewart, Maureen O'Hara, Brian Keith and Juliet MillsA Report on the Party and the Guests, directed by Jan Němec – The Reptile, starring Noel Willman, Ray Barrett and Jennifer Daniel– Return of the Seven, starring Yul Brynner, Robert Fuller, Claude Akins and Warren OatesRide in the Whirlwind, directed by Monte Hellman, starring Jack Nicholson and Millie PerkinsRingo and His Golden Pistol, directed by Sergio Corbucci and starring Mark Damon – Roman Candles, directed by John WatersRondo, directed by Zvonimir Berković– Rosalie, a short directed by Walerian Borowczyk – The Round-Up, directed by Miklós Jancsó – Run, Appaloosa, Run, starring Rex AllenThe Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, directed by Norman Jewison, starring Alan Arkin, Jonathan Winters, Carl Reiner and Eva Marie Saint

S

The Sand Pebbles, directed by Robert Wise, starring Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, Candice Bergen and Richard CrennaThe Sandwich Man, starring Michael Bentine and Dora Bryan – Savage Pampas, starring Robert Taylor, Ron Randell and Marc Lawrence Seconds, directed by John Frankenheimer, starring Rock HudsonThe She Beast, starring Barbara Steele, John Karlsen, Ian OgilvyShiroi Kyotō – The Shooting, starring Warren Oates, Jack Nicholson and Millie PerkinsSri Krishna Pandaveeyam, directed by and starring N. T. Rama Rao – The Silencers, starring Dean Martin, Stella Stevens, Daliah Lavi, Cyd Charisse and Nancy KovackThe Singing Nun, starring Debbie Reynolds and Greer GarsonSound of Horror, starring James Philbrook, Arturo Fernandez and Soledad MirandaSpinout, starring Elvis PresleyThe Spy with a Cold Nose, directed by Daniel Petrie – Stagecoach, starring Ann-Margret, Bing Crosby, Red Buttons, Alex Cord, Mike Connors and Stefanie PowersStop the World – I Want to Get Off, directed by Philip SavilleSuraj, starring Vyjayanthimala and Rajendra Kumar – The Swinger, starring Ann-Margret, Tony Franciosa and Yvonne RomainThe Sword of Doom –

T

Tarzan and the Valley of Gold, starring Mike Henry and Nancy KovackTeesri Kasam, starring Raj Kapoor – Texas Across the River, starring Dean Martin, Alain Delon, Rosemary Forsyth, Peter Graves, Joey BishopThey're a Weird Mob, directed by Powell and Pressburger – This Property Is Condemned, directed by Sydney Pollack, starring Natalie Wood, Robert Redford, Charles Bronson, Kate ReidThree on a Couch, directed by and starring Jerry Lewis, with Janet Leigh, Leslie Parrish, Mary Ann MobleyThunderbirds Are Go, produced by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson, voices of Peter Dyneley, Shane Rimmer, Matt Zimmerman, David Graham, Christine Finn, Sylvia Anderson, Jeremy Wilkin, Ray BarrettTime to Die, directed by Arturo Ripstein, starring Marga López and Jorge Martínez de Hoyos – Tokyo Drifter, directed by Seijun Suzuki – Torn Curtain, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Paul Newman and Julie AndrewsTrace of Stones – The Trap, starring Rita Tushingham and Oliver Reed – Triple Cross, starring Christopher Plummer, Claudine Auger, Gert Fröbe – The Trouble with Angels, directed by Ida Lupino, starring Rosalind Russell and Hayley MillsTrunk to Cairo, directed by Menahem Golan, starring Audie Murphy – The Trygon Factor, starring Stewart Granger, Susan Hampshire and Robert Morley –

U

The Ugly Dachshund, directed by Norman Tokar and starring Dean Jones and Suzanne PleshetteUkamau – The Uncle, directed by Desmond Davis and starring Rupert Davies –

V

A Very Handy Man, directed by Alessandro Blasetti – Very Happy Alexander, directed by Yves Robert, starring Philippe Noiret –

W

Waco, starring Jane Russell and Howard KeelWalk, Don't Run, starring Cary Grant, Samantha Eggar, Jim HuttonThe War Is Over, directed by Alain Resnais, starring Yves Montand and Ingrid Thulin – The War of the Gargantuas – Way...Way Out, starring Jerry Lewis and Connie StevensWhat Did You Do in the War, Daddy?, directed by Blake Edwards, starring James Coburn and Dick ShawnWhere the Spies Are, directed by Val Guest and starring David Niven – Who Are You, Polly Maggoo? – Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, directed by Mike Nichols, starring Elizabeth Taylor,, Richard Burton, George Segal, Sandy DennisThe Wild Angels, starring Peter Fonda and Nancy SinatraWings, directed by Larisa Shepitko – Winnetou and the Crossbreed, directed by Harald Philipp – Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree The Witches, starring Joan FontaineThe Wrong Box, starring John Mills, Michael Caine, Peter Cook, Nanette Newman –

Y

Yesterday Girl, directed by Alexander Kluge – Young Törless, directed by Volker Schlöndorff – You're a Big Boy Now, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, starring Peter Kastner, Elizabeth Hartman, Karen Black, Julie Harris

Z

Zatoichi's Pilgrimage, directed by Kazuo Ikehiro – Zatoichi's Vengeance is a 1966 Japanese chambara film directed by Tokuzō Tanaka

Short film series

Looney Tunes Merrie Melodies Sylvester the Cat Speedy Gonzales

Births

Deaths

Film debuts