1973 in film

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The year 1973 in film involved some significant events.

Highest-grossing films

United States and Canada

See also: List of 1973 box office number-one films in the United States

The top ten 1973 released films by box office gross in the United States and Canada are as follows:

Highest-grossing films of 1973

Rank	Title	Distributor	Box-office gross rental
1	The Exorcist	Warner Bros.	$88,500,000
2	The Sting	Universal	$79,000,000
3	American Graffiti		$55,900,000
4	Papillon	Allied Artists	$22,500,000
5	The Way We Were	Columbia	$22,457,000
6	Magnum Force	Warner Bros.	$20,100,000
7	Last Tango in Paris	United Artists	$16,711,000
8	Paper Moon	Paramount	$16,559,000
9	Live and Let Die	United Artists	$15,925,000
10	The Devil in Miss Jones	VCX Ltd./MB Productions	$15,000,000

Outside North America

The highest-grossing 1973 films in countries outside of North America.

Country	Title	Studio	Gross	Ref
France	The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob	SNC	7,295,727 admissions
Germany	Papillon	Columbia Pictures	8,500,000 admissions
Hong Kong	The House of 72 Tenants	Shaw Brothers Studio	HK$5,600,000
India	Bobby	R. K. Films	₹110,000,000 (US$14,210,000)
Italy	Malicious	Paramount Pictures	11,756,327 admissions
Soviet Union	The Headless Horseman	Lenfilm	64,900,000 admissions
United Kingdom	Live and Let Die	Eon Productions	9,000,000 admissions

Worldwide gross revenue

The following table lists known worldwide gross revenue figures for several high-grossing films that originally released in 1973. Note that this list is incomplete and is therefore not representative of the highest-grossing films worldwide in 1973. The worldwide revenue for The Sting, for example, is not known. This list also includes gross revenue from later re-releases.

Title	Worldwide gross	Country	Ref
The Exorcist	$441,306,145	United States
Enter the Dragon	$400,000,000	Hong Kong United States
Live and Let Die	$161,800,000	United Kingdom
American Graffiti	$140,000,000	United States
Bobby	$39,000,000	India

The year's highest-grossing actor worldwide was Hong Kong martial arts film star Bruce Lee, who died the same year.

Events

• March – Five Fingers of Death is released in the United States and is a surprise success starting a kung fu film craze in North America
• April 11 – Kim Jong-il publishes his film treatise On the Art of the Cinema.
• May 1 – The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces his second wife, Barbara Blakely; she will marry actor/singer Frank Sinatra in 1976.
• July 20 – Martial arts legend Bruce Lee dies before Enter the Dragon is released on July 26.
• August 17 – The sci-fi movie Westworld is the first feature film to use digital image processing.
• December 25 – The Sting is released and goes on to become one of the top-grossing films of all time.
• December 26 – The Exorcist reawakens the horror film genre and becomes one of the most popular and controversial films ever released.

Awards

Category/Organization	31st Golden Globe Awards January 26, 1974		27th BAFTA Awards March 6, 1974	46th Academy Awards April 2, 1974
	Drama	Musical or Comedy
Best Film	The Exorcist	American Graffiti	Day for Night	The Sting
Best Director	William Friedkin The Exorcist		François Truffaut Day for Night	George Roy Hill The Sting
Best Actor	Al Pacino Serpico	George Segal A Touch of Class	Walter Matthau Charley Varrick and Pete 'n' Tillie	Jack Lemmon Save the Tiger
Best Actress	Marsha Mason Cinderella Liberty	Glenda Jackson A Touch of Class	Stephane Audran The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and Just Before Nightfall	Glenda Jackson A Touch of Class
Best Supporting Actor	John Houseman The Paper Chase		Arthur Lowe O Lucky Man!	John Houseman The Paper Chase
Best Supporting Actress	Linda Blair The Exorcist		Valentina Cortese Day for Night	Tatum O'Neal Paper Moon
Best Screenplay, Adapted	William Peter Blatty The Exorcist		Luis Buñuel and Jean-Claude Carriere The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie	William Peter Blatty The Exorcist
Best Screenplay, Original				David S. Ward The Sting
Best Original Score	Neil Diamond Jonathan Livingston Seagull		Alan Price O Lucky Man!	Marvin Hamlisch The Way We Were Marvin Hamlisch The Sting
Best Original Song	"The Way We Were" The Way We Were		N/A	"The Way We Were" The Way We Were
Best Foreign Language Film	The Pedestrian		N/A	Day for Night

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):

The Hireling, directed by Alan Bridges, United Kingdom

Scarecrow, directed by Jerry Schatzberg, United States

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):

Ashani Sanket (Distant Thunder), directed by Satyajit Ray, India

Notable films released in 1973

United States unless stated

#

• The 14, directed by David Hemmings, starring Jack Wild – (U.K.)

A

• Abhimaan (Pride) – (India)
• Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies, starring Cliff Robertson and Pamela Franklin
• The Adventures of Rabbi Jacob (Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob) – (France)
• All Nudity Shall Be Punished (Toda Nudez Será Castigada) – (Brazil)
• The Alpha Caper, starring Henry Fonda and Leonard Nimoy
• Alvin Purple – (Australia)
• Amarcord, directed by Federico Fellini – (Italy)
• American Graffiti, directed by George Lucas, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Cindy Williams, Paul Le Mat, Candy Clark, Harrison Ford
• Ana and the Wolves (Ana y los lobos), starring Geraldine Chaplin – (Spain)
• And Now the Screaming Starts!, starring Peter Cushing, Stephanie Beacham, Herbert Lom
• Arnold, starring Stella Stevens, Roddy McDowall, Elsa Lanchester
• Ashani Sanket (Distant Thunder), directed by Satyajit Ray – Golden Bear winner – (India)

B

• The Baby, starring Anjanette Comer and Ruth Roman
• Badlands, directed by Terrence Malick, starring Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek
• Bang the Drum Slowly, starring Robert De Niro and Michael Moriarty
• Bat Pussy, believed to have been made or released in 1973
• Battle for the Planet of the Apes, starring Roddy McDowall, Claude Akins, Natalie Trundy, John Huston
• Battles Without Honor and Humanity (ingi naki tatakai) – (Japan)
• Baxter!, starring Patricia Neal and Britt Ekland – (U.K.)
• Black Caesar, starring Fred Williamson
• Black Holiday (La Villeggiatura), starring Adolfo Celi – (Italy)
• Blood Brothers (Ci Ma), directed by Chang Cheh – (Hong Kong)
• Blood in the Streets, a.k.a. Revolver, starring Oliver Reed – (Italy/France/West Germany)
• Blood of the Dragon (Zhui ming qiang) – (Hong Kong)
• Blue Blood, starring Oliver Reed, Fiona Lewis and Derek Jacobi- (U.K.)
• Blume in Love, starring George Segal, Susan Anspach, Kris Kristofferson
• Bobby, starring Rishi Kapoor – (India)
• Book of Numbers, directed, produced by and starring Raymond St. Jacques
• Il Boss, starring Henry Silva and Richard Conte – (Italy)
• Breezy, directed by Clint Eastwood, starring William Holden and Kay Lenz
• A Brief Vacation (Una breve vacanza), directed by Vittorio De Sica – (Italy)
• Brother of the Wind

C

• Cahill U.S. Marshal, starring John Wayne and George Kennedy
• Can Dialectics Break Bricks? (La Dialectique Peut-Elle Casser Des Briques?) – (France)
• The Candy Snatchers, starring Tiffany Bolling
• Charley and the Angel, starring Fred MacMurray, Cloris Leachman, Kurt Russell
• Charley Varrick, directed by Don Siegel, starring Walter Matthau, John Vernon, Joe Don Baker, Andy Robinson, Sheree North, Felicia Farr
• Charlotte's Web, an animated film directed by Charles A. Nichols and Iwao Takamoto, with the voices of Debbie Reynolds and Henry Gibson
• Chino, directed by John Sturges, starring Charles Bronson
• Cinderella Liberty, directed by Mark Rydell, starring James Caan and Marsha Mason
• Class of '44, starring Gary Grimes
• Cleopatra Jones, starring Tamara Dobson and Shelley Winters
• Coffy, starring Pam Grier
• Cops and Robbers, starring Joseph Bologna and Cliff Gorman
• The Crazies, directed by George A. Romero
• The Creeping Flesh, starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing – (U.K.)

D

• Dark Places, starring Christopher Lee, Joan Collins, Jane Birkin – (U.K.)
• Day for Night, directed by François Truffaut, starring Jacqueline Bisset, Valentina Cortese, Jean-Pierre Aumont – Academy Award and Bafta winner – (France)
• The Day of the Dolphin, directed by Mike Nichols, starring George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere, Paul Sorvino
• The Day of the Jackal, directed by Fred Zinnemann, starring Edward Fox, Michael Lonsdale, Delphine Seyrig – (U.K./France)
• The Death of a Lumberjack (La Mort d'un bûcheron) – (Canada)
• A Delicate Balance, starring Katharine Hepburn, Paul Scofield, Lee Remick, Kate Reid, Betsy Blair
• The Devil in Miss Jones, adult film, directed by Gerard Damiano
• Dillinger, starring Warren Oates, Harry Dean Stanton, Richard Dreyfuss, Geoffrey Lewis
• A Doll's House, starring Claire Bloom and Anthony Hopkins – (U.K.)
• The Don Is Dead, starring Anthony Quinn, Robert Forster, Al Lettieri, Ina Balin
• Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, starring Kim Darby and Jim Hutton
• Don't Look Now, directed by Nicolas Roeg, starring Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland – (U.K./Italy)

E

• The Earth Is a Sinful Song (Maa on syntinen laulu) – (Finland)
• Electra Glide in Blue, starring Robert Blake
• Emperor of the North Pole, directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Keith Carradine, Charles Tyner
• England Made Me, starring Peter Finch and Michael York – (U.K.)
• Enter the Dragon, starring Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Jim Kelly – (Hong Kong/United States)
• Executive Action, starring Burt Lancaster and Robert Ryan
• The Exorcist, directed by William Friedkin, starring Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Jason Miller, Max von Sydow—winner of 5 Golden Globes and 2 Oscars

F

• Fantastic Planet (La Planète Sauvage) – (France/Czechoslovakia)
• Fé, Esperanza y Caridad (Faith, Hope and Charity), starring Katy Jurado – (Mexico)
• The Final Programme, starring Jon Finch, Jenny Runacre and Graham Crowden – (U.K.)
• Five on the Black Hand Side, starring Godfrey Cambridge
• Forced Entry, adult film starring Harry Reems
• The Friends of Eddie Coyle, directed by Peter Yates, starring Robert Mitchum, Richard Jordan, Steven Keats, Alex Rocco, Peter Boyle
• From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (a.k.a. The Hideaways), starring Ingrid Bergman

G

• Godspell, starring Victor Garber
• Godzilla vs. Megalon, directed by Jun Fukuda – (Japan)
• La Grande Bouffe (Blow-Out), starring Marcello Mastroianni, Ugo Tognazzi, Michel Piccoli, Philippe Noiret – (France/Italy)

H

• The Hare Census (Prebroyavane na Divite Zaytsi), directed by Eduard Zahariev, starring Itzhak Fintzi, Nikola Todev, Georgi Rusev – (Bulgaria)
• The Harrad Experiment, starring Don Johnson, Tippi Hedren, James Whitmore
• Heavy Traffic, an animated film by Ralph Bakshi
• Hell Up in Harlem, starring Fred Williamson
• High Plains Drifter, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, with Verna Bloom, Marianna Hill, Geoffrey Lewis
• The Hireling, directed by Alan Bridges, starring Robert Shaw and Sarah Miles – Palme d'Or winner – (U.K.)
• Hitler: The Last Ten Days, starring Alec Guinness – (U.K./Italy)
• The Holy Mountain (La Montaña Sagrada), directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky – (Mexico/U.S.)
• Home Sweet Home (La fête à Jules) – (Belgium)
• The Homecoming, directed by Peter Hall, starring Cyril Cusack, Ian Holm, Vivien Merchant – (U.K.)
• Hot Winds (Garm Hava), directed by M. S. Sathyu – (India)
• The Hourglass Sanatorium (Sanatorium pod klepsydrą), directed by Wojciech Has – (Poland)
• The House in Nightmare Park, directed by Peter Skyes, starring Frankie Howerd and Ray Milland – (U.K.)
• The House on Chelouche Street (Ha-Bayit Berechov Chelouche) – (Israel)
• Hugo the Hippo (Hugó, a víziló) – (Hungary)

I

• The Iceman Cometh, directed by John Frankenheimer, starring Lee Marvin, Fredric March, Robert Ryan
• Idaho Transfer, directed by Peter Fonda
• Indian Summer, directed by Milen Nikolov, starring Georgi Partsalev, Leda Taseva, Tatyana Lolova – (Bulgaria)
• Interval, starring Merle Oberon
• L' Invitation (The Invitation), directed by Claude Goretta – Academy Award for Best Foreign Film – (France/Switzerland)
• Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future (Ivan Vasilyevich menyayet professiyu) – (U.S.S.R.)

J

• Jesus Christ Superstar, directed by Norman Jewison, starring Ted Neeley and Yvonne Elliman, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
• Jeremy, starring Robby Benson and Glynnis O'Connor
• Jonathan Livingston Seagull, featuring voices of James Franciscus and Juliet Mills

K

• Kanashimi no Belladonna (Belladonna of Sadness), Anime feature film – (Japan)
• Kid Blue, starring Dennis Hopper and Warren Oates

L

• Lady Ice, starring Donald Sutherland and Jennifer O'Neill
• Lady Snowblood (Shurayukihime) – (Japan)
• The Last American Hero, starring Jeff Bridges
• The Last Detail, directed by Hal Ashby, starring Jack Nicholson, Randy Quaid, Otis Young
• The Last of Sheila, written by Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins, starring Raquel Welch, Dyan Cannon, James Mason, James Coburn, Richard Benjamin, Joan Hackett, Ian McShane
• The Laughing Policeman, starring Walter Matthau, Bruce Dern, Louis Gossett, Jr., Joanna Cassidy, Cathy Lee Crosby
• The Legend of Hell House, starring Pamela Franklin and Gayle Hunnicutt
• The Legend of Paul and Paula (Die Legende von Paul und Paula) – (East Germany)
• Le Magnifique, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jacqueline Bisset – (France)
• Little Tiger of Canton (Guang dong xiao lao hu), starring Jackie Chan – (Hong Kong)
• Live and Let Die, starring Roger Moore (as James Bond), with Jane Seymour and Yaphet Kotto – (U.K.)
• Lolly-Madonna XXX, starring Rod Steiger, Robert Ryan, Jeff Bridges
• The Long Goodbye, directed by Robert Altman, starring Elliott Gould, Nina van Pallandt, Sterling Hayden, Mark Rydell, Henry Gibson, Jim Bouton
• Lost Horizon, starring Peter Finch, John Gielgud, Liv Ullmann, George Kennedy, Olivia Hussey
• Love and Anarchy (d'amore e d'anarchia), directed by Lina Wertmüller – (Italy)
• Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing, directed by Alan J. Pakula, starring Timothy Bottoms and Maggie Smith

M

• The Mackintosh Man, starring Paul Newman – (UK/US)
• Magnum Force, directed by Ted Post, starring Clint Eastwood, Hal Holbrook, David Soul, Tim Matheson, Robert Urich
• Malizia (Malicious) – (Italy)
• Manson, a documentary film about Charles Manson
• Massacre in Rome (Rappresaglia), directed by George Pan Cosmatos, starring Richard Burton and Marcello Mastroianni – (Italy)
• Maurie, directed by Daniel Mann, starring Bo Svenson and Bernie Casey
• Mean Streets, directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro
• The Mother and the Whore (La Maman et la Putain) – (France)
• My Dear Brother starring Tarık Akan, Halit Akçatepe and Kahraman Kıral – (Turkey)
• My Name Is Nobody (Il mio nome è Nessuno), starring Terence Hill and Henry Fonda – (Italy)

N

• The Neptune Factor, starring Ben Gazzara, Yvette Mimieux, Ernest Borgnine
• Nefertiti and Akhenaten, TV movie starring Geraldine Chaplin and Salah Zulfikar – (Mexico)
• The No Mercy Man, starring Sid Haig and Ron Thompson
• Night Flight from Moscow, starring Yul Brynner, Henry Fonda, Dirk Bogarde – (France/Italy/Germany)
• Night Watch, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Laurence Harvey – (U.K.)
• The Night Strangler, TV movie starring Darren McGavin
• The Nutcracker (Schelkunchik) – (U.S.S.R.)

O

• Oklahoma Crude, directed by Stanley Kramer, starring Faye Dunaway and George C. Scott
• O Lucky Man!, directed by Lindsay Anderson, starring Malcolm McDowell, Ralph Richardson, Rachel Roberts – (U.K.)
• The Olsen Gang Goes Crazy (Olsen-banden går amok) – (Denmark)

P

• The Paper Chase, starring Timothy Bottoms, Lindsay Wagner, John Houseman
• Paper Moon, directed by Peter Bogdanovich, starring Ryan O'Neal, Tatum O'Neal, Madeline Kahn
• Paperback Hero, starring Keir Dullea and Elizabeth Ashley – (Canada)
• Papillon, directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman
• Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, directed by Sam Peckinpah, starring James Coburn, Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan, with music by Dylan
• The Pedestrian (Der Fußgänger), directed by Maximilian Schell, starring Peggy Ashcroft – Golden Globe for best foreign film – (West Germany/Switzerland/Israel)
• Property Is No Longer a Theft (La proprietà non è più un furto), starring Ugo Tognazzi – (Italy)
• The Pyx, starring Christopher Plummer and Karen Black- (Canada)

R

• Resurrection of Eve, starring Marilyn Chambers
• El Retorno de Walpurgis (a.k.a. The Curse of the Devil) – (Spain/Mexico)
• Robin Hood, animated film with voices of Roger Miller, Phil Harris, Andy Devine, Peter Ustinov, Terry-Thomas

S

• Save the Tiger, directed by John G. Avildsen, starring Jack Lemmon
• Scarecrow, directed by Jerry Schatzberg, starring Gene Hackman and Al Pacino – Palme d'Or winner
• Scenes from a Marriage (Scener ur ett äktenskap), directed by Ingmar Bergman, starring Liv Ullmann and Erland Josephson – (Sweden)
• Scorpio, starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, Paul Scofield, Gayle Hunnicutt
• Scream Blacula Scream, starring William H. Marshall and Pam Grier
• Serpico, directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Al Pacino
• The Seven Madmen (Los siete locos), directed by Leopoldo Torre Nilsson – (Argentina)
• The Seven-Ups, starring Roy Scheider
• Shamus, starring Burt Reynolds, Dyan Cannon, John P. Ryan
• Showdown, starring Dean Martin and Rock Hudson
• Sisters, directed by Brian De Palma
• Slaughter's Big Rip-Off, starring Jim Brown, Brock Peters, Ed McMahon
• Sleeper, directed by and starring Woody Allen, with Diane Keaton
• Slither, starring James Caan, Sally Kellerman, Peter Boyle
• The Society of the Spectacle (La Société du Spectacle) – (France)
• Son of Zorro
• Soul Hustler, directed by Bert Topper, starring Fabian Forte, Nai Bonet, Tony Russel, Casey Kasem
• Soylent Green, directed by Richard Fleischer, starring Charlton Heston, Leigh Taylor-Young, Edward G. Robinson
• The Spirit of the Beehive (El espíritu de la colmena) – (Spain)
• Stateline Motel, starring Eli Wallach, Ursula Andress, Fabio Testi, Eli Wallach – Canada/Italy
• Steelyard Blues, starring Donald Sutherland and Jane Fonda
• Steptoe and Son Ride Again, starred Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett – (U.K.)
• The Sting, directed by George Roy Hill, starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw, Eileen Brennan, Charles Durning, Ray Walston – winner of 7 Academy Awards
• The Stone Killer, starring Charles Bronson
• Super Fly T.N.T., directed by and starring Ron O'Neal
• Superdad, starring Bob Crane, Barbara Rush, Kurt Russell
• Sweet Kill, starring Tab Hunter

T

• The Tenderness of Wolves (Die Zärtlichkeit der Wölfe) – (West Germany)
• That'll Be the Day, starring David Essex, Rosemary Leach, Ringo Starr – (U.K.)
• Theatre of Blood, starring Vincent Price, Diana Rigg, Robert Morley
• Themroc, starring Michel Piccoli – (France)
• There's No Smoke Without Fire (Il n'y a pas de fumée sans feu), starring Annie Girardot – (France)
• The Other Man, starring Salah Zulfikar, Shams El Baroudi and Zubaida Tharwat – (Egypt)
• The Thief Who Came to Dinner, starring Ryan O'Neal, Jacqueline Bisset, Warren Oates
• The Three-Day Reign (Samil cheonha) – (South Korea)
• The Three Musketeers, directed by Richard Lester, starring Michael York, Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlain, Raquel Welch – (U.K./U.S.)
• Three Nuts for Cinderella (Tři oříšky pro Popelku) – (Czechoslovakia/East Germany)
• A Touch of Class, starring George Segal and Glenda Jackson – (U.K.)
• Tom Sawyer, starring Johnny Whitaker and Jodie Foster
• Touki Bouki (Journey of the Hyena) – (Senegal)
• The Train Robbers, starring John Wayne and Ann-Margret
• Tsugaru Folk Song (Tsugaru Jongarabushi) – (Japan)
• Turkish Delight (Turks Fruit), directed by Paul Verhoeven, starring Rutger Hauer – (Netherlands)
• Two Men in Town (Deux hommes dans la ville), starring Jean Gabin and Alain Delon – (France)
• Two People, directed by Robert Wise, starring Peter Fonda and Lindsay Wagner

U

• Ultimul cartuş (The Last Bullet) – (Romania)

V

• The Vault of Horror, starring Glynis Johns, Terry-Thomas, Curd Jürgens – (U.K.)
• Voices, starring David Hemmings and Gayle Hunnicutt – (U.K.)

W

• Walking Tall, starring Joe Don Baker
• The Way We Were, directed by Sydney Pollack, starring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford
• We Want the Colonels (Vogliamo i colonnelli), starring Ugo Tognazzi – (Italy)
• Wedding in Blood (Les Noces rouges), directed by Claude Chabrol, starring Stéphane Audran and Michel Piccoli – (France)
• Westworld, directed by Michael Crichton, starring Yul Brynner, Richard Benjamin, James Brolin
• White Lightning, starring Burt Reynolds
• Wicked, Wicked, starring David Bailey, Edd Byrnes, Tiffany Bolling
• The Wicker Man, directed by Robin Hardy, starring Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Diane Cilento – (U.K.)
• Willie Dynamite, directed by Gilbert Moses, starring Roscoe Orman, Diana Sands, Thalmus Rasulala and Roger Robinson
• The World's Greatest Athlete, starring Jan-Michael Vincent and John Amos

Z

• Zanjeer (Shackles) – (India)
• Ziddi (Action)- (Pakistan)

1973 Wide-release movies

United States unless stated

January–March

• January 1973
  • 5 January
    • Sweet Kill
  • 10 January
    • The No Mercy Man
  • 11 January
    • The Offence
  • 13 January
    • Battles Without Honor and Humanity
    • Manson
  • 19 January
    • Black Mama White Mama
  • 25 January
    • The Death of a Lumberjack
    • The Love Ban
  • 27 January
    • Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall
    • Last Tango in Paris
  • 31 January
    • Shamus
    • Steelyard Blues
• February 1973
  • 1 February
    • The World's Greatest Athlete
  • 4 February
    • Wattstax
  • 7 February
    • Black Caesar
    • The Train Robbers
  • 8 February
    • The Harder They Come
  • 9 February
    • The Creeping Flesh
    • Jory
  • 14 February
    • Save the Tiger
  • 20 February
    • Nothing but the Night
  • 22 February
    • Payday
    • Turkish Delight
    • Walking Tall
  • 21 February
    • Lolly-Madonna XXX
  • 24 February
    • The Blood Brothers
• March 1973
  • 1 March
    • Charlotte's Web
    • The Thief Who Came to Dinner
  • 4 March
    • Baxter!
  • 7 March
    • Slither
    • The Long Goodbye
  • 8 March
    • Ludwig
  • 10 March
    • Schlock
    • The Vault of Horror
  • 12 March
    • The Baby
  • 15 March
    • Tom Sawyer
  • 16 March
    • The Crazies
    • Forced Entry
  • 17 March
    • Godzilla vs. Megalon (Japan)
    • Lost Horizon
  • 18 March
    • Two People
  • 21 March
    • Godspell
  • 23 March
    • Charley and the Angel
    • Genesis II
  • 27 March
    • Sisters
  • 28 March
    • Black Snake
    • The Devil in Miss Jones
    • Kamouraska

April–June

• April 1973
  • 1 April
    • Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies
  • 4 April
    • The Mack
  • 7 April
    • Night Flight from Moscow
  • 10 April
    • Class of '44
  • 11 April
    • Book of Numbers
    • Scarecrow
  • 12 April
    • The Iron Rose
    • Tiffany Jones
  • 13 April
    • The Candy Snatchers
  • 18 April
    • Bequest to the Nation
    • Charley One-Eye
  • 19 April
    • Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing
    • Scorpio
    • Soylent Green
  • 23 April
    • Messiah of Evil
  • 27 April
    • And Now the Screaming Starts!
• May 1973
  • 1 May
    • Guns of a Stranger
  • 9 May
    • Billy Jack (re-release)
    • Father, Dear Father
    • Hitler: The Last Ten Days
    • Paper Moon
  • 11 May
    • The Harrad Experiment
    • Little Laura and Big John
  • 15 May
    • Jeremy
  • 16 May
    • The Day of the Jackal
  • 20 May
    • The Hireling
    • Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
    • Terror in the Wax Museum
  • 22 May
    • A Doll's House
  • 24 May
    • Day for Night
    • Emperor of the North Pole
• June 1973
  • 6 June
    • The Blockhouse
    • Little Cigars
  • 8 June
    • Cannibal Girls
  • 13 June
    • Wicked, Wicked
  • 14 June
    • The Last of Sheila
  • 15 June
    • Battle for the Planet of the Apes
    • Idaho Transfer
    • Interval
    • The Legend of Hell House
  • 16 June
    • Coffy
  • 17 June
    • Blume in Love
  • 20 June
    • O Lucky Man!
    • One Little Indian
    • Shaft in Africa
    • Showdown
    • A Touch of Class
  • 26 June
    • The Friends of Eddie Coyle
    • Live and Let Die
  • 28 June
    • 40 Carats
    • The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing
  • 30 June
    • Belladonna of Sadness

July–September

• July 1973
  • 2 July
    • Oklahoma Crude
  • 11 July
    • Cahill U.S. Marshal
  • 12 July
    • Blue Blood
  • 13 July
    • Cleopatra Jones
    • Lady Ice
  • 16 July
    • Ana and the Wolves
  • 18 July
    • Sssssss
  • 20 July
    • Dillinger
  • 25 July
    • Badge 373
    • The Mackintosh Man
    • No Sex Please, We're British
  • 27 July
    • The Last American Hero
• August 1973
  • 1 August
    • The Boy Who Cried Werewolf
    • Maurie
    • The Naked Ape
  • 3 August
    • Blackenstein
    • The Neptune Factor
  • 8 August
    • Heavy Traffic
    • The Stone Killer
    • White Lightning
  • 9 August
    • Gordon's War
  • 10 August
    • Night Watch
  • 11 August
    • American Graffiti
  • 15 August
    • Cops and Robbers
    • Jesus Christ Superstar
  • 17 August
    • Happy Mother's Day, Love George
    • Romeo and Juliet (re-release)
    • Westworld
  • 19 August
    • Electra Glide in Blue
    • Enter the Dragon
  • 22 August
    • High Plains Drifter
  • 26 August
    • Bang the Drum Slowly
• September 1973
  • 11 September
    • I Escaped from Devil's Island
  • 14 September
    • Chino
  • 17 September
    • The Pyx
    • Santee
  • 18 September
    • Hit!
  • 21 September
    • The Spook Who Sat by the Door
  • 23 September
    • Harry in Your Pocket
  • 26 September
    • The Slams
  • 27 September
    • From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
  • 29 September
    • Kid Blue

October–December

• October 1973
  • 2 October
    • Mean Streets
  • 4 October
    • The Final Programme
  • 10 October
    • Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
  • 15 October
    • Badlands
  • 16 October
    • Don't Look Now
    • The Paper Chase
    • Scalawag
  • 19 October
    • Charley Varrick
    • The House in Nightmare Park
    • The Outfit
    • The Way We Were
  • 21 October
    • Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams
  • 23 October
    • Jonathan Livingston Seagull
  • 24 October
    • The All-American Boy
  • 25 October
    • Five on the Black Hand Side
  • 29 October
    • The Homecoming
    • The Iceman Cometh
    • That'll Be the Day
• November 1973
  • 1 November
    • Ash Wednesday
    • A Doll's House
  • 7 November
    • Executive Action
  • 8 November
    • Carry On Girls
    • Robin Hood
  • 12 November
    • A Delicate Balance
  • 14 November
    • The Don Is Dead
  • 16 November
    • Arnold
  • 18 November
    • Breezy
    • England Made Me
  • 20 November
    • The Affair
  • 21 November
    • Hex
  • 27 November
    • Fly Me
    • The Holy Mountain
  • 30 November
    • Flesh for Frankenstein
• December 1973
  • 5 December
    • Serpico
  • 6 December
    • Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World
    • Fantastic Planet
    • Marco
    • The Wicker Man
  • 11 December
    • The Three Musketeers
  • 12 December
    • The Last Detail
    • Now Where Did the 7th Company Get to?
  • 14 December
    • My Name is Nobody
    • Superdad
    • The Seven-Ups
  • 16 December
    • Hell Up in Harlem
    • Papillon
  • 17 December
    • Sleeper
  • 18 December
    • Amarcord
    • Cinderella Liberty
  • 19 December
    • The 14
    • The Day of the Dolphin
    • Willie Dynamite
  • 20 December
    • Alvin Purple
    • The Laughing Policeman
  • 21 December
    • The Deadly Trackers
    • Jimi Hendrix
  • 25 December
    • The Sting
    • Magnum Force
  • 26 December
    • The Exorcist
  • 29 December
    • Tidal Wave (Japan)

Births

• January 7 – Baiba Broka, Latvian actress
• January 10 - Ryan Drummond, American actor and comedian
• January 23 - Lanei Chapman, American actress
• January 24 - William Gregory Lee, American actor
• January 29 - Arben Bajraktaraj, Korovan-born French actor
• January 31 – Portia de Rossi, Australian-Canadian actress
• February 12 – Tara Strong, Canadian-American voice actress
• February 17 - Lucy Davis, English actress
• February 18 - Tom Wisdom, English actor
• February 25 - Anson Mount, American actor
• March 1 - Jack Davenport, English actor
• March 4 - Len Wiseman, American director, screenwriter and producer
• March 13 - Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Icelandic-American actor, producer and screenwriter
• March 18 – Luci Christian, American voice actress
• March 20 – Jane March, English actress and model
• March 24 - Jim Parsons, American actor and producer
• April 2 - Roselyn Sánchez, Puerto Rican singer-songwriter, dancer, model, actress, producer, and writer
• April 3 - Adam Scott (actor), American actor, comedian and producer
• April 6 - Cindy Robinson, American voice actress
• April 10 – Guillaume Canet, French actor
• April 11 - Kris Marshall, English actor
• April 12 - Amr Waked, Egyptian actor
• April 14 – Adrien Brody, American actor
• April 19 - Michael Bacall, American screenwriter and actor
• April 22 – Christopher Sabat, American voice actor
• April 30 – Antonino Isordia, Mexican director
• May 5 – Tina Yothers, American actress
• May 8 - Marcus Brigstocke, British comedian and actor
• May 10 – Tora Sudiro, Indonesian actor
• May 12 - Mackenzie Astin, American actor
• May 17
  • Sasha Alexander, American actress and director
  • Matthew McGrory, American actor (d. 2005)
• May 21 - Noel Fielding, English comedian, writer, actor, artist, musician and television presenter
• May 27 - Jack McBrayer, American actor, singer and comedian
• May 30 - Minae Noji, Japanese-American actress
• June 1 - Adam Garcia, Australian actor
• June 8 - Lexa Doig, Canadian actress
• June 15 – Neil Patrick Harris, American actor
• June 16 – Eddie Cibrian, American actor
• June 17 - Louis Leterrier, French director and producer
• June 18 - Julie Depardieu, French actress
• June 21 – Juliette Lewis, American actress
• July 2 - Peter Kay, English comedian and actor
• July 3 - Patrick Wilson (American actor), American actor, director and singer
• July 6 - William Lee Scott, American actor
• July 11 - Jason Liebrecht, American voice actor
• July 16 - Robert Jayne, American actor
• July 19 - Saïd Taghmaoui, French-American actor and screenwriter
• July 23 - Kathryn Hahn, American actress, comedian, model, singer and producer
• July 26 – Kate Beckinsale, English actress
• August 5 - Michael Hollick, American actor
• August 6 – Vera Farmiga, American actress
• August 8 – Jessica Calvello, American voice actress
• August 9 - Kevin McKidd, Scottish actor and television director
• August 19 - Ahmed Best, American actor, comedian and musician
• August 22 – Kristen Wiig, American actress and comedian
• August 24
  • Dave Chappelle, American actor
  • Grey Griffin, American actress, comedian and singer songwriter
  • Barrett Oliver, American former child actor
• August 25 - Ben Falcone, American filmmaker, comedian and actor
• September 4 - Lazlow Jones, American writer, producer, director, voice actor and radio personality
• September 5
  • Paddy Considine, English actor, director, screenwriter and musician
  • Rose McGowan, American actress
• September 7 – Shannon Elizabeth, American actress
• September 12 –
  • Maximiliano Hernández, American actor
  • Paul Walker, American actor and producer (d. 2013)
• September 14 – Andrew Lincoln, English actor
• September 18 – James Marsden, American actor
• September 26 – Julienne Davis, American actress and model
• October 1 - Christian Borle, American actor and singer
• October 2 - Efren Ramirez, American actor
• October 3
  • Neve Campbell, Canadian actress
  • Richard Ian Cox, Welsh-Canadian voice actor
  • Lena Headey, English actress
• October 6 - Ioan Gruffudd, Welsh actor
• October 22 - Carmen Ejogo, British actress and singer
• October 24
  • Burgess Jenkins, American actor
  • Kurt Kuenne, American filmmaker
• October 26 – Seth MacFarlane, American actor, voice actor, animator, screenwriter, comedian, television producer, director and singer
• November 1 – Aishwarya Rai, Indian actress
• November 4 - Steven Ogg, Canadian actor
• November 14 - Dana Snyder, American actor and voice actor
• November 21 - Brook Kerr, American actress
• November 24 - Lucy Liemann, British actress
• November 26 – Peter Facinelli, American actor
• November 27
  • Tadanobu Asano, Japanese actor
  • Sharlto Copley, South African actor
• December 3 - Bruno Campos, Brazilian-American actor and lawyer
• December 14 – Jan Uuspõld, Estonian actor
• December 17 - Rian Johnson, American filmmaker

Deaths

Month	Date	Name	Age	Country	Profession	Notable films
January	2	Franciska Gaal	68	Hungary	Actress, Singer	Paris Honeymoon The Buccaneer
	15	Coleman Francis	53	US	Actor, Director	Red Zone Cuba The Skydivers
	19	Max Adrian	69	Northern Ireland	Actor	Dr. Terror's House of Horrors The Terrornauts
	24	J. Carrol Naish	77	US	Actor	Sahara A Medal for Benny
	26	Edward G. Robinson	79	Romania	Actor	Double Indemnity Key Largo
	29	Ludwig Stossel	89	Austria	Actor	The Pride of the Yankees Casablanca
	31	Jack MacGowran	54	Ireland	Actor	The Exorcist The Fearless Vampire Killers
February	13	David Bauer	55	US	Actor	Torture Garden Patton
	15	Tim Holt	54	US	Actor	The Treasure of the Sierra Madre The Magnificent Ambersons
	15	Wally Cox	48	US	Actor	Morituri The Bedford Incident
	22	Katina Paxinou	72	Greece	Actress	For Whom the Bell Tolls Rocco and His Brothers
	24	Art Smith	73	US	Actor	In a Lonely Place Body and Soul
	28	Cecil Kellaway	82	South Africa	Actor	Guess Who's Coming to Dinner The Postman Always Rings Twice
March	5	Rupert Crosse	45	US	Actor	The Reivers Shadows
	10	Robert Siodmak	72	Germany	Director	The Killers The Spiral Staircase
	11	Gregorio Fernandez	68	Philippines	Actor, Director	Higit Sa Lahat Luksang Tagumpay
	13	Melville Cooper	76	England	Actor	The Petty Girl Rebecca
	16	Carl Benton Reid	79	US	Actor	The Little Foxes The Trap
	19	Lauritz Melchior	82	US	Singer	This Time for Keeps Two Sisters from Boston
	22	Kane Richmond	66	US	Actor	Brick Bradford The Shadow Returns
	23	Ken Maynard	77	US	Actor	Range Law Tombstone Canyon
	26	Noël Coward	73	England	Actor, Songwriter	Easy Virtue In Which We Serve
April	11	Ted de Corsia	69	US	Actor	The Killing The Enforcer
	12	Arthur Freed	78	US	Songwriter, Producer	An American in Paris Gigi
	14	Minna Gombell	80	US	Actress	The Merry Widow The Thin Man
	20	Robert Armstrong	82	US	Actor	King Kong Double Jeopardy
	21	Merian C. Cooper	79	US	Director, Producer, Screenwriter	King Kong The Four Feathers
	21	Ursula Jeans	73	UK	Actress	The Woman in the Hall The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
	26	Irene Ryan	70	US	Actress	San Diego, I Love You Heading for Heaven
May	4	Charles Grayson	69	US	Screenwriter	The Woman on Pier 13 Battle Hymn
	6	Myrna Fahey	40	US	Actress	House of Usher The Story on Page One
	7	Maxine Doyle	58	US	Actress	6 Day Bike Rider Condemned to Live
	10	Jack E. Leonard	63	US	Actor, Comedian	Three Sailors and a Girl The Fat Spy
	11	Lex Barker	54	US	Actor	La Dolce Vita Tarzan and the Slave Girl
	12	Frances Marion	84	US	Screenwriter	The Big House Dinner at Eight
	21	Vaughn Monroe	61	US	Singer, Actor	Meet the People Singing Guns
	29	P. Ramlee	44	Malaysia	Actor, Director	Tiga Abdul Love Parade
June	5	Max Terhune	87	US	Actor	The Purple Vigilantes Santa Fe Stampede
	10	William Inge	60	US	Screenwriter, Playwright	Splendor in the Grass Picnic
	16	Louise Latimer	60	US	Actress	Don't Turn 'Em Loose California Straight Ahead!
	18	Roger Delgado	55	England	Actor	The Terror of the Tongs Hot Enough for June
	23	Fay Holden	79	England	Actress	Love Finds Andy Hardy Samson and Delilah
	25	Lars Tvinde	86	Norway	Actor	An-Magritt By og land hand i hand
	26	Ernest Truex	83	US	Actor	The Adventures of Marco Polo His Girl Friday
July	2	Betty Grable	56	US	Actress	How to Marry a Millionaire Million Dollar Legs
	2	George Macready	73	US	Actor	Gilda Paths of Glory
	6	Joe E. Brown	80	US	Actor	Some Like It Hot Alibi Ike
	7	Veronica Lake	50	US	Actress	Sullivan's Travels This Gun for Hire
	11	Robert Ryan	63	US	Actor	The Wild Bunch Bad Day at Black Rock
	12	Lon Chaney, Jr.	67	US	Actor	The Wolf Man High Noon
	18	Jack Hawkins	62	England	Actor	Ben-Hur Lawrence of Arabia
	20	Bruce Lee	32	US	Actor	Enter the Dragon Way of the Dragon
	30	Guy Middleton	65	England	Actor	Oh! What a Lovely War Marry Me!
August	2	Jean-Pierre Melville	55	France	Director	Le Samouraï Bob le flambeur
	5	Warren Duff	69	US	Producer, Screenwriter	Out of the Past Chicago Deadline
	10	Douglas Kennedy	57	US	Actor	Dark Passage The Amazing Transparent Man
	11	Peggie Castle	45	US	Actress	99 River Street I, the Jury
	16	Veda Ann Borg	58	US	Actress	Mildred Pierce The Alamo
	17	Eve Miller	50	US	Actress	Kansas Pacific The Winning Team
	22	Louise Huff	77	US	Actress	Disraeli Great Expectations
	30	Michael Dunn	38	US	Actor, Singer	Ship of Fools You're a Big Boy Now
	31	John Ford	79	US	Director	Stagecoach The Grapes of Wrath
September	13	Betty Field	60	US	Actress	Picnic Birdman of Alcatraz
	20	Glenn Strange	74	US	Actor	The Mad Monster Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
	21	Diana Sands	39	US	Actress	A Raisin in the Sun The Landlord
	24	Ted Adams	83	US	Actress	The Lone Rider in Frontier Fury Across the Rio Grande
	26	Anna Magnani	65	Italy	Actress	Rome, Open City The Rose Tattoo
	28	Norma Crane	44	US	Actress	All in a Night's Work They Call Me Mister Tibbs!
	28	Mantan Moreland	71	US	Actor, Comedian	Mantan Messes Up Sky Dragon
October	6	Sidney Blackmer	78	US	Actor	Rosemary's Baby High Society
	6	Dennis Price	58	UK	Actor	Kind Hearts and Coronets Ten Little Indians
	16	Cleo Moore	48	US	Actress	One Girl's Confession Over-Exposed
	18	Crane Wilbur	86	US	Screenwriter, Director	Solomon and Sheba House of Wax
	27	Allan Lane	64	US	Actor	Crime Ring Santa Fe Uprising
November	13	Lila Lee	72	US	Actress	Blood and Sand Misbehaving Ladies
	20	Viola Lawrence	78	US	Film Editor	The Lady from Shanghai Pal Joey
	23	Claire Dodd	64	US	Actress	Roberta In the Navy
	23	Constance Talmadge	75	US	Actress	The Duchess of Buffalo Dulcy
	23	Sessue Hayakawa	84	Japan	Actor	The Bridge on the River Kwai Swiss Family Robinson
	23	Adele Buffington	73	US	Screenwriter	Circus Girl Picture Brides
	25	Laurence Harvey	45	Lithuania	Actor	The Manchurian Candidate The Alamo
December	4	Michael O'Shea	67	US	Actor	The Underworld Story Parole, Inc.
	12	Ranald MacDougall	58	US	Screenwriter, Director	Mildred Pierce Cleopatra
	20	Bobby Darin	37	US	Actor, Singer	Captain Newman, M.D. If a Man Answers
	26	Steven Geray	69	Ukraine	Actor	Gilda Call Me Madam
	26	William Haines	73	US	Actor	Show People West Point
	31	A. Edward Sutherland	78	England	Director	The Flying Deuces Dixie

Debuts

• Danny Aiello – Bang the Drum Slowly
• Graham Beckel – The Paper Chase
• Colleen Camp – Battle for the Planet of the Apes
• John Candy – Class of '44
• Joanna Cassidy – The Outfit
• David Clennon – The Paper Chase
• Laura Dern – White Lightning
• Pino Donnagio – Don't Look Now (film composer)
• Anthony Edwards – Big Zapper
• Emilio Estevez – Badlands
• Victor Garber – Godspell
• John Glover – Shamus
• Rutger Hauer – Turkish Delight
• Stan Lee – The Year 01
• Tatum O'Neal – Paper Moon
• Bernadette Peters – Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies
• David Proval – Mean Streets
• Kathleen Quinlan – American Graffiti
• John Rhys-Davies – Penny Gold
• Stellan Skarsgård – Anita – ur en tonärsflickas dagbok
• Carl Weathers – Magnum Force