1955 Cannes Film Festival

The 8th Cannes Film Festival was held from 26 April to 10 May 1955. The Golden Palm went to the US film Marty by Delbert Mann. The festival opened with Du rififi chez les hommes by Jules Dassin and closed with Carmen Jones by Otto Preminger.

Until the 1954 Festival, the whimsical way various prizes were being awarded had drawn much criticism. In answer to this, from 1955 onwards, the Jury was composed of foreign celebrities from the film industry. In 1955, the first Palme d'Or was awarded, as the highest prize of the Festival.

Jury
The following people were appointed as the Jury of the 1955 competition:

Feature films Short films
 * Marcel Pagnol (France) - Jury President
 * Marcel Achard (France)
 * Juan Antonio Bardem (Spain)
 * A. Dignimont (France)
 * Jacques-Pierre Frogerais (France)
 * Leopold Lindtberg (Switzerland)
 * Anatole Litvak (USA)
 * Isa Miranda (Italy)
 * Leonard Mosley (UK)
 * Jean Nery (France)
 * Sergei Yutkevich (Soviet Union)
 * Jacques Doniol-Valcroze (France)
 * Herman van der Horst (Netherlands)
 * Marcel Ichac (France)
 * Karl Korn (West Germany)
 * Jean Perdrix (France)

Feature film competition
The following feature films competed for the Palme d'Or:


 * Bad Day at Black Rock by John Sturges
 * Biraj Bahu by Bimal Roy
 * A Big Family (Bolshaya Semya) by Iosif Kheifits
 * Black Dossier (Le Dossier noir) by André Cayatte
 * Boot Polish by Prakash Arora
 * Carmen Jones by Otto Preminger
 * The Crucified Lovers (Chikamatsu Monogatari) by Kenji Mizoguchi
 * The Country Girl by George Seaton
 * Det brenner i natt! by Arne Skouen
 * Dog's Heads (Psohlavci) by Martin Frič
 * East of Eden by Elia Kazan
 * The End of the Affair by Edward Dmytryk
 * Un extraño en la escalera by Tulio Demicheli
 * The Gold of Naples (L'oro di Napoli) by Vittorio De Sica
 * Heroes of Shipka (Geroite na Shipka) by Sergei Vasilyev
 * Hill 24 Doesn't Answer (Giv'a 24 Eina Ona) by Thorold Dickinson
 * Jedda by Charles Chauvel
 * A Kid for Two Farthings by Carol Reed
 * Life or Death (Hayat ou maut) by Kamal El Sheikh
 * Liliomfi by Károly Makk
 * Lost Continent (Continente perduto) by Leonardo Bonzi, Mario Craveri, Enrico Gras, Angelo Francesco Lavagnino and Giorgio Moser
 * Ludwig II by Helmut Käutner
 * Marty by Delbert Mann
 * The Miracle of Marcelino (Marcelino pan y vino) by Ladislao Vajda
 * Die Mücke by Walter Reisch
 * Onna no koyomi by Seiji Hisamatsu
 * Rififi (Du rififi chez les hommes) by Jules Dassin
 * Romeo and Juliet (Romeo i Dzhulyetta) by Lev Arnshtam and Leonid Lavrovsky
 * Roots (Raíces) by Benito Alazraki
 * Samba Fantástico by Jean Manzon and René Persin
 * Senhime by Keigo Kimura
 * The Sign of Venus (Il segno di Venere) by Dino Risi
 * Stella by Michael Cacoyannis

Films out of competition
The following films were selected to be screened out of competition:
 * Italia K2 by Marcello Balbi
 * Les trésors de la Mer Rouge by Michel Rocca

Short film competition
The following short films competed for the Short Film Palme d'Or:


 * 2'21"6 Butterfly Stroke: Dolphin-Kick by T. Mijata
 * A esperanca e' eterna by Marcos Margulies
 * Aggtelek by Ágoston Kollányi
 * Arte popular Portuguesa by João Mendes
 * Black on White by John Read
 * Blinkity Blank by Norman McLaren
 * Bow Bells by Anthony Simmons
 * Bronsalder by Lars Krantz
 * Bush Doctor by Jean Palardy
 * Cyrk by Włodzimierz Haupe
 * De sable et de feu by Jean Jabely
 * Den standhaftige Tinnsoldat by Ivo Caprino
 * Der Schatz des Abendlandes by Ernst Stephan Niessner, Edmund Von Hammer
 * Dobreho vojak svejk by Jiri Trnka
 * Dock by Emile Degelin
 * Guardians of the Soil by David Millin
 * Host by Thor Arnijot Udvang, Carsten Munch
 * Images préhistoriques by Arcady & Thomas L. Rowe
 * In cantec si dans by Ion Bostan
 * Isole di fuoco by Vittorio De Seta
 * Jakten over sporene by Erik Borge
 * L'homme dans la lumière by René Lucot
 * La ciudad blanca by Waldo Cerruto
 * La grande pèche by Henri Fabiani
 * Le conte de ma vie by Jørgen Roos
 * Les jardiniers d'Allah by Michel Clarence
 * Niedzielny poranek by Andrzej Munk
 * Nos forets by Auguste Kern
 * Op de spitsen by Rudi Hornecker
 * Opici cisar by Jan Lacko
 * Island of Sakhalin (Ostrov Sakhalin) by Vassili Katanian, Eldar Ryazanov
 * Pierre Romain desfossez by Gérard De Boe
 * Pulsschlag der Zeit by René Boeniger
 * Symphony of Life by T.A. Abraham
 * The Golden River by Pittamandalam Venktatachalapathy Pathy
 * The Story of Light by Joop Geesink
 * Tickets Please by Emil Nofal
 * Trois coquillages de Tunisie by Roger Mauge
 * When Magoo Flew by Pete Burness
 * Zolotaya antilopa by Lev Atamanov

Official awards
The following films and people received the 1955 awards: Short films
 * Palme d'Or: Marty by Delbert Mann
 * Best Director:
 * Jules Dassin for Rififi (Du rififi chez les hommes)
 * Sergei Vasilyev for Heroes of Shipka (Geroite na Shipka)
 * Tribute: Hill 24 Doesn't Answer (Giv'a 24 Eina Ona) by Thorold Dickinson
 * Best Acting Award: (in 1955 and 1956 this award was given without gender differentiation)
 * Spencer Tracy for Bad Day at Black Rock
 * The entire male and female cast of A Big Family for their performances
 * Jury Special Prize: Lost Continent by Leonardo Bonzi, Mario Craveri, Enrico Gras, Angelo Francesco Lavagnino and Giorgio Moser
 * Best Dramatic Film: East of Eden by Elia Kazan
 * Best Lyrical Film: Romeo and Juliet (Romeo i Dzhulyetta) by Lev Arnshtam and Leonid Lavrovsky
 * Distinction to two children:
 * Kumari Naaz for her child actress performance in Boot Polish
 * Pablito Calvo for his child actor performance in Marcelino pan y vino
 * Short Film Palme d'Or: Blinkity Blank by Norman McLaren
 * Special Distinction: Zolotaya Antilopa by Lev Atamanov
 * Best Short Documentary: Isole di fuoco by Vittorio De Seta
 * Prix du reportage filmé: La grande pêche by Henri Fabiani

Independent awards
FIPRESCI Prize OCIC Award
 * Death of a Cyclist (Muerte de un ciclista) by Juan Antonio Bardem
 * Roots by Benito Alazraki
 * Marty by Delbert Mann
 * Special Mention: The Miracle of Marcelino (Marcelino pan y vino) by Ladislao Vajda

Media

 * Institut National de l'Audiovisuel: Opening of the 1955 Festival (commentary in French)
 * INA: Last moments of the 1955 festival (commentary in French)