Editing 1959 in film (section)

== Events ==
* January 23 – [[Republic Pictures]] releases its last production, ''[[Plunderers of Painted Flats]]''.<ref>{{AFI film|id=52990|title=Plunderers of Painted Flats}}</ref>
* January 29 – [[Walt Disney]] releases his 16th animated film, ''[[Sleeping Beauty (1959 film)|Sleeping Beauty]]'' in [[Beverly Hills, California|Beverly Hills]]. It is Disney's first animated film to be shown in [[70 mm film|70mm]] and modern [[Stereophonic sound|6-track stereophonic sound]],{{Efn|''[[Fantasia (1940 film)|Fantasia]]'' had also used a multi-speaker stereophonic sound system, but it was primitive compared to the one used in ''Sleeping Beauty''.}} but its last fairytale adaptation until [[1989]]. Also on the program is Disney's new "pictorial interpretation" ''[[Grand Canyon (1958 film)|Grand Canyon]]'', which uses the music of [[Ferde Grofé]]'s ''[[Grand Canyon Suite]]''. ''Grand Canyon'' wins an [[Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject)]].
*April 30 – [[François Truffaut]]'s ''[[The 400 Blows]]'' opens the [[1959 Cannes Film Festival]] bringing international attention to the [[French New Wave]].
* June 4 – [[The Three Stooges]] release their 190th and last short film, ''[[Sappy Bull Fighters]]''.
* June 7 –  A contract between Paramount and [[Jerry Lewis]] Productions is signed specifying a payment of $10&nbsp;million plus 60% of the profits for 14 films over a seven-year period.<ref>{{cite book |last=Krutnik|first=Frank |title=Inventing Jerry Lewis |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press |year=2000 |page=105 |isbn=978-1560983699}}</ref> This contract makes Lewis the highest paid individual Hollywood talent to date and is unprecedented in that he has unlimited creative control, including final cut, and the return of film rights after 30 years. 
* July 1 - [[Herbert J. Yates]], founder of [[Republic Pictures]], sells his controlling stake in the company.
* July – ''[[Les Cousins (film)|Les Cousins]]'', another film of the [[French New Wave]], wins the [[Golden Bear]] at the [[9th Berlin International Film Festival]].
* July 22 – [[Joseph E. Levine]] promotes the release of ''[[Hercules (1958 film)|Hercules]]'' in the United States starring [[Steve Reeves]] which popularizes the [[sword and sandals]] genre.
* August 4 – ''[[The Big Fisherman]]'' is the first film released in [[Super Panavision 70]].
* September 30 – The film of ''[[Mise Éire]]'', made by [[George Morrison (documentary maker)|George Morrison]] for [[Gael Linn]], is premiered to close the [[Cork Film Festival]], the first feature-length [[Irish language]] film.
* October 7 – [[Rock Hudson]], who is later voted top in the [[Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll]] for the year, appears in ''[[Pillow Talk (film)|Pillow Talk]]'' alongside [[Doris Day]] for the first time.
* October 14 – Legendary Australian-born actor [[Errol Flynn]] dies of a heart attack in Vancouver, Canada at the age of 50.
* November 18 – [[William Wyler]]'s ''[[Ben-Hur (1959 film)|Ben-Hur]]'', the most expensive film up to this date with a budget of $15,175,000, premieres at [[Loew's State Theatre (New York City)]]. It goes on to win a record 11 [[Academy Awards]]. [[Principal photography]] had [[Wrap (filmmaking)|wrap]]ped on January 7 with filming the last shots of the crucifixion scene at [[Cinecittà]] in Rome.<ref>{{cite book|last=Eagan|first=Daniel|title=America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry|url=https://archive.org/details/americasfilmlega0000eaga|url-access=registration|year=2010|publisher=Continuum|location=New York|isbn=978-0-8264-2977-3|page=560}}</ref>
* December 2 – The battle of the smellies starts with the release of the documentary ''Behind the Great Wall'' in [[Smell-O-Vision|AromaRama]], with scents pumped into the theater during the film.