1952

1952
Lionel Brown's For Better Or Worse broadcast. Portsmouth won one-nil at Manchester City with a Bert Mundy goal to return to the top of the First Division.
The first UK TV showing of Desperate Cargo. Charles Saunders' Blind Man's Bluff - starring Zena Marshall, Sydney Tafler, Anthony Pendrell, Russell Napier, Norman Shelley and John Le Mesurier - premiered.
James Cameron's The Anglo-Persian Oil Dispute broadcast.
The third India/England test at Calcutta ended in a draw. Dick Spooner scored a half-century in both England innings whilst Dattu Phadkar scored one hundred and fifteen for the hosts. Cyril Poole made his test debut. Brendan J Stafford's The Armchair Detective - starring Ernest Dudley, Sally Newton, Derek Elphinstone and Hartley Power - premiered.
Maclean Rogers' Salute The Toff - starring John Bentley, Carol Marsh and Valentine Dyall - premiered. The largest Second Division attendance of the season, sixty five thousand three hundred and twenty sven, were at Bramall Lane to watch Wednesday beat United three-one in the Sheffield derby. In the Third Division (South) Leyton Orient beat Colchester United seven-nil.
After three draws, Northern League Blyth Spartans finally lost their FA Cup Second Round tie, five-one, against Tranmere Rovers in a second replay.
The first episode of The Play's The Thing broadcast.
Norman Taurog's Room For One More - starring Cary Grant and Betsy Drake, Cecil B DeMille's The Greatest Show On Earth - starring Betty Hutton, Cornel Wilde, Charlton Heston and James Stewart and Robert Hamer's His Excellency - starring Eric Portman, Cecil Parker, Helen Cherry and Susan Stephen - premiered.
Kim Lesley Hartman born in Hammersmith. Paul Henreid's For Men Only - starring Margaret Field, James Dobson, Douglas Kennedy and Kathleen Hughes - premiered.
The first episode of Frankie Howerd's The Howerd Crowd broadcast. In the FA Cup Third Round, holders Newcastle United defeated Aston Villa four-two at St James' Park. After their marathon against Blyth Spartans, Tranmere Rovers had further success winning two-one at Huddersfield Town. Burnley beat Hartlepools United one-nil whilst Liverpool also had a narrow victory over Workington. The shock of the round was Hull City's two-nil win at Manchester United whilst Third Division Bradford Park Avenue defeated the Second Division's form side, Sheffield Wednesday. Preston North End, Blackpool, Charlton Athletic and Fulham were also knocked-out by lower league opposition (Bristol Rovers, West Ham United, Luton Town and Birmingham City respectively). Arsenal won five-nil at Norwich City. Ken Finney scored four as Stockport County beat Halifax Town six-two in the Third Division (North).
The first episode of Hit Parade broadcast (with Eve Boswell, Carole Carr, Dick James, Lee Lawrence, The Stargazers, Cyril Stapleton & His Augmented Orchestra). England won the fourth test in Kanpur by eight wickets. Roy Tattersall took six Indian wickets in the first innings and Malcolm Hitlon five in the second. England's top scorer was Allan Watkins with sixty six.
Norman Taurog's Room For One More - starring Cary Grant, Betsy Drake, Lurene Tuttle, Randy Stuart, Mary Treen and Clifford Tatum Junior - premiered.
Sooty, Harry Corbett's glove puppet bear, first appeared on the Children's Television strand. The first episode of The Limits Of Human Endurance broadcast. Chester took Chelsea to extra-time in an FA Cup Third Round replay at Sealand Road, before the visitors won three-two. Leyton Orient beat Everton three-one at Goodison Park. In the Third Division (South), Plymouth Argyle increased their lead at the top of the table with a three-one victory over Norwich City.
Carol Reed's Outcast of The Islands - starring Trevor Howard, Ralph Richardson, Robert Morley and Wendy Hiller - premiered.
In the First Division, Jeff Taylor scored three and Charlie Mitten two in Fulham's six-nil victory over Middlesbrough. Aston Villa thumped Blackpool four-nil. Following Blackburn Rovers' two-nil Second Division win at Bury, a footbridge collapsed under the weight of a large crowd entering Bury Knowsley Railway Station. Two people were killed and one hundred and seventy three injured when the metal struts supporting the bridge's footway failed. In the Third Division (North), Eric Gemmell scored seven for Oldham in their eleven-two hammering of Chester.
Johnny Ingham scored two as Gateshead won two-one at Ipswich Town in an FA Cup second replay.
Eric Crozier's Noah Gives Thanks broadcast.
Charles Saunders' Death Of An Angel - starring Patrick Barr, Jane Baxter and Jean Lodge and Zoltán Korda's Cry, The Beloved Country - starring Canada Lee, Charles Carson, Sidney Poitier and Joyce Carey - premiered.
Terence Fisher's The Last Page - George Brent, Marguerite Chapman and Diana Dors - premiered.
Jackie Milburn and George Robledo each scored twice in Newcastle United's six-nil won over Charlton Athletic. First Division leaders Manchester United defeated Tottenham Hotspur two-nil. Second placed Portsmouth lost at home to Sunderland. Hull City, bottom of the Second Division, had a good day, beating Bury five-nil (Syd Gerrie scored four). Cardiff City topped the divison after a one-nil win over Southampton. It was a day of hat-tricks in the Third Divison (North) with Eric Hope (in Wrexham's five-one win at Rochdale), Jack Connor (for Stockport County who beat Workington five-nil) and Alf Patrick (in York City's five-nil defeat of Oldham Athletic) all scoring three.
Desmond Davis's adaptation of TS Eliot's The Cocktail Party broadcast. Timothy Malcolm Healy born in Newcastle Upon Tyne.
The first episode of the Commedia Puppets' Company adaptation of Winnie-The-Pooh broadcast.
Francis Searle's Whispering Smith Hits London - starring Richard Carlson, Greta Gynt, Rona Anderson, Herbert Lom and Dora Bryan - premiered.
The first TV detector van was commissioned as the beginning of a clampdown on the estimated one hundred and fifty thousand criminal British households which had unlicensed television sets. Vernon Sewell's The Floating Dutchman - starring Dermot Walsh, Sydney Tafler, Mary Germaine and Hugh Morton - premiered.
The first episode of Cedric Wallis's adaptation of Pride & Prejudice broadcast - with Peter Cushing as Mister Darcy. The FA Cup Fourth Round's highlights included Newcastle United winning three-nil at Tottenham and Arsenal beating Barnsley four-nil (Reg Lewis scored a hat-trick). Third Division Leyton Orient won at Second Division Birmingham City.
Peter Graham Scott's Sing Along With Me - starring Donald Peers, Dodo Watts, Dennis Vance, Jill Clifford and Mercy Haystead - premiered.
The first episode of Top Of The Pops (no, not that one), broadcast on The Home Service. Third Division Swindon Town knocked Stoke City out of the FA Cup in a replay at the Victoria Ground.
John Baxter's Judgment Deferred - starring Hugh Sinclair, Helen Shingler, Abraham Sofaer, Leslie Dwyer and Joan Collins - premiered.
Leslie Arliss' The Woman's Angle - starring Edward Underdown, Cathy O'Donnell and Lois Maxwell - premiered. West Bromwich Albion's two-nil victory over Gateshead took place at St James' Park in a delayed FA Cup Fourth Round tie, played in a sombre atmosphere following the death of King George VI hours earlier. Two minutes silence before kick-off was accompanied by 'Abide With Me' played on the PA. Doncaster Rovers' four-one win at Middlesbrough was watched by forty one thousand at Ayresome Park. Sheffield United beat West Ham United four-two in a replay.
An adaptation of HG Wells' The Wonderful Visit - starring Kenneth Williams - broadcast. Elia Kazan's Viva Zapata! - starring Marlon Brando, Jean Peters and Anthony Quinn - premiered.
Thorold Dickinson's Secret People - starring Valentina Cortese, Serge Reggiani, Audrey Hepburn, Charles Goldner and Michael Shepley - premiered.
Burnley beat Stoke City four-nil in the First Division with goals by Jimmy Adamson, Jimmy McIlroy and two from Bill Elliott. Manchester United won two-one at Preston North End to remain top of the league. John Aston and Johnny Berry scored. Trevor Ford scored a hat-trick and Len Shackelton added another as Sunderland beat Chelsea four-one. Sixty six thousand watched Arsenal win the North London derby two-one at White Hart Lane. Jackie Sewell hit four as Sheffield Wednesday returned to the top of the Second Division, beating fellow promotion chasers Cardiff City four-two. West Ham United's two-one win at Coventry City saw the debut of John Bond, the first of five hundred and sveenty four games for The Hammers and Torquay United in a career that lasted until 1969.
India won the final test at Madras by an innings and eight runs. It was India's first test victory against any country after twenty years and twenty five tests. England were dismissed cheaply twice, despite half-centuries in both innings by Jack Robertson. Vinoo Mankad took twelve wickets in the match for the hosts for whom Polly Umrigar scored one hundred and thirty. 7 February was taken as a rest day following the announcement of the death of George VI.
John Guillerman's Song Of Paris - starring Dennis Price, Anne Vernon and Mischa Auer and Jack Raymond's Reluctant Heroes - starring Ronald Shiner, Derek Farr, Christine Norden and Brian Rix - premiered.
John Hooper's The Little Nut Tree and the first episode of The Howerd Crowd broadcast. Simon Charles Pendered MacCorkindale born in Ely.
Trial Gallop - featuring Peter Sellers and Michael Bentine - broadcast. 'An experiment in organised chaos!' Plymouth Argyle went six points clear at the top of the Third Division (South) with a three-nil win over Swindon Town.
The funeral of King George broadcast.
After breaking his arm during a First Division game against Aston Villa, Stoke City's goalkeeper Dennis Herod went on the left-wing with his arm in a sling and scored The Potters' winning goal in a three-two victory. Manchester United moved to the top of the table with a three-nil win at Derby. Arsenal were in second place, drawing three-three with Preston North End for whom Charlie Wayman scored a hat-trick. Jimmy D'Arcy also scored three in Chelsea's five-nil demolition of Middlesbrough. Barnsley defeated Sheffield Wednesday five-four in a nine goal thriller at Oakwell in the Second Division.
The first episode of Billy Bunter Of Grayfriars School broadcast.
Five Fingers - starring James Mason - premiered.
In the FA Cup Fifth Round, highlights included Portsmouth's four-nil win over Doncaster Rovers, Burnley beating Liverpool two-nil, Bobby Mitchell scoring the winner in Newcastle United's one-nil win at Swansea Town and Arsenal winning three-nil at Leyton Orient.
Ronald Neame's The Card - starring Alec Guinness, Glynis Johns, Valerie Hobson and Petula Clark - premiered.
The first episode of The Norman Wisdom Show broadcast. The Luton Girls' Choir With The Band Of The Irish Guards' 'Princess Elizabeth Of England'/'Britain Sing' released.
Cristina Herazo born in Manila, Phillapines.
The first episode of About Britain - presented by Richard Dimbleby - broadcast. The Light Programme's Any Questions? - live from the Regal Cinema, Warminster - featured the debut appearances on the discussion programme of two young MPs representing the right and left, Enoch Powell and Anthony Wedgwood Benn. Albert Edward Welling born in London.
Maclean Rogers' Hammer The Toff, based on the novel by John Creasey - starring John Bentley, Patricia Dainton and Valentine Dyall - premiered. In the First Division, Jackie Milburn scored three in Newcastle United's six-two defeat of relegation-haunted Huddersfield Town. Table-toppers Manchester United drew one-all with Aston Villa. Second palced Arsenal won at Burnley (Arthur Milton scoring the winner). Spurs thrashed Derby County five-nil. Nottingham Forest lead the Second Division after a one-nil win over Bury. Sheffield Wednesday were close behind, six-nil victors against Hull City (Derek Dooley scored four).
John Clarkson Stewart born in Reading.
Robert S Baker's Thirteen East Street - starring Patrick Holt, Sandra Dorne, Sonia Holm, Robert Ayres, Dora Bryan and Michael Balfour - premiered. Chelsea defeated Leeds United fiv-one in an FA Cup Fifth Round replay.
The Monster Of Killoon - starring Jack Warner and Petula Clark - broadcast.
Basil Dearden and Michael Relph's I Believe In You - starring Celia Johnson, Cecil Parker, Harry Fowler, Joan Collins and Laurence Harvey - premiered. Frankie Laine's 'On The Sunny Side Of The Street'/'I May Be Wrong' released.
Travel Story visited Austria and Liechtenstein. Morton M Lewis' The Wallet - starring John Longden, Chili Bouchier and Hilda Fenemore - premiered.
In The FA Cup Sixth Round, Blackburn Rovers beat Burnley three-one, Arsenal won three-two at Luton Town, Chelsea beat Sheffield United at Bramall Lane (Roy Bentley scoring) and, in the game of the round, Newcastle United won four-two at Portsmouth (with a Jackie Milburn hat-trick and another goal from George Robeldo). In the First Division, Stan Mortensen scored a hat-trick in Blackpool's four-two win over Fulham (for whom Jimmy Hill scored on his debut). Johnny Hancocks and Jimmy Mullen were on the scoresheet for Wolverhampton Wanderers in their three-nil defeat of Stoke City. Derby County beat Preston North End four-three and Manchester United won two-one at Sunderland.
Douglas Noel Adams born in Cambridge.
The first episode of Tommy Cooper's It's Magic broadcast.
Arsenal moved to within a point of Manchester United at the top of the First Division with a two-one win over Charlton Athletic. Ken Annakin's The Story Of Robin Hood - starring Richard Todd, Joan Rice and Peter Finch - premiered.
The first episode of Francis Durbridge's The Broken Horseshow broadcast.
John Gilling's The Frightened Man - starring Dermot Walsh, Barbara Murray, Charles Victor and Thora Hird - premiered. Luton Town's three-one win at Everton in the Second Division saw the debut of eighteen year old Dave Sexton, the first of one hundred and eighty three appearances for The Hatters, West Ham United, Leyton Orient, Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace in a career that lasted until 1959, before a sucessful move into coaching.
Ralph Richardson's Home At Seven - starring Margaret Leighton, Jack Hawkins, Campbell Singer, Michael Shepley and Margaret Withers and Charles Crichton's Hunted - starring Dirk Bogarde, Jon Whiteley, Elizabeth Sellars and Kay Walsh - premiered.
Michael Pertwee's adaptation of Rainy Day broadcast.
George Moore O'Ferrall's Angels Over Five - starring Jack Hawkins, Michael Denison, Dulcie Gray and John Gregson - premiered. Plymouth Argyle increased their lead at the top of the Third Division (South) to five points with a three-nil defeat of Leyton Orient.
Stuart Heisler's Saturday Island - starring Linda Darnell, Tab Hunter and Donald Gray - premiered.
The First Division's bottom side, Huddersfield Town beat leaders Manchester United three-two at Leeds Road.
Ted Kavanagh and David Croft's It's A Small World and an adaptation of Dial 'M' For Murder featuring Elizabeth Sellers, Olaf Pooley and Raymond Huntley broadcast.

The first episode of How Does It End? - an adaptation of The Three Musketeers - broadcast. Stanley Donen's Singin' In The Rain - starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds - premiered.
Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers drew nil-nil in the first FA Cup Semi-Final at Hillsborough.
The first episode of Mourning Becomes Elektra broadcast.
Dermot John Morgan born in Dublin. Muriel Box's The Happy Family - starring Stanley Holloway, Kathleen Harrison, Naunton Wayne and Eileen Moore - premiered.
The Voysey Inheritance broadcast. RG Springsteen's The Fabulous Señorita - starring Estelita Rodriguez and Robert Clark and Ken Hughes's directoral debut Wide Boy - starring Susan Shaw, Sydney Tafler and Ronald Howard - premiered.
Cup holders Newcastle United won an FA Cup Semi Final replay two-one against Blackburn Rovers at Elland Road to book a return visit to Wembley. Sheffield Wednesday went top of the Second Division with a four-nil victory over Luton Town.
Anthony Wilson's The Locked Room broadcast. Tommy Reilly With The Vic Hammett Quartet's 'Melody On The Move'/'Parade Of The Tin Soldiers' released.
Walter Lang's With A Song In My Heart - starring Susan Hayward - premiered. Cherie Mary Lunghi born in Nottingham.
England beat Scotland two-one at Hampden Park to win the Home International championship. Stan Pearson scored both goals whilst Blackpool's Tom Garrett made his international debut. Laurie Reilly scored for the Scots. The England side excluded several players taking part in the FA Cup Semi-Final between Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers two day earlier, including Jackie Milburn and Bill Eckersley. Scotland also excluded Frank Brennan and Bobby Mitchell for the same reason. Arsenal and Chelsea drew one-all in the second Semi-Final at White Hart Lane. First Division leaders Manchester United lost one-nil at Portsmouth. The Second Division's top two, Sheffield Wednesday and Birmingham City both won away (at Bury and Blackburn respectively). The Grand National at Aintree was won by Teal, the second win for jockey Arthur Thompson. England ended as runners-up to Wales in rugby's Five Nations Championship after beating France six-three in Paris. A fire engine lost control at a roundabout in Shipley in Yorkshire and ploughed into a bus queue, killing two women (Sarah Brown and Florence Lee). Seven other people were injured. The driver, thirty-year-old, George McClane was cleared of manslaughter and dangerous-driving charges as the judge concluded he was trying to get to a fire 'as fast as he reasonably could.'
The first episode of Arthur Askey's Before Your Very Eyes and Eric Linkalter's Love In Albania broadcast.
Arsenal beat Chelsea three-nil in an FA Cup Semi Final replay at White Hart Lane. Verna Harvey born in London.
The first episode of Emil & The Detectives broadcast. My Son John premiered.
The Marvellous History Of St Bernard broadcast. In the First Division, Sunderland thrashed Huddersfield Town seven-one.
The first episode of Vic Oliver's This Is Show Business broadcast. Tony Hart's TV début drawing the Hooray For Humpty Dumpty segment of Saturday Special. Manchester United beat Liverpool four-nil whilst Arsenal lost two-one at Bolton Wanderers in the First Division.
Manchester United moved a step closer to the First Division title with a six-one thrashing of Burnley. In the Third Division (South), Norwich City defeated Torquay United seven-nil. Bristol Rovers beat Colcehster United six-nil.
Terence Young's The Tall Headlines - starring Mai Zetterling, André Morell, Flora Robson, Peter Burton and Sid James - premiered. Billy Goffin scored three as Aston Villa thrashed Chelsea seven-one in the First Division.
Compton Bennett's So Little Time - starring Marius Goring, Maria Schell and Lucie Mannheim - premiered.
Fulham were relegated from the First Division after drawing two-two at Wolverhampton. Sheffield Wednesday clinched promotion from the Second Division with a two-one win at Coventry City. Birmingham City missed a chance to joined them, losing five-nil at Notts County, for whom Ron Wylie scored four. Third Division (North) leaders Lincoln City won seven-nil against Workington.
Manchester United moved to the brink of the First Division title, beating Chelsea three-nil at Old Trafford whilst Arsenal were losing, three-one, at West Bromwich Albion. Cardiff City kept their Second Division promotions hopes alive with a three-one victory over Blackburn Rovers.
Lincoln City were confirmed as champions of the Third Division (North) following a two-one victory over Stockport County. At the same time, Plymouth Argyle's three-two win at Brighton & Hove Albion secured them the Third Division (South) title.
The first episode of Into Thin Air broadcast.
Manchester United ended their forty one-year wait for the First Division title, finishing four points ahead of their nearest rivals, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal (whom United defeated six-one on the last day of the season). Huddersfield Town joined Fulham in relegation to the Second Division, replaced by Sheffield Wednesday and either Birmingham City or Cardiff City, the latter still having a game in hand. Wednesday's Derek Dooley was the league's top goalscorer with forty six. Newcastle United warned-up for the FA Cup Final beating Aston Villa six-one. Queens Park Rangers were relegated to the Third Division (South).
Penny Plain - featuring Joyce Grenfall and Max Adrian - broadcast.
The first episode of The Secret Garden broadcast. Episode two, the following week, included the TV debut of Billie Whitelaw.
Jerry Hooper's The Atomic City and Fergus McDonnell's Private Information - starring Jill Esmond, Jack Watling, Gerard Heinz and Carol Marsh - premiered.
On Show In Manchester broadcast. The De Havilland Comet became the world's first jet airliner, with a maiden flight from London to Johannesburg.
Newcastle United became the first club in the Twentieth Century to retain the FA Cup thanks to George Robledo's late winner against Arsenal. To date this remains the last cup final not to be broadcast live on television, although the game was filmed by newsreel for broadcast that evening in cinemas. Casrdiff City clinched promotion from the Second Division with a three-one victory over Leeds United.
Comet Over Africa and Robert Christie's adaptation of Love and Mister Lewisham broadcast.
George Sidney's Scaramouche - starring Stewart Granger, Janet Leigh, Eleanor Parker and Mel Ferrer - premiered.
Rene Clement's Jeux Interdits - starring Brigitte Fossey, Edward Dmytryk's The Sniper and Herbert Wilcox's Derby Day - starring Anna Neagle, Michael Wilding, Googie Withers, John McCallum, Peter Graves, Suzanne Cloutier and Gordon Harker - premiered. Patrick Geoffrey Ryecart born in Warwick.
Ralph Smart's Curtain Up - starring Robert Morley, Margaret Rutherford, Kay Kendall, Michael Medwin and Charlotte Mitchell - premiered.
Alicia Roberts was committed for trial, charged with the murder of her husband, Jack, in the village of Talsarnau in Gwynedd. His body had been found to contain an excessive amount of arsenic which had probably been administered in several doses over a period of time. His wife's first husband had died less than three years earlier and when his body was exhumed, it too was found to contain large amounts of arsenic. Jack and Alicia had only been married for a year, but there had been numerous family rows and Jack was thought to be a hypochondriac. They had eight children between them. Mrs Roberts had bought weed killer containing arsenic and gave a false name and address when signing the register but, once in police custody, she attempted suicide by cutting her throat. She was found not guilty of murder in July.
England drew one-all with Italy in a friendly international in Florence. Ivor Broadis gave the visitors an early lead before Napoli's Amedeo Amadei equalised. Burnley's Billy Elliott made his England debut.
John Eldridge's Brandy For The Parson - starring James Donald, Kenneth More and Jean Lodge - premiered.
Lewis Gilbert's Emergency Call - starring Jack Warner, Anthony Steel, Joy Shelton, Sid James, Earl Cameron and Freddie Mills - premiered. Actress Joan Collins married the Irish actor, Maxwell Reed at Caxton Hall in London. They were divorced, four years later.
England beat Austria three-two in a friendly international. Nat Lofthouse - whose performance earned him the nickname 'The Lion Of Vienna' - scored twice and Jackie Sewell added a third. Numerous British soldiers stationed in Germany were in the sixty five thousand crowd. The teams were presented to the Guest of Honour, Doctor Schalrf, the Austrian Vice-Chancellor. According to the Daily Herald, 'When the Austrian Football Association's president, Doctor Josef Geroe, [heard] the result he fainted, had to be helped to his car and taken home. He did not recover in time to attend a banquet later for both teams.'
Terence Fisher's Wings Of Desire - starring Zachary Scott, Robert Beatty, Naomi Chance, Kay Kendall, Colin Tapley, Diane Cilento and Jack Allen, Karl Hartl's The Wonder Kid - starring Bobby Henrey, Elwyn Brook-Jones, Muriel Aked and Oskar Werner and Francis Searle's Never Look Back - starring Rosamund John, Hugh Sinclair, Guy Middleton and Henry Edwards - premiered.
A treaty was signed in Paris by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands and West Germany to form the European Defence Community with a unified army. The French National Assembly subsequently rejected it, two years later, due to fears of undermining French sovereignty, whilst also re-arming West Germany, who were then admitted into NATO and the treaty never came into effect.
England concluded their European tour with a three-nil victory over Switzerland in Zürich. Again, Nat Lofthouse scored twice with Jackie Sewell also on target. West Bromwich Albion's Ronnie Allen made his international debut. The match was watched by Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery. The Derby was won by Tulyar, a record-equalling fifth and last win for owner Aga Khan III. It was a third victory for jockey Charlie Smirke. Sixteen-year-old Lester Piggott, who was to win the race a record nine times, came second in his first Derby, on Gay Time.
Dennis Vance's adaptation of Black Limelight broadcast, featuring the TV début of Brian Wilde. A one shilling charge was introduced for prescription drugs dispensed under the NHS.
Henry Cass's Castle In The Air - starring David Tomlinson, Helen Cherry and Margaret Rutherford and Anthony Asquith's adaptation of The Importance Of Being Earnest - starring Michael Redgrave, Michael Denison, Edith Evans, Joan Greenwood, Dorothy Tutin, Margaret Rutherford and Miles Malleson - premiered.
Bunny Webber's The Florentine Painting broadcast.
John Ford's The Quiet Man - starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara - premiered in London and Dublin.
England won the first of a four test series against India at Headingley by seven wickets. England's top-scorer was Tom Graveney with seventy one whilst Vijay Manjrekar hit a century in India's first innings. In their second, debutant Fred Trueman produced a devasting spell in which he took the first four Indian wickets (Pankaj Roy, Datta Gaekwad, MK Mantri and Majrekar) for no runs.
Anthony Kimmins' Who Goes There! - starring Nigel Patrick, Valerie Hobson, George Cole, Peggy Cummins and AE Matthews - premiered.
The TV début of Dick Emery in an episode of Kaleidoscope.
George Cukor's Pat & Mike - starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy - premiered.
Fritz Lang's Clash By Night - starring Barbara Stanwyck, Paul Douglas, Robert Ryan and Marilyn Monroe - premiered.
The BBC's first exposé of racism, Wynford Vaughan Thomas's The Colour Bar In Britain broadcast on The Light Programme.
The first episode of The Three Hostages broadcast.
Claire Faulconbridge born in Walton-On-Thames.
John Sturges's The Girl In White - starring June Allyson and Terence Fisher's Stolen Face - starring Paul Henreid, Lizabeth Scott, André Morell, Mary Mackenzie and Arnold Ridley - premiered.
England won the second test at Lord's by eight wickets. Len Hutton scored one hundred and fifty whilst Fred Trueman took four wickets in the first Indian innings and Jim Laker four in the second. Vinoo Mankad had an outstanding match for the visitors scoring seventy two and one hundred and eighty four and taking five wickets.
David Butler's Where's Charley? - starring Ray Bolger, Allyn Ann McLerie and Robert Shackleton - premiered.
Claude Cariven's L'Amour N'est Pas Un Péché - starring Robert Dhéry and Colette Brosset - premiered.
Christine Janine Drzewicki born in Nottingham.
Terence Fisher's Distant Trumpet - starring Derek Bond, Jean Patterson, Derek Elphinstone and Anne Brooke - premiered.
The TV debut of The Goons in Goonreel. Brook Williams' I'm A Stranger - starring Greta Gynt, James Hayter, Fulton Mackay and Hector Ross - premiered.
Victor M Gover's King of The Underworld - starring Tod Slaughter, Patrick Barr, Tucker McGuire and Ingeborg Von Kusserow - premiered.
Lewis Gilbert's Time Gentlemen, Please! - starring Eddie Byrne, Jane Barrett, Robert Brown, Raymond Lovell and Sid James - premiered.
John Paddy Carstairs' Treasure Hunt - starring Jimmy Edwards, Martita Hunt, Naunton Wayne and Athene Seyler - premiered.
William Fairchild's The Man With The Gun broadcast. The first episode of Paris Panorama broadcast in co-operation with RTF.
John Gilling's Mother Riley Meets The Vampire - starring Arthur Lucan and Bela Lugosi - premiered.
Cheryl Frayling-Wright born in Liverpool. Sidney Torch's 'Coronation Scot'/'Waltzing Cat' released.
Son Of Paleface - starring Bob Hope, Jane Russell and Roy Rogers - premiered.
Celia Diana Savile Imrie born in Guildford. The final episode of The Goon Show featuring Michael Bentine broadcast. Henry Hall appeared on Desert Island Discs.
Denis Carey's adaptation of The Two Gentlemen Of Verona broadcast. Compton Bennett's Gift Horse - starring Trevor Howard, Richard Attenborough, James Donald and Sonny Tufts - premiered.
Roy Ward Baker's Don't Bother To Knock - starring Richard Widmark, Anne Bancroft and Marilyn Monroe - premiered.
England won the third test at Old Trafford by an innings and two hundred and seven runs in three days. Len Hutton scored his second century of the series, whilst Fred Trueman took eight for thirty one in India's first innings. Alec Bedser took five wickets in the second. Tony Lock made his test debut.
Arrow To The Heart - the first collaboration between director Rudolph Cartier and writer Nigel Kneale - broadcast.
David Lean's The Sound Barrier - starring Ralph Richardson, Ann Todd, Nigel Patrick, John Justin and Denholm Elliott and Terry Bishop's You're Only Young Twice - starring Duncan Macrae, Joseph Tomelty, Patrick Barr, Charles Hawtrey and Diane Hart premiered. Mary and Madeleine Collinson born in Sliema, Malta.
Fred Zinnemann's High Noon - starring Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly and Lloyd Bridges - premiered.
Nina Thomas born in London.
Claude Binyon's Dreamboat - starring Clifton Webb, Ginger Rogers, Anne Francis and Jeffrey Hunter - premiered.
Robert Welch born in St Austell. Claude Cariven's L'Amour N'est Pas Un Péché - starring Robert Dhéry, Colette Brosset, Paul Demange and Yvette Dinville - premiered.
Jack Raymond's Little Big Shot - starring Ronald Shiner, Marie Löhr, Derek Farr and Yvette Wyatt - premiered.
Howard Hawks's The Big Sky - starring Kirk Douglas and Alexander Mackendrick's Mandy - starring Phyllis Calvert, Jack Hawkins, Terence Morgan, Godfrey Tearle, Mandy Miller and Marjorie Fielding - premiered.
The first episodes of My Wife Jacqueline with Leslie Phillips and Joy Shelton - and The Three Hostages - featuring Patrick Barr as Richard Hanney - broadcast.
Richard Thorpe's Ivanhoe - starring Robert Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor and Joan Fontaine - premiered.
Don Siegel's The Duel At Silver Creek - starring Audie Murphy and Tony Young's My Death Is A Mockery - starring Donald Houston, Kathleen Byron and Bill Kerr - premiered.
The first episode of Eight To A Bar broadcast. Henry Cass's Father's Doing Fine - starring Richard Attenborough, Heather Thatcher, Noel Purcell, Diane Hart, Susan Stephen, Mary Germaine, Virginia McKenna and Jack Watling - premiered.
Michael McCarthy's Crow Hollow - starring Donald Houston, Natasha Parry, Patricia Owens, Melissa Stribling, Esma Cannon and Nora Nicholson - premiered.
Philip Leacock's The Brave Don't Cry - starring John Gregson, Meg Buchanan, John Rae, Fulton Mackay and Andrew Keir - premiered.
Dorothy Wright's A Cradle Of Willow broadcast.
Sudden Fear - starring Joan Crawford - premiered.
Alexei David Sayle born in Liverpool.
Foodlit Cricket - and a match between Middlesex and Arsenal - broadcast from Highbury. Ann Nathan born in Chigwell.
Charles Barton's Ma & Pa Kettle At The Fair - starring Marjorie Main, Percy Kilbride and Lori Nelson - premiered.
Thirty four people were killed in a flood at Lynmouth, Devon.
Nigel Kneale's adaptation of Mystery Story broadcast.
The first episode of The March Of The Peasants broadcast. The fourth test at The Oval ended in a draw. All but sixty five minutes play were washed out on the third, fourth and fifth days. David Sheppard scored one hundred and nineteen. Frankie Laine's 'High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me)'/'Rock Of Gibraltar' released.
John Graham Mellor was born in Ankara.
Exeter City's two-two draw with Queens Park Rangers in the Third Division South saw the club debut of Arnold Mitchell - the first of a record five hundred and sixteen games for The Grecians in a career that lasted until 1966. The First Division season began with a victory for champions Manchester united, two-nil over Chelsea. The day's largest attendance was at White Hart Lane where Tottneham lost four-three to West Bromwich Albion. Promotoed Sheffield Wednesday drew two-all with Newcastle United whilst Cardiff City lost at Wolves.
Val Guest's Penny Princess - starring Dirk Bogarde, Yolande Donlan and Reginald Beckwith - premiered.
Leicester City were the early pace-setters in the Second Division, with their second victory - a six-one defeat of Fulham (Arthur Rowley scored four).
Bridget Boland's Temple Folly broadcast.
Robert Siodmak's The Crimson Pirate - starring Burt Lancaster, Nick Cravat, Eva Bartok, Leslie Bradley, Torin Thatcher and James Hayter - premiered.
Sister Gold broadcast.
In the First Division, City won the Manchester derby, two-one at Maine Road.
David MacDonald's The Lost Hours - starring Mark Stevens, Jean Kent, John Bentley, Garry Marsh, Cyril Smith and Dianne Foster - premiered.
Wendy Toye's The Stranger Left No Card - starring Alan Badel, Cameron Hall, Geoffrey Bayldon and Eileen Way - premiered.
Liverpool topped the First Division with a two-nil victory at Sheffield Wednesday. Arthur Rowley scored another hat-trick as Leicester City won six-four at Fulham in the Second Division. Huddersfield Town led the league, winning three-one at Brentford. In the Third Division (North) Oldham Athletic won five-nil at Darlington.
Howard Hawks's Monkey Business - starring Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers and Marilyn Monroe - premiered. Christine Rees born in Kent.
Thirty one people were killed when a De Havilland DH11 broke up over the crowd at the Farnborough Airshow. Federico Fellini's Lo Sceicco Bianco (The White Sheikh) - starring Alberto Sordi and Brunella Bovo and co-written by Michaelangelo Antonioni - premiered. Hilight of the day's First Division fixtures was Blackpool's five-one win at Aston Villa (Allan Brown scored three). Liverpool remained league leaders, winning two-nil at Manchester City. Huddersfield Town topped the Secvond Division, thrashing Barnsley six-nil. Plymouth Argyle, who beat Sheffield United five-two, were second. In the Third Division (North), Gateshead defeated Crewe Alexandra six-one whilst in the Third Division (South) Exeter City hammered Walsall by the same score.
Hull City's two-nil defeat at Blackburn Rovers in the Second Division saw the league debut of Andy Davidson - the first of five hundred and twenty games for The Tigers in a career that lasted until 1968. In the process he broke George Maddison's appearance record for the club, established in 1938.
Anthony Pelissier's Meet Me Tonight - starring Valerie Hobson, Stanley Holloway, Nigel Patrick, Ted Ray, Kay Walsh and Jack Warner and Pat Jackson's Something Money Can't Buy - starring Anthony Steel, Patricia Roc and Moira Lister - premiered.
Sixty thousand watched the Tyne-Wear derby at St James' Park end in a two-two draw in the First Division. Victor Saville's Twenty Four Hours Of A Woman's Life - starring Merle Oberon, Richard Todd and Leo Genn - premiered.
The first episode of Happy & Glorious broadcast.
The first episode of Pamela Brown's adaptation of Anne Of Green Gables and Philip King's Without The Prince broadcast. Forty four goals were scored in eleven First Divison matches. Middlesbrough beat Manchester City five-four, Newcastle United defeated Present North End four-three, Charlton Athletic won four-three at Arsenal and West Bromwich Albion had a three-two victory over Stoke City. Chelsea thumped Aston Villa four-nil. In the Third Division (North), Chester beat Darlington six-three. Tommy Johnston scored four in Norwich City's eight-one victory at Shrewsbury Town in the Third Division (South). Northampton Town beat Brighton & Hove Albion five-three.
The first episode of Jan At The Blue Fox broadcast. The Snows Of Kilimanjaro premiered. Bobby Mitchell and George Robledo were on target as Newcastle won the Wear-Tyne derby at Roker Park. Fifty nine thousand six hundred watched the match. Burnley's goalless draw at Manchester City saw them at the top of the First Division. Arthur Stevens and Bobby Robson both scored twice in Fulham's six-nil defeat of Notts County in the Second Division.
Ken Annakin's The Planter's Wife - starring Claudette Colbert, Jack Hawkins and Anthony Steel - premiered.
Charlie Chaplin, sailing to Britain with his family for the premiere of his film Limelight, was informed that he would be refused re-entry to the United States until he had been 'investigated' by the US Immigration Service. He choose to remain in Europe for the rest of his life.
Forty three goals were scored in eleven First Division matches, highlights including Blackpool's five-two victory at Wolves, Liverpool beating Middlesbrough four-one, Aston Villa and Manchester united sharing six goals and Portsmoouth's five-nil win at Bolton. Sixty nine thousand were at White Hart Lane to watch Arsenal win the Nortyh London derby three-one. In the Second Division Sheffield United thrashed Lincoln City six-one.
First Division champions Manchester United beat FA Cup winners Newcastle United four-two in the FA Charity Shield at Old Trafford.
Bořivoj Zeman's Pyšná Princezna - starring Alena Vránová and Vladimír Ráž - premiered.
Blackpool went to the top of the First Division with a remarkable eight-four victory over Charlton Athletic. Elsewhere, West Bromwich Albion beat Liverpool three-nil, Newcastle United defeated Manchester City two-nil and Wolverhampton Wanderers won two-one at Chelsea. There were plenty of goals in the Second Division, too. Everton defeated Doncaster Rovers seven-one (Tommy Eglington hiting five), Nottingham Forest beat Swansea Town six-four and Luton Town hammered Notts County five-one.
George F Kerr's A Month Of Sundays broadcast.
Jack Wild born in Royston, Lancashire.
Ronald Drake's A Killer Walks - starring Laurence Harvey, Trader Faulkner, Susan Shaw and Laurence Naismith - premiered.
The first episode of The Appleyards broadcast.

The UK exploded its first atomic bomb - a plutonium implosion device - on the Montebello Islands, off Western Australia, codenamed Operation Hurricane. To the surprise of many, it actually worked and Britain became the world's third nuclear power.
England drew two-two with Northern Ireland in the Home International championship at Windsor Park. Nat Lofthouse scored in the first minute and Billy Elliott in the last. In between, Glasgow Celtic's Charlie Tully scored twice for the hosts - one direct from a corner, the other from an Al McMichael cross, flicked on by Danny Blanchflower. Eddie McMorran was off the field for twenty minutes when Ireland took the lead. He had eight stitches for a head wound following a 'violent collision' with Jimmy Dickinson. Elsewhere a full programme of eleven First Division matches saw forty six goals scored; highlights included Liverpool's five-three victory over Newcastle United at Anfield, Middlesbrough beating West Bromwich Albion four-two at Ayresome Park and Wolverhampton Wanderers' six-two win over Manchester United at Molineux (Roy Swinbourne scored three and Dennis Wilshaw two). Sunderland's one-all draw with Portsmouth saw the club debut of Stan Anderson, the first of four hundred and forty seven appearances for The Black Cats in a career that lasted until 1963. Anderson subsequently joined Newcastle and helped The Magpies win the Second Division title in 1965 before then becoming player-manager at Middlesborough. He remains the only man to have captained all of the North East's Big Three clubs. Over thirty four thousand were at Headingley to watch Great Britain beat Australia, nineteen-six, in the first test match for the Rugby League Ashes Cup. Five weeks later, the home side clinched the trophy by beating The Aussies for a second time, at Swinton. A fishing trawler from Hull ran aground off the coast of Greenland. Twenty men drowned and only nineteen-year-old Norman Spencer managed to clamber onto a rock, where he stayed for ten hours until the fog cleared and he was rescued. Kirstin Hiern-Cooke born in Cuckfield.
Desmond Hawkins' adaptation of Strange Orchestra broadcast.
Basil Dearden's The Gentle Gunman - starring John Mills, Dirk Bogarde, Elizabeth Sellars and Robert Beatty and Daniel Birt's The Night Won't Talk - starring John Bailey, Hy Hazell, Mary Germaine and Sarah Lawson - premiered.
The Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash claimed the lives of over one hundred people.
The Thief - starring Ray Milland - premiered.
Maclean Rogers's Down Among The Z-Men - starring Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan, Harry Seacombe, Michael Bentine and Carole Carr - premiered. Wolves two-nil victory against Newcastle took them to the top of the First Division. Chelsea beat Preston North End five-three whilst Blackpool defeated Burnley four-two. Sheffield United remained at the top of the Second Division with narrow two-one win over Leeds United.
Vernon Sewell's Ghost Ship - starring Dermot Walsh, Hazel Court, Hugh Burden, John Robinson and Maurice Elvey's My Wife's Lodger - starring Dominic Roche, Olive Sloane, Leslie Dwyer and Diana Dors - premiered.
Sam Newfield's Lady In The Fog - starring Cesar Romero, Lois Maxwell, Bernadette O'Farrell, Geoffrey Keen and Campbell Singer - premiered.
The first appearance of Harry Corbett and Sooty on television on The SS Saturday Special. In another high-scoring day in the First Division, Manchester united won five-nil at Preston North End, Portsmouth four-two at Stoke City and Spurs four-nil against Blackpool. Vic Keeble scored twice in Newcastle's three-two defeat of Charlton. Wolves, who drew one-all at West Brom remained top of the table. Huddersfield stayed at the top of the Second Division with a ttwo-nil win at Birmingham City. Eric Gemmell scored a hat-trick in Third Division (North) leaders Oldham Athletic's four-two defeat of Hartlepools United.
Second-half coverage of a charity match at Highbury, in aid of the National Playing Fields Association and of the Central Council of Physical Recreation (Sports Development Fund) between Arsenal and Hibernian broadcast. This was the first instance of a televised football match utilising floodlights, as well as the first match on Scottish television to feature a professional Scottish team. Arsenal won seven-one, Don Roper scoring five.
The first episode of Animal, Vegetable, Mineral? broadcast. Charlie Chaplin's Limelight - starring Claire Bloom, Nigel Bruce and Buster Keaton - premiered.
The first episode of Operation Diplomat broadcast. Adrienne Byrne born in London. Bristol Rovers went two points clear at the top of the Third Division (South) with a five-one vicotry at Ipswich Town. Highlight of the First Division fixtures was Present North End's five-two win at Portsmouth.
Harold French's The Hour Of Thirteen - starring Peter Lawford , Dawn Addams, Roland Culver, Derek Bond and Michael Hordern - premiered.
Philip King and Alan Bromly's Postman's Knock broadcast.
Herbert Wilcox's Trent's Last Case - starring Michael Wilding, Margaret Lockwood, Orson Welles, John McCallum and Sam Kydd and Compton Bennett's It Started In Paradise - starring Jane Hylton, Martita Hunt and Muriel Pavlow - premiered. Jane Wymark born in Paddington.
The - probable - TV début of Spike Milligan along with Peter Sellers in an episode of Jimmy James's Don't Spare The Horses. Wolverhampton Wanderers rmeained at the top of the First Division despite a two-one defeat at Liverpool. Sunderland moved up to second, winning five-two at Manchester City (Trevor Ford scoring four). Johnny Dixon scored a hat-trick in Aston Villa's four-one victory at Stoke City. The largest goal aggregate of the day came in the Third Division (South) and Crystal Palace's six-three win at Swindon Town. Cam Burgess and Johnny Rainford both scored hat-tricks for the visitos.
Ralph Thomas's Venetian Bird - starring Richard Todd, Eva Bartok, John Gregson, George Coulouris and Sid James - premiered.
The first episode of The Home Service's How's Your Pet? - devised by L Hugh Newman and featuring Maxwell Knight - broadcast. John Paddy Carstairs' Made In Heaven - starring David Tomlinson, Petula Clark, Sonja Ziemann and AE Matthews and Ralph Thomas' Venetian Blind - starring Richard Todd, Eva Bartok and John Gregson - premiered.
The first episode of Huckleberry Finn broadcast. Charles Saunders' Come Back Peter - starring Patrick Holt, Peter Hammond and Humphrey Lestocq and Gordon Parry's Women Of Twlight - starring Rene Ray, Vida Hope, Betty Henderson, Freda Jackson, Lois Maxwell and Joan Dowling - premiered.
John Guillermin's Miss Robin Hood - starring Margaret Rutherford, Richard Hearne, Dora Bryan, James Robertson Justice, Peter Jones, Sid James, Reg Varney, Kenneth Connor and Michael Medwin - premiered.
Ernst Neubach's Man Lebt Nur Einmal - starring Theo Lingen, Marina Ried, Rudolf Platte and Lisa Stammer - premeried.
Guy Lefranc's Elle Et Moi - starring François Périer, Dany Robin, Jacqueline Gauthier and Suzanne Courtal - premiered. Top met bottom in the First Division where Wolves thrashed Manchester City seven-three. Jimmy Hagan scored three for Sheffield United as they beat Southampton five-three in the Second Division. Jack Connor scored five for Stockport County in their six-nil victory against Workington in the Thrd Diviusion (North).
Arthur Crabtree's adaptation of Hindle Wakes - starring Lisa Daniely, Brian Worth, Leslie Dwyer, Sandra Dorne, Joan Hickson, Ronald Adam and Mary Clare - premiered.
Rachel Grieve's If This Be Error broadcast. The Goon Show episode Fred Of The Islands broadcast.
England beat Wales five-two in the Home International championship at Wembley. Nat Lofthouse scored twice with further goals from Tom Finney, Jack Froggatt and Roy Bentley. Froggatt's cousin, Redfern of Sheffield Wednesday, made his England debut. Following the match, after the players returned to the dressing rooms, Lionel Smith collapsed. He spent the night in hospital, suffering with exhaustion. Trevor Ford scored both of the visotors' goals, the second, diverting a billy Foulkes shot past Gil Merrick. The Duke of Edinburgh had his first flying lesson prior to attending the match at Wembley. In perfect flying conditions, he was taken up in a Chipmunk from White Waltham Airfield in Berkshire for thirty five minutes. Eighteen months later, he earned his Royal Air Force wings.
Athar ul-Haque Malik born in Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
New Musical Express publishes the first UK Singles Chart. The first episode of Strictly Off The Record broadcast. 'A programme of gramophone records with visual interpretation' introduced by Jack Jackson, those taking part included Winifred Atwell, Eleanor Fayan, Julie David, Harry Cordwell and Terence Theobald. Noel Langley's adaptation of The Pickwick Papers - starring James Hayter, James Donald, Nigel Patrick, Joyce Grenfell, Hermione Baddeley and Hermione Gingold - premiered.
Roy Huggins's Hangman's Knot - starring Randoph Scott - premiered. The New Musical Express published the first ever singles chart in the UK. It comprised fifteen records with Al Martino's 'Here In My Heart'/'I Cried Myselkf To Sleep' the best selling record of the week. In the First Division, Cliff Holton scored a hat-trick in Arsenal's five-one win at Liverpool. As did Jimmy Meadows as Manchester City thrashed Charlton by the same score. Portsmouth won a sevengoal thriller at Sheffield Wednesday, a late Frank Breenan header gave Newcastle a two-one victory over Chelsea, Preston beat Sunderland three-two and Wolves stayed at the top of the league with a two-one win at relegation-threatened Stoke. There were Second Division hat-tricks for Jesse Pye in Luton's six-nil hammering of Blackburn Rovers and Jack Grainger as Rotherham's four-one defeat of Brentford. Everton's one-nil defeat at Plymouth Argyle featured the five hundredth and final appearance for The Toffees of goalkepper Ted Sagar, twenty two years after his first team debut. His record for the most appearances for the club stood until 1969 when it was beaten by Brian Labone. Grimsby Town's Fred Smith hit four in their seven-nil massacre of Hartlepools United in the Third Division (North) as The Mariners went to the top of the table.
Daniel Birt's Circumstantial Evidence - starring Rona Anderson, Patrick Holt, John Arnatt and Frederick Leister - premiered.
The Goon Show episode The Egg & The Great Auk broadcast.
Mario Zampi's Top Secret - starring George Cole, Oskar Homolka, Nadia Gray and Wilfred Hyde-White - premiered.
Melvin Frank's Above & Beyond - starring Robert Taylor - premiered.
In the FA Cup First Round, Southern League Bath City beat Third Division Southend United three-one at Twerton Park. Midlands League Peterborough United knocked-out Third Division Torquay United two-one. Several other minor-league sides forced replays against league opposition. Wrexham survived a tricky tie at Yorkshire League Beighton Miners Welfare, winning three-nil. Halifax Town also won a close encounter with Northern League Horden Collliery Welfare, two-one. Llanely won five-nil at Grays Athletic and Stockport County defeated North Shields six-three. Mansfield Town thrashed Scarborough eight-nil. Bishop Auckland won five-one at Selby Town. Harry Atkinson scored six in Tranmere Rovers' eight-one defeat of Ashington. Eddie Firmani scored three in Charlton Athletic's five-one win over stoke in the First Division. Leaders Wolverhamtpno surprisingly lost at home to Preston North End. Sheffield United went top of the Second Division with a crushing seven-two victory over Leciester City.
Montgomery Tully's Girdle of Gold - starring Esmond Knight, Maudie Edwards, Meredith Edwards, Petra Davies and Glyn Houston - premiered.
Maclean Rogers' Paul Temple Returns (aka Bombay Waterfront) - starring John Bentley, Patricia Dainton, Grey Blake, Peter Gawthorne, Valentine Dyall, Robert Urquhart and Christopher Lee - premiered.
Rose Franken's Another Language broadcast. The Goon Show episode I Was A Male Fan Dancer broadcast. Agatha Christie's play The Mousetrap started its run at the New Ambassadors Theatre in London. It would still be running in London over sixty years later, having transferred next door to St Martin's Theatre in 1974. Charles Vidor's Hans Christian Anderson - starring Danny Kaye - premiered.
The first episode of Mystery At Mountcliffe Chase broadcast - written by thirteen year old Irene Lipman and starring fifteen year old Rodney Bewes, making his TV debut. England beat Belgium five-nil in a friendly international at Wembley. Billy Elliott and Nat Lofthouse both scored twice with Redfern Froggatt also on target. After the match, at a banquet at the Park Lane Hotel, Billy Wright received an award for becoming England's most capped player. In the all Isthmian League FA Cup replay, Walthamstow Avenue won a place in the Second Round, defeating Wimbledon three-nil. They went on to become the first amateur club to reach the FA Cup Fourth Round in twenty four years. They had won the FA Amateur Cup at Wembley seven months earlier and would also win the Isthmian League Championship. The final report into the Lynmouth Flood Disaster outlined the plans by the Devon River Board for diverting the River Lyn around the village. A violent storm had dropped nine inches of rain onto Exmoor, sending a huge wave of water and debris through the valley and into Lynmouth. Thirty four people died and another four hundred and twenty were left homeless.
Alan Monkhouse and John Shepherd both scored three for Millwall in their seven-one victory over Aldershot in an FA Cup replay.
The first GPO pillar box of the present reign to be erected in Scotland, on the Inch Housing Estate in Edinburgh, was attacked in protest at its bearing the Royal Cipher of Elizabeth II, considered historically incorrect in Scotland (where, technically, she's Elizabeth I). And, let us simply stand up and salute the utter shite that some people chose to care about. In the Third Division (South), Bristol Roivers extended their lead at the top to four points with a thumping seven-nil win against Brighton & Hove Albion.
NC Hunter's Adam's Apple - featuring the TV début of Peter Barkworth - broadcast.
Stephen Poliakoff born in Holland Park, London. Guy Hamilton's The Ringer - starring Herbert Lom, Donald Wolfit, Mai Zetterling, Greta Gynt, William Hartnell and Denholm Elliott - premiered.
The Goon Show episode The Saga Of HMS Aldgate broadcast. John Gilling's The Voice Of Merrill - starring Valerie Hobson, James Robertson Justice, Edward Underdown and Henry Kendall - premiered.

David MacDonald's Tread Softly - starring Frances Day, Patricia Dainton, John Bentley and John Laurie - premiered. Melvyn Kenneth Smith born in Chiswick.
An anticyclone over London, causing a temperature inversion with cold, stagnant air trapped under a layer of warm air. The resultant fog, mixed with chimney smoke, particulates such as those from vehicle exhausts and other pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, formed a persistent smog, which blanketed the capital the following day and for several days afterwards. The presence of tarry particles of soot gave the smog its yellow-black colour, hence the nickname 'peasouper.' The absence of wind prevented its dispersal and allowed an unprecedented accumulation of pollutants. The Great Smog becamethe worst air-pollution event in British history and the most significant in terms of its effect on environmental research, government regulation and public awareness of the relationship between air quality and health. As many as twelve thousand people died as a direct result of the smog and this led to changes in practices and regulations, including the Clean Air Act of 1956. Frank Launder's Folly To Be Wise - starring Alastair Sim, Elizabeth Allan, Roland Culver, Edward Chapman and Martita Hunt - premiered.
The first episode of Robert Christie's adaptation of The Pickwick Papers broadcast. Harold French's The Man Who Watched Trains Go By - starring Claude Rains, Marius Goring Märta Torén, Ferdy Mayne and Herbert Lom and Victor M Gover's Murder At Scotland Yard - starring Tod Slaughter, Patrick Barr, Tucker McGuire, Dorothy Bramhall and Tom Macaulay - premiered. Athenian League Finchley were on course to reache the Third Round of the FA Cup leading three-one over Third Division Crystal Palace at Summers' Lane when the game was abandoned after sixty one mintues due to fog. Furture England international George Robb scored twice for Finchley. Wrexham scraped through another tough away encounter at Eastern Counties League Great Yarmouth Town, winning two-one thanks to a brace from Tommy Bannan. Bishop Auckland lost four-one at home to Coventry City. Cyril Done scored twice in Tranmere's two-one defeat of Hartlepools United. In the First Division, Derby County thrashed Stoke City four-nil in a relegation four-pointer at the Baseball Ground. The league's biggest win of the day came in the Second Division with Hull City's six-nil hammering of Notts County.
Barre Lyndon's They Came By Night and the first episode of All Your Own - presented by Huw Weldon - broadcast. The Voices & Noises Of Peter Ustinov's 'Mock Mozart'/'Phoney Folk-Lore' released.
Felix Feist's Battles Of Chief Pontiac - starring Lex Barker, Helen Westcott, Lon Chaney Jr and Katherine Warren and Seymour Friedman and Peter Graham Scott's Escape Route - starring George Raft, Sally Gray, Clifford Evans and Reginald Tate - premiered.
Frankie Howerd' Korean Party (written by Eric Sykes) and an adaptation of Asmodée broadcast. The Goon Show episode The Expedition For Toothpaste broadcast.
Clive Stuart Anderson born in Stanmore. Finchley were not to be denied, beating Crystal Palace three-one at the second attempt in the FA Cup. Walthamstow Avenue also made the Third Round with a stunning two-one victory at Watford after extra time, Dickie Lucas scoring a late winner. Ipswich Town beat Bradford City five-one.
The Star - starring Bette Davis and Dallas Bower's The Second Mrs Tanqueray - starring Pamela Brown, Hugh Sinclair, Ronald Ward and Virginia McKenna - premiered.
Preston Lockwood's No Cause For Alarm broadcast. Sarah Douglas born in Stratford-Upon-Avon.
Christopher Peter Tempest Reynalds born in Hitchin. In the Third Division (South), Don Droman and Eddy Brown botrh scored three as Coventry City thrashed Torquay United seven-two. Shrewsbury also scored seven against Southend United.
Francis Searle's Love's A Luxury - starring Hugh Wakefield, Derek Bond, Michael Medwin and Zena Marshall - premiered.
The Goon Show episode The Archers broadcast.
The first episode of The Flowerpot Men broadcast. Flobadob.
Kenneth Hume's Hot Ice - starring John Justin, Barbara Murray, Ivor Barnard, John Penrose and Michael Balfour - premiered.
West Bromwich Albion closed the gap to Wolves at the top of the First Division with a two-one defeat of Spurs. Derby beat Bolton four-three and Sheffield Wednesday won five-one at Newcastle. Second Division leaders Sheffield United enjoyed another goal route, beating Swansea Town seven-one. In the Third Division (North) Eric Gemmell scored three in Oldham Athletic's five-two win over Tranmere Rovers. Live coverage of a game between The Scottish Universities and The English Universities from the Westerlands Ground, Glasgow braodcast. Commentary was provided by Peter Thomson and Kenneth Wolstenholme and the game ended one-all. Jennifer Ann Agutter born in Taunton. Edward Dmytryk's Eight Iron Men - starring Bonar Colleano and Lee Marvin - premiered.
Excerpts from Claude Langdon's Fourth Ice Pantomime Jack And The Beanstalk On Ice broadcast.
This Is Show Businessbroadcast. George More O'Ferrall's The Holly & The Ivy - starring Ralph Richardson, Celia Johnson, Margaret Leighton, Denholm Elliott and John Gregson - premiered.
An adaptation of Noel Coward's This Happy Breed broadcast. John Huston's Moulin Rouge - starring Jose Ferrer, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Suzanne Flon, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee - premiered.
The nativity play A Time To Be Born broadcast. Daniel Mann's Come Back Little Sheba - starring Burt Lancaster - premiered.
King Vidor's Ruby Gentry - starring Jennifer Jones, Charlton Heston and Karl Malden - Vincente Minnelli's The Bad & The Beautiful - starring Lana Turner and Kirk Douglas - and Fred Zinnemann's The Member Of The Wedding premiered. My Cousin Rachel - starring Richard Burton and Olivia De Havilland - premiered. Les Bennett scored four in Tottenham Hotspurs seven-one defeat of Middlesbrough in the First Division. Arsenal won six-four at Bolton Wanderers. Newcastle United beat Cardiff City three-nil with two goals from from Cardiff player Billy Foulkes. In the Third Division (North), Jimmy Whitehouse scored five for Carlisle United in their eight-nil win against Scunthopre & Linsday United.
Fulham's one-all draw with Southampton in Division Two saw the league debut of eighteen year old Johnny Haynes - the first of six hundred and fifty eight games for The Cottagers in a career that lasted until 1970. In the process he broke Eddie Lowe's appearance record for the club, established in 1963. In the First Division, Preston North End beat Manchester City six-two and West Bromwich Albion won by the odd goal in nine at Sheffield Wednesday. Wally Ardon scored all four on Nottingham Forest's goals in their victory over Hull City in the Second Division whilst Rotherham United thrashed Bury six-one. Bristol Rovers went five points clear at the top of the Third Division (South) with a one-nil win at Queens Park Rangers. Ivor Novello's Gay's The Word - starring Cicely Courtneidge and Thorley Walters - broadcast. The Goon Show episode Robin Hood broadcast.
An adaptation of The Pickwick Papers broadcast. Highlight of the day's First Division matches was Sunderland's five-two defeat of league leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers. West Bromwich Albion were unable to take advantage, however, losing at home to Sheffield Wednesday. Spurs won four=nil at Middlesbrough.
The Man Of Joy and Markheim broadcast.
The first episode of Bunny Webber's The Silver Swan broadcast. Michael Curtiz's remake of The Jazz Singer - starring Danny Thomas and Peggy Lee - premiered. The Goon Show episode Where Does Santa Claus Go In The Summer? broadcast.
The first eisode of Victory At Sea and New Year's Eve Party broadcast.