• Music of 1954
• Radio in 1954
• TV in 1954
• Movies of 1954
• Books of 1954
• Postwar Cars
• Vietnam in 1954
• 1954 Memorabilia

USS Nautilus

Elvis Presley

• US Supreme Court decision prohibits racial segregation in schools.
• French defeated at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in North Vietnam.
• Vietnam partitioned into North and South.
• Nasser ousts Naguib as president of Egypt.
• National Liberation Front (FLN) raids spark the Algerian War.
• US and Canada begin construction of the St Lawrence Seaway.
• US nuclear submarine, the Nautilus, launched.
• Elvis Presley makes his first recordings.
• Australia establishes first permanent Antarctic base at Mawson
• Petrov Commission into Soviet espionage in Australia
• Roger Bannister runs 4 minute mile
• Queen Elizabeth 11 visits Australia
• Australian union membership peaks at 61% of workforce
• Uranium strike at Mary Kathleen
• First main-line diesel trains in Western Australia
• First drive-in theatre in Australia at Burwood, Melbourne
• "Call Me Madam" plays in Australia
• "Happy Little Vegemites" jingle airs for the first time
• Mambo dance craze

The Petrov Affair
Vladimir Petrov was a colonel in the Soviet secret police. He and his wife, Evdokia, were stationed in the Canberra embassy. In April 1954, Vladimir Petrov (without telling his wife) accepted asylum in Australia in exchange for documents providing evidence of Soviet espionage.
Soviet secret service agents were sent to Australia to escort Evdokia back to Russia but Australian ASIO agents removed her from the plane at a refuelling stop in Darwin.
Shortly before the 1954 election, Prime Minister Menzies claimed that the Petrov documents provided evidence of an extensive spy ring including staff members of the leader of the Opposition Labor Party, Dr Evatt. The Labor Party unexpectedly lost the election and Evatt accused Menzies of arranging the whole affair for political purposes. This led to a split in the Labor Party which was largely responsible for keeping it out of power until 1972.
The Petrov documents were made public in 1984. There had been no major Soviet spy ring.

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The Music of 1954

• Young at Heart (Frank Sinatra)
• Three Coins In the Fountain (Frank Sinatra)
• I Get a Kick out of You (Frank Sinatra)
• Secret Love (Doris Day)
• Little Things Mean a Lot (Kitty Callen)
• Shake, Rattle & Roll (Bill Haley)
• Hey There (Rosemary Clooney)
• Sh-Boom (Crew Cuts)

Australian Radio in 1954

• Australia's Amateur Hour (1940-60)
• The Children's Hour - Argonauts' Club (1941-69)
• Tarzan (1940s & 50s)
• The Quiz Kids (1942-early 60s)
• The Air Adventures of Biggles(1945-60s)
• When a Girl Marries (1946-65)
• Pick-a-Box (1948-71)
• Blue Hills (1948-76)
• Dr Paul (!949-71)
• Superman (late 1940s-late 50s)
• The Goons (1951-60)
• Portia Faces Life (1952-70)
• Life with Dexter (1953-64)
• Eric Baume's This I Believe (1953-67)
• Keith Smith's Pied Piper (1954-60s)

Television in 1954

Television was not introduced into Australia until 1956. However, shows that later became popular in Australia were already being broadcast elsewhere. These included:

The Lone Ranger	1949-61	cast
Dragnet	1951-58 & 1967-69	cast
I Love Lucy	1951-55	cast
The Cisco Kid (First TV series made in colour)	1951-55
Victory at Sea	1952
Our Miss Brooks	1952-57	cast
The Nelsons	1952-66	cast
The Adventures of Superman	1953-55	cast
The Loretta Young Show	1953-60
Father Knows Best	1954-63	cast
Lassie	1954-72

Movies in 1954

Title	Cast	Academy Awards	Buy
The Dam Busters directed by Michael Anderson	Richard Todd Michael Redgrave Ursula Jeans Basil Sydney
Dial M for Murder directed by Alfred Hitchcock	Grace Kelly Ray Milland Robert Cummings John Williams Anthony Dawson Leo Britt
Doctor in the House directed by Ralph Thomas	Dirk Bogarde Muriel Pavlow Kenneth More Donald Sinden Kay Kendall James Robertson Justice
The Glenn Miller Story directed by Anthony Mann	James Stewart June Allyson Charles Drake George Tobias Harry Morgan Frances Langford	Best Sound
The Living Desert directed by James Algar		Best Documentary
Rear Window directed by Alfred Hitchcock	James Stewart Grace Kelly Thelma Ritter Raymond Burr
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers directed by Stanley Donen	Howard Keel Jane Powell	Best Score
Seven Samurai directed by Akira Kurosawa	Toshiro Mifune Takashi Shimura Yoshio Inaba Yoshio Tsuchiya
On the Waterfront directed by Elia Kazan	Marlon Brando Eva Marie Saint Rod Steiger Karl Malden Lee J. Cobb Martin Balsam	Best Picture Best Actor Best Supporting Actress Best Director Best Art & Set Direction Best Cinematography Best Editing Best Screenplay
20,000 Leagues under the Sea directed by Richard Fleisvher	Kirk Douglas James Mason Paul Lukas Peter Lorre Robert J. Wilke Carleton Young	Best Art & Set Direction Best Special Effects
Young at Heart directed by Gordon Douglas	Frank Sinatra Doris Day Gig Young

Watch a free movie from 1954 now:

• Suddenly Noir film with Frank Sinatra and James Gleason.
• Flash Gordon Intergalactic super-hero Flash Gordon teams up with the brilliant Dr. Zharkov and the lovely Dale Arden to fight evil-doers wherever they are.

Books of 1954

Title	Author	Buy
Lucky Jim	Kingsley Amis
Under the Rings	Iris Murdoch
Lord of the Flies	William Golding
Under Milk Wood	Dylan Thomas
The Story of O	Pauline Reage
The Lord of the Rings	JJR Tolkein
The Blackboard Jungle	Evan Hunter
Casino Royale (a James Bond book)	Ian Fleming
Live & Let Die (a James Bond book)	Ian Fleming

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