text:
1941 in film

The year 1941 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Citizen Kane.

Top-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1941 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Events

 * January 17 – Gone with the Wind goes into general release in the United States after touring in a roadshow version during 1940. Becoming a cultural phenomenon, it sells an estimated 60 million tickets this year alone. Adjusted for inflation with numerous rereleases, it remains the highest grossing domestic film of all time with $1.8 billion.
 * March 24 – Glenn Miller begins work on his 1st movie Sun Valley Serenade for Twentieth Century Fox.
 * May 1 – Orson Welles' Citizen Kane, consistently rated as one of the films considered the all-time best, is premiered at the Palace Theatre (New York City).
 * July 2 – Sergeant York, the film biopic of World War I hero Alvin C. York, starring Gary Cooper in the title role, premieres in New York City. It is the highest-grossing picture of the year and earns Cooper the first of two Academy Awards for Best Actor.
 * September – Senate Investigation into Motion Picture War Propaganda in the United States.
 * October 3 – The Maltese Falcon, considered one of the greatest films noir, is released.

Academy Awards

 * Best Picture: How Green Was My Valley – 20th Century-Fox
 * Best Actor: Gary Cooper – Sergeant York
 * Best Actress: Joan Fontaine – Suspicion
 * Best Supporting Actor: Donald Crisp – How Green Was My Valley
 * Best Supporting Actress: Mary Astor – The Great Lie
 * Best Director: John Ford – How Green Was My Valley

1941 film releases
United States unless stated

January–March

 * January 1941
 * 1 January
 * Princess Iron Fan (China)
 * 16 January
 * The Face Behind the Mask
 * 17 January
 * The Philadelphia Story
 * 21 January
 * High Sierra
 * 23 January
 * Suvorov
 * 24 January
 * Life with Henry
 * The Saint in Palm Springs
 * 28 January
 * Sullivan's Travels
 * 31 January
 * Buck Privates
 * Mr. & Mrs. Smith
 * February 1941
 * 7 February
 * Back Street
 * 18 February
 * Adam Had Four Sons
 * 20 February
 * Tobacco Road
 * 21 February
 * Andy Hardy's Private Secretary
 * Nice Girl?
 * The Strawberry Blonde
 * Western Union
 * 25 February
 * The Lady Eve
 * March 1941
 * 1 March
 * Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family (Japan)
 * 7 March
 * Rage in Heaven
 * 8 March
 * Footsteps in the Dark
 * 10 March
 * Flying Wild
 * 21 March
 * The Sea Wolf
 * 26 March
 * I Wanted Wings
 * 28 March
 * Man Made Monster

April–June

 * April 1941
 * 4 April
 * The Devil and Miss Jones
 * Ohm Krüger (Germany)
 * 6 April
 * The Flame of New Orleans
 * 10 April
 * Piccolo mondo antico (Italy)
 * 11 April
 * Road to Zanzibar
 * That Night in Rio
 * 12 April
 * The Great Lie
 * 19 April
 * The Farmer's Wife (Britain)
 * Hatter's Castle (Britain)
 * Quiet Wedding (GB)
 * 24 April
 * Crook's Tour (Britain)
 * Penny Serenade
 * 25 April
 * They Met in Argentina
 * Ziegfeld Girl
 * 30 April
 * That Hamilton Woman (GB)
 * May 1941
 * 1 May
 * Citizen Kane
 * 2 May
 * The Black Cat
 * 3 May
 * Meet John Doe
 * 5 May
 * Inspector Hornleigh Goes To It (GB)
 * 7 May
 * Sheriff of Tombstone
 * 9 May
 * U-Boat Course West! (Germany)
 * 10 May
 * Spellbound
 * 22 May
 * Blood and Sand
 * 23 May
 * A Woman's Face
 * 24 May
 * Crook's Tour
 * 30 May
 * In the Navy
 * June 1941
 * 7 June
 * Shining Victory
 * 11 June
 * The Gang's All Here
 * 13 June
 * Broadway Limited
 * Man Hunt
 * One Night in Lisbon
 * 18 June
 * Moon Over Miami
 * 20 June
 * The Big Store
 * The Reluctant Dragon
 * 25 June
 * Caught in the Draft
 * 26 June
 * Blossoms in the Dust
 * 27 June
 * Hit the Road
 * 28 June
 * Kipps
 * Love on the Dole (GB)

July–September

 * July 1941
 * 2 July
 * Sergeant York
 * The Sea Wolf
 * 4 July
 * A Charming Man (Czechoslovakia)
 * 12 July
 * The Bride Came C.O.D.
 * 18 July
 * The Shepherd of the Hills
 * 25 July
 * Target for Tonight (GB)
 * 26 July
 * Bad Men of Missouri
 * Pimpernel Smith
 * August 1941
 * 1 August
 * Bowery Blitzkrieg
 * Charley's Aunt
 * 2 August
 * Major Barbara (GB)
 * 6 August
 * Hold That Ghost
 * 7 August
 * Here Comes Mr. Jordan
 * 8 August
 * Six Gun Gold
 * 9 August
 * Manpower
 * 12 August
 * Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
 * 15 August
 * Life Begins for Andy Hardy
 * 21 August
 * Sun Valley Serenade
 * 28 August
 * The Blue Star Hotel (Czechoslovakia)
 * 29 August
 * The Little Foxes
 * September
 * 1 September
 * Lady Be Good
 * 5 September
 * Charlie Chan in Rio
 * 6 September
 * Cottage to Let (GB)
 * 18 September
 * Ladies in Retirement
 * 19 September
 * The Tyrant Father (Portugal)
 * 25 September
 * A Yank in the RAF
 * You'll Never Get Rich
 * 26 September
 * Hold Back the Dawn
 * It Started with Eve

October–December

 * October 1941
 * 2 October
 * Honky Tonk
 * One Foot in Heaven
 * 8 October
 * 49th Parallel
 * Week-End in Havana
 * 10 October
 * Never Give a Sucker an Even Break
 * 17 October
 * The Devil and Daniel Webster
 * Jesse James at Bay
 * 18 October
 * The Maltese Falcon
 * 22 October
 * You Belong to Me
 * 23 October
 * Dumbo
 * 24 October
 * Spooks Run Wild
 * 25 October
 * The Tell-Tale Heart
 * 28 October
 * How Green Was My Valley
 * 31 October
 * The Chocolate Soldier
 * November 1941
 * 7 November
 * Unexpected Uncle
 * 14 November
 * I Wake Up Screaming
 * Suspicion
 * 15 November
 * Blues in the Night
 * 21 November
 * Look Who's Laughing
 * Shadow of the Thin Man
 * Skylark
 * They Died with Their Boots On
 * 27 November
 * Stormy Waters (France)
 * 28 November
 * The Corsican Brothers
 * Keep 'Em Flying
 * December 1941
 * 1 December
 * The 47 Ronin (Part 1) (Japan)
 * Tarzan's Secret Treasure
 * 2 December
 * Ball of Fire
 * 5 December
 * Mr. Bug Goes to Town
 * 12 December
 * Among the Living
 * Red River Valley
 * The Wolf Man
 * 18 December
 * H.M. Pulham, Esq.
 * Kathleen
 * 21 December
 * The Heavenly Play (Sweden)
 * 25 December
 * Louisiana Purchase
 * The Shanghai Gesture
 * 26 December
 * Hellzapoppin'
 * The Sausage-Maker Who Disappeared (Norway)

Notable films released in 1941
United States unless stated

#

 * The 47 Ronin (Genroku chushingura), directed by Kenji Mizoguchi – (Japan)
 * 49th Parallel, directed by Michael Powell, starring Leslie Howard and Laurence Olivier – (GB)

A

 * Adam Had Four Sons, starring Ingrid Bergman and Warner Baxter
 * Among the Living, starring Albert Dekker and Susan Hayward
 * Andy Hardy's Private Secretary, starring Mickey Rooney

B

 * Babes on Broadway, directed by Busby Berkeley, starring Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney
 * Back Street, starring Charles Boyer and Margaret Sullavan
 * Bad Men of Missouri, starring Dennis Morgan and Jane Wyman
 * Ball of Fire, directed by Howard Hawks, starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck
 * The Big Store, starring the Marx Brothers, Margaret Dumont, Tony Martin
 * The Black Cat, starring Basil Rathbone and Bela Lugosi
 * Blood and Sand, starring Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Rita Hayworth
 * Blossoms in the Dust, starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon
 * The Blue Star Hotel (Hotel Modrá hvězda), directed by Martin Frič – (Czechoslovakia)
 * Blues in the Night, starring Priscilla Lane and Betty Field
 * Bowery Blitzkrieg, starring the East Side Kids
 * The Bride Came C.O.D., starring James Cagney and Bette Davis
 * Broadway Limited, starring Victor McLaglen, Dennis O'Keefe, Patsy Kelly
 * Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family, directed by Yasujirō Ozu – (Japan)
 * Buck Privates, starring Abbott and Costello

C

 * Caught in the Draft, starring Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour
 * Charlie Chan in Rio, starring Sidney Toler
 * Charley's Aunt, starring Jack Benny
 * A Charming Man (Roztomilý člověk), directed by Martin Frič – (Czechoslovakia)
 * The Chocolate Soldier, starring Nelson Eddy
 * Churchill's Island (La Forteresse de Churchill) – (Canada)
 * Citizen Kane, directed by and starring Orson Welles, with Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead, Everett Sloane, Dorothy Comingore, Ray Collins
 * The Corsican Brothers, starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
 * Cottage to Let, directed by Anthony Asquith, starring Leslie Banks, Alastair Sim, John Mills – (GB)
 * Crook's Tour, starring Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne
 * Cuando los hijos se van (When Children Leave Home) – (Mexico)

D

 * The Devil and Daniel Webster (aka All That Money Can Buy), starring Walter Huston and Edward Arnold
 * The Devil and Miss Jones, starring Jean Arthur and Robert Cummings
 * Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, starring Spencer Tracy and Ingrid Bergman
 * Dumbo, animated film from Walt Disney

F

 * The Face Behind the Mask, starring Peter Lorre
 * The Farmer's Wife, starring Basil Sydney
 * Footsteps in the Dark, starring Errol Flynn
 * The Flame of New Orleans, starring Marlene Dietrich
 * Flying Wild, starring the East Side Kids
 * Freedom Radio, directed by Anthony Asquith – (GB)

G

 * The Gang's All Here, starring Frankie Darro and Mantan Moreland
 * The Ghost of St. Michael's, starring Will Hay and Charles Hawtrey – (GB)
 * The Great Lie, starring Mary Astor and Bette Davis

H

 * H.M. Pulham, Esq., starring Hedy Lamarr and Robert Young
 * The Hard Life of an Adventurer (Těžký život dobrodruha) – (Czechoslovakia)
 * Hatter's Castle, starring Robert Newton and Deborah Kerr – (Britain)
 * The Heavenly Play (Himlaspelet), directed by Alf Sjöberg – (Sweden)
 * Hellzapoppin', starring Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson
 * Here Comes Mr. Jordan, starring Robert Montgomery
 * High Sierra, starring Ida Lupino and Humphrey Bogart
 * Hit the Road, starring the Dead End Kids
 * Hold Back the Dawn, starring Charles Boyer, Olivia de Havilland and Paulette Goddard
 * Hold That Ghost, starring Abbott and Costello
 * Honky Tonk, starring Clark Gable and Lana Turner
 * How Green Was My Valley, directed by John Ford, starring Walter Pidgeon and Maureen O'Hara – winner of 5 Academy Awards

I

 * I Wake Up Screaming, starring Betty Grable, Victor Mature, Carole Landis
 * I Wanted Wings, starring Ray Milland, William Holden, Veronica Lake, Brian Donlevy
 * In the Navy, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
 * Inspector Hornleigh Goes To It, starring Gordon Harker and Alastair Sim – (GB)
 * International Lady, starring George Brent and Basil Rathbone
 * The Iron Crown (La corona di ferro) – (Italy)
 * It Started with Eve, starring Deanna Durbin and Robert Cummings

J

 * Jesse James at Bay, starring Roy Rogers

K

 * Kathleen, starring Shirley Temple
 * Keep 'Em Flying, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
 * Khazanchi (Cashier) – (India)
 * Kipps (British), based on the H.G. Wells novel, directed by Carol Reed, starring Michael Redgrave – (GB)

L

 * Ladies in Retirement, starring Ida Lupino and Louis Hayward
 * Lady Be Good, starring Eleanor Powell and Robert Young
 * The Lady Eve, directed by Preston Sturges, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda
 * Life Begins for Andy Hardy starring Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden
 * Life with Henry, starring Jackie Cooper.
 * The Little Foxes, directed by William Wyler, starring Bette Davis
 * Look Who's Laughing, starring Edgar Bergen, Fibber McGee and Molly
 * Louisiana Purchase, starring Bob Hope
 * Love on the Dole, starring Deborah Kerr – (GB)

M

 * Major Barbara, directed by Gabriel Pascal, starring Wendy Hiller and Rex Harrison – (GB)
 * The Maltese Falcon, directed by John Huston, starring Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre
 * Man Hunt, starring Walter Pidgeon and Joan Bennett
 * Man Made Monster, starring Lon Chaney Jr. and Lionel Atwill
 * Manpower, starring Edward G. Robinson, Marlene Dietrich, George Raft
 * Meet John Doe, starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck
 * Moon Over Miami, starring Betty Grable
 * Mr. & Mrs. Smith, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery
 * Mr. Bug Goes to Town

N

 * Never Give a Sucker an Even Break, starring W. C. Fields
 * Nice Girl?, starring Deanna Durbin

O

 * Ohm Krüger (Uncle Kruger), starring Emil Jannings – (Germany)
 * One Foot in Heaven, starring Fredric March and Martha Scott
 * One Night in Lisbon, starring Fred MacMurray and Madeleine Carroll
 * One Night in Transylvania (Egy éjszaka Erdélyben) – (Hungary)

P

 * Penn of Pennsylvania, starring Clifford Evans and Deborah Kerr – (GB)
 * Penny Serenade, starring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant
 * Piccolo mondo antico (Old-Fashioned World), starring Alida Valli – (Italy)
 * Pimpernel Smith, directed by and starring Leslie Howard – (GB)
 * A Place to Live
 * Pride of the Bowery, starring the East Side Kids
 * Princess Iron Fan (Tie shan gong zhu) – (China)

Q

 * Quiet Wedding, directed by Anthony Asquith, starring Margaret Lockwood – (GB)

R

 * Rage in Heaven, starring Robert Montgomery and Ingrid Bergman
 * Red River Valley, directed by Joseph Kane, starring Roy Rogers
 * The Reluctant Dragon, starring Robert Benchley
 * Road to Zanzibar, starring Bob Hope and Bing Crosby

S

 * The Saint in Palm Springs, starring George Sanders
 * The Sausage-Maker Who Disappeared (Den forsvundne pølsemaker) – (Norway)
 * The Sea Wolf, starring Edward G. Robinson, Ida Lupino, John Garfield
 * Sergeant York, directed by Howard Hawks, starring Gary Cooper and Walter Brennan
 * Shadow of the Thin Man, starring William Powell and Myrna Loy
 * The Shanghai Gesture, starring Gene Tierney
 * The Shepherd of the Hills, starring John Wayne
 * Sheriff of Tombstone, starring Roy Rogers
 * Shining Victory, starring James Stephenson and Geraldine Fitzgerald
 * Sikandar (Alexander the Great) – (India)
 * Six Gun Gold, starring Tim Holt
 * Skylark, starring Claudette Colbert and Ray Milland
 * Spellbound, starring Derek Farr – (GB)
 * Spooks Run Wild, starring East Side Kids and Bela Lugosi
 * Stormy Waters (Remorques), starring Jean Gabin and Michèle Morgan – (France)
 * The Strawberry Blonde, starring James Cagney, Olivia de Havilland, Rita Hayworth
 * Sullivan's Travels, directed by Preston Sturges, starring Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake
 * Sun Valley Serenade, starring Sonja Henie
 * Suspicion, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Joan Fontaine and Cary Grant
 * Suvorov – (U.S.S.R.)
 * Swamp Water, directed by Jean Renoir, starring Walter Brennan and Walter Huston

T

 * The Tale of the Fox (Le Roman de Renard) – (France)
 * Target for Tonight, a propaganda documentary – (GB)
 * Tarzan's Secret Treasure, starring Johnny Weissmuller
 * Teresa Venerdì, directed by and starring Vittorio De Sica – (Italy)
 * That Hamilton Woman (aka Lady Hamilton), starring Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier – (GB)
 * That Night in Rio, starring Don Ameche, Alice Faye, Carmen Miranda
 * The Tell-Tale Heart, starring Joseph Schildkraut
 * They Died with Their Boots On, starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland
 * They Met in Argentina, starring Maureen O'Hara and James Ellison
 * Tobacco Road, starring Gene Tierney
 * Tosca, directed by Jean Renoir, starring Imperio Argentina and Michel Simon (Italy)
 * Turned Out Nice Again, starring George Formby – (GB)
 * The Tyrant Father (O Pai Tirano) – (Portugal)

U

 * U-Boat Course West! (U-Boote westwärts) – (Germany)
 * Unexpected Uncle, starring Anne Shirley, James Craig, Charles Coburn
 * Unholy Partners, starring Edward G. Robinson and Laraine Day

W

 * Week-End in Havana, starring Alice Faye, John Payne, Carmen Miranda and Cesar Romero
 * Western Union, starring Randolph Scott
 * When Ladies Meet, starring Joan Crawford, Greer Garson, Robert Taylor and Herbert Marshall
 * The Wolf Man, starring Lon Chaney Jr.
 * A Woman's Face, starring Joan Crawford and Melvyn Douglas

Y

 * A Yank in the RAF, starring Tyrone Power and Betty Grable
 * You Belong to Me, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda
 * You'll Never Get Rich, starring Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth

Z

 * Ziegfeld Girl, starring Judy Garland and James Stewart

Serials

 * The Adventures of Captain Marvel, starring Tom Tyler, directed by William Witney and John English
 * Dick Tracy vs Crime Inc, starring Ralph Byrd, directed by William Witney and John English
 * The Green Hornet, starring Gordon Jones
 * Holt of the Secret Service, directed by James W. Horne
 * The Iron Claw, directed by James W. Horne
 * Jungle Girl, starring Frances Gifford, directed by William Witney and John English
 * King of the Texas Rangers, directed by William Witney and John English
 * Riders of Death Valley, directed by Ray Taylor and Ford Beebe
 * Sea Raiders, directed by Ray Taylor and Ford Beebe
 * Sky Raiders, directed by Ray Taylor and Ford Beebe
 * The Spider Returns, starring Warren Hull, directed by James W. Horne
 * White Eagle, directed by James W. Horne

Comedy film series

 * Buster Keaton (1917–1944)
 * Laurel and Hardy (1921-1945)
 * Our Gang (1922–1944)
 * Marx Brothers (1929–1946)
 * The Three Stooges (1933–1962)

Animated short film series

 * Mickey Mouse (1928–1942, 1947–1953)
 * Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
 * Bugs Bunny (1941–1964)
 * Daffy Duck (1938–1968)
 * Porky Pig (1936–1946, 1948–1951)
 * Sniffles (1939–1946)
 * Inki (1939–1950)
 * Terrytoons (1930–1964)
 * Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
 * Scrappy (1931-1941)
 * Popeye (1933–1957)
 * Color Rhapsodies (1934–1949)
 * Donald Duck (1937–1956)
 * Walter Lantz Cartunes (also known as New Universal Cartoons or Cartune Comedies) (1938–1942)
 * Goofy (1939–1955)
 * Andy Panda (1939–1949)
 * Tom and Jerry (1940–1958, 1961–1967)
 * The Midnight Snack
 * The Night Before Christmas
 * Woody Woodpecker (1941–1949, 1951–1972)
 * Swing Symphonies (1941–1945)
 * The Fox and the Crow (1941–1950)
 * Superman (1941–1943)

Births

 * January 1
 * Simón Andreu, Spanish actor
 * Eva Ras, Serbian actress, writer and painter
 * January 3 - Derrick O'Connor, Irish actor (died 2018)
 * January 4 - John Bennett Perry, American actor
 * January 7 - Harvey Evans, American actor (died 2021)
 * January 10 – José Greci, Italian actress (died 2017)
 * January 12 - Long John Baldry, English-Canadian singer, musician and voice actor (died 2005)
 * January 14 – Faye Dunaway, American actress
 * January 15 - Geoffrey Beevers, British actor
 * January 19 - Putter Smith, American jazz bassist and actor
 * January 24 - Neil Diamond, American actor and singer
 * January 27 - Jeannie Epper, American stuntwoman and actress (died 2024)
 * January 31 – Jessica Walter, American actress (died 2021)
 * February 5 - David Selby, American actor
 * February 8 – Nick Nolte, American actor and producer
 * February 10 – Michael Apted, English director, producer and screenwriter (died 2021)
 * February 11 - Sonny Landham, American actor and stunt performer (died 2017)
 * February 13 - Bo Svenson, Swedish-American actor, director, screenwriter and producer
 * February 27 - Charlotte Stewart, American actress
 * March 3 - Rada Rassimov, Italian actress
 * March 4
 * John Aprea, American actor and comedian
 * Adrian Lyne, English director and producer
 * March 6 - George P. Wilbur, American actor and professional stuntman (died 2023)
 * March 14 – Wolfgang Petersen, German director, producer and screenwriter (died 2022)
 * March 16
 * Bernardo Bertolucci, Italian director (died 2018)
 * Jerry Chipman, American actor (died 2020)
 * March 18 - Frank McRae, American actor (died 2021)
 * March 20 - Paul Junger Witt, American producer (died 2018)
 * March 24 - David Fox, Canadian actor (died 2021)
 * April 3 - Eric Braeden, German actor
 * April 7
 * Cornelia Frances, English-Australian actress (died 2018)
 * Danny Wells, Canadian actor and comedian (died 2013)
 * April 12 - Manuel de Blas, Spanish actor
 * April 20
 * David Leland, English director (died 2023)
 * Ryan O'Neal, American actor (died 2023)
 * April 26 - Claudine Auger, French actress (died 2019)
 * April 28 – Ann-Margret, Swedish-born American actress, dancer and singer
 * May 2 - Paul Darrow, English actor (died 2019)
 * May 13 – Senta Berger, Austrian actress and producer
 * May 17 - Grace Zabriskie, American actress
 * May 18 - Miriam Margolyes, British-Australian character actress
 * May 19 - Tania Mallet, English actress and model (died 2019)
 * May 24 – Andrés García, Dominican-Mexican actor
 * May 29
 * Nick McLean, American cinematographer and actor
 * Bill Weston, British stunt performer and actor (died 2012)
 * June 2
 * Stacy Keach, American actor
 * Mahmoud Yassine, Egyptian actor (died 2020)
 * June 5 – Spalding Gray, American actor and screenwriter (died 2004)
 * June 8 - Jessie Lawrence Ferguson, American actor (died 2019)
 * June 10
 * Mickey Jones, American musician and actor (died 2018)
 * Jürgen Prochnow, German actor
 * June 20
 * Stephen Frears, English film director
 * Dieter Mann, German actor (died 2022)
 * June 21
 * Joe Flaherty, Canadian-American actor and comedian (died 2024)
 * Lyman Ward, Canadian actor
 * June 22 – Michael Lerner, American actor (died 2023)
 * June 25 – Denys Arcand, Canadian director and screenwriter
 * June 27 – Krzysztof Kieślowski, Polish director (died 1996)
 * July 1 - Milos Milos, Serbian-born American actor and stunt double (died 1966)
 * July 10 - Robert Pine, American actor
 * July 13 - Robert Forster, American actor (died 2019)
 * July 17 - Paula Shaw, American actress
 * July 21 - Edward Herrmann, American actor, director and writer (died 2014)
 * July 26 - Darlene Love, American actress and singer
 * July 28 – Peter Cullen, Canadian voice actor
 * July 29 – David Warner, English actor (died 2022)
 * August 4
 * Martin Jarvis, English actor
 * Paul Mooney, American comedian, writer and actor (died 2021)
 * August 7 - Franco Columbu, Italian bodybuilder, actor and producer (died 2019)
 * August 8 - Earl Boen, American actor (died 2023)
 * August 12 - Dana Ivey, American actress
 * August 15 - Lou Perryman, American character actor (died 2009)
 * August 26 - Joan Freeman, American retired actress
 * August 28 - Tony Barry, Australian actor (died 2022)
 * August 29
 * Ellen Geer, American actress
 * Mark Kasdan, American screenwriter and producer
 * Orestes Matacena, Cuban-American actor, director, producer and writer
 * September 18 - Gerry Bamman, American actor
 * September 26 – Martine Beswick, English actress and model
 * October 6 – Billy Murray, English actor
 * October 9 - Michael Goodwin, American character actor
 * October 10 – Peter Coyote, American actor
 * October 19 – Simon Ward, English actor (died 2012)
 * October 20 – Clare Peploe, English-Italian screenwriter and director (died 2021)
 * October 23 – Mel Winkler, American actor (died 2020)
 * October 24 – Frank Aendenboom, Belgian actor (died 2018)
 * October 25 – Gordon Tootoosis, Aboriginal Canadian actor (died 2011)
 * October 31
 * Mischa Hausserman, Austrian-born American actor (died 2021)
 * Sally Kirkland, American actress
 * November 1 – Robert Foxworth, American actor
 * November 18 – David Hemmings, English actor, director and producer (died 2003)
 * November 22 – Tom Conti, Scottish actor
 * November 23 – Franco Nero, Italian actor
 * November 25 – Tiit Lilleorg, Estonian actor (died 2021)
 * November 27 - Tom Morga, American stuntman, stunt coordinator and actor
 * December 4 – Leila Säälik, Estonian actress
 * December 6
 * Evald Hermaküla, Estonian actor and director (died 2000)
 * Leon Russom, American actor
 * December 8 – Valora Noland, American actress (died 2022)
 * December 9 – Beau Bridges, American actor
 * December 10 - Fionnula Flanagan, Irish actress
 * December 15 - Vladan Živković, Serbian actor (died 2022)
 * December 25 - John Capodice, American character actor
 * December 27 - Aharon Ipalé, Israeli-American actor (died 2016)

Deaths

 * January 4 – Henri Bergson, 81, French writer
 * January 10 – Joe Penner, 36, American comedian, actor, The Boys from Syracuse, Millionaire Playboy, The Day the Bookies Wept, Mr. Doodle Kicks Off
 * March 13 – Stuart Walker, 63, American director, White Woman, Great Expectations
 * April 23 – Stanley Fields, 57, American actor, The Great Plane Robbery, The Lady from Cheyenne
 * May 8 – Tore Svennberg, 83, Swedish actor, The Phantom Carriage, A Woman's Face
 * May 12 – Ruth Stonehouse, 48, American actress, film director, The Satin Woman
 * May 22 – Ida Waterman, 89, American actress, Stella Maris, The Enchanted Cottage, Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley, Esmerelda
 * June 28 – Richard Carle, 69, American actor, The Little Red Schoolhouse, Love Before Breakfast, Rhythm in the Clouds, She Asked for It
 * July 25 - Purnell Pratt, 55, American actor, Alibi, Scarface, The Mystery Squadron, Dancing Feet
 * July 29 - James Stephenson, 52, English actor, The Letter, Shining Victory
 * August 13 – J. Stuart Blackton, 66, British-American film producer and director, co-founder of Vitagraph Studios, The Glorious Adventure
 * September 18 – Claude King, 66, English actor, Behind the Mask, It Couldn't Have Happened – But It Did
 * October 9 – Helen Morgan, 41, American actress and singer, You Belong to Me, Applause, Show Boat
 * October 26 – Victor Schertzinger, 53, American director, Paramount on Parade, Road to Zanzibar
 * November 2 – Bengt Djurberg, 43, Swedish actor, Troll-elgen
 * December 21 – David Howard, 45, American film director, Daniel Boone

title: 1941 in film


text:
1940 in film

The year 1940 in film involved some significant events, including the premieres of the Walt Disney films Pinocchio and Fantasia.

Top-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1940 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Events

 * February 7 – Walt Disney's second animated feature film Pinocchio premieres at the Center Theatre in New York City. Although not a box office success upon its initial release, the film receives critical acclaim and wins two Academy Awards, including one for Best Original Song for "When You Wish Upon a Star". Over the years, Pinocchio has gained a cult following and is now considered one of the greatest films of all time.
 * February 10 – Tom and Jerry make their debut in the animated cartoon Puss Gets the Boot.
 * April 12 – Alfred Hitchcock's first American film Rebecca is released, under the production of David O. Selznick. It would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
 * May – A reproduction of "America's First Movie Studio", Thomas Edison's Black Maria, is constructed.
 * July 27 – Bugs Bunny makes his official debut in the animated cartoon A Wild Hare.
 * October 15 – Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator, a satirical comedy starring him, premieres in New York City. It is a critical and commercial success and goes on to become Chaplin's most financially successful film.
 * November 13 – World premiere of Walt Disney's animated film Fantasia at the Broadway Theatre in New York City, the first film to be released in a multi-channel sound format (see Fantasound). The film also marks the first use of the click track while recording the soundtrack, overdubbing of orchestral parts, simultaneous multitrack recording and is cited as a key chapter in the conception and development of the multi-channel surround system. Like Pinocchio, the film is a box office failure for Disney, though it recoups its cost years later and becomes one of the most highly regarded of Disney's films.
 * November 25 – Woody Woodpecker makes his debut in the Andy Panda cartoon Knock Knock.
 * December 5 – Release of The Thief of Bagdad, pioneering the use of chroma key effects.
 * In the United Kingdom, the Crown Film Unit supersedes the GPO Film Unit in the production of documentary films.

Academy Awards

 * Best Picture: Rebecca – David O. Selznick, United Artists
 * Best Director: John Ford – The Grapes of Wrath
 * Best Actor: James Stewart – The Philadelphia Story
 * Best Actress: Ginger Rogers – Kitty Foyle
 * Best Supporting Actor: Walter Brennan – The Westerner
 * Best Supporting Actress: Jane Darwell – The Grapes of Wrath

1940 film releases
United States unless stated

January–March

 * January 1940
 * 26 January
 * The Fighting 69th
 * February 1940
 * 23 February
 * Pinocchio

April–June

 * April 1940
 * 12 April
 * Rebecca
 * 20 April
 * 'Til We Meet Again
 * May 1940
 * 17 May
 * My Favorite Wife

July–September

 * August 1940
 * 30 August
 * Boom Town
 * September 1940
 * 20 September
 * The Mummy's Hand

October–December

 * October 1940
 * 15 October
 * The Great Dictator
 * November 1940
 * 6 November
 * North West Mounted Police
 * 13 November
 * Fantasia
 * December 1940
 * 13 December
 * Santa Fe Trail
 * 27 December
 * Kitty Foyle

Notable films released in 1940
United States unless stated

A

 * Abe Lincoln in Illinois, starring Raymond Massey
 * All This and Heaven Too, starring Bette Davis and Charles Boyer
 * Andy Hardy Meets Debutante, starring Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker and Fay Holden
 * Angels Over Broadway, starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Rita Hayworth
 * Anne of Windy Poplars, starring Anne Shirley
 * The Ape, starring Boris Karloff
 * Arise, My Love, starring Claudette Colbert and Ray Milland
 * Arizona, starring Jean Arthur and William Holden

B

 * Band Waggon, directed by Marcel Varnel, starring Arthur Askey – (GB)
 * The Bank Dick, written by and starring W. C. Fields
 * Beating Heart, starring Danielle Darrieux and Claude Dauphin – (France)
 * Before I Hang, starring Boris Karloff
 * The Biscuit Eater, directed by Stuart Heisler
 * Bismarck, starring Paul Hartmann – (Germany)
 * Black Friday, starring Boris Karloff and Béla Lugosi
 * The Blue Bird, starring Shirley Temple
 * Boom Town, starring Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr
 * The Boys from Syracuse, starring Allan Jones
 * Boys of the City, starring the East Side Kids
 * Brigham Young, starring Tyrone Power and Linda Darnell
 * British Intelligence, starring Boris Karloff
 * Broadway Melody of 1940, starring Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell – final film of series
 * Brother Orchid, starring Edward G. Robinson, Ann Sothern, Humphrey Bogart

C

 * Calling Philo Vance, starring James Stephenson
 * Castle on the Hudson, directed by Anatole Litvak, starring John Garfield and Ann Sheridan
 * The Catacombs (Katakomby), directed by Martin Frič – (Czechoslovakia)
 * Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum, starring Sidney Toler
 * Charlie Chan in Panama, starring Sidney Toler
 * Christmas in July, directed by Preston Sturges
 * A Chump at Oxford, starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, featuring a young Peter Cushing
 * City for Conquest, starring James Cagney
 * Confucius – (China)
 * Contraband, directed by Michael Powell, starring Conrad Veidt and Valerie Hobson – (GB)
 * Convicted Woman, starring Rochelle Hudson and June Lang
 * Convoy – directed by Pen Tennyson, starring Clive Brook, John Clements (UK)
 * Crimes at the Dark House, directed by George King, starring Tod Slaughter – (GB)

D

 * Dance, Girl, Dance, starring Maureen O'Hara, Louis Hayward, Lucille Ball
 * Dark Command, starring John Wayne
 * Dead Man's Shoes, directed by Thomas Bentley, starring Leslie Banks – (GB)
 * The Devil Bat, starring Béla Lugosi
 * A Dispatch from Reuter's, starring Edward G. Robinson
 * Dívka v modrém – (Czechoslovakia)
 * Doomed to Die, starring Boris Karloff
 * Down Argentine Way, starring Don Ameche, Betty Grable and Carmen Miranda
 * Dr. Cyclops, directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack, starring Albert Dekker
 * Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet, starring Edward G. Robinson, Ruth Gordon, Otto Kruger, Donald Crisp

E

 * East Side Kids, starring Leon Ames and the East Side Kids
 * Edison, the Man, starring Spencer Tracy
 * Ergens in Nederland (Somewhere in the Netherlands) – (Netherlands)
 * Escape, starring Norma Shearer and Robert Taylor

F

 * Fantasia, directed by Samuel Armstrong, James Algar, Bill Roberts, Paul Satterfield, Ben Sharpsteen, David D. Hand, Hamilton Luske, Jim Handley, Ford Beebe, T. Hee, Norman Ferguson and Wilfred Jackson
 * The Fatal Hour, starring Boris Karloff
 * Flowing Gold, starring John Garfield and Frances Farmer
 * Foreign Correspondent, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Joel McCrea
 * Four Sons, directed by Archie Mayo, starring Don Ameche
 * The Fox of Glenarvon, directed by Max W. Kimmich – (Germany)
 * French Without Tears, starring Ray Milland – (GB)

G

 * Gaslight, starring Anton Walbrook – (GB)
 * The Ghost Breakers, starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard
 * Girl in the News, starring Margaret Lockwood – (GB)
 * Give Us Wings, starring the Dead End Kids
 * Go West, starring the Marx Brothers
 * The Grapes of Wrath, directed by John Ford, starring Henry Fonda
 * The Great Dictator, directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin with Paulette Goddard and Jack Oakie
 * The Great McGinty, starring Brian Donlevy
 * Green Hell, starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Joan Bennett

H

 * Here Is the Point (Ahí está el detalle), starring Cantinflas – (Mexico)
 * His Girl Friday, directed by Howard Hawks, starring Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy
 * Hoots Mon!, directed by Roy William Neill, starring Max Miller and Florence Desmond (Britain)
 * The House Across the Bay, starring George Raft
 * The House of the Seven Gables, starring George Sanders
 * The Howards of Virginia, starring Cary Grant and Martha Scott
 * Hullabaloo, starring Frank Morgan

I

 * I Love You Again, starring William Powell and Myrna Loy
 * I Take This Woman, starring Spencer Tracy and Hedy Lamarr
 * The Invisible Man Returns, starring Cedric Hardwicke and Vincent Price
 * The Invisible Woman, starring Virginia Bruce and John Barrymore
 * It All Came True, starring Ann Sheridan, Jeffrey Lynn, Humphrey Bogart

J

 * June Nights (Juninatten), starring Ingrid Bergman – (Sweden)

K

 * King of the White Elephant (Prajao Changpeuk) – (Thailand)
 * Kitty Foyle, starring Ginger Rogers

L

 * Laddie, starring Tim Holt
 * Lady with Red Hair, starring Miriam Hopkins
 * The Letter, directed by William Wyler, starring Bette Davis
 * Lillian Russell, starring Alice Faye and Henry Fonda
 * Little Men, starring George Bancroft and Kay Francis
 * The Long Voyage Home, starring John Wayne

M

 * Maddalena, Zero for Conduct, directed by and starring Vittorio De Sica – (Italy)
 * The Man from Dakota, starring Wallace Beery
 * The Man Who Talked Too Much, starring George Brent
 * The Marines Fly High, starring Lucille Ball and Richard Dix
 * The Mark of Zorro, starring Tyrone Power and Linda Darnell
 * The Middle Watch, directed by Thomas Bentley, starring Jack Buchanan and Greta Gynt (Britain)
 * The Minister's Girlfriends (Přítelkyně pana ministra) – (Czechoslovakia)
 * Millionaires in Prison, starring Lee Tracy
 * The Mortal Storm, starring Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart
 * The Mummy's Hand, starring Dick Foran
 * My Favorite Wife, starring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant
 * My Little Chickadee, starring Mae West and W. C. Fields

N

 * New Moon, starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy
 * Night Train to Munich, directed by Carol Reed, starring Margaret Lockwood and Rex Harrison – (GB)
 * North West Mounted Police, starring Gary Cooper, Paulette Goddard, Madeleine Carroll
 * Northwest Passage, starring Spencer Tracy and Robert Young

O

 * One Million B.C. (aka The Cave Dwellers), starring Carole Landis
 * One Night in the Tropics, film debut of Abbott and Costello
 * Our Town, starring William Holden and Martha Scott

P

 * Pastor Hall, directed by Roy Boulting – (GB)
 * The Philadelphia Story, directed by George Cukor, starring Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, James Stewart
 * Pinocchio, directed by Ben Sharpsteen and Hamilton Luske, starring Dickie Jones
 * Pride and Prejudice, starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier
 * Primrose Path, starring Ginger Rogers and Joel McCrea
 * The Proud Valley, starring Paul Robeson – (GB)

Q

 * Queen Elizabeth, starring Katalin Karády, Klári Tolnay (Hungary)
 * Queen of the Yukon, starring Charles Bickford

R

 * Rebecca, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier – Oscar for best picture
 * Remember the Night, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray
 * Rhythm on the River, starring Bing Crosby and Mary Martin
 * Road to Singapore, starring Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour and Bob Hope – first in the series

S

 * Saps at Sea, starring Laurel and Hardy
 * The Sea Hawk, starring Errol Flynn
 * Seven Sinners, starring Marlene Dietrich and John Wayne
 * The Shop Around the Corner, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart
 * The Siege of the Alcazar (L'Assedio dell'Alcazar) – (Italy)
 * Sky Murder, starring Walter Pidgeon
 * Son of Ingagi, directed by Richard Kahn
 * The Son of Monte Cristo, starring Louis Hayward and Joan Bennett
 * Spring Parade, starring Deanna Durbin
 * The Stars Look Down, directed by Carol Reed, starring Michael Redgrave and Margaret Lockwood – (GB)
 * The Stationmaster (Der postmeister) – (Germany)
 * Strange Cargo, starring Clark Gable and Joan Crawford
 * Stranger on the Third Floor, starring Peter Lorre
 * Strike Up the Band, directed by Busby Berkeley, starring Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney
 * South of Suez, starring George Brent
 * Swiss Family Robinson, starring Thomas Mitchell and Edna Best

T

 * They Drive by Night, starring George Raft, Humphrey Bogart, Ida Lupino
 * They Knew What They Wanted, directed by Garson Kanin, starring Charles Laughton and Carole Lombard
 * The Thief of Bagdad, starring Conrad Veidt and Sabu – (GB)
 * 'Til We Meet Again, starring Merle Oberon and George Brent
 * Tom Brown's School Days, starring Cedric Hardwicke
 * Too Many Girls, starring Lucille Ball
 * Too Many Husbands, starring Jean Arthur, Fred MacMurray, Melvyn Douglas
 * Tørres Snørtevold – (Norway)
 * Torrid Zone, starring James Cagney, Ann Sheridan, Pat O'Brien
 * Turnabout, starring John Hubbard and Carole Landis

V

 * Vigil in the Night, starring Carole Lombard
 * Virginia City, starring Errol Flynn and Miriam Hopkins

W

 * Waterloo Bridge, starring Vivien Leigh and Robert Taylor
 * The Well-Digger's Daughter (La Fille du puisatier), directed by Marcel Pagnol, starring Raimu and Fernandel – (France)
 * The Westerner, starring Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Dana Andrews, Forrest Tucker
 * Where's That Fire?, starring Will Hay – (GB)
 * Wild Horse Range, starring Jack Randall
 * Women in War, starring Elsie Janis and Patric Knowles

Y

 * Young People, starring Shirley Temple
 * Young Tom Edison, starring Mickey Rooney
 * You're Not So Tough, starring the Dead End Kids

Serials

 * Adventures of Red Ryder, directed by William Witney and John English
 * Deadwood Dick, directed by James W. Horne
 * Drums of Fu Manchu, starring Henry Brandon and Robert Kellard, directed by William Witney and John English
 * Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe, starring Buster Crabbe
 * The Green Archer, starring Victor Jory, directed by James W. Horne
 * The Green Hornet, starring Warren Hull
 * Junior G-Men, starring the Dead End Kids
 * King of the Royal Mounted starring Allan Lane, directed by William Witney and John English
 * Mysterious Doctor Satan, starring Eduardo Ciannelli, directed by William Witney and John English
 * The Shadow, starring Victor Jory, directed by James W. Horne
 * Terry and the Pirates, starring William Tracy, directed by James W. Horne
 * Winners of the West, starring Dick Foran and Anne Nagel

Short film series

 * Buster Keaton (1917–1941)
 * Laurel and Hardy (1921–1943)
 * Our Gang (1922–1944)
 * Charley Chase (1924–1940)
 * The Three Stooges (1934–1959)

Animated short film series

 * Krazy Kat (1925–1940)
 * Mickey Mouse (1928–1953)
 * Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
 * Terrytoons (1930–1964)
 * Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
 * Scrappy (1931–1941)
 * Popeye (1933–1957)
 * Color Rhapsodies (1934–1949)
 * Donald Duck (1937–1956)
 * Pluto (1937–1951)
 * Walter Lantz Cartunes (also known as New Universal Cartoons or Cartune Comedies) (1938–1942)
 * Goofy (1939–1955)
 * Andy Panda (1939–1949)
 * Knock Knock! (first appearance of Woody Woodpecker)
 * Tom and Jerry (1940–1958)
 * Puss Gets the Boot

Births

 * January 3 – Thelma Schoonmaker, American editor
 * January 10 – Walter Hill, American director, screenwriter and producer
 * January 20 – Krishnam Raju, Indian actor (died 2022)
 * January 22 – John Hurt, English actor (died 2017)
 * January 25 – Paolo Graziosi, Italian actor (died 2022)
 * January 27
 * James Cromwell, American actor
 * Reynaldo Rey, American actor, comedian and television personality (died 2015)
 * January 29 – Katharine Ross, American actress
 * January 31 – Stuart Margolin, American actor and director (died 2022)
 * February 4
 * George A. Romero, American director, producer and screenwriter (died 2017)
 * John Schuck, American actor
 * February 5 – Dick Warlock, American actor and stuntman
 * February 12 – Ralph Bates, English actor (died 1991)
 * February 17
 * Matija Barl, Slovenian actor, producer and translator (died 2018)
 * Jo Kendall, British actress (died 2022)
 * February 19 – Carlin Glynn, American singer and actress (died 2023)
 * February 23 – Peter Fonda, American actor (died 2019)
 * February 27
 * Howard Hesseman, American actor (died 2022)
 * Bill Hunter, Australian actor (died 2011)
 * February 29 – Harvey Jason, English actor
 * March 3 – Patricia Gage, Scottish actress (died 2010)
 * March 7 – Daniel J. Travanti, American actor
 * March 9 – Raul Julia, Puerto Rican actor (died 1994)
 * March 10 – Chuck Norris, American actor and martial artist
 * March 11 - William Callaway, American retired voice actor
 * March 26 – James Caan, American actor (died 2022)
 * March 27 – Austin Pendleton, American actor, playwright, theatre director and instructor
 * April 1 – Aliza Gur, Israeli actress
 * April 3 – Wolf Kahler, German actor
 * April 6 – Pedro Armendáriz Jr., Mexican actor (died 2011)
 * April 14 – Julie Christie, British actress
 * April 15 – Julie Sommars, American actress
 * April 17 – Billy Fury, English singer and actor (died 1983)
 * April 20 - James Gammon, American actor (died 2010)
 * April 21 – George DiCenzo, American character actor (died 2010)
 * April 24 – Michael Parks, American actor and singer (died 2017)
 * April 25 – Al Pacino, American actor
 * April 29 – Max Cullen, Australian actor
 * April 30 – Burt Young, American actor (died 2023)
 * May 2 – Jo Ann Pflug, American actress
 * May 5 – Lance Henriksen, American actor
 * May 7 - John Irvin, English director
 * May 8 – Emilio Delgado, Mexican-American actor, voice artist and singer (died 2022)
 * May 15 – Lainie Kazan, American actress and singer
 * May 17
 * Valie Export, Austrian director
 * Peter Gerety, American actor
 * May 28 – Josie Lloyd, American actress and director (died 2020)
 * June 1 – René Auberjonois, American actor (died 2019)
 * June 2 – Maree Cheatham, American actress
 * June 7
 * Tom Jones, Welsh singer and actor
 * Ronald Pickup, English actor (died 2021)
 * June 8 – Nancy Sinatra, American singer and actress
 * June 20 – John Mahoney, English-born American actor (died 2018)
 * June 21 – Mariette Hartley, American actress
 * June 22 – Abbas Kiarostami, Iranian director (died 2016)
 * June 23 – Adam Faith, English actor and singer (died 2003)
 * June 26 – Luis Valdez, American playwright, screenwriter, director and actor
 * July 4 – Karolyn Grimes, American actress
 * July 7 – Ringo Starr, English drummer (The Beatles)
 * July 13 – Patrick Stewart, English actor
 * July 18 – James Brolin, American actor
 * July 22 – Alex Trebek, Canadian-American game show host and television personality (died 2020)
 * July 24 – Dan Hedaya, American actor
 * July 28 – Phil Proctor, American actor, voice actor and member of the Firesign Theatre
 * July 30 – Nicolau Breyner, Portuguese actor (died 2016)
 * August 3 – Martin Sheen, American actor
 * August 15
 * Maria Grazia Buccella, Italian actress
 * Ze'ev Revach, Israeli comedian, film actor, director
 * August 19 – Jill St. John, American actress
 * August 23 – Tony Bill, American actor, producer and director
 * August 25 – Wilhelm von Homburg, German boxer, actor and professional wrestler (died 2004)
 * August 26 - Don LaFontaine, American voice actor (died 2008)
 * August 27 – Sonny Sharrock, American jazz guitarist (died 1994)
 * August 31
 * Larry Hankin, American character actor, performer, director, comedian and producer.
 * Jack Thompson, Australian actor
 * September 2 - Harry Northup, American actor
 * September 3 – Pauline Collins, British actress
 * September 5 – Raquel Welch, American actress (died 2023)
 * September 7 – Dario Argento, Italian director, producer and screenwriter
 * September 11 – Brian De Palma, American director, producer and screenwriter
 * September 12 – Linda Gray, American actress, director and producer
 * September 18 – Frankie Avalon, American actor and singer
 * September 19
 * Caroline John, English actress (died 2012)
 * Paul Williams, American actor and singer
 * September 20 - Jonathan Hardy, New Zealand-Australian actor, writer and director (died 2012)
 * September 21 – Bill Kurtis, American producer and narrator
 * September 22 – Anna Karina, Danish-born French actress, director and singer (died 2019)
 * September 25 – Roberto Del Giudice, Italian voice actor (died 2007)
 * October 9 – John Lennon, English singer-songwriter and musician (The Beatles) (shot to death 1980)
 * October 14 – Cliff Richard, English singer and actor
 * October 16 – Barry Corbin, American actor
 * October 19 – Michael Gambon, Irish-English actor (died 2023)
 * October 25 - Jimmy Herman, Indigenous-Canadian actor (died 2013)
 * October 26 – Tilo Prückner, German actor (died 2020)
 * October 28 – Nic de Jager, South African actor
 * October 29 - Jack Shepherd, English actor
 * November 2 – Gigi Proietti, Italian actor (died 2020)
 * November 4 – Manuel Ojeda, Mexican actor (died 2022)
 * November 5 – Elke Sommer, German actress
 * November 7 - Dakin Matthews, American actor
 * November 13 – Rudolf Schwarzkogler, Austrian experimental filmmaker (died 1969)
 * November 14 – Bill Bolender, American character actor
 * November 15 – Sam Waterston, American actor
 * November 20 – Helma Sanders-Brahms, German director (died 2014)
 * November 22 – Terry Gilliam, American-born British screenwriter, director and animator (Monty Python's Flying Circus)
 * November 27 – Bruce Lee, Chinese-American martial artist and actor (died 1973)
 * December 1 – Richard Pryor, American comedian and actor (died 2005)
 * December 11 – Donna Mills, American actress
 * December 13
 * Volli Käro, Estonian actor
 * Carol Locatell, American actress (died 2023)
 * December 24
 * Janet Carroll, American character actress (died 2012)
 * Sharon Farrell, American actress
 * December 28 – Don Francisco, Chilean television host
 * December 31 – Tim Considine, American actor and writer (died 2022)

Deaths

 * January 4 – Flora Finch, 72, American actress, A Cure for Pokeritis, The Cat and the Canary, Quality Street, Her Crowning Glory
 * January 22 – E. Alyn Warren, 65, American actor, The Mysterious Mr. Wong, Get That Man, Revolt of the Zombies, Port of Seven Seas
 * February 20 – George Periolat, 66, American actor, The Mark of Zorro, One Rainy Afternoon, Morning Glory, What Price Hollywood?
 * March 5 – Maxine Elliott, 66, American actress, Fighting Odds
 * April 9 – Mrs. Patrick Campbell, 75, English actress, Riptide, One More River
 * April 11 – Hemmo Kallio, 77, Finnish actor, Anna Liisa
 * May 25 – Joe De Grasse, 67, Canadian-born American film director, Heart o' the Hills, The Scarlet Car, The Girl of the Night
 * July 1 – Ben Turpin, 70, American actor, Saps at Sea, Mr. Flip, A Clever Dummy
 * July 15 – Donald Calthrop, 52, English actor, Scrooge, Blackmail, Murder!, Major Barbara
 * September 25 – Marguerite Clark, 57, American actress, Scrambled Wives, Easy to Get, All of a Sudden Peggy, A Girl Named Mary
 * October 10 – Berton Churchill, 63, Canadian actor, Stagecoach, I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, In Old Chicago, Heroes for Sale
 * October 12 – Tom Mix, 60, American actor, The Miracle Rider, Riders of the Purple Sage, Sky High
 * December 13 – Wilfred Lucas, 69, Canadian-born American actor, screenwriter, director, Modern Times, A Chump at Oxford, The Girl and Her Trust

Debuts

 * Dana Andrews – Lucky Cisco Kid
 * John Banner – Spring Parade
 * Anne Baxter – 20 Mule Team
 * Joe Besser – Hot Steel
 * Anthony Caruso – Johnny Apollo
 * Abbott and Costello – One Night in the Tropics
 * Hugh Griffith – Night Train to Munich
 * Van Johnson – Too Many Girls
 * Arthur Kennedy – City for Conquest
 * Deborah Kerr – Contraband
 * Karl Malden – They Knew What They Wanted
 * Terry Moore – Maryland
 * Milo O'Shea – Contraband
 * Rebel Randall – Turnabout
 * Donna Reed – Convicted Woman
 * Herbert Rudley – Abe Lincoln in Illinois
 * Robert Ryan – The Ghost Breakers
 * Phil Silvers – Hit Parade of 1941
 * Gale Storm – Tom Brown's School Days
 * Gene Tierney – The Return of Frank James
 * David Tomlinson – Garrison Follies
 * Forrest Tucker – The Westerner
 * James Westerfield – The Howards of Virginia
 * Gig Young – Misbehaving Husbands
 * Devi Dja – Road to Singapore

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: 1940 in film


text:
Stocking

Stockings (also known as hose, especially in a historical context) are close-fitting, variously elastic garments covering the leg from the foot up to the knee or possibly part or all of the thigh. Stockings vary in color, design, and transparency. Today, stockings are primarily worn for fashion and aesthetics, usually in association with mid-length or short skirts.

History
Historically, even though the word sock is at least as ancient in origin, what men normally wore in the medieval period were referred to as hose.

The word stock used to refer to the bottom "stump" part of the body, and by analogy the word was used to refer to the one-piece covering of the lower trunk and limbs of the 15th century—essentially tights consisting of the upper-stocks (later to be worn separately as knee breeches) and nether-stocks (later to be worn separately as stockings). (See Hose.)

Before the 1590s, stockings were knitted by hand or constructed from woven cloth. Knitted stockings were preferred because of their flexibility. The first knitting machines were for making stockings. The stockings themselves were made of cotton, linen, wool or silk. A polished cotton called lisle was common, as were those made in the town of Balbriggan.

Before the 1920s, stockings, if worn, were worn for warmth. In the 1920s, as hemlines of dresses rose and central heating was not widespread, women began to wear flesh-colored stockings to cover their exposed legs. Those stockings were sheer, first made of silk or rayon (then known as "artificial silk") and after 1940 of nylon.

The introduction of nylon in 1939 by chemical company DuPont began a high demand for stockings in the United States with up to 4 million pairs being purchased in one day. Nylon stockings were cheap, durable, and sheer compared to their cotton and silk counterparts. When America entered World War II, DuPont ceased production of nylon stockings and retooled their factories to produce parachutes, airplane cords, and rope. This led to a shortage and the creation of a black market for stockings. At the end of the war DuPont announced that the company would return to producing stockings, but could not meet demand. This led to a series of disturbances in American stores known as the nylon riots until DuPont was able to increase production.

A precursor of pantyhose made an appearance in the 1940s and 1950s, when film and theater productions had stockings sewn to the briefs of actresses and dancers, according to actress-singer-dancer Ann Miller and seen in popular films such as Daddy Long Legs. Today, stockings are commonly made using knitted wool, silk, cotton or nylon (see hosiery). The introduction of commercial pantyhose in 1959 gave an alternative to stockings, and the use of stockings declined dramatically. A main reason for this was the trend towards higher hemlines on dresses (see minidress). In 1970, U.S. sales of pantyhose exceeded stockings for the first time, and has remained this way ever since. Beginning in 1987, sales of pantyhose started a slight decline due to the newly invented hold-ups, but still remain the most sold kind of hosiery.

Benefits and drawbacks
Stockings are still sometimes preferred to pantyhose in North American English, for a number of reasons. These may include the perception that stockings, and the associated use of garters, lace, high fashion, appliqué and the exposure of the thigh, are more aesthetically pleasing, or sexually attractive and alluring than pantyhose.

Both nylon stockings and pantyhose in being sheer share the advantage of being quick-drying compared to trousers. Spare pairs are also easy to carry if they are ruined. If laddered they can be replaced 'one at a time' which provides a cost advantage over tights.

However, stockings have a drawback in colder weather, because more skin is exposed to the cold compared to pantyhose. Also, pantyhose do not require garters or garter belts.

Support
Stockings can be held up in one of three ways:
 * 1) A garter belt (AmE), or suspender belt or suspenders (BrE), is the second most common way of holding up stockings. It is a piece of underwear worn around the waist like a belt but under clothing which has "suspenders" or "stays" that clip to the tops of the stockings. Frequently, women opted for girdles that included the clips instead of a separate belt.
 * 2) Hold-ups are the most common means of support. The inside of the top of the stockings has a band (typically silicone) of elastic or highly tractive material that resists slipping down the thigh.
 * 3) A garter is the least common means of support. It is slipped over the top of the stocking to hold the stocking by essentially clamping it to the leg. These are the garters typically worn by a bride at her wedding.

Terminology
In modern usage, stocking specifically refers to the form of hosiery configured as two pieces, one for each leg (except for American and Australian English, where the term can also be a synonym for pantyhose). The terms hold-ups and thigh highs refer to stockings that stay up through the use of built-in elastic, while the word stockings is the general term or refers to the kind of stockings that need a suspender belt (garter belt, in American English), and are quite distinct from tights or pantyhose (American English).

Other terms used with stockings include:
 * Cuban heel: A stocking with a heel made with folded over and sewn reinforcement.
 * Demi-toe: Stockings which have a reinforced toe with half the coverage on top as on the bottom. This results in a reinforcement that covers only the tip of the toes as opposed to the whole toe. These can be with or without a reinforced heel.
 * Denier: The lower the denier number the sheerer the garment. Stockings knitted with a higher denier tend to be less sheer but more durable.
 * Fishnet: Knitted stockings with a very wide open knit resembling a fish net.
 * Fencenet: Similar to fishnet, but with a much wider pattern. These are sometimes worn over another pair of stockings or pantyhose, such as matte or opaque, with a contrasting colour. Sometimes referred to as whalenets.
 * Football stockings: typically made out of heavy cotton or a thick, durable synthetic fabric that reaches the knee.
 * Full Fashioned: Fully fashioned stockings are knitted flat, the material is then cut and the two sides are then united by a seam up the back. Fully fashioned stockings were the most popular style until the 1960s.
 * Hold-ups (British English) or Stay-ups: Stockings that are held up by sewn-in elasticated bands (quite often a wide lace top band). In the US they are referred to as thigh-highs.
 * Knee highs: Stockings that terminate at or just barely below the knee. Also known as half-stockings, trouser socks, or socks.
 * Matte: Stockings which have a dull or non-lustre finish.
 * Mock seam: A false seam sewn into the back of a seamless stocking.
 * Nude heel: Stockings without reinforcement in the heel area.
 * Opaque: Stockings made of yarn which give them a heavier appearance (usually 40 denier or greater).
 * Point heel: in a Fully Fashioned stocking it is a heel in which the reinforced part ends in a triangle shape.
 * RHT: Abbreviation of reinforced heel and toe.
 * Open-toed: Stockings that stop at the base of the toe with a piece that goes between the first and second toes to hold them down. They can be worn with some open-toed shoes, especially to show off pedicured toes.
 * Sandalfoot: Stockings with a nude toe, meaning no heavier yarn in the toe than is in the leg. They are intended to be worn with sandal or open-toe shoes.
 * Seamed: Stockings manufactured in the old Full-Fashioned manner with a seam running up the back of the leg. In the past they were manufactured by cutting the fabric and then sewing it together.
 * Seamless: Stockings knit in one operation on circular machines (one continuous operation) so that no seaming is required up the back.
 * Sheers: Stockings generally of a 15 to 20 denier.
 * Contrast Tops: Stockings with a different colour top to the main stocking, such as black tops with a natural beige colour stocking
 * Stocking Feet: Shoeless feet covered by stockings or socks.
 * 14 Strap Suspender Belt.jpgnder belt (British English) or Garter belt (American English): a belt with straps to keep stockings (not hold-ups) in place: usually they have 4 or 6 straps, but may have from 8 to as many as 14 straps. Suspender Belts with 12 or 14 straps are often associated with the Burlesque style and era.
 * Ultra sheer: A fine denier fiber which gives the ultimate in sheerness. Usually 10 denier but can be as low as 1 denier.
 * Welt: A fabric knitted separately and machine-sewn to the top of a stocking. Knit in a heavier denier yarn and folded double to give strength for supporter fastening.

title: Stocking


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David Bedford

David Vickerman Bedford (4 August 1937 – 1 October 2011) was an English composer and musician. He wrote and played both popular and classical music. He was the brother of the conductor Steuart Bedford, the grandson of the composer, painter and author Herbert Bedford and the composer Liza Lehmann, and the son of Leslie Bedford, an inventor, and Lesley Duff, a soprano opera singer.

From 1969 to 1981, Bedford was Composer in Residence at Queen's College, London. From 1968 to 1980, he taught music in a number of London secondary schools. In 1996 he was appointed Composer in Association with the English Sinfonia. In 2001 he was appointed Chairman of the Performing Right Society, having previously been Deputy chairman.

Early life and career
Bedford was born in Hendon, London to Leslie Bedford, the director of engineering for the guided weapons division of the British Aircraft Corporation, and Lesley Duff, a soprano singer who worked with the English Opera Group. He was educated at Lancing College in West Sussex. When he was 19, he acted as a conscientious objector in lieu of performing national service, which was still mandatory in Britain at the time. During this time he worked as a porter at Guy's Hospital, London.

Bedford studied music at the Royal Academy of Music under Lennox Berkeley, and later in Venice under Luigi Nono. His studies and early influences included the work of Nono, Paul Hindemith, Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern. In the mid-60s, he was a music teacher at Whitefield school in Hendon, before joining Queen’s College in London as composer in residence in 1969.

Bedford was a former president of the Severnside Composers' Alliance and a founding Trustee of the PRS for Music Foundation, which supports the composition of new pieces.

Recording and arranging
In 1969, Bedford was engaged to orchestrate Kevin Ayers' album Joy of a Toy, on which he also played keyboards. This led to his role as keyboard player for Ayers' band, Kevin Ayers and the Whole World, who recorded one album, Shooting at the Moon (1970). On that album, in addition to organ and piano, Bedford plays accordion, marimbaphone and guitar. Bedford also contributed to later Kevin Ayers albums as keyboard player and orchestral arranger.

Bedford's work with The Whole World led to collaborations with the group's saxophonist Lol Coxhill, with whom he formed the Coxhill-Bedford Duo. The Duo released several singles of old vaudeville and British music hall songs featuring Bedford on piano and lead vocal, and Coxhill on saxophone and second vocal, for John Peel's Dandelion Records label in the early 1970s. One of these singles was released under the pseudonym, Will Dandy and the Dandylettes (covering a medley of Al Jolson songs), with the B-side credited to the Coxhill-Bedford Duo. More tracks by the Duo appear on Coxhill's solo album, Ear of Beholder (1971) on which they play three songs, including an early version of "Don Alfonso" which Bedford would record again later. Still more Coxhill-Bedford Duo songs can be found on Banana Follies, a 1972 BBC concert radio broadcast featuring Kevin Ayers, released on CD in 1998. In that broadcast, Bedford and Coxhill also perform a short radio play titled "Murder in the Air". Coxhill later re-recorded the play without Bedford and released it as a 12-inch single, stating in the liner notes that he would have preferred to record it with Bedford, who was unavailable.

The first album to consist entirely of David Bedford compositions was Nurses Song with Elephants, recorded at the Marquee Studios, and released in 1972 on John Peel's Dandelion label. On this album, Bedford mixed classical ensemble with poems and voices. Some Bright Stars for Queen's College uses twenty-seven plastic pipe twirlers, John Peel himself being among the pipe twirler players. There are five tracks on the album: It's Easier Than It Looks, Nurses Song With Elephants, Some Bright Stars for Queen's College, Trona (1967), and Sad and Lonely Faces. Bass guitar on the title song is played by Mike Oldfield and the final track features a poem by Kenneth Patchen that is sung by Kevin Ayers.

Bedford collaborated even more extensively with Mike Oldfield, The Whole World's bass guitarist. He orchestrated and conducted Oldfield's The Orchestral Tubular Bells album (1975), an adaptation of Tubular Bells, the record that had given the Virgin record label its first major success in 1973. Bedford also orchestrated Oldfield's follow-up album-length composition, Hergest Ridge (1974) as The Orchestral Hergest Ridge, which was performed live and recorded for radio broadcast from concert performances twice, once in 1974 by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with Steve Hillage on guitar, and once in 1976 by the Scottish National Orchestra, again with Hillage on guitar, although Andy Summers had played on other performances that year. The latter recording was acquired by Virgin, but not released as an album, although portions of it were used in The Space Movie (1979), which featured Oldfield's music.

Bedford provided vocals and piano for Oldfield's cover versions of more old music hall numbers (in the manner of the now-defunct Coxhill-Bedford Duo), Don Alfonso (1974) and Speak (Tho' You Only Say Farewell) (1976), collaborated with Oldfield on a piece titled "First Excursion" for Oldfield's box set compilation Boxed, and orchestrated Oldfield's soundtrack for The Killing Fields (1984). In 1983, Oldfield created a short-lived record label called Oldfield Music whose sole release was a David Bedford album, Star Clusters, Nebulae and Places in Devon / The Song of the White Horse.

Bedford's association with Oldfield led to a record contract to make a number of albums for Virgin, some using orchestral players, others featuring Bedford's keyboards, and some include Oldfield as a featured performer. Album titles from this period include Star's End (1974), The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1975, a musical setting of the poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge), The Odyssey (1976, a musical setting of the poem by Homer), and Instructions for Angels (1977), the latter including an appearance by Mike Ratledge.

Bedford contributed to records by the Edgar Broughton Band, including a single titled Up Yours!, a polemic on the 1970 UK general election declaring their intention to drop out. The single features a string arrangement by Bedford.

Bedford worked on several Roy Harper projects, including the 1971 four-song album Stormcock which also featured Jimmy Page on guitar (credited as S. Flavius Mercurius for contractual reasons), and the 1974 album Valentine. Bedford also conducted an orchestra during Harper's live concerts, including the Valentine's Day launch of the album, the concert later released as Flashes from the Archives of Oblivion and featuring, among others, Keith Moon. In 2001 he was reunited with Harper when the latter celebrated his 60th birthday with a concert at London's Royal Festival Hall, joined by numerous guest artists, including Jeff Martin and John Renbourn. A recording of the concert Royal Festival Hall Live – June 10th 2001 was released as a double CD shortly afterwards.

He also worked with a wide variety of other artists, including A-ha, Billy Bragg, Camel, Elvis Costello, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Madness, Andy Summers, Alan White (drummer for Yes) and Robert Wyatt.

Avant-garde classical compositions
Bedford was also known for his avant-garde classical works. His 1963 Piece for Mo was described as "his first work of standing", although it was never recorded for release. In 1965 he composed a chamber work for soprano and septet called Music For Albion Moonlight, based on poems by Kenneth Patchen. He continued to set music to Patchen's poems throughout his career, including O Now the Drenched Land Wakes and The Great Birds, released by Deutsche Grammophon on one of their Avant Garde series of albums in 1968, and Instructions For Angels, released by Virgin in 1977.

He also composed a number of works for wind orchestra, beginning with Sun Paints Rainbows on the Vast Waves in 1982, commissioned by the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. Many of these works have recorded by the wind orchestra of the Royal Northern College of Music, conducted by Clark Rundell, released by Doyen Records UK in 1998.

Bedford is noted for the large amount of educational music he wrote for children. The musical notation he used was often unconventional, frequently making use of graphics, thus letting his works be performed by children and others who cannot read conventional notation. In the liner notes to the album Viola Today (1974) by Karen Phillips, it is stated that in the score of Bedford's Spillihpnerak (1972) there is "(a) page consisting of a drawing of a lysozyme molecule which the performer is asked to interpret".

Bedford took a similar approach for his 1972 work, With 100 Kazoos, in which an instrumental ensemble is joined by the audience who are invited to play kazoos. The audience members were presented with various space-themed illustrations, and asked to interpret them using their kazoos. The piece was intended to be conducted by Pierre Boulez, but he rejected it, with Bedford stating "He rejected my piece on the grounds that audiences would be stupid and would fool about with their kazoos in the other pieces too".

Bedford composed a 35-minute choral suite, commissioned by the BBC, "Twelve Hours of Sunset", based on Roy Harper's song of the same name, from his 1974 album Valentine, which Bedford orchestrated. The suite was given its live premiere at the Royal Albert Hall, London on 8 August 1975, by the BBC Singers, BBC Choral Society and BBC Symphony Orchestra, with Simon Lindley on organ, conducted by John Poole, as part of the 75th Proms. Another performance for BBC Radio was on 29 August 1997, on BBC Radio 3, by the Crouch End Festival Chorus and BBC Symphony Orchestra, with Jacques van Steen conducting, as part of a 60th birthday tribute to Bedford, who was also interviewed.

He continued to combine skilled and non-skilled musicians in other works such as Seascapes (1986), combining a full symphony orchestra with school children, and Stories from the Dreamtime (1991), written for 40 deaf children and orchestra, as well as unconventional performance techniques such as requiring a singer to scream into a piano. The score to The Song of the White Horse (1978) instructs the choir to inhale helium gas to be able to reach the highest notes near the end of the piece.

Science fiction was a repeated area of interest for Bedford. The Tentacles of the Dark Nebula has words taken from Arthur C. Clarke's short story Transcience, recorded by tenor Peter Pears with Bedford conducting the London Sinfonietta. The title of Star's End was taken from Isaac Asimov's book Second Foundation. Rigel 9 is a play based on the book by Ursula K. Le Guin, featuring background music composed and recorded by Bedford.

Bedford's music has been described as modernist, avant-garde and experimental. He was known for his use of atonality, harmonic stasis, and rich timbre.

Personal life
Bedford enjoyed sci-fi, was a keen astronomer and enjoyed cricket, all of which inspired his work. Bedford died of lung cancer in October 2011 and was survived by his third wife, his seven children, and his brother Steuart. Steuart died in 2021.

After his death, a number of commemorative performances took place, including one of his later works for children The Wreck of the Titanic which was performanced nine times at venues across England during early 2012. The performance at the SAGE Gateshead included choirs from four North East primary/junior schools. In November 2018 BBC Radio 3 broadcast a recording of a concert performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Michael Seal, marking what would have been Bedford's 80th year. The programme included his orchestration of Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells, with Steve Hillage on guitar, his 1981 reworking of his Alleluia Timpanis, and his Symphony No. 1.

title: David Bedford


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Princess Royal

Princess Royal is a style customarily (but not automatically) awarded by British monarchs to their eldest daughters. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal family. There have been seven Princesses Royal. Princess Anne became Princess Royal in 1987.

The style Princess Royal came into existence when Queen Henrietta Maria (1609–1669), daughter of Henry IV, King of France, and wife of King Charles I (1600–1649), wanted to imitate the way the eldest daughter of the King of France was styled "Madame Royale". Thus, Princess Mary (born 1631), the daughter of Henrietta Maria and Charles, became the first Princess Royal in 1642.

It has become established that the style belongs to no one by right, but is given entirely at the sovereign's discretion. Princess Mary (later Queen Mary II) (1662–1694), the eldest daughter of King James II, and Princess Sophia Dorothea (1687–1757), the only daughter of King George I, were eligible for this honour but did not receive it. At the time they respectively became eligible for the style, Princess Mary was already Princess of Orange, and Sophia Dorothea was already Queen in Prussia. A Princess Royal has never acceded to the British throne; Princess Victoria, the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria, was the only Princess Royal to simultaneously be heiress presumptive, until she was displaced by the birth of her brother Prince Albert Edward.

Princess Louisa Maria (1692–1712), the youngest daughter of King James II (died 1701), born after he lost his crown in the Glorious Revolution of 1688–1689, was considered to be Princess Royal during James's exile by Jacobites at Saint-Germain-en-Laye and was so called by them, even though she was not James's eldest living daughter at any time during her life.

The title is held for life, even if the holder outlives her parent the monarch. On the death of a Princess Royal, the style is not inherited by any of her daughters; instead, if the monarch parent of the late Princess Royal has also died, the new monarch may bestow it upon his or her own eldest daughter. Thus, Princess Louise was granted the style of Princess Royal by her father King Edward VII in 1905; she retained it until her death in 1931, over twenty years into the reign of her brother King George V. Only upon Louise's death did the title become available for George's own daughter, Princess Mary, who was granted the title in 1932, retaining it until her death in 1965. Because Mary outlived not only her father but also her brother King George VI, the title was never available during George VI's reign to be granted to his elder daughter Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II), though she would otherwise have been eligible to hold it. If Princess Anne dies during the reign of her brother King Charles III, then there would be no eligible royal princess; Charles III has no daughters and Princess Charlotte, the daughter of William, Prince of Wales, would become eligible only upon William's accession to the throne.

Customarily, when a princess marries, she takes on her husband's title. If her husband has a lower title or style, her style as a princess remains in use, although it may then be combined with her style by marriage, e.g. HRH The Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll or HRH Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone – if that princess had a territorial designation, she may cease its use. Exceptionally, however, a princess who has been granted the title of HRH The Princess Royal will not customarily combine it with her style by marriage. For example, Princess Anne has been Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal since being given the title in 1987; prior to that, her formal title was Her Royal Highness The Princess Anne, Mrs Mark Phillips.

List of title holders
The following is a complete list of women formally styled Princess Royal:

In fiction

 * In the House of M alternate universe of Marvel Comics, Betsy Braddock is the elder twin sister of the British King and bears the title Princess Royal.
 * The novel The Lady Royal, by Molly Costain Haycraft, is a fictionalized account of the life of Isabella de Coucy. According to the narrative, Isabella was titled the Princess Royal and then later given the more 'adult' title of the Lady Royal by her parents.  This is a fabrication; although Isabella, as the eldest daughter of Edward III, enjoyed the special privileges that came with her rank, she could not have been titled the Princess Royal because the title was not used in England until long after her death.  The title of "the Lady Royal" has never existed.

title: Princess Royal


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Music tracker

A music tracker (sometimes referred to as just tracker for short) is a type of music sequencer software for creating music. The music is represented as discrete musical notes positioned in several channels at chronological positions on a vertical timeline. A music tracker's user interface is traditionally number based. Notes, parameter changes, effects and other commands are entered with the keyboard into a grid of fixed time slots as codes consisting of letters, numbers and hexadecimal digits. Separate patterns have independent timelines; a complete song consists of a master list of repeated patterns.

Later trackers departed from solely using module files, adding other options both to the sound synthesis (hosting generic synthesizers and effects or MIDI output) and to the sequencing (MIDI input and recording), effectively becoming general purpose sequencers with a different user interface.

In the 2010s, tracker music is still featured in demoscene products for old hardware platforms and demoparties have often separate tracker music competitions. Tracker music may also be used in games which borrow aesthetics from past decades.

1987: Origins on the Amiga
The term tracker derives from Ultimate Soundtracker (the first tracker software ) written by Karsten Obarski and released in 1987 by EAS Computer Technik for the Amiga. Ultimate Soundtracker was a commercial product, but soon shareware clones such as NoiseTracker (1989 ) appeared as well. The general concept of step-sequencing samples numerically, as used in trackers, is also found in the Fairlight CMI sampling workstation of the early 1980s. Some early tracker-like programs appeared for the MSX (Yamaha CX5M) and Commodore 64, before 1987, such as Chris Huelsbeck's SoundMonitor, but these did not feature sample playback, instead playing notes on the computer's internal synthesizer. Later, programs like Rock Monitor also supported additional sample playback, usually with short drum samples loaded in RAM memory.

The first trackers supported four pitch and volume modulated channels of 8-bit PCM samples, a limitation derived from the Amiga's Paula audio chipset and the commonplace 8SVX format used to store sampled sound. However, since the notes were samples, the limitation was less important than those of synthesizing music chips.

1990s: MS-DOS versions
During the 1990s, tracker musicians gravitated to the PC as software production in general switched from the Amiga platform to the PC. Although the IBM and compatibles initially lacked the hardware sound processing capabilities of the Amiga, with the advent of the Sound Blaster line from Creative, PC audio slowly began to approach CD Quality (44.1 kHz/16 bit/Stereo) with the release of the SoundBlaster 16.

Another sound card popular on the PC tracker scene was the Gravis Ultrasound, which continued the hardware mixing tradition, with 32 internal channels and onboard memory for sample storage. For a time, it offered unparalleled sound quality and became the choice of discerning tracker musicians. Understanding that the support of tracker music would benefit sales, Gravis gave away some 6000 GUS cards to participants. Coupled with excellent developer documentation, this gesture quickly prompted the GUS to become an integral component of many tracking programs and software. Inevitably, the balance was largely redressed with the introduction of the Sound Blaster AWE32 and its successors, which also featured on-board RAM and wavetable (or sample table) mixing.

The responsibility for audio mixing passed from hardware to software (the main CPU) which gradually enabled the use of more channels. From the typical 4 MOD channels of the Amiga, the limit had moved to 7 with TFMX players and 8, first with Oktalyzer and later with the vastly more popular OctaMED (Amiga, 1989), then 32 with ScreamTracker 3 (PC, 1994) and 16 with FastTracker 2 (PC, 1994) and on to 64 with Impulse Tracker (PC, 1995) and MED SoundStudio (updated version of OctaMED). An Amiga tracker called Symphonie Pro even supported 256 channels.

As such, hardware mixing did not last. As processors got faster and acquired special multimedia processing abilities (e.g. MMX) and companies began to push Hardware Abstraction Layers, like DirectX, the AWE and GUS range became obsolete. DirectX, WDM and, now more commonly, ASIO, deliver high-quality sampled audio irrespective of hardware brand.

There was also a split off from the sample based trackers taking advantage of the OPL2 and OPL3 chips of the Sound Blaster series. All Sound Tracker was able to combine both the FM synthesis of the OPL chips and the sample based synthesis of the EMU-8000 chips in the Sound Blaster AWE series of cards as well as MIDI output to any additional hardware of choice.

Jeskola Buzz is a modular music studio developed from 1997 to 2000 for Microsoft Windows using a tracker as its sequencer where the sounds where produced by virtual machines (Buzzmachines) such as signal generators, synthesizer emulators, drum computers, samplers, effects and control machines, that where connected in a modular setup. Each machine would have its own tracker, drum machines would use a tracker-like drum pattern editor and effect and control machines could be automated tracker-like via tables of parameters.

2000s: Multiple platforms
Tracker music could be found in computer games of the late 1990s and early 2000s, such as the Unreal series, Deus Ex, Crusader: No Remorse, Jazz Jackrabbit and Uplink. Some of the early Amiga trackers such as Protracker (1990) and OctaMED have received various updates, mostly for porting to other platforms. Protracker having resumed development in 2004, with plans for releasing version 5 to Windows and AmigaOS, but only version 4.0 beta 2 for AmigaOS has been released.

During 2007, Renoise (PC, 2002) and OpenMPT (PC, 1997) were presented in Computer Music Magazine as professional and inexpensive alternative to other music production software.

Modern trackers include, but not limited to Deflemask, Famitracker, VGM Music Maker, Furnace (which currently is the only tracker allowing multiple sound chips from multiple systems to be played simultaneously (for example, Commodore 64 and PC-98 together.)), and SunVox (Music Tracker with modular synth engine and a free form, dynamic length pattern timeline system)

Hardware
The earliest trackers existed to get closer to the hardware of a given machine, allowing memory-light playback of music ideal for games and similar programs. Keeping in theme with this philosophy, a few "hardware trackers" have emerged: specialized hardware designed specifically to host tracker software, in turn designed to exploit the hardware of the machine. These hardware trackers are largely inspired by LittleSoundDJ, a tracker created for the original Nintendo Game Boy.

The first such hardware tracker released was the NerdSeq in 2018, a hybrid tracker-sequencer for Eurorack systems. As a module of said system, it cannot be used alone, and the "tracker" portion of the device is simply used as an interface to sequence, while the hardware is used to handle sampling and other functions.

The first standalone hardware tracker released was the Polyend Tracker in 2020, a USB-powered device with all the functions of a software tracker. It was met with mostly positive critical reception, with critics citing a modest price point, standalone all-in-one capability, and intuitive controls. In 2021, DirtyWave released the M8 Tracker, a portable tracker that is more heavily inspired by LittleSoundDJ.

Terminology
There are several elements common to any tracker program: samples, notes, effects, tracks (or channels), patterns, and orders.

A sample is a small digital sound file of an instrument, voice, or other sound effect. Most trackers allow a part of the sample to be looped, simulating a sustain of a note.

A note designates the frequency at which the sample is played back. By increasing or decreasing the playback speed of a digital sample, the pitch is raised or lowered, simulating instrumental notes (e.g., C, C#, D, etc.).

An effect is a special function applied to a particular note. These effects are then applied during playback through either hardware or software. Common tracker effects include volume, portamento, vibrato, retrigger, and arpeggio.

A track (or channel) is a space where one sample is played back at a time. Whereas the original Amiga trackers only provided four tracks, the hardware limit, modern trackers can mix a virtually unlimited number of channels into one sound stream through software mixing. Tracks have a fixed number of "rows" on which notes and effects can be placed (most trackers lay out tracks in a vertical fashion). Tracks typically contain 64 rows and 16 beats, although the beats, rows and tempo can be increased or decreased to the composer's taste.

A basic drum set could thus be arranged by putting a bass drum at rows 0, 4, 8, 12 etc. of one track and putting some hihat at rows 2, 6, 10, 14 etc. of a second track. Of course, bass and hats could be interleaved on the same track, if the samples are short enough. If not, the previous sample is usually stopped when the next one begins. Some modern trackers simulate polyphony in a single track by setting the "new note action" of each instrument to cut, continue, fade out, or release, opening new mixing channels as necessary.

A pattern is a group of simultaneously played tracks that represents a full section of the song. A pattern usually represents an even number of measures of music composition.

An order is part of a sequence of patterns that defines the layout of a song. Patterns can be repeated across multiple orders to save tracking time and file space.

There are also some tracker-like programs that utilize tracker-style sequencing schemes, while using real-time sound synthesis instead of samples. Many of these programs are designed for creating music for a particular synthesizer chip such as the OPL chips of the Adlib and SoundBlaster sound cards, or the sound chips of classic home computers.

Tracker music is typically stored in module files where the song data and samples are encapsulated in a single file. Several module file formats are supported by popular audio players. Well-known formats include MOD, MED, S3M, XM and IT. Many of these formats can also be imported into existing trackers, allowing to view arrangement, instrumentation and the use of effect commands. This also makes the self-teaching of music composition using trackers easier and allows to extract instruments for later use in own songs, which was very common.

title: Music tracker