text:
1944 in film

The year 1944 in film involved some significant events, including the wholesome, award-winning Going My Way plus popular murder mysteries such as Double Indemnity, Gaslight and Laura.

Top-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1944 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Events

 * March 10 – MGM's supernatural romantic drama A Guy Named Joe, starring Spencer Tracy and Irene Dunne, is released nationally in the United States.
 * May 3 – The musical comedy drama Going My Way, directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald, premieres in New York City. It opens in Los Angeles on August 16. The highest-grossing picture of the year, it goes on to win a total of seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for McCary, Best Actor for Crosby and Best Original Song for "Swinging on a Star".
 * May 13 – Dale Evans appears in her first film with future husband, Roy Rogers – Cowboy and the Senorita.
 * July 20 – Home front drama Since You Went Away is released in the United States.
 * August 16–September 11 – Nazi propaganda documentary Theresienstadt is filmed in the Theresienstadt Ghetto. Following completion of filming, co-director Kurt Gerron and many of those featured are transported to Auschwitz concentration camp and murdered; although completed in 1945, the film is never released.
 * September 6 – Crime thriller film noir Double Indemnity is released in the United States.
 * September – Around 640 motion picture actors, writers and directors are included on the Gottbegnadeten list in Nazi Germany, protecting them from military conscription.
 * November 22 – MGM's musical Meet Me in St. Louis, starring Judy Garland and Margaret O'Brien, premieres. Hugely popular with both audiences and critics, the film is nominated for four Academy Awards.

January–March

 * January 1944
 * 7 January
 * Standing Room Only
 * 11 January
 * Career Girl
 * 14 January
 * Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
 * 28 January
 * Lifeboat
 * Phantom Lady
 * February 1944
 * 3 February
 * None Shall Escape
 * The Fighting Sullivans
 * 5 February
 * Captain America
 * 10 February
 * Lady in the Dark
 * 11 February
 * The Bridge of San Luis Rey
 * 22 February
 * Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (re-issue)
 * March 1944
 * 2 March
 * The Curse of the Cat People
 * 10 March
 * A Guy Named Joe
 * 17 March
 * Knickerbocker Holiday
 * 22 March
 * Cover Girl
 * 23 March
 * The Heavenly Body

April–June

 * April 1944
 * 9 April
 * Rosie the Riveter (film)
 * 17 April
 * The Lady and the Monster
 * 25 April
 * Pin Up Girl
 * And the Angels Sing
 * 26 April
 * The Hitler Gang
 * The Story of Dr. Wassell
 * May 1944
 * 5 May
 * Follow the Boys
 * 8 May
 * Time Flies – (Great Britain)
 * 11 May
 * The White Cliffs of Dover
 * 13 May
 * Cowboy and the Senorita
 * 27 May
 * The Tiger Woman
 * June 1944
 * 1 June
 * Address Unknown
 * 8 June
 * Days of Glory
 * 27 June
 * Bathing Beauty

July–September

 * July 1944
 * 2 July
 * The Hairy Ape
 * 6 July
 * Double Indemnity
 * 7 July
 * The Mummy's Ghost
 * 8 July
 * Johnny Doesn't Live Here Any More
 * 12 July
 * The Invisible Man's Revenge
 * 14 July
 * Summer Storm
 * 20 July
 * Since You Went Away
 * 22 July
 * The Adventures of Mark Twain
 * 24 July
 * The Seventh Cross
 * August 1944
 * 1 August
 * Wilson
 * 12 August
 * Mr. Skeffington
 * 16 August
 * Going My Way
 * 17 August
 * Cry of the Werewolf
 * The Soul of a Monster
 * 23 August
 * Marriage Is a Private Affair
 * 30 August
 * Till We Meet Again
 * September 1944
 * 2 September
 * Our Hearts Were Young and Gay
 * 9 September
 * Crime by Night
 * 12 September
 * Strangers in the Night
 * 23 September
 * Arsenic and Old Lace

October–December

 * October 1944
 * 11 October
 * To Have and Have Not
 * 17 October
 * Fiddlers Three – (GB)
 * None but the Lonely Heart
 * November 1944
 * 1 November
 * Something for the Boys
 * 3 November
 * The Woman in the Window
 * 10 November
 * Enemy of Women
 * 11 November
 * Bluebeard
 * 15 November
 * Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
 * 28 November
 * Meet Me in St. Louis
 * December 1944
 * 1 December
 * House of Frankenstein
 * 5 December
 * Blonde Fever
 * 6 December
 * Nothing but Trouble
 * 15 December
 * Hollywood Canteen
 * 18 December
 * Dangerous Passage
 * 22 December
 * Winged Victory
 * The Mummy's Curse
 * 23 December
 * Lake Placid Serenade
 * 24 December
 * I'll Be Seeing You
 * 29 December
 * Tomorrow, the World!

Notable films released in 1944
United States unless stated

A

 * The Adventures of Mark Twain, starring Fredric March
 * Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, starring Maria Montez and Jon Hall
 * And Now Tomorrow, starring Alan Ladd and Loretta Young
 * And the Angels Sing, starring Fred MacMurray and Dorothy Lamour
 * Army (陸軍, Rikugun), directed by Keisuke Kinoshita, starring Chishū Ryū and Kinuyo Tanaka – (Japan)
 * Arsenic and Old Lace, directed by Frank Capra, starring Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey, Peter Lorre; filmed in 1941 but not released until 1944
 * At Land, directed by Maya Deren

B

 * Bathing Beauty, starring Esther Williams and Red Skelton
 * Berlanti, directed by and starring Youssef Wahbi – (Egypt)
 * Between Two Worlds, starring John Garfield, Eleanor Parker and Sydney Greenstreet
 * The Black Pirate (El corsario negro), starring Pedro Armendariz – (Mexico)
 * The Bridge of San Luis Rey, starring Lynn Bari
 * Buffalo Bill, starring Joel McCrea and Maureen O'Hara
 * A Bullet in the Heart (Rossassa Fel Qalb) – (Egypt)

C

 * Candlelight in Algeria, starring James Mason – (GB)
 * Can't Help Singing, starring Deanna Durbin
 * A Canterbury Tale, written and directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, starring Eric Portman – (GB)
 * The Canterville Ghost, starring Charles Laughton, Robert Young and Margaret O'Brien
 * Casanova Brown, starring Gary Cooper
 * Champagne Charlie, directed by Alberto Cavalcanti, starring Tommy Trinder and Stanley Holloway – (GB)
 * The Children Are Watching Us (I bambini ci guardano), directed by Vittorio De Sica – (Italy)
 * Christmas Holiday, starring Gene Kelly
 * The Climax, starring Susanna Foster and Boris Karloff
 * Cobra Woman, starring Maria Montez
 * The Conspirators, starring Paul Henreid and Hedy Lamarr
 * Cover Girl, starring Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly
 * Cowboy and the Senorita, starring Roy Rogers and Dale Evans
 * Crime by Night, starring Jane Wyman
 * Cry of the Werewolf, starring Nina Foch
 * The Curse of the Cat People, starring Simone Simon

D

 * Days of Glory, starring Gregory Peck
 * Don't Take It to Heart, directed by Jeffrey Dell, starring Richard Greene – (GB)
 * Double Indemnity, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck and Edward G. Robinson
 * Dragon Seed, starring Katharine Hepburn
 * Dream of the Red Chamber (Hong lou meng) – (China)

E

 * Enemy of Women, starring Paul Andor
 * Experiment Perilous, starring Hedy Lamarr and George Brent

F

 * Fanny by Gaslight, directed by Anthony Asquith, starring Phyllis Calvert, James Mason, Stewart Granger – (GB)
 * Fiddlers Three, starring Tommy Trinder (GB)
 * The Fighting Seabees, starring John Wayne and Susan Hayward
 * The Fighting Sullivans, directed by Lloyd Bacon, starring Anne Baxter and Thomas Mitchell
 * For Those in Peril, directed by Charles Crichton – (GB)
 * Frenchman's Creek, starring Joan Fontaine and Basil Rathbone
 * Die Feuerzangenbowle (The Punch Bowl) – (Germany)

G

 * Gaslight, starring Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer and Joseph Cotten
 * Going My Way, directed by Leo McCarey, starring Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald – winner of 7 Oscars
 * The Great Moment, starring Joel McCrea and Betty Field
 * Greenwich Village, starring Carmen Miranda and Don Ameche
 * The Great Sacrifice (Opfergang) – (Germany)

H

 * Hail the Conquering Hero, written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring Eddie Bracken and Ella Raines
 * The Halfway House, directed by Basil Dearden, starring Mervyn Johns and Glynis Johns
 * The Heavenly Body, starring William Powell and Hedy Lamarr
 * Henry V, directed by and starring Laurence Olivier – (GB)
 * The Hitler Gang, starring Robert Watson
 * Hollywood Canteen, starring Joan Leslie
 * Home in Indiana, starring Walter Brennan
 * The Hour Before the Dawn, starring Veronica Lake
 * House of Frankenstein, starring Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney Jr.

I

 * I'll Be Seeing You, starring Ginger Rogers and Shirley Temple
 * In Our Time, starring Ida Lupino and Paul Henreid
 * In Society, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
 * It Happened Tomorrow, starring Dick Powell
 * Ivan the Terrible (Ivan Grozniy), by director Sergei Eisenstein, starring Nikolai Cherkasov – (U.S.S.R.)

J

 * Janie, directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Joyce Reynolds
 * Jwar Bhata – (India)

K

 * The Keys of the Kingdom, starring Gregory Peck, Cedric Hardwicke, Vincent Price and Roddy McDowall
 * Knickerbocker Holiday, starring Nelson Eddy
 * Kismet, starring Ronald Colman and Marlene Dietrich

L

 * Lady in the Dark, starring Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland
 * Lady, Let's Dance, ice skating musical starring Belita and comedy ice team Frick and Frack
 * Lake Placid Serenade, starring Vera Ralston
 * Laura, directed by Otto Preminger, starring Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb and Vincent Price
 * Lifeboat, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Tallulah Bankhead, John Hodiak, William Bendix, Walter Slezak, Henry Hull and Hume Cronyn
 * The Lodger, starring Merle Oberon and George Sanders
 * Lost in a Harem, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello

M

 * Man from Frisco directed by Robert Florey, starring Michael O'Shea and Anne Shirley
 * Marie-Louise directed by Leopold Lindtberg and an uncredited Franz Schnyder
 * The Mask of Dimitrios, starring Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet and Zachary Scott
 * Meet Me in St. Louis, directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Judy Garland
 * Meet the People, starring Lucille Ball
 * Melody of Murder (Mordets Melodi) – (Denmark)
 * Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress, a documentary by William Wyler
 * Ministry of Fear, starring Ray Milland
 * The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, directed by Preston Sturges, starring Eddie Bracken and Betty Hutton
 * Mr. Skeffington, starring Bette Davis and Claude Rains
 * Mrs. Parkington, starring Greer Garson
 * The Mummy's Curse, starring Lon Chaney Jr.
 * The Mummy's Ghost, starring Lon Chaney Jr.
 * Murder, My Sweet (aka Farewell My Lovely), directed by Edward Dmytryk, starring Dick Powell and Claire Trevor
 * Music for Millions, starring Margaret O'Brien

N

 * The Nail (El clavo) – (Spain)
 * National Velvet, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Mickey Rooney
 * None but the Lonely Heart, starring Cary Grant and Ethel Barrymore
 * None Shall Escape, starring Alexander Knox

O

 * On Approval, starring Clive Brook and Googie Withers – (GB)
 * Once Upon a Time, starring Cary Grant, Ted Donaldson, Janet Blair
 * Our Hearts Were Young and Gay, starring Gail Russell and Diana Lynn

P

 * Pardon My Rhythm, starring Gloria Jean
 * Passage to Marseille, starring Humphrey Bogart, Claude Rains, Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet
 * The Pearl of Death, a Sherlock Holmes mystery directed by Roy William Neill, starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes, and Nigel Bruce as Watson; co-starring Rondo Hatton and Evelyn Ankers
 * Phantom Lady, starring Franchot Tone and Ella Raines
 * Pin Up Girl, starring Betty Grable
 * Port of Freedom (Große Freiheit Nr. 7) – (Germany)
 * Possession (Besættelse) – (Denmark)
 * The Princess and the Pirate, starring Bob Hope and Virginia Mayo
 * The Purple Heart, starring Dana Andrews, Richard Conte and Farley Granger

R

 * Rainbow (Raduga) – (U.S.S.R.)
 * Rationing, starring Wallace Beery and Marjorie Main
 * The Rats of Tobruk (aka The Fighting Rats of Tobruk), starring Peter Finch and Chips Rafferty – (Australia)
 * The Respectable Ladies of Pardubice (Počestné paní pardubické), directed by Martin Frič – (Czechoslovakia)

S

 * The Scarlet Claw, a Sherlock Holmes mystery directed by Roy William Neill, starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes, and Nigel Bruce as Watson
 * The Seventh Cross, directed by Fred Zinnemann, starring Spencer Tracy
 * Sherlock Holmes and The Spider Woman, a Sherlock Holmes mystery directed by Roy William Neill, starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Watson; co-starring Gale Sondergaard
 * Since You Went Away, starring Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones and Shirley Temple
 * Something for the Boys starring Carmen Miranda, Michael O'Shea and Vivian Blaine
 * Song of Russia, starring Robert Taylor
 * The Soul of a Monster, starring George Macready
 * Storm Over Lisbon, starring Vera Ralston
 * The Story of Dr. Wassell, starring Gary Cooper
 * Sunday Dinner for a Soldier, starring Anne Baxter and John Hodiak
 * The Suspect, starring Charles Laughton

T

 * Tall in the Saddle, starring John Wayne
 * Thirty Seconds over Tokyo, starring Spencer Tracy and Van Johnson
 * This Happy Breed, directed by David Lean, starring John Mills and Celia Johnson – (GB)
 * The Three Caballeros, a Walt Disney animated film starring Donald Duck and Dora Luz (released in South America in 1944, but was released in 1945 in the U.S.)
 * Time Flies, starring Tommy Handley (GB)
 * To Have And Have Not, directed by Howard Hawks, starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall
 * Torment (Hets), directed by Alf Sjoberg – (Sweden)
 * The Tower of the Seven Hunchbacks (La Torre de los Siete Jorobados) – (Spain)
 * Tunisian Victory, directed by Frank Capra, Hugh Stewart and John Huston – (US/GB)
 * Two Thousand Women, starring Flora Robson and Phyllis Calvert – (GB)

U

 * The Uninvited, starring Ray Milland
 * Up in Arms, starring Danny Kaye and Dinah Shore

W

 * The Way Ahead (Immortal Battalion), directed by Carol Reed, starring David Niven and Stanley Holloway – (GB)
 * Weird Woman, starring Lon Chaney Jr. and Anne Gwynne
 * When Strangers Marry, starring Dean Jagger, Kim Hunter, Robert Mitchum
 * The White Cliffs of Dover, starring Irene Dunne
 * Wilson, a biopic of President Woodrow Wilson, starring Alexander Knox and Charles Coburn
 * Wing and a Prayer, directed by Henry Hathaway, starring Dana Andrews and Don Ameche
 * The Woman in the Window, directed by Fritz Lang, starring Edward G. Robinson and Joan Bennett

Y

 * The Yellow Rose of Texas, starring Roy Rogers and Dale Evans

Serials

 * Black Arrow
 * Captain America, starring Dick Purcell
 * The Desert Hawk, starring Gilbert Roland and Charles Middleton
 * The Great Alaskan Mystery
 * Haunted Harbor, starring Kane Richmond
 * Mystery of the River Boat
 * Raiders of Ghost City
 * The Tiger Woman, starring Linda Stirling
 * Zorro's Black Whip, starring Linda Stirling

Short film series

 * Our Gang (1922-1944)
 * The Three Stooges (1934–1959)

Animated short film series

 * 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 (1934–1956)
 * Porky Pig (1935–1965)
 * Daffy Duck (1937–1968)
 * Goofy (1939–1955)
 * Andy Panda (1939–1949)
 * Tom and Jerry (1940–1958)
 * Bugs Bunny (1940–1962)
 * Woody Woodpecker (1941–1949)
 * Swing Symphonies (1941–1945)
 * The Fox and the Crow (1941–1950)
 * Red Hot Riding Hood (1943–1949)
 * Droopy (1943–1958)
 * Screwball Squirrel (1944–1946)
 * Sylvester the Cat (1944–1966)

Births

 * January 5 – Franco Ferrini, Italian screenwriter
 * January 9 – Harun Farocki, German filmmaker (died 2014)
 * January 10 – William Sanderson, American actor
 * January 13 - Mike Edmonds, English actor
 * January 20 – Margaret Avery, American actress
 * January 22 - Pamela Salem, British actress (died 2024)
 * January 23 – Rutger Hauer, Dutch actor (died 2019)
 * January 28 - Andrew Jack, British dialect coach and actor (died 2020)
 * February 3 – Trisha Noble, Australian singer and actress (died 2021)
 * February 8 - Roger Lloyd-Pack, English actor (died 2014)
 * February 13
 * Stockard Channing, American actress
 * Michael Ensign, American actor
 * February 14 – Alan Parker, English director, producer and screenwriter (died 2020)
 * February 22 – Jonathan Demme, American director, producer and screenwriter (died 2017)
 * February 29 – Dennis Farina, American actor (died 2013)
 * March 5 – Peter Weibel, Ukrainian-born Austrian experimental filmmaker
 * March 6 - Harold Hopkins, Australian actor (died 2011)
 * March 10 – Richard Gant, American actor
 * March 14 – Steve Daskewisz, American actor and stunt double (died 2018)
 * March 19 - Guy Thauvette, Canadian actor
 * March 24 – R. Lee Ermey, American film, television and voice actor (died 2018)
 * March 26 – Diana Ross, American singer and actress
 * April 4 – Craig T. Nelson, American actor
 * April 6 – Anita Pallenberg, Italian-born actress and model (died 2017)
 * April 8 - Joey D. Vieira, American actor
 * April 13 – Charles Burnett, American director
 * April 30 – Jill Clayburgh, American actress (died 2010)
 * May 4 – Russi Taylor, American voice actress (died 2019)
 * May 5
 * Roger Rees, Welsh actor and director (died 2015)
 * John Rhys-Davies, English actor
 * May 10 – Jim Abrahams, American director, producer and screenwriter
 * May 14 – George Lucas, American director, producer and screenwriter
 * May 16 – Danny Trejo, American actor and voice actor
 * May 19
 * Peter Mayhew, English actor (died 2019)
 * Frank Pellegrino, American actor (died 2017)
 * May 25 – Frank Oz, American actor, filmmaker and puppeteer
 * May 26
 * Olga Bisera, Yugoslav-born Italian actress and producer
 * Andre Stojka, American voice actor and singer
 * May 28 – Sondra Locke, American actress (died 2018)
 * May 29 - Helmut Berger, Austrian actor (died 2023)
 * June 11 – Roscoe Orman, American actor
 * June 12 - Terence Kelly, Canadian actor
 * June 14 - Joe Grifasi, American character actor
 * June 20 - Oliver Cotton, English actor, comedian and playwright
 * June 21 - Tony Scott, British director and producer (died 2012)
 * June 23 – Ingrīda Andriņa, Latvian actress (died 2015)
 * June 24 - Julian Holloway, British actor
 * June 29 – Gary Busey, American actor
 * July 1 – Wahid Hamed, Egyptian screenwriter (died 2021)
 * July 2 – Viiu Härm, Estonian actress
 * July 8 – Jeffrey Tambor, American actor
 * July 17 – Catherine Schell, Hungarian-born British actress
 * July 22 - Peter Jason, American character actor
 * July 23 - Pepe Serna, American actor
 * July 30
 * Frances de la Tour, English actress
 * Yoon Jeong-hee, South Korean actress
 * July 31 – Geraldine Chaplin, American actress
 * August 4 - Richard Belzer, American actor and stand-up comedian (died 2023)
 * August 7 – John Glover, American actor
 * August 9 – Sam Elliott, American actor
 * August 11 – Ian McDiarmid, Scottish actor
 * August 19 – John Roselius, American actor (died 2018)
 * August 21 – Peter Weir, Australian director, producer and screenwriter
 * August 25 - Anthony Heald, American character actor
 * August 26 - Stephen Greif, English actor (died 2022)
 * August 27 - G. W. Bailey, American actor
 * August 30 – Wolf Roth, German actor
 * September 1 – Beau Starr, American actor
 * September 6 - Swoosie Kurtz, American actress
 * September 13 – Jacqueline Bisset, English actress
 * September 15 – Pik-Sen Lim, Malaysian-British actress
 * September 16 - Michael Edwards, American actor
 * September 20 – Jeremy Child, British actor (died 2022)
 * September 21 - Fannie Flagg, American actress and comedian
 * September 22
 * Kathe Green, American actress, model and singer
 * Frazer Hines, English actor
 * September 25 – Michael Douglas, American actor and producer
 * September 26 - Helmut Bakaitis, German-born Australian director, actor and screenwriter
 * September 28 - Matthew Cowles, American actor (died 2014)
 * October 1 – Jean-Pierre Castaldi, French actor
 * October 8 – Dale Dye, American actor, technical advisor, radio personality and writer
 * October 10 – Lii Tedre, Estonian actress
 * October 14 - Udo Kier, German actor
 * October 20 - Robert Swan, American actor (died 2023)
 * October 28 – Dennis Franz, American actor
 * November 4 – Linda Gary, American actress, voice actress (died 1995)
 * November 17
 * Danny DeVito, American actor, comedian, producer and director
 * Gary Goldman, American animator, producer and director
 * Lorne Michaels, Canadian-American producer
 * November 21 – Harold Ramis, American actor, director and screenwriter (died 2014)
 * November 22 - Paul Brooke, retired English actor
 * November 25
 * Will McMillan, American actor, producer and director (died 2015)
 * Ben Stein, American actor and comedian
 * December 4 - Carol Sutton, American actress (died 2020)
 * December 5 – Jeroen Krabbe, Dutch actor and director
 * December 8 – Sharmila Tagore, Indian actress
 * December 12 – Kenneth Cranham, Scottish actor
 * December 15 – Morgan Paull, American actor (died 2012)
 * December 17 – Bernard Hill, English actor (died 2024)

Deaths

 * January 3 – Aage Hertel, Danish actor (born 1873)
 * March 14 – Merta Sterling, American actress (born 1883)
 * April 10 – Pat West, American actor (born 1888)
 * July 14 – Emil Fjellström, Swedish actor (born 1884)
 * July 18 – Alan Dinehart, American actor (born 1889)
 * July 20 – Mildred Harris, American actress (born 1901)
 * September 24 – Hugo Thimig, Austrian actor (born 1854)
 * October 28 – Kurt Gerron, German film director (born 1897)
 * November 27 – Jill Furse, British actress (born 1915)
 * December 9 – Laird Cregar, American actor (born 1913)
 * December 13 – Lupe Vélez, Mexican actress (born 1908)
 * December 15 – Glenn Miller, American bandleader, actor (born 1904)

Film Debuts

 * Forrest J Ackerman – Hey, Rookie
 * Michael Ansara – Action in Arabia
 * Lauren Bacall – To Have and Have Not
 * Ann Blyth – Chip Off the Old Block
 * Steve Brodie – Ladies Courageous
 * Red Buttons – Winged Victory
 * Rory Calhoun – Something for the Boys
 * Petula Clark – Medal for the General
 * Peggy Ann Clifford – One Exciting Night
 * Margia Dean – Casanova in Burlesque
 * Guy Deghy – Mr. Emmanuel
 * John Derek – Since You Went Away
 * Richard Erdman – Mr. Skeffington
 * Mona Freeman – Double Indemnity
 * Gloria Grahame – Blonde Fever
 * Skip Homeier – Tomorrow, the World!
 * Victoria Horne – Phantom Lady
 * Trevor Howard – The Way Ahead
 * James Robertson Justice – For Those in Peril
 * Hardy Krüger – Junge Adler
 * Angela Lansbury – Gaslight
 * Guy Madison – Since You Went Away
 * Kevin McCarthy – Winged Victory
 * Lilia Michel – Naná
 * Anthony Newley – Henry V
 * Jane Nigh – Laura
 * Janis Paige – Bathing Beauty
 * Gregory Peck – Days of Glory
 * Tatyana Pelttser – The Wedding
 * Alan Reed – Days of Glory
 * Enriqueta Reza – La vida inútil de Pito Pérez
 * Zachary Scott – The Mask of Dimitrios
 * Jean Simmons – Give Us the Moon

title: 1944 in film


text:
Talk:1944 in film

Untitled
What is the source for Top grossing films? Are we talking worldwide or US?

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

title: Talk:1944 in film


text:
Indirect fire

Indirect fire is aiming and firing a projectile without relying on a direct line of sight between the gun and its target, as in the case of direct fire. Aiming is performed by calculating azimuth and inclination, and may include correcting aim by observing the fall of shot and calculating new angles.

Description
Indirect fire is most commonly used by field artillery and mortars (although field artillery was originally and until after World War I a direct fire weapon, hence the bullet-shields fitted to the carriages of guns such as the famous M1897 75 mm). It is also used with missiles, howitzers, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, naval guns against shore targets, sometimes with machine guns, and has been used with tank and anti-tank guns and by anti-aircraft guns against surface targets.

There are two dimensions in aiming a weapon:
 * In the horizontal plane (azimuth); and
 * In the vertical plane (elevation), which is governed by the distance (range) to the target and the energy of the propelling charge.

The projectile trajectory is affected by atmospheric conditions, the velocity of the projectile, the difference in altitude between the firer and the target, and other factors. Direct fire sights may include mechanisms to compensate for some of these. Handguns and rifles, machine guns, anti-tank guns, tank main guns, many types of unguided rockets, and guns mounted in aircraft are examples of weapons primarily designed for direct fire.

NATO defines indirect fire as "Fire delivered at a target which cannot be seen by the aimer." The implication is that azimuth and/or elevation 'aiming' is done using instrumental methods. Hence indirect fire means applying 'firing data' to azimuth and elevation sights and laying these sights. Indirect fire can be used when the target is visible from the firing position. However, it is mostly used when the target is at longer range and invisible to the firer due to the terrain. Longer range uses a higher trajectory, and in theory maximum range is achieved with an elevation angle of 45 degrees.

It is reasonable to assume that original purpose of indirect fire was to enable fire from a 'covered position', one where gunners can not be seen and engaged by their enemies (that and as the range of artillery lengthened, it was impossible to see the target past all the intervening terrain). The concealment aspect remains important, but from World War I equally important was the capability to concentrate the fire of many artillery batteries at the same target or set of targets. This became increasingly important as the range of artillery increased, allowing each battery to have an ever-greater area of influence, but required command and control arrangements to enable concentration of fire. The physical laws of ballistics means that guns firing larger and heavier projectile can send them farther than smaller-calibre guns firing lighter shells. By the end of the 20th century, the typical maximum range for the most common guns was about 24 to 30 km, up from about 8 km in World War I.

During World War I, covered positions moved farther back and indirect fire evolved to allow any point within range to be attacked, firepower mobility, without moving the firers. If the target cannot be seen from the gun position, there has to be a means of identifying targets and correcting aim according to fall of shot. The position of some targets may be identified by a headquarters from various sources of information (spotters): observers on the ground, in aircraft, or in observation balloons. The development of electrical communication immensely simplified reporting, and enabled many widely dispersed firers to concentrate their fire on one target.

The trajectory of the projectile could not be altered once fired, until the introduction of smart munitions.

History
Indirect arrow fire by archers was commonly used by ancient armies. It was used during both battles and sieges.

For several centuries Coehorn mortars were fired indirectly because their fixed elevation meant range was determined by the amount of propelling powder. It is also reasonable conjecture that if these mortars were used from inside fortifications their targets may have been invisible to them and therefore met the definition of indirect fire.

It could also be argued that Niccolò Tartaglia's invention of the gunner's quadrant (see clinometer) in the 16th century introduced indirect fire guns because it enabled gunlaying by instrument instead of line of sight. This instrument was basically a carpenter's set square with a graduated arc and plumb-bob placed in the muzzle to measure an elevation. There are suggestions, based on an account in Livre de Canonerie published in 1561 and reproduced in Revue d'Artillerie of March 1908, that indirect fire was used by the Burgundians in the 16th century. The Russians seem to have used something similar at Paltzig in 1759 where they fired over trees, and their instructions of the time indicate this was a normal practice. These methods probably involved an aiming point positioned in line with the target. The earliest example of indirect fire adjusted by an observer seems to be during the defence of Hougoumont in the Battle of Waterloo where a battery of the Royal Horse Artillery fired an indirect Shrapnel barrage against advancing French troops using corrections given by the commander of an adjacent battery with a direct line of sight.

Modern indirect fire dates from the late 19th century. In 1882 a Russian, Lt Col K. G. Guk, published Field Artillery Fire from Covered Positions that described a better method of indirect laying (instead of aiming points in line with the target). In essence, this was the geometry of using angles to aiming points that could be in any direction relative to the target. The problem was the lack of an azimuth instrument to enable it; clinometers for elevation already existed. The Germans solved this problem by inventing the lining-plane in about 1890. This was a gun-mounted rotatable open sight, mounted in alignment with the bore, and able to measure large angles from it. Similar designs, usually able to measure angles in a full circle, were widely adopted over the following decade. By the early 1900s the open sight was sometimes replaced by a telescope and the term goniometer had replaced "lining-plane" in English.

The first incontrovertible, documented use of indirect fire in war using Guk's methods, albeit without lining-plane sights, was on 26 October 1899 by British gunners during the Second Boer War. Although both sides demonstrated early on in the conflict that they could use the technique effectively, in many subsequent battles, British commanders nonetheless ordered artillery to be "less timid" and to move forward to address troops' concerns about their guns abandoning them. The British used improvised gun arcs with howitzers; the sighting arrangements used by the Boers with their German and French guns is unclear.

The early goniometric devices suffered from the problem that the layer (gun aimer) had to move around to look through the sight. This was very unsatisfactory if the aiming point was not to the front, particularly on larger guns. The solution was a periscopic panoramic sight, with the eyepiece to the rear and the rotatable top of the sight above the height of the layer's head. The German Goertz 1906 design was selected by both the British and the Russians. The British adopted the name "Dial Sight" for this instrument; the US used "Panoramic Telescope"; the Russia used "Goertz panorama".

Elevations were measured by a clinometer, a device using a spirit level to measure a vertical angle from the horizontal plane. These could be separate instruments placed on a surface parallel to the axis of the bore or physically integrated into some form of sight mount. Some guns had clinometers graduated in distances instead of angles. Clinometers had several other names including "gunner's level", "range scale", "elevation drum" and "gunner’s quadrant" and several different configurations. Those graduated in ranges were specific to a type of gun.

These arrangements lasted for most of the 20th century until robust, reliable and cost-effectively accurate gyroscopes provided a means of pointing gun or launcher in any required azimuth and elevation, thereby enabling indirect fire without using external aiming points. These devices use gyros in all three axes to determine current elevation, azimuth and trunnion tilt.

Related issues
Before a gun or launcher can be aimed, it must be oriented towards a known azimuth, or at least towards a target area. Initially, the angle between the aiming point and target area is deduced, or estimated, and set on the azimuth sight. Each gun is then laid on the aiming point, with this angle in order to keep them aimed roughly parallel to each other. However, for artillery another instrument, called either a director (United Kingdom) or aiming circle (United States), became widespread and eventually the primary method of orienting guns in most if not all armies. After being oriented and pointed in the required direction a gun recorded angles to one or more aiming points. Such early directors were the progenitors of the later general class of directors.

Indirect fire needs a command and control arrangement to allot guns to targets and direct their fire. The latter may involve ground or air observers or technical devices and systems. Observers report where shots fall so that aim may be corrected. In the First World War an important task for aircraft — both heavier-than-air or balloons — was artillery spotting. In naval use several ships may be shooting at the same target, making identifying the fall of shot from a particular ship difficult; different-coloured dyes for each ship were often used to help with spotting.

Fire may be "adjusted" or "predicted". Adjusting (originally "ranging") means some form of observation is used to correct the fall of shot onto the target; this may be required for several possible reasons:
 * geospatial relationship between gun and target is not accurately known;
 * good quality data for prevailing conditions is unavailable; or
 * the target is moving or expected to move.

Predicted fire, originally called "map shooting", was introduced in World War I. It means that firing data is calculated to include corrections for the current prevailing conditions. It requires the target location to be precisely known relative to the gun location.

Adjusted and predicted fire are not mutually exclusive, the former may use predicted data and the latter may need adjusting in some circumstances.

There are two approaches to the azimuth that orients the guns of a battery for indirect fire. Originally "zero", meaning 6400 mils, 360 degrees or their equivalent, was set at whatever the direction the oriented gun was pointed. Firing data was a deflection or switch from this zero.

The other method was to set the sight at the actual grid bearing in which the gun was oriented, and firing data was the actual bearing to the target. The latter reduces sources of mistakes and made it easier to check that the guns were correctly laid. By the late 1950s, most armies had adopted the bearing method, the notable exception being the United States.

title: Indirect fire


text:
1943 in film

The year 1943 in film featured various significant events for the film industry.

Top-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1943 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Events

 * January 23 – The film Casablanca is released nationally in the United States and becomes one of the top-grossing pictures of 1943. It goes on to win the Best Picture and Best Director awards at the 16th Academy Awards.
 * February 20 – American film studio executives agree to allow the United States Office of War Information to censor films.
 * June 1 – Veteran English stage and screen actor Leslie Howard dies at the age of 50 in the crash of BOAC Flight 777 off the coast of Galicia, Spain. While best remembered for his role as Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind, Howard had roles in many other notable films and was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
 * December 31 – New York City's Times Square greets Frank Sinatra at Paramount Theatre.

1943 film releases
United States

January–March

 * January 1943
 * 12 January
 * Shadow of a Doubt
 * 23 January
 * Casablanca
 * February 1943
 * 3 February
 * Air Force
 * 5 February
 * The Outlaw
 * 11 February
 * No Place for a Lady
 * 12 February
 * Journey into Fear
 * Star Spangled Rhythm
 * 19 February
 * Saludos Amigos
 * 20 February
 * The Hard Way
 * March 1943
 * 1 March
 * Squadron Leader X (GB)
 * 2 March
 * The Human Comedy
 * 3 March
 * Münchhausen (Germany)
 * 5 March
 * Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
 * 10 March
 * It Ain't Hay
 * 11 March
 * Hello, Frisco, Hello
 * 15 March
 * The Silver Fleet (GB)
 * 19 March
 * Hitler's Children
 * 22 March
 * Huella de luz (Spain)
 * 25 March
 * Sanshiro Sugata (Japan)
 * 26 March
 * Forever and a Day
 * 27 March
 * Hangmen Also Die!

April–June

 * April 1943
 * 2 April
 * Border Patrol
 * 9 April
 * Cabin in the Sky
 * It Comes Up Love
 * 12 April
 * Fires Were Started
 * 15 April
 * We Dive at Dawn
 * 22 April
 * Crash Dive
 * 23 April
 * Clancy Street Boys
 * 24 April
 * Edge of Darkness
 * 30 April
 * I Walked with a Zombie
 * Sherlock Holmes in Washington
 * May 1943
 * 4 May
 * Five Graves to Cairo
 * 7 May
 * They Came to Blow Up America
 * This Land Is Mine
 * 8 May
 * The Leopard Man
 * 12 May
 * Stage Door Canteen
 * 13 May
 * The More the Merrier
 * 14 May
 * Bombardier
 * 16 May
 * Ossessione (Italy)
 * 17 May
 * The Bells Go Down
 * 21 May
 * Action in the North Atlantic
 * Cowboy in Manhattan
 * The Ox-Bow Incident
 * 22 May
 * Mission to Moscow
 * 27 May
 * Prelude to War
 * 28 May
 * Mr. Lucky
 * June 1943
 * 2 June
 * Hit the Ice
 * 3 June
 * Bataan
 * 10 June
 * The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
 * 11 June
 * Coney Island
 * 22 June
 * Crime Doctor
 * 23 June
 * Angels of the Streets (France)
 * Dixie
 * The Constant Nymph

July–September

 * July 1943
 * 3 July
 * Background to Danger
 * 14 July
 * For Whom the Bell Tolls
 * 17 July
 * Victory Through Air Power
 * 21 July
 * Stormy Weather
 * 26 July
 * Theatre Royal (GB)
 * August 1943
 * 1 August
 * Behind the Rising Sun
 * 2 August
 * Hi Diddle Diddle
 * Nasreddin in Bukhara (U.S.S.R.)
 * 11 August
 * Heaven Can Wait
 * 12 August
 * Phantom of the Opera
 * 14 August
 * This Is the Army
 * 19 August
 * Destroyer
 * DuBarry Was a Lady
 * 21 August
 * The Seventh Victim
 * 23 August
 * The Man in Grey (GB)
 * 27 August
 * Holy Matrimony
 * Watch on the Rhine
 * 30 August
 * We've Never Been Licked
 * September 1943
 * 2 September
 * The Sky's the Limit
 * 9 September
 * So Proudly We Hail!
 * 10 September
 * The Kansan
 * 13 September
 * Thousands Cheer
 * 16 September
 * Doña Bárbara (Mexico)
 * 17 September
 * Revenge of the Zombies
 * Sherlock Holmes Faces Death
 * Top Man
 * 24 September
 * The Adventures of Tartu (GB)
 * 25 September
 * Thank Your Lucky Stars
 * 28 September
 * Le Corbeau (France)
 * 29 September
 * Corvette K-225

October–December

 * October 1943
 * 7 October
 * Lassie Come Home
 * 8 October
 * Best Foot Forward
 * Crazy House
 * 13 October
 * L'Éternel retour (France)
 * 19 October
 * Yellow Canary (GB)
 * 23 October
 * Princess O'Rourke
 * 29 October
 * Flesh and Fantasy
 * November 1943
 * 4 November
 * The North Star
 * 5 November
 * Guadalcanal Diary
 * Millions Like Us (GB)
 * Son of Dracula
 * 10 November
 * No Time for Love
 * Titanic (Germany)
 * 11 November
 * The Return of the Vampire
 * Sahara
 * 12 November
 * The Mad Ghoul
 * 13 November
 * Day of Wrath (Denmark)
 * Northern Pursuit
 * 19 November
 * The Dancing Masters
 * 23 November
 * Cry 'Havoc'
 * 26 November
 * Girl Crazy
 * 27 November
 * Old Acquaintance
 * December 1943
 * 3 December
 * Happy Land
 * 6 December
 * War of the Wildcats
 * 14 December
 * The Shipbuilders (GB)
 * 15 December
 * Destination Tokyo
 * Madame Curie
 * 17 December
 * Calling Dr. Death
 * Immensee (Germany)
 * 20 December
 * The Demi-Paradise (GB)
 * 24 December
 * The Gang's All Here
 * The Ghost Ship
 * Jack London
 * 25 December
 * The Song of Bernadette
 * 29 December
 * Tender Comrade
 * 31 December
 * The Woman of the Town

Notable films released in 1943
United States unless stated

A

 * Above Suspicion, starring Joan Crawford and Fred MacMurray
 * Action in the North Atlantic, starring Humphrey Bogart and Raymond Massey
 * The Adventures of Tartu, starring Robert Donat and Valerie Hobson – (GB)
 * Air Force, directed by Howard Hawks, starring John Garfield
 * Angels of the Streets (Les anges du peche), directed by Robert Bresson – (France)

B

 * Background to Danger, directed by Raoul Walsh, starring George Raft and Peter Lorre
 * Bataan, directed by Tay Garnett, starring Robert Taylor and Lloyd Nolan
 * Behind the Rising Sun, starring Tom Neal, produced by Howard Hughes
 * The Bells Go Down, starring Tommy Trinder and James Mason – (GB)
 * Best Foot Forward, starring Lucille Ball, William Gaxton, Virginia Weidler
 * Bombardier, starring Pat O'Brien, Randolph Scott, Anne Shirley
 * Border Patrol, starring William Boyd, George Reeves, Robert Mitchum

C

 * Cabin in the Sky, directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Ethel Waters
 * Calling Dr. Death, first of the Inner Sanctum Mysteries, starring Lon Chaney Jr.
 * Clancy Street Boys, starring The East Side Kids
 * Coney Island, starring Betty Grable
 * The Constant Nymph, starring Joan Fontaine
 * Le Corbeau (The Raven), directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot, starring Pierre Fresnay – (France)
 * Corvette K-225, starring Randolph Scott
 * O Costa do Castelo (The Costa from the Castle) – (Portugal)
 * Cowboy in Manhattan
 * Crash Dive, starring Tyrone Power and Anne Baxter
 * Crazy House, starring Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson
 * The Crew of the Dora (Besatzung Dora) – (Germany)
 * Crime Doctor, starring Warner Baxter
 * Cry 'Havoc', starring Margaret Sullavan, Ann Sothern, Joan Blondell

D

 * The Dancing Masters, starring Laurel and Hardy
 * Day of Wrath (Vredens Dag), directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer – (Denmark)
 * The Demi-Paradise, starring Laurence Olivier – (GB)
 * Desert Victory, a propaganda documentary – (GB)
 * Destination Tokyo, starring Cary Grant and John Garfield
 * Destroyer, starring Glenn Ford and Edward G. Robinson
 * Doña Bárbara, directed by Fernando de Fuentes – (Mexico)
 * DuBarry Was a Lady, starring Lucille Ball and Red Skelton

E

 * Edge of Darkness, starring Errol Flynn and Ann Sheridan
 * L'Éternel retour (The Eternal Return), directed by Jean Cocteau, starring Jean Marais – (France)

F

 * Fires Were Started, directed by Humphrey Jennings – (GB)
 * Five Graves to Cairo, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Franchot Tone and Anne Baxter
 * Flesh and Fantasy, starring Edward G. Robinson, Barbara Stanwyck and Charles Boyer
 * Flor Silvestre, starring Dolores del Río – (Mexico)
 * Forces Occultes, directed by Jean Marny, starring Maurice Rémy, Marcel Vibert, Auguste Bovério, Giséle Parry – (France)
 * For Whom the Bell Tolls, directed by Sam Wood, starring Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman
 * Forever and a Day, featuring an all-star cast
 * Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man starring Lon Chaney Jr. and Béla Lugosi
 * Der Fuehrer's Face, Donald Duck's Academy Award-winning short

G

 * The Gang's All Here, directed by Busby Berkeley, starring Alice Faye and Carmen Miranda
 * The Ghost Ship, starring Richard Dix
 * Girl Crazy, starring Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney
 * Guadalcanal Diary, starring Lloyd Nolan, Richard Conte, Preston Foster, William Bendix, Anthony Quinn
 * A Guy Named Joe, starring Spencer Tracy and Irene Dunne

H

 * Hangmen Also Die!, starring Brian Donlevy and Walter Brennan
 * Happy Land, starring Don Ameche and Frances Dee
 * The Hard Way, starring Ida Lupino
 * Harlem, directed by Carmine Gallone, starring Massimo Girotti and Amedeo Nazzari (Italy)
 * Heaven Can Wait, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Gene Tierney and Don Ameche
 * Hello, Frisco, Hello, starring Alice Faye
 * Hi Diddle Diddle, starring Adolphe Menjou and Pola Negri
 * Hit the Ice, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
 * Hitler's Children, directed by Edward Dmytryk
 * Holy Matrimony, starring Monty Woolley and Gracie Fields
 * Huella de luz (A Sight of Light) – (Spain)
 * The Human Comedy, starring Mickey Rooney

I

 * I Walked with a Zombie, starring Frances Dee
 * Immensee (aka Immensee: A German Folksong) – (Germany)
 * It Ain't Hay, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
 * It Comes Up Love, starring Gloria Jean and Donald O'Connor

J

 * Jack London, starring Michael O'Shea and Susan Hayward
 * Jane Eyre, directed by Robert Stevenson, starring Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine
 * Journey into Fear, starring Joseph Cotten, Dolores del Río, Orson Welles

K

 * The Kansan, starring Richard Dix and Jane Wyatt
 * Kismet, starring Ashok Kumar – (India)

L

 * Lassie Come Home, starring Roddy McDowall and Donald Crisp
 * The Leopard Man, directed by Jacques Tourneur, starring Dennis O'Keefe
 * The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, starring Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr, Anton Walbrook – (GB)

M

 * The Mad Ghoul, starring George Zucco
 * Madame Curie, starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon
 * The Man in Grey, the first of the Gainsborough melodramas starring Margaret Lockwood and James Mason – (GB)
 * María Candelaria, starring Dolores del Río and Pedro Armendáriz – (Mexico)
 * Meshes of the Afternoon, directed by Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid
 * Millions Like Us, directed by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder – (GB)
 * Mission to Moscow, directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Walter Huston
 * Mister Big, starring Donald O'Connor and Gloria Jean
 * The More the Merrier, directed by George Stevens, starring Jean Arthur and Joel McCrea
 * Mr. Lucky, starring Cary Grant
 * Münchhausen – (Germany)
 * My Learned Friend, starring Will Hay – (GB)

N

 * Nasreddin in Bukhara – (U.S.S.R.)
 * No Place for a Lady, starring William Gargan and Phyllis Brooks
 * No Time for Love, starring Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray
 * The North Star, starring Anne Baxter and Dana Andrews
 * Northern Pursuit, starring Errol Flynn

O

 * Old Acquaintance, starring Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins
 * Ossessione (Obsession), directed by Luchino Visconti – (Italy)
 * The Outlaw, controversial western directed by Howard Hughes, starring Jane Russell
 * The Ox-Bow Incident, directed by William Wellman, starring Henry Fonda, Harry Morgan, Dana Andrews

P

 * Phantom of the Opera, starring Claude Rains
 * Prelude to War, directed by Frank Capra
 * Princess O'Rourke, starring Olivia de Havilland and Robert Cummings

R

 * The Return of the Vampire, starring Béla Lugosi
 * Revenge of the Zombies, starring John Carradine
 * Riding High, starring Dorothy Lamour and Dick Powell

S

 * Sahara, starring Humphrey Bogart
 * Saludos Amigos, a Walt Disney animated film starring Donald Duck and Goofy
 * Sanshiro Sugata, directed by Akira Kurosawa – (Japan)
 * The Seventh Victim, starring Tom Conway
 * Shadow of a Doubt, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotten
 * Sherlock Holmes Faces Death, directed by Roy William Neill, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, co-starring Hillary Brooke
 * Sherlock Holmes in Washington, directed by Roy William Neill, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, co-starring Henry Daniell and George Zucco
 * The Shipbuilders, directed by John Baxter – (GB)
 * The Silver Fleet, starring Ralph Richardson and Googie Withers – (GB)
 * The Sky's the Limit, starring Fred Astaire and Joan Leslie
 * So Proudly We Hail!, starring Claudette Colbert, Paulette Goddard, Veronica Lake
 * Son of Dracula, starring Lon Chaney Jr.
 * The Song of Bernadette, starring Jennifer Jones
 * Squadron Leader X, starring Eric Portman and Ann Dvorak – (GB)
 * Stormy Weather, starring Lena Horne, Bill Robinson, Cab Calloway and the Nicholas Brothers
 * Strange Inheritance, starring Assia Noris and Jules Berry – (France)
 * A Stranger in Town, starring Frank Morgan

T

 * Tender Comrade, starring Ginger Rogers and Robert Ryan
 * Thank Your Lucky Stars, starring Eddie Cantor
 * Theatre Royal, starring Bud Flanagan and Chesney Allen – (GB)
 * They Came to Blow Up America, starring George Sanders
 * This is the Army, directed by Michael Curtiz
 * This Land Is Mine, directed by Jean Renoir, starring Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara
 * Thousands Cheer, starring Gene Kelly, Kathryn Grayson, Mary Astor
 * Titanic – (Germany)
 * Top Man, starring Donald O'Connor

U

 * Ukraine in Flames (Bitva za nashu Sovetskuyu Ukrainu) – (U.S.S.R.)

V

 * Victory Through Air Power, a propaganda film by Disney

W

 * War of the Wildcats (a.k.a. In Old Oklahoma), starring John Wayne
 * Watch on the Rhine, starring Paul Lukas and Bette Davis
 * We Dive at Dawn, directed by Anthony Asquith, starring John Mills – (GB)
 * We've Never Been Licked, starring Richard Quine and Noah Beery Jr.
 * Whistling in Brooklyn, starring Red Skelton
 * The Woman of the Town, starring Claire Trevor and Albert Dekker

Y

 * Yellow Canary, starring Anna Neagle and Richard Greene – (GB)

Serials

 * Adventures of the Flying Cadets
 * The Adventures of Smilin' Jack
 * Batman, starring Lewis Wilson
 * Daredevils of the West, starring Allan Lane, directed by John English
 * Don Winslow of the Coast Guard
 * G-Men vs the Black Dragon, starring Rod Cameron, directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet
 * The Masked Marvel, directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet
 * The Phantom, starring Tom Tyler
 * Secret Service in Darkest Africa, starring Rod Cameron, directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet

Comedy film series

 * Buster Keaton (1917–1944)
 * Laurel and Hardy (1921-1945)
 * Our Gang (1922–1944)
 * The Marx Brothers (1929–1946)
 * The Three Stooges (1934–1959)

Animated short film series

 * 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 (1934–1956)
 * Daffy Duck (1937 – 1966)
 * Goofy (1939–1955)
 * Andy Panda (1939–1949)
 * Tom and Jerry (1940–1958)
 * Woody Woodpecker (1941–1949)
 * Swing Symphonies (1941–1945)
 * The Fox and the Crow (1941–1950)
 * Red Hot Riding Hood (1943–1949)
 * Chip 'n Dale (1943–1956)
 * Droopy (1943–1958)

Births

 * January 1 – Don Novello, American writer, film director, producer, actor, singer and comedian
 * January 13 – Richard Moll, American actor (died 2023)
 * January 14 – Holland Taylor, American actress
 * January 18
 * Paul Angelis, English actor and writer (died 2009)
 * Paul Freeman, English actor
 * January 19 - Larry Clark, American director, producer and writer
 * January 24 – Sharon Tate, American actress and model (murdered 1969)
 * January 25 – Tobe Hooper, American director and screenwriter (died 2017)
 * January 28 – John Beck, American actor
 * January 31 – Peter McRobbie, Scottish-born American actor
 * February 1 - Linda Gaye Scott, American actress
 * February 3 – Blythe Danner, American actress
 * February 5 - Michael Mann, American director, screenwriter and producer
 * February 9 – Joe Pesci, American actor
 * February 20 – Mike Leigh, English director
 * February 25 – George Harrison, English musician and songwriter (died 2001)
 * February 26 – Bill Duke, American actor and director
 * March 8 – Lynn Redgrave, English actress (died 2010)
 * March 15 – David Cronenberg, Canadian director and screenwriter
 * March 25 – Paul Michael Glaser, American actor and director
 * March 26 - Giusi Merli, Italian actress
 * March 28 – Conchata Ferrell, American actress (died 2020)
 * March 29
 * Eric Idle, English actor, comedian, author and musician
 * Vangelis, Greek-born film composer (died 2022)
 * March 31 – Christopher Walken, American actor
 * April 8 – Jack O'Halloran, American actor
 * April 10 - Tom Pollock, American producer (died 2020)
 * April 20 – Edie Sedgwick, American actress, socialite, model and heiress (died 1971)
 * April 26 – Leon Pownall, Welsh-Canadian actor (died 2006)
 * May 5 – Michael Palin, English actor, comedian and musician
 * May 7 - Donal McCann, Irish actor (died 1999)
 * May 25 - Leslie Uggams, American actress and singer
 * May 27 – Raye Birk, American actor
 * June 2 – Charles Haid, American actor and film director
 * June 4 - Tom Luddy, American producer (died 2023)
 * June 7 – Michael Pennington, English actor, director and writer
 * June 8 - Colin Baker, English actor
 * June 11 - Oleg Vidov, Russian-American actor, director and producer (died 2017)
 * June 13 – Malcolm McDowell, English actor
 * June 19 - Peter Belli, Danish actor and singer (died 2023)
 * June 22
 * Judith Barker, English actress
 * Klaus Maria Brandauer, Austrian actor and director
 * June 23 – Patrick Bokanowski, French director
 * June 24 – George Stanford Brown, American actor and director
 * June 26 - John Beasley, American actor (died 2023)
 * July 3 – Kurtwood Smith, American actor
 * July 11 - Tom Holland, American screenwriter, actor and director
 * July 21
 * Michael Caton, Australian actor, comedian and television host
 * Edward Herrmann, American actor (died 2014)
 * July 25 - Janet Margolin, American actress (died 1993)
 * July 26 – Mick Jagger, English singer, songwriter, actor, filmmaker, and dancer
 * July 28 – Frances Lee McCain, American actress
 * July 29 - Jim Ishida, Japanese-American character actor
 * August 6 - Ray Buktenica, American character actor
 * August 15 – Barbara Bouchet, German-American actress
 * August 17 – Robert De Niro, American actor
 * August 18 – Martin Mull, American actor and comedian (died 2024)
 * August 20 - Sylvester McCoy, Scottish actor
 * August 21
 * Lino Capolicchio, Italian actor, screenwriter and director (died 2022)
 * Hugh Wilson, American director, writer, television showrunner and actor (died 2018)
 * August 27 – Tuesday Weld, actress
 * August 28 - David Soul, American-British actor and singer (died 2024)
 * August 30 - Miri Fabian, Israeli actress
 * September 1 – Don Stroud, American actor and musician
 * September 3 – Valerie Perrine, American actress and model
 * September 5 - Jack Charles, Australian actor (died 2022)
 * September 9 – Art LaFleur, American character actor and acting coach (died 2021)
 * September 10 – Daniel Truhitte, American actor
 * September 19 - Diana Bellamy, American character actress (died 2001)
 * September 21 – Jerry Bruckheimer, producer
 * September 23 - Toni Basil, American singer, actress and director
 * September 24 – Randall Duk Kim, Korean American stage, film and television actor
 * September 28 – J. T. Walsh, American character actor (died 1998)
 * October 4 – John Bindon, English actor and bodyguard (died 1993)
 * October 5 - Jennifer Hagan, Australian actress
 * October 8 – Chevy Chase, American actor and comedian
 * October 12 – Lin Shaye, American actress
 * October 15 – Penny Marshall, American television actress, film director and producer (died 2018)
 * October 20 – George Wyner, American actor
 * October 22
 * Jan de Bont, Dutch cinematographer, director and producer
 * Catherine Deneuve, French actress
 * October 24 – Martin Campbell, New Zealand director
 * October 27 - Carmen Argenziano, American actor (died 2019)
 * October 29
 * Christopher Cain, American director, screenwriter and producer
 * Margaret Nolan, English actress (died 2020)
 * Don Simpson, American producer, screenwriter and actor (died 1996)
 * November 1 – John McEnery, English actor and writer (died 2019)
 * November 5 – Sam Shepard, American actor (died 2017)
 * November 7 – Michael Byrne, British actor
 * November 10 - William Hoyland, English actor (died 2017)
 * November 12
 * Valerie Leon, English actress and model
 * Wallace Shawn, American actor
 * November 16 - Wai Ching Ho, Hong Kong actress
 * November 20 – Mie Hama, former Japanese actress, radio and television presenter
 * November 23 – Tony Bonner, Australian actor and singer
 * November 28
 * George T. Miller, Scottish-Australian director and producer (died 2023)
 * Randy Newman, American singer, film composer
 * December 2 - Henry Kingi, American stuntman and actor
 * December 12
 * Gianni Russo, American actor and singer
 * Phyllis Somerville, American actress (died 2020)
 * December 13 – Arturo Ripstein, Mexican director
 * December 16 – Patti Deutsch, American voice artist, actress and comedian (died 2017)
 * December 21 – Jack Nance, American actor (died 1996)
 * December 23 – Harry Shearer, American voice actor
 * December 25 - David Darlow, American actor
 * December 31
 * Ben Kingsley, English actor
 * Victor Raider-Wexler, American actor

Deaths

 * January 25 – Spencer Charters, 67, American actor, The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine, The Postman Didn't Ring
 * February 14 – Dora Gerson, 43, German actress, Caravan of Death, On the Brink of Paradise
 * February 19 – Lynne Overman, 58, American actor, Little Miss Marker, Union Pacific, Dixie
 * February 20 – Donald Haines, 23, American child actor, Skippy, A Tale of Two Cities
 * March 10 – Tully Marshall, 78, American actor, Paid in Full, The Big Trail
 * April 3 – Conrad Veidt, 50, German actor, Casablanca, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Thief of Baghdad, The Spy in Black
 * June 1 – Leslie Howard, 50, Academy Award-nominated British actor, Gone with the Wind, Pygmalion, The Petrified Forest, Of Human Bondage
 * June 30 – Carlo Wieth, 57, Danish actor
 * July 16 – Arthur Byron, 71, American actor, 20,000 Years in Sing Sing, Gabriel Over the White House

Film Debuts

 * June Allyson – Best Foot Forward
 * Sunset Carson – Stage Door Canteen
 * Linda Christian – The Rock of Souls
 * Jeanne Crain – The Gang's All Here
 * Hume Cronyn – Shadow of a Doubt
 * María Félix – The Rock of Souls
 * Rhonda Fleming – In Old Oklahoma
 * Dorothy Ford – Thousands Cheer
 * Farley Granger – The North Star
 * Barbara Hale – Gildersleeve's Bad Day
 * Gladys Henson – The Demi-Paradise
 * John Hodiak – A Stranger in Town
 * Kim Hunter – The Seventh Victim
 * Richard Jaeckel – Guadalcanal Diary
 * Jack Lambert – Stage Door Canteen
 * Moira Lister – The Shipbuilders
 * Dorothy Malone – Gildersleeve on Broadway
 * Dorothy McGuire – Claudia
 * Robert Mitchum – The Human Comedy
 * Robert Quarry – Shadow of a Doubt
 * Cliff Robertson – We've Never Been Licked
 * Ruth Roman – Stage Door Canteen
 * Lawrence Tierney – Gildersleeve on Broadway
 * Shelley Winters – There's Something About a Soldier
 * Natalie Wood – Happy Land

title: 1943 in film


text:
1942 in film

The year of 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.

Top-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1942 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Events

 * January 16 – Actress Carole Lombard is killed in a plane crash west of Las Vegas while returning home to Los Angeles from a War Bond tour.
 * June 4 – British-set wartime romantic drama Mrs. Miniver, starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon, opens at Radio City Music Hall in New York, in what will become a record-breaking 10-week run. The film becomes MGM's highest-grossing film of the 1940s. At the 15th Academy Awards, Mrs. Miniver wins six awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (for William Wyler), Best Actress (for Greer Garson) and Best Supporting Actress (for Teresa Wright).
 * August 8 – Walt Disney's animated film Bambi opens in the United Kingdom.
 * November 11 – Road to Morocco, starring Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and Dorothy Lamour, premieres.
 * November 26 – The film Casablanca premieres at the Hollywood Theatre in New York City. Released nationally in the United States on January 23, 1943, it becomes one of the top-grossing pictures of 1943 and goes on to win the Best Picture and Best Director awards at the 16th Academy Awards.

Academy Awards

 * Best Picture: Mrs. Miniver – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
 * Best Director: William Wyler – Mrs. Miniver
 * Best Actor: James Cagney – Yankee Doodle Dandy
 * Best Actress: Greer Garson – Mrs. Miniver
 * Best Supporting Actor: Van Heflin – Johnny Eager
 * Best Supporting Actress: Teresa Wright – Mrs. Miniver
 * Special Academy Award: In Which We Serve

1942 film releases
U.S.A unless stated

January–March

 * January 1942
 * 1 January
 * The Man Who Came to Dinner
 * 6 January
 * Blue, White and Perfect
 * 8 January
 * The Black Sheep of Whitehall (GB)
 * 10 January
 * All Through the Night
 * 19 January
 * The Big Blockade
 * 22 January
 * Babes on Broadway
 * 23 January
 * O Pátio das Cantigas (Portugal)
 * 24 January
 * The Fleet's In
 * 29 January
 * Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake
 * February 1942
 * 2 February
 * Kings Row
 * 6 February
 * Valley of the Sun
 * 16 February
 * The Man Who Wanted to Kill Himself (Spain)
 * 19 February
 * To Be or Not to Be
 * Woman of the Year
 * 20 February
 * Ride 'Em Cowboy
 * Roxie Hart
 * 21 February
 * Captains of the Clouds
 * March 1942
 * 3 March
 * The Great King (Germany)
 * 7 March
 * Bullet Scars
 * 10 March
 * Un Garibaldino al Convento (Italy)
 * 11 March
 * Rio Rita
 * 13 March
 * The Ghost of Frankenstein
 * Song of the Islands
 * 18 March
 * Reap the Wild Wind
 * 20 March
 * Rings on Her Fingers
 * 21 March
 * This Was Paris (GB)
 * 27 March
 * The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine

April–June

 * April 1942
 * 1 April
 * There Was a Father (Japan)
 * 2 April
 * Alias Boston Blackie
 * My Favorite Blonde
 * 3 April
 * Jungle Book
 * 4 April
 * The Male Animal
 * 19 April
 * Hatter's Castle (GB)
 * 22 April
 * Saboteur
 * 24 April
 * Larceny, Inc.
 * 29 April
 * The Great Man's Lady
 * 30 April
 * My Gal Sal
 * May 1942
 * 8 May
 * The Corpse Vanishes
 * In This Our Life
 * The Spoilers
 * 12 May
 * This Above All
 * 13 May
 * This Gun for Hire
 * 21 May
 * Pacific Rendezvous
 * Tortilla Flat
 * 22 May
 * Syncopation
 * 29 May
 * The Falcon Takes Over
 * Miss Annie Rooney
 * Yankee Doodle Dandy
 * 31 May
 * In Old California
 * June 1942
 * 13 June
 * The Big Shot
 * Flying Fortress (GB)
 * Tombstone, the Town Too Tough to Die
 * 15 June
 * The Next of Kin (GB)
 * 16 June
 * Eagle Squadron
 * 22 June
 * The Foreman Went to France(GB)
 * 26 June
 * Ten Gentlemen from West Point
 * There's One Born Every Minute
 * 27 June
 * One of Our Aircraft is Missing

July–September

 * July 1942
 * 2 July
 * Sons of the Pioneers
 * 8 July
 * The Murderer Lives at Number 21 (France)
 * 9 July
 * I Married an Angel
 * 10 July
 * The Magnificent Ambersons
 * 16 July
 * Her Cardboard Lover
 * 22 July
 * Mrs. Miniver
 * 29 July
 * The Kids Grow Up (Argentina)
 * 31 July
 * Invisible Agent
 * August 1942
 * 4 August
 * Holiday Inn
 * 5 August
 * Tales of Manhattan
 * 7 August
 * A-Haunting We Will Go
 * Pardon My Sarong
 * 10 August
 * Alibi (GB)
 * 18 August
 * The Pride of the Yankees
 * 20 August
 * The Talk of the Town
 * 21 August
 * Bambi
 * The Pied Piper
 * 24 August
 * Uncensored (GB)
 * 25 August
 * Attack on Baku (Germany)
 * 28 August
 * The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe
 * 31 August
 * A Pistol Shot
 * September 1942
 * 1 September
 * Wake Island
 * 4 September
 * Across the Pacific
 * The Big Street
 * 14 September
 * The First of the Few (GB)
 * 15 September
 * Ala-Arriba! (Portugal)
 * 16 September
 * The Major and the Minor
 * 17 September
 * In Which We Serve (GB)
 * 18 September
 * Kokoda Front Line! (Australia)
 * Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror
 * 21 September
 * The Young Mr. Pitt (GB)
 * 25 September
 * Desperate Journey

October–December

 * October 1942
 * 1 October
 * Somewhere I'll Find You
 * 8 October
 * Flying Tigers
 * A Yank at Eton
 * 16 October
 * Eyes in the Night
 * 21 October
 * For Me and My Gal
 * 23 October
 * The Glass Key
 * The Mummy's Tomb
 * 24 October
 * Northwest Rangers
 * 30 October
 * I Married a Witch
 * 31 October
 * Now, Voyager
 * November 1942
 * 6 November
 * Springtime in the Rockies
 * Who Done It?
 * 9 November
 * The Great Mr. Handel (GB)
 * 10 November
 * Road to Morocco
 * 19 November
 * You Were Never Lovelier
 * 20 November
 * The Gaucho War (Argentina)
 * 'Neath Brooklyn Bridge
 * 25 November
 * Gentleman Jim
 * 27 November
 * The Undying Monster
 * 28 November
 * George Washington Slept Here
 * December 1942
 * 4 December
 * The Black Swan
 * Thunder Rock (GB)
 * 5 December
 * Whom the Gods Love (Germany-Austria)
 * 6 December
 * Cat People
 * 7 December
 * Went the Day Well? (GB)
 * 9 December
 * Johnny Eager
 * 11 December
 * American Empire
 * Pittsburgh
 * 17 December
 * Random Harvest
 * 18 December
 * Aniki-Bóbó (Portugal)
 * The Great Impersonation
 * 23 December
 * Four Steps in the Clouds (Italy)
 * 24 December
 * Time to Kill
 * 25 December
 * Arabian Nights
 * Reunion in France
 * 30 December
 * Commandos Strike at Dawn

Notable films released in 1942
U.S.A unless stated

A

 * Across the Pacific, starring Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor
 * The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine, starring Dennis O'Keefe and Ruth Terry
 * A-Haunting We Will Go, starring Laurel and Hardy
 * Ala-Arriba! – (Portugal)
 * Alias Boston Blackie, Starring Chester Morris, Adele Mara, and Richard Lane
 * Alibi, starring Margaret Lockwood and James Mason – (GB)
 * All Through the Night, starring Humphrey Bogart
 * American Empire, starring Richard Dix
 * Andy Hardy's Double Life, starring Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden
 * Aniki-Bóbó – (Portugal)
 * Arabian Nights, starring Sabu, Jon Hall, Maria Montez
 * Attack on Baku, starring Willy Fritsch, René Deltgen (Germany)

B

 * El Baisano Jalil – (Mexico)
 * Bambi, directed by David Hand, starring Bobby Stewart, Donnie Dunagan, Hardie Albright and John Sutherland
 * Basant, directed by Amiya Chakravorty and starring Madhubala and Mumtaz Shanti – (India)
 * The Battle of Midway, documentary directed by John Ford
 * The Big Blockade, starring Leslie Banks, Michael Redgrave and Will Hay – (UK)
 * The Big Shot, starring Humphrey Bogart
 * The Big Street, starring Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball
 * The Black Sheep of Whitehall, starring Will Hay and John Mills – (GB)
 * The Black Swan, starring Tyrone Power
 * Blue, White and Perfect, starring Lloyd Nolan
 * Bullet Scars, starring Regis Toomey

C

 * Captains of the Clouds, starring James Cagney
 * Casablanca, directed by Michael Curtiz (Oscar winner), starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Peter Lorre, Claude Rains
 * Cat People, starring Simone Simon and Tom Conway
 * Commandos Strike at Dawn, starring Paul Muni
 * The Corpse Vanishes, starring Bela Lugosi
 * The Courtship of Andy Hardy, starring Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden

D

 * Derailed (Afsporet) – (Denmark)
 * Desperate Journey, starring Errol Flynn and Ronald Reagan
 * The Devil's Envoys (Les Visiteurs du Soir), directed by Marcel Carné, starring Arletty – (France)

E

 * Eagle Squadron, directed by Arthur Lubin
 * Escape from Hong Kong, starring Marjorie Lord
 * Eyes in the Night, directed by Fred Zinneman, starring Edward Arnold, Ann Harding, Donna Reed

F

 * The Falcon Takes Over, starring George Sanders
 * The First of the Few, directed by Leslie Howard, starring Howard and David Niven – (GB)
 * The Fleet's In, starring Dorothy Lamour and William Holden
 * Flying Fortress, starring Richard Greene (GB)
 * Flying Tigers, starring John Wayne
 * The Foreman Went to France, starring Clifford Evans and Tommy Trinder – (GB)
 * For Me and My Gal, starring Judy Garland and Gene Kelly
 * Four Steps in the Clouds (Quattro passi fra le nuvole) – (Italy)

G

 * Un Garibaldino al Convento, directed by Vittorio De Sica – (Italy)
 * The Gaucho War (La guerra gaucha) – (Argentina)
 * Gentleman Jim, a biopic of boxer James J. Corbett, starring Errol Flynn
 * George Washington Slept Here, starring Jack Benny
 * The Ghost of Frankenstein starring Lon Chaney Jr.
 * The Glass Key, starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake
 * The Goose Steps Out, starring Will Hay – (GB)
 * The Great Impersonation, directed by John Rawlins, starring Ralph Bellamy
 * The Great King (Der große König) – (Germany)
 * The Great Man's Lady, directed by William A. Wellman, and starring Barbara Stanwyck
 * The Great Mr. Handel, directed by Norman Walker, starring Wilfrid Lawson (GB)

H

 * Hatter's Castle, starring Robert Newton, Deborah Kerr, James Mason – (GB)
 * Her Cardboard Lover, starring Robert Taylor and Norma Shearer
 * Holiday Inn, starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire
 * Historia de un gran amor (A Great Love Story) – (Mexico)

I

 * I Married an Angel, starring Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald
 * I Married a Witch, starring Veronica Lake and Fredric March
 * Ibn El-balad, directed by Stephan Rosti, starring Mahmoud Zulfikar and Aziza Amir – (Egypt)
 * In Old California, starring John Wayne
 * In This Our Life, starring Bette Davis and Olivia de Havilland
 * In Which We Serve, directed by David Lean and Noël Coward, starring Coward and John Mills – (GB)
 * Invisible Agent, starring Jon Hall

J

 * Jackass Mail, starring Wallace Beery and Marjorie Main
 * Johnny Eager, starring Robert Taylor and Lana Turner
 * Jungle Book, directed by Zoltan Korda, starring Sabu

K

 * Kid Glove Killer, the directorial debut of Fred Zinnemann
 * The Kids Grow Up (Los Chicos crecen) – (Argentina)
 * Kings Row, starring Ann Sheridan, Ronald Reagan, Claude Rains
 * Kokoda Front Line!, an Academy Award winning documentary film – (Australia)

L

 * Larceny, Inc., starring Edward G. Robinson, Jane Wyman, Broderick Crawford
 * Listen to Britain, propaganda film directed by Humphrey Jennings – (GB)
 * The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe, starring Linda Darnell

M

 * The Magnificent Ambersons, directed by Orson Welles, starring Joseph Cotten and Dolores Costello
 * The Major and the Minor, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland
 * The Male Animal, starring Henry Fonda and Olivia de Havilland
 * The Man Who Came to Dinner, starring Bette Davis, Monty Woolley, Jimmy Durante
 * The Man Who Wanted to Kill Himself (El hombre que se quiso matar) – (Spain)
 * Miss Annie Rooney, starring Shirley Temple
 * Moontide, starring Jean Gabin and Ida Lupino
 * Mrs. Miniver, directed by William Wyler, starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon
 * The Mummy's Tomb, starring Lon Chaney Jr.
 * The Murderer Lives at Number 21 (L'Assassin habite au 21), directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot, starring Pierre Fresnay – (France)
 * My Favorite Blonde, starring Bob Hope and Madeleine Carroll
 * My Gal Sal, starring Rita Hayworth
 * My Sister Eileen, starring Rosalind Russell

N

 * 'Neath Brooklyn Bridge, starring The East Side Kids
 * The Next of Kin, starring Mervyn Johns – (GB)
 * Northwest Rangers
 * Now, Voyager, starring Bette Davis and Paul Henreid

O

 * One of Our Aircraft is Missing, directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger – (GB)
 * Overland Mail, starring Lon Chaney Jr., Noah Beery Jr., Noah Beery Sr.

P

 * Pacific Rendezvous, starring Lee Bowman
 * The Palm Beach Story, directed by Preston Sturges, starring Claudette Colbert, Joel McCrea, Rudy Vallée
 * Panama Hattie, starring Ann Sothern and Lena Horne
 * Pardon My Sarong, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
 * O Pátio das Cantigas (The Courtyard of Songs) – (Portugal)
 * People of the Mountains, directed by István Szőts – (Hungary)
 * The Pied Piper, starring Monty Woolley and Roddy McDowall
 * A Pistol Shot, starring Assia Noris, Fosco Giachetti (Italy)
 * Pittsburgh, starring John Wayne, Marlene Dietrich, Randolph Scott, Shemp Howard
 * The Pride of the Yankees, starring Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, Walter Brennan, Babe Ruth

R

 * Random Harvest, starring Ronald Colman and Greer Garson
 * Reap the Wild Wind, starring John Wayne, Paulette Goddard, Ray Milland
 * Reunion in France, starring Joan Crawford
 * Ride 'Em Cowboy, starring Abbott and Costello
 * Rings on Her Fingers, starring Henry Fonda and Gene Tierney
 * Rio Rita, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
 * Road to Morocco, starring Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Bob Hope
 * The Rock of the Souls (El Peñón de las Ánimas) – (Mexico)
 * Roti (Bread) – (India)
 * Roxie Hart, starring Ginger Rogers

S

 * Saboteur, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Priscilla Lane and Robert Cummings
 * Saludos Amigos, a Walt Disney animated film starring Donald Duck and Goofy (released in South America in 1942 and in the U.S. in 1943)
 * Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon - directed by Roy William Neill, starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Watson, co-starring Lionel Atwill as Moriarty
 * Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror - directed by John Rawlins, starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Watson, also featuring Evelyn Ankers and Henry Daniell
 * Somewhere I'll Find You, starring Clark Gable and Lana Turner
 * Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake, starring Tyrone Power and Gene Tierney
 * Song of the Islands, a Darryl F. Zanuck production starring Betty Grable and Victor Mature
 * Sons of the Pioneers, starring Roy Rogers and George 'Gabby' Hayes
 * The Spoilers, starring Marlene Dietrich and John Wayne
 * Springtime in the Rockies, starring Betty Grable, John Payne, Carmen Miranda and Cesar Romero
 * Star Spangled Rhythm, featuring an all-star cast
 * Sweater Girl, starring Eddie Bracken, June Preisser, and Betty Jane Rhodes
 * Syncopation, starring Adolphe Menjou

T

 * Tales of Manhattan, directed by Julien Duvivier with an all-star cast
 * The Talk of the Town, starring Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Ronald Colman
 * Tarzan's New York Adventure, starring Johnny Weissmuller
 * Ten Gentlemen from West Point, starring George Montgomery and Maureen O'Hara
 * Tennessee Johnson, starring Van Heflin and Ruth Hussey
 * There Was a Father (chichi ariki), directed by Yasujirō Ozu (Japan)
 * There's One Born Every Minute, starring Hugh Herbert and Peggy Moran
 * This Above All, starring Tyrone Power
 * This Gun for Hire, starring Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd
 * This Was Paris, starring Ann Dvorak – (GB)
 * Time to Kill, starring Lloyd Nolan
 * Thunder Rock, starring Michael Redgrave and James Mason – (GB)
 * To Be or Not to Be, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Jack Benny and (in her last film) Carole Lombard
 * Tombstone, the Town Too Tough to Die, starring Richard Dix
 * Tortilla Flat, starring Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr, John Garfield

U

 * Uncensored, directed by Anthony Asquith – (GB)
 * The Undying Monster, starring James Ellison

V

 * Valentin the Good (Valentin Dobrotivý), directed by Martin Frič – (Czechoslovakia)
 * Valley of the Sun, starring Lucille Ball and James Craig

W

 * Wake Island, starring Brian Donlevy and Robert Preston
 * Went the Day Well?, directed by Cavalcanti, starring Leslie Banks and Mervyn Johns – (GB)
 * Who Done It?, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
 * Whom the Gods Love, directed by Karl Hartl (Germany-Austria)
 * Woman of the Year, starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn

Y

 * A Yank at Eton, starring Mickey Rooney
 * Yankee Doodle Dandy, starring James Cagney
 * The Young Mr. Pitt, directed by Carol Reed, starring Robert Donat – biopic of William Pitt the Younger – (GB)
 * You Were Never Lovelier, starring Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth

Serials

 * Captain Midnight, starring Dave O'Brien, directed by James W. Horne
 * Don Winslow of the Navy
 * Gang Busters
 * Junior G-Men of the Air, starring the Dead End Kids
 * King of the Mounties, starring Allan Lane, directed by William Witney
 * Overland Mail
 * Perils of Nyoka, starring Kay Aldridge & Clayton Moore, directed by William Witney
 * Perils of the Royal Mounted, directed by James W. Horne
 * The Secret Code, directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet
 * Spy Smasher, starring Kane Richmond, directed by William Witney
 * The Valley of Vanishing Men, directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet

Short film series

 * Laurel and Hardy (1921–1943)
 * Our Gang (1922–1944)
 * The Three Stooges (1934–1959)

Animated short film series

 * 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 Cartune (also known as New Universal Cartoons or Cartune Comedies) (1938-1942)
 * Goofy (1939–1955)
 * Andy Panda (1939–1949)
 * Tom and Jerry (1940–1958)
 * Woody Woodpecker (1941–1949)
 * Swing Symphonies (1941–1945)
 * The Fox and the Crow (1941–1950)

Births

 * January 3 – John Thaw, English actor (d. 2002)
 * January 7 - Danny Steinmann, American director (d. 2012)
 * January 8 – Yvette Mimieux, American actress (d. 2022)
 * January 10 – Walter Hill, American director, producer and screenwriter
 * January 11 - Joel Zwick, American director
 * January 17 - Nancy Parsons, American actress (d. 2001)
 * January 19
 * Michael Crawford, English actor and singer
 * Raynor Scheine, American actor
 * January 21 - Michael G. Wilson, American-British screenwriter and producer
 * January 27 - John Witherspoon, American actor and comedian (d. 2019)
 * January 29
 * Ismael 'East' Carlo, Puerto Rican actor
 * Claudine Longet, Franco-American actress and singer
 * January 31 – Daniela Bianchi, Italian actress
 * February 1
 * Bibi Besch, Austrian-American actress (d. 1996)
 * Terry Jones, Welsh comedic actor, director and screenwriter (d. 2020)
 * February 8 – Robert Klein, American actor and comedian
 * February 9
 * Marianna Hill, American actress
 * Ada Lundver, Estonian actress and singer (d. 2011)
 * February 13 - Carol Lynley, American actress, child model (died 2019)
 * February 14 - Andrew Robinson, American character actor
 * February 21 –
 * Margarethe von Trotta, German director
 * Oliver Wood, British cinematographer (died 2023)
 * March 9 - Ralph Peduto, American actor, playwright, writer and director (died 2014)
 * March 15 - Molly Peters, English actress and model (died 2017)
 * March 25
 * Aretha Franklin, American singer, songwriter and pianist (died 2018)
 * Richard O'Brien, English actor and writer
 * March 27
 * Art Evans, American actor
 * Michael York, English actor
 * March 28 – Mike Newell, English director and producer
 * March 30 - Kenneth Welsh, Canadian actor (died 2022)
 * April 2 - Roshan Seth, British-Indian actor, writer and director
 * April 3 – Marsha Mason, American actress
 * April 6 – Barry Levinson, American director, producer and screenwriter
 * April 11 - Matthew Walker, English-Canadian actor
 * April 17 - David Bradley, English actor
 * April 21 - Rod Loomis, American actor
 * April 23 – Sandra Dee, American actress (d. 2005)
 * April 24 – Barbra Streisand, American actress, singer, director and producer
 * April 27 - John Shrapnel, English actor (d. 2020)
 * May 5 - Marc Alaimo, American actor
 * May 11 - Terry McGovern, American actor and broadcaster
 * May 19 - Flemming Quist Møller, Danish director, cartoonist, screenwriter and actor (d. 2022)
 * May 23 - Alex Henteloff, American actor
 * May 28 - Božidara Turzonovová, Bulgarian-Slovak actress
 * May 29 - Kevin Conway, American actor and director (d. 2020)
 * June 7 - Elizabeth Counsell, English actress
 * June 18
 * Roger Ebert, American film critic of the Chicago Sun Times (d. 2013)
 * Paul McCartney, English musician and composer (The Beatles)
 * June 20 - Chelcie Ross, American character actor
 * June 29 - Tony Vogel, English actor (d. 2015)
 * June 30 - Friedrich von Thun, Austrian actor
 * July 1 – Geneviève Bujold, Canadian actress
 * July 9 – Richard Roundtree, American actor (d. 2023)
 * July 10 - Tam White, Scottish musician and actor (d. 2010)
 * July 13 – Harrison Ford, American actor and producer
 * July 22 - Anthony James, American character actor (d. 2020)
 * July 23 - Allen Danziger, American former actor
 * July 24 – Chris Sarandon, American actor
 * July 27 - Lanny Flaherty, American actor (d. 2024)
 * July 29 - Tony Sirico, American actor (d. 2022)
 * August 1 - Giancarlo Giannini, Italian actor, director and screenwriter
 * August 4 - Don S. Davis, American character actor (d. 2008)
 * August 7 – Tobin Bell, actor
 * August 18 - Lauro António, Portuguese director (d. 2022)
 * August 19 - Fred Thompson, American politician, attorney, actor and radio personality (d. 2015)
 * August 20 - Isaac Hayes, American singer and actor (d. 2008)
 * August 28 - Peter Bartlett, American actor and voice actor
 * August 29 - Gottfried John, German actor (d. 2014)
 * September 5 - Werner Herzog, German director, screenwriter and actor
 * September 6 - Carol Wayne, American actress (d. 1985)
 * September 11 - Patricia Franklin, English actress
 * September 17 - Lupe Ontiveros, American actress (d. 2012)
 * September 19 - Victor Brandt, American actor
 * September 20 - R. J. Adams, Canadian-American actor, screenwriter and producer
 * September 24 - Kenneth Tigar, American actor
 * September 25 - Robyn Nevin, Australian actress and director
 * September 26 - Kent McCord, American actor
 * September 28 - Marshall Bell, American character actor
 * September 29
 * Yves Rénier, French actor, voice actor and filmmaker (d. 2021)
 * Madeline Kahn, American actress (d. 1999)
 * Ian McShane, English actor
 * October 3 - Steve Susskind, American actor (d. 2005)
 * October 4 – Christopher Stone, American actor (d. 1995)
 * October 6 – Britt Ekland, Swedish actress
 * October 7 - Melinda O. Fee, American actress (d. 2020)
 * October 11 – Amitabh Bachchan, Indian actor
 * October 13 – Suzzanna, Indonesian actress (d. 2008)
 * October 20
 * Robert Costanzo, American actor
 * Earl Hindman, American actor (d. 2003)
 * October 22 – Annette Funicello, American actress and singer (d. 2013)
 * October 25 - Orso Maria Guerrini, Italian actor
 * October 26
 * Bob Hoskins, English actor and director (d. 2014)
 * Eili Sild, Estonian actress
 * October 28 - Terence Donovan, English-Australian actor
 * October 31 – David Ogden Stiers, American actor (d. 2018)
 * November 1
 * Marcia Wallace, American actress and comedian (d. 2013)
 * Michael Zaslow, American actor (d. 1998)
 * November 11 - Nancy Linehan Charles, American character actress
 * November 15 – Hans Kaldoja, Estonian actor (d. 2017)
 * November 17 – Martin Scorsese, American director, producer, screenwriter and actor
 * November 21 - Michael Cavanaugh, American actor
 * November 24 – Billy Connolly, Scottish comedian and actor
 * December 3 - Lynn Farleigh, English actress
 * December 4 – Gemma Jones, English actress
 * December 12 - Fatma Girik, Turkish actress (d. 2022)
 * December 14 - Juan Diego, Spanish actor (d. 2022)
 * December 27 - Charmian Carr, American actress and singer (d. 2016)
 * December 30 - Fred Ward, American actor and producer (d. 2022)

Deaths

 * January 16 – Carole Lombard, 33, American actress, To Be or Not to Be, My Man Godfrey, Made for Each Other, Nothing Sacred
 * January 31 – Rolf Wenkhaus, 24, German actor, Emil and the Detectives, S.A.-Mann Brand
 * April 10 – Carl Schenstrøm, 60, Danish actor, Cocktails, The Last Laugh
 * May 19 – Hale Hamilton, 62, American actor, writer, director, The Great Lover, Love Affair, Parole Girl, The Girl from Missouri
 * May 29 – John Barrymore, 60, American actor, Grand Hotel, Twentieth Century, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dinner at Eight
 * June 4 – Virginia Lee Corbin, 31, American actress, Hands Up!, X Marks the Spot
 * July 5 – Karin Swanström, 69, Swedish actress, director, His English Wife, Black Roses
 * August 12 – Phillips Holmes, 35, American actor, Night Court, Men Must Fight
 * August 14 – Rafaela Ottiano, 54, Italian-born American actress, Grand Hotel, She Done Him Wrong, The Devil-Doll, Curly Top
 * October 20 – May Robson, 84, Australian-born American stage & film actress, Bringing Up Baby, A Star is Born, Lady for a Day, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
 * October 22 – Olga Svendsen, 59, Danish actress, Kidnapped
 * October 24 – James C. Morton, 58, American actor, Public Cowboy No. 1, Lucky Legs
 * November 5 – George M. Cohan, 64, American actor, songwriter, entertainer, The Phantom President, Broadway Jones, subject of Yankee Doodle Dandy
 * November 9 – Edna May Oliver, 59, American stage & film actress, David Copperfield, Drums Along the Mohawk, Little Women, A Tale of Two Cities
 * November 12 – Laura Hope Crews, 62, American stage & screen actress, Gone with the Wind, Camille, Angel, The Blue Bird
 * November 15 – Sidney Fox, 30, American actress, Murders in the Rue Morgue, Bad Sister, Six Cylinder Love
 * December 12 – Helen Westley, 67, American stage & screen actress, Heidi, Roberta, All This, and Heaven Too, Alexander's Ragtime Band

Film debuts

 * Richard Attenborough – In Which We Serve
 * Victor Beaumont – The Next of Kin
 * Bourvil – Croisières sidérales
 * Jim Davis (actor) – Cairo
 * Jeff Donnell – My Sister Eileen
 * Valentine Dyall – The Missing Million
 * Blake Edwards – Ten Gentlemen from West Point
 * Dale Evans – Orchestra Wives
 * Gabriele Ferzetti – Street of the Five Moons
 * Walter Gotell – The Day Will Dawn
 * Arthur Hunnicutt – Wildcat
 * Gordon Jackson – The Foreman Went to France
 * Anne Jeffreys – Billy the Kid Trapped
 * Gene Kelly – For Me and My Gal
 * Harry Locke – The Day Will Dawn
 * Teala Loring – The Fleet's In
 * Madhubala – Basant
 * Charles McGraw – The Undying Monster
 * Kay Medford – Maisie Gets Her Man
 * Ricardo Montalbán – The Three Musketeers
 * Harry Morgan – To the Shores of Tripoli
 * Barry Morse – The Goose Steps Out
 * Eleanor Parker – The Big Shot
 * Gisèle Pascal – L'Arlésienne
 * Wolfgang Preiss – The Great Love
 * Mala Powers – Tough as They Come
 * Frances Rafferty – Fingers at the Window
 * Simone Signoret – Bolero
 * Robert Strauss – Native Land
 * Elizabeth Taylor – There's One Born Every Minute
 * John Williams (actor) – The Next of Kin

title: 1942 in film