Cinema 1946: You Must Remember This…Popular Movies, Stars, Trends, Events

Research in progress, Nov 16, 2024

What You Need to Know about 1946 as a Movie Year

My Book

Box-Office Champions

The Best Years of Our Lives, $11.3 million (Best Picture Oscar Winner)

Song of the South, 12.8 million

Duel in the Sun, 11.3

The Jolson Story,  7.6

Blue Skies, 5.7

The Yearling,  5.2

The Razor’s Edge, 5.0

Notorious, 4.8

The Green Years, 4.6

Easy to Wed, 4.5

————–

Till the Clouds Roll By, 4.5

Two Years Before Mast, 4.4

The Harvey Girls, 4.35

Saratoga Trunk, 4.25

Margie, 4.1

Holiday in Mexico, 4.0

The Kid from Brooklyn, 4.0

Night and Day, 4.0

The Postman Always Rings Twice, 4.0

Smoky, 4.0

Ziegfeld Follies, The, 4.0

Oscar Awards

Best Actress: (Oscars, Critics, Festivals)

Oscar: Olivia De Havilland, To Have and Have Not

N.Y. Film Critics Circle: Celia Johnson, Brief Encounter

National Board: Anna Magnani, Open City

Cannes Film Fest (first year): Michelle Morgan, Symphonie Pastorale

Venice Fest: No acting awards

Best Actor: (Oscars, Critics, Festivals)

Oscar: Fredric March, The Best Years of Our Lives (second Oscar)

N.Y. Film Critics Circle: Laurence Olivier, Henry V

National Board:  Laurence Olivier, Henry V

Cannes Film Fest (first year): Ray Milland, The Lost Weekend

Venice Fest: No acting awards

Notable Events:

Feb 14 – Charles Vidor’s Gilda starring Rita Hayworth at her most seductive, and Glenn Ford; one of the most famous scenes Hayworth singing “Put The Blame On Mame” with sexy black dress

November 21 – William Wyler’s The Best Years of Our Lives premieres featuring ensemble cast including Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, and Harold Russell.

December 20 – Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life, featuring James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Henry Travers, and Thomas Mitchell opens in New York.

The first Cannes Film Festival was held September 20 to October 5, 1946.

Jury for the Feature films and Shorts:

Georges Huisman (France) (historian, president); members included Iris Barry (USA)

Films in Competition

Feature films

Amanti in fuga, directed by Giacomo Gentilomo

Anna and the King of Siam, directed by John Cromwell (US)

Blod och eld directed by Anders Henrikson

Brevet fra afdøde directed by Johan Jacobsen

Brief Encounter directed by David Lean (UK)

Caesar and Cleopatra directed by Gabriel Pascal (UK)

Camões directed by José Leitão de Barros

Chelovek No. 217 directed by Mikhail Romm

De Røde Enge directed by Bodil Ipsen, Lau Lauritzen, Jr.

Die Letzte Chance directed by Léopold Lindtberg

Dunia directed by Muhammad Karim

Floarea reginei directed by Paul Calinescu

Gilda directed by Charles Vidor (US)

Glinka directed by Lev Arnchtam

Iris och löjtnantshjärta directed by Alf Sjöberg

Il bandito directed by Alberto Lattuada

Kamennyy tsvetok directed by Aleksandr Ptouchko

La Bataille du Rail directed by René Clement

La Belle et La Bête directed by Jean Cocteau

La symphonie pastorale directed by Jean Delannoy

Le Miserie del Signor Travet directed by Mario Soldati

Le Père tranquille directed by René Clement

Un revenant directed by Christian-Jaque

Los tres mosqueteros directed by Miguel M. Delgado

Make Mine Music by Joshua Meador, Clyde Geronimi, Jack Kinney, Bob Cormack, Hamilton Luske

Maria Candelaria directed by Emilio Fernández

Muzi bez krídel directed by Frantisek Cap

Neecha Nagar directed by Chetan Anand

Nezbedný bakalár directed by Otakar Vavra

Notorious directed by Alfred Hitchcock (US)

Patrie directed by Louis Daquin

Rhapsody in Blue directed by Irving Rapper

Roma Citta Aperta directed by Roberto Rossellini

The Captive Heart directed by Basil Dearden

The Lost Weekend directed by Billy Wilder

The Magic Bow directed by Bernard Knowles

The Seventh Veil directed by Compton Bennet (UK)

Três Dias Sem Deus directed by Barbara Virginia

Un giorno nella vita directed by Alessandro Blasetti

Velikiy Perelom directed by Fridrikh Ermler

Wonder Man directed by H. Bruce Humberstone

Zdravstvuy, Moskva! directed by Sergei Yutkevich

Zoya directed by Lev Arnchtam

Winners

Feature Films

Grand Prize of the Festival: Tie

Brief Encounter by David Lean

Iris och löjtnantshjärta by Alf Sjöberg

The Last Chance by Leopold Lindtberg

The Lost Weekend by Billy Wilder

María Candelaria (Xochimilco) by Emilio Fernández

Men Without Wings by Frantisek Cáp

Neecha Nagar by Chetan Anand

Red Meadows by Bodil Ipsen and Lau Lauritzen Jr.

Rome, Open City by Roberto Rossellini

La symphonie pastorale by Jean Delannoy

Velikiy perelom by Fridrikh Ermler

International Jury Prize:

La Bataille du rail by René Clément

Best Actor: Ray Milland for The Lost Weekend

Best Actress: Michèle Morgan for La symphonie pastorale

Best Director: René Clément for La Bataille du rail

Best Cinematography: Gabriel Figueroa for María Candelari (Xochimilco) and Los tres mosqueteros

Best Animation Design: Make Mine Music

Best Colour: The Stone Flower

International Peace Award: The Last Chance

Note:

Held after WWII, the Cannes Festival showed Hollywood movies that were made in 1944, such as George Cukor’s noir thriller Gaslight, starring Ingrid Bergman in her first Oscar winning role, and Billy Wilder’s 1945 Best Picture Oscar winner, The Lost Weekend.

Awards

February 26, 1947 19th Academy Awards
March 13, 1947
Best Film The Best Years of Our Lives
Best Director Frank Capra
It’s a Wonderful Life William Wyler
The Best Years of Our Lives
Best Actor Gregory Peck
The Yearling Fredric March
The Best Years of Our Lives
Best Actress Rosalind Russell
Sister Kenny Olivia de Havilland
To Each His Own
Best Supporting Actor Clifton Webb
The Razor’s Edge Harold Russell
The Best Years of Our Lives
Best Supporting Actress Anne Baxter
The Razor’s Edge
Notable films released in 1946
United States unless stated

A
Angel on My Shoulder
Anna and the King of Siam, starring Irene Dunne, Rex Harrison and Linda Darnell
Aru yo no Tonosama
B
Bad Bascomb, starring Wallace Beery, Margaret O’Brien and Marjorie Main
The Bandit of Sherwood Forest, starring Cornel Wilde
The Beast with Five Fingers, starring Robert Alda and Peter Lorre
Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bête), Jean Cocteau, starring Jean Marais and Josette Day
The Best Years of Our Lives, directed by William Wyler, starring Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews and Harold Russell – winner of 8 Oscars
Beware, directed by Bud Pollard, starring Louis Jordan
The Big Sleep, directed by Howard Hawks, starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall
Black Beauty, starring Mona Freeman and Richard Denning
The Blue Dahlia, starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake
Blue Skies, starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire
Boom in the Moon, starring Buster Keaton
A Boy and His Dog, starring Harry Davenport

C
The Captive Heart, the first Prisoner of War film from World War II
Canyon Passage, starring Dana Andrews
Centennial Summer
The Chase
Children of Paradise (U.S. release)
Cloak and Dagger
Cluny Brown, starring Charles Boyer and Jennifer Jones
D
The Dark Corner, starring Lucille Ball and Mark Stevens
The Dark Mirror, starring Olivia de Havilland
Deception
Decoy, a film noir starring Jean Gillie
Devotion
The Diary of a Chambermaid
Dragonwyck, starring Gene Tierney
Dressed to Kill, a Sherlock Holmes mystery directed by Roy William Neill, starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes, and Nigel Bruce as Watson (released in U.K. as Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Code)
Duel in the Sun, starring Jennifer Jones, Gregory Peck, Joseph Cotten and Lillian Gish
G
Gallant Journey, directed by William A. Wellman
Gilda, starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford
Great Expectations, directed by David Lean, starring John Mills, Jean Simmons and Valerie Hobson
Green for Danger, starring Alastair Sim and Trevor Howard
The Green Years
H
The Harvey Girls, directed by George Sidney, starring Judy Garland and John Hodiak
Henry V (U.S. release)
Humoresque, starring Joan Crawford and John Garfield
I
I See a Dark Stranger
It’s a Wonderful Life, directed by Frank Capra, starring James Stewart, Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore
Ivan the Terrible
J
The Jolson Story, a biopic of Al Jolson starring Larry Parks
K
The Kid from Brooklyn
The Killers, directed by Robert Siodmak, starring Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner
L
Let There Be Light, documentary directed by John Huston
Little Giant, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
M
Make Mine Music
Magnificent Doll, starring Ginger Rogers and David Niven
A Matter of Life and Death, written and directed by Powell and Pressburger, starring David Niven
Monsieur Beaucaire, starring Bob Hope
The Murderers Are Among Us (Die Mörder sind unter uns), starring Hildegard Knef
My Darling Clementine, directed by John Ford, starring Henry Fonda and Linda Darnell
N
Night and Day
A Night in Casablanca with the Marx Brothers
No Regrets for Our Youth (Waga seishun ni kuinashi)
Nobody Lives Forever
Notorious, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman
O
The Outlaw (re-release)
The Overlanders
P
Paisan, directed by Roberto Rossellini (Italy)
Patrie, directed by Louis Daquin (France)
People Are Funny, starring Jack Haley
The Postman Always Rings Twice, starring Lana Turner and John Garfield
R
The Razor’s Edge, starring Tyrone Power and Gene Tierney
Renegade Girl, starring Ann Savage
The Return of Monte Cristo, starring Louis Hayward
Road to Utopia, starring Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour and Bob Hope
S
The Seventh Veil (U.S. release)
She-Wolf of London. starring June Lockhart
Shoeshine (Sciuscià), directed by Vittorio De Sica
Shock, directed by Alfred L. Werker, starring Vincent Price and Lynn Bari
Sister Kenny, starring Rosalind Russell
Somewhere In The Night, starring John Hodiak
Song of the South by Walt Disney, combines animation and live action.
The Spiral Staircase, starring Dorothy McGuire
A Stolen Life, starring Bette Davis
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, starring Barbara Stanwyck
The Strange Woman, starring Hedy Lamarr and George Sanders
The Stranger, directed by and starring Orson Welles, Loretta Young and Edward G. Robinson
T
Terror by Night, a Sherlock Holmes mystery directed by Roy William Neill, starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes, and Nigel Bruce as Watson
Theirs Is the Glory
Three Strangers
Three Wise Fools, starring Margaret O’Brien and Lionel Barrymore
The Time of Their Lives, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
To Each His Own, starring Olivia de Havilland
Tomorrow Is Forever, starring Orson Welles
Two Sisters from Boston, starring Kathryn Grayson, June Allyson, Lauritz Melchior, Jimmy Durante and Peter Lawford.
U
Utamaro and His Five Women (Utamaro o meguru gonin no onna)
V
The Verdict
W
Wake Up and Dream
Wanted for Murder
The Wife of Monte Cristo, directed by Edgar G. Ulmer
Without Reservations
Y
The Yearling, starring Gregory Peck and Jane Wyman
Serials
Daughter of Don Q
Chick Carter, Detective
The Crimson Ghost
Hop Harrigan
King of the Forest Rangers, starring Larry Thompson
Lost City of the Jungle
The Mysterious Mr. M
The Phantom Rider, starring Robert Kent and Peggy Stewart
The Scarlet Horseman
Son of the Guardsman
Short film series
Shirley Temple (1932–1946)
The Three Stooges (1934–1959)
Popular Science (1935–1950)
Animated short film series
Mickey Mouse (1928–1952)
Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
Terrytoons (1930–1964)
Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
Popeye (1933–1957)
Color Rhapsodies (1934–1949)
Donald Duck (1936–1956)
Pluto (1937–1951)
Andy Panda (1939–1949)
Goofy (1939–1953)
Bugs Bunny (1940–1962)
Tom and Jerry (1940–1958)
The Fox and the Crow (1941–1950)
Woody Woodpecker (1941–1949)
Mighty Mouse (1942–1955)
Droopy (1943–1958)
Chip and Dale (1943–1956)
Screwball Squirrel (1944–1946)
Yosemite Sam (1945–1963)
George and Junior (1946–1948)

Births
January 5 – Diane Keaton, American actress, producer and director
January 6 – Cheng Pei-pei, Chinese actress (d. 2024)
January 7 – Arnis Līcītis, Latvian actor (d. 2022)
January 16 – Kabir Bedi, Indian actor
January 19 – Dolly Parton, American country singer and actress
January 20 – David Lynch, American director
January 26 – Gene Siskel, film critic, Siskel and Ebert (d. 1999)
February 2
Blake Clark, American stand-up comedian, actor and voice actor
J. E. Freeman, American actor (d. 2014)
February 4 – Ivano Marescotti, Italian actor (d. 2023)
February 5 – Charlotte Rampling, English actress
February 7 – Pete Postlethwaite, English actor (d. 2011)
February 8 – Alex Diakun, Canadian actor
February 13 – Joe Estevez, American actor, director and producer
February 20 – Brenda Blethyn, English actress
February 21
Tyne Daly, American actress
Anthony Daniels, English actor, voice actor and mime artist
Alan Rickman, English actor (d. 2016)[6]
March 1 – Lana Wood, American actress and producer
March 6 – Martin Kove, American actor and martial artist
March 7
Dan Grimaldi, American actor
John Heard, American actor (d. 2017)
March 9 – Alexandra Bastedo, British actress (d. 2014)
March 12
Dean Cundey, American cinematographer and filmmaker
Liza Minnelli, American singer and actress
Frank Welker, American actor, voice actor and former stand-up comedian
March 21 – Timothy Dalton, British actor
March 27 – Carl Weintraub, American actor
March 28 – Dianne Wiest, American actress
March 29 – Paul Herman, American actor (d. 2022)
April 3 – Nicholas Jones, English character actor
April 5
Jane Asher, English actress
Björn Granath, Swedish actor (d. 2017)
April 12 – Ed O’Neill, American actor and comedian
April 15
Bob DeSimone, American actor
Michael Tucci, American actor
April 18 – Hayley Mills, English actress
April 19 – Tim Curry, English actor and singer
April 20 – Haruhiko Yamanouchi, Japanese actor
April 22 – John Waters, American filmmaker, writer and actor
April 23 – Blair Brown, American actress
April 25
Andrzej Seweryn, Polish actor and director
Talia Shire, American actress
April 29 – Wayne Robson, Canadian actor (d. 2011)
May 1 – Joanna Lumley, British actress
May 2 – David Suchet, English actor
May 9 – Candice Bergen, American actress
May 11 – Ago Roo, Estonian actor
May 13 – Tim Pigott-Smith, English actor (d. 2017)
May 18 – Andreas Katsulas, American actor (d. 2006)
May 19 – André the Giant, French professional wrestler and actor (d. 1993)
May 20 – Cher, American singer and actress
May 22 – Jack Kehler, American character actor (d. 2022)
June 1 – Brian Cox, Scottish actor
June 3 – Penelope Wilton, English actress
June 5 – John Bach, British-born New Zealand actor
June 8 – Alan Scarfe, British-Canadian actor
June 12 – Jack Thibeau, American actor
June 15
Angela Down, English actress
Roy Holder, English actor (d. 2021)
June 26
Ricky Jay, American actor and writer (d. 2018)
Leo Rossi, American actor, writer and producer
June 28
Bruce Davison, American actor and director
Gilda Radner, American comedian and actress (d. 1989)
July 2 – Ron Silver, American actor (d. 2009)
July 6 – Sylvester Stallone, actor and director
July 10 – Sue Lyon, actress (d. 2019)
July 13 – Cheech Marin, American actor and comedian
July 14 – Vincent Pastore, American actor
July 16
Dave Goelz, American puppeteer and actor
Richard LeParmentier, American actor (d. 2013)
July 17 – Alun Armstrong, English actor
July 18 – Dicken Ashworth, English actor
July 20 – Randal Kleiser, American director, producer, screenwriter and actor
July 22 – Danny Glover, actor and director
July 27 – Rade Šerbedžija, Croatian actor, director and musician
August 6 – Peter Simonischek, Austrian actor (d. 2023)
August 9 – Alain Dorval, French voice actor of Sylvester Stallone, from 1976 to 2024 (d 2024).
August 16 – Lesley Ann Warren, American actress and singer
August 19
Ti Lung, Hong Kong actor
Christopher Malcolm, Scottish actor, director and producer (d. 2014)
August 24 – BP Fallon, Irish actor
August 26 – Alison Steadman, English actress
August 29 – Lindy Davies, Australian actress and director
August 30 – Peggy Lipton, American actress, model and singer (d. 2019)
September 1 – Susan Backlinie, American actress and stuntwoman (d. 2024)
September 5 – Dennis Dugan, American director, actor, writer and comedian
September 13 – Frank Marshall, American producer and director
September 15
Tommy Lee Jones, actor
Oliver Stone, director and producer
September 18
Struan Rodger, British actor
Gailard Sartain, American actor
September 22 – John Woo, Hong Kong director, producer and screenwriter
September 25 – Drew Snyder, American actor
September 28
Peter Egan, British actor
Jeffrey Jones, American actor
October 2 – Dale Soules, American actress
October 4 – Susan Sarandon, American actress
October 6 – John Hostetter, American actor and visual artist (d. 2016)
October 10
Charles Dance, English actor
Ben Vereen, American actor
October 14 – Katy Manning, British actress
October 15 – John Getz, American actor
October 16 – Suzanne Somers, American actress and singer (d. 2023)
October 22 – Richard McGonagle, American actor
October 27 – Ivan Reitman, Slovakian-born Canadian director and producer (d. 2022)
October 31 – Stephen Rea, Northern Irish actor
November 3
Michael Champion, American singer, musician and actor (d. 2021)
Tom Savini, American prosthetic makeup artist, actor, stunt performer and director
November 4 – John Callen, English-born New Zealand actor and director
November 6 – Sally Field, actress
November 7 – John Aylward, American actor (d. 2022)
November 16 – Dan Shor, American actor, director and writer
November 20
Sullivan Walker, Trinidadian actor (d. 2012)
Samuel E. Wright, American actor and singer (d. 2021)
November 21 – Andrew Davis, American director, producer and writer
November 22 – Paul A. Partain, American actor (d. 2005)
November 26 – Mark L. Lester, American director, screenwriter and producer
December 1 – Maggie Steed, English actress and comedian
December 8
Frank Pesce, American actor (d. 2022)
John Rubinstein, American actor, composer and director
December 14 – Patty Duke, American actress (d. 2016)
December 16 – Charles Dennis, Canadian actor, director and screenwriter
December 17
Jayne Eastwood, Canadian actress and comedian
Eugene Levy, Canadian actor
December 18 – Steven Spielberg, American director and producer
December 19 – Robert Urich, American actor and producer (d. 2002)
December 20 – John Spencer, American actor (d. 2005)
December 21 – Josh Mostel, American actor
December 24 – Daniel Beretta, French voice actor and singer (d. 2024).
December 25 – Stuart Wilson, English actor
December 31 – Margaret Travolta, American actress
unknown – Omar Al-Shammaa, Lebanese actor, voice actor

Deaths
January 13 – Enid Stamp Taylor, English actress
February 5 – George Arliss, English actor
April 1 – Noah Beery Sr., American actor
June 23 – William S. Hart, American actor
July 10 – Slim Summerville, American actor and director
August 8 – Paul Porcasi, Italian actor
August 10 – Léon Gaumont, French film pioneer
August 12 – Egon Brecher, Austrian actor, director
August 13 – H. G. Wells, British science fiction writer
August 26 – Jeanie MacPherson, American actress and screenwriter
August 28 – Florence Turner, American actress
September 21 – Olga Engl, Austrian actress
October 8 – John St. Polis, American actor
November 2 – Gabriel Gabrio, French actor
November 18 – Donald Meek, Scottish-American actor
December 12 – Renée Jeanne Falconetti, French actress
December 25 – W. C. Fields, American comedian and actor

Film Debuts

Patricia Barry – Her Kind of Man
Raymond Burr – Without Reservations
Hamilton Camp – Bedlam
Gianna Maria Canale – The Black Eagle
Kirk Douglas – The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
William Fawcett – Stars Over Texas
John Hoyt – O.S.S.
Martha Hyer – The Locket
Burl Ives – Smoky
Burt Lancaster – The Killers
Gina Lollobrigida – The Black Eagle
Lois Maxwell – A Matter of Life and Death

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