1939 in film: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 21:26, 23 April 2025

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The year 1939 in film is widely considered the greatest year in film history. The ten films nominated for Best Picture at the 12th Academy Awards (which honored the best in film for 1939)—Dark Victory, Gone with the Wind, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Love Affair, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Ninotchka, Of Mice and Men, Stagecoach, The Wizard of Oz, and Wuthering Heights—range in genre and are considered classics.<ref name="Giltz">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Top-grossing films (U.S.)

The top ten 1939 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Highest-grossing films of 1939
Rank	Title	Distributor	Domestic rentals
1	Gone with the Wind	MGM/Selznick International	$18,000,000<ref name=VarietyDec41>Template:Cite news</ref>
2	Mr. Smith Goes to Washington	Columbia	$3,500,000<ref name=LubitschBook>Template:Cite book</ref>
3	Jesse James	20th Century Fox	$2,335,000<ref name=AllTime>Template:Cite news</ref>
4	Babes in Arms	MGM	$2,311,000<ref name="Mannix">Template:Citation.</ref>
5	The Wizard of Oz		$2,048,000<ref name="Mannix"/>
6	Goodbye, Mr. Chips		$1,777,000<ref name="Mannix"/>
7	Dodge City	Warner Bros.	$1,668,000<ref name="warners">Warner Bros financial information in The William Schaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1-31 p 20 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551</ref>
8	The Rains Came	20th Century Fox	$1,656,000<ref name=AllTime/>
9	The Women	MGM	$1,610,000<ref name="Mannix"/>
10	Drums Along the Mohawk	20th Century Fox	$1,558,000<ref name=AllTime/>

Events

Film historians often rate 1939 as "the greatest year in the history of Hollywood".<ref name=TCMIntro>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="EW Article">Template:Cite news</ref> Hollywood studios were at the height of their Golden Age, producing a number of exceptional motion pictures, many of which became honored as all-time classic films.

February 15 – John Ford's Western film Stagecoach starring John Wayne premieres in New York City and Los Angeles.
March 31 – Release of the 20th Century Fox film version of The Hound of the Baskervilles, first of a Sherlock Holmes film series starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson.
June 10 – MGM's first successful animated character, Barney Bear, makes his debut in The Bear That Couldn't Sleep.
August 10 – The Wizard of Oz premieres at the Orpheum Theatre in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Its Hollywood premiere takes place on August 15 at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.
October 17 – Mr. Smith Goes to Washington premieres in Washington, D.C.
November 6 – Hedda Hopper's Hollywood debuts on radio in the United States with gossip columnist Hedda Hopper as host; the show runs until 1951, making Hopper a powerful figure among the Hollywood elite.
December 15 – The epic historical romance film Gone with the Wind, starring Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Olivia de Havilland and Leslie Howard, premieres at Loew's Grand Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, with a three-day-long festival. Based on Margaret Mitchell's best-selling novel of 1936, it is the longest American film made up to this date (at nearly four hours) and rapidly becomes the highest-grossing film up to this time.
Canada establishes a National Film Commission, predecessor of the National Film Board of Canada, with John Grierson as first Commissioner.

Nominations for the Academy Award for Best Picture and Director

The year 1939 was one in which the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated ten films for Best Picture:

Dark Victory
Gone with the Wind (Best Picture winner)
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Love Affair
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Ninotchka
Of Mice and Men
Stagecoach
The Wizard of Oz
Wuthering Heights

These films came from a wide variety of film genres and sources for their stories and settings, including: historical fiction (Gone with the Wind), contemporary affairs (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Of Mice and Men), love stories, classic novels (Wuthering Heights), fantasies/musicals, (The Wizard of Oz), tragic plays (Dark Victory), westerns (Stagecoach), and comedies (Ninotchka).

Each of the five nominees for Best Director of 1939 were or went on to become a legendary film director with multiple acclaimed films to his credit: Frank Capra (previous winner of the award), Victor Fleming, John Ford (who won a record four Best Director awards), Sam Wood, and William Wyler (who leads all directors in nominations with 11 while having three wins).Template:Citation needed

Academy Awards

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Best Picture: Gone with the Wind – David O. Selznick; Selznick International, MGM
Best Director: Victor Fleming – Gone with the Wind
Best Actor: Robert Donat – Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Best Actress: Vivien Leigh – Gone with the Wind
Best Supporting Actor: Thomas Mitchell – Stagecoach
Best Supporting Actress: Hattie McDaniel – Gone with the Wind (first African American to win an Academy Award)

Gone with the Wind received in all ten Academy Awards (eight competitive, two honorary) from thirteen nominations.

1939 film releases

United States

Notable films released in 1939

United States unless stated

A

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, directed by Richard Thorpe, starring Mickey Rooney, based on the 1884 novel by Mark Twain
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, directed by Alfred L. Werker, starring Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce and Ida Lupino, based on the detective stories by Arthur Conan Doyle
Allegheny Uprising, directed by William A. Seiter, starring Claire Trevor, John Wayne and George Sanders
The Amazing Mr. Williams, directed by Alexander Hall, starring Melvyn Douglas and Joan Blondell
Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever, directed by W. S. Van Dyke, starring Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker and Fay Holden
Angels Wash Their Faces, directed by Ray Enright, starring Ann Sheridan, Ronald Reagan and the Dead End Kids
Another Thin Man, directed by W. S. Van Dyke, starring William Powell and Myrna Loy
The Arizona Kid, directed by Joseph Kane, starring Roy Rogers
The Arsenal Stadium Mystery, directed by Thorold Dickinson, starring Leslie Banks – (GB)
Ask a Policeman, directed by Marcel Varnel, starring Will Hay, Graham Moffatt and Moore Marriott – (GB)
At the Circus, directed by Edward Buzzell, starring the Marx Brothers

B

Babes in Arms, directed by Busby Berkeley, starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland
Bachelor Mother, directed by Garson Kanin, starring Ginger Rogers, David Niven and Charles Coburn
Bad Lands, directed by Lew Landers, starring Robert Barrat
Barricade, directed by Gregory Ratoff, starring Alice Faye and Warner Baxter
Beau Geste, directed by William Wellman, starring Gary Cooper and Ray Milland
Bel Ami, directed by Willi Forst – (Germany)
Blackmail, directed by H. C. Potter, starring Edward G. Robinson
Blue Montana Skies, directed by B. Reeves Eason, starring Gene Autry
Boefje, directed by Douglas Sirk – (Netherlands)
The Bronze Buckaroo, directed by Richard C. Kahn, starring Herb Jeffries

C

The Cat and the Canary, directed by Elliott Nugent, starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard
Cesta do hlubin študákovy duše (Journey into the Depth of the Student's Soul), directed by Martin Frič – (Czechoslovakia)
Charlie Chan at Treasure Island, directed by Norman Foster, starring Sidney Toler and Cesar Romero
Charlie Chan in Reno, directed by Norman Foster, starring Sidney Toler and Ricardo Cortez
Cheer Boys Cheer, directed by Walter Forde, starring Nova Pilbeam and Edmund Gwenn – (GB)
Confessions of a Nazi Spy, directed by Anatole Litvak, starring Edward G. Robinson, George Sanders and Paul Lukas

D

Dancing Co-Ed, directed by S. Sylvan Simon, starring Lana Turner and Artie Shaw
Dark Victory, directed by Edmund Goulding, starring Bette Davis, George Brent, Humphrey Bogart, Geraldine Fitzgerald and Ronald Reagan
Days of Jesse James, directed by Joseph Kane, starring Roy Rogers
Destry Rides Again, directed by George Marshall, starring Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart
Dodge City, directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland and Ann Sheridan
Drums Along the Mohawk, directed by John Ford, starring Claudette Colbert and Henry Fonda

E

Each Dawn I Die, directed by William Keighley, starring James Cagney and George Raft
The Empress Wu Tse-tien, directed by Fang Peilin – (China)
Eva tropí hlouposti (Eva Fools Around), directed by Martin Frič – (Czechoslovakia)
Everything Happens at Night, directed by Irving Cummings, starring Sonja Henie and Ray Milland

F

The Face at the Window, directed by George King, starring Tod Slaughter – (GB)
Fifth Avenue Girl, directed by Gregory La Cava, starring Ginger Rogers
First Love, directed by Henry Koster, starring Deanna Durbin and Robert Stack
Five Came Back, directed by John Farrow, starring Chester Morris and Lucille Ball
The Flying Deuces, directed by A. Edward Sutherland, starring Laurel and Hardy
The Flying Irishman, directed by Leigh Jason, starring Douglas Corrigan
The Four Feathers, directed by Zoltan Korda, starring John Clements and Ralph Richardson – (GB)
Frontier Marshal, directed by Allan Dwan, starring Randolph Scott, Cesar Romero and John Carradine

G

The Girl from Mexico, directed by Leslie Goodwins, starring Lupe Vélez
A Girl Must Live, directed by Carol Reed, starring Margaret Lockwood – (GB)
Golden Boy, directed by Rouben Mamoulian, starring Barbara Stanwyck, Adolphe Menjou and William Holden
Gone with the Wind, directed by Victor Fleming, starring Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland and Hattie McDaniel
Goodbye, Mr. Chips, directed by Sam Wood, starring Robert Donat and Greer Garson – (GB)
Gulliver's Travels, directed by Dave Fleischer, starring Jessica Dragonette and Lanny Ross
Gunga Din, directed by George Stevens, starring Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Sam Jaffe and Joan Fontaine

H

The Hardys Ride High, directed by George B. Seitz, starring Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker and Fay Holden
Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence, directed by Ricardo Cortez, starring Glenn Ford
Hello Janine!, directed by Carl Boese, starring Marika Rökk – (Germany)
Hollywood Cavalcade, directed by Irving Cummings, starring Alice Faye and Don Ameche
Honeymoon in Bali, directed by Edward H. Griffith, starring Fred MacMurray and Madeleine Carroll
Honolulu, directed by Edward Buzzell, starring Eleanor Powell, Robert Young and Burns and Allen
The Hound of the Baskervilles, directed by Sidney Lanfield, starring Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce and Richard Greene, based on the 1902 novel by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Hunchback of Notre Dame, directed by William Dieterle, starring Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Hara and Cedric Hardwicke, based on the 1831 novel by Victor Hugo

I

I Met a Murderer, directed by Roy Kellino, starring James Mason – (GB)
The Ice Follies of 1939, directed by Reinhold Schünzel, starring Joan Crawford, James Stewart, Lew Ayres and Lewis Stone
Idiot's Delight, directed by Clarence Brown, starring Norma Shearer, Clark Gable, Edward Arnold and Charles Coburn
In Name Only, directed by John Cromwell, starring Carole Lombard, Cary Grant, Kay Francis and Charles Coburn
Inspector Hornleigh on Holiday, directed by Walter Forde, starring Gordon Harker and Alastair Sim – (GB)
Intermezzo, directed by Gregory Ratoff, starring Leslie Howard and Ingrid Bergman
It's a Wonderful World, directed by W. S. Van Dyke, starring Claudette Colbert and James Stewart

J

Jamaica Inn, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara – (GB)
Jesse James, directed by Henry King, starring Tyrone Power, Henry Fonda, Nancy Kelly and Randolph Scott
Le Jour se lève (Daybreak), directed by Marcel Carné, starring Jean Gabin and Arletty – (France)
The Journey to Tilsit (Die Reise nach Tilsit), directed by Veit Harlan – (Germany)
Juarez, directed by William Dieterle, starring Paul Muni, Bette Davis, John Garfield and Claude Rains
Judge Hardy and Son, directed by George B. Seitz, starring Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker and Fay Holden

K

King of the Underworld, directed by Lewis Seiler, starring Humphrey Bogart and Kay Francis

L

Lady of the Tropics, directed by Jack Conway, starring Robert Taylor and Hedy Lamarr
The Lambeth Walk, directed by Albert de Courville, starring Lupino Lane – (GB)
The Last Turning (Le Dernier tournant), directed by Pierre Chenal, starring Michel Simon – (France)
Lenin in 1918 (Lenin v 1918 godu), directed by Mikhail Romm – (USSR)
Let Us Live, directed by John Brahm, starring Maureen O'Sullivan, Henry Fonda and Ralph Bellamy
The Little Princess, directed by Walter Lang, starring Shirley Temple and Richard Greene
Love Affair, directed by Leo McCarey, starring Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer
Lucky Night, directed by Norman Taurog, starring Myrna Loy and Robert Taylor

M

Made for Each Other, directed by John Cromwell, starring Carole Lombard, James Stewart and Charles Coburn
Maisie, directed by Edwin L. Marin, starring Robert Young and Ann Sothern
The Man in the Iron Mask, directed by James Whale, starring Louis Hayward, Joan Bennett and Warren William
Man of Conquest, directed by George Nicholls Jr., starring Richard Dix, Gail Patrick and Joan Fontaine
Mexicali Rose, directed by George Sherman, starring Gene Autry
Midnight, directed by Mitchell Leisen, starring Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche, John Barrymore and Mary Astor
The Mikado, directed by Victor Schertzinger, starring Martyn Green, based on the comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan – (GB)
Million Dollar Legs, directed by Nick Grinde, starring Betty Grable and Jackie Coogan
Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation, directed by Norman Foster, starring Peter Lorre
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, directed by Frank Capra, starring James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains and Edward Arnold
Mr. Wong in Chinatown, directed by William Nigh, starring Boris Karloff
The Mystery of Mr. Wong, directed by William Nigh, starring Boris Karloff

N

Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase, directed by William Clemens, starring Bonita Granville
Never Say Die, directed by Elliott Nugent, starring Martha Raye and Bob Hope
Ninotchka, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas and Bela Lugosi

O

Of Mice and Men, directed by Lewis Milestone, starring Burgess Meredith, Lon Chaney Jr. and Charles Bickford, based on the 1937 novella by John Steinbeck
Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise, directed by Jules White, starring the Three Stooges
The Oklahoma Kid, directed by Lloyd Bacon, starring James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart
The Old Maid, directed by Edmund Goulding, starring Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins and George Brent
On Borrowed Time, directed by Harold S. Bucquet, starring Lionel Barrymore and Cedric Hardwicke
On Dress Parade, directed by William Clemens, starring the Dead End Kids
On the Night of the Fire, directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, starring Ralph Richardson – (GB)
Only Angels Have Wings, directed by Howard Hawks, starring Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Richard Barthelmess and Rita Hayworth

P

Prisoners of the Earth (Prisioneros de la tierra), directed by Mario Soffici – (Argentina)
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Bette Davis, Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland

Q

Q Planes, directed by Tim Whelan, starring Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier – (GB)

R

The Rains Came, directed by Clarence Brown, starring Myrna Loy, Tyrone Power and George Brent
Range War, directed by Lesley Selander, starring William Boyd
Remember?, directed by Norman Z. McLeod, starring Robert Taylor, Greer Garson and Lew Ayres
The Return of Doctor X, directed by Vincent Sherman, starring Humphrey Bogart
The Roaring Twenties, directed by Raoul Walsh, starring James Cagney, Priscilla Lane and Humphrey Bogart
Rose of Washington Square, directed by Gregory Ratoff, starring Tyrone Power, Alice Faye and Al Jolson
The Rules of the Game (La règle du jeu), directed by Jean Renoir – (France)

S

The Saint in London, directed by John Paddy Carstairs, starring George Sanders
The Saint Strikes Back, directed by John Farrow, starring George Sanders
Seven Little Australians, directed by Arthur Greville Collins – (Australia)
Son of Frankenstein, directed by Rowland V. Lee, starring Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi
The Spy in Black, directed by Michael Powell, starring Conrad Veidt and Valerie Hobson – (GB)
Stagecoach, directed by John Ford, starring Claire Trevor and John Wayne
Stanley and Livingstone, directed by Henry King and Otto Brower, starring Spencer Tracy, Cedric Hardwicke and Richard Greene
The Story of Alexander Graham Bell, directed by Irving Cummings, starring Don Ameche, Loretta Young, Henry Fonda and Charles Coburn
The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (Zangiku monogatari), directed by Kenji Mizoguchi – (Japan)
The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle, directed by H. C. Potter, starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
Susannah of the Mounties, directed by William A. Seiter, starring Shirley Temple, Randolph Scott and Margaret Lockwood
Swanee River, directed by Sidney Lanfield, starring Don Ameche and Al Jolson

T

Tarzan Finds a Son!, directed by Richard Thorpe, starring Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan
These Glamour Girls, directed by S. Sylvan Simon, starring Lew Ayres and Lana Turner
They Made Me a Criminal, directed by Busby Berkeley, starring John Garfield, Claude Rains and the Dead End Kids
They Shall Have Music, directed by Archie Mayo, starring Jascha Heifetz and Joel McCrea
The Three Musketeers, directed by Allan Dwan, starring Don Ameche, the Ritz Brothers and Gloria Stuart
Three Smart Girls Grow Up, directed by Henry Koster, starring Deanna Durbin and Robert Cummings
Three Texas Steers, directed by George Sherman, starring John Wayne
Tower of London, directed by Rowland V. Lee, starring Basil Rathbone and Boris Karloff

U

Union Pacific, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Joel McCrea

V

The Vyborg Side (Vyborgskaya storona), directed by Grigori Kozintsev and Leonid Trauberg, starring Boris Chirkov – (USSR)

W

Way Down South, directed by Leslie Goodwins and Bernard Vorhaus
The Wizard of Oz, directed by Victor Fleming, starring Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Billie Burke and Margaret Hamilton, based on the 1900 novel by L. Frank Baum
The Women, directed by George Cukor, starring Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford and Rosalind Russell
Wuthering Heights, directed by William Wyler, starring Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, David Niven and Flora Robson, based on the 1847 novel by Emily Brontë
Wyoming Outlaw, directed by George Sherman, starring John Wayne

Y

You Can't Cheat an Honest Man, directed by George Marshall and Edward F. Cline, starring W. C. Fields and Edgar Bergen
You Can't Get Away with Murder, directed by Lewis Seiler, starring Humphrey Bogart
Young Mr. Lincoln, directed by John Ford, starring Henry Fonda and Alice Brady

Z

Zenobia, directed by Gordon Douglas, starring Oliver Hardy, Harry Langdon and Billie Burke

Serials

Buck Rogers, starring Buster Crabbe
Dick Tracy's G-Men, starring Ralph Byrd
Daredevils of the Red Circle, starring Herman Brix and Charles B. Middleton
Flying G-Men
The Lone Ranger Rides Again
Mandrake the Magician, starring Warren Hull
The Oregon Trail
Overland with Kit Carson
The Phantom Creeps, starring Bela Lugosi
Scouts to the Rescue
Zorro's Fighting Legion, starring Reed Hadley

Comedy film series

Charlie Chaplin (1914–1940)
Lupino Lane (1915–1939)
Buster Keaton (1917–1944)
Laurel and Hardy (1927–1945)
Our Gang (1922–1944)
The Marx Brothers (1929–1946)
The Three Stooges (1934–1959)

Animated short film series

Krazy Kat (1925–1940)
Mickey Mouse (1928–1953)
Silly Symphonies (1929–1939)
- The Practical Pig
- The Ugly Duckling
Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
Terrytoons (1930–1964)
Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
Scrappy (1931–1941)
Betty Boop (1932–1939)
Popeye (1933–1957)
Color Rhapsodies (1934–1949)
Donald Duck (1937–1956)
Barney Bear (1939–1954)
Walter Lantz Cartunes (also known as New Universal Cartoons or Cartune Comedies) (1938–1942)
The Captain and the Kids (1938–1939)
Goofy (1939–1955)
Andy Panda (1939–1949)
Nertsery Rhyme Cartoons (1939 only)
Crackpot Cruise Cartoons (1939 only)
Lil' Eightball (1939 only)
Count Screwloose and J.R. (1939 only)

Births

January 4 - Burt Sugarman, American film producer
January 8 – Ruth Maleczech, American actress (died 2013)
January 9 – Susannah York, English actress (died 2011)
January 10 – Sal Mineo, American actor (died 1976)
January 17 – Maury Povich, American television personality
January 22 – Sonny Chiba, Japanese actor and martial artist (died 2021)
January 26 – Scott Glenn, American actor
January 30 – János Zsombolyai, Hungarian cinematographer, film director and screenwriter (died 2015)
February 3 – Michael Cimino, American director, producer and screenwriter (died 2016)
February 6 – Mike Farrell, American actor
February 9 – Janet Suzman, South African actress and director
February 10 - Peter Purves, British actor and television presenter
February 16 – Angelo Infanti, Italian actor (died 2010)
February 20 – Antonina Girycz, Polish actress (died 2022)
February 23 - Denis Arndt, American actor (died 2025)
February 24 – Marisa Mell, Austrian actress (died 1992)
February 28 – Tommy Tune, American dancer, choreographer and actor
March 1 - David Weatherley, British-born New Zealand actor (died 2024)
March 4
- John Moreno, British actor
- Robert Shaye, American actor and producer
- Carlos Vereza, Brazilian actor
March 5
- Samantha Eggar, English actress
- Benyamin Sueb, Indonesian actor, comedian and singer (died 1995)
March 7 – Michael Chow, Chinese-born British-American former actor
March 14
- Raymond J. Barry, American actor
- Héctor Bonilla, Mexican actor (died 2022)
March 21 – Marino Masé, Italian actor (died 2022)
March 26 - Phillip R. Allen, American actor (died 2012)
March 28 – Vic Vargas, Filipino actor (died 2003)
March 29 – Terence Hill, Italian actor, director, screenwriter and producer
April 1 – Ali MacGraw, American actress
April 5 – Roger Davis, American actor
April 7 – Francis Ford Coppola, director; producer; screenwriter
April 9 – Romeo Vasquez, Filipino actor (died 2017)
April 11 – Louise Lasser, American actress, writer and director
April 13 – Paul Sorvino, American actor (died 2022)
April 22 – Mark Jones, English actor (died 2010)
April 23
- David Birney, American actor and director (died 2022)
- Lee Majors, American actor
May 4 – Paul Gleason, American actor (died 2006)
May 7
- Ruggero Deodato, Italian director and screenwriter (died 2022)
- Marco St. John, American actor
May 13 – Harvey Keitel, American actor
May 15 – Barbara Hammer, American filmmaker (died 2019)
May 19
- James Fox, English actor
- Nancy Kwan, Chinese-American actress
May 22 – Paul Winfield, American actor (died 2004)
May 23 – Reinhard Hauff, German film director
- May 25
- Ian McKellen, English actor
- Dixie Carter, American actress (died 2010)
May 28 – Beth Howland, American actress (died 2015)
May 30 – Michael J. Pollard, American actor (died 2019)
June 4 – Henri Pachard, American film director (died 2008)
June 8
- Bernie Casey, American actor (died 2017)
- Geoffrey Hutchings, English actor (died 2010)
June 11 – Christina Crawford, American actress
June 15 - Daniel Richter, American mime and actor
June 24 – Michael Gothard, English actor (died 1992)
June 25 – Barbara Montgomery, American actress and director
July 1
- Karen Black, American actress, screenwriter and singer-songwriter (died 2013)
- Ines Aru, Estonian actress
July 5 – Sergio Di Stefano, Italian actor and voice actor (died 2010)
July 15
- Abdulhussain Abdulredha, Kuwaiti actor (died 2017)
- Patrick Wayne, American actor
July 16 – Corin Redgrave, British actor, political activist (died 2010)
July 21 – Sondra James, American sound coordinator and actress (died 2021)
July 22 - Gila Almagor, Israeli actress
July 28 – Charles Cyphers, American actor (died 2024)
July 30 – Peter Bogdanovich, American director, producer and screenwriter (died 2022)
July 31 – France Nuyen, French actress
August 1 – Terry Kiser, American actor
August 2
- Wes Craven, American director; producer; screenwriter (died 2015)
- Robert Wall, American actor and martial artist (died 2022)
August 4 – Mapita Cortés, Mexican actress (died 2006)
August 6 - Steve Kahan, American character actor (died 2019)
August 7 – Anjanette Comer, American actress
August 9 – Bulle Ogier, French actress
August 12
- Oliver Ford Davies, English actor and writer
- George Hamilton, American actor
August 16 - Carole Shelley, English actress (died 2018)
August 20 – Fernando Poe Jr., Filipino actor (died 2004)
August 23 – Fernando Luján, Mexican actor (died 2019)
August 25 – John Badham, English-American director
August 29 – Joel Schumacher, American film director, producer and screenwriter (died 2020)
August 30 – Elizabeth Ashley, American actress
September 1 – Lily Tomlin, American actress, comedian and producer
September 5
- William Devane, American actor
- George Lazenby, Australian actor
September 8 - DeVeren Bookwalter, American actor and director (died 1987)
September 11 – Tom Dreesen, American actor and stand-up comedian
September 13 – Richard Kiel, American actor and voice artist (died 2014)
September 22 - Bette Bourne, British actor, drag queen, campaigner and activist (died 2024)
September 23 – Janusz Gajos, Polish actor
September 27 – Garrick Hagon, Canadian film, stage, television and radio actor
September 28 - Sandra Dorsey, American actress (died 2023)
September 30 – Len Cariou, Canadian actor and director
October 5 – Carmen Salinas, Mexican actress and comedian (died 2021)
October 6 – Ellen Travolta, American actress
October 8 – Paul Hogan, Australian comedian and actor
October 10 - Laurel Cronin, American actress and singer (died 1992)
October 13 – Melinda Dillon, American actress (died 2023)
October 18 – Salme Poopuu, Estonian actress and filmmaker (died 2017)
October 21 - Peter Vere-Jones, English-born New Zealand actor (died 2021)
October 22 – Tony Roberts, American actor (died 2025)
October 23 – Stanley Anderson, American character actor (died 2018)
October 24 – F. Murray Abraham, American actor
October 25 – Nikos Nikolaidis, Greek film director (died 2007)
October 27 – John Cleese, English actor, comedian and producer
October 28 – Jane Alexander, American actress
October 29 – Elizabeth Moody, English-born New Zealand actress and director (died 2010)
October 31 – Ron Rifkin, American actor
November 1 - Barbara Bosson, American actress (died 2023)
November 8 – Meg Wynn Owen, Welsh actress (died 2022)
November 10
- Anton Gorchev, Bulgarian actor (died 2000)
- Russell Means, Native American actor (died 2012)
November 13 – G. R. Perera, Sri Lankan actor (died 2023)
November 15 – Yaphet Kotto, American actor (died 2021)
November 18
- Max Phipps, Australian actor (died 2000)
- Brenda Vaccaro, American actress
November 22 – Allen Garfield, American actor (died 2020)
November 23 - Maria Gladys, Brazilian actress
November 26
- Mark Margolis, American actor (died 2023)
- Tina Turner, American-born Swiss singer, songwriter and actress (died 2023)
November 27 – Ulla Strömstedt, Swedish actress (died 1986)
December 3 - Don Calfa, American character actor (died 2016)
December 13
- Eric Flynn, British actor (died 2002)
- Akiko Wakabayashi, Japanese actress
December 20 - Kathryn Joosten, American actress (died 2012)
December 27 – John Amos, American actor (died 2024)
December 28 – Gloria Manon, American actress (died 2018)

Deaths

January 19 – Tom Ricketts, 86, English actor, director, Love Bound, Thrill of Youth
January 25 – Helen Ware, 61, American actress, Morning Glory, Abraham Lincoln
February 22 – Joe Brandt, 56, American film producer and co-founder of C.B.C. which became Columbia Pictures
April 22 – Ann Murdock, 48, American actress, Outcast, Please Help Emily
May 5 – Clara Schønfeld, 82, Danish actress, Master of the House, Praesten i Vejlby
June 9 – Owen Moore, 54, Irish actor, A Star is Born, She Done Him Wrong, The Red Mill, Cinderella
August 23 – Sidney Howard, 48, American writer, Gone with the Wind, Dodsworth, Arrowsmith, A Lady to Love
September 24 – Carl Laemmle, 72, German producer, Frankenstein, Dracula, Bride of Frankenstein, The Phantom of the Opera
October 13 – Ford Sterling, 55, American actor, Tango Tangles, The Show-Off, Between Showers
October 23 – Zane Grey, 67, American writer, Fighting Caravans, Riders of the Purple Sage, Western Union, Born to the West
October 28 – Alice Brady, 46, American actress, My Man Godfrey, Young Mr. Lincoln, The Gay Divorcee, In Old Chicago
November 7 – Kirsti Suonio, 67, Finnish stage and film actress, Substitute Wife
November 13 – George Nicholls, Jr., 42, American director, Anne of Green Gables, Man of Conquest
December 12 – Douglas Fairbanks, 56, American actor, The Thief of Bagdad, The Black Pirate, Robin Hood, Mr. Robinson Crusoe, and the father of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.

Debuts

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References

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External links

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