# 1939 in film

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.

## 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 |
| 2 | Mr. Smith Goes to Washington | Columbia | $3,500,000 |
| 3 | Jesse James | 20th Century Fox | $2,335,000 |
| 4 | Babes in Arms | MGM | $2,311,000 |
| 5 | The Wizard of Oz | MGM | $2,048,000 |
| 6 | Goodbye, Mr. Chips | MGM | $1,777,000 |
| 7 | Dodge City | Warner Bros. | $1,668,000 |
| 8 | The Rains Came | 20th Century Fox | $1,656,000 |
| 9 | The Women | MGM | $1,610,000 |
| 10 | Drums Along the Mohawk | 20th Century Fox | $1,558,000 |

## Events

Film historians often rate 1939 as "the greatest year in the history of Hollywood". 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).

## Academy Awards

* 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

### January–March

* January 1939
** 13 January
*** Son of Frankenstein
** 14 January
*** Jesse James
** 27 January
*** Idiot's Delight
** 28 January
*** They Made Me a Criminal
* February 1939
** 3 February
*** Honolulu
** 10 February
*** The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
*** Made for Each Other
** 17 February
*** Gunga Din
*** The Three Musketeers
* March 1939
** 3 March
*** Stagecoach
** 10 March
*** The Ice Follies of 1939
** 13 March
*** Rough Riders' Round-up
** 17 March
*** The Little Princess
** 24 March
*** Midnight
*** Three Smart Girls Grow Up
*** Wuthering Heights, premieres in Los Angeles CA, for US released on April 13
** 29 March
*** The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle
** 31 March
*** The Hound of the Baskervilles

### April–June

* April 1939
** 1 April
*** Dodge City
** 7 April
*** Love Affair
*** The Flying Irishman
*** Wuthering Heights
** 11 April
*** Buck Rogers
** 14 April
*** The Story of Alexander Graham Bell
** 16 April
*** The Face at the Window
** 22 April
*** Dark Victory
** 29 April
*** A Girl Must Live
* May 1939
** 5 May
*** Rose of Washington Square
*** Sorority House
** 6 May
*** Confessions of a Nazi Spy
** 19 May
*** It's a Wonderful World
** 20 May
*** You Can't Get Away With Murder
** 25 May
*** Only Angels Have Wings
** 26 May
*** The Gorilla
* June 1939
** 2 June
*** The Girl From Mexico
** 9 June
*** Young Mr. Lincoln
** 10 June
*** Juarez
** 16 June
*** Tarzan Finds a Son!
** 20 June
*** Good Girls Go to Paris
** 23 June
*** Five Came Back
** 30 June
*** Bachelor Mother
*** The Four Just Men

### July–September

* July 1939
** 4 July
*** Beau Geste
** 7 July
*** On Borrowed Time
** 13 July
*** The Man in the Iron Mask
** 21 July
*** Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever
** 28 July
*** Goodbye, Mr. Chips
*** Frontier Marshal
* August 1939
** 4 August
*** The Four Feathers
** 6 August
*** Cheer Boys Cheer
** 10 August
*** The Wizard of Oz
** 11 August
*** Lady of the Tropics
** 18 August
*** In Name Only
** 19 August
*** Each Dawn I Die
** 26 August
*** The Angels Wash Their Faces
** 28 August
*** Ask a Policeman
*** Daughter of the Tong
** 31 August
*** The Women
* September 1939
*** The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
** 2 September
*** The Old Maid
** 5 September
*** Golden Boy
** 7 September
*** The Rains Came
** 8 September
*** Blackmail
*** Full Confession
** 9 September
*** Charlie Chan at Treasure Island
** 15 September
*** Babes in Arms
** 22 September
*** Fifth Avenue Girl
** 29 September
*** The Arizona Kid
*** Dancin' Co-Ed
*** Honeymoon in Bali

### October–December

* October 1939
** 6 October
*** Intermezzo: A Love Story
** 13 October
*** Jamaica Inn
** 17 October
*** Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
** 20 October
*** At the Circus
** 23 October
*** The Roaring Twenties
* November 1939
** 2 November
*** Drums Along the Mohawk
** 3 November
*** The Flying Deuces
** 10 November
*** Allegheny Uprising
*** The Cat and the Canary
*** First Love
** 11 November
*** The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
** 17 November
*** Another Thin Man
*** Tower of London
** 22 November
*** The Amazing Mr. Williams
** 23 November
*** Ninotchka
* December 1939
** 2 December
*** The Return of Doctor X
** 8 December
*** Barricade
** 15 December
*** Gone With the Wind
** 16 December
*** Zorro's Fighting Legion
** 22 December
*** Everything Happens at Night
*** Gulliver's Travels
** 29 December
*** Destry Rides Again
*** The Hunchback of Notre Dame
*** Swanee River

## Notable films released in 1939

United States unless stated

### A

* The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, starring Mickey Rooney and Rex Ingram
* The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce
* Allegheny Uprising, starring Claire Trevor and John Wayne
* Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever, starring Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden
* The Angels Wash Their Faces, starring Ann Sheridan and the Dead End Kids
* The Amazing Mr. Williams, starring Melvyn Douglas and Joan Blondell
* Another Thin Man, starring William Powell and Myrna Loy
* The Arizona Kid, starring Roy Rogers
* The Arsenal Stadium Mystery – (GB)
* Ask a Policeman, starring Will Hay, Graham Moffatt and Moore Marriott – (GB)
* At the Circus, starring the Marx Brothers

### B

* Babes in Arms, directed by Busby Berkeley, starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland
* Bachelor Mother, starring Ginger Rogers and David Niven
* Bad Lands, starring Robert Barrat and Robert Coote
* Barricade, starring Alice Faye and Warner Baxter
* Beau Geste, directed by William Wellman, starring Gary Cooper and Ray Milland
* Bel Ami – (Germany)
* Blackmail, starring Edward G. Robinson
* Blue Montana Skies, starring Gene Autry
* Boy Slaves
* Boys' Reformatory, starring Frankie Darro
* The Bronze Buckaroo, starring Herb Jeffries

### C

* The Cat and the Canary, starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard
* Cesta do hlubin študákovy duše – (Czechoslovakia)
* Charlie Chan at Treasure Island, starring Sidney Toler
* Charlie Chan in Reno, starring Sidney Toler and Ricardo Cortez
* Cheer Boys Cheer, starring Nova Pilbeam (GB)
* Confessions of a Nazi Spy, starring Edward G. Robinson, Francis Lederer, George Sanders, Paul Lukas

### D

* Dark Victory, starring Bette Davis, George Brent, Humphrey Bogart, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Ronald Reagan
* Daughter of the Tong, starring Evelyn Brent and Grant Withers
* 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 and Olivia de Havilland
* Drums Along the Mohawk, directed by John Ford, starring Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert

### E

* Each Dawn I Die, starring James Cagney and George Raft
* The Empress Wu Tse-tien – (China)
* Eva tropí hlouposti (Eva Fools Around) – (Czechoslovakia)
* Everything Happens at Night, starring Sonja Henie and Ray Milland
* Fifth Ave Girl, starring Ginger Rogers and Walter Connolly

### F

* The Face at the Window, starring Tod Slaughter
* First Love, starring Deanna Durbin and Robert Stack
* Five Came Back, directed by John Farrow, starring Lucille Ball and Chester Morris
* The Flying Deuces, directed by A. Edward Sutherland, starring Laurel and Hardy
* The Flying Irishman, starring Douglas Corrigan
* The Four Feathers, starring John Clements and Ralph Richardson – (GB)
* The Four Just Men, directed by Walter Forde (GB)
* Frontier Marshal, starring Randolph Scott, Caesar Romero, John Carradine
* Full Confession, starring Victor McLaglen

### G

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

### H

* The Hardys Ride High, starring Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden
* Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence, starring Glenn Ford
* Hello Janine!, starring Marika Rökk – (Germany)
* Hollywood Cavalcade, starring Alice Faye, Don Ameche, J. Edward Bromberg, Alan Curtis
* Honolulu, starring Eleanor Powell, Burns and Allen
* The Hound of the Baskervilles, first in Sherlock Holmes series starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce
* The Hunchback of Notre Dame, directed by William Dieterle, starring Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara

### I

* I Met a Murderer, starring James Mason – (GB)
* Idiot's Delight, starring Clark Gable and Norma Shearer
* In Name Only, starring Cary Grant, Carole Lombard, Kay Francis
* Inspector Hornleigh on Holiday, starring Gordon Harker and Alastair Sim – (GB)
* Intermezzo, starring Ingrid Bergman and Leslie Howard
* It's a Wonderful World, directed by W. S. Van Dyke, starring James Stewart and Claudette Colbert

### J

* Jamaica Inn, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara – (GB)
* Jesse James, directed by Henry King (director), starring Tyrone Power, Henry Fonda, Nancy Kelly, Randolph Scott
* Juarez, directed by William Dieterle, starring Paul Muni, Bette Davis, Claude Rains, John Garfield, Brian Aherne
* Le Jour se lève (Daybreak), directed by Marcel Carné, starring Jean Gabin and Arletty – (France)
* Judge Hardy and Son, starring Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden

### K

* King of the Underworld, starring Humphrey Bogart and Kay Francis

### L

* The Lambeth Walk, directed by Albert de Courville, starring Lupino Lane and Sally Gray – (GB)
* The Last Turning (Le Dernier Tournant), starring Michel Simon – (France)
* Lenin in 1918 (Lenin v 1918 godu) – (USSR)
* Let Us Live, starring Maureen O'Sullivan and Henry Fonda
* The Little Princess, starring Shirley Temple and Richard Greene
* Love Affair, starring Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer (Academy Award nominee)
* Lucky Night, starring Myrna Loy and Robert Taylor

### M

* Made For Each Other, starring Carole Lombard, James Stewart, and Charles Coburn
* Maisie, starring Robert Young and Ann Sothern
* The Man in the Iron Mask, starring Louis Hayward, Joan Bennett, Warren William
* Man of Conquest, starring Richard Dix, Gail Patrick, Joan Fontaine
* Mexicali Rose, starring Gene Autry
* Midnight, starring Claudette Colbert and Don Ameche
* The Mikado, a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, first British film shot in Technicolor – (GB)
* Million Dollar Legs, starring Betty Grable
* Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation, starring Peter Lorre
* Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, directed by Frank Capra, starring James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains
* Mr. Wong in Chinatown, starring Boris Karloff
* The Mystery of Mr. Wong, starring Boris Karloff

### N

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

### O

* Of Mice and Men, directed by Lewis Milestone, starring Burgess Meredith, Betty Field, Lon Chaney Jr.
* Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise, a comedy short starring The Three Stooges
* The Oklahoma Kid, starring James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Donald Crisp
* The Old Maid, starring Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins
* On Borrowed Time, starring Lionel Barrymore and Cedric Hardwicke
* On Dress Parade, starring The Dead End Kids
* On the Night of the Fire (aka The Fugitive), starring Ralph Richardson – (GB)
* On Your Toes, screenplay by Lawrence Riley, starring Vera Zorina and Eddie Albert
* Only Angels Have Wings, starring Cary Grant, Rita Hayworth and Jean Arthur

### P

* Prisioneros de la tierra (Prisoners of the Land) – (Argentina)
* The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, starring Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland

### Q

* Q Planes, starring Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier – (GB)

### R

* The Rains Came, starring Tyrone Power and Myrna Loy
* Range War, a Hopalong Cassidy western starring William Boyd
* Remember?, starring Greer Garson, Robert Taylor, Lew Ayres
* The Return of Doctor X, a horror film starring Humphrey Bogart
* The Roaring Twenties, starring James Cagney, Priscilla Lane, Humphrey Bogart
* The Rules of the Game (La règle du jeu), directed by Jean Renoir – (France)

### S

* The Saint in London, starring George Sanders
* The Saint Strikes Back, starring George Sanders
* Seven Little Australians, directed by Arthur Greville Collins – (Australia)
* Son of Frankenstein, starring Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi
* De Spooktrein (The Ghost Train) – (Netherlands)
* The Spy in Black, directed by Michael Powell, starring Conrad Veidt and Valerie Hobson – (GB)
* Stagecoach, directed by John Ford, starring John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Berton Churchill, John Carradine
* Stanley and Livingstone, starring Spencer Tracy and Cedric Hardwicke
* The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (Zangiku monogatari), directed by Kenji Mizoguchi – (Japan)
* The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle, starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
* Susannah of the Mounties, starring Shirley Temple and Randolph Scott
* Swanee River, starring Don Ameche

### T

* Tarzan Finds a Son!, starring Johnny Weissmuller
* These Glamour Girls, starring Lew Ayres, Lana Turner, Tom Brown
* They Made Me a Criminal, starring John Garfield
* They Shall Have Music, starring Jascha Heifetz, Joel McCrea, Andrea Leeds, Walter Brennan
* The Three Musketeers, starring Don Ameche and The Ritz Brothers
* Three Smart Girls Grow Up, starring Deanna Durbin and Robert Cummings
* Three Texas Steers, directed by George Sherman, starring John Wayne
* Tower of London, starring Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, Vincent Price
* Tsuchi (Japan)
* The Trip to Tilsit (Die Reise nach Tilsit) – (Germany)

### U

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

### V

* Vasilisa the Beautiful (Vasilisa prekrasnaya) – (U.S.S.R.)
* The Vyborg Side (Vyborgskaya storona) – (U.S.S.R.)

### W

* Way Down South, directed by Leslie Goodwins and Bernard Vorhaus
* Wilton's Zoo (Boefje), directed by Douglas Sirk – (Netherlands)
* The Wizard of Oz, directed by Victor Fleming, starring Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Margaret Hamilton
* The Women, directed by George Cukor, starring Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell
* Wuthering Heights, directed by William Wyler, starring Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, David Niven, Flora Robson
* Wyoming Outlaw, starring John Wayne, directed by George Sherman

### Y

* You Can't Cheat an Honest Man, starring W. C. Fields
* Young Man's Fancy, directed by Robert Stevenson, starring Anna Lee – (GB)
* Young Mr. Lincoln, directed by John Ford, starring Henry Fonda and Alice Brady

### Z

* Zenobia, directed by Gordon Douglas, starring Oliver Hardy
* Zorro's Fighting Legion, starring Reed Hadley

## 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 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
** Denis Arndt, American actor
** 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 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

* Raymond Bailey – Blackwell's Island
* Robert Beatty – Black Limelight
* Regina Bianchi – Rosa de Sangue
* Robert Blake – Bridal Suite
* Dirk Bogarde – Come on George!
* Linda Brent – Coast Guard
* Lillian Bronson – First Love
* Faten Hamama – Happy Day
* Edgar Buchanan – My Son Is Guilty
* Rod Cameron – Heritage of the Desert
* Ada Colangeli – An Adventure of Salvator Rosa
* Richard Conte – Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence
* Peter Cushing – The Man in the Iron Mask
* Linda Darnell – Hotel for Women
* Diana Dei – Follie del secolo
* Lupe del Castillo – United But Not Mixed
* Kathryn Adams Doty – Fifth Avenue Girl
* Charles Drake – Career
* Glenn Ford – My Son Is Guilty
* Greer Garson – Goodbye, Mr. Chips
* Dabbs Greer – Jesse James
* Anne Gwynne – Unexpected Father
* Mary Beth Hughes – Within the Law
* Ben Johnson – The Fighting Gringo
* Jack Kelly – The Story of Alexander Graham Bell
* Veronica Lake – Sorority House
* Bruni Löbel – Homeland
* Diana Lynn – They Shall Have Music
* Marcello Mastroianni – Marionette
* Victor Mature – The Housekeeper's Daughter
* Gerald Mohr – Society Smugglers
* Rina Morelli – An Adventure of Salvator Rosa
* Gene Nelson – Second Fiddle
* Edmond O'Brien – The Hunchback of Notre Dame
* David Opatoshu – The Light Ahead
* Hank Patterson – The Arizona Kid
* Isabel Randolph – The Women
* Dina Sassoli – Le père Lebonnard
* James Seay – Back Door to Heaven
* Florence Shirley – The Women
* Charles Smith – Nancy Drew... Reporter
* Robert Stack – First Love
* Robert Sterling – Blondie Meets the Boss
* Craig Stevens – Coast Guard
* Brian Worth – Ask a Policeman
* Maris Wrixon – Off the Record
* Mahmoud Zulfikar – Apple Seller