# 1946 in film

The year 1946 in film involved some significant events, including the release of the decade's highest-grossing film, The Best Years of Our Lives, which won seven Academy Awards.

## Top-grossing films (U.S.)

The top ten 1946 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
Highest-grossing films of 1946 :
| Rank | Title | Distributor | Domestic rentals |
| 1 | The Best Years of Our Lives | RKO | $10,170,000 |
| 2 | The Jolson Story | Columbia | $7,600,000 |
| 3 | Blue Skies | Paramount | $5,700,000 |
| 4 | Saratoga Trunk | Warner Bros. | $5,148,000 |
| 5 | The Razor's Edge | 20th Century Fox | $5,000,000 |
| 6 | Night and Day | Warner Bros. | $4,990,000 |
| 7 | Notorious | RKO | $4,850,000 |
| 8 | The Yearling | MGM | $4,768,000 |
| 9 | Till the Clouds Roll By | MGM | $4,748,000 |
| 10 | Road to Utopia | Paramount | $4,500,000 |

## Events

* February 14 - Charles Vidor's Gilda starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford shows audiences one of the most famous scenes of the 20th century: Rita Hayworth singing "Put The Blame On Mame".
* November 21 – William Wyler's The Best Years of Our Lives premieres in New York featuring an 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.

## Awards

| Category/Organization | 4th Golden Globe Awards February 26, 1947 | 19th Academy Awards March 13, 1947 |
| Best Film | The Best Years of Our Lives | 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 | 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), directed by 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 (d. 2025)
* 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)
* 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 14 - Steve Kanaly, American actor
* 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 (d. 2024)
* 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 19 - Michael Elphick, English actor (d. 2002)
* September 22 - John Woo, Hong Kong director, producer and screenwriter
* September 25 - Drew Snyder, American actor
* September 26 - Togo Igawa, Japanese character 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 3 - Charlotte Zagorski, American actress (d. 2024)
* December 8
** Frank Pesce, American actor (d. 2022)
** John Rubinstein, American actor, composer and director
* December 14
** Patty Duke, American actress (d. 2016)
** Lynne Marie Stewart, American actress (d. 2025)
* 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 29 - Marianne Faithfull, British actress and singer (d. 2025)
* 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
* Slim Pickens – Smoky
* Liam Redmond – I See a Dark Stranger
* Yvonne Sanson – The Black Eagle
* Emil Sitka – One Exciting Week
* Hal Smith – Stars Over Texas
* José Luis López Vázquez – María Fernanda la Jerezana