1940 in film

Top-grossing films (U.S.)

Events

• February 10 – Tom and Jerry make their debut in the animated cartoon Puss Gets the Boot.
• February 23 – Walt Disney's animated film Pinocchio is released, which is first considered a failure, but gain a cult following and is now considered one of the greatest films of all time.
• March 21 – Alfred Hitchcock's first American film Rebecca is released, under the production of David O. Selznick. It would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture the following year.
• May 17 – My Favorite Wife is released.
• May – A reproduction of "America's First Movie Studio", Thomas Edison's Black Maria, is constructed.
• July 27 – Bugs Bunny makes his official debut in the animated cartoon A Wild Hare.
• October 15 – Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator, a satirical comedy starring him, is released.
• November 13 – World premiere of Walt Disney's Fantasia at the Broadway Theatre in New York City, the first film to be released in a multi-channel sound format. The film also marks the first use of the click track while recording the soundtrack, overdubbing of orchestral parts, simultaneous multitrack recording and is cited as a key chapter in the conception and development of the multi-channel surround system.
• December 5 – Release of The Thief of Bagdad, pioneering the use of chroma key effects.
• In the United Kingdom, the Crown Film Unit supersedes the GPO Film Unit in the production of documentary films.

  Academy Awards

• Best Picture: Rebecca – David O. Selznick, United Artists
• Best Director: John Ford – The Grapes of Wrath
• Best Actor: James Stewart – The Philadelphia Story
• Best Actress: Ginger Rogers – Kitty Foyle
• Best Supporting Actor: Walter Brennan – The Westerner
• Best Supporting Actress: Jane Darwell – The Grapes of Wrath

  1940 film releases

January–March

• January 1940
• *26 January
• **The Fighting 69th
• February 1940
• *23 February
• **Pinocchio
• March 1940
• *21 March
• **Rebecca

  April–June

• April 1940
• *20 April
• **'Til We Meet Again

  July–September

• August 1940
• *8 August
• **Boom Town

  October–December

• October 1940
• *15 October
• **The Great Dictator

  Notable films released in 1940

A

• Abe Lincoln in Illinois, starring Raymond Massey
• All This and Heaven Too, starring Bette Davis and Charles Boyer
• Andy Hardy Meets Debutante, starring Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, and Fay Holden
• Angels Over Broadway, starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Rita Hayworth
• Anne of Windy Poplars, starring Anne Shirley
• The Ape, starring Boris Karloff
• Arise, My Love, starring Claudette Colbert and Ray Milland
• Arizona, starring Jean Arthur and William Holden

  B

• Band Waggon, directed by Marcel Varnel, starring Arthur Askey –
• The Bank Dick, written by and starring W. C. Fields
• Before I Hang, starring Boris Karloff
• The Biscuit Eater, directed by Stuart Heisler
• Bismarck, starring Paul Hartmann –
• Black Friday, starring Boris Karloff and Béla Lugosi
• The Blue Bird, starring Shirley Temple
• Boom Town, starring Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr
• The Boys from Syracuse, starring Allan Jones
• Boys of the City, starring the East Side Kids
• Brigham Young, starring Tyrone Power and Linda Darnell
• British Intelligence, starring Boris Karloff
• Broadway Melody of 1940, starring Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell – final film of series
• Brother Orchid, starring Edward G. Robinson, Ann Sothern, Humphrey Bogart

  C

• Calling Philo Vance, starring James Stephenson
• Castle on the Hudson, directed by Anatole Litvak, starring John Garfield and Ann Sheridan
• The Catacombs, directed by Martin Frič –
• Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum, starring Sidney Toler
• Charlie Chan in Panama, starring Sidney Toler
• Christmas in July, directed by Preston Sturges
• A Chump at Oxford, starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, featuring a young Peter Cushing
• City for Conquest, starring James Cagney
• Confucius –
• Contraband, directed by Michael Powell, starring Conrad Veidt and Valerie Hobson –
• Convicted Woman, starring Rochelle Hudson and June Lang
• Convoy – directed by Pen Tennyson, starring Clive Brook, John Clements
• Crimes at the Dark House, directed by George King, starring Tod Slaughter –

  D

• Dance, Girl, Dance, starring Maureen O'Hara, Louis Hayward, Lucille Ball
• Dark Command, starring John Wayne
• Dead Man's Shoes, directed by Thomas Bentley, starring Leslie Banks –
• The Devil Bat, starring Béla Lugosi
• A Dispatch from Reuter's, starring Edward G. Robinson
• Dívka v modrém –
• Doomed to Die, starring Boris Karloff
• Down Argentine Way, starring Don Ameche, Betty Grable and Carmen Miranda
• Dr. Cyclops, directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack, starring Albert Dekker
• Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet, starring Edward G. Robinson, Ruth Gordon, Otto Kruger, Donald Crisp

  E

• East Side Kids, starring Leon Ames and the East Side Kids
• Edison, the Man, starring Spencer Tracy
• Ergens in Nederland –
• Escape, starring Norma Shearer and Robert Taylor

  F

• Fantasia, directed by Samuel Armstrong, James Algar, Bill Roberts, Paul Satterfield, Ben Sharpsteen, David D. Hand, Hamilton Luske, Jim Handley, Ford Beebe, T. Hee, Norman Ferguson and Wilfred Jackson
• The Fatal Hour, starring Boris Karloff
• Flowing Gold, starring John Garfield and Frances Farmer
• Foreign Correspondent, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Joel McCrea
• Four Sons, directed by Archie Mayo, starring Don Ameche
• The Fox of Glenarvon, directed by Max W. Kimmich –
• French Without Tears, starring Ray Milland –

  G

• Gaslight, starring Anton Walbrook –
• The Ghost Breakers, starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard
• Girl in the News, starring Margaret Lockwood –
• Give Us Wings, starring the Dead End Kids
• Go West, starring the Marx Brothers
• The Grapes of Wrath, directed by John Ford, starring Henry Fonda
• The Great Dictator, directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin with Paulette Goddard and Jack Oakie
• The Great McGinty, starring Brian Donlevy
• Green Hell, starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Joan Bennett

  H

• Here Is the Point, starring Cantinflas –
• His Girl Friday, directed by Howard Hawks, starring Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy
• Hoots Mon!, directed by Roy William Neill, starring Max Miller and Florence Desmond
• The House Across the Bay, starring George Raft
• The House of the Seven Gables, starring George Sanders
• The Howards of Virginia, starring Cary Grant and Martha Scott
• Hullabaloo, starring Frank Morgan

  I-J

• I Love You Again, starring William Powell and Myrna Loy
• I Take This Woman, starring Spencer Tracy and Hedy Lamarr
• The Invisible Man Returns, starring Cedric Hardwicke and Vincent Price
• The Invisible Woman, starring Virginia Bruce and John Barrymore
• It All Came True, starring Ann Sheridan, Jeffrey Lynn, Humphrey Bogart
• June Nights, starring Ingrid Bergman –

  K-L

• King of the White Elephant –
• Kitty Foyle, starring Ginger Rogers
• Laddie, starring Tim Holt
• Lady with Red Hair, starring Miriam Hopkins
• The Letter, directed by William Wyler, starring Bette Davis
• Lillian Russell, starring Alice Faye and Henry Fonda
• Little Men, starring George Bancroft and Kay Francis
• The Long Voyage Home, starring John Wayne

  M

• Maddalena, Zero for Conduct, directed by and starring Vittorio De Sica –
• The Man from Dakota, starring Wallace Beery
• The Man Who Talked Too Much, starring George Brent
• The Marines Fly High, starring Lucille Ball and Richard Dix
• The Mark of Zorro, starring Tyrone Power and Linda Darnell
• The Middle Watch, directed by Thomas Bentley, starring Jack Buchanan and Greta Gynt
• The Minister's Girlfriends –
• Millionaires in Prison, starring Lee Tracy
• The Mortal Storm, starring Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart
• The Mummy's Hand, starring Dick Foran
• My Favorite Wife, starring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant
• My Little Chickadee, starring Mae West and W. C. Fields

  N

• New Moon, starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy
• Night Train to Munich, directed by Carol Reed, starring Margaret Lockwood and Rex Harrison –
• North West Mounted Police, starring Gary Cooper, Paulette Goddard, Madeleine Carroll
• Northwest Passage, starring Spencer Tracy and Robert Young

  O-P

• One Million B.C., starring Carole Landis
• One Night in the Tropics, film debut of Abbott and Costello
• Our Town, starring William Holden and Martha Scott
• Pastor Hall, directed by Roy Boulting –
• The Philadelphia Story, directed by George Cukor, starring Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, James Stewart
• Pinocchio, directed by Ben Sharpsteen and Hamilton Luske, starring Dickie Jones
• Pride and Prejudice, starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier
• Primrose Path, starring Ginger Rogers and Joel McCrea
• The Proud Valley, starring Paul Robeson –

  Q-R

• Queen of the Yukon, starring Charles Bickford
• Rebecca, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier – Oscar for best picture
• Remember the Night, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray
• Rhythm on the River, starring Bing Crosby and Mary Martin
• Road to Singapore, starring Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour and Bob Hope – first in the series

  S

• Saps at Sea, starring Laurel and Hardy
• The Sea Hawk, starring Errol Flynn
• Seven Sinners, starring Marlene Dietrich and John Wayne
• The Shop Around the Corner, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart
• The Siege of the Alcazar –
• Sky Murder, starring Walter Pidgeon
• Son of Ingagi, directed by Richard Kahn
• The Son of Monte Cristo, starring Louis Hayward and Joan Bennett
• Spring Parade, starring Deanna Durbin
• The Stars Look Down, directed by Carol Reed, starring Michael Redgrave and Margaret Lockwood –
• The Stationmaster –
• Strange Cargo, starring Clark Gable and Joan Crawford
• Stranger on the Third Floor, starring Peter Lorre
• Strike Up the Band, directed by Busby Berkeley, starring Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney
• South of Suez, starring George Brent
• Swiss Family Robinson, starring Thomas Mitchell and Edna Best

  T-V

• They Drive by Night, starring George Raft, Humphrey Bogart, Ida Lupino
• They Knew What They Wanted, directed by Garson Kanin, starring Charles Laughton and Carole Lombard
• The Thief of Bagdad, starring Conrad Veidt and Sabu –
• 'Til We Meet Again, starring Merle Oberon and George Brent
• Tom Brown's School Days, starring Cedric Hardwicke
• Too Many Girls, starring Lucille Ball
• Too Many Husbands, starring Jean Arthur, Fred MacMurray, Melvyn Douglas
• Tørres Snørtevold –
• Torrid Zone, starring James Cagney, Ann Sheridan, Pat O'Brien
• Turnabout, starring John Hubbard and Carole Landis
• Vigil in the Night, starring Carole Lombard
• Virginia City, starring Errol Flynn and Miriam Hopkins

  W-Z

• Waterloo Bridge, starring Vivien Leigh and Robert Taylor
• The Well-Digger's Daughter, directed by Marcel Pagnol, starring Raimu and Fernandel –
• The Westerner, starring Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Dana Andrews, Forrest Tucker
• Where's That Fire?, starring Will Hay –
• Women in War, starring Elsie Janis and Patric Knowles
• Young People, starring Shirley Temple
• Young Tom Edison, starring Mickey Rooney
• You're Not So Tough, starring the Dead End Kids

  Serials

• Adventures of Red Ryder, directed by William Witney and John English
• Deadwood Dick, directed by James W. Horne
• Drums of Fu Manchu, starring Henry Brandon and Robert Kellard, directed by William Witney and John English
• Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe, starring Buster Crabbe
• The Green Archer, starring Victor Jory, directed by James W. Horne
• The Green Hornet, starring Warren Hull
• Junior G-Men, starring the Dead End Kids
• King of the Royal Mounted starring Allan Lane, directed by William Witney and John English
• Mysterious Doctor Satan, starring Eduardo Ciannelli, directed by William Witney and John English
• The Shadow, starring Victor Jory, directed by James W. Horne
• Terry and the Pirates, starring William Tracy, directed by James W. Horne
• Winners of the West, starring Dick Foran and Anne Nagel

  Short film series

• Buster Keaton
• Laurel and Hardy
• Our Gang
• Charley Chase
• The Three Stooges

  Animated short film series

• Krazy Kat
• Mickey Mouse
• Looney Tunes
• Terrytoons
• Merrie Melodies
• Scrappy
• Popeye
• Color Rhapsodies
• Donald Duck
• Pluto
• Walter Lantz Cartunes
• Goofy
• Andy Panda
• * Knock Knock!
• Tom and Jerry
• * Puss Gets the Boot

  Births

• January 3 – Thelma Schoonmaker, American editor
• January 22 – John Hurt, English actor
• January 27 – James Cromwell, American actor
• January 29 – Katharine Ross, American actress
• February 4 – George A. Romero, American director, producer and screenwriter
• February 12 – Ralph Bates, English actor
• February 23 – Peter Fonda, American actor
• February 27 – Bill Hunter, Australian actor
• March 9 – Raúl Juliá, Puerto Rican actor
• March 10 – Chuck Norris, American actor and martial artist
• March 26 – James Caan, American actor
• April 17 – Billy Fury, English singer and actor
• April 25 – Al Pacino, American actor
• April 30 – Burt Young, American actor
• May 5 – Lance Henriksen, American actor
• May 15 – Lainie Kazan, American actress and singer
• May 17 – Valie Export, Austrian director
• June 1 – René Auberjonois, American actor
• June 20 – John Mahoney, English-born American actor
• June 22 – Abbas Kiarostami, Iranian director
• June 23 – Adam Faith, English actor and singer
• July 4 – Karolyn Grimes, American actress
• July 7 – Ringo Starr, English drummer
• July 13 – Patrick Stewart, English actor
• July 18 – James Brolin, American actor
• July 24 – Dan Hedaya, American actor
• August 3 – Martin Sheen, American actor
• August 15
• * Maria Grazia Buccella, Italian actress
• * Ze'ev Revach, Israeli comedian, film actor, director
• August 19 – Jill St. John, American actress
• August 27 – Sonny Sharrock, American jazz guitarist
• August 31 – Jack Thompson, Australian actor
• September 5 – Raquel Welch, American actress
• September 11 – Brian De Palma, American director, producer and screenwriter
• September 22 – Anna Karina, Danish-born French actress, director and singer
• October 9 – John Lennon, English singer-songwriter and musician
• October 14 – Cliff Richard, English singer and actor
• October 19 – Michael Gambon, Irish-born British actor
• November 5 – Elke Sommer, German actress
• November 13 – Rudolf Schwarzkogler, Austrian experimental filmmaker
• November 15 – Sam Waterston, American actor
• November 20 – Helma Sanders-Brahms, German director
• November 27 – Bruce Lee, Chinese-American martial artist and actor
• December 1 – Richard Pryor, American comedian and actor
• December 13 – Volli Käro, Estonian actor

  Deaths

• January 4 – Flora Finch, 72, American actress, A Cure for Pokeritis, The Cat and the Canary, Quality Street, Her Crowning Glory
• February 20 – George Periolat, 66, American actor, The Mark of Zorro, One Rainy Afternoon, Morning Glory, What Price Hollywood?
• March 5 – Maxine Elliott, 66, American actress, Fighting Odds
• April 9 – Mrs. Patrick Campbell, 75, English actress, Riptide, One More River
• April 11 – Hemmo Kallio, 77, Finnish actor, Anna Liisa
• May 25 – Joe De Grasse, 67, Canadian-born American film director, Heart o' the Hills, The Scarlet Car, The Girl of the Night
• July 1 – Ben Turpin, 70, American actor, Saps at Sea, Mr. Flip, A Clever Dummy
• July 15 – Donald Calthrop, 52, English actor, Scrooge, Blackmail, Murder!, Major Barbara
• September 25 – Marguerite Clark, 57, American actress, Scrambled Wives, Easy to Get, All of a Sudden Peggy, A Girl Named Mary
• October 10 – Berton Churchill, 63, Canadian actor, Stagecoach, I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, In Old Chicago, Heroes for Sale
• October 12 – Tom Mix, 60, American actor, The Miracle Rider, Riders of the Purple Sage, Sky High
• December 13 – Wilfred Lucas, 69, Canadian-born American actor, screenwriter, director, Modern Times, A Chump at Oxford, The Girl and Her Trust

  Debuts

• Jack Albertson – Strike up the Band
• Dana Andrews – Lucky Cisco Kid
• Anne Baxter – 20 Mule Team
• Hugh Griffith – Night Train to Munich
• Van Johnson – Too Many Girls
• Arthur Kennedy – City for Conquest
• Karl Malden – They Knew What They Wanted
• Terry Moore – Maryland
• Robert Ryan – The Ghost Breakers
• Gene Tierney – The Return of Frank James
• David Tomlinson – Garrison Follies
• Forrest Tucker – The Westerner
• Gig Young – Misbehaving Husbands
• Deborah Kerr – Contraband
• Donna Reed – Convicted Woman