1945 in film explained
The year 1945 in film involved some significant events. With 1945 being the last year of World War II, the many films released this year had themes of patriotism, sacrifices, and peace.[1] In the United States, there were more than eighteen thousand movie theatres operating in 1945, a figure that grew by a third from a decade earlier.[2]
Top-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1945 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
Highest-grossing films of 1945| Rank | Title | Distributor | Domestic rentals |
|---|
| 1 | The Bells of St. Mary's | RKO | $8,000,000[3] |
|---|
| 2 | Leave Her to Heaven | 20th Century Fox | $5,550,000 |
|---|
| 3 | Spellbound | United Artists | $4,975,000[4] |
|---|
| 4 | The Valley of Decision | MGM | $4,566,000[5] |
|---|
| 5 | Anchors Aweigh | $4,498,000 |
|---|
| 6 | Week-End at the Waldorf | $4,364,000 |
|---|
| 7 | Thrill of a Romance | $4,338,000 |
|---|
| 8 | The Lost Weekend | Paramount | $4,300,000 |
|---|
| 9 | State Fair | 20th Century Fox | $4,050,000 |
|---|
| 10 | National Velvet | MGM | $3,678,000 | |
|---|
Events
- January 26 – The film National Velvet, starring Mickey Rooney, Elizabeth Taylor, Donald Crisp and Anne Revere, is released nationally in the United States. The film is an instant critical and commercial success, propelling 12-year-old Taylor to stardom and earning Revere the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
- January 30 – Restricted release of Kolberg, an historical epic which is one of the last Nazi Germany propaganda pieces, in war-torn Berlin. Given its cast of 187,000 (including serving military personnel), probably fewer people watched it than appeared in it.
- April 20 – Release of Son of Lassie, the 2nd Lassie film and the first film ever to be filmed using the Technicolor monopack method, where a single magazine of film is used to record all of the primary colors. Prior to this method, the most popular recording method was 3-Strip Technicolor, which simultaneously used 3 individual film magazines to record the primary colors.
- August 10 – Animated Donald Duck short Duck Pimples is released.
- September 27 – Release of Roberto Rossellini's Roma Città aperta marks the beginning of Italian neorealism in film.
- October 5 – A strike between the set decorators' union and the studios boils over and becomes known as the Hollywood Black Friday.
- October 31 – Spellbound, a psychological thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock, premieres in New York City.
- November 16 – Paramount Pictures releases theatrical short cartoon titled The Friendly Ghost, introducing a ghost named Casper.
- November 29 – At the Nuremberg trials a documentary on the Nazi concentration camps directed by John Ford is exhibited as evidence.
Awards
1945 film releases
January–March
- January 1945
- 4 January
- 8 January
- 18 January
- 26 January
- February 1945
- March 1945
- 3 March
- The Picture of Dorian Gray
- 16 March
April–June
- April 1945
- 7 April
- 17 April
- 20 April
- The Horn Blows at Midnight
- 29 April
- May 1945
- June 1945
July–September
- July 1945
- August 1945
- September 1945
October–December
- October 1945
- 20 October
- 26 October
- 31 October
- November 1945
- December 1945
- 7 December
- 8 December
- 20 December
- 25 December
- 28 December
- 31 December
Notable films released in 1945
United States unless stated
A
B
- Back to Bataan, directed by Edward Dmytryk, with John Wayne
- A Bell For Adano, starring Gene Tierney and John Hodiak
- The Bells of St. Mary's, directed by Leo McCarey, starring Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman
- Blithe Spirit, directed by David Lean, starring Rex Harrison and Constance Cummings, based on the play by Noël Coward – (GB)
- Blood on the Sun, starring James Cagney
- The Body Snatcher, directed by Robert Wise, starring Boris Karloff
- Boule de suif (Angel and Sinner) – (France)
- Bougainvillea (Bugambilia), starring Pedro Armendariz and Dolores del Río – (Mexico)
- Brewster's Millions, starring Dennis O'Keefe
- Brief Encounter, directed by David Lean, starring Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard- (GB)
C
- Caesar and Cleopatra, directed by Gabriel Pascal, starring Vivien Leigh and Claude Rains – (GB)
- Captain Kidd, starring Charles Laughton
- The Cheaters, starring Joseph Schildkraut and Billie Burke
- The Cherokee Flash, starring Sunset Carson and Linda Stirling
- Children of Paradise (Les Enfants du Paradis), by Marcel Carné, starring Arletty, released following the liberation of France
- Christmas in Connecticut, starring Barbara Stanwyck
- Circus Cavalcade (La cabalgata del circo) – (Argentina)
- The Clock, starring Judy Garland
- Confidential Agent, starring Charles Boyer and Lauren Bacall
- Conflict, starring Humphrey Bogart
- Counter-Attack, starring Paul Muni and Marguerite Chapman
- The Corn Is Green, starring Bette Davis and John Dall
- Cornered, directed by Edward Dmytryk, starring Dick Powell
D
E
F
G
H
- Hangover Square, starring Laird Cregar, Linda Darnell and George Sanders
- Here Come the Co-Eds, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
- High Powered, starring Phyllis Brooks and Robert Lowery
- The Horn Blows at Midnight, starring Jack Benny
- Hotel Berlin, starring Faye Emerson and Raymond Massey
- The House I Live In, a short film starring Frank Sinatra, awarded a special Oscar for its message of tolerance
- House of Dracula, starring Lon Chaney Jr. and John Carradine
- The House of Fear (1945 film), a Sherlock Holmes mystery directed by Roy William Neill, starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes, and Nigel Bruce as Watson
- The House on 92nd Street, produced by Louis de Rochemont, starring Lloyd Nolan and Signe Hasso
- Humayun, starring Ashok Kumar – (India)
I
- I Know Where I'm Going!, directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, starring Wendy Hiller and Roger Livesey – (GB)
- I Live in Grosvenor Square, starring Anna Neagle, Rex Harrison and Robert Morley – (GB)
- I'll Be Your Sweetheart, directed by Val Guest, starring Margaret Lockwood (GB)
- Incendiary Blonde, starring Betty Hutton
- The Invisible Army (Den usynlige hær) – (Denmark)
- Isle of the Dead, starring Boris Karloff and Ellen Drew
- It's in the Bag!, starring Fred Allen, Jack Benny, Don Ameche
J
K
L
M
- Madonna of the Seven Moons, starring Phyllis Calvert and Stewart Granger – (GB)
- The Man in Half Moon Street, starring Nils Asther
- A Medal for Benny, starring Dorothy Lamour
- The Men who Tread on the Tiger's Tail (Tora no o wo fumu otokotachi), directed by Akira Kurosawa – (Japan)
- Mildred Pierce, directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Joan Crawford, Ann Blyth, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden
- Mom and Dad, a hygiene documentary
- Momotaro, Sacred Sailors (Momotarō: Umi no Shinpei), the first feature-length animated film from Japan
- My Name is Julia Ross, starring Nina Foch
N
O
P
R
S
-
- Saratoga Trunk, starring Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman
- Scarlet Street, directed by Fritz Lang, starring Edward G. Robinson and Joan Bennett
- La selva de fuego (The Forest Fire), starring Dolores del Río and Arturo de Córdova – (Mexico)
- The Seventh Veil, starring James Mason and Ann Todd – (GB)
- Son of Lassie, starring Peter Lawford
- A Song to Remember, a biopic of Frédéric Chopin starring Cornel Wilde
- The Southerner, starring Zachary Scott
- The Spanish Main, starring Maureen O'Hara and Paul Henreid
- Spellbound, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck
- State Fair, starring Dana Andrews and Jeanne Crain
- The Stork Club, starring Betty Hutton
- The Story of G.I. Joe, directed by William Wellman, starring Burgess Meredith and Robert Mitchum
- The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry, starring George Sanders
T
-
- The Thin Man Goes Home, starring William Powell and Myrna Loy
- This Man's Navy, starring Wallace Beery
- The Three Caballeros, a Walt Disney animated film starring Donald Duck and Dora Luz
- Thrill of a Romance, directed by Richard Thorpe, starring Esther Williams and Van Johnson
- Thunderhead, Son of Flicka, starring Roddy McDowall
- Tonight and Every Night, starring Rita Hayworth
- A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, directed by Elia Kazan, starring Dorothy McGuire
- Twice Blessed, starring Lee and Lyn Wilde
- Two O'Clock Courage, starring Ann Rutherford and Tom Conway
U
V
W
- A Walk in the Sun, starring Dana Andrews
- War Comes to America, directed by Frank Capra and Anatole Litvak
- Waterloo Road, starring John Mills and Stewart Granger – (GB)
- The Way to the Stars, starring John Mills and Michael Redgrave, written by Terence Rattigan – (GB)
- The Wicked Lady, starring Margaret Lockwood and James Mason – (GB)
- Without Love, starring Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Lucille Ball
- The Woman in Green, a Sherlock Holmes mystery directed by Roy William Neill, starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes, and Nigel Bruce as Watson, co-starring Hillary Brook and Henry Daniell
- Wonder Man, starring Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo
Y
Z
Serials
Short film series
Births
- January 5 – Roger Spottiswoode, Canadian-British-American director, editor and writer
- January 9 - John Doman, American actor
- January 16 – Élisabeth Margoni, French actress
- January 22
- January 25 – Leigh Taylor-Young, American actress
- January 28 – Marthe Keller, Swiss actress
- January 29 – Tom Selleck, American actor
- February 3 – Marius Weyers, South African actor
- February 4 – Tony Haygarth, English actor (died 2017)
- February 8 - Louis Giambalvo, American actor
- February 9 – Mia Farrow, American actress
- February 12 – Maud Adams, Swedish actress
- February 16 – Jeremy Bulloch, English actor (died 2020)
- February 17
- February 20 – Brion James, American actor (died 1999)
- February 24 – Barry Bostwick, American actor
- February 27 - Carl Anderson, American singer and actor (died 2004)
- February 28 – Bubba Smith, American professional football player and actor (died 2011)
- March 1 - Dirk Benedict, American actor
- March 3
- March 8 - Janet Wright, English-born Canadian actress (died 2016)
- March 13 – Whitney Rydbeck, American actor (died 2024)
- March 24
- March 28 – Raine Loo, Estonian actress (died 2020)
- April 2 – Linda Hunt, American actress
- April 3 – Catherine Spaak, Belgian-Italian actress and singer (died 2022)
- April 4 - Caroline McWilliams, American actress (died 2010)
- April 11 - Michael Brandon, American actor
- May 14 - Francesca Annis, English actress
- May 18 - Candice Azzara, American character actress
- May 24 – Priscilla Presley, American actress
- May 27 - Kip Niven, American actor (died 2019)
- May 30 - Makram Khoury, Israeli-Arab actor
- May 31 – Rainer Werner Fassbinder, German director, producer and screenwriter (died 1982)
- June 2
- June 3 - Bill Paterson, Scottish actor
- June 6 – David Dukes, American actor (died 2000)
- June 11 – Adrienne Barbeau, American actress
- June 12 – Edwin Neal, American actor
- July 1 – Debbie Harry, American actress and singer (lead vocalist of Blondie (band))
- July 3 – Mickey Rooney Jr., American actor (died 2022)
- July 4 - Bruce French, American actor
- July 6 - Burt Ward, American actor
- July 19 - George Dzundza, American actor
- July 21 - Sergio Calderón, Mexican-born American actor (died 2023)
- July 23 – Edie McClurg, American actress and voice actress
- July 26 – Helen Mirren, English actress
- August 2 – Joanna Cassidy, American actress
- August 5 – Loni Anderson, American actress
- August 14
- August 15
- August 16 - Bob Balaban, American actor, director, producer and writer
- August 21 – Patty McCormack, American actress
- August 23 – Bob Peck, English actor (died 1999)
- August 24 - Cástulo Guerra, Argentine actor
- August 28 - Jeannie Linero, American actress
- September 10 – Dennis Burkley, American actor (died 2013)
- September 11 - Felton Perry, American actor
- September 15
- September 17 – Bruce Spence, New Zealand actor
- September 22 – Paul Le Mat, American actor
- October 7 – Michael Wallis, American journalist and voice actor
- October 17 - Thomas Kopache, American actor
- October 18 – Huell Howser, American actor, television personality, host, comedian (died 2013)
- October 19 – John Lithgow, American actor
- October 20 - George Wyner, American actor
- October 21 - Everett McGill, American actor
- October 23 - Hugh Fraser, English actor
- October 26 – Jaclyn Smith, American actress
- October 27 – Carrie Snodgress, American actress (died 2004)
- October 30 – Henry Winkler, American actor
- October 31 – Brian Doyle-Murray, American actor and comedian
- November 2 - J. D. Souther, American singer-songwriter and actor
- November 8 – Angela Scoular, English actress (died 2011)
- November 10
- November 15 – Bob Gunton, American character actor
- November 19 - Paula Weinstein, American producer (died 2024)
- November 21 – Goldie Hawn, American actress
- November 26 - Daniel Davis, American actor
- November 27 – James Avery, American actor (died 2013)
- November 28 – John Hargreaves, Australian actor (died 1996)
- November 30 – Billy Drago, American actor (died 2019)
- December 1 – Bette Midler, American actress, comedian and singer
- December 7 - Clive Russell, Scottish actor
- December 9 - Michael Nouri, American actor
- December 13 – Heather North, American actress (died 2017)
- December 17 – Ernie Hudson, American actor
- December 21 – Mari Lill, Estonian actress
- December 24 – Nicholas Meyer, American screenwriter, director and producer
- December 25
- December 30 - Lloyd Kaufman, American director, screenwriter, producer and actor
- December 31
Deaths
- January 14 – Heinrich Schroth, 73, German actor, Dr. Hart's Diary, Melody of a Great City, Die Entlassung, Rembrandt
- February 23 – Reginald Barker, 58, American director, Civilization, The Bargain, The Coward, The Moonstone
- March 4 – Lucille La Verne, 72, American actress, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Abraham Lincoln, Orphans of the Storm, A Tale of Two Cities
- March 4 – Mark Sandrich, 44, American director, The Gay Divorcee, Follow the Fleet, Holiday Inn
- March 30 – Béla Balogh, 60, Hungarian director
- April 10 – Gloria Dickson, 27, American actress, Lady of Burlesque, They Won't Forget
- April 16 – Willie Fung, 49, Chinese-American actor, Come On, Cowboys, The Great Profile
- April 29 – Malcolm McGregor, 52, American silent screen star, Lady of the Night, The Circle, The Whispering Shadow, The Ladybird
- May 4 – Anna Dodge, 77, American actress, The Extra Girl, Ride for Your Life
- July 13 – Alla Nazimova, 66, Ukrainian-born stage and film actress, Blood and Sand, Salomé, Since You Went Away, Madame Peacock
- July 19 – George Barbier, 80, American actor, No One Man, Evenings for Sale, The Cat's-Paw, The Magnificent Dope
- August 11 – Stefan Jaracz, 61, Polish actor, Countess Walewska
- September 1 – Terry, 11, American performing Cairn Terrier, The Wizard of Oz
- November 11 – Jerome Kern, 60, American composer, Show Boat, Swing Time
- November 12 – Jaro Fürth, 74, Austrian actor, Diary of a Lost Girl, Joyless Street
- November 21 – Robert Benchley, 56, American writer and actor, Foreign Correspondent, You'll Never Get Rich, Road to Utopia
- December 25 – Russell Gleason, 37, American actor, Undercover Agent, The Covered Trailer, News Is Made at Night
Debuts
Star ranking according to Motion Picture Herald exhibitor's poll
*Source: Best Years Going to the Movies, 1945-1946
[6] External links
Notes and References
- Book: Affron, Charles . Best Years : Going to the Movies, 1945-1946 . Affron . Mirella Jona . Rutgers University Press . 2009 . 9786613588685 . New Brunswick, NJ . 1-9.
- Film Daily Year Book (Reading, UK: Research Publications, 1947), microfilm, 59.
- All-Time Top Grossers. . 6 January 1965 . 39 . 29 December 2022 . Internet Archive.
- All-Time Top Grossers. . 6 January 1965 . 67 . 29 December 2022 . Internet Archive.
- .
- Book: Affron, Charles . Best Years Going to the Movies, 1945-1946 . Affron . Mirella Jona . Rutgers University Press . 2009 . 9780813548456 . New Brunswick, NJ . 297.
