Overview of the events of 1944 in film
The year1944 in film involved some significant events, including the wholesome, award-winningGoing My Way Double Indemnity Gaslight Laura
[ edit ] The top ten 1944 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
Highest-grossing films of 1944 Rank Title Distributor Domestic rentals 1 Going My Way Paramount $6,500,000[ 1] 2 Meet Me in St. Louis MGM $5,016,000[ 2] 3 Since You Went Away United Artists $4,950,000[ 3] 4 Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo MGM $4,297,000[ 2] 5 The Story of Dr. Wassell Paramount $4,209,968[ 4] 6 The White Cliffs of Dover MGM $4,045,000[ 2] 7 A Guy Named Joe $3,970,000[ 2] 8 Hollywood Canteen Warner Bros. $3,831,000[ 5] 9 To Have and Have Not $3,652,000[ 5] 10 Bathing Beauty MGM $3,284,000[ 2]
March 16 – MGM's supernatural romantic dramaA Guy Named Joe Spencer Tracy andIrene Dunne , opens in Los Angeles. May 3 – The musical comedy dramaGoing My Way Leo McCarey and starringBing Crosby andBarry Fitzgerald , premieres in New York City. It opens in Los Angeles on August 16. The highest-grossing picture of the year, it goes on to win a total of sevenAcademy Awards , includingBest Picture ,Best Director for McCary,Best Actor for Crosby andBest Original Song for "Swinging on a Star ". May 13 –Dale Evans appears in her first film with future husband,Roy Rogers –Cowboy and the Senorita July 20 – Home front dramaSince You Went Away August 16–September 11 – Nazi propaganda documentaryTheresienstadt Theresienstadt Ghetto . Following completion of filming, co-directorKurt Gerron and many of those featured are transported toAuschwitz concentration camp and murdered; although completed in 1945, the film is never released.[ 6] September 6 – Crime thriller film noirDouble Indemnity September – Around 640 motion picture actors, writers and directors are included on theGottbegnadeten listNazi Germany , protecting them from military conscription. November 22 – MGM's musicalMeet Me in St. Louis Judy Garland andMargaret O'Brien , premieres. Hugely popular with both audiences and critics, the film is nominated for four Academy Awards. Top Ten Money Making Stars [ edit ] January 19447 January 11 January 14 January 28 January February 19443 February 5 February 10 February 11 February 22 February March 19442 March 16 March 17 March 22 March 23 March April 19449 April 17 April 25 April 26 April May 19445 May 8 May 11 May 13 May 27 May June 1944 July 19442 July 6 July 7 July 8 July 12 July 14 July 20 July 22 July 24 July August 19441 August 12 August 16 August 17 August 23 August 30 August September 19442 September 9 September 12 September 23 September October 1944 November 19441 November 3 November 10 November 11 November 15 November 28 November December 19441 December 5 December 6 December 15 December 18 December 22 December 23 December 24 December[ 7] 29 December Notable films released in 1944 [ edit ] United States unless stated
The Adventures of Mark Twain Fredric March Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves Maria Montez andJon Hall And Now Tomorrow Alan Ladd andLoretta Young And the Angels Sing Fred MacMurray andDorothy Lamour Army Rikugun ), directed byKeisuke Kinoshita , starringChishū Ryū andKinuyo Tanaka – (Japan )Arsenic and Old Lace Frank Capra , starringCary Grant ,Priscilla Lane ,Raymond Massey ,Peter Lorre ; filmed in 1941 but not released until 1944At Land Maya Deren Candlelight in Algeria James Mason – (GB )Can't Help Singing Deanna Durbin A Canterbury Tale Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger , starringEric Portman – (GB )The Canterville Ghost Charles Laughton ,Robert Young andMargaret O'Brien Casanova Brown Gary Cooper Champagne Charlie Alberto Cavalcanti , starringTommy Trinder andStanley Holloway – (GB )The Children Are Watching Us Vittorio De Sica – (Italy )Christmas Holiday Gene Kelly The Climax Susanna Foster andBoris Karloff Cobra Woman Maria Montez The Conspirators Paul Henreid andHedy Lamarr Cover Girl Rita Hayworth andGene Kelly Cowboy and the Senorita Roy Rogers andDale Evans Crime by Night Jane Wyman Cry of the Werewolf Nina Foch The Curse of the Cat People Simone Simon Fanny by Gaslight Anthony Asquith , starringPhyllis Calvert ,James Mason ,Stewart Granger – (GB )Fiddlers Three Tommy Trinder (GB )The Fighting Seabees John Wayne andSusan Hayward The Fighting Sullivans Lloyd Bacon , starringAnne Baxter andThomas Mitchell For Those in Peril Charles Crichton – (GB )Frenchman's Creek Joan Fontaine andBasil Rathbone Die Feuerzangenbowle Germany )Hail the Conquering Hero Preston Sturges , starringEddie Bracken andElla Raines The Halfway House Basil Dearden , starringMervyn Johns andGlynis Johns The Heavenly Body William Powell andHedy Lamarr Henry V Laurence Olivier – (GB )The Hitler Gang Robert Watson Hollywood Canteen Joan Leslie Home in Indiana Walter Brennan The Hour Before the Dawn Veronica Lake House of Frankenstein Boris Karloff andLon Chaney Jr. Lady in the Dark Ginger Rogers andRay Milland Lady, Let's Dance Belita and comedy ice teamFrick and Frack Lake Placid Serenade Vera Ralston Laura Otto Preminger , starringGene Tierney ,Dana Andrews ,Clifton Webb andVincent Price Lifeboat Alfred Hitchcock , starringTallulah Bankhead ,John Hodiak ,William Bendix ,Walter Slezak ,Henry Hull andHume Cronyn The Lodger Merle Oberon andGeorge Sanders Lost in a Harem Bud Abbott andLou Costello Man from Frisco Robert Florey , starringMichael O'Shea andAnne Shirley Marie-Louise Leopold Lindtberg and an uncreditedFranz Schnyder The Mask of Dimitrios Peter Lorre ,Sydney Greenstreet andZachary Scott Meet Me in St. Louis Vincente Minnelli , starringJudy Garland Meet the People Lucille Ball Melody of Murder Denmark )Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress William Wyler Ministry of Fear Ray Milland The Miracle of Morgan's Creek Preston Sturges , starringEddie Bracken andBetty Hutton Mr. Skeffington Bette Davis andClaude Rains Mrs. Parkington Greer Garson The Mummy's Curse Lon Chaney Jr. The Mummy's Ghost Lon Chaney Jr. Murder, My Sweet Edward Dmytryk , starringDick Powell andClaire Trevor Music for Millions Margaret O'Brien Pardon My Rhythm Gloria Jean Passage to Marseille Humphrey Bogart ,Claude Rains ,Peter Lorre andSydney Greenstreet The Pearl of Death Phantom Lady Franchot Tone andElla Raines Pin Up Girl Betty Grable Port of Freedom Germany )Possession Denmark )The Princess and the Pirate Bob Hope andVirginia Mayo The Purple Heart Dana Andrews ,Richard Conte andFarley Granger The Scarlet Claw Sherlock Holmes mystery directed by Roy William Neill, starringBasil Rathbone as Holmes, andNigel Bruce as WatsonThe Seventh Cross Fred Zinnemann , starringSpencer Tracy Sherlock Holmes andThe Spider Woman , aSherlock Holmes mystery directed by Roy William Neill, starringBasil Rathbone as Holmes andNigel Bruce as Watson; co-starring Gale SondergaardSince You Went Away Claudette Colbert ,Jennifer Jones andShirley Temple Something for the Boys Carmen Miranda ,Michael O'Shea andVivian Blaine Song of Russia Robert Taylor The Soul of a Monster George Macready Storm Over Lisbon Vera Ralston The Story of Dr. Wassell Gary Cooper Sunday Dinner for a Soldier Anne Baxter andJohn Hodiak The Suspect Charles Laughton Tall in the Saddle John Wayne Thirty Seconds over Tokyo Spencer Tracy andVan Johnson This Happy Breed David Lean , starringJohn Mills andCelia Johnson – (GB )The Three Caballeros Walt Disney animated film starringDonald Duck and Dora Luz (released in South America in 1944, but was released in 1945 in the U.S.)Time Flies Tommy Handley (GB )To Have And Have Not Howard Hawks , starringHumphrey Bogart andLauren Bacall Torment Alf Sjoberg – (Sweden )The Tower of the Seven Hunchbacks La Torre de los Siete Jorobados ) – (Spain )Tunisian Victory Frank Capra ,Hugh Stewart andJohn Huston – (US /GB )Two Thousand Women Flora Robson andPhyllis Calvert – (GB )The Way Ahead Immortal Battalion Carol Reed , starringDavid Niven andStanley Holloway – (GB )Weird Woman Lon Chaney Jr. andAnne Gwynne When Strangers Marry Dean Jagger ,Kim Hunter ,Robert Mitchum The White Cliffs of Dover Irene Dunne Wilson Woodrow Wilson , starringAlexander Knox andCharles Coburn Wing and a Prayer Henry Hathaway , starringDana Andrews andDon Ameche The Woman in the Window Fritz Lang , starringEdward G. Robinson andJoan Bennett Animated short film series [ edit ] January 5 –Franco Ferrini , Italian screenwriter January 9 –Harun Farocki , German filmmaker (died 2014) January 10 –William Sanderson , American actor January 13 -Mike Edmonds , English actor January 20 –Margaret Avery , American actress January 22 -Pamela Salem , British actress (died 2024) January 23 –Rutger Hauer , Dutch actor (died 2019)[ 8] January 28 -Andrew Jack , British dialect coach and actor (died 2020) February 3 –Trisha Noble , Australian singer and actress (died 2021) February 8 February 13 February 14 –Alan Parker , English director, producer and screenwriter (died 2020) February 22 –Jonathan Demme , American director, producer and screenwriter (died 2017) February 29 –Dennis Farina , American actor (died 2013) March 5 –Peter Weibel , Ukrainian-born Austrian experimental filmmaker March 6 -Harold Hopkins , Australian actor (died 2011) March 10 –Richard Gant , American actor March 14 –Steve Daskewisz , American actor and stunt double (died 2018) March 19 -Guy Thauvette , Canadian actor March 24 –R. Lee Ermey , American film, television and voice actor (died 2018) March 26 –Diana Ross , American singer and actress April 4 –Craig T. Nelson , American actor April 6 –Anita Pallenberg , Italian-born actress and model (died 2017) April 8 -Joey D. Vieira , American actor April 13 –Charles Burnett , American director April 30 –Jill Clayburgh , American actress (died 2010) May 4 –Russi Taylor , American voice actress (died 2019) May 5 May 10 –Jim Abrahams , American director, producer and screenwriter (died 2024) May 14 –George Lucas , American director, producer and screenwriter May 16 –Danny Trejo , American actor and voice actor May 19 May 25 –Frank Oz , American actor, filmmaker and puppeteer May 26 May 28 May 29 -Helmut Berger , Austrian actor (died 2023) June 5 -Colm Wilkinson , Irish singer and actor June 11 –Roscoe Orman , American actor June 12 -Terence Kelly , Canadian actor June 14 -Joe Grifasi , American character actor June 20 -Oliver Cotton , English actor, comedian and playwright June 21 -Tony Scott , British director and producer (died 2012) June 23 –Ingrīda Andriņa , Latvian actress (died 2015) June 24 -Julian Holloway , British actor (died 2025) June 29 –Gary Busey , American actor July 1 –Wahid Hamed , Egyptian screenwriter (died 2021) July 2 –Viiu Härm , Estonian actress July 4 -Emilio Echevarria , Mexican actor (died 2025) July 8 –Jeffrey Tambor , American actor July 12 -Delia Ephron , American writer and producer July 17 –Catherine Schell , Hungarian-born British actress July 22 July 23 -Pepe Serna , American actor July 30 July 31 –Geraldine Chaplin , American actress August 4 -Richard Belzer , American actor and stand-up comedian (died 2023) August 7 –John Glover , American actor August 9 –Sam Elliott , American actor August 11 –Ian McDiarmid , Scottish actor August 13 -Kevin Tighe , American actor August 19 –John Roselius , American actor (died 2018) August 21 –Peter Weir , Australian director, producer and screenwriter August 25 -Anthony Heald , American character actor August 26 -Stephen Greif , English actor (died 2022) August 27 -G. W. Bailey , American actor August 30 –Wolf Roth , German actor September 1 –Beau Starr , American actor September 6 -Swoosie Kurtz , American actress September 13 –Jacqueline Bisset , English actress September 15 –Pik-Sen Lim , Malaysian-British actress September 16 -Michael Edwards , American actor September 20 –Jeremy Child , British actor (died 2022) September 21 -Fannie Flagg , American actress and comedian September 22 September 25 –Michael Douglas , American actor and producer September 26 -Helmut Bakaitis , German-born Australian director, actor and screenwriter September 28 -Matthew Cowles , American actor (died 2014) October 1 –Jean-Pierre Castaldi , French actor October 8 –Dale Dye , American actor, technical advisor, radio personality and writer October 10 –Lii Tedre , Estonian actress October 14 -Udo Kier , German actor October 20 -Robert Swan , American actor (died 2023) October 28 –Dennis Franz , American actor November 2 -Patrice Chéreau , French filmmaker, actor and producer (died 2013) November 4 –Linda Gary , American actress, voice actress (died 1995) November 17 November 21 –Harold Ramis , American actor, director and screenwriter (died 2014) November 22 -Paul Brooke , retired English actor November 25 December 4 -Carol Sutton , American actress (died 2020) December 5 –Jeroen Krabbe , Dutch actor and director December 8 –Sharmila Tagore , Indian actress December 11 -Teri Garr , American actress (died 2024) December 12 –Kenneth Cranham , Scottish actor December 15 –Morgan Paull , American actor (died 2012) January 3 –Aage Hertel , Danish actor (born 1873) March 14 –Merta Sterling , American actress (born 1883) April 10 –Pat West , American actor (born 1888) July 14 –Emil Fjellström , Swedish actor (born 1884) July 18 –Alan Dinehart , American actor (born 1889) July 20 –Mildred Harris , American actress (born 1901) September 24 –Hugo Thimig , Austrian actor (born 1854) October 28 –Kurt Gerron , German film director (born 1897) November 27 –Jill Furse , British actress (born 1915)[ 9] December 9 –Laird Cregar , American actor (born 1913) December 13 –Lupe Vélez , Mexican actress (born 1908) December 15 –Glenn Miller , American bandleader, actor (born 1904) ^ "All-Time Top Grossers" .Variety . Retrieved29 December 2022 – via Internet Archive.^a b c d e The Eddie Mannix Ledger , Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study^ "All-Time Top Grossers" .Variety . Retrieved29 December 2022 – via Internet Archive.^ Birchard 2004 , p. 323.^a b Glancy, H. Mark (1995)."Warner Bros Film Grosses, 1921-51: the William Schaefer ledger" .Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television .15 (1): 64.doi :10.1080/01439689500260031 . ^ Margry, Karel (January 1992). "Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television 12 (2):145– 162.doi :10.1080/01439689200260091 .ISSN 0143-9685 . ^ Michael D. Gambone,The Greatest Generation Comes Home: The Veteran in American Society , Texas A&M University Press, 2005 p 152 ^ "Blade Runner star Rutger Hauer dies aged 75" .BBC News . 24 July 2019. Retrieved24 July 2019 .^ Ravilious, Robin (2004)."Whistler, Sir (Alan Charles) Laurence" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography doi :10.1093/ref:odnb/75009 . (Subscription orUK public library membership required.) Birchard, Robert S. (2004).Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood . University Press of Kentucky.ISBN 978-0813123240
