1940 in film
From Freepedia
Contents |
Events
- February 7 - Walt Disney's animated film Pinocchio is released.
- February 20 - Tom and Jerry make their debut in the animated cartoon Puss Gets the Boot.
- May 17 - My Favorite Wife is released.
- July 27 - Bugs Bunny makes his official debut in the animated cartoon A Wild Hare.
- October 15 - The Great Dictator, a satiric social commentary film by and starring Charlie Chaplin, is released.
- November 13 - World premiere of Walt Disney's Fantasia, the first film to be released in a multichannel sound format (see Fantasound). The film also marked the first use of the click track while recording the soundtrack, overdubbing of orchestral parts, simultaneous multitrack recording and lead to the development of a multichannel surround system.
Top grossing films
Academy Awards
- Best Picture: Rebecca - Selznick, United Artists
- Best Actor: James Stewart - The Philadelphia Story
- Best Actress: Ginger Rogers - Kitty Foyle
Other films released
- Abe Lincoln in Illinois
- All This and Heaven Too
- The Arsenal Stadium Mystery
- The Biscuit Eater
- Boys of the City
- East Side Kids
- Go West, starring the Marx Brothers
- Give Us Wings
- That Gang of Mine
- Gaslight, the original British version
- The Grapes of Wrath
- The Great Dictator, starring Charlie Chaplin
- Junior G-Men
- Masked Mischief
- My Favorite Wife
- Night Train to Munich
- One Million B.C.
- Rebecca
- Strike Up the Band
- The Thief of Bagdad
- You're Not So Tough
Short film series
- Buster Keaton (1917-1941)
- Our Gang (1922-1944)
- Laurel and Hardy (1926-1940)
Animated short film series
- Krazy Kat (1925-1940)
- Mickey Mouse (1928-1953)
- Looney Tunes (1930-1969)
- Terrytoons (1930-1964)
- Merrie Melodies (1931-1969)
- Scrappy (1931-1941)
- Popeye (1933-1957)
- Color Rhapsodies (1934-1949)
- Donald Duck (1937-1956)
- Walter Lantz Cartunes (a.k.a. New Universal Cartoons or Cartune Comedies) (1938-1942)
- Goofy (1939-1955)
- Andy Panda (1939-1949)
- Tom and Jerry (MGM) (1940-1958)
Births
- July 7 - Ringo Starr, English drummer (The Beatles)
- July 13 - Patrick Stewart, English actor
- August 3 - Martin Sheen, American actor
- November 27 - Bruce Lee
- October 9 - John Lennon, English musician, songwriter and singer (The Beatles)
- November 5 - Elke Sommer, actress
- December 21 - Frank Zappa, English musician, songwriter and singer
Deaths
- May 25 - Joe De Grasse, pioneer Hollywood film director
- July 1 - Ben Turpin, comic actor
- October 10 - Berton Churchill, pioneer Hollywood actor
- December 5 - Wilfred Lucas, actor, screenwriter, director
