1941 in film

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The year 1941 in film involved some significant events.

Events

Citizen Kane, consistently rated as one of the greatest films of all time, was released in 1941.

Dumbo was released, becoming Disney's only big hit in the 1940s and one of the most acclaimed animated films ever made.

Top grossing films (U.S.)^[1]

Box office numbers were reported at the time as a percentage compared to 'normal' business at each theater. For example, Sergeant York performed at 220% while Citizen Kane did 130% (coming in a surprisingly strong 30th for the year). This is why exact dollar grosses for the period are unreliable at best.

Rank	Title	Director	Studio	Leading Star
1.	Sergeant York	Howard Hawks	Warner Bros.	Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan
2.	Honky Tonk	Jack Conway	MGM	Clark Gable, Lana Turner
3.	Louisiana Purchase	Irving Cummings	Paramount	Bob Hope, Vera Zorina
4.	A Yank in the RAF	Henry King	20th Century Fox	Tyrone Power, Betty Grable
5.	How Green Was My Valley	John Ford	20th Century Fox	Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O'Hara
6.	Babes on Broadway	Busby Berkeley, Vincente Minnelli	MGM	Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney
7.	Caught in the Draft	David Butler	Paramount	Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour
8.	Road to Zanzibar	Victor Schertzinger	Paramount	Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour
9.	Keep 'Em Flying	Arthur Lubin	Universal	Bud Abbott, Lou Costello
10.	In the Navy	Arthur Lubin	Universal	Bud Abbott, Lou Costello
11.	Charley's Aunt	Archie Mayo	20th Century Fox	Jack Benny, Kay Francis, Anne Baxter
12.	Ziegfeld Girl	Robert Z. Leonard	MGM	James Stewart, Judy Garland, Hedy Lamarr, Lana Turner
13.	Birth of the Blues	Victor Schertzinger	Paramount	Bing Crosby, Mary Martin, Brian Donlevy
14.	They Died with Their Boots On	Raoul Walsh	Warner Bros.	Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland
15.	Nothing but the Truth	Elliott Nugent	Paramount	Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard
16.	Life Begins for Andy Hardy	George B. Seitz	MGM	Mickey Rooney, Lewis Stone, Judy Garland
17.	Hold That Ghost	Arthur Lubin	Universal	Bud Abbott, Lou Costello
18.	Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde	Victor Fleming	MGM	Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman, Lana Turner
19.	Shadow of the Thin Man	W.S. Van Dyke	MGM	William Powell, Myrna Loy
20.	They Met in Bombay	Clarence Brown	MGM	Clark Gable, Rosalind Russell, Peter Lorre
21.	Dive Bomber	Michael Curtiz	Warner Bros.	Errol Flynn, Fred MacMurray
22.	Meet John Doe	Frank Capra	Warner Bros.	Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck

Academy Awards

• Best Picture: How Green Was My Valley - 20th Century-Fox
• Best Actor: Gary Cooper - Sergeant York
• Best Actress: Joan Fontaine - Suspicion
• Best Supporting Actor: Donald Crisp - How Green Was My Valley
• Best Supporting Actress: Mary Astor - The Great Lie
• Best Director: John Ford - How Green Was My Valley

Notable films released in 1941

U.S.A. unless stated

#

• The 47 Ronin (Genroku chushingura), directed by Kenji Mizoguchi - (Japan)
• 49th Parallel, directed by Michael Powell, starring Leslie Howard and Laurence Olivier - (GB)

A-B

• Adam Had Four Sons, starring Ingrid Bergman and Warner Baxter
• Among the Living, starring Albert Dekker and Susan Hayward
• Andy Hardy's Private Secretary, starring Mickey Rooney
• Babes on Broadway, directed by Busby Berkeley, starring Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney
• Back Street, starring Charles Boyer and Margaret Sullavan
• Ball of Fire, directed by Howard Hawks, starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck
• The Big Store, starring the Marx Brothers, Margaret Dumont, Tony Martin
• Blood and Sand, starring Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Rita Hayworth
• Blossoms in the Dust, starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon
• The Blue Star Hotel (Hotel Modrá hvězda), directed by Martin Frič - (Czechoslovakia)
• Blues in the Night, starring Priscilla Lane and Betty Field
• Bowery Blitzkrieg, starring the East Side Kids
• The Bride Came C.O.D., starring James Cagney and Bette Davis
• Broadway Limited, starring Victor McLaglen, Dennis O'Keefe, Patsy Kelly
• Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family, directed by Yasujirō Ozu - (Japan)
• Buck Privates, starring Abbott and Costello

C

• Caught in the Draft, starring Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour
• Charlie Chan in Rio, starring Sidney Toler
• A Charming Man (Roztomilý člověk), directed by Martin Frič - (Czechoslovakia)
• The Chocolate Soldier, starring Nelson Eddy
• Churchill's Island (La Forteresse de Churchill) - (Canada)
• Citizen Kane, directed by and starring Orson Welles, with Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead, Everett Sloane, Dorothy Comingore, Ray Collins
• The Corsican Brothers, starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
• Cottage to Let, directed by Anthony Asquith, starring Leslie Banks, Alastair Sim, John Mills - (GB)
• Cuando los hijos se van (When Children Leave Home) - (Mexico)

D

• The Devil and Daniel Webster (aka All That Money Can Buy), starring Walter Huston and Edward Arnold
• The Devil and Miss Jones, starring Jean Arthur and Robert Cummings
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, starring Spencer Tracy and Ingrid Bergman
• Dumbo, animated film from Walt Disney

E-F

• The Face Behind the Mask, starring Peter Lorre
• The Flame of New Orleans, starring Marlene Dietrich
• Flying Wild, starring the East Side Kids
• Freedom Radio, directed by Anthony Asquith - (GB)

G-H

• The Gang's All Here, starring Frankie Darro and Mantan Moreland
• The Ghost of St. Michael's, starring Will Hay and Charles Hawtrey - (GB)
• The Great Lie, starring Mary Astor and Bette Davis
• H.M. Pulham, Esq., starring Hedy Lamarr and Robert Young
• The Hard Life of an Adventurer (Těžký život dobrodruha) - (Czechoslovakia)
• Hatter's Castle, starring Robert Newton and Deborah Kerr - (Britain)
• The Heavenly Play (Himlaspelet), directed by Alf Sjöberg - (Sweden)
• Hellzapoppin', starring Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson
• Here Comes Mr. Jordan, starring Robert Montgomery
• High Sierra, starring Ida Lupino and Humphrey Bogart in his first starring role
• Hit the Road, starring the Dead End Kids
• Hold Back the Dawn, starring Charles Boyer, Olivia de Havilland and Paulette Goddard
• Hold That Ghost, starring Abbott and Costello
• Honky Tonk, starring Clark Gable and Lana Turner
• How Green Was My Valley, directed by John Ford, starring Walter Pidgeon and Maureen O'Hara - winner of 5 Academy Awards

I-J

• I Wake Up Screaming, starring Betty Grable, Victor Mature, Carole Landis
• I Wanted Wings, starring Ray Milland, William Holden, Veronica Lake, Brian Donlevy
• In the Navy, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
• Inspector Hornleigh Goes To It, starring Gordon Harker and Alastair Sim - (GB)
• The Iron Crown (La corona di ferro) - (Italy)
• It Started with Eve, starring Deanna Durbin and Robert Cummings

K

• Kathleen, starring Shirley Temple
• Keep 'Em Flying, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
• Khazanchi (Cashier) - (India)
• Kipps, directed by Carol Reed, starring Michael Redgrave - (GB)

L

• Ladies in Retirement, starring Ida Lupino and Louis Hayward
• Lady Be Good, starring Eleanor Powell and Robert Young
• The Lady Eve, directed by Preston Sturges, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda
• Life Begins for Andy Hardy starring Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden
• The Little Foxes, directed by William Wyler, starring Bette Davis
• Look Who's Laughing, starring Edgar Bergen, Fibber McGee and Molly
• Louisiana Purchase, starring Bob Hope
• Love on the Dole, starring Deborah Kerr - (GB)

M

• Major Barbara, directed by Gabriel Pascal, starring Wendy Hiller and Rex Harrison - (GB)
• The Maltese Falcon, directed by John Huston, starring Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre
• Man Hunt, starring Walter Pidgeon and Joan Bennett
• Man Made Monster, starring Lon Chaney Jr. and Lionel Atwill
• Manpower, starring Edward G. Robinson, Marlene Dietrich, George Raft
• Meet John Doe, starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck
• Moon Over Miami, starring Betty Grable
• Mr. & Mrs. Smith, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery
• Mr. Bug Goes to Town

N-O

• Never Give a Sucker an Even Break, starring W. C. Fields
• Nice Girl?, starring Deanna Durbin
• Ohm Krüger (Uncle Kruger), starring Emil Jannings - (Germany)
• One Foot in Heaven, starring Fredric March and Martha Scott
• One Night in Lisbon, starring Fred MacMurray and Madeleine Carroll
• One Night in Transylvania (Egy éjszaka Erdélyben) - (Hungary)

P

• Penn of Pennsylvania, starring Clifford Evans and Deborah Kerr - (GB)
• Penny Serenade, starring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant
• Piccolo mondo antico (Old-Fashioned World), starring Alida Valli - (Italy)
• Pimpernel Smith, directed by and starring Leslie Howard - (GB)
• A Place to Live
• Pride of the Bowery, starring the East Side Kids
• Princess Iron Fan (Tie shan gong zhu) - (China)

Q-R

• Quiet Wedding, directed by Anthony Asquith, starring Margaret Lockwood - (GB)
• Rage in Heaven, starring Robert Montgomery and Ingrid Bergman
• Red River Valley, directed by Joseph Kane, starring Roy Rogers
• The Reluctant Dragon, starring Robert Benchley
• Road to Zanzibar, starring Bob Hope and Bing Crosby

S

• The Saint in Palm Springs, starring George Sanders
• The Sausage-Maker Who Disappeared (Den forsvundne pølsemaker) - (Norway)
• The Sea Wolf, starring Edward G. Robinson, Ida Lupino, John Garfield
• Sergeant York, directed by Howard Hawks, starring Gary Cooper and Walter Brennan
• Shadow of the Thin Man, starring William Powell and Myrna Loy
• The Shanghai Gesture, starring Gene Tierney
• The Shepherd of the Hills, starring John Wayne
• Shining Victory, starring James Stephenson and Geraldine Fitzgerald
• Sikandar (Alexander the Great) - (India)
• Six Gun Gold, starring Tim Holt
• Skylark, starring Claudette Colbert and Ray Milland
• Spellbound, starring Derek Farr - (GB)
• Spooks Run Wild, starring East Side Kids and Bela Lugosi
• Stormy Waters (Remorques), starring Jean Gabin and Michèle Morgan - (France)
• The Strawberry Blonde, starring James Cagney, Olivia de Havilland, Rita Hayworth
• Sullivan's Travels, directed by Preston Sturges, starring Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake
• Sun Valley Serenade, starring Sonja Henie
• Suspicion, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Joan Fontaine and Cary Grant
• Suvorov - (U.S.S.R.)
• Swamp Water, directed by Jean Renoir, starring Walter Brennan and Walter Huston

T-V

• The Tale of the Fox (Le Roman de Renard) - (France)
• Target for Tonight, a propaganda documentary - (GB)
• Tarzan's Secret Treasure, starring Johnny Weissmuller
• Teresa Venerdì, directed by and starring Vittorio De Sica - (Italy)
• That Hamilton Woman (aka Lady Hamilton), starring Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier - (GB)
• That Night in Rio, starring Don Ameche, Alice Faye, Carmen Miranda
• They Died with Their Boots On, starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland
• Tobacco Road, starring Gene Tierney
• Turned Out Nice Again, starring George Formby - (GB)
• The Tyrant Father (O Pai Tirano) - (Portugal)
• U-Boat Course West! (U-Boote westwärts) - (Germany)
• Unexpected Uncle, starring Anne Shirley, James Craig, Charles Coburn
• Unholy Partners, starring Edward G. Robinson and Laraine Day

W-X

• Week-End in Havana, starring Alice Faye, John Payne, Carmen Miranda and Cesar Romero
• Western Union, starring Randolph Scott
• The Wolf Man, starring Lon Chaney, Jr.
• A Woman's Face, starring Joan Crawford and Melvyn Douglas

Y-Z

• A Yank in the RAF, starring Tyrone Power and Betty Grable
• You Belong to Me, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda
• You'll Never Get Rich, starring Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth
• Ziegfeld Girl, starring Judy Garland and James Stewart

Serials

• The Adventures of Captain Marvel, starring Tom Tyler, directed by William Witney and John English
• Dick Tracy vs Crime Inc, starring Ralph Byrd, directed by William Witney and John English
• The Green Hornet, starring Gordon Jones
• Holt of the Secret Service, directed by James W. Horne
• The Iron Claw, directed by James W. Horne
• Jungle Girl, starring Frances Gifford, directed by William Witney and John English
• King of the Texas Rangers, directed by William Witney and John English
• Riders of Death Valley, directed by Ray Taylor and Ford Beebe
• Sea Raiders, directed by Ray Taylor and Ford Beebe
• Sky Raiders, directed by Ray Taylor and Ford Beebe
• The Spider Returns, starring Warren Hull, directed by James W. Horne
• White Eagle, directed by James W. Horne

Comedy film series

• Buster Keaton (1917–1944)
• Laurel and Hardy (1921-1945)
• Our Gang (1922–1944)
• The Marx Brothers (1929–1946)
• The Three Stooges (1933–1962)

Animated short film series

• Mickey Mouse (1928–1942, 1947–1953)
• Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
  • Bugs Bunny (1941-1964)
  • Daffy Duck (1938–1968)
  • Porky Pig (1936–1946, 1948–1951)
  • Sniffles (1939–1946)
  • Inki (1939–1950)
• Terrytoons (1930–1964)
• Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
• Scrappy (1931-1941)
• Popeye (1933–1957)
• Color Rhapsodies (1934–1949)
• Donald Duck (1937–1956)
• Walter Lantz Cartunes (also known as New Universal Cartoons or Cartune Comedies) (1938–1942)
• Goofy (1939–1955)
• Andy Panda (1939–1949)
• Tom and Jerry (1940–1958, 1961–1967)
  • The Midnight Snack
  • The Night Before Christmas
• Woody Woodpecker (1941-1949,1951–1972)
• Swing Symphonies (1941-1945)
• The Fox and the Crow (1941-1950)
• Superman (1941-1943)

Births

• January 14 - Faye Dunaway, American actress
• January 26 - Scott Glenn, American actor
• January 31 - Jessica Walter, American actress
• February 8 - Nick Nolte, American actor and producer
• February 10 - Michael Apted, English director, producer and screenwriter
• March 4 - Adrian Lyne, English director and producer
• March 14 - Wolfgang Petersen, German director, producer and screenwriter
• April 7 - Danny Wells, Canadian actor and comedian (died 2013)
• April 14 - Julie Christie, English actress and sex symbol
• April 20 - Ryan O'Neal, American actor
• April 28 - Ann-Margret, Swedish-born American actress, dancer and singer
• May 13 - Senta Berger, Austrian actress and producer
• June 2 - Stacy Keach, American actor
• June 5 - Spalding Gray, American actor and screenwriter (died 2004)
• June 20 - Stephen Frears, English film director
• June 21 - Joe Flaherty, Canadian-American actor and comedian
• June 22 - Michael Lerner, American actor
• June 25 - Denys Arcand, Canadian director and screenwriter
• June 27 - Krzysztof Kieślowski, Polish director (died 1996)
• July 29 - David Warner, English actor
• September 26 - Martine Beswick, English actress and model
• October 6 - Billy Murray, English actor
• October 10 - Peter Coyote, American actor
• October 19 - Simon Ward, English actor
• October 23 - Mel Winkler, American actor
• October 31 - Sally Kirkland, American actress
• November 1 - Robert Foxworth, American actor
• November 18 - David Hemmings, English actor, director and producer (died 2003)
• November 23 - Franco Nero, Italian actor
• December 9 - Beau Bridges, American actor

Deaths

• January 4 – Henri Bergson, 81, French writer
• January 10 – Joe Penner, 36, American comedian, actor, The Boys from Syracuse, Millionaire Playboy, The Day the Bookies Wept, Mr. Doodle Kicks Off
• May 8 – Tore Svennberg, 83, Swedish actor, The Phantom Carriage, A Woman's Face
• May 12 – Ruth Stonehouse, 48, American actress, film director, The Satin Woman
• May 22 – Ida Waterman, 89, American actress, Stella Maris, The Enchanted Cottage, Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley, Esmerelda
• November 2 – Bengt Djurberg, 43, Swedish actor, Troll-Elgen
• December 21 – David Howard, 45, American film director, Daniel Boone

Film Debuts

• Cyd Charisse - The Gay Parisian
• Laird Cregar - Hudson's Bay
• Ava Gardner - Fancy Answers
• Charlton Heston - Peer Gynt
• Deborah Kerr - Major Barbara
• Bruce Lee - Golden Gate Girl
• Norman Lloyd - The Forgotten Man
• Frank Sinatra - Las Vegas Nights

References

1. Box Office Digest, March 1942