1946 in film

The year 1946 in film involved some significant events, including the release of the decade's highest-grossing film, The Best Years of Our Lives, which won seven Academy Awards.

Top-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1946 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Events

 * February 14 - Charles Vidor's Gilda starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford shows audiences one of the most famous scenes of the 20th century: Rita Hayworth singing "Put The Blame On Mame".


 * November 21 – William Wyler's The Best Years of Our Lives premieres in New York featuring an ensemble cast including Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, and Harold Russell.


 * December 20 – Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life, featuring James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Henry Travers, and Thomas Mitchell opens in New York.

Notable films released in 1946
United States unless stated

A

 * Angel on My Shoulder
 * Anna and the King of Siam, starring Irene Dunne, Rex Harrison and Linda Darnell
 * Aru yo no Tonosama

B

 * Bad Bascomb, starring Wallace Beery, Margaret O'Brien and Marjorie Main
 * The Bandit of Sherwood Forest, starring Cornel Wilde
 * The Beast with Five Fingers, starring Robert Alda and Peter Lorre
 * Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bête), directed by Jean Cocteau, starring Jean Marais and Josette Day
 * The Best Years of Our Lives, directed by William Wyler, starring Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews and Harold Russell – winner of 8 Oscars
 * Beware, directed by Bud Pollard, starring Louis Jordan
 * The Big Sleep, directed by Howard Hawks, starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall
 * Black Beauty, starring Mona Freeman and Richard Denning
 * The Blue Dahlia, starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake
 * Blue Skies, starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire
 * Boom in the Moon, starring Buster Keaton
 * A Boy and His Dog, starring Harry Davenport

C

 * The Captive Heart, the first Prisoner of War film from World War II
 * Canyon Passage, starring Dana Andrews
 * Centennial Summer
 * The Chase
 * Children of Paradise (U.S. release)
 * Cloak and Dagger
 * Cluny Brown, starring Charles Boyer and Jennifer Jones

D

 * The Dark Corner, starring Lucille Ball and Mark Stevens
 * The Dark Mirror, starring Olivia de Havilland
 * Deception
 * Decoy, a film noir starring Jean Gillie
 * Devotion
 * The Diary of a Chambermaid
 * Dragonwyck, starring Gene Tierney
 * Dressed to Kill, a Sherlock Holmes mystery directed by Roy William Neill, starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes, and Nigel Bruce as Watson (released in U.K. as Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Code)
 * Duel in the Sun, starring Jennifer Jones, Gregory Peck, Joseph Cotten and Lillian Gish

G

 * Gallant Journey, directed by William A. Wellman
 * Gilda, starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford
 * Great Expectations, directed by David Lean, starring John Mills, Jean Simmons and Valerie Hobson
 * Green for Danger, starring Alastair Sim and Trevor Howard
 * The Green Years

H

 * The Harvey Girls, directed by George Sidney, starring Judy Garland and John Hodiak
 * Henry V (U.S. release)
 * Humoresque, starring Joan Crawford and John Garfield

I

 * I See a Dark Stranger
 * It's a Wonderful Life, directed by Frank Capra, starring James Stewart, Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore
 * Ivan the Terrible

J

 * The Jolson Story, a biopic of Al Jolson starring Larry Parks

K

 * The Kid from Brooklyn
 * The Killers, directed by Robert Siodmak, starring Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner

L

 * Let There Be Light, documentary directed by John Huston
 * Little Giant, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello

M

 * Make Mine Music
 * Magnificent Doll, starring Ginger Rogers and David Niven
 * A Matter of Life and Death, written and directed by Powell and Pressburger, starring David Niven
 * Monsieur Beaucaire, starring Bob Hope
 * The Murderers Are Among Us (Die Mörder sind unter uns), starring Hildegard Knef
 * My Darling Clementine, directed by John Ford, starring Henry Fonda and Linda Darnell

N

 * Night and Day
 * A Night in Casablanca with the Marx Brothers
 * No Regrets for Our Youth (Waga seishun ni kuinashi)
 * Nobody Lives Forever
 * Notorious, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman

O

 * The Outlaw (re-release)
 * The Overlanders

P

 * Paisan, directed by Roberto Rossellini (Italy)
 * Patrie, directed by Louis Daquin (France)
 * People Are Funny, starring Jack Haley
 * The Postman Always Rings Twice, starring Lana Turner and John Garfield

R

 * The Razor's Edge, starring Tyrone Power and Gene Tierney
 * Renegade Girl, starring Ann Savage
 * The Return of Monte Cristo, starring Louis Hayward
 * Road to Utopia, starring Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour and Bob Hope

S

 * The Seventh Veil (U.S. release)
 * She-Wolf of London. starring June Lockhart
 * Shoeshine (Sciuscià), directed by Vittorio De Sica
 * Shock, directed by Alfred L. Werker, starring Vincent Price and Lynn Bari
 * Sister Kenny, starring Rosalind Russell
 * Somewhere In The Night, starring John Hodiak
 * Song of the South by Walt Disney, combines animation and live action.
 * The Spiral Staircase, starring Dorothy McGuire
 * A Stolen Life, starring Bette Davis
 * The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, starring Barbara Stanwyck
 * The Strange Woman, starring Hedy Lamarr and George Sanders
 * The Stranger, directed by and starring Orson Welles, Loretta Young and Edward G. Robinson

T

 * Terror by Night, a Sherlock Holmes mystery directed by Roy William Neill, starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes, and Nigel Bruce as Watson
 * Theirs Is the Glory
 * Three Strangers
 * Three Wise Fools, starring Margaret O'Brien and Lionel Barrymore
 * The Time of Their Lives, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
 * To Each His Own, starring Olivia de Havilland
 * Tomorrow Is Forever, starring Orson Welles
 * Two Sisters from Boston, starring Kathryn Grayson, June Allyson, Lauritz Melchior, Jimmy Durante and Peter Lawford.

U

 * Utamaro and His Five Women (Utamaro o meguru gonin no onna)

V

 * The Verdict

W

 * Wake Up and Dream
 * Wanted for Murder
 * The Wife of Monte Cristo, directed by Edgar G. Ulmer
 * Without Reservations

Y

 * The Yearling, starring Gregory Peck and Jane Wyman

Serials

 * Daughter of Don Q
 * Chick Carter, Detective
 * The Crimson Ghost
 * Hop Harrigan
 * King of the Forest Rangers, starring Larry Thompson
 * Lost City of the Jungle
 * The Mysterious Mr. M
 * The Phantom Rider, starring Robert Kent and Peggy Stewart
 * The Scarlet Horseman
 * Son of the Guardsman

Short film series

 * Shirley Temple (1932–1946)
 * The Three Stooges (1934–1959)
 * Popular Science (1935–1950)

Animated short film series

 * Mickey Mouse (1928–1952)
 * Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
 * Terrytoons (1930–1964)
 * Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
 * Popeye (1933–1957)
 * Color Rhapsodies (1934–1949)
 * Donald Duck (1936–1956)
 * Pluto (1937–1951)
 * Andy Panda (1939–1949)
 * Goofy (1939–1953)
 * Bugs Bunny (1940–1962)
 * Tom and Jerry (1940–1958)
 * The Fox and the Crow (1941–1950)
 * Woody Woodpecker (1941–1949)
 * Mighty Mouse (1942–1955)
 * Droopy (1943–1958)
 * Chip and Dale (1943–1956)
 * Screwball Squirrel (1944–1946)
 * Yosemite Sam (1945–1963)
 * George and Junior (1946–1948)

Births

 * January 5 – Diane Keaton, American actress, producer and director
 * January 6 - Cheng Pei-pei, Chinese actress (d. 2024)
 * January 7 – Arnis Līcītis, Latvian actor (d. 2022)
 * January 16 - Kabir Bedi, Indian actor
 * January 19 – Dolly Parton, American country singer and actress
 * January 20 – David Lynch, American director
 * January 26 – Gene Siskel, film critic, Siskel and Ebert (d. 1999)
 * February 2
 * Blake Clark, American stand-up comedian, actor and voice actor
 * J. E. Freeman, American actor (d. 2014)
 * February 4 - Ivano Marescotti, Italian actor (d. 2023)
 * February 5 – Charlotte Rampling, English actress
 * February 7 – Pete Postlethwaite, English actor (d. 2011)
 * February 8 – Alex Diakun, Canadian actor
 * February 13 – Joe Estevez, American actor, director and producer
 * February 20 – Brenda Blethyn, English actress
 * February 21
 * Tyne Daly, American actress
 * Anthony Daniels, English actor, voice actor and mime artist
 * Alan Rickman, English actor (d. 2016)
 * March 1 - Lana Wood, American actress and producer
 * March 6 - Martin Kove, American actor and martial artist
 * March 7
 * Dan Grimaldi, American actor
 * John Heard, American actor (d. 2017)
 * March 9 - Alexandra Bastedo, British actress (d. 2014)
 * March 12
 * Dean Cundey, American cinematographer and filmmaker
 * Liza Minnelli, American singer and actress
 * Frank Welker, American actor, voice actor and former stand-up comedian
 * March 21 – Timothy Dalton, British actor
 * March 27 - Carl Weintraub, American actor
 * March 28 – Dianne Wiest, American actress
 * March 29 – Paul Herman, American actor (d. 2022)
 * April 3 - Nicholas Jones, English character actor
 * April 5
 * Jane Asher, English actress
 * Björn Granath, Swedish actor (d. 2017)
 * April 12 – Ed O'Neill, American actor and comedian
 * April 15
 * Bob DeSimone, American actor
 * Michael Tucci, American actor
 * April 19 – Tim Curry, English actor and singer
 * April 20 – Haruhiko Yamanouchi, Japanese actor
 * April 23 – Blair Brown, American actress
 * April 25
 * Andrzej Seweryn, Polish actor and director
 * Talia Shire, American actress
 * April 29 – Wayne Robson, Canadian actor (d. 2011)
 * May 1
 * Joanna Lumley, British actress
 * John Woo, Hong Kong director, producer and screenwriter
 * May 2 – David Suchet, English actor
 * May 9 – Candice Bergen, American actress
 * May 11 – Ago Roo, Estonian actor
 * May 13 – Tim Pigott-Smith, English actor (d. 2017)
 * May 18 – Andreas Katsulas, American actor (d. 2006)
 * May 19 – André the Giant, French professional wrestler and actor (d. 1993)
 * May 20 – Cher, American singer and actress
 * May 22 – Jack Kehler, American character actor (d. 2022)
 * June 1 – Brian Cox, Scottish actor
 * June 3 – Penelope Wilton, English actress
 * June 5 - John Bach, British-born New Zealand actor
 * June 8 - Alan Scarfe, British-Canadian actor
 * June 12 - Jack Thibeau, American actor
 * June 15
 * Angela Down, English actress
 * Roy Holder, English actor (d. 2021)
 * June 26
 * Ricky Jay, American actor and writer (d. 2018)
 * Leo Rossi, American actor, writer and producer
 * June 28
 * Bruce Davison, American actor and director
 * Gilda Radner, American comedian and actress (d. 1989)
 * July 2 – Ron Silver, American actor (d. 2009)
 * July 6 – Sylvester Stallone, actor and director
 * July 10 – Sue Lyon, actress (d. 2019)
 * July 13 – Cheech Marin, American actor and comedian
 * July 14 – Vincent Pastore, American actor
 * July 16
 * Dave Goelz, American puppeteer and actor
 * Richard LeParmentier, American actor (d. 2013)
 * July 17 – Alun Armstrong, English actor
 * July 18 – Dicken Ashworth, English actor
 * July 20 - Randal Kleiser, American director, producer, screenwriter and actor
 * July 22 – Danny Glover, actor and director
 * July 27 – Rade Šerbedžija, Croatian actor, director and musician
 * August 6 – Peter Simonischek, Austrian actor (d. 2023)
 * August 9 - Alain Dorval, French voice actor of Sylvester Stallone, from 1976 to 2024 (d 2024).
 * August 16 – Lesley Ann Warren, American actress and singer
 * August 19
 * Ti Lung, Hong Kong actor
 * Christopher Malcolm, Scottish actor, director and producer (d. 2014)
 * August 24 - BP Fallon, Irish actor
 * August 26 - Alison Steadman, English actress
 * August 29 – Lindy Davies, Australian actress and director
 * August 30 - Peggy Lipton, American actress, model and singer (d. 2019)
 * September 1 - Susan Backlinie, American actress and stuntwoman (d. 2024)
 * September 5 – Dennis Dugan, American director, actor, writer and comedian
 * September 13 – Frank Marshall, American producer and director
 * September 15
 * Tommy Lee Jones, actor
 * Oliver Stone, director and producer
 * September 18
 * Struan Rodger, British actor
 * Gailard Sartain, American actor
 * September 25 - Drew Snyder, American actor
 * September 28
 * Peter Egan, British actor
 * Jeffrey Jones, American actor
 * October 2 – Dale Soules, American actress
 * October 4 – Susan Sarandon, American actress
 * October 6 - John Hostetter, American actor and visual artist (d. 2016)
 * October 10
 * Charles Dance, English actor
 * Ben Vereen, American actor
 * October 15 – John Getz, American actor
 * October 16 - Suzanne Somers, American actress and singer (d. 2023)
 * October 22 – Richard McGonagle, American actor
 * October 27 – Ivan Reitman, Slovakian-born Canadian director and producer (d. 2022)
 * October 31 – Stephen Rea, Northern Irish actor
 * November 3
 * Michael Champion, American singer, musician and actor (d. 2021)
 * Tom Savini, American prosthetic makeup artist, actor, stunt performer and director
 * November 4 - John Callen, English-born New Zealand actor and director
 * November 6 – Sally Field, actress
 * November 7 – John Aylward, American actor (d. 2022)
 * November 16 - Dan Shor, American actor, director and writer
 * Novemb
 * Sullivan Walker, Trinidadian actor (d. 2012)
 * Samuel E. Wright, American actor and singer (d. 2021)
 * November 21 - Andrew Davis, American director, producer and writer
 * November 22 – Paul A. Partain, American actor (d. 2005)
 * November 26 - Mark L. Lester, American director, screenwriter and producer
 * December 1 - Maggie Steed, English actress and comedian
 * December 8
 * Frank Pesce, American actor (d. 2022)
 * John Rubinstein, American actor, composer and director
 * December 14 – Patty Duke, American actress (d. 2016)
 * December 16 - Charles Dennis, Canadian actor, director and screenwriter
 * December 17
 * Jayne Eastwood, Canadian actress and comedian
 * Eugene Levy, Canadian actor
 * December 18 – Steven Spielberg, American director and producer
 * December 19 - Robert Urich, American actor and producer (d. 2002)
 * December 20 – John Spencer, American actor (d. 2005)
 * December 21 - Josh Mostel, American actor
 * December 24 - Daniel Beretta, retired French voice actor and singer (d. 2024).
 * December 25 – Stuart Wilson, English actor
 * December 31 - Margaret Travolta, American actress
 * unknown – Omar Al-Shammaa, Lebanese actor, voice actor

Deaths

 * January 13 – Enid Stamp Taylor, English actress
 * February 5 – George Arliss, English actor
 * April 1 – Noah Beery Sr., American actor
 * June 23 – William S. Hart, American actor
 * July 10 - Slim Summerville, American actor and director
 * August 8 – Paul Porcasi, Italian actor
 * August 10 – Léon Gaumont, French film pioneer
 * August 12 – Egon Brecher, Austrian actor, director
 * August 13 – H. G. Wells, British science fiction writer
 * August 26 – Jeanie MacPherson, American actress and screenwriter
 * August 28 – Florence Turner, American actress
 * September 21 – Olga Engl, Austrian actress
 * October 8 – John St. Polis, American actor
 * November 2 – Gabriel Gabrio, French actor
 * November 18 – Donald Meek, Scottish-American actor
 * December 12 – Renée Jeanne Falconetti, French actress
 * December 25 – W. C. Fields, American comedian and actor

Film Debuts

 * Patricia Barry – Her Kind of Man
 * Raymond Burr – Without Reservations
 * Hamilton Camp – Bedlam
 * Gianna Maria Canale – The Black Eagle
 * Kirk Douglas – The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
 * William Fawcett – Stars Over Texas
 * John Hoyt – O.S.S.
 * Martha Hyer – The Locket
 * Burl Ives – Smoky
 * Burt Lancaster – The Killers
 * Gina Lollobrigida – The Black Eagle
 * Lois Maxwell – A Matter of Life and Death
 * Slim Pickens – Smoky
 * Liam Redmond – I See a Dark Stranger
 * Yvonne Sanson – The Black Eagle
 * Emil Sitka – One Exciting Week
 * Hal Smith – Stars Over Texas