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Overview of the events of 1942 in film
The year of 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time,
Casablanca .
Top-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1942 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
Highest-grossing films of 1942
Rank
Title
Distributor
Domestic rentals
1
Mrs. Miniver
MGM
$5,358,000
[1]
2
Random Harvest
$4,650,000
[1]
3
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Warner Bros.
$4,631,000
[2]
4
Reap the Wild Wind
Paramount
$4,000,000
[3]
5
Road to Morocco
$3,800,000
[4]
6
Holiday Inn
$3,750,000
[5]
7
Wake Island
$3,500,000
[5]
8
The Pride of the Yankees
RKO
$3,332,000
[6]
[7]
9
Kings Row
Warner Bros.
$3,143,000
[2]
10
For Me and My Gal
MGM
$2,894,000
[1]
Events
January 16 – Actress
Carole Lombard is killed in a plane crash west of
Las Vegas while returning home to Los Angeles from a War Bond tour.
June 4 – British-set wartime romantic drama
Mrs. Miniver , starring
Greer Garson and
Walter Pidgeon , opens at
Radio City Music Hall in
New York , in what will become a record-breaking 10-week run. The film becomes
MGM 's highest-grossing film of the 1940s. At the
15th Academy Awards , Mrs. Miniver wins six awards, including
Best Picture ,
Best Director (for
William Wyler ),
Best Actress (for
Greer Garson ) and
Best Supporting Actress (for
Teresa Wright ).
August 8 –
Walt Disney 's animated film
Bambi opens in the United Kingdom.
November 11 –
Road to Morocco , starring
Bob Hope ,
Bing Crosby , and
Dorothy Lamour , premieres.
November 26 – The film
Casablanca premieres at the
Hollywood Theatre in New York City. Released nationally in the United States on January 23, 1943, it becomes one of the top-grossing pictures of 1943 and goes on to win the
Best Picture and
Best Director awards at the
16th Academy Awards .
Academy Awards
1942 film releases
U.S.A unless stated
January–March
January 1942
1 January
6 January
8 January
10 January
19 January
22 January
23 January
24 January
29 January
February 1942
2 February
6 February
16 February
19 February
20 February
21 February
March 1942
3 March
7 March
10 March
11 March
13 March
18 March
20 March
21 March
27 March
April–June
April 1942
1 April
2 April
3 April
4 April
19 April
22 April
24 April
29 April
30 April
May 1942
8 May
12 May
13 May
21 May
22 May
29 May
31 May
June 1942
13 June
15 June
16 June
22 June
26 June
27 June
July–September
July 1942
2 July
8 July
9 July
10 July
16 July
22 July
29 July
31 July
August 1942
4 August
5 August
7 August
10 August
18 August
20 August
21 August
24 August
25 August
28 August
31 August
September 1942
1 September
4 September
14 September
15 September
16 September
17 September
18 September
21 September
25 September
October–December
October 1942
1 October
8 October
16 October
21 October
23 October
24 October
30 October
31 October
November 1942
6 November
9 November
10 November
19 November
20 November
25 November
27 November
28 November
December 1942
4 December
5 December
6 December
7 December
9 December
11 December
17 December
18 December
23 December
24 December
25 December
30 December
Notable films released in 1942
U.S.A unless stated
A
Across the Pacific , starring
Humphrey Bogart and
Mary Astor
The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine , starring
Dennis O'Keefe and
Ruth Terry
A-Haunting We Will Go , starring
Laurel and Hardy
Ala-Arriba! – (
Portugal )
Alias Boston Blackie , Starring
Chester Morris ,
Adele Mara , and
Richard Lane
Alibi , starring
Margaret Lockwood and
James Mason – (
GB )
All Through the Night , starring
Humphrey Bogart
American Empire , starring
Richard Dix
Andy Hardy's Double Life , starring
Lewis Stone ,
Mickey Rooney ,
Cecilia Parker ,
Fay Holden
Aniki-Bóbó – (
Portugal )
Arabian Nights , starring
Sabu ,
Jon Hall ,
Maria Montez
Attack on Baku , starring
Willy Fritsch ,
René Deltgen (
Germany )
B
El Baisano Jalil – (
Mexico )
Bambi , directed by
David Hand , starring Bobby Stewart,
Donnie Dunagan ,
Hardie Albright and
John Sutherland
Basant , directed by
Amiya Chakravorty and starring
Madhubala and
Mumtaz Shanti – (
India )
The Battle of Midway , documentary directed by
John Ford
The Big Blockade , starring
Leslie Banks ,
Michael Redgrave and
Will Hay – (
UK )
The Big Shot , starring
Humphrey Bogart
The Big Street , starring
Henry Fonda and
Lucille Ball
The Black Sheep of Whitehall , starring
Will Hay and
John Mills – (
GB )
The Black Swan , starring
Tyrone Power
Blue, White and Perfect , starring
Lloyd Nolan
Bullet Scars , starring
Regis Toomey
C
Captains of the Clouds , starring
James Cagney
Casablanca , directed by
Michael Curtiz (
Oscar winner), starring
Humphrey Bogart ,
Ingrid Bergman ,
Paul Henreid ,
Peter Lorre ,
Claude Rains
Cat People , starring
Simone Simon and
Tom Conway
Commandos Strike at Dawn , starring
Paul Muni
The Corpse Vanishes , starring
Bela Lugosi
The Courtship of Andy Hardy , starring
Lewis Stone ,
Mickey Rooney ,
Cecilia Parker ,
Fay Holden
D
E
F
G
Un Garibaldino al Convento , directed by
Vittorio De Sica – (Italy)
The Gaucho War (La guerra gaucha) – (
Argentina )
Gentleman Jim , a
biopic of boxer
James J. Corbett , starring
Errol Flynn
George Washington Slept Here , starring
Jack Benny
The Ghost of Frankenstein starring
Lon Chaney Jr.
The Glass Key , starring
Alan Ladd and
Veronica Lake
The Goose Steps Out , starring
Will Hay – (
GB )
The Great Impersonation , directed by
John Rawlins , starring
Ralph Bellamy
The Great King (Der große König) – (
Germany )
The Great Man's Lady , directed by
William A. Wellman , and starring
Barbara Stanwyck
The Great Mr. Handel , directed by
Norman Walker , starring
Wilfrid Lawson (GB)
H
I
J
K
L
M
The Magnificent Ambersons , directed by
Orson Welles , starring
Joseph Cotten and
Dolores Costello
The Major and the Minor , directed by
Billy Wilder , starring
Ginger Rogers and
Ray Milland
The Male Animal , starring
Henry Fonda and
Olivia de Havilland
The Man Who Came to Dinner , starring
Bette Davis ,
Monty Woolley ,
Jimmy Durante
The Man Who Wanted to Kill Himself (El hombre que se quiso matar) – (
Spain )
Miss Annie Rooney , starring
Shirley Temple
Moontide , starring
Jean Gabin and
Ida Lupino
Mrs. Miniver , directed by
William Wyler , starring
Greer Garson and
Walter Pidgeon
The Mummy's Tomb , starring
Lon Chaney Jr.
The Murderer Lives at Number 21 (L'Assassin habite au 21), directed by
Henri-Georges Clouzot , starring
Pierre Fresnay – (
France )
My Favorite Blonde , starring
Bob Hope and
Madeleine Carroll
My Gal Sal , starring
Rita Hayworth
My Sister Eileen , starring
Rosalind Russell
N
O
P
Pacific Rendezvous , starring
Lee Bowman
The Palm Beach Story , directed by
Preston Sturges , starring
Claudette Colbert ,
Joel McCrea ,
Rudy Vallée
Panama Hattie , starring
Ann Sothern and
Lena Horne
Pardon My Sarong , starring
Bud Abbott and
Lou Costello
O Pátio das Cantigas (The Courtyard of Songs) – (
Portugal )
People of the Mountains , directed by
István Szőts – (
Hungary )
The Pied Piper , starring
Monty Woolley and
Roddy McDowall
A Pistol Shot , starring
Assia Noris ,
Fosco Giachetti (Italy)
Pittsburgh , starring
John Wayne ,
Marlene Dietrich ,
Randolph Scott ,
Shemp Howard
The Pride of the Yankees , starring
Gary Cooper ,
Teresa Wright ,
Walter Brennan ,
Babe Ruth
R
Random Harvest , starring
Ronald Colman and
Greer Garson
Reap the Wild Wind , starring
John Wayne ,
Paulette Goddard ,
Ray Milland
Reunion in France , starring
Joan Crawford
Ride 'Em Cowboy , starring
Abbott and Costello
Rings on Her Fingers , starring
Henry Fonda and
Gene Tierney
Rio Rita , starring
Bud Abbott and
Lou Costello
Road to Morocco , starring
Bing Crosby ,
Dorothy Lamour ,
Bob Hope
The Rock of the Souls (El Peñón de las Ánimas) – (
Mexico )
Roti (Bread) – (
India )
Roxie Hart , starring
Ginger Rogers
S
Saboteur , directed by
Alfred Hitchcock , starring
Priscilla Lane and
Robert Cummings
Saludos Amigos , a
Walt Disney animated film starring
Donald Duck and
Goofy (released in South America in 1942 and in the U.S. in 1943)
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon - directed by Roy William Neill, starring
Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Watson, co-starring Lionel Atwill as Moriarty
Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror - directed by John Rawlins, starring
Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Watson, also featuring Evelyn Ankers and Henry Daniell
Somewhere I'll Find You , starring
Clark Gable and
Lana Turner
Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake , starring
Tyrone Power and
Gene Tierney
Song of the Islands , a
Darryl F. Zanuck production starring
Betty Grable and
Victor Mature
Sons of the Pioneers , starring
Roy Rogers and
George 'Gabby' Hayes
The Spoilers , starring
Marlene Dietrich and
John Wayne
Springtime in the Rockies , starring
Betty Grable ,
John Payne ,
Carmen Miranda and
Cesar Romero
Star Spangled Rhythm , featuring an all-star cast
Sweater Girl , starring
Eddie Bracken ,
June Preisser , and
Betty Jane Rhodes
Syncopation , starring
Adolphe Menjou
T
Tales of Manhattan , directed by
Julien Duvivier with an all-star cast
The Talk of the Town , starring
Cary Grant ,
Jean Arthur ,
Ronald Colman
Tarzan's New York Adventure , starring
Johnny Weissmuller
Ten Gentlemen from West Point , starring
George Montgomery and
Maureen O'Hara
Tennessee Johnson , starring
Van Heflin and
Ruth Hussey
There Was a Father (chichi ariki), directed by
Yasujirō Ozu (
Japan )
There's One Born Every Minute , starring
Hugh Herbert and
Peggy Moran
This Above All , starring
Tyrone Power
This Gun for Hire , starring
Veronica Lake and
Alan Ladd
This Was Paris , starring
Ann Dvorak – (
GB )
Time to Kill , starring
Lloyd Nolan
Thunder Rock , starring
Michael Redgrave and
James Mason – (
GB )
To Be or Not to Be , directed by
Ernst Lubitsch , starring
Jack Benny and (in her last film)
Carole Lombard
Tombstone, the Town Too Tough to Die , starring
Richard Dix
Tortilla Flat , starring
Spencer Tracy ,
Hedy Lamarr ,
John Garfield
U
V
W
Y
Serials
Captain Midnight , starring
Dave O'Brien , directed by
James W. Horne
Don Winslow of the Navy
Gang Busters
Junior G-Men of the Air , starring the
Dead End Kids
King of the Mounties , starring
Allan Lane , directed by
William Witney
Overland Mail
Perils of Nyoka , starring
Kay Aldridge &
Clayton Moore , directed by
William Witney
Perils of the Royal Mounted , directed by
James W. Horne
The Secret Code , directed by
Spencer Gordon Bennet
Spy Smasher , starring
Kane Richmond , directed by
William Witney
The Valley of Vanishing Men , directed by
Spencer Gordon Bennet
Short film series
Animated short film series
Births
January 3 –
John Thaw , English actor (d. 2002)
January 7 -
Danny Steinmann , American director (d. 2012)
January 8 –
Yvette Mimieux , American actress (d. 2022)
January 10 –
Walter Hill , American director, producer and screenwriter
January 11 -
Joel Zwick , American director
January 17 -
Nancy Parsons , American actress (d. 2001)
January 19
January 21 -
Michael G. Wilson , American-British screenwriter and producer
January 27 -
John Witherspoon , American actor and comedian (d. 2019)
January 29
January 31 –
Daniela Bianchi , Italian actress
February 1
Bibi Besch , Austrian-American actress (d. 1996)
Terry Jones , Welsh comedic actor, director and screenwriter (d. 2020)
February 8 –
Robert Klein , American actor and comedian
February 9
February 13 -
Carol Lynley , American actress, child model (died
2019 )
February 14 -
Andrew Robinson , American character actor
February 21 –
March 9 -
Ralph Peduto , American actor, playwright, writer and director (died 2014)
March 15 -
Molly Peters , English actress and model (died 2017)
March 25
March 27
March 28 –
Mike Newell , English director and producer
March 30 -
Kenneth Welsh , Canadian actor (died 2022)
April 2 -
Roshan Seth , British-Indian actor, writer and director
April 3 –
Marsha Mason , American actress
April 6 –
Barry Levinson , American director, producer and screenwriter
April 11 -
Matthew Walker , English-Canadian actor
April 17 -
David Bradley , English actor
April 21 -
Rod Loomis , American actor
April 23 –
Sandra Dee , American actress (d. 2005)
April 24 –
Barbra Streisand , American actress, singer, director and producer
April 27 -
John Shrapnel , English actor (d. 2020)
May 5 -
Marc Alaimo , American actor
May 11 -
Terry McGovern , American actor and broadcaster
May 19 -
Flemming Quist Møller , Danish director, cartoonist, screenwriter and actor (d. 2022)
May 23 -
Alex Henteloff , American actor
May 28 -
Božidara Turzonovová , Bulgarian-Slovak actress
May 29 -
Kevin Conway , American actor and director (d. 2020)
June 7 -
Elizabeth Counsell , English actress
June 18
June 20 -
Chelcie Ross , American character actor
June 29 -
Tony Vogel , English actor (d. 2015)
June 30 -
Friedrich von Thun , Austrian actor
July 1 –
Geneviève Bujold , Canadian actress
July 9 –
Richard Roundtree , American actor (d. 2023)
July 10 -
Tam White , Scottish musician and actor (d. 2010)
July 13 –
Harrison Ford , American actor and producer
July 22 -
Anthony James , American character actor (d. 2020)
July 23 -
Allen Danziger , American former actor
July 24 –
Chris Sarandon , American actor
July 27 -
Lanny Flaherty , American actor (d. 2024)
July 29 -
Tony Sirico , American actor (d. 2022)
August 1 -
Giancarlo Giannini , Italian actor, director and screenwriter
August 4 -
Don S. Davis , American character actor (d. 2008)
August 7 –
Tobin Bell , actor
August 18 -
Lauro António , Portuguese director (d. 2022)
August 19 -
Fred Thompson , American politician, attorney, actor and radio personality (d. 2015)
August 20 -
Isaac Hayes , American singer and actor (d. 2008)
August 28 -
Peter Bartlett , American actor and voice actor
August 29 -
Gottfried John , German actor (d. 2014)
September 5 -
Werner Herzog , German director, screenwriter and actor
September 6 -
Carol Wayne , American actress (d. 1985)
September 11 -
Patricia Franklin , English actress
September 17 -
Lupe Ontiveros , American actress (d. 2012)
September 19 -
Victor Brandt , American actor
September 20 -
R. J. Adams , Canadian-American actor, screenwriter and producer
September 24 -
Kenneth Tigar , American actor
September 25 -
Robyn Nevin , Australian actress and director
September 26 -
Kent McCord , American actor
September 28 -
Marshall Bell , American character actor
September 29
October 3 -
Steve Susskind , American actor (d. 2005)
October 4 –
Christopher Stone , American actor (d. 1995)
October 6 –
Britt Ekland , Swedish actress
October 7 -
Melinda O. Fee , American actress (d. 2020)
October 11 –
Amitabh Bachchan , Indian actor
October 13 –
Suzzanna , Indonesian actress (d. 2008)
October 20
October 22 –
Annette Funicello , American actress and singer (d. 2013)
October 25 -
Orso Maria Guerrini , Italian actor
October 26
October 28 -
Terence Donovan , English-Australian actor
October 31 –
David Ogden Stiers , American actor (d. 2018)
November 1
November 11 -
Nancy Linehan Charles , American character actress
November 15 –
Hans Kaldoja , Estonian actor (d. 2017)
November 17 –
Martin Scorsese , American director, producer, screenwriter and actor
November 21 -
Michael Cavanaugh , American actor
November 24 –
Billy Connolly , Scottish comedian and actor
December 3 -
Lynn Farleigh , English actress
December 4 –
Gemma Jones , English actress
December 12 -
Fatma Girik , Turkish actress (d. 2022)
December 14 -
Juan Diego , Spanish actor (d. 2022)
December 27 -
Charmian Carr , American actress and singer (d. 2016)
December 30 -
Fred Ward , American actor and producer (d. 2022)
Deaths
January 16 –
Carole Lombard , 33, American actress,
To Be or Not to Be ,
My Man Godfrey ,
Made for Each Other ,
Nothing Sacred
January 31 –
Rolf Wenkhaus , 24, German actor,
Emil and the Detectives ,
S.A.-Mann Brand
April 10 –
Carl Schenstrøm , 60, Danish actor,
Cocktails ,
The Last Laugh
May 19 –
Hale Hamilton , 62, American actor, writer, director,
The Great Lover ,
Love Affair ,
Parole Girl ,
The Girl from Missouri
May 29 –
John Barrymore , 60, American actor,
Grand Hotel ,
Twentieth Century ,
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ,
Dinner at Eight
June 4 –
Virginia Lee Corbin , 31, American actress,
Hands Up! ,
X Marks the Spot
July 5 –
Karin Swanström , 69, Swedish actress, director,
His English Wife ,
Black Roses
August 12 –
Phillips Holmes , 35, American actor,
Night Court ,
Men Must Fight
August 14 –
Rafaela Ottiano , 54, Italian-born American actress,
Grand Hotel ,
She Done Him Wrong ,
The Devil-Doll ,
Curly Top
October 20 –
May Robson , 84, Australian-born American stage & film actress,
Bringing Up Baby ,
A Star is Born ,
Lady for a Day ,
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
October 22 –
Olga Svendsen , 59, Danish actress,
Kidnapped
October 24 –
James C. Morton , 58, American actor,
Public Cowboy No. 1 ,
Lucky Legs
November 5 –
George M. Cohan , 64, American actor, songwriter, entertainer,
The Phantom President ,
Broadway Jones , subject of
Yankee Doodle Dandy
November 9 –
Edna May Oliver , 59, American stage & film actress,
David Copperfield ,
Drums Along the Mohawk ,
Little Women ,
A Tale of Two Cities
November 12 –
Laura Hope Crews , 62, American stage & screen actress,
Gone with the Wind ,
Camille ,
Angel ,
The Blue Bird
November 15 –
Sidney Fox , 30, American actress,
Murders in the Rue Morgue ,
Bad Sister ,
Six Cylinder Love
December 12 –
Helen Westley , 67, American stage & screen actress,
Heidi ,
Roberta ,
All This, and Heaven Too ,
Alexander's Ragtime Band
Film debuts
References
^
a
b
c The Eddie Mannix Ledger , Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study .
^
a
b Warner Bros financial information in The William Shaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1-31 p 23 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551
^ Finler, Joel Waldo (2003). The Hollywood Story . Wallflower Press. pp.
358–359 .
ISBN
978-1-903364-66-6 .
^ "All-time Film Rental Champs".
Variety . October 15, 1990.
^
a
b
"101 Pix Gross in Millions" Variety 6 Jan 1943 p 58
^ Jewell, Richard B. (1994). "RKO Film Grosses, 1929-1951: the C.J. Tevlin ledger". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television . 14 (1): 37–49.
doi :
10.1080/01439689400260031 .
^ Jewell, Richard B. (1994). "Appendix 1". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television . 14 (S1): 1–11.
doi :
10.1080/01439689408604545 .
External links