1934 in film
The following is an overview of 1934 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Top-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1934 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:Rank | Title | Studio | Box office gross rental |
1 | Cleopatra | Paramount Pictures | $1,929,000 |
2 | The Count of Monte Cristo | United Artists | $1,500,000 |
3 | Forsaking All Others | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | $1,399,000 |
4 | It Happened One Night | Columbia Pictures | $1,366,000 |
5 | Chained | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | $1,301,000 |
6 | Wonder Bar | Warner Bros. | $1,264,000 |
7 | The Barretts of Wimpole Street | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | $1,258,000 |
8 | Judge Priest | Fox Film Corporation | $1,176,000 |
9 | Treasure Island | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | $1,164,000 |
10 | The Gay Divorcee | RKO Radio Pictures | $1,077,000 |
Events
- January 26 – Samuel Goldwyn purchases the film rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the L. Frank Baum estate for $40,000.
- February 19 – Bob Hope marries Dolores Reade.
- April 19 – Fox Studios releases Stand Up and Cheer!, with five-year-old Shirley Temple in a relatively minor role. Shirley steals the film and Fox, which had been near bankruptcy, finds itself owning a goldmine.
- May 18 – Paramount releases Little Miss Marker, with Shirley Temple, on loan from Fox, in the title role.
- June 13 – An amendment to the Production Code establishes the Production Code Administration, and requires all films to obtain a certificate of approval before being released.
- October 12 – Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers wham audiences again in their first joint starring roles with The Gay Divorcee grossing $1.8 million to add to the $1.5 million earned by Flying Down to Rio released at the end of 1933
- November 12 – The musical Babes in Toyland debuts, starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy as comic relief.
- December 11 – Fox releases the Sol M. Wurtzel production of Bright Eyes, starring their hot new property, Shirley Temple. Shirley sings "On the Good Ship Lollipop", and wins the first Academy Award ever given to a child, for her endearing portrayal of Shirley Blake.
Academy Awards
Most nominations: One Night of Love – 6
Major Awards
- Best Picture: It Happened One Night – Columbia Pictures
- Best Director: Frank Capra – It Happened One Night
- Best Actor: Clark Gable – It Happened One Night
- Best Actress: Claudette Colbert – It Happened One Night
It Happened One Night became the first film to perform a "clean sweep" of the top five award categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay. This feat would later be duplicated by One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1976 and The Silence of the Lambs in 1992. It also was the first romantic comedy to be named Best Picture.
1934 film releases
unless statedJanuary–March
- January 1934
- *6 January
- **The Big Shakedown
- *19 January
- **Frontier Marshal
- *22 January
- **The Lucky Texan
- *26 January
- **Four Frightened People
- **You Can't Buy Everything
- *Unknown
- **Colonel Blood
- February 1934
- *1 February
- **All of Me
- *2 February
- **Carolina
- *3 February
- **Dark Hazard
- **I've Got Your Number
- *9 February
- **Les Misérables
- **The Rise of Catherine the Great
- **Six of a Kind
- **The Tars
- *10 February
- **Mandalay
- *14 February
- **Fashions of 1934
- *16 February
- **The Cat and the Fiddle
- **The Lost Patrol
- *22 February
- **It Happened One Night
- *23 February
- **Bolero
- **Death Takes a Holiday
- *25 February
- **Managed Money
- March 1934
- *3 March
- **David Harum
- *17 March
- **Jimmy the Gent
- *30 March
- **Riptide
- **Spitfire
- *31 March
- **Gambling Lady
- **Wonder Bar
April–June
- April 1934
- *5 April
- **You're Telling Me!
- *7 April
- **The House of Rothschild
- *10 April
- **Viva Villa!
- **Whirlpool
- *15 April
- **City Limits
- *16 April
- **Tarzan and His Mate
- *26 April
- **We're Not Dressing
- *27 April
- **Liliom
- May 1934
- *1 May
- **The Last Round-Up
- **Little Man, What Now?
- *2 May
- **Le Grand Jeu
- *3 May
- **Twentieth Century
- *4 May
- **Manhattan Melodrama
- **Stand Up and Cheer!
- *9 May
- **Sadie McKee
- *15 May
- **The Man from Utah
- *18 May
- **The Black Cat
- **Born to Be Bad
- **Thirty-Day Princess
- *25 May
- **The Thin Man
- *26 May
- **Twenty Million Sweethearts
- *31 May
- **The Key
- June 1934
- *1 June
- **Little Miss Marker
- *2 June
- **Fog Over Frisco
- **Operator 13
- *4 June
- **Red Ensign
- *6 June
- **Are We Civilized?
- *8 June
- **Now I'll Tell
- *13 June
- **The Circus Clown
- *28 June
- **Of Human Bondage
- **The World Moves On
- *30 June
- **Baby Take a Bow
July–September
- July 1934
- *6 July
- **Charlie Chan's Courage
- *13 July
- **Kiss and Make-Up
- **The Old Fashioned Way
- **We're Rich Again
- *20 July
- **Grand Canary
- *21 July
- **Here Comes the Navy
- *30 July
- **The Cat's-Paw
- August 1934
- *3 August
- **The Girl from Missouri
- *4 August
- **The Man with Two Faces
- *6 August
- **One More River
- *13 August
- **Everybody's Woman
- *15 August
- **Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back
- **Jane Eyre
- *16 August
- **Cleopatra
- **Dames
- *17 August
- **Treasure Island
- *19 August
- **The Count of Monte Cristo
- *23 August
- **Unfinished Symphony
- *24 August
- **Hide-Out
- *30 August
- **Crime Without Passion
- *31 August
- **Now and Forever
- **Peck's Bad Boy
- **She Loves Me Not
- September 1934
- *1 September
- **Chained
- *5 September
- **One Night of Love
- *11 September
- **Maniac
- *12 September
- **L'Atalante
- **Charlie Chan in London
- *14 September
- **Death on the Diamond
- *15 September
- **The Scarlet Empress
- *17 September
- **Young and Beautiful
- *19 September
- **A Lost Lady
- *21 September
- **The Barretts of Wimpole Street
- **Belle of the Nineties
- **The Richest Girl in the World
- *22 September
- **The Case of the Howling Dog
- *28 September
- **Judge Priest
- **The Pursuit of Happiness
October–December
- October 1934
- *2 October
- **Our Daily Bread
- *4 October
- **Jew Suss,
- *8 October
- **The Return of Bulldog Drummond
- *12 October
- **The Gay Divorcee
- *13 October
- **Madame Du Barry
- *18 October
- **Man of Aran
- *19 October
- **Forbidden Territory
- **What Every Woman Knows
- *22 October
- **The Captain Hates the Sea
- **Great Expectations
- **The Trail Beyond
- November 1934
- *2 November
- **The Merry Widow
- *3 November
- **Gambling
- *9 November
- **Evelyn Prentice
- *10 November
- **The St. Louis Kid
- *16 November
- **The White Parade
- *17 November
- **Girl o' My Dreams
- **It's a Gift
- *23 November
- **Anne of Green Gables
- **The Painted Veil
- *26 November
- **Imitation of Life
- *29 November
- **Road House
- *30 November
- **Babes in Toyland
- **The Iron Duke
- **The Private Life of Don Juan
- December 1934
- *7 December
- **A Wicked Woman
- *9 December
- **Lieutenant Kijé
- *10 December
- **Something Always Happens
- *11 December
- **Limehouse Blues
- **Le Roi des Champs-Élysées
- *14 December
- **The Dream Car
- **The Gay Bride
- *21 December
- **The Silver Streak
- *23 December
- **Forsaking All Others
- **The Mighty Barnum
- **The Scarlet Pimpernel
- *27 December
- **Broadway Bill
- *28 December
- **Bright Eyes
- **Here is My Heart
- **Kid Millions
- **The Little Minister
- *31 December
- **Evergreen
Notable films released in 1934
0-9
- 1860 –
A
- All of Me, starring Miriam Hopkins and Fredric March
- Amok, directed by Fedor Ozep –
- Angèle, directed by Marcel Pagnol, starring Fernandel –
- Anne of Green Gables, starring Anne Shirley
- Are We Civilized?, starring William Farnum
- L'Atalante, directed by Jean Vigo, starring Michel Simon –
B
- Babes in Toyland, starring Laurel and Hardy
- Baby Take a Bow, starring Shirley Temple
- The Barretts of Wimpole Street, starring Norma Shearer, Fredric March and Charles Laughton
- The Battle, starring Merle Oberon, Charles Boyer and John Loder –
- Belle of the Nineties, starring Mae West and Johnny Mack Brown
- The Big Road, directed by Sun Yu –
- The Big Shakedown, starring Bette Davis and Charles Farrell
- The Black Cat, starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi
- Bolero, starring George Raft and Carole Lombard
- Boots! Boots!, starring George Formby –
- Born to Be Bad, starring Cary Grant, Loretta Young, Jackie Kelk
- Bright Eyes, starring Shirley Temple
- Broadway Bill, directed by Frank Capra, starring Warner Baxter and Myrna Loy
- Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back, starring Ronald Colman
C
- The Captain Hates the Sea, starring Victor McLaglen and John Gilbert in his last film role
- Carolina, starring Janet Gaynor and Lionel Barrymore
- The Case of the Howling Dog, starring Warren William
- The Cat and the Fiddle, starring Ramón Novarro and Jeanette MacDonald
- The Cat's-Paw, starring Harold Lloyd
- Chained, starring Joan Crawford and Clark Gable
- Chapayev – winner of National Board of Review "Best Foreign Film" Award in 1935 –
- Charlie Chan in London, starring Warner Oland and Ray Milland
- Charlie Chan's Courage, starring Warner Oland
- The Circus Clown, starring Joe E. Brown
- City Limits
- Cleopatra, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Claudette Colbert and Warren William
- Colonel Blood, starring Frank Cellier
- The Count of Monte Cristo, starring Robert Donat
- Crime Without Passion, starring Claude Rains
D
- Dames, choreographed by Busby Berkeley, starring Joan Blondell, Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler
- David Harum starring Will Rogers
- Dark Hazard, starring Edward G. Robinson
- Death on the Diamond starring Robert Young
- Death Takes a Holiday, starring Fredric March
- The Dream Car –
- Don't Make Grandpa Angry –
E
- Evelyn Prentice, starring William Powell and Myrna Loy
- Evergreen, directed by Victor Saville, starring Jessie Matthews –
- Everybody's Woman, directed by Max Ophüls, starring Isa Miranda –
F
- Fashions of 1934, starring William Powell and Bette Davis
- Ferdowsi, starring Abdolhossein Sepanta and Ardeshir Irani
- Frontier Marshal, starring George O' Brien
- Fog Over Frisco, starring Bette Davis
- Forbidden Territory, starring Gregory Ratoff, Ronald Squire, Binnie Barnes –
- Forsaking All Others, starring Joan Crawford, Clark Gable and Robert Montgomery
G
- Gambling, starring George M. Cohan
- Gambling Lady, starring Barbara Stanwyck
- The Gay Bride, starring Carole Lombard
- The Gay Divorcee, starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
- The Girl from Missouri, starring Jean Harlow
- Girl o' My Dreams, starring Mary Carlisle, Edward J. Nugent, Lon Chaney Jr., Sterling Holloway
- The Goddess –
- Grand Canary, starring Warner Baxter
- Le Grand Jeu, directed by Jacques Feyder –
- Great Expectations, starring Henry Hull and Jane Wyatt
H
- Here Comes the Navy, starring James Cagney and Pat O'Brien
- Here is My Heart, starring Bing Crosby and Kitty Carlisle
- Hide-Out, starring Robert Montgomery and Margaret Sullavan
- Hollywood Party, starring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Jimmy Durante and Lupe Vélez
- The House of Rothschild, starring George Arliss and Loretta Young
I
- I've Got Your Number, starring Joan Blondell and Pat O'Brien
- Imitation of Life, starring Claudette Colbert and Warren William
- The Iron Duke, starring George Arliss
- It Happened One Night, directed by Frank Capra, starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert – winner of 5 Academy Awards
- It's a Gift, starring W. C. Fields
J
- Jane Eyre, starring Virginia Bruce and Colin Clive
- Jew Suss, starring Conrad Veidt
- Jimmy the Gent, starring James Cagney and Bette Davis
- Jolly Fellows – the first Russian musical
- Juárez y Maximiliano –
- Judge Priest, starring Will Rogers
K
- The Key, starring William Powell and Edna Best
- Kid Millions, starring Eddie Cantor
- Kiss and Make-Up, starring Cary Grant, Helen Mack
L
- The Lady Is Willing, starring Leslie Howard and Cedric Hardwicke –
- The Last Round-Up, starring Randolph Scott
- Lieutenant Kijé –
- Liliom, directed by Fritz Lang, starring Charles Boyer –
- Limehouse Blues, starring George Raft and Jean Parker
- Little Man, What Now?, starring Margaret Sullavan and Douglass Montgomery
- The Little Minister, starring Katharine Hepburn and John Beal
- Little Miss Marker, starring Shirley Temple
- A Lost Lady, starring Barbara Stanwyck
- The Lost Patrol, starring Victor McLaglen, Boris Karloff and Wallace Ford
- The Lucky Texan'', starring John Wayne
M-N
- Madame Du Barry, starring Dolores del Río
- Maniac, starring Horace B. Carpenter
- The Man from Utah, starring John Wayne
- Man of Aran, directed by Robert Flaherty –
- The Man Who Knew Too Much, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Leslie Banks, Edna Best and Peter Lorre –
- The Man with Two Faces, starring Edward G. Robinson
- Managed Money, starring Shirley Temple
- Mandalay, starring Kay Francis
- Manhattan Melodrama, starring Clark Gable, William Powell and Myrna Loy
- The Merry Widow, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald –
- Les Misérables, directed by Raymond Bernard, starring Harry Baur and Charles Vanel –
- The Mighty Barnum, starring Wallace Beery
- Murder at Monte Carlo, starring Errol Flynn –
- Mauvaise Graine, directed by Billy Wilder –
- Now and Forever, starring Gary Cooper and Carole Lombard
- Now I'll Tell, starring Spencer Tracy
O
- Of Human Bondage, starring Leslie Howard and Bette Davis
- The Old Curiosity Shop, directed by Thomas Bentley –
- The Old Fashioned Way, starring W. C. Fields
- One More River, directed by James Whale
- One Night of Love, starring Grace Moore
- Operator 13, starring Marion Davies and Gary Cooper
- Our Daily Bread, directed by King Vidor, starring Karen Morley and Tom Keene
P
- The Painted Veil, starring Greta Garbo and Herbert Marshall
- Pardon My Pups, a Shirley Temple short
- Peck's Bad Boy, directed by Edward F. Cline, starring Jackie Cooper
- Plunder of Peach and Plum –
- The Private Life of Don Juan, directed by Alexander Korda, starring Douglas Fairbanks and Merle Oberon –
- The Pursuit of Happiness, directed by Alexander Hall
R
- Radio Parade of 1935, starring Will Hay –
- Red Ensign, starring Leslie Banks –
- The Return of Bulldog Drummond, starring Ralph Richardson and Ann Todd –
- The Richest Girl in the World, starring Miriam Hopkins, Joel McCrea and Fay Wray
- Riptide, starring Norma Shearer and Robert Montgomery
- The Rise of Catherine the Great, starring Elisabeth Bergner and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. –
- Road House, directed by Maurice Elvey, starring Violet Loraine and Gordon Harker
- Le Roi des Champs-Élysées, starring Buster Keaton –
S
- Sadie McKee, starring Joan Crawford
- The Scarlet Empress, directed by Josef von Sternberg, starring Marlene Dietrich and John Lodge
- The Scarlet Pimpernel, starring Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon –
- Servants' Entrance, starring Janet Gaynor
- She Loves Me Not, starring Miriam Hopkins and Bing Crosby
- Shirin and Farhad starring Roohangiz Saminejad.
- The Silver Streak, starring Charles Starrett
- Sing as We Go, starring Gracie Fields and Stanley Holloway –
- Six of a Kind, starring Charles Ruggles, Mary Boland and W. C. Fields
- Something Always Happens, directed by Michael Powell, starring, Ian Hunter, Nance O'Neil, Peter Gawthorne, Muriel George –
- The Song of Ceylon, documentary directed by Basil Wright –
- Song of the Fishermen –
- Spitfire, starring Katharine Hepburn
- The St. Louis Kid, starring James Cagney
- Stand Up and Cheer! starring Warner Baxter and Madge Evans, featuring 5-year-old Shirley Temple.
- A Story of Floating Weeds, directed by Yasujirō Ozu –
T
- The Tars –
- Tarzan and His Mate, starring Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan
- The Thin Man, directed by W. S. Van Dyke, starring William Powell and Myrna Loy
- Thirty-Day Princess, starring Sylvia Sydney and Cary Grant
- Those Were the Days, directed by Thomas Bentley, starring Will Hay and John Mills –
- The Trail Beyond, starring John Wayne
- Treasure Island, starring Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper
- Twentieth Century, directed by Howard Hawks, starring John Barrymore and Carole Lombard
- Twenty Million Sweethearts, starring Pat O'Brien, Dick Powell and Ginger Rogers
U-V
- Unfinished Symphony, directed by Anthony Asquith
- Viva Villa!, starring Wallace Beery, Leo Carrillo and Fay Wray
W
- Waltzes from Vienna, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Esmond Knight and Jessie Matthews –
- We're Not Dressing, starring Bing Crosby and Carole Lombard
- We're Rich Again, starring Edna May Oliver and Billie Burke
- What Every Woman Knows, starring Helen Hayes
- Whirlpool, starring Jack Holt and Jean Arthur
- The White Parade, starring Loretta Young
- A Wicked Woman, starring Mady Christians, Jean Parker and Charles Bickford
- The Woman of the Port –
- Wonder Bar, starring Al Jolson
- Workers, Let's Go, directed by Martin Frič –
Y-Z
- You Can't Buy Everything, starring May Robson and Jean Parker
- You're Telling Me!, starring W. C. Fields
- Young and Beautiful
- Zouzou, directed by Marc Allégret, starring Jean Gabin and Josephine Baker –
Serials
- Burn 'Em Up Barnes , starring Frankie Darro and Jack Mulhall
- Mystery Mountain , starring Ken Maynard
- The Lost Jungle
- The Law of the Wild, starring Rin Tin Tin
- Pirate Treasure
- The Red Rider , starring Buck Jones
- Tailspin Tommy , starring Maurice Murphy
- The Vanishing Shadow
- Young Eagles
Comedy film series and shorts
- The Cat's-Paw
- My Old Duchess
- The Gold Ghost
- Allez Oop
- Le Roi des Champs-Élysées
- Oliver the Eighth
- Hollywood Party
- Going Bye-Bye!
- Them Thar Hills
- Babes in Toyland
- The Live Ghost
- Hi'-Neighbor!
- For Pete's Sake!
- The First Round-Up
- Honky Donkey
- Mike Fright
- Washee Ironee
- Circus Hoodoo
- Petting Preferred
- Counsel on De Fence as Darrow Langdon
- Shivers as Ichabod Somerset Crop
- Hips, Hips, Hooray!
- Cockeyed Cavaliers
- Kentucky Kernels
- Woman Haters
- Punch Drunks
- Men in Black AAN
- Screen Snapshots Series 14 #1
- Screen Snapshots Series 14 #2
- The Captain Hates the Sea §
- Three Little Pigskins
Animated short film series
- Krazy Kat
- *The Autograph Hunter
- *Southern Exposure
- *Tom Thumb
- *Cinder Alley
- *Bowery Daze
- *Busy Bus
- *Masquerade Party
- *The Trapeze Artist
- *The Katnips of 1940
- *Krazy's Waterloo
- *Goofy Gondolas
- Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
- *Chicken Reel
- *The Candy House
- *The County Fair
- *The Toy Shoppe
- *Kings Up
- *Wolf! Wolf!
- *The Ginger Bread Boy
- *Goldielocks and the Three Bears
- *Annie Moved Away
- *Wax Works
- *William Tell
- *Chris Columbus, Jr.
- *The Dizzy Dwarf
- *Ye Happy Pilgrims
- *Sky Larks
- *Spring in the Park
- Mickey Mouse
- *Shanghaied
- *Camping Out – known as "Camping Troubles" in releases outside the United States.
- *Playful Pluto
- *Gulliver Mickey
- *Hollywood Party
- *Mickey's Steam Roller – First appearance of Mickey's nephews.
- *Orphan's Benefit – First time Donald Duck from The Wise Little Hen appears in a Mickey cartoon. First appearance of Clara Cluck. Last black and white appearance of Clarabelle Cow and Horace Horsecollar. First cartoon were Mickey wears a shirt.
- *Mickey Plays Papa
- *The Dognapper
- *Babes in Toyland
- *Two-Gun Mickey – Last black and white appearance of Minnie Mouse.
- Silly Symphonies
- * The China Shop
- * The Grasshopper and the Ants
- * Funny Little Bunnies
- * The Big Bad Wolf
- * The Wise Little Hen
- * The Flying Mouse
- * Peculiar Penguins
- * The Goddess of Spring
- Screen Songs
- *Keeps Rainin' All the Time
- *Let's All Sing Like the Birdies Sing
- *Tune Up and Sing
- *Lazy Bones
- *This Little Piggie Went to Market
- *She Reminds Me of You
- *Love Thy Neighbor
- *Let's Sing with Popeye
- Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies
- *Buddy the Gob
- *Pettin' in the Park
- *Honeymoon Hotel
- *Buddy and Towser
- *Buddy's Garage
- *Beauty and the Beast
- *Those Were Wonderful Days
- *Buddy's Trolley Troubles
- *Goin' to Heaven on a Mule
- *Buddy of the Apes
- *How Do I Know It's Sunday
- *Buddy's Bearcats
- *Why Do I Dream Those Dreams
- *The Girl at the Ironing Board
- *The Miller's Daughter
- *Shake Your Powder Puff
- *Buddy the Detective
- *Rhythm in the Bow
- *Buddy the Woodsman
- *Buddy's Circus
- *Those Beautiful Dames
- *Buddy's Adventures
- *Pop Goes Your Heart
- *Viva Buddy
- *Buddy the Dentist
- Terrytoons
- Scrappy
- Betty Boop
- * She Wronged Him Right
- * Red Hot Mamma
- * Ha! Ha! Ha!
- * Betty in Blunderland
- * Betty Boop's Rise to Fame
- * Betty Boop's Trial
- * Betty Boop's Lifeguard
- * Poor Cinderella
- * There's Something About a Soldier
- * Betty Boop's Little Pal
- * Betty Boop's Prize Show
- * Keep in Style
- * When My Ship Comes In
- Popeye
- Willie Whopper
- ComiColor Cartoons
- Cubby Bear
- The Little King
- Happy Harmonies
- Cartune Classics
- Color Rhapsodies
- Amos 'n' Andy''
Births
- January 20 – Tom Baker, British actor
- January 22 – Bill Bixby, American actor
- February 11 – Tina Louise, American actress
- February 12 – Valerio Ruggeri, Italian actor and voice actor
- February 17 – Barry Humphries, Austrian comedian, actor, satirist, artist and author
- February 21 – Rue McClanahan, American actress
- March 22 – May Britt, Swedish actress
- March 26 – Alan Arkin, American actor
- March 27 – Peter Schamoni, German director
- March 31 – Shirley Jones, American singer and actress
- April 24 – Shirley MacLaine, American actress
- May 3 – Ivan Andonov, Bulgarian film director
- May 10 – Jeanine Basinger, American film historian
- May 24 – Kiril Gospodinov, Bulgarian actor
- May 29 – Marina Cicogna, Italian producer
- June 1 – Pat Boone, American singer and actor
- June 16 – Eileen Atkins, British actress
- June 21 – Maro Kontou, Greek actress, politician
- July 1
- *Jamie Farr, American actor
- *Jean Marsh, English actress
- *Ester Pajusoo, Estonian actress
- July 5 – Nikolay Binev, Bulgarian actor
- July 8 – Marty Feldman, English comedian and actor
- July 15 – Eva Krížiková, Slovak actress
- July 22 – Eric del Castillo, Mexican actor
- July 29 – Sergio Fiorentini, Italian actor and voice actor
- August 7 – Marija Kohn, Croatian actress
- August 24 – Kenny Baker, English-born actor
- August 30 – Helen Craig, children's author and illustrator
- September 20
- *Sophia Loren, Italian actress
- *Karen Sharpe, American actress
- September 28 – Brigitte Bardot, French actress
- October 19 – Glória Menezes, Brazilian actress
- October 20 – Timothy West, English actor
- November 5 – Kira Muratova, Russian director
- November 11 – Nadine Trintignant, French director, producer and screenwriter
- November 13 – Garry Marshall, American director, actor, producer, writer and voice artist
- November 28 – Jaakko Pakkasvirta, Finnish film director and screenwriter
- December 9 – Judi Dench, English actress
- December 28 – Maggie Smith, English actress
- December 30 – Russ Tamblyn, American actor
Deaths
- March 21 – Lilyan Tashman, 34, American actress
- May 31 – Lew Cody, 50, American actor
- June 8 – Dorothy Dell, 19, American actress
- July 6 – Harry A. Pollard, 55, American actor & director
- July 28 – Marie Dressler, 65, Canadian-born American Academy Award winning actress
Debuts
- Gene Autry – In Old Santa Fe
- Donald Duck – The Wise Little Hen
- Alice Faye – George White's Scandals
- Alec Guinness – Evensong
- Rita Hayworth – Cruz Diablo
- Bob Hope – Going Spanish
- Margaret Lockwood – Lorna Doone
- Keye Luke – The Painted Veil
- Ann Miller – Anne of Green Gables
- Anne Revere – Double Door
- Rosalind Russell – Evelyn Prentice
- Ann Rutherford – Student Tour
- George Sanders – Love, Life and Laughter
- Ann Sheridan – Search for Beauty
- James Stewart – Art Trouble
- Robert Taylor – Handy Andy