The year 1940 in film involved some significant events, including the premieres of the Walt Disney classics Pinocchio and Fantasia.
February 7 - Walt Disney's animated film Pinocchio is released.
February 10 - Tom and Jerry make their debut in the animated cartoon Puss Gets the Boot.
May 17 - My Favorite Wife is released.
May - A reproduction of "America's First Movie Studio", Thomas Edison's Black Maria, is constructed.
July 27 - Bugs Bunny makes his official debut in the animated cartoon A Wild Hare.
October 15 - Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator, a satirical comedy starring him, is released.
November 13 - World premiere of Walt Disney's Fantasia, the first film to be released in a multi-channel 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 is cited as a key chapter in the conception and development of the multi-channel surround system.
December 5 - Release of The Thief of Bagdad, pioneering the use of chroma key effects.
In the United Kingdom, the Crown Film Unit supersedes the GPO Film Unit in the production of documentary films.
At the time, box office numbers were reported as a percentage of business for each theater in comparison to 'normal' business. For example, Boom Town performed at 232% and Pinocchio at 130%. This is why exact dollar grosses for films are unreliable at best.
* After theatrical reissues
Best Picture: Rebecca - David O. Selznick, United Artists
Best Director: John Ford - The Grapes of Wrath
Best Actor: James Stewart - The Philadelphia Story
Best Actress: Ginger Rogers - Kitty Foyle
Best Supporting Actor: Walter Brennan - The Westerner
Best Supporting Actress: Jane Darwell - The Grapes of Wrath
U.S.A. unless stated
A
Abe Lincoln in Illinois, starring Raymond Massey
All This and Heaven Too, starring Bette Davis and Charles Boyer
Andy Hardy Meets Debutante, starring Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, and Fay Holden
Angels Over Broadway, starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Rita Hayworth
Arise, My Love, starring Claudette Colbert and Ray Milland
Arizona, starring Jean Arthur and William Holden
B
Band Waggon, directed by Marcel Varnel, starring Arthur Askey - (GB)
The Bank Dick, written by and starring W. C. Fields
The Biscuit Eater
Bismarck, starring Paul Hartmann - (Germany)
Black Friday, starring Boris Karloff and Béla Lugosi
The Blue Bird, starring Shirley Temple
Boom Town, starring Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr
Boys of the City, starring the East Side Kids
Brigham Young, starring Tyrone Power and Linda Darnell
Broadway Melody of 1940, starring Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell - final film of series
Brother Orchid, starring Edward G. Robinson, Ann Sothern, Humphrey Bogart
C
Calling Philo Vance, starring James Stephenson
Castle on the Hudson, directed by Anatole Litvak, starring John Garfield and Ann Sheridan
The Catacombs (Katakomby), directed by Martin Frič - (Czechoslovakia)
Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum, starring Sidney Toler
Charlie Chan in Panama, starring Sidney Toler
Christmas in July, directed by Preston Sturges
A Chump at Oxford, starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, featuring a young Peter Cushing
City for Conquest, starring James Cagney
Confucius - (China)
Contraband, directed by Michael Powell, starring Conrad Veidt and Valerie Hobson - (GB)
Convicted Woman, starring Rochelle Hudson and June Lang
Convoy - directed by Pen Tennyson, starring Clive Brook, John Clements (UK)
Crimes at the Dark House, directed by George King, starring Tod Slaughter - (GB)
D
Dance, Girl, Dance, starring Maureen O'Hara, Louis Hayward, Lucille Ball
Dark Command, starring John Wayne
Dead Man's Shoes, directed by Thomas Bentley, starring Leslie Banks - (GB)
A Dispatch from Reuter's, starring Edward G. Robinson
Dívka v modrém - (Czechoslovakia)
Doomed to Die, starring Boris Karloff
Down Argentine Way, starring Don Ameche, Betty Grable and Carmen Miranda
Dr. Cyclops, directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack, starring Albert Dekker
Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet, starring Edward G. Robinson, Ruth Gordon, Otto Kruger, Donald Crisp
E
East Side Kids, starring Leon Ames and the East Side Kids
Edison, the Man, starring Spencer Tracy
Ergens in Nederland (Somewhere in the Netherlands) - (Netherlands)
Escape, starring Norma Shearer and Robert Taylor
F
Fantasia, a Disney animated film
The Fatal Hour, starred Boris Karloff
Flowing Gold, starring John Garfield and Frances Farmer
Foreign Correspondent, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Joel McCrea
Four Sons, directed by Archie Mayo, starring Don Ameche
The Fox of Glenarvon, directed by Max W. Kimmich - (Germany)
French Without Tears, starring Ray Milland - (GB)
G
Gaslight, starring Anton Walbrook - (GB)
The Ghost Breakers, starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard
Girl in the News, starring Margaret Lockwood - (GB)
Give Us Wings, starring the Dead End Kids
Go West, starring the Marx Brothers
The Grapes of Wrath, directed by John Ford, starring Henry Fonda
The Great Dictator, directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin with Paulette Goddard and Jack Oakie
The Great McGinty, starring Brian Donlevy
Green Hell, starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Joan Bennett
H
Here Is the Point (Ahí está el detalle), starring Cantinflas - (Mexico)
His Girl Friday, directed by Howard Hawks, starring Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy
Hoots Mon!, directed by Roy William Neill, starring Max Miller and Florence Desmond (Britain)
The House of the Seven Gables, starring George Sanders
The Howards of Virginia, starring Cary Grant and Martha Scott
Hullabaloo, starring Frank Morgan
I-J
I Love You Again, starring William Powell and Myrna Loy
The Invisible Man Returns, starring Cedric Hardwicke and Vincent Price
The Invisible Woman, starring Virginia Bruce and John Barrymore
It All Came True, starring Ann Sheridan, Jeffrey Lynn, Humphrey Bogart
June Nights (Juninatten), starring Ingrid Bergman - (Sweden)
K-L
King of the White Elephant (Prajao Changpeuk) - (Thailand)
Kitty Foyle, starring Ginger Rogers
Lady with Red Hair, starring Miriam Hopkins
The Letter, directed by William Wyler, starring Bette Davis
The Long Voyage Home, starring John Wayne
M
Maddalena, Zero for Conduct, directed by and starring Vittorio De Sica - (Italy)
The Marines Fly High, starring Lucille Ball and Richard Dix
The Mark of Zorro, starring Tyrone Power and Linda Darnell
The Middle Watch, directed by Thomas Bentley, starring Jack Buchanan and Greta Gynt (Britain)
The Minister's Girlfriends (Přítelkyně pana ministra) - (Czechoslovakia)
The Mortal Storm, starring Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart
The Mummy's Hand, starring Dick Foran
My Favorite Wife, starring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant
My Little Chickadee, starring Mae West and W. C. Fields
N
New Moon, starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy
Night Train to Munich, directed by Carol Reed, starring Margaret Lockwood and Rex Harrison - (GB)
North West Mounted Police, starring Gary Cooper, Paulette Goddard, Madeleine Carroll
Northwest Passage, starring Spencer Tracy and Robert Young
O-P
One Million B.C. (aka The Cave Dwellers), starring Carole Landis
One Night in the Tropics, film debut of Abbott and Costello
Our Town, starring William Holden and Martha Scott
Pastor Hall, directed by Roy Boulting - (GB)
The Philadelphia Story, directed by George Cukor, starring Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, James Stewart
Pinocchio
Pride and Prejudice, starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier
Primrose Path, starring Ginger Rogers and Joel McCrea
The Proud Valley, starring Paul Robeson - (GB)
Q-R
Queen of the Yukon, starring Charles Bickford
Rebecca, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier - Oscar for best picture
Remember the Night, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray
Rhythm on the River, starring Bing Crosby and Mary Martin
Road to Singapore, starring Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour and Bob Hope - first in the series
S
Saps at Sea, starring Laurel and Hardy
The Sea Hawk, starring Errol Flynn
Seven Sinners, starring Marlene Dietrich and John Wayne
The Shop Around the Corner, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart
The Siege of the Alcazar (L'Assedio dell'Alcazar) - (Italy)
Son of Ingagi, directed by Richard Kahn
The Son of Monte Cristo, starring Louis Hayward and Joan Bennett
Spring Parade, starring Deanna Durbin
The Stars Look Down, directed by Carol Reed, starring Michael Redgrave and Margaret Lockwood - (GB)
The Stationmaster (Der postmeister) - (Germany)
Strange Cargo, starring Clark Gable and Joan Crawford
Stranger on the Third Floor, starring Peter Lorre
Strike Up the Band, directed by Busby Berkeley, starring Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney
T-V
That Gang of Mine, starring the East Side Kids
They Drive by Night, starring George Raft, Humphrey Bogart, Ida Lupino
They Knew What They Wanted, directed by Garson Kanin, starring Carole Lombard and Charles Laughton
The Thief of Bagdad, starring Conrad Veidt and Sabu - (GB)
'Til We Meet Again, starring Merle Oberon and George Brent
Too Many Girls, starring Lucille Ball
Too Many Husbands, starring Jean Arthur, Fred MacMurray, Melvyn Douglas
Tørres Snørtevold - (Norway)
Torrid Zone, starring James Cagney, Ann Sheridan, Pat O'Brien
Turnabout, starring John Hubbard and Carole Landis
Vigil in the Night, starring Carole Lombard
Virginia City, starring Errol Flynn and Miriam Hopkins
W-Z
Waterloo Bridge, starring Vivien Leigh and Robert Taylor
The Well-Digger's Daughter (La Fille du puisatier), directed by Marcel Pagnol, starring Raimu and Fernandel - (France)
The Westerner, starring Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Dana Andrews, Forrest Tucker
Where's That Fire?, starring Will Hay - (GB)
Young People, starring Shirley Temple
Young Tom Edison, starring Mickey Rooney
You're Not So Tough, starring the Dead End Kids
Adventures of Red Ryder, directed by William Witney and John English
Deadwood Dick, directed by James W. Horne
Drums of Fu Manchu, starring Henry Brandon and Robert Kellard, directed by William Witney and John English
Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe, starring Buster Crabbe
The Green Archer, starring Victor Jory, directed by James W. Horne
The Green Hornet, starring Warren Hull
Junior G-Men, starring the Dead End Kids
King of the Royal Mounted starring Allan Lane, directed by William Witney and John English
Mysterious Doctor Satan, starring Eduardo Ciannelli, directed by William Witney and John English
The Shadow, starring Victor Jory, directed by James W. Horne
Terry and the Pirates, starring William Tracy, directed by James W. Horne
Winners of the West, starring Dick Foran and Anne Nagel
Buster Keaton (1917–1941)
Laurel and Hardy (1921–1943)
Our Gang (1922–1944)
Charley Chase (1924-1940)
The Three Stooges (1934–1959)
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)
Pluto (1937–1951)
Walter Lantz Cartunes (also known as New Universal Cartoons or Cartune Comedies) (1938–1942)
Goofy (1939–1955)
Andy Panda (1939–1949)
Knock Knock! (first appearance of Woody Woodpecker)
Tom and Jerry (1940-1958)
Puss Gets the Boot
January 22 - John Hurt, English actor (died 2017)
January 27 - James Cromwell, American actor
January 29 - Katharine Ross, American actress
February 4 - George A. Romero, American director, producer and screenwriter
February 12 - Ralph Bates, English actor (died 1991)
February 23 - Peter Fonda, American actor
February 27 - Bill Hunter, Australian actor (died 2011)
March 9 - Raúl Juliá, Puerto Rican actor (died 1994)
March 10 - Chuck Norris, American actor and martial artist
March 26 - James Caan, American actor
April 17 - Billy Fury, English singer and actor (died 1983)
April 25 - Al Pacino, American actor
May 5 - Lance Henriksen, American actor
May 15 - Lainie Kazan, American actress and singer
May 17 - Valie Export, Austrian director
June 1 - Rene Auberjonois, American actor
June 20 - John Mahoney, English-born American actor
June 22 - Abbas Kiarostami, Iranian director (died 2016)
June 23 - Adam Faith, English actor and singer (died 2003)
July 4 - Karolyn Grimes, American actress
July 7 - Ringo Starr, English drummer (The Beatles)
July 13 - Patrick Stewart, English actor
July 18 - James Brolin, American actor
August 3 - Martin Sheen, American actor
August 19 - Jill St. John, American actress
August 27 - Sonny Sharrock, American jazz guitarist (died 1994)
August 31 - Jack Thompson, Australian actor
September 5 - Raquel Welch, American actress
September 11 - Brian De Palma, American director, producer and screenwriter
October 9 - John Lennon, English singer-songwriter and musician (The Beatles) (assassinated 1980)
October 14 - Cliff Richard, English singer and actor
October 19 - Michael Gambon, Irish-born British actor
November 5 - Elke Sommer, German actress
November 13 - Rudolf Schwarzkogler, Austrian experimental filmmaker (died 1969)
November 15 - Sam Waterston, American actor
November 20 - Helma Sanders-Brahms, German director (died 2014)
November 27 - Bruce Lee, Chinese-American martial artist and actor (died 1973)
December 1 - Richard Pryor, American comedian and actor (died 2005)
December 13 - Volli Käro, Estonian actor
January 4 - Flora Finch, 72, American actress, A Cure for Pokeritis, The Cat and the Canary, Quality Street, Her Crowning Glory
February 20 - George Periolat, 66, American actor, The Mark of Zorro, One Rainy Afternoon, Morning Glory, What Price Hollywood?
March 5 - Maxine Elliott, 66, American actress, Fighting Odds
April 9 - Mrs. Patrick Campbell, 75, English actress, Riptide, One More River
April 11 - Hemmo Kallio, 77, Finnish actor, Anna Liisa
May 25 - Joe De Grasse, 67, Canadian-born American film director, Heart o' the Hills, The Scarlet Car, The Girl of the Night
July 1 - Ben Turpin, 70, American actor, Saps at Sea, Mr. Flip, A Clever Dummy
July 15 - Donald Calthrop, 52, English actor, Scrooge, Blackmail, Murder!, Major Barbara
September 25 - Marguerite Clark, 57, American actress, Scrambled Wives, Easy to Get, All of a Sudden Peggy, A Girl Named Mary
October 10 - Berton Churchill, 63, Canadian actor, Stagecoach, I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, In Old Chicago, Heroes for Sale
October 12 - Tom Mix, 60, American actor, The Miracle Rider, Riders of the Purple Sage, Sky High
December 13 - Wilfred Lucas, 69, Canadian-born American actor, screenwriter, director, Modern Times, A Chump at Oxford, The Girl and Her Trust
Dana Andrews - Lucky Cisco Kid
Robert Ryan - The Ghost Breakers
Gene Tierney - The Return of Frank James
Forrest Tucker - The Westerner
