1945 in film

Events

January 30 - Restricted release of Kolberg, an historical epic which is one of the last Nazi Germany propaganda pieces, in war-torn Berlin. Given its cast of 187,000, probably fewer people view it than appear in it.

April 20 - Release of Son of Lassie, the 2nd Lassie film and the first movie ever to be filmed using the Technicolor Monobook method, where a single magazine of film is used to record all of the primary colors. Prior to this method, the most popular recording method was 3-Strip Technicolor, which simultaneously used 3 individual film magazines to record the primary colors.

August 10 - Animated Donald Duck short Duck Pimples is released.

September 27 - Release of Roberto Rossellini's Roma Città aperta marks the beginning of Italian neorealism in film.

October 5 - A strike between the set decorators' union and the studios boils over and became what comes to be considered Hollywood Black Friday.

November 16 - Paramount Pictures releases theatrical short cartoon titled The Friendly Ghost, introducing a ghost named Casper.

November 29 - At the Nuremberg trials a documentary on the Nazi concentration camps directed by John Ford is exhibited as evidence.

December 28 - Release of Spellbound, a psychological thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock, across the United States.

Awards

Academy Awards:

Best Picture: The Lost Weekend - Paramount Best Director: Billy Wilder - The Lost Weekend Best Actor: Ray Milland - The Lost Weekend Best Actress: Joan Crawford - Mildred Pierce Best Supporting Actor: James Dunn - A Tree Grows In Brooklyn Best Supporting Actress: Anne Revere - National Velvet

Golden Globe Awards:

Best Picture: The Lost Weekend Best Director: Billy Wilder - The Lost Weekend Best Actor: Ray Milland - The Lost Weekend Best Actress: Ingrid Bergman - The Bells of St. Mary's Best Film for Promoting International Good Will: The House I Live In (short film)

Notable films released in 1945

U.S.A. unless stated

A

The Abandoned (Las Abandonadas), starring Dolores del Río and Pedro Armendáriz - (Mexico)

Abbott and Costello in Hollywood, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello

Allotment Wives, starring Kay Francis

Along Came Jones, starring Gary Cooper and Loretta Young

Amok - (Mexico)

Anchors Aweigh, starring Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra

And Then There Were None, starring Barry Fitzgerald, Walter Huston, Louis Hayward, Judith Anderson

B

Back to Bataan, directed by Edward Dmytryk, with John Wayne

A Bell For Adano, starring Gene Tierney and John Hodiak

The Bells of St. Mary's, directed by Leo McCarey, starring Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman

Blithe Spirit, directed by David Lean, starring Rex Harrison and Constance Cummings, based on the play by Noël Coward - (GB)

Blood on the Sun, starring James Cagney

The Body Snatcher, directed by Robert Wise, starring Boris Karloff

Boule de suif (Angel and Sinner) - (France)

Bougainvillea (Bugambilia), starring Pedro Armendariz and Dolores del Rio - (Mexico)

Brewster's Millions, starring Dennis O'Keefe

Brief Encounter, directed by David Lean, starring Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard- (GB)

C

Caesar and Cleopatra, directed by Gabriel Pascal, starring Vivien Leigh and Claude Rains - (GB)

Captain Kidd, starring Charles Laughton

The Cheaters, starring Joseph Schildkraut and Billie Burke

The Cherokee Flash, starring Sunset Carson and Linda Stirling

Children of Paradise (Les Enfants du Paradis), by Marcel Carné, starring Arletty, released following the liberation of France

Christmas in Connecticut, starring Barbara Stanwyck

Circus Cavalcade (La cabalgata del circo) - (Argentina)

The Clock, starring Judy Garland

Confidential Agent, starring Charles Boyer and Lauren Bacall

Conflict, starring Humphrey Bogart

Counter-Attack, starring Paul Muni and Marguerite Chapman

The Corn Is Green, starring Bette Davis and John Dall

Cornered, directed by Edward Dmytryk, starring Dick Powell

D-F

Dakota, starring John Wayne

Les dames du Bois de Boulogne, directed by Robert Bresson - (France)

Dead of Night, Ealing Studios chiller compendium starring Mervyn Johns and Googie Withers - (GB)

Death Mills, directed by Billy Wilder

Detour, starring Tom Neal and Ann Savage

Diamond Horseshoe, starring Betty Grable

Dick Tracy, starring Morgan Conway and Mike Mazurki

Dillinger, starring Lawrence Tierney

Docks of New York, starring The East Side Kids

Doll Face, starring Vivian Blaine

The Dolly Sisters, starring Betty Grable

The Enchanted Cottage, starring Dorothy McGuire and Robert Young

Fallen Angel, directed by Otto Preminger, starring Alice Faye in her last major film role, Dana Andrews and Linda Darnell

Flame of Barbary Coast, starring John Wayne

G-H

The Great Flamarion, directed by Anthony Mann, starring Erich von Stroheim

Guest Wife, starring Claudette Colbert and Don Ameche

Gun Smoke, starring Johnny Mack Brown and Jennifer Holt

Hangover Square, starring Laird Cregar, Linda Darnell and George Sanders

Here Come the Co-Eds, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello

High Powered, starring Phyllis Brooks and Robert Lowery

Hotel Berlin, starring Faye Emerson and Raymond Massey

The House I Live In, a short film starring Frank Sinatra

House of Dracula, starring Lon Chaney, Jr. and John Carradine

The House on 92nd Street, produced by Louis de Rochemont, starring Lloyd Nolan and Signe Hasso

Humayun, starring Ashok Kumar - (India)

I-J

I Know Where I'm Going!, directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, starring Wendy Hiller and Roger Livesey - (GB)

I Live in Grosvenor Square, starring Anna Neagle, Rex Harrison and Robert Morley - (GB)

I'll Be Your Sweetheart, directed by Val Guest, starring Margaret Lockwood (GB)

Incendiary Blonde, starring Betty Hutton

The Invisible Army (Den usynlige hær) - (Denmark)

Isle of the Dead, starring Boris Karloff and Ellen Drew

It's in the Bag!, starring Fred Allen, Jack Benny, Don Ameche

Johnny Angel, starring George Raft and Claire Trevor

K-L

Kiss and Tell, starring Shirley Temple

Kitty, directed by Mitchell Leisen, starring Paulette Goddard and Ray Milland

Lady on a Train, starring Deanna Durbin and Ralph Bellamy

The Last Chance (Die letzte Chance) - (Switzerland)

Leave Her to Heaven, starring Gene Tierney and Cornel Wilde

Life Begins Anew, directed by Mario Mattoli starring Alida Valli, Fosco Giachetti (Italy)

The Lost Letter (Propavshaya gramota) - (USSR)

The Lost Weekend, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Ray Milland and Jane Wyman

Love Letters, starring Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten

M-N

Madonna of the Seven Moons, starring Phyllis Calvert and Stewart Granger - (GB)

The Man in Half Moon Street, starring Nils Asther

A Medal for Benny, starring Dorothy Lamour

The Men who Tread on the Tiger's Tail (Tora no o wo fumu otokotachi), directed by Akira Kurosawa - (Japan)

Mildred Pierce, directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Joan Crawford, Ann Blyth, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden

Mom and Dad, a hygiene documentary

Momotaro, Sacred Sailors (Momotarō: Umi no Shinpei), the first feature-length animated film from Japan

My Name is Julia Ross, starring Nina Foch

The Naughty Nineties, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello

O-Q

Objective, Burma!, starring Errol Flynn

Our Vines Have Tender Grapes, starring Edward G. Robinson and Margaret O'Brien

Pardon My Past, starring Fred MacMurray and Marguerite Chapman

Perfect Strangers, starring Robert Donat and Deborah Kerr - (GB)

The Picture of Dorian Gray, starring George Sanders and Hurd Hatfield

Pink String and Sealing Wax, starring Googie Withers and Mervyn Johns - (GB)

La porta del cielo (The Gate of Heaven), directed by Vittorio De Sica - (Italy)

Pride of the Marines, starring John Garfield

Pursuit to Algiers, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce

R

The Rake's Progress, starring Rex Harrison - (GB)

The Red Meadows (De røde enge) - (Denmark)

Rhapsody in Blue, a biopic of George Gershwin starring Robert Alda

Roll Call in Heaven (Cuando en el cielo pasen lista) - (Argentina)

Rome, Open City (Roma Città aperta), directed by Roberto Rossellini, starring Anna Magnani and Aldo Fabrizi - (Italy)

A Royal Scandal, starring Tallulah Bankhead

Rustlers' Hideout, starring Buster Crabbe and Al St. John

S

Salome Where She Danced, starring Yvonne De Carlo

San Antonio, starring Errol Flynn and Alexis Smith

Saratoga Trunk, starring Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman

Scarlett Street, directed by Fritz Lang, starring Edward G. Robinson and Joan Bennett

La selva de fuego (The Forest Fire), starring Dolores del Río and Arturo de Córdova - (Mexico)

The Seventh Veil, starring James Mason and Ann Todd - (GB)

Sherlock Holmes and the House of Fear, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce

Son of Lassie, starring Peter Lawford

A Song to Remember, a biopic of Frédéric Chopin starring Cornel Wilde

The Southerner, starring Zachary Scott

The Spanish Main, starring Maureen O'Hara and Paul Henreid

Spellbound, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck

State Fair, starring Dana Andrews and Jeanne Crain

The Stork Club, starring Betty Hutton

The Story of G.I. Joe, directed by William Wellman, starring Burgess Meredith and Robert Mitchum

The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry, starring George Sanders

T-V

They Were Expendable, directed by John Ford, starring Robert Montgomery and John Wayne

The Thin Man Goes Home, starring William Powell and Myrna Loy

The Three Caballeros, a Walt Disney animated film starring Donald Duck and Dora Luz

Thrill of a Romance, directed by Richard Thorpe, starring Esther Williams and Van Johnson

Thunderhead, Son of Flicka, starring Roddy McDowall

Tonight and Every Night, starring Rita Hayworth

A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, directed by Elia Kazan, starring Dorothy McGuire

Twice Blessed, starring Lee and Lyn Wilde

Two O'Clock Courage, starring Ann Rutherford and Tom Conway

The Unseen, starring Joel McCrea and Gail Russell

The Valley of Decision, starring Greer Garson and Gregory Peck

La vida en un hilo (Life on a Wire) - (Spain)

W-Z

A Walk in the Sun, starring Dana Andrews

War Comes to America, directed by Frank Capra and Anatole Litvak

Waterloo Road, starring John Mills and Stewart Granger - (GB)

The Way to the Stars, starring John Mills and Michael Redgrave, written by Terence Rattigan - (GB)

The Wicked Lady, starring Margaret Lockwood and James Mason - (GB)

Without Love, starring Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Lucille Ball

The Woman in Green, starring Basil Rathbone (as Sherlock Holmes) and Nigel Bruce

Wonder Man, starring Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo

Yolanda and the Thief, starring Fred Astaire and Lucille Bremer

Ziegfeld Follies, with an MGM all-star cast

Serials

Brenda Starr, Reporter, starring Joan Woodbury

Federal Operator 99, starring Marten Lamont

Jungle Queen, starring Edward Norris and Eddie Quillan

Jungle Raiders

Manhunt on Mystery Island, starring Richard Bailey and Linda Stirling

The Master Key, starring Dennis Moore

The Monster and the Ape, starring Robert Lowery

The Purple Monster Strikes, starring Dennis Moore and Linda Stirling

The Royal Mounted Rides Again

Secret Agent X-9, starring Lloyd Bridges

Who's Guilty?

Short film series

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)

Goofy (1939–1955)

Andy Panda (1939–1949)

Tom and Jerry (1940–1958)

Bugs Bunny (1940–1962)

Woody Woodpecker (1941–1949)

Swing Symphonies (1941-1945)

The Fox and the Crow (1941–1950)

Red Hot Riding Hood (1943–1949)

Droopy (1943–1958)

Screwball Squirrel (1944–1946)

Yosemite Sam (1945-1963)

Births

January 25 - Leigh Taylor-Young, American actress

January 29 - Tom Selleck, American actor

February 9 - Mia Farrow, American actress

February 12 - Maud Adams, Swedish actress

February 16 - Jeremy Bulloch, English actor

February 17 - Brenda Fricker, Irish actress

February 20 - Brion James, American actor (died 1999)

February 24 - Barry Bostwick, American actor

March 7 - John Heard, American actor

April 2 - Linda Hunt, American actress

March 28 - Raine Loo, Estonian actress

May 24 - Priscilla Presley, American actress

May 31 - Rainer Werner Fassbinder, German director, producer and screenwriter (died 1982)

June 2 - Jon Peters, American producer

June 6 - David Dukes, American actor (died 2000)

June 11 - Adrienne Barbeau, American actress

July 26 - Helen Mirren, English actress

August 2 - Joanna Cassidy, American actress

August 5 - Loni Anderson, American actress

August 14

Steve Martin, American actor and comedian

Wim Wenders, German director, producer and screenwriter

August 23 - Bob Peck, English actor (died 1999)

October 18 - Huell Howser, American actor, television personality, host, comedian (died 2013)

October 19 - John Lithgow, American actor

October 27 - Carrie Snodgress, American actress (died 2004)

October 30 - Henry Winkler, American actor

October 31 - Brian Doyle-Murray, American actor and comedian

November 21 - Goldie Hawn, American actress

November 27 - James Avery, American actor (died 2013)

December 1 - Bette Midler, American actress, comedian and singer

December 17 - Ernie Hudson, American actor

December 21 - Mari Lill, Estonian actress

December 24 - Nicholas Meyer, American screenwriter, director and producer

December 31 - Barbara Carrera, Nicaraguan-born American actress

Deaths

January 14 - Heinrich Schroth, 73, German actor, Dr. Hart's Diary, Melody of a Great City, Die Entlassung, Rembrandt

February 23 - Reginald Barker, 58, American film director, Civilization, The Bargain, The Coward, The Moonstone

March 4 - Lucille La Verne, 72, American actress, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Abraham Lincoln, Orphans of the Storm, A Tale of Two Cities

March 30 - Béla Balogh, 60, Hungarian film director

April 10 - Gloria Dickson, 27, American actress, Lady of Burlesque, They Won't Forget

April 29 - Malcolm McGregor, 52, American silent screen star, Lady of the Night, The Circle, The Whispering Shadow, The Ladybird

May 4 - Anna Dodge, 77, American actress, The Extra Girl, Ride for Your Life

July 13 - Alla Nazimova, 66, Ukrainian-born stage and film actress, Blood and Sand, Salomé, Since You Went Away, Madame Peacock

August 11 - Stefan Jaracz, 61, Polish actor

November 11 - Jerome Kern, 60, American composer, Show Boat, Swing Time

November 12 - Jaro Fürth, 74, Austrian actor, Diary of a Lost Girl, Joyless Street

November 21 - Robert Benchley, 56, American writer and actor, Foreign Correspondent, You'll Never Get Rich, Road to Utopia

Debuts

Vittorio Gassman - Inconto con Laura

DeForest Kelley - Time to Kill

Silvana Mangano - The Last Judgment