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The year 1946 in film involved some significant events, with The Best Years of Our Lives winning seven Academy Awards.

Top-grossing films (U.S.)

The top ten 1946 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

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{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:auto; margin:auto;"

|+ Highest-grossing films of 1946

|-

! Rank !! Title !! Distributor !! Domestic rentals

|-

! style="text-align:center;"| 1

|Duel in the Sun

|Selznick International

| $10,000,000

|-

! style="text-align:center;"| 2

|The Best Years of Our Lives

|RKO

| $7,675,000

|-

! style="text-align:center;"| 3

|The Jolson Story

| Columbia

| $7,600,000

|-

! style="text-align:center;"| 6

| The Razor's Edge

| 20th Century Fox

| $5,000,000

|-

! style="text-align:center;"| 9

|The Yearling

|rowspan="2"|MGM

| $4,768,000

|-

! style="text-align:center;"| 10

|Till the Clouds Roll By

| $4,748,000

  • 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.

Awards

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;"

|-

! style="width:20px;"| Category/Organization !!" style="width:250px;"| 4th Golden Globe Awards<br>February 26, 1947 !! style="width:250px;"| 19th Academy Awards<br> March 13, 1947

|-

| Best Film || colspan="2" | The Best Years of Our Lives

|-

| Best Director || Frank Capra<br/>It's a Wonderful Life || William Wyler<br/>The Best Years of Our Lives

|-

| Best Actor || Gregory Peck<br/>The Yearling || Fredric March<br/>The Best Years of Our Lives

|-

| Best Actress || Rosalind Russell<br/>Sister Kenny || Olivia de Havilland<br/>To Each His Own

|-

| Best Supporting Actor || Clifton Webb<br/>The Razor's Edge || Harold Russell<br/>The Best Years of Our Lives

|-

| Best Supporting Actress || colspan="2" | Anne Baxter<br/>The Razor's Edge

|}

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 (1928–1953)
  • 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 (1940–1964)
  • 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 1 - Rick Hurst, American actor (d. 2025)
  • January 5 – Diane Keaton, American actress, producer and director (d. 2025)
  • 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 (d. 2025)
  • January 26
  • Christopher Hampton, British director and screenwriter
  • Gene Siskel, American film critic and journalist (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 14 – Steve Kanaly, American actor
  • March 21 – Timothy Dalton, British actor
  • March 27 – Carl Weintraub, American actor
  • 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 8
  • Stuart Pankin, American actor
  • Tim Thomerson, American actor and comedian
  • April 12 – Ed O'Neill, American actor and comedian
  • April 15
  • Bob DeSimone, American actor
  • Michael Tucci, American actor
  • April 18 – Hayley Mills, English actress
  • April 19 – Tim Curry, English actor and singer
  • April 20 – Haruhiko Yamanouchi, Japanese actor
  • April 22 – John Waters, American filmmaker, writer and 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
  • May 2 – David Suchet, English actor
  • May 9 – Candice Bergen, American actress
  • May 10 - Maureen Lipman, English actress and comedian
  • 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)
  • May 23 – Anthony May, English actor (d. 2021)
  • June 1 – Brian Cox, Scottish actor
  • June 2 - Lasse Hallström, Swedish director
  • June 3
  • Tristan Rogers, Australian actor (d. 2025)
  • Penelope Wilton, English actress
  • June 5 – John Bach, British-born New Zealand actor
  • June 8 – Alan Scarfe, British-Canadian actor (d. 2024)
  • 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, American actor and director
  • July 9 – Norbert Weisser, German actor
  • July 10 – Sue Lyon, American actress (d. 2019)
  • July 11 - Beverly Todd, American actress
  • 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, American actor and director
  • July 27 – Rade Šerbedžija, Croatian actor, director and musician
  • August 1 - David Calder, English actor
  • 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 14 – Antonio Fargas, American actor
  • August 15 - Tony Robinson, English actor
  • 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 20 – José Wilker, Brazilian actor (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, American actor
  • Oliver Stone, director and producer
  • September 18 – Struan Rodger, British actor
  • September 19 – Michael Elphick, English actor (d. 2002)
  • September 22 – John Woo, Hong Kong director, producer and screenwriter
  • September 25
  • Mary Beth Hurt, American actress (d. 2026)
  • Drew Snyder, American actor
  • September 26 – Togo Igawa, Japanese character actor
  • September 28
  • Peter Egan, British actor
  • Jeffrey Jones, American actor
  • October 2 – Dale Soules, American actress
  • October 3 - William Hall Jr., American actor (d. 2025)
  • 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 14 – Katy Manning, British actress
  • 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, Slovak-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, American actress
  • November 7 – John Aylward, American actor (d. 2022)
  • November 10 - Alaina Reed Hall, American actress and singer (d. 2009)
  • November 16 – Dan Shor, American actor, director and writer
  • November 20
  • 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
  • November 29 - Nathan Jung, American actor and stuntman (d. 2021)
  • 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)
  • Lynne Marie Stewart, American actress (d. 2025)
  • 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, French voice actor and singer (d. 2024)
  • December 25 – Stuart Wilson, English actor
  • December 29 – Marianne Faithfull, British actress and singer (d. 2025)
  • December 31 – Margaret Travolta, American actress

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

  • Rodolfo Acosta – Soy un prófugo
  • Patricia Barry – Her Kind of Man
  • Raymond Burr – Without Reservations
  • Eddie Byrne – I See a Dark Stranger
  • Hamilton Camp – Bedlam
  • Gianna Maria Canale – The Black Eagle
  • Paul Carpenter – This Man Is Mine
  • Adolfo Celi – A Yank in Rome
  • Kirk Douglas – The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
  • William Fawcett – Stars Over Texas
  • John Hoyt – O.S.S.
  • Martha Hyer – The Locket
  • Erland Josephson – It Rains on Our Love
  • Sam Kydd – The Captive Heart
  • Burt Lancaster – The Killers
  • Norman Leavitt – The Harvey Girls
  • Gina Lollobrigida – The Black Eagle
  • Lois Maxwell – A Matter of Life and Death
  • Michael Medwin – Piccadilly Incident
  • Slim Pickens – Smoky
  • Liam Redmond – I See a Dark Stranger
  • Enrico Maria Salerno – Unknown Man of San Marino
  • Yvonne Sanson – The Black Eagle
  • Emil Sitka – One Exciting Week
  • José Luis López Vázquez – María Fernanda la Jerezana
  • Yves Vincent – Devil and the Angel
  • Georges Wilson – Martin Roumagnac

References

  • List of 1946 films at IMDb
  • List of 1946 deaths at IMDb
  • List of 1946 births at IMDb
  • Secret History of Cinema: 1946 by Chris Fujiwara and A. S. Hamrah