The year 1946 in film involved some significant events, most notably the releases of The Best Years of Our Lives and It's a Wonderful Life.
Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1946 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
+ Highest-grossing films of 1946 Rank Title Distributor Domestic rentals 1 Duel in the SunSelznick International $10,000,000 2The Best Years of Our LivesRKO $7,675,000 3The Jolson Story Columbia $7,600,000 4 Blue Skies Paramount $5,700,000 5 Saratoga Trunk Warner Bros. $5,148,000Warner Bros financial information in The William Schaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1-31 p 26 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551 6 The Razor's Edge 20th Century Fox $5,000,000 7 Night and Day Warner Bros. $4,990,000 8 Notorious RKO $4,850,000 9The YearlingMGM $4,768,000. 10 Till the Clouds Roll By $4,748,000
Events February 14 - Charles Vidor's Gilda starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford shows audiences one of the most famous scenes of the 20th century: Rita Hayworth singing "Put The Blame On Mame". April 22 - The Allies in Japan begin burning the prints of Japanese films banned for non-democratic or "feudal" content. 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 Category/Organization 4th Golden Globe AwardsFebruary 26, 1947 19th Academy Awards March 13, 1947 Best Film The Best Years of Our Lives Best Director Frank CapraIt's a Wonderful Life William WylerThe Best Years of Our Lives Best Actor Gregory PeckThe Yearling Fredric MarchThe Best Years of Our Lives Best Actress Rosalind RussellSister Kenny Olivia de HavillandTo Each His Own Best Supporting Actor Clifton WebbThe Razor's Edge Harold RussellThe Best Years of Our Lives Best Supporting Actress Anne BaxterThe 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)
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