Years in film
19th century
1870s
1880s 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889
1890s 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899
1900s 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909
1910s 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
1920s 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
1930s 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940s 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950s 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960s 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970s 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020s 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029
v t e

The year 1946 in film involved some significant events, including the release of the decade's highest-grossing film, The Best Years of Our Lives, which won seven Academy Awards.

Top-grossing films (U.S.)

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

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".

• 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

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 (1928–1952)
• 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 (1940–1962)
• 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 5 – Diane Keaton, American actress, producer and director
• January 6 - Cheng Pei-pei, Chinese actress
• 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
• January 26 – Gene Siskel, film critic, Siskel and Ebert (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)^[6]
• 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 21 – Timothy Dalton, British actor
• March 27 - Carl Weintraub, American actor
• March 28 – Dianne Wiest, American actress
• 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 12 – Ed O'Neill, American actor and comedian
• April 15
  • Bob DeSimone, American actor
  • Michael Tucci, American actor
• April 19 – Tim Curry, English actor and singer
• April 20 – Haruhiko Yamanouchi, Japanese 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
  • John Woo, Hong Kong director, producer and screenwriter
• May 2 – David Suchet, English actor
• May 9 – Candice Bergen, American actress
• 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)
• June 1 – Brian Cox, Scottish actor
• June 3 – Penelope Wilton, English actress
• June 5 - John Bach, British-born New Zealand actor
• June 8 - Alan Scarfe, British-Canadian actor
• 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)
• 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, actor and director
• July 10 – Sue Lyon, actress (d. 2019)
• July 13 – Cheech Marin, American actor and comedian
• July 14 – Vincent Pastore, American actor
• July 16 – 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, actor and director
• July 27 – Rade Šerbedžija, Croatian actor, director and musician
• 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 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 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 5 – Dennis Dugan, American director, actor, writer and comedian
• September 13 – Frank Marshall, American producer and director
• September 15
  • Tommy Lee Jones, actor
  • Oliver Stone, director and producer
• September 18
  • Struan Rodger, British actor
  • Gailard Sartain, American actor
• September 25 - Drew Snyder, American actor
• September 28
  • Peter Egan, British actor
  • Jeffrey Jones, American actor
• October 2 – Dale Soules, American actress
• 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 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, Slovakian-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, actress
• November 7 – John Aylward, American actor (d. 2022)
• November 16 - Dan Shor, American actor, director and writer
• Novemb
  • 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
• December 1 - Maggie Steed, English actress and comedian
• December 8 – Frank Pesce, American actor (d. 2022)
• December 14 – Patty Duke, American actress (d. 2016)
• 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, retired French voice actor and singer (d. 2024).
• December 25 – Stuart Wilson, English actor
• December 31 - Margaret Travolta, American actress
• unknown – Omar Al-Shammaa, Lebanese actor, voice actor

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

• Patricia Barry – Her Kind of Man
• Raymond Burr – Without Reservations
• Hamilton Camp – Bedlam
• Gianna Maria Canale – The Black Eagle
• Kirk Douglas – The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
• William Fawcett – Stars Over Texas
• John Hoyt – O.S.S.
• Martha Hyer – The Locket
• Burl Ives – Smoky
• Burt Lancaster – The Killers
• Gina Lollobrigida – The Black Eagle
• Lois Maxwell – A Matter of Life and Death
• Slim Pickens – Smoky
• Liam Redmond – I See a Dark Stranger
• Yvonne Sanson – The Black Eagle
• Emil Sitka – One Exciting Week
• Hal Smith – Stars Over Texas