1945 in film

The year 1945 in film involved some significant events. With 1945 being the last year of World War II, the many films released this year had themes of patriotism, sacrifices, and peace. In the United States, there were more than eighteen thousand movie theatres operating in 1945, a figure that grew by a third from a decade earlier.

Top-grossing films (U.S.)

The top ten 1945 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Rank	Title	Distributor	Domestic rentals
1	The Bells of St. Mary's	RKO	$8,000,000
2	Leave Her to Heaven	20th Century Fox	$5,550,000
3	Spellbound	United Artists/Selznick International	$4,975,000
4	The Valley of Decision	MGM	$4,566,000
5	Anchors Aweigh	MGM	$4,498,000
6	Week-End at the Waldorf	MGM	$4,364,000
7	Thrill of a Romance	MGM	$4,338,000
8	The Lost Weekend	Paramount	$4,300,000
9	State Fair	20th Century Fox	$4,050,000
10	National Velvet	MGM	$3,678,000

Events

January 26 – The film National Velvet, starring Mickey Rooney, Elizabeth Taylor, Donald Crisp and Anne Revere, is released nationally in the United States. The film is an instant critical and commercial success, propelling 12-year-old Taylor to stardom and earning Revere the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
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 watched it than appeared in it.
April 20 – Release of Son of Lassie, the 2nd Lassie film and the first film ever to be filmed using the Technicolor monopack 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 becomes known as the Hollywood Black Friday.
October 31 – Spellbound, a psychological thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock, premieres in New York City.
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 20 - A Hollywood film, Call of the Yukon, is released in Japan for the first time since July 1941.

1945 film releases

January–March

January 1945
*4 January
**This Man's Navy
*8 January
**Frenchman's Creek
*18 January
**A Song to Remember
*26 January
**National Velvet
February 1945
*2 February
**Here Come the Co-eds
*15 February
**The Seventh Veil
March 1945
*3 March
**The Picture of Dorian Gray
*16 March
**''The House of Fear''

April–June

April 1945
*7 April
**Brewster's Millions
*17 April
**Rockin' in the Rockies
*20 April
**The Horn Blows at Midnight
*29 April
**Tarzan and the Amazons
May 1945
*25 May
**The Clock
June 1945
*1 June
**That's the Spirit
*23 June
**Murder, He Says
*30 June
**''Conflict''

July–September

July 1945
*13 July
**The Story of G.I. Joe
*19 July
**Along Came Jones
*27 July
**The Woman in Green
August 1945
*11 August
**Christmas in Connecticut
*30 August
**State Fair
September 1945
*22 September
**''Rhapsody in Blue''

October–December

October 1945
*20 October
**Mildred Pierce
*26 October
**Love Letters
*31 October
**And Then There Were None
**Spellbound
November 1945
*1 November
**Vacation from Marriage
*10 November
**Confidential Agent
December 1945
*7 December
**House of Dracula
*8 December
**The Enchanted Forest
*20 December
**Dick Tracy
*25 December
**A Walk in the Sun
*28 December
**Scarlet Street
*31 December
**''They Were Expendable''

Notable films released in 1945

United States unless stated

Z

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

Births

January 5 – Roger Spottiswoode, Canadian-British-American director, editor and writer
January 9 – John Doman, American actor
January 14 - Kathleen Chalfant, American actress
January 16 – Élisabeth Margoni, French actress
January 22
*Jophery Brown, American pitcher, stuntman and actor
*Michael Cristofer, American actor and filmmaker
January 25 – Leigh Taylor-Young, American actress
January 28 – Marthe Keller, Swiss actress
January 29 – Tom Selleck, American actor
February 1 - Don Amendolia, American actor
February 3 – Marius Weyers, South African actor
February 4 – Tony Haygarth, English actor
February 8 – Louis Giambalvo, 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
*Calvin Jung, American actor
February 20 – Brion James, American actor
February 24 – Barry Bostwick, American actor
February 27 – Carl Anderson, American singer and actor
February 28 – Bubba Smith, American professional football player and actor
March 1 – Dirk Benedict, American actor
March 3
*George Miller, Australian filmmaker
*Larry Pine, American actor
*Hattie Winston, American actress and voice artist
March 8 – Janet Wright, English-born Canadian actress
March 13 – Whitney Rydbeck, American actor
March 24
*Curtis Hanson, American director, screenwriter and producer
*Patrick Malahide, British actor and producer
March 28 – Raine Loo, Estonian actress
April 2 – Linda Hunt, American actress
April 3 – Catherine Spaak, Belgian-Italian actress and singer
April 4 – Caroline McWilliams, American actress
April 11 – Michael Brandon, American actor
April 19 – Cleo Sylvestre, English actress
May 14 – Francesca Annis, English actress
May 18 – Candice Azzara, American character actress
May 24 – Priscilla Presley, American actress
May 27 – Kip Niven, American actor
May 30 – Makram Khoury, Israeli-Arab actor
May 31 – Rainer Werner Fassbinder, German director, producer and screenwriter
June 2
*Jon Peters, American producer
*Joan Pringle, American actress
June 3 – Bill Paterson, Scottish actor
June 6 – David Dukes, American actor
June 11 – Adrienne Barbeau, American actress
June 12 – Edwin Neal, American actor
June 17 - Frank Ashmore, American actor
July 1 – Debbie Harry, American actress and singer
July 3 – Mickey Rooney Jr., American actor
July 4 – Bruce French, American actor
July 6 – Burt Ward, American actor
July 10 - Ron Glass, American actor
July 15 - Jeffrey Kramer, American actor and producer
July 19 – George Dzundza, American actor
July 21 – Sergio Calderón, Mexican-born American actor
July 23 – Edie McClurg, American actress and voice 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 15
*Jill Haworth, English-American actress
*Nigel Terry, English actor
August 16 – Bob Balaban, American actor, director, producer and writer
August 21 – Patty McCormack, American actress
August 22 - David Chase, American writer, producer, and director
August 23 – Bob Peck, English actor
August 24 – Cástulo Guerra, Argentine actor
August 28 – Jeannie Linero, American actress
August 31 - Lee Bryant, American actress
September 10 – Dennis Burkley, American actor
September 11 – Felton Perry, American actor
September 15
*Roy Brocksmith, American actor
*Clive Merrison, British actor
September 17 – Bruce Spence, New Zealand actor
September 22 – Paul Le Mat, American actor
October 4 - Clifton Davis, American actor and singer-songwriter
October 7 – Michael Wallis, American journalist and voice actor
October 14 - Gareth Forwood, British actor
October 17 – Thomas Kopache, American actor
October 18 – Huell Howser, American actor, television personality, host, comedian
October 19 – John Lithgow, American actor
October 20 – George Wyner, American actor
October 21 – Everett McGill, American actor
October 23 – Hugh Fraser, English actor
October 26 – Jaclyn Smith, American actress
October 27 – Carrie Snodgress, American actress
October 30 – Henry Winkler, American actor
October 31 – Brian Doyle-Murray, American actor and comedian
November 2 – JD Souther, American singer-songwriter and actor
November 8 – Angela Scoular, English actress
November 10
*Terence Davies, English screenwriter and director
*Douglas Gresham, American-British actor and producer
*Mick Lally, Irish actor
November 15
*Roger Donaldson, Australian-New Zealand director, screenwriter and producer
*Bob Gunton, American character actor
November 18 - Walter Bobbie, American actor
November 19 – Paula Weinstein, American producer
November 21 – Goldie Hawn, American actress
November 25 - Mary Jo Deschanel, American actress
November 26 – Daniel Davis, American actor
November 27 – James Avery, American actor
November 28 – John Hargreaves, Australian actor
November 30 – Billy Drago, American actor
December 1 – Bette Midler, American actress, comedian and singer
December 6
*Shekhar Kapur, Indian filmmaker
*James Naughton, American actor and director
December 7 – Clive Russell, Scottish actor
December 9 – Michael Nouri, American actor
December 13 – Heather North, American actress
December 17 – Ernie Hudson, American actor
December 21 – Mari Lill, Estonian actress
December 24
*Nicholas Meyer, American screenwriter, director and producer
*Steve Smith, Canadian actor, writer and comedian
December 25
*Rick Berman, American producer and screenwriter
*Gary Sandy, American actor
December 30 – Lloyd Kaufman, American director, screenwriter, producer and actor
December 31
*Barbara Carrera, Nicaraguan-born American actress
*Vernon Wells, Australian character actor

Deaths

January 14 – Heinrich Schroth, 73, German actor, Dr. Hart's Diary, Melody of a Great City, Die Entlassung, Rembrandt
February 18 - Jimmy Butler, 23, American actor
February 23 – Reginald Barker, 58, American 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 4 – Mark Sandrich, 44, American director, The Gay Divorcee, Follow the Fleet, Holiday Inn
March 30 – Béla Balogh, 60, Hungarian director
April 10 – Gloria Dickson, 27, American actress, Lady of Burlesque, They Won't Forget
April 16 – Willie Fung, 49, Chinese-American actor, Come On, Cowboys, The Great Profile
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
July 19 – George Barbier, 80, American actor, No One Man, Evenings for Sale, The Cat's-Paw, The Magnificent Dope
August 11 – Stefan Jaracz, 61, Polish actor, Countess Walewska
September 1 – Terry, 11, American performing Cairn Terrier, The Wizard of Oz
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
December 25 – Russell Gleason, 37, American actor, Undercover Agent, The Covered Trailer, ''News Is Made at Night''

Film debuts

Robert Alda – Rhapsody in Blue
Alma Beltran – Pan-Americana
Barbara Billingsley – Adventure
Paul Birch – The Royal Mounted Rides Again
Corinne Calvet – Blind Desire
Kathryn Card – Kiss and Tell
Mario Castellani – Romulus and the Sabines
Jeff Chandler – Thrill of a Romance
Steve Cochran – Booked on Suspicion
William Conrad – Pillow to Post
June Foray – Bring on the Girls
Vincent Gardenia – The House on 92nd Street
Vittorio Gassman – Inconto con Laura
Laura Gore – Romulus and the Sabines
Coleen Gray – State Fair
Jane Greer – Pan-Americana
Wanda Hendrix – Confidential Agent
Dwayne Hickman – Captain Eddie
John Ireland – A Walk in the Sun
David Janssen – It's a Pleasure
Nan Leslie – Under Western Skies
Silvana Mangano – The Last Judgment
Rory Mallinson – Pride of the Marines
E. G. Marshall – The House on 92nd Street
Zena Marshall – Caesar and Cleopatra
Murray Matheson – The Way to the Stars
Darren McGavin – A Song to Remember
Cameron Mitchell – What Next, Corporal Hargrove?
Roger Moore – Perfect Strangers
Phillip Pine – The Sailor Takes a Wife
John Russell – A Royal Scandal
Dean Stockwell – The Valley of Decision
Audrey Totter – Main Street After Dark
Howard Vernon – ''Boule de Suif''

Top ten money making stars

*Source: Best Years Going to the Movies, 1945-1946