1949 in film

The year 1949 in film involved some significant events.

Fandom movies:1949

Top-grossing films (U.S.)

The top ten 1949 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Rank	Title	Distributor	Domestic rentals
1	Jolson Sings Again	Columbia	$5,000,000
2	Battleground	MGM	$4,722,000
3	I Was a Male War Bride	20th Century Fox	$4,100,000
4	Sands of Iwo Jima	Republic	$4,000,000
5	The Stratton Story	MGM	$3,831,000
6	Pinky	20th Century Fox	$3,800,000
7	Mr. Belvedere Goes to College	20th Century Fox	$3,700,000
8	Neptune's Daughter	MGM	$3,477,000
9	Little Women	MGM	$3,425,000
10	Sorrowful Jones	Paramount	$3,400,000

Events

April 26 – June 21 – Ealing comedies Passport to Pimlico, Whisky Galore! and Kind Hearts and Coronets are released in the UK, leading to 1949 being remembered as one of the peak years of the Ealing comedies.
November 15 – Following the prior year's Supreme Court decision in United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc., Paramount Pictures is split into two separate companies with the creation of Paramount Pictures Corporation for production-distribution and Paramount Theaters for the theater operations.
December 21 – Cecil B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah, starring Hedy Lamarr, Victor Mature, George Sanders, Angela Lansbury, and Henry Wilcoxon, receives its televised world premiere at the Paramount and Rivoli theatres in New York City. The film opens in Los Angeles on January 13, 1950, and becomes a massive commercial success. At the 23rd Academy Awards, the film wins the awards for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design.

Notable films released in 1949

United States unless stated

Serials

Adventures of Sir Galahad, starring George Reeves and Charles King
Batman and Robin, starring Robert Lowery
Bruce Gentry, starring Tom Neal
Federal Agents vs. Underworld, Inc, starring Kirk Alyn and Rosemary LaPlanche
Ghost of Zorro, starring Clayton Moore and Pamela Blake
The James Brothers of Missouri, starring Keith Richards and Noel Neill
King of the Rocket Men, starring Tristram Coffin and Mae Clarke
Radar Patrol vs Spy King, starring Kirk Alyn

Short film series

Births

January 1 – Mbissine Thérèse Diop, Senegalese actress
January 6 – Rudolf van den Berg, Dutch director and screenwriter
January 7
*George Buza, American-born Canadian actor
*Steven Williams, American actor
January 9 – Vincent Grass, Belgian actor
January 12 – Wayne Wang, Hong Kong-born director
January 14 – Lawrence Kasdan, American director and screenwriter
January 17 – Andy Kaufman, American actor and comedian
January 24 – John Belushi, American actor and comedian
January 26 – David Strathairn, American actor
January 27 – Zbigniew Rybczyński, Polish film and video cinematographer and director
February 2
*Jack McGee, American actor
*Brent Spiner, American actor, comedian and musician
February 8
*Brooke Adams, American actress
*Niels Arestrup, French-Danish actor, director and screenwriter
February 9 – Judith Light, American actress
February 16 – Marc de Jonge, French actor
February 27 - Debra Monk, American actress, singer and writer
March 2 – Gates McFadden, American actress
March 3
*Gloria Hendry, American actress and former model
*Sandy Martin, American actress, director and producer
March 12 – Rob Cohen, American director, producer and writer
March 16
*Erik Estrada, American actor and police officer
*Victor Garber, Canadian actor
*Joseph Pilato, American actor
March 22 – Fanny Ardant, French actress
March 28
*Josephine Chaplin, American actress
*Masatō Ibu, Japanese actor
March 31 – Regina Baff, American actress
April 2
*Ron Palillo, American actor
*Pamela Reed, American actress
April 5 – John Berg, American actor
April 8 – John Madden, English director
April 9 – Sorcha Cusack, Irish actress
April 11 – Bernd Eichinger, German producer, director and screenwriter
April 14 – John Shea, American actor
April 20
*Jessica Lange, American actress
*Veronica Cartwright, English-born actress
April 21 – Patti LuPone, American actress and singer
April 24 – Peter Friedman, American actor
April 26 – Dominic Sena, American director
April 28
*Paul Guilfoyle, American actor
*Bruno Kirby, American actor, singer, voice artist and comedian
April 29 - Anita Dobson, English actress and singer
May 3 – Ron Canada, American actor
May 7 – Marilyn Burns, American actress
May 10 – Walter von Hauff, German actor
May 13 – Zoë Wanamaker, American-born British actress
May 18
*Marco Perella, American character actor
*Hubert Saint-Macary, French actor
May 20 – Dave Thomas, Canadian comedian, actor and television writer
May 21 – Will Ryan, American voice actor, singer and musician
May 22 – Cheryl Campbell, English actress
May 24 – Jim Broadbent, English actor
May 25 – Joe Unger, American actor
May 26
*Pam Grier, American actress
*Tom McCleister, American actor
*Philip Michael Thomas, American retired actor and musician
May 28 – Sandy Helberg, German-born American actor
May 29 – Cotter Smith, American actor
May 31 – Tom Berenger, American actor
June 5 – Guts Ishimatsu, Japanese actor and comedian
June 10 – Frankie Faison, American actor
June 11 – Sherman Howard, American actor
June 12 – Roger Aaron Brown, American character actor
June 14 – Antony Sher, British actor
June 15
*Simon Callow, English actor, director and writer
*Richard Henzel, American actor
*Jim Varney, American actor and comedian
June 16 – Geoff Pierson, American actor
June 18 - Mac McDonald, American actor
June 22 – Meryl Streep, American actress
June 29
*Roger Allers, American director, screenwriter, animator and storyboard artist
*Greg Burson, American voice actor
July 3 – Masato Harada, Japanese director, film critic and actor
July 5 – Ed O'Ross, American actor
July 7 – Shelley Duvall, American actress
July 12
*Diana Hardcastle, English actress
*Bernice Stegers, English actress
July 24 – Michael Richards, American actor, writer, producer and retired comedian
July 27
*Maury Chaykin, American-Canadian actor
*Susan Gordon, American child actress
July 28 – Randall Wallace, American screenwriter, director and producer
August 2 – Madeline Smith, English actress
August 3 – Philip Casnoff, American actor
August 5 - Penne Hackforth-Jones, Australian actress
August 8 – Keith Carradine, American actor
August 11 – Ian Charleson, Scottish actor
August 15 – Phyllis Smith, American actress
August 17 – Julian Fellowes, English actor, writer, director and screenwriter
August 20 – Patrick Kilpatrick, American actor, director and screenwriter
August 21 – Loretta Devine, American actress
August 23 – Shelley Long, American actress
August 24 – Joe Regalbuto, American actor and director
August 25 – John Savage, American actor
August 31
*Richard Gere, American actor
*Stephen McKinley Henderson, American actor
September 1 – Luminița Gheorghiu, Romanian actress
September 4 – Eero Spriit, Estonian actor and producer
September 5 – Steve Sweeney, American comedian and actor
September 13 – Burghart Klaußner, German actor
September 16 – Ed Begley, Jr., American actor
September 18 – Beth Grant, American character actress
September 19 – Ernie Sabella, American actor
September 21 - Yūsaku Matsuda, Japanese actor
September 25
*Pedro Almodóvar, Spanish director
*Caroline Kava, American actress
October 2 – Larry Sellers, Osage-American actor and stuntman
October 4 – Armand Assante, American actor
October 8
*Maggie Ollerenshaw, English actress
*Sigourney Weaver, American actress
October 10 – Jessica Harper, American actress
October 13 – Tarık Akan, Turkish actor and activist
October 15 – Tanya Roberts, American actress
October 19 - Christopher Adamson, British actor
October 20 – George Harris, British actor
October 21 – LaTanya Richardson Jackson, American actress
October 25
*Brian Kerwin, American actor
*Ross Bagdasarian Jr., American actor, singer, animator and producer
October 30 – Leon Rippy, American character actor
November 1 – Jeannie Berlin, American actress and screenwriter
November 6 – Brad Davis, American actor
November 7
*Terry Camilleri, Australian actor
*Ben Guillory, American actor and director
November 10 – Ann Reinking, American actress and singer
November 14 – Gary Grubbs, American character actor
November 17 – Jon Avnet, American director, writer and producer
November 19 - Nigel Bennett, English-born Canadian actor, director and writer
November 27
*Chris Ellis, American actor
*Gerrit Graham, American actor
*Arlene Klasky, American animator, graphic designer, producer and co-founder of Klasky Csupo
November 28
*Alexander Godunov, Russian-American film actor
*Paul Shaffer, Canadian singer, composer, actor and musician
November 29 – Garry Shandling, American stand-up comedian, actor, director, writer and producer
November 30
*Don "Magic" Juan, American actor
*Margaret Whitton, American actress
*Nicholas Woodeson, English actor
December 3 – Heather Menzies, Canadian-American actress
December 4 – Jeff Bridges, American actor
December 5 – Pamela Blair, American actress
December 7 – Tom Waits, American musician and actor
December 8 – Nancy Meyers, American filmmaker
December 10 – Enrique Castillo, American actor, writer, director and producer
December 12 – Bill Nighy, British actor
December 13 – Robert Lindsay, English actor
December 15 – Don Johnson, American actor
December 16 - Allan Graf, American athlete, actor, stuntman and director
December 18 – Kai Wulff, German-born American actor
December 19
*Marlene Clark, American actress
*Nancy Kyes, American former actress
*Kjell Nilsson, Swedish actor
*Rita Taggart, American actress
December 21 – Michael Horse, American actor
December 22 – Graham Beckel, American character actor
December 25 – Sissy Spacek, American actress
December 28 – Hilton McRae, Scottish actor

Deaths

January 6 – Victor Fleming, 59, American director and producer, The Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind, Captains Courageous, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
January 19 – William Wright, 38, American actor, Philo Vance Returns, Eve Knew Her Apples
January 20 – Nora Gregor, 47, Austrian actress, The Rules of the Game, But the Flesh Is Weak
February 19 – Jean Gillie, 33, English actress, Decoy
March 16 – Leyland Hodgson, 56, English actor, Under Nevada Skies, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands
April 15 – Wallace Beery, 64, American actor, Grand Hotel, The Champ, Robin Hood, Viva Villa!
April 18 – Will Hay, 60, English comedian, actor and director, Oh, Mr. Porter!, Hey! Hey! USA
April 22 – Charles B. Middleton, 74, American actor, Flash Gordon
August 9 – Harry Davenport, 83, American actor, Gone with the Wind, The Ox-Bow Incident
September 4 – Olof Ås, 56, Swedish actor, stage manager
September 10 – Robert Middlemass, 66, American playwright, actor,, Lady in the Death House, A Sporting Chance
September 14 – Romuald Joubé, 73, French actor
September 18 – Frank Morgan, 59, American actor, The Wizard of Oz
September 20 – Richard Dix, 56, American actor, Cimarron, Redskin
October 14 – Fritz Leiber, Sr., 67, American actor
October 22 – Craig Reynolds, 42, American actor, Gold Mine in the Sky, Slander House
November 25 – Bill Robinson, 72, American dancer and actor, Stormy Weather, The Little Colonel
November 27 – Tom Walls, 66, English actor and director, Stormy Weather, Lady in Danger
December 16 – Sidney Olcott, 76, Canadian-born American film director
December 31 – Howard Hickman, 69, American actor, director, writer, The Kansas Terrors, ''Gone with the Wind''

1949 in film

Top-grossing films (U.S.)

Events

Notable films released in 1949

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Serials

Short film series

Births

Deaths