1943 in film

The year 1943 in film featured various significant events for the film industry.

Top-grossing films (U.S.)

The top ten 1943 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Rank	Title	Distributor	Domestic rentals
1	This is the Army	Warner Bros.	$8,301,000
2	For Whom the Bell Tolls	Paramount	$6,300,000
3	The [Song of Bernadette (film)\|The Song of Bernadette]	20th Century Fox	$4,700,000
4	Stage Door Canteen	United Artists	$4,350,000
5	Star Spangled Rhythm	Paramount	$3,850,000
6	Thousands Cheer	MGM	$3,751,000
7	Casablanca	Warner Bros.	$3,398,000
8	Coney Island	20th Century Fox	$3,305,000
9	Destination Tokyo	Warner Bros.	$3,237,000
10	Dixie	Paramount	$3,100,000

Events

January 23 – The film Casablanca is released nationally in the United States and becomes one of the top-grossing pictures of 1943. It goes on to win the Best Picture and Best Director awards at the 16th Academy Awards.
February 20 – American film studio executives agree to allow the United States Office of War Information to censor films.
June 1 – Veteran English stage and screen actor Leslie Howard dies at the age of 50 in the crash of BOAC Flight 777 off the coast of Galicia, Spain. While best remembered for his role as Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind, Howard had roles in many other notable films and was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
December 31 – New York City's Times Square greets Frank Sinatra at Paramount Theatre.

Notable films

Films produced in the United States unless stated otherwise

K

Kismet , directed by Gyan Mukherjee, starring Ashok Kumar –

L

Lassie Come Home, directed by Fred M. Wilcox, starring Roddy McDowall and Donald Crisp
The Leopard Man, directed by Jacques Tourneur, starring Dennis O'Keefe and Margo
The [Life and Death of Colonel Blimp], directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, starring Deborah Kerr, Anton Walbrook and Roger Livesey –

M

The Mad Ghoul, directed by James P. Hogan, starring Turhan Bey
Madame Curie, directed by Mervyn LeRoy, starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon
The Man in Grey, directed by Leslie Arliss, starring Margaret Lockwood, James Mason, Phyllis Calvert and Stewart Granger –
Meshes of the Afternoon, directed by and starring Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid
Millions Like Us, directed by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder, starring Patricia Roc –
Mission to Moscow, directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Walter Huston and Ann Harding
The More the Merrier, directed by George Stevens, starring Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea and Charles Coburn
Mr. Lucky, directed by H. C. Potter, starring Cary Grant and Laraine Day
Münchhausen, directed by Josef von Báky, starring Hans Albers –

N

Nasreddin in Bukhara, directed by Yakov Protazanov –
No [Time for Love (1943 film)|No Time for Love], directed by Mitchell Leisen, starring Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray
The North Star, directed by Lewis Milestone, starring Anne Baxter and Dana Andrews
Northern Pursuit, directed by Raoul Walsh, starring Errol Flynn

O

Old Acquaintance, directed by Vincent Sherman, starring Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins and Gig Young
Ossessione , directed by Luchino Visconti, starring Clara Calamai and Massimo Girotti –
The Outlaw, directed by Howard Hughes, starring Jane Russell, Thomas Mitchell and Walter Huston
The Ox-Bow Incident, directed by William A. Wellman, starring Henry Fonda and Dana Andrews

P

Phantom of the Opera, directed by Arthur Lubin, starring Nelson Eddy and Claude Rains
Prelude to War, propaganda film directed by Frank Capra
Princess O'Rourke, directed by Norman Krasna, starring Olivia de Havilland, Robert Cummings and Charles Coburn

R

The [Return of the Vampire], directed by Lew Landers, starring Béla Lugosi

S

Sahara, directed by Zoltan Korda, starring Humphrey Bogart
Sanshiro Sugata, directed by Akira Kurosawa, starring Susumu Fujita –
The Seventh Victim, directed by Mark Robson, starring Tom Conway
Shadow of a Doubt, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotten
Sherlock Holmes Faces Death, directed by Roy William Neill, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce
Sherlock Holmes in Washington, directed by Roy William Neill, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce
The [Sky's the Limit (1943 film)|The Sky's the Limit], directed by Edward H. Griffith, starring Fred Astaire and Joan Leslie
So Proudly We Hail!, directed by Mark Sandrich, starring Claudette Colbert, Paulette Goddard and Veronica Lake
Son of Dracula, directed by Robert Siodmak, starring Lon Chaney Jr.
The Song of Bernadette, directed by Henry King, starring Jennifer Jones and Charles Bickford
Squadron Leader X, directed by Lance Comfort, starring Eric Portman and Ann Dvorak –
Stage Door Canteen, directed by Frank Borzage, featuring an ensemble cast
Stormy Weather, directed by Andrew L. Stone, starring Lena Horne, Bill Robinson, Cab Calloway, Katherine Dunham, the Nicholas Brothers and Fats Waller

T

Tender Comrade, directed by Edward Dmytryk, starring Ginger Rogers and Robert Ryan
Thank Your Lucky Stars, directed by David Butler, starring Eddie Cantor, Joan Leslie and Dennis Morgan
This is the Army, directed by Michael Curtiz, starring George Murphy, Joan Leslie and Ronald Reagan
This Land Is Mine, directed by Jean Renoir, starring Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Hara and George Sanders
Thousands Cheer, directed by George Sidney, starring Kathryn Grayson, Gene Kelly and Mary Astor
Titanic, directed by Herbert Selpin and Werner Klingler –

V

Victory Through Air Power, animated propaganda film produced by Walt Disney Productions

W

Watch on the Rhine, directed by Herman Shumlin, starring Bette Davis and Paul Lukas
We Dive at Dawn, directed by Anthony Asquith, starring John Mills –

Release dates

January–March

January 1943
*12 January
**Shadow of a Doubt
*23 January
**Casablanca
February 1943
*3 February
**Air Force
*5 February
**The Outlaw
*11 February
**No Place for a Lady
*12 February
**Journey into Fear
**Star Spangled Rhythm
*19 February
**Saludos Amigos
*20 February
**The Hard Way
March 1943
*1 March
**Squadron Leader X
*2 March
**The Human Comedy
*3 March
**Münchhausen
*5 March
**Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
*10 March
**It Ain't Hay
*11 March
**Hello, Frisco, Hello
*15 March
**The Silver Fleet
*19 March
**Hitler's Children
*22 March
**Huella de luz
*25 March
**Sanshiro Sugata
*26 March
**Forever and a Day
*27 March
**''Hangmen Also Die!''

April–June

April 1943
*2 April
**Border Patrol
*9 April
**Cabin in the Sky
**It Comes Up Love
*12 April
**Fires Were Started
*15 April
**We Dive at Dawn
*22 April
**Crash Dive
*23 April
**Clancy Street Boys
*24 April
**Edge of Darkness
*30 April
**I Walked with a Zombie
**Sherlock Holmes in Washington
May 1943
*4 May
**Five Graves to Cairo
*7 May
**They Came to Blow Up America
**This Land Is Mine
*8 May
**The Leopard Man
*12 May
**Stage Door Canteen
*13 May
**The More the Merrier
*14 May
**Bombardier
*16 May
**Ossessione
*17 May
**The Bells Go Down
*21 May
**Action in the North Atlantic
**Cowboy in Manhattan
**The Ox-Bow Incident
*22 May
**Mission to Moscow
*27 May
**Prelude to War
*28 May
**Mr. Lucky
June 1943
*2 June
**Hit the Ice
*3 June
**Bataan
*10 June
**The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
*11 June
**Coney Island
*22 June
**Crime Doctor
*23 June
**Angels of the Streets
**Dixie
**''The Constant Nymph''

July–September

July 1943
*3 July
**Background to Danger
*14 July
**For Whom the Bell Tolls
*17 July
**Victory Through Air Power
*21 July
**Stormy Weather
*26 July
**Theatre Royal
August 1943
*1 August
**Behind the Rising Sun
*2 August
**Hi Diddle Diddle
**Nasreddin in Bukhara
*11 August
**Heaven Can Wait
*12 August
**Phantom of the Opera
*14 August
**This Is the Army
*19 August
**Destroyer
**DuBarry Was a Lady
*21 August
**The Seventh Victim
*23 August
**The Man in Grey
*27 August
**Holy Matrimony
**Watch on the Rhine
*30 August
**We've Never Been Licked
September 1943
*2 September
**The Sky's the Limit
*9 September
**So Proudly We Hail!
*10 September
**The Kansan
*13 September
**Thousands Cheer
*16 September
**Doña Bárbara
*17 September
**Revenge of the Zombies
**Sherlock Holmes Faces Death
**Top Man
*24 September
**The Adventures of Tartu
*25 September
**Thank Your Lucky Stars
*28 September
**Le Corbeau
*29 September
**''Corvette K-225''

October–December

October 1943
*7 October
**Lassie Come Home
*8 October
**Best Foot Forward
**Crazy House
*13 October
**L'Éternel retour
*19 October
**Yellow Canary
*23 October
**Princess O'Rourke
*29 October
**Flesh and Fantasy
November 1943
*4 November
**The North Star
*5 November
**Guadalcanal Diary
**Millions Like Us
**Son of Dracula
*10 November
**No Time for Love
**Titanic
*11 November
**The Return of the Vampire
**Sahara
*12 November
**The Mad Ghoul
*13 November
**Day of Wrath
**Northern Pursuit
*19 November
**The Dancing Masters
*23 November
**Cry 'Havoc'
*26 November
**Girl Crazy
*27 November
**Old Acquaintance
December 1943
*3 December
**Happy Land
*6 December
**War of the Wildcats
*14 December
**The Shipbuilders
*15 December
**Destination Tokyo
**Madame Curie
*17 December
**Calling Dr. Death
**Immensee
*20 December
**The Demi-Paradise
*24 December
**The Gang's All Here
**The Ghost Ship
**Jack London
*25 December
**The Song of Bernadette
*29 December
**Tender Comrade
*31 December
**''The Woman of the Town''

Serials

Adventures of the Flying Cadets
The Adventures of Smilin' Jack
Batman, starring Lewis Wilson
Daredevils of the West, starring Allan Lane, directed by John English
Don Winslow of the Coast Guard
G-Men vs the Black Dragon, starring Rod Cameron, directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet
The Masked Marvel, directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet
The Phantom, starring Tom Tyler
Secret Service in Darkest Africa, starring Rod Cameron, directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet

Comedy film series

Animated short film series

Mickey Mouse
Looney Tunes
Terrytoons
Merrie Melodies
Scrappy
Popeye
Color Rhapsodies
Donald Duck
Daffy Duck
Goofy
Andy Panda
Tom and Jerry
Woody Woodpecker
Swing Symphonies
The [Fox and the Crow (animated characters)|The Fox and the Crow]
Red Hot Riding Hood
Chip 'n Dale
''Droopy''

Births

January 1 – Don Novello, American writer, film director, producer, actor, singer and comedian
January 13 – Richard Moll, American actor
January 14 – Holland Taylor, American actress
January 18
*Paul Angelis, English actor and writer
*Paul Freeman, English actor
January 19 - Larry Clark, American director, producer and writer
January 24 – Sharon Tate, American actress and model
January 25 – Tobe Hooper, American director and screenwriter
January 26 - Kathryn Leigh Scott, American actress and writer
January 28 – John Beck, American actor
January 31 – Peter McRobbie, Scottish-born American actor
February 1 - Linda Gaye Scott, American actress
February 3
*Blythe Danner, American actress
*Seizō Fukumoto, Japanese actor
February 5 - Michael Mann, American director, screenwriter and producer
February 9 – Joe Pesci, American actor
February 13 - Donald Sumpter, British actor
February 20 – Mike Leigh, English director
February 25 – George Harrison, English musician and songwriter
February 26 – Bill Duke, American actor and director
March 8 – Lynn Redgrave, English actress
March 15 – David Cronenberg, Canadian director and screenwriter
March 25 – Paul Michael Glaser, American actor and director
March 26 - Giusi Merli, Italian actress
March 28 – Conchata Ferrell, American actress
March 29
*Eric Idle, English actor, comedian, author and musician
*Vangelis, Greek-born film composer
March 31 – Christopher Walken, American actor
April 3 - Jonathan Lynn, English director, producer, writer and actor
April 5 – Max Gail, American actor
April 8 – Jack O'Halloran, American actor
April 10 - Tom Pollock, American producer
April 20 – Edie Sedgwick, American actress, socialite, model and heiress
April 26 – Leon Pownall, Welsh-Canadian actor
May 5 – Michael Palin, English actor, comedian and musician
May 7 - Donal McCann, Irish actor
May 10 - David Clennon, American actor
May 21 - Shannon Wilcox, American character actress
May 25 - Leslie Uggams, American actress and singer
May 27 – Raye Birk, American actor
June 2
*Charles Haid, American actor and film director
*Kevork Malikyan, English-Armenian actor
June 4 - Tom Luddy, American producer
June 7 – Michael Pennington, English actor, director and writer
June 8 - Colin Baker, English actor
June 11 - Oleg Vidov, Russian-American actor, director and producer
June 13 – Malcolm McDowell, English actor
June 19 - Peter Belli, Danish actor and singer
June 22
*Judith Barker, English actress
*Klaus Maria Brandauer, Austrian actor and director
June 23 – Patrick Bokanowski, French director
June 24 – George Stanford Brown, American actor and director
June 26 - John Beasley, American actor
July 3 – Kurtwood Smith, American actor
July 7 - Robert East, Welsh actor
July 11 - Tom Holland, American screenwriter, actor and director
July 21
*Michael Caton, Australian actor, comedian and television host
*Edward Herrmann, American actor
July 25 - Janet Margolin, American actress
July 26 – Mick Jagger, English singer, songwriter, actor, filmmaker, and dancer
July 28 – Frances Lee McCain, American actress
July 29 - Jim Ishida, Japanese-American character actor
August 2 - Richard Fancy, American actor and comedian
August 6 - Ray Buktenica, American character actor
August 15 – Barbara Bouchet, German-American actress
August 17 – Robert De Niro, American actor
August 18 – Martin Mull, American actor and comedian
August 20 - Sylvester McCoy, Scottish actor
August 21
*Lino Capolicchio, Italian actor, screenwriter and director
*Hugh Wilson, American director, writer, television showrunner and actor
August 27 – Tuesday Weld, American actress
August 28 - David Soul, American-British actor and singer
August 30 - Miri Fabian, Israeli actress
September 1 – Don Stroud, American actor and musician
September 3 – Valerie Perrine, American actress and model
September 5 - Jack Charles, Australian actor
September 9 – Art LaFleur, American character actor and acting coach
September 10 – Daniel Truhitte, American actor
September 19 - Diana Bellamy, American character actress
September 21 – Jerry Bruckheimer, American producer
September 23 - Toni Basil, American singer, actress and director
September 24 – Randall Duk Kim, Korean American stage, film and television actor
September 28 – J. T. Walsh, American character actor
September 30 – Ian Ogilvy, English actor, playwright and novelist
October 4 – John Bindon, English actor and bodyguard
October 5 - Jennifer Hagan, Australian actress
October 8 – Chevy Chase, American actor and comedian
October 9 - Peter Faber, Dutch actor
October 12 – Lin Shaye, American actress
October 15 – Penny Marshall, American television actress, film director and producer
October 16 – Christopher Mitchum, American film actor, screenwriter, and businessman
October 20 – George Wyner, American actor
October 22
*Jan de Bont, Dutch cinematographer, director and producer
*Catherine Deneuve, French actress
October 24 – Martin Campbell, New Zealand director
October 27 - Carmen Argenziano, American actor
October 29
*Christopher Cain, American director, screenwriter and producer
*Margaret Nolan, English actress
*Don Simpson, American producer, screenwriter and actor
November 1 – John McEnery, English actor and writer
November 5 – Sam Shepard, American actor
November 7 – Michael Byrne, British actor
November 10 - William Hoyland, English actor
November 12
*Valerie Leon, English actress and model
*Wallace Shawn, American actor
November 16 - Wai Ching Ho, Hong Kong actress
November 20 – Mie Hama, Japanese former actress, television presenter, radio presenter, and author
November 23 – Tony Bonner, Australian actor and singer
November 28
*George T. Miller, Scottish-Australian director and producer
*Randy Newman, American singer, film composer
December 2 - Henry Kingi, American stuntman and actor
December 8 - Mary Woronov, American actress and writer
December 12
*Gianni Russo, American actor and singer
*Phyllis Somerville, American actress
December 13 – Arturo Ripstein, Mexican director
December 16 – Patti Deutsch, American voice artist, actress and comedian
December 19 - Sam Kelly, English actor
December 21 – Jack Nance, American actor
December 23 – Harry Shearer, American voice actor
December 25 - David Darlow, American actor
December 31
*Ben Kingsley, English actor
*Victor Raider-Wexler, American actor

Deaths

January 25 – Spencer Charters, 67, American actor, The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine, The Postman Didn't Ring
February 14 – Dora Gerson, 43, German actress, Caravan of Death, On the Brink of Paradise
February 19 – Lynne Overman, 58, American actor, Little Miss Marker, Union Pacific, Dixie
February 20 – Donald Haines, 23, American child actor, Skippy, A [Tale of Two Cities (1935 film)|A Tale of Two Cities]
March 10 – Tully Marshall, 78, American actor, Paid in Full, The Big Trail
April 3 – Conrad Veidt, 50, German actor, Casablanca, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The [Thief of Baghdad (1940 film)|The Thief of Baghdad], The Spy in Black
June 1 – Leslie Howard, 50, Academy Award-nominated British actor, Gone with the Wind, Pygmalion, The Petrified Forest, Of Human Bondage
June 30 – Carlo Wieth, 57, Danish actor
July 16 – Arthur Byron, 71, American actor, 20,000 Years in Sing Sing, Gabriel Over the White House
November 24 - Frank Sheridan, 74, American actor,