1940 in film
*
February 7 -
Walt Disney's animated
film Pinocchio is released.
*
February 20 -
Tom and Jerry make their debut in the animated
cartoon Puss Gets the Boot.
*
May 17 -
My Favorite Wife is released.
* May - A reproduction of "America's First Movie Studio",
Thomas Edison's
Black Maria, is constructed.
*
July 27 -
Bugs Bunny makes his official debut in the animated cartoon
A Wild Hare.
*
October 15 -
The Great Dictator, a satiric social commentary film by and starring
Charlie Chaplin, is released.
*
November 13 - World premiere of Walt Disney's
Fantasia, the first film to be released in a multichannel sound format (
see Fantasound). The film also marked the first use of the click track while recording the soundtrack, overdubbing of orchestral parts, simultaneous multitrack recording and lead to the development of a multichannel surround system.
#
Pinocchio (Disney/
RKO)
*
Best Picture:
Rebecca -
David O. Selznick,
United Artists*
Best Actor:
James Stewart -
The Philadelphia Story*
Best Actress:
Ginger Rogers -
Kitty Foyle*
Abe Lincoln in Illinois *
All This and Heaven Too *
The Arsenal Stadium Mystery*
The Biscuit Eater*
Boys of the City*
Broadway Melody of 1940 starring
Fred Astaire and
Eleanor Powell - final film of series
*
East Side Kids*
Edison, the Man starring
Spencer Tracy *
Go West, starring the Marx Brothers
*
Give Us Wings*
That Gang of Mine*
Gaslight, the original British version
*
The Grapes of Wrath *
The Great Dictator, starring
Charlie Chaplin*
The Howards of Virginia, starring
Cary Grant, and
Martha Scott*
Junior G-Men*
Masked Mischief*
My Favorite Wife*
Night Train to Munich*
Northwest Passage, starring
Spencer Tracy*
One Million B.C.*
Pride and Prejudice, starring
Greer Garson and
Laurence Olivier*
Strike Up the Band *
The Thief of Bagdad*
You're Not So Tough*
Vigil in the Night, starring
Carole LombardBuster Keaton (
1917-
1941)
Our Gang (
1922-
1944)
Laurel and Hardy (1926-
1940)
Krazy Kat (
1925-
1940)
Mickey Mouse (
1928-
1953)
Looney Tunes (
1930-
1969)
Terrytoons (
1930-
1964)
Merrie Melodies (
1931-
1969)
Scrappy (
1931-
1941)
Popeye (
1933-
1957)
Color Rhapsodies (
1934-
1949)
Donald Duck (
1937-
1956)
Walter Lantz Cartunes (also known as New Universal Cartoons or Cartune Comedies) (
1938-
1942)
Goofy (
1939-
1955)
Andy Panda (
1939-
1949)
Tom and Jerry (MGM) (
1940-
1958)
*
July 7 -
Ringo Starr, English drummer (
The Beatles)
*
July 13 -
Patrick Stewart, English actor
*
August 3 -
Martin Sheen, American actor
*
November 27 -
Bruce Lee *
October 9 -
John Lennon, English musician, songwriter and singer (
The Beatles)
*
November 5 -
Elke Sommer, actress
*
December 21 -
Frank Zappa, English musician, songwriter and singer
*
May 25 -
Joe De Grasse, pioneer Hollywood film director
*
July 1 -
Ben Turpin, comic actor
*
October 10 -
Berton Churchill, pioneer Hollywood actor
*
December 5 -
Wilfred Lucas, actor, screenwriter, director
