1941 in film

Top-grossing films (U.S.)

Events

• January 17 – Gone with the Wind goes into general release after touring in a roadshow version during 1940. Becoming a cultural phenomenon, it sold an estimated 60 million tickets in 1941 alone. Adjusted for inflation with numerous rereleases, it remains the highest grossing domestic film of all time with $1.8 billion.
• May 1 – Citizen Kane, consistently rated as one of the greatest films of all time, was released.
• July 2 – Sergeant York, the film biopic of World War I hero Alvin C. York, starring Gary Cooper in the title role, was released. A critical and a commercial success, it became the highest-grossing picture of 1941 and earned Cooper the first of two Academy Awards for Best Actor.
• October 3 – The Maltese Falcon, considered one of the greatest films noir, is released.
• October 23 – Dumbo was released, becoming Disney's only big hit in the 1940s and one of the most acclaimed animated films ever made. Praised for mastering sophisticated simplicity and economic story, it is the favorite film of Animation Pioneer John Lasseter.

  Academy Awards

• Best Picture: How Green Was My Valley – 20th Century-Fox
• Best Actor: Gary Cooper – Sergeant York
• Best Actress: Joan Fontaine – Suspicion
• Best Supporting Actor: Donald Crisp – How Green Was My Valley
• Best Supporting Actress: Mary Astor – The Great Lie
• Best Director: John Ford – How Green Was My Valley

  1941 film releases

January–March

• January 1941
• *1 January
• **Princess Iron Fan
• *16 January
• **The Face Behind the Mask
• *21 January
• **High Sierra
• *23 January
• **Suvorov
• *24 January
• **Life with Henry
• **The Saint in Palm Springs
• *28 January
• **Sullivan's Travels
• *31 January
• **Buck Privates
• **Mr. & Mrs. Smith
• February 1941
• *7 February
• **Back Street
• *18 February
• **Adam Had Four Sons
• *20 February
• **Tobacco Road
• *21 February
• **Andy Hardy's Private Secretary
• **Nice Girl?
• **The Strawberry Blonde
• **Western Union
• *25 February
• **The Lady Eve
• March 1941
• *1 March
• **Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family
• *7 March
• **Rage in Heaven
• *8 March
• **Footsteps in the Dark
• *10 March
• **Flying Wild
• *21 March
• **The Sea Wolf
• *26 March
• **I Wanted Wings
• *28 March
• **Man Made Monster

  April–June

• April 1941
• *4 April
• **The Devil and Miss Jones
• **Ohm Krüger
• *6 April
• **The Flame of New Orleans
• *10 April
• **Piccolo mondo antico
• *11 April
• **Road to Zanzibar
• **That Night in Rio
• *12 April
• **The Great Lie
• *19 April
• **The Farmer's Wife
• **Hatter's Castle
• **Quiet Wedding
• *24 April
• **Crook's Tour
• **Penny Serenade
• *25 April
• **They Met in Argentina
• **Ziegfeld Girl
• *30 April
• **That Hamilton Woman
• May 1941
• *1 May
• **Citizen Kane
• *2 May
• **The Black Cat
• *3 May
• **Meet John Doe
• *5 May
• **Inspector Hornleigh Goes To It
• *7 May
• **Sheriff of Tombstone
• *9 May
• **U-Boat Course West!
• *10 May
• **Spellbound
• *22 May
• **Blood and Sand
• *23 May
• **A Woman's Face
• *24 May
• **Crook's Tour
• *30 May
• **In the Navy
• June 1941
• *7 June
• **Shining Victory
• *11 June
• **The Gang's All Here
• *13 June
• **Broadway Limited
• **Man Hunt
• **One Night in Lisbon
• *18 June
• **Moon Over Miami
• *20 June
• **The Big Store
• **The Reluctant Dragon
• *26 June
• **Blossoms in the Dust
• *27 June
• **Hit the Road
• *28 June
• **Kipps
• **Love on the Dole

  July–September

• July 1941
• *2 July
• **The Sea Wolf
• **Sergeant York
• *4 July
• **Caught in the Draft
• **A Charming Man
• *12 July
• **The Bride Came C.O.D.
• *18 July
• **The Shepherd of the Hills
• *25 July
• **Target for Tonight
• *26 July
• **Bad Men of Missouri
• **Pimpernel Smith
• August 1941
• *1 August
• **Bowery Blitzkrieg
• **Charley's Aunt
• *2 August
• **Major Barbara
• *6 August
• **Hold That Ghost
• *7 August
• **Here Comes Mr. Jordan
• *8 August
• **Six Gun Gold
• *9 August
• **Manpower
• *12 August
• **Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
• *15 August
• **Life Begins for Andy Hardy
• *21 August
• **Sun Valley Serenade
• *28 August
• **The Blue Star Hotel
• *29 August
• **The Little Foxes
• September
• *1 September
• **Lady Be Good
• *5 September
• **Charlie Chan in Rio
• *6 September
• **Cottage to Let
• *18 September
• **Ladies in Retirement
• *19 September
• **The Tyrant Father
• *25 September
• **You'll Never Get Rich
• *26 September
• **Hold Back the Dawn
• **It Started with Eve
• **A Yank in the RAF

  October–December

• October 1941
• *2 October
• **Honky Tonk
• **One Foot in Heaven
• *8 October
• **49th Parallel
• **Week-End in Havana
• *10 October
• **Never Give a Sucker an Even Break
• *17 October
• **The Devil and Daniel Webster
• **Jesse James at Bay
• *18 October
• **The Maltese Falcon
• *22 October
• **You Belong to Me
• *23 October
• **Dumbo
• *24 October
• **Spooks Run Wild
• *25 October
• **The Tell-Tale Heart
• *28 October
• **How Green Was My Valley
• *31 October
• **The Chocolate Soldier
• November 1941
• *7 November
• **Unexpected Uncle
• *14 November
• **I Wake Up Screaming
• **Suspicion
• *15 November
• **Blues in the Night
• *21 November
• **Look Who's Laughing
• **Shadow of the Thin Man
• **Skylark
• **They Died with Their Boots On
• *27 November
• **Stormy Waters
• *28 November
• **The Corsican Brothers
• **Keep 'Em Flying
• December 1941
• *1 December
• **The 47 Ronin
• **Tarzan's Secret Treasure
• *2 December
• **Ball of Fire
• *5 December
• **Mr. Bug Goes to Town
• *12 December
• **Among the Living
• **Red River Valley
• **The Wolf Man
• *18 December
• **H.M. Pulham, Esq.
• **Kathleen
• *21 December
• **The Heavenly Play
• *25 December
• **Louisiana Purchase
• **The Shanghai Gesture
• *26 December
• **Hellzapoppin'
• **The Sausage-Maker Who Disappeared
• *31 December
• **Babes on Broadway

  Notable films released in 1941

#

• The 47 Ronin, directed by Kenji Mizoguchi –
• 49th Parallel, directed by Michael Powell, starring Leslie Howard and Laurence Olivier –

  A-B

• Adam Had Four Sons, starring Ingrid Bergman and Warner Baxter
• Among the Living, starring Albert Dekker and Susan Hayward
• Andy Hardy's Private Secretary, starring Mickey Rooney
• Babes on Broadway, directed by Busby Berkeley, starring Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney
• Back Street, starring Charles Boyer and Margaret Sullavan
• Bad Men of Missouri, starring Dennis Morgan and Jane Wyman
• Ball of Fire, directed by Howard Hawks, starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck
• The Big Store, starring the Marx Brothers, Margaret Dumont, Tony Martin
• The Black Cat, starring Basil Rathbone and Bela Lugosi
• Blood and Sand, starring Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Rita Hayworth
• Blossoms in the Dust, starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon
• The Blue Star Hotel, directed by Martin Frič –
• Blues in the Night, starring Priscilla Lane and Betty Field
• Bowery Blitzkrieg, starring the East Side Kids
• The Bride Came C.O.D., starring James Cagney and Bette Davis
• Broadway Limited, starring Victor McLaglen, Dennis O'Keefe, Patsy Kelly
• Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family, directed by Yasujirō Ozu –
• Buck Privates, starring Abbott and Costello

  C

• Caught in the Draft, starring Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour
• Charlie Chan in Rio, starring Sidney Toler
• Charley's Aunt, starring Jack Benny
• A Charming Man, directed by Martin Frič –
• The Chocolate Soldier, starring Nelson Eddy
• Churchill's Island –
• Citizen Kane, directed by and starring Orson Welles, with Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead, Everett Sloane, Dorothy Comingore, Ray Collins
• The Corsican Brothers, starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
• Cottage to Let, directed by Anthony Asquith, starring Leslie Banks, Alastair Sim, John Mills –
• Crook's Tour, starring Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne
• Cuando los hijos se van –

  D

• The Devil and Daniel Webster, starring Walter Huston and Edward Arnold
• The Devil and Miss Jones, starring Jean Arthur and Robert Cummings
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, starring Spencer Tracy and Ingrid Bergman
• Dumbo, animated film from Walt Disney

  E-F

• The Face Behind the Mask, starring Peter Lorre
• The Farmer's Wife, starring Basil Sydney
• Footsteps in the Dark, starring Errol Flynn
• The Flame of New Orleans, starring Marlene Dietrich
• Flying Wild, starring the East Side Kids
• Freedom Radio, directed by Anthony Asquith –

  G-H

• The Gang's All Here, starring Frankie Darro and Mantan Moreland
• The Ghost of St. Michael's, starring Will Hay and Charles Hawtrey –
• The Great Lie, starring Mary Astor and Bette Davis
• H.M. Pulham, Esq., starring Hedy Lamarr and Robert Young
• The Hard Life of an Adventurer –
• Hatter's Castle, starring Robert Newton and Deborah Kerr –
• The Heavenly Play, directed by Alf Sjöberg –
• Hellzapoppin', starring Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson
• Here Comes Mr. Jordan, starring Robert Montgomery
• High Sierra, starring Ida Lupino and Humphrey Bogart in his first starring role
• Hit the Road, starring the Dead End Kids
• Hold Back the Dawn, starring Charles Boyer, Olivia de Havilland and Paulette Goddard
• Hold That Ghost, starring Abbott and Costello
• Honky Tonk, starring Clark Gable and Lana Turner
• How Green Was My Valley, directed by John Ford, starring Walter Pidgeon and Maureen O'Hara – winner of 5 Academy Awards

  I-J

• I Wake Up Screaming, starring Betty Grable, Victor Mature, Carole Landis
• I Wanted Wings, starring Ray Milland, William Holden, Veronica Lake, Brian Donlevy
• In the Navy, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
• Inspector Hornleigh Goes To It, starring Gordon Harker and Alastair Sim –
• The Iron Crown –
• It Started with Eve, starring Deanna Durbin and Robert Cummings
• Jesse James at Bay, starring Roy Rogers

  K

• Kathleen, starring Shirley Temple
• Keep 'Em Flying, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
• Khazanchi –
• Kipps, directed by Carol Reed, starring Michael Redgrave –

  L

• Ladies in Retirement, starring Ida Lupino and Louis Hayward
• Lady Be Good, starring Eleanor Powell and Robert Young
• The Lady Eve, directed by Preston Sturges, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda
• Life Begins for Andy Hardy starring Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden
• Life with Henry, starring Jackie Cooper.
• The Little Foxes, directed by William Wyler, starring Bette Davis
• Look Who's Laughing, starring Edgar Bergen, Fibber McGee and Molly
• Louisiana Purchase, starring Bob Hope
• Love on the Dole, starring Deborah Kerr –

  M

• Major Barbara, directed by Gabriel Pascal, starring Wendy Hiller and Rex Harrison –
• The Maltese Falcon, directed by John Huston, starring Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre
• Man Hunt, starring Walter Pidgeon and Joan Bennett
• Man Made Monster, starring Lon Chaney Jr. and Lionel Atwill
• Manpower, starring Edward G. Robinson, Marlene Dietrich, George Raft
• Meet John Doe, starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck
• Moon Over Miami, starring Betty Grable
• Mr. & Mrs. Smith, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery
• Mr. Bug Goes to Town

  N-O

• Never Give a Sucker an Even Break, starring W. C. Fields
• Nice Girl?, starring Deanna Durbin
• Ohm Krüger, starring Emil Jannings –
• One Foot in Heaven, starring Fredric March and Martha Scott
• One Night in Lisbon, starring Fred MacMurray and Madeleine Carroll
• One Night in Transylvania –

  P

• Penn of Pennsylvania, starring Clifford Evans and Deborah Kerr –
• Penny Serenade, starring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant
• Piccolo mondo antico, starring Alida Valli –
• Pimpernel Smith, directed by and starring Leslie Howard –
• A Place to Live
• Pride of the Bowery, starring the East Side Kids
• Princess Iron Fan –

  Q-R

• Quiet Wedding, directed by Anthony Asquith, starring Margaret Lockwood –
• Rage in Heaven, starring Robert Montgomery and Ingrid Bergman
• Red River Valley, directed by Joseph Kane, starring Roy Rogers
• The Reluctant Dragon, starring Robert Benchley
• Road to Zanzibar, starring Bob Hope and Bing Crosby

  S

• The Saint in Palm Springs, starring George Sanders
• The Sausage-Maker Who Disappeared –
• The Sea Wolf, starring Edward G. Robinson, Ida Lupino, John Garfield
• Sergeant York, directed by Howard Hawks, starring Gary Cooper and Walter Brennan
• Shadow of the Thin Man, starring William Powell and Myrna Loy
• The Shanghai Gesture, starring Gene Tierney
• The Shepherd of the Hills, starring John Wayne
• Sheriff of Tombstone, starring Roy Rogers
• Shining Victory, starring James Stephenson and Geraldine Fitzgerald
• Sikandar –
• Six Gun Gold, starring Tim Holt
• Skylark, starring Claudette Colbert and Ray Milland
• Spellbound, starring Derek Farr –
• Spooks Run Wild, starring East Side Kids and Bela Lugosi
• Stormy Waters, starring Jean Gabin and Michèle Morgan –
• The Strawberry Blonde, starring James Cagney, Olivia de Havilland, Rita Hayworth
• Sullivan's Travels, directed by Preston Sturges, starring Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake
• Sun Valley Serenade, starring Sonja Henie
• Suspicion, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Joan Fontaine and Cary Grant
• Suvorov –
• Swamp Water, directed by Jean Renoir, starring Walter Brennan and Walter Huston

  T-V

• The Tale of the Fox –
• Target for Tonight, a propaganda documentary –
• Tarzan's Secret Treasure, starring Johnny Weissmuller
• Teresa Venerdì, directed by and starring Vittorio De Sica –
• That Hamilton Woman, starring Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier –
• That Night in Rio, starring Don Ameche, Alice Faye, Carmen Miranda
• The Tell-Tale Heart, starring Joseph Schildkraut
• They Died with Their Boots On, starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland
• They Met in Argentina, starring Maureen O'Hara and James Ellison
• Tobacco Road, starring Gene Tierney
• Tosca, directed by Jean Renoir, starring Imperio Argentina and Michel Simon
• Turned Out Nice Again, starring George Formby –
• The Tyrant Father –
• U-Boat Course West! –
• Unexpected Uncle, starring Anne Shirley, James Craig, Charles Coburn
• Unholy Partners, starring Edward G. Robinson and Laraine Day

  W-X

• Week-End in Havana, starring Alice Faye, John Payne, Carmen Miranda and Cesar Romero
• Western Union, starring Randolph Scott
• When Ladies Meet, starring Joan Crawford, Greer Garson, Robert Taylor and Herbert Marshall
• The Wolf Man, starring Lon Chaney, Jr.
• A Woman's Face, starring Joan Crawford and Melvyn Douglas

  Y-Z

• A Yank in the RAF, starring Tyrone Power and Betty Grable
• You Belong to Me, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda
• You'll Never Get Rich, starring Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth
• Ziegfeld Girl, starring Judy Garland and James Stewart

  Serials

• The Adventures of Captain Marvel, starring Tom Tyler, directed by William Witney and John English
• Dick Tracy vs Crime Inc, starring Ralph Byrd, directed by William Witney and John English
• The Green Hornet, starring Gordon Jones
• Holt of the Secret Service, directed by James W. Horne
• The Iron Claw, directed by James W. Horne
• Jungle Girl, starring Frances Gifford, directed by William Witney and John English
• King of the Texas Rangers, directed by William Witney and John English
• Riders of Death Valley, directed by Ray Taylor and Ford Beebe
• Sea Raiders, directed by Ray Taylor and Ford Beebe
• Sky Raiders, directed by Ray Taylor and Ford Beebe
• The Spider Returns, starring Warren Hull, directed by James W. Horne
• White Eagle, directed by James W. Horne

  Comedy film series

• Buster Keaton
• Laurel and Hardy
• Our Gang
• Marx Brothers
• The Three Stooges

  Animated short film series

• Mickey Mouse
• Looney Tunes
• *Bugs Bunny
• *Daffy Duck
• *Porky Pig
• *Sniffles
• *Inki
• Terrytoons
• Merrie Melodies
• Scrappy
• Popeye
• Color Rhapsodies
• Donald Duck
• Walter Lantz Cartunes
• Goofy
• Andy Panda
• Tom and Jerry
• * The Midnight Snack
• * The Night Before Christmas
• Woody Woodpecker
• Swing Symphonies
• The Fox and the Crow
• Superman

  Births

• January 1 – Eva Ras, Serbian actress, writer, and painter
• January 14 – Faye Dunaway, American actress
• January 31 – Jessica Walter, American actress
• February 8 – Nick Nolte, American actor and producer
• February 10 – Michael Apted, English director, producer and screenwriter
• March 4 – Adrian Lyne, English director and producer
• March 14 – Wolfgang Petersen, German director, producer and screenwriter
• March 16 – Bernardo Bertolucci, Italian director
• April 7 – Danny Wells, Canadian actor and comedian
• April 14 – Julie Christie, English actress and sex symbol
• April 20 – Ryan O'Neal, American actor
• April 28 – Ann-Margret, Swedish-born American actress, dancer and singer
• May 13 – Senta Berger, Austrian actress and producer
• June 2 – Stacy Keach, American actor
• June 5 – Spalding Gray, American actor and screenwriter
• June 10 – Jürgen Prochnow, German actor
• June 20 – Stephen Frears, English film director
• June 21 – Joe Flaherty, Canadian-American actor and comedian
• June 22 – Michael Lerner, American actor
• June 25 – Denys Arcand, Canadian director and screenwriter
• June 27 – Krzysztof Kieślowski, Polish director
• July 28 - Peter Cullen, Canadian voice actor
• July 29 – David Warner, English actor
• September 26 – Martine Beswick, English actress and model
• October 6 – Billy Murray, English actor
• October 10 – Peter Coyote, American actor
• October 19 – Simon Ward, English actor
• October 23 – Mel Winkler, American actor
• October 31 – Sally Kirkland, American actress
• November 1 – Robert Foxworth, American actor
• November 18 – David Hemmings, English actor, director and producer
• November 23 – Franco Nero, Italian actor
• November 25 – Tiit Lilleorg, Estonian actor
• December 4 – Leila Säälik, Estonian actress
• December 9 – Beau Bridges, American actor

  Deaths

• January 4 – Henri Bergson, 81, French writer
• January 10 – Joe Penner, 36, American comedian, actor, The Boys from Syracuse, Millionaire Playboy, The Day the Bookies Wept, Mr. Doodle Kicks Off
• March 13 – Stuart Walker, 63, American director, White Woman, Great Expectations
• May 8 – Tore Svennberg, 83, Swedish actor, The Phantom Carriage, A Woman's Face
• May 12 – Ruth Stonehouse, 48, American actress, film director, The Satin Woman
• May 22 – Ida Waterman, 89, American actress, Stella Maris, The Enchanted Cottage, Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley, Esmerelda
• August 13 – J. Stuart Blackton, 66, British-American film producer and director, co-founder of Vitagraph Studios, The Glorious Adventure
• October 9 – Helen Morgan, 41, American actress and singer, You Belong to Me, Applause, Show Boat
• October 26 – Victor Schertzinger, 41, American director, Paramount on Parade, Road to Zanzibar
• November 2 – Bengt Djurberg, 43, Swedish actor, Troll-Elgen
• December 21 – David Howard, 45, American film director, Daniel Boone

  Film Debuts

• Yvonne De Carlo – Harvard, Here I Come
• Cyd Charisse – The Gay Parisian
• Eva Gabor – Forced Landing
• Ava Gardner – Fancy Answers
• Jackie Gleason – Navy Blues
• Sterling Hayden – Virginia
• Charlton Heston – Peer Gynt
• Deborah Kerr – Major Barbara
• Bruce Lee – Golden Gate Girl
• Norman Lloyd – The Forgotten Man
• Agnes Moorehead – Citizen Kane
• Margaret O'Brien – Babes on Broadway
• Donna Reed – The Get-Away
• Frank Sinatra – Las Vegas Nights
• Marie Windsor – Unexpected Uncle
• Teresa Wright – The Little Foxes