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The History of American Cinema: 1940

July - December

27/7 -

Bugs Bunny makes his debut in A Wild Hare, opposite Elmer Fudd, and utters his famous catchphrase, ‘What’s up, Doc?”   In the same cartoon, Elmer coins his catchprase, ‘Be vewy quiet… I’m hunting wabbit.” [ADD]

15/8 -

The Great McGinty, Preston Sturges’ directorial debut in which Brian Donlevy plays a crooked politician, is released. [ADD]

16/8 -

Foreign Correspondent, Alfred Hitchcock’s second American film, is released.   It stars Joel McCrea as a naïve newspaper correspondent on the eve of war and, like many films now coming out of America, offers a solidly pro-ally viewpoint. [ADD]

31/8 -

British stars Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh marry following Olivier’s divorce from Jill Esmond.   The couple have been romantically involved since 1936 when they met on the set of Alexander Korda’s Fire Over England. [ADD]

6/9 -

Following the preview of The Great Dictator, Charlie Chaplin decides to cut and re-shoot a number of scenes. [ADD]

9/10 -

John Ford’s The Long Voyage Home is released.   Starring John Wayne, it features some of the visual effects (deep focus, wide angle lenses, low upward-facing camera angles and strong side-lighting) later made famous by Orson Welles in Citizen Kane. [ADD]

15/10 -

Chaplin’s first dialogue film, The Great Dictator is released.  In a wicked parody of Hitler, Chaplin plays both Adenoid Hynkel, dictator of Tomania, and his double, a Jewish barber.   The film ends with an impassioned speech for an end to tyranny in the world.   Support is provided by Paulette Goddard, Henry Daniell, and Jack Oakie as Benzino Napoloni, ruler of Bacteria. [ADD]

13/11 -

Walt Disney’s Fantasia is released.   First conceived as a short film, the eventual feature-length version features the music of Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Schubert, Beethoven, Mussorgsky, Ponchielli and Bach on a Stereophonic soundtrack and comprises of eight parts, including a sequence entitled ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,’ starring Mickey Mouse. [ADD]

15/11 -

Comedy duo Abbott & Costello’s first film, One Night in the Tropics, is released. [ADD]

25/11 -

Woody Woodpecker makes his debut in Walter Lantz’s cartoon Knock, Knock. [ADD]

1/12 -

Katharine Hepburn overcomes her box-office poison tag by reprising her stage role as Tracy Lord on screen in The Philadelphia Story.   Cary Grant and James Stewart co-star as the men in her life, and George Cukor directs. [ADD]

20/12 -

Warner Bros.’ Santa Fe Trail is shown at some venues with their Vitasound audio process which combines a standard mono soundtrack with a control track located between the soundtrack and sprocket holes which increases loudness for certain scenes by activating additional amplifiers and speakers [ADD]

27/12 -

Sam Woods’ Kitty Foyle: The Natural History of a Woman is released..   Ginger Rogers stars in a rare dramatic role opposite James Craig. [ADD]

– Walt Disney offers stock in his company to help lower debt.   Meanwhile, the company’s production facilities are moved from Hollywood to Burbank. [ADD]

– Poverty Row studio Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC) is formed. [ADD]

– The US Justice Department's anti-trust case against the eight Hollywood majors is settled when the studios agree to limit the number of films in the packages offered to exhibitors. [ADD]

– The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) carries out further investigations in Hollywood. [ADD]

– There are 17,500 cinemas in the United States – one for every 8,000 people.   Of a total population of 130 million, an estimated 55-60 million visit the cinema every week. [ADD]

Top US Box-Office Stars of 1940

1.      Mickey Rooney

2.      Spencer Tracy

3.      Clark Gable

4.      Gene Autry

5.      Tyrone Power

6.      James Cagney

7.      Bing Crosby

8.      Wallace Beery

9.      Bette Davis

10.  Judy Garland

Source: Quigley Poll.

Other Key American Films of 1940

The Bank Dick (Edward F. Cline) [ADD]

The History of Cinema: 1940