The year 1940 in film involved some significant events, including the premieres of the Walt Disney films Pinocchio and Fantasia.
The following is an overview of 1933 in film, including significant events, a list of films released, and notable births and deaths.
Douglas Elton Fairbanks Jr. was an American actor, producer, and decorated naval officer of World War II. He is best-known for starring in such films as The Prisoner of Zenda (1937), Gunga Din (1939), and The Corsican Brothers (1941). The son of Douglas Fairbanks and stepson of Mary Pickford, his first marriage was to actress Joan Crawford.
An ironclad is a steam-propelled warship protected by iron or steel armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells. The first ironclad battleship, Gloire, was launched by the French Navy in November 1859 – narrowly pre-empting the British Royal Navy.
John Howard was an American actor. He is best remembered for his roles in the films Lost Horizon (1937) and The Philadelphia Story (1940).
Samuel Nicholson was an officer in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War and later in the United States Navy. Along with shipwright George Claghorn he oversaw the building of USS Constitution ("Old Ironsides"), and Nicholson was that ship's first commander.
Wayne Morris was an American film and television actor, as well as a decorated World War II fighter ace. He appeared in many films, including Paths of Glory (1957), The Bushwackers (1952), and the title role of Kid Galahad (1937).
Warship is a British television drama series produced by the BBC and broadcast between 1973 and 1977. The series was set contemporaneously and depicted life on board the fictitious Royal Navy frigate HMS Hero. Four series were produced with 45 episodes made in total.
Donald Douglas was a Scottish actor in the United States who performed in films, on the stage and in radio.
HMS H49 was a British H-class submarine built by William Beardmore and Company, Dalmuir. She was launched on 15 July 1919 and commissioned on 25 October 1919. The submarine saw active service in the Second World War, but was sunk off the Netherlands by German patrol vessels on 18 October 1940.
HMS Reindeer was a Royal Navy 18-gun Cruizer-class brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, built by Samuel & Daniel Brent at Rotherhithe and was launched in 1804. She was built of fir, which made for more rapid construction at the expense of durability. Reindeer fought in the Napoleonic Wars before succumbing in 1814 to the guns of USS Wasp during the War of 1812.
James Richard Dacres was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He eventually rose to the rank of Vice-Admiral.
This Is My Affair is a 1937 American period crime film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Robert Taylor, Barbara Stanwyck, Victor McLaglen and Brian Donlevy. It was produced and released by 20th Century Fox.
Binkie Stuart was a Scottish film actress. During the 1930s she enjoyed brief fame as a child actress and was considered Britain's answer to Shirley Temple.
Hazel M. Neilson-Terry was an English actress. A member of the theatrical dynasty the Terry family she had a successful stage career, and also made some cinema films. Among her roles was Ophelia in Hamlet opposite her cousin John Gielgud.
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader and later Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland.
Storm Over Bengal is a 1938 American adventure film that was nominated at the 11th Academy Awards for Best Score, the nomination was for Cy Feuer. Set during the British Raj, the film's working title was Bengal Lancer Patrol. The film was shot in Owens Valley, California. The film stars Patric Knowles in his first film after leaving Warner Bros. as well as Richard Cromwell and Douglass Dumbrille who played similar roles in Lives of a Bengal Lancer.
Don Terry was an American film actor, best known for his lead appearances in B films and serials in the 1930s and early 1940s. Perhaps his best-known role is Naval Commander Don Winslow in two Universal Pictures serials of the early 1940s, Don Winslow of the Navy (1942) and Don Winslow of the Coast Guard (1943).
Missing, Believed Married is a 1937 British comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Wally Patch, Julian Vedey and Hazel Terry. It was a quota quickie made at Pinewood Studios. A young heiress is almost tricked into marriage by a fortune hunter.
Sweet Devil is a 1938 British musical comedy film directed by René Guissart and starring Bobby Howes, Jean Gillie and William Kendall. It was made at Pinewood Studios.
