The year 1940 in film involved some significant events, including the premieres of the Walt Disney films Pinocchio and Fantasia.
Anne Bancroft was an American actress and director. Respected for her acting prowess and versatility, Bancroft received an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Tony Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Cannes Film Festival Award. She is one of 24 thespians to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting.
George Bancroft was an American film actor, whose career spanned seventeen years from 1925 to 1942. A star of pre-Code Hollywood, he is best known as the tough guy lead in four Josef von Sternberg films, the last of which, Thunderbolt (1929) earned him a Best Actor Award nomination. He was later a supporting actor in a number of notable movies, including Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) and Stagecoach (1939).
Vivien Oakland, was an American actress best known for her work in comedies in Hollywood in the 1920s and 1930s, most notably with the Hal Roach Studios. Oakland appeared in 157 films between 1915 and 1951.
Niles Eugene Welch was an American performer on Broadway, and a leading man in a number of silent and early talking motion pictures from the early 1910s through the 1930s.
Lucien Littlefield was an American actor who achieved a long career from silent films to the television era. He was noted for his versatility, playing a wide range of roles and already portraying old men before he was of voting age.
Lynn Fairfield Reynolds was an American director and screenwriter. Reynolds directed more than 80 films between 1915 and 1928. He also wrote for 58 films between 1914 and 1927. Reynolds was born in Harlan, Iowa and died in Los Angeles, California, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Uncle Tom's Cabin is a 1927 American synchronized sound drama film directed by Harry A. Pollard and released by Universal Pictures. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the Western Electric sound-on-film process. The film is based on the 1852 novel Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe and was the last version filmed without audible dialogue. This film is important historically as being Universal's first sound feature.
Riders of the Purple Sage is a 1925 American silent Western film directed by Lynn Reynolds and starring Tom Mix, Mabel Ballin, and Warner Oland. Based on the 1912 novel Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey, the film is about a former Texas Ranger who pursues a corrupt lawyer who abducted his married sister and niece. His search leads him to a remote Arizona ranch and the love of a good woman.
Code of the West is a 1925 American silent Western film directed by William K. Howard and written by Zane Grey and Lucien Hubbard. The film stars Owen Moore, Constance Bennett, Mabel Ballin, Charles Stanton Ogle, David Butler, George Bancroft and Gertrude Short. The film was released on April 6, 1925, by Paramount Pictures.
Scandal Sheet is a 1931 American pre-Code crime film directed by John Cromwell and written by Oliver H.P. Garrett, Vincent Lawrence and Max Marcin. The film stars George Bancroft, Kay Francis, Clive Brook, Regis Toomey, Lucien Littlefield, Gilbert Emery and Harry Beresford. The film was released on January 31, 1931, by Paramount Pictures.
The Last of the Duanes is a 1924 American silent Western film directed by Lynn Reynolds and starring Tom Mix, with his horse Tony the Wonder Horse. It is based on a 1914 Zane Grey novel, Last of the Duanes. A print of the film exists, after it was discovered in a chicken farm in the Czech Republic.
Tony Runs Wild is a 1926 American silent Western film directed by Tom Buckingham and starring Tom Mix, Tony the Horse, Jacqueline Logan, Lawford Davidson, Duke R. Lee, and Vivien Oakland. The film was released by Fox Film Corporation on April 18, 1926.
The Small Bachelor is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by William A. Seiter and written by John B. Clymer, Rex Taylor and Walter Anthony. It is based on the 1927 novel The Small Bachelor by P. G. Wodehouse. The film stars Barbara Kent, George Beranger, and William Austin. The film was released on November 6, 1927, by Universal Pictures. Carl Laemmle was the film's presenter.
Wedding Bills is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by Erle C. Kenton and starring Raymond Griffith, Anne Sheridan, and Hallam Cooley.
The Deadwood Coach is a 1924 American silent Western film written and directed by Lynn Reynolds. It is based on the 1908 novel The Orphan by Clarence E. Mulford. The film stars Tom Mix, George Bancroft, Doris May, Lucien Littlefield, Frank Coffyn, and Jane Keckley. The film was released on December 7, 1924, by Fox Film Corporation.
Teeth is a 1924 American silent Western film directed by John G. Blystone and written by Donald W. Lee. The film stars Tom Mix, Lucy Fox, George Bancroft, Edward Peil Sr., and Lucien Littlefield. The film was released on November 2, 1924, by Fox Film Corporation.
Mystery Plane is a 1939 American action film directed by George Waggner and written by Paul Schofield and George Waggner. The film is based on the comic strip Tailspin Tommy by Hal Forrest and Glenn Chaffin. The film stars John Trent, Marjorie Reynolds, Milburn Stone, Jason Robards Sr., George Lynn and Lucien Littlefield. Mystery Plane, the first of four "Tailspin Tommy" films made by Monogram Pictures, was released on March 8, 1939.
Kathleen O'Conner was an American actress active in Hollywood during the silent era.
The Man in Hobbles is a 1928 American silent comedy film directed by George Archainbaud and starring John Harron, Lila Lee and Lucien Littlefield. The film's sets were designed by the art director Hervey Libbert.
