List of American films of 1942
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A list of American films released in 1942.
Bob Hope hosted the 15th Academy Awards ceremony at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. The winner of the Outstanding Motion Picture (later: Best Picture) category was MGM's Mrs Miniver.
The other nine nominated pictures were 49th Parallel; King's Row; The Magnificent Ambersons; The Pied Piper; The Pride of the Yankees; Random Harvest; The Talk of the Town; Wake Island; and Yankee Doodle Dandy.
Casablanca was released in 1942, but won its three Oscars in 1944.
A-C
| Title | Director | Cast | Genre | Notes |
| A-Haunting We Will Go | Alfred L. Werker | Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Dante the Magician | Comedy | Laurel and Hardy |
| Across the Pacific | John Huston | Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet, Charles Halton | Thriller | Warner Bros.; filmed as America entered World War II |
| Alias Boston Blackie | Lew Landers | Chester Morris, Adele Mara, George E. Stone | Crime drama | Columbia |
| American Empire | William C. McGann | Richard Dix, Leo Carrillo, Preston Foster | Western | Paramount |
| Andy Hardy's Double Life | George B. Seitz | Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Fay Holden | Comedy | MGM |
| Any Bonds Today? | Bob Clampett | | Animated Propaganda | Warner Bros. |
| Arabian Nights | John Rawlins | Maria Montez, Jon Hall, Sabu, Leif Erickson, Billy Gilbert, Turhan Bey, Shemp Howard | Adventure | Universal |
| Are Husbands Necessary? | Norman Taurog | Ray Milland, Betty Field, Patricia Morison | Comedy | Paramount |
| The Arm Behind the Army | | | Propaganda Short | |
| Bambi | David Hand | | Animated | RKO, Disney |
| The Battle of Midway | John Ford | | Propaganda | Academy Award |
| The Big Shot | Lewis Seiler | Humphrey Bogart, Irene Manning | Crime | Warner Bros. |
| The Big Street | Irving Reis | Henry Fonda, Lucille Ball, Barton MacLane | Drama | RKO |
| Black Dragons | William Nigh | Bela Lugosi | Sci-fi | Monogram |
| The Black Swan | Henry King | Tyrone Power, Maureen O'Hara | Adventure | 20th Century Fox |
| The Boogie Man Will Get You | Lew Landers | Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre | Horror comedy | Columbia |
| Bowery at Midnight | Wallace Fox | Bela Lugosi, John Archer | Horror | Monogram |
| The Bowling Alley Cat | Hanna Barbera | | Animated Short | Warner Bros. |
| Broadway | William A. Seiter | George Raft, Pat O'Brien, Janet Blair | Crime musical | Universal |
| The Bugle Sounds | S. Sylvan Simon | Wallace Beery, Marjorie Main, Donna Reed | War | |
| Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid | Robert Clampett | | Animated short | Warner Bros. |
| Bullet Scars | D. Ross Lederman | Regis Toomey, Howard Da Silva, Adele Longmire | Crime drama | |
| Campus on the March | | | Propaganda | |
| Captains of the Clouds | Michael Curtiz | James Cagney, Dennis Morgan | War | Warner Bros. |
| Casablanca | Michael Curtiz | Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman | Drama, Romance | Warner Bros.; Academy Award Best Picture in 1943 |
| Cat People | Jacques Tourneur | Simone Simon, Kent Smith, Jane Randolph | Horror | RKO |
| Commandos Strike at Dawn | John Farrow | Paul Muni, Anna Lee, Lillian Gish | War | Columbia |
| The Corpse Vanishes | Wallace Fox | Bela Lugosi, Luana Walters | Horror | Monogram |
| The Courtship of Andy Hardy | George B. Seitz | Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker | Comedy | MGM |
|
D-H
| Title |
Director |
Cast |
Genre |
Notes |
| Desperate Journey | Raoul Walsh | Errol Flynn, Ronald Reagan | War | Warner Bros. |
| Dog Trouble | Hanna Barbera | | Animated Short | MGM |
| Don Winslow of the Navy | | Don Terry | Serial | Universal |
| Donald Gets Drafted | | Donald Duck | Animated Short | RKO, Disney |
| The Dover Boys | Charles M. Jones | | Animated Short | Warner Bros. |
| The Draft Horse | | | Animated Short | Warner Bros. |
| Eagle Squadron | Arthur Lubin | Robert Stack, Diana Barrymore | War | Universal |
| Eyes in the Night | Fred Zinneman | Edward Arnold, Ann Harding | Mystery | MGM |
| Fine Feathered Friend | Hanna Barbera | Tom and Jerry | Animated Short | MGM |
| The Fleet's In | Victor Schertzinger | Dorothy Lamour, William Holden | Musical | Paramount |
| Flight Lieutenant | Sidney Salkow | Pat O'Brien, Glenn Ford | Drama | Columbia |
| Fly-by-Night | Robert Siodmak | Richard Carlson, Nancy Kelly | Thriller | |
| Flying Tigers | David Miller | John Wayne | War | Republic |
| Foreign Agent | William Beaudine | John Shelton, Gale Storm, Ivan Lebedeff | Crime drama | |
| For Me and My Gal | Busby Berkeley | Judy Garland, Gene Kelly | Musical | MGM |
| Fraidy Cat | Hanna Barbera | Tom and Jerry | Animated Short | MGM |
| Fresh Hare | I. Freleng | | Animated Short | Warner Bros. |
| Friendly Enemies | Allan Dwan | Charles Winninger, Charles Ruggles | Drama | United Artists |
| Gallant Lady | William Beaudine | Rose Hobart, Sidney Blackmer | Drama | |
| Gang Busters | Noel M. Smith, Ray Taylor | | Serial | Universal |
| The Gay Sisters | Irving Rapper | Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Geraldine Fitzgerald | Drama | Warner Bros. |
| Gentleman Jim | Raoul Walsh | Errol Flynn | Bio-pic | |
| George Washington Slept Here | William Keighley | Jack Benny, Ann Sheridan, Charles Coburn | Comedy | Warner Bros. |
| The Ghost of Frankenstein | Erle C. Kenton | Lon Chaney, Jr., Cedric Hardwicke | Horror | Universal |
| The Glass Key | Stuart Heisler | Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake | Film noir | Paramount |
| The Great Man's Lady | William A. Wellman | Barbara Stanwyck, Joel McCrea, Brian Donlevy | Western | Paramount |
| The Great Impersonation | John Rawlins | Ralph Bellamy, Evelyn Ankers | Drama | Universal |
| Hemp for Victory | Raymond Evans | | Propaganda | |
| Henry Browne, Farmer | Canada Lee | | Propaganda Short | |
| Hold the Lion, Please | Chuck Jones | | Animated Short | Warner Bros. |
| Holiday Inn | Mark Sandrich | Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire | Christmas Musical | Paramount |
| How to Play Baseball | Jack Kinney | | Animated Short | RKO |
| How to Swim | Jack Kinney | | Animated Short | RKO, Disney |
|
I-N
| Title |
Director |
Cast |
Genre |
Notes |
| I Married a Witch | René Clair | Veronica Lake, Fredric March | Romantic comedy | United Artists |
| I Married an Angel | W. S. Van Dyke | Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy | Musical | MGM |
| In Old California | William C. McGann | John Wayne, Binnie Barnes | Western | Republic |
| In This Our Life | John Huston | Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland | Drama | Warner Bros. |
| Invisible Agent | Edwin L. Marin | Ilona Massey, Jon Hall | War | Universal |
| It's All True | Orson Welles, Norman Foster | | | shot in South America |
| It's Everybody's War | | | Propaganda short | |
| Jackass Mail | Norman Z. McLeod | Wallace Beery | Western | |
| Jam Session | | Duke Ellington and orchestra | Short | performing C Jam Blues |
| Japanese Relocation | | | Short war propaganda | produced by Office of War Information |
| Joan of Ozark | Joseph Santley | Judy Canova, Joe E. Brown | Comedy | Republic |
| Johnny Eager | Mervyn LeRoy | Robert Taylor, Lana Turner | Film noir | MGM |
| Jungle Book | Zoltan Korda | Sabu | Adventure | United Artists |
| Junior G-Men | | | action serial | Universal |
| Junior G-Men of the Air | | Dead End Kids and the Little Tough Guys | action serial | Universal |
| Kid Glove Killer | Fred Zinnemann | Van Heflin, Marsha Hunt | Crime | MGM |
| King of the Mounties | William Witney | Allan Lane, Gilbert Emery | Action adventure | Republic |
| Kings Row | Sam Wood | Ann Sheridan, Ronald Reagan, Robert Cummings | B movie drama | Warner Bros. |
| Larceny, Inc. | Lloyd Bacon | Edward G. Robinson, Jane Wyman, Broderick Crawford | Crime Comedy | Warner Bros. |
| The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe | Harry Lachman | Linda Darnell, Shepperd Strudwick | Drama | 20th Century Fox |
| The Mad Monster | Sam Newfield | George Zucco, Anne Nagel | Horror | |
| Madame Spy | Roy William Neill | Constance Bennett, Don Porter | Spy | Universal |
| The Magnificent Ambersons | Orson Welles | Joseph Cotten, Anne Baxter | Drama Romance | RKO |
| The Magnificent Dope | Walter Lang | Henry Fonda, Don Ameche | Comedy | |
| The Major and the Minor | Billy Wilder | Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland | Comedy | Paramount |
| The Male Animal | Elliott Nugent | Henry Fonda, Olivia de Havilland | Romantic comedy | Warner Bros. |
| The Man Who Came to Dinner | William Keighley | Monty Woolley, Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan, Billie Burke, Mary Wickes, Jimmy Durante | Comedy | Warner Bros.; based on the play |
| Manpower | | | Propaganda short | produced by Office of War Information |
| Miss Annie Rooney | Edwin L. Marin | Shirley Temple, Dickie Moore, Guy Kibbee | Drama | United Artists |
| Moontide | Archie Mayo | Jean Gabin, Ida Lupino, Claude Rains | Drama | 20th Century Fox |
| Mrs. Miniver | William Wyler | Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Teresa Wright | War drama | MGM; won 6 Oscars including Garson, Wright and Best Picture |
| The Mummy's Tomb | Harold Young | Lon Chaney, Jr., Dick Foran | Horror | Universal |
| My Favorite Blonde | Sidney Lanfield | Bob Hope, Madeleine Carroll | Comedy | Paramount |
| My Favorite Duck | | Porky Pig and Daffy Duck | Animated comedy | |
| My Gal Sal | Irving Cummings | Rita Hayworth, Victor Mature, Phil Silvers | Musical biopic | 20th Century Fox |
| My Sister Eileen | Alexander Hall | Rosalind Russell, Janet Blair | Musical | Columbia |
| 'Neath Brooklyn Bridge | Wallace Fox | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall | Comedy | Monogram |
| The News Parade of the Year 1942 | Eugene W. Castle | | Short documentary | |
| Night Monster | Ford Beebe | Bela Lugosi | Mystery horror | Universal |
| Night Plane from Chungking | Ralph Murphy | Robert Preston | War drama | Paramount |
| Now, Voyager | Irving Rapper | Bette Davis, Claude Rains, Gladys Cooper | Drama | Warner Bros.; won Oscar for Music Score |
|
O-S
| Title |
Director |
Cast |
Genre |
Notes |
| Orchestra Wives | Archie Mayo | Ann Rutherford, George Montgomery | Musical | 20th Century Fox |
| Overland Mail | Ford Beebe | Noah Beery, Jr. | Western | Universal |
| The Palm Beach Story | Preston Sturges | Claudette Colbert, Joel McCrea, Mary Astor, Rudy Vallée | Screwball comedy | Paramount |
| Panama Hattie | Norman Z. McLeod | Red Skelton, Ann Sothern | Musical | MGM |
| Pardon My Sarong | Erle C. Kenton | Abbott and Costello | Comedy | Universal |
| Perils of Nyoka | William Witney | Kay Aldridge | Action adventure | Republic |
| Phantom Killer | William Beaudine | Dick Purcell, Joan Woodbury | Romantic mystery | Monogram |
| The Pied Piper | Irving Pichel | Monty Woolley, Roddy McDowall | War | 20th Century Fox |
| Pittsburgh | Lewis Seiler | John Wayne, Marlene Dietrich, Randolph Scott | Drama | Universal |
| The Pride of the Yankees | Sam Wood | Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright | Baseball biopic | RKO; story of Lou Gehrig |
| Puss 'n' Toots | William Hanna, Joseph Barbera | | Short animation | MGM |
| Random Harvest | Mervyn LeRoy | Ronald Colman, Greer Garson | Drama | MGM; 7 Oscar nominations |
| Reap the Wild Wind | Cecil B. DeMille | John Wayne, Paulette Goddard, Ray Milland | Adventure | Paramount |
| Reunion in France | Jules Dassin | Joan Crawford, John Wayne, Philip Dorn | Drama | MGM |
| Ride 'Em Cowboy | Arthur Lubin | Abbott and Costello | Comedy | Universal |
| Rings on Her Fingers | Rouben Mamoulian | Henry Fonda, Gene Tierney | Comedy | 20th Century Fox |
| Rio Rita | S. Sylvan Simon | Abbott and Costello | Comedy | MGM |
| Road to Morocco | David Butler | Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour | Musical comedy | Paramount; third in Road series |
| Roxie Hart | William A. Wellman | Ginger Rogers | Comedy | adaptation of play Chicago |
| Saboteur | Alfred Hitchcock | Robert Cummings | Thriller | Paramount |
| Safeguarding Military Information | John Huston | | Propaganda short | |
| Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror | John Rawlins | Basil Rathbone | Mystery | 20th Century Fox |
| Ship Ahoy | Edward Buzzell | Eleanor Powell | Musical comedy | MGM |
| Sin Town | Ray Enright | Constance Bennett, Broderick Crawford | Western | Universal |
| Somewhere I'll Find You | Wesley Ruggles | Clark Gable, Lana Turner | Romance | MGM |
| Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake | John Cromwell | Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney | Adventure | 20th Century Fox |
| Song of the Islands | Walter Lang | Betty Grable, Victor Mature, Jack Oakie | Musical | 20th Century Fox |
| Sons of the Pioneers | Joseph Kane | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes | Western | Republic |
| The Spoilers | Ray Enright | John Wayne, Marlene Dietrich, Randolph Scott | Western | Universal |
| Springtime in the Rockies | Irving Cummings | Betty Grable, John Payne, Cesar Romero | Musical | 20th Century Fox |
| Spy Smasher | William Witney | Kane Richmond, Marguerite Chapman | Spy serial | Republic |
| The Squawkin' Hawk | Chuck Jones | | Animated short | Warner Bros. |
| Street of Chance | Jack Hively | Burgess Meredith, Claire Trevor | Crime | Paramount |
| Sweater Girl | William Clemens | Eddie Bracken, June Preisser | Musical | Paramount |
|
T-Z
| Title |
Director |
Cast |
Genre |
Notes |
| Take a Letter, Darling | Mitchell Leisen | Rosalind Russell, Fred MacMurray | Comedy | Paramount |
| A Tale of Two Kitties | Bob Clampett | | Animation | |
| Tales of Manhattan | Julien Duvivier | Charles Boyer, Rita Hayworth, Ginger Rogers, Henry Fonda, Charles Laughton, Edward G. Robinson, Paul Robeson | Drama, comedy; 6 separate stories | 20th Century Fox |
| The Talk of the Town | George Stevens | Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Ronald Colman | Screwball comedy | Columbia |
| Tarzan's New York Adventure | Richard Thorpe | Johnny Weissmuller | Action | MGM |
| Tennessee Johnson | William Dieterle | Van Heflin, Lionel Barrymore | Biography | MGM |
| There's One Born Every Minute | Devin Grady | Hugh Herbert, Peggy Moran | Comedy | Universal |
| This Above All | Anatole Litvak | Tyrone Power, Joan Fontaine | Romance | 20th Century Fox |
| This Gun for Hire | Frank Tuttle | Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake | Crime thriller | Paramount |
| To Be or Not to Be | Ernst Lubitsch | Carole Lombard, Jack Benny | Screwball comedy | United Artists; remade in 1983 |
| To the Shores of Tripoli | H. Bruce Humberstone | Maureen O'Hara, John Payne | Romantic drama | 20th Century Fox |
| Tombstone, the Town Too Tough to Die | William McGann | Richard Dix | Western | story of Wyatt Earp |
| Tortilla Flat | Victor Fleming | Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr, John Garfield | Comedy drama | MGM; based on John Steinbeck book |
| Treat 'Em Rough | Ray Taylor | Eddie Albert | Boxing drama | |
| Two Yanks in Trinidad | Gregory Ratoff | Pat O'Brien, Brian Donlevy | Comedy/Spy | Columbia |
| Tulips Shall Grow | | | Animated short | nominated for Academy Award |
| The Undying Monster | John Brahm | James Ellison | Horror | 20th Century Fox |
| The Wabbit Who Came to Supper | I. Freleng | | Animated | Warner Bros. |
| Wake Island | John Farrow | Brian Donlevy, Robert Preston | War drama | Paramount |
| We Are the Marines | Louis de Rochemont | | War documentary | 20th Century Fox |
| White Cargo | Richard Thorpe | Hedy Lamarr, Walter Pidgeon, Richard Carlson | Romantic melodrama | MGM |
| Who Done It? | Erle C. Kenton | Abbott and Costello | Comedy | Universal |
| Winning Your Wings | John Huston | | Propaganda short | |
| Wild Bill Hickok Rides | Ray Enright | Constance Bennett, Bruce Cabot | Western | Warner Bros. |
| Woman of the Year | George Stevens | Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn | Romantic comedy | MGM; Oscar for screenplay |
| Wood for War | Arthur H. Wolf | | Propaganda short | |
| The World at War | Frank Capra | | Propaganda short | Produced by Office of War Information |
| Yankee Doodle Dandy | Michael Curtiz | James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston | Biography | Warner Bros.; 9 Academy Award nominations, Oscar for Cagney |
| You Were Never Lovelier | William A. Seiter | Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth | Musical comedy | Columbia |
| X Marks the Spot | George Sherman | Dick Purcell, Anne Jeffreys | Drama | |
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External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1942 films. |
