1943 in film

• January 23 – The film Casablanca is released nationally in the United States and becomes one of the top-grossing pictures of 1943. It goes on to win the Best Picture and Best Director awards at the 16th Academy Awards.
• February 20 – American film studio executives agree to allow the United States Office of War Information to censor films.^[1]
• June 1 – Veteran English stage and screen actor Leslie Howard dies at the age of 50 in the crash of BOAC Flight 777 off the coast of Galicia, Spain. While best remembered for his role as Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind, Howard had roles in many other notable films and was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
• December 31 – New York City's Times Square greets Frank Sinatra at Paramount Theatre.^[1]

The top ten 1943 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Films produced in the United States unless stated otherwise

United States

• Adventures of the Flying Cadets
• The Adventures of Smilin' Jack
• Batman, starring Lewis Wilson
• Daredevils of the West, starring Allan Lane, directed by John English
• Don Winslow of the Coast Guard
• G-Men vs the Black Dragon, starring Rod Cameron, directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet
• The Masked Marvel, directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet
• The Phantom, starring Tom Tyler
• Secret Service in Darkest Africa, starring Rod Cameron, directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet

• Buster Keaton (1917–1944)
• Laurel and Hardy (1921-1945)
• Our Gang (1922–1944)
• The Marx Brothers (1929–1946)
• The Three Stooges (1934–1959)

• Mickey Mouse (1928–1953)
• Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
• Terrytoons (1930–1964)
• Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
• Popeye (1933–1957)
• Color Rhapsodies (1934–1949)
• Donald Duck (1934–1956)
• Daffy Duck (1937 – 1966)
• Goofy (1939–1955)
• Andy Panda (1939–1949)
• Tom and Jerry (1940–1958)
• Woody Woodpecker (1941–1949)
• Swing Symphonies (1941–1945)
• The Fox and the Crow (1941–1950)
• Red Hot Riding Hood (1943–1949)
• Chip 'n' Dale (1943–1956)
• Droopy (1943–1958)

• January 1
  • Stanley Kamel, American actor (died 2008)
  • Don Novello, American writer, film director, producer, actor, singer and comedian
• January 13 – Richard Moll, American actor (died 2023)
• January 14 – Holland Taylor, American actress
• January 18
  • Paul Angelis, English actor and writer (died 2009)
  • Paul Freeman, English actor
• January 19 – Larry Clark, American director, producer and writer
• January 23 - Gil Gerard, American actor (died 2025)
• January 24 – Sharon Tate, American actress and model (murdered 1969)
• January 25 – Tobe Hooper, American director and screenwriter (died 2017)
• January 26
  • Soad Hosny, Egyptian actress (died 2001)
  • Kathryn Leigh Scott, American actress and writer
• January 28 – John Beck, American actor
• January 31 – Peter McRobbie, Scottish-born American actor
• February 1 – Linda Gaye Scott, American actress
• February 3
  • Blythe Danner, American actress
  • Seizō Fukumoto, Japanese actor (died 2021)
• February 5 – Michael Mann, American director, screenwriter and producer
• February 9 – Joe Pesci, American actor
• February 13 – Donald Sumpter, British actor
• February 20 – Mike Leigh, English director
• February 25 – George Harrison, English musician and songwriter (died 2001)
• February 26 – Bill Duke, American actor and director
• March 8 – Lynn Redgrave, English actress (died 2010)
• March 15 – David Cronenberg, Canadian director and screenwriter
• March 25 – Paul Michael Glaser, American actor and director
• March 26 – Giusi Merli, Italian actress
• March 28 – Conchata Ferrell, American actress (died 2020)
• March 29
  • Eric Idle, English actor, comedian, author and musician
  • Vangelis, Greek-born film composer (died 2022)
• March 31 – Christopher Walken, American actor
• April 3 – Jonathan Lynn, English director, producer, writer and actor
• April 5 – Max Gail, American actor
• April 8 – Jack O'Halloran, American actor
• April 10 – Tom Pollock, American producer (died 2020)
• April 20 – Edie Sedgwick, American actress, socialite, model and heiress (died 1971)
• April 26 – Leon Pownall, Welsh-Canadian actor (died 2006)
• May 5 – Michael Palin, English actor, comedian and musician
• May 7 – Donal McCann, Irish actor (died 1999)
• May 10 – David Clennon, American actor
• May 21 – - Shannon Wilcox, American character actress (died 2023)
• May 25 – Leslie Uggams, American actress and singer
• May 27 – Raye Birk, American actor
• June 2
  • Charles Haid, American actor and film director
  • Kevork Malikyan, English-Armenian actor
• June 4 – Tom Luddy, American producer (died 2023)
• June 7 – Michael Pennington, English actor, director and writer (died 2026)
• June 8 – Colin Baker, English actor
• June 11
  • Annabella Incontrera, Italian film and television actress (died 2004)
  • Oleg Vidov, Russian-American actor, director and producer (died 2017)
• June 13 – Malcolm McDowell, English actor
• June 19 – Peter Belli, Danish actor and singer (died 2023)
• June 22
  • Judith Barker, English actress
  • Klaus Maria Brandauer, Austrian actor and director
• June 23 – Patrick Bokanowski, French director
• June 24 – George Stanford Brown, American actor and director
• June 26 - John Beasley, American actor (died 2023)
• July 3 – Kurtwood Smith, American actor
• July 7 – Robert East, Welsh actor
• July 11 – Tom Holland, American screenwriter, actor and director
• July 20 - Christopher Murney, American actor
• July 21
  • Michael Caton, Australian actor, comedian and television host
  • Edward Herrmann, American actor (died 2014)
• July 25 – Janet Margolin, American actress (died 1993)
• July 26 – Mick Jagger, English singer, songwriter, actor, filmmaker and dancer
• July 28 – Frances Lee McCain, American actress
• July 29 – Jim Ishida, Japanese-American character actor
• August 2 – Richard Fancy, American actor and comedian
• August 6 – Ray Buktenica, American character actor
• August 15 – Barbara Bouchet, German-American actress
• August 17 – Robert De Niro, American actor
• August 18 – Martin Mull, American actor and comedian (died 2024)
• August 20 – Sylvester McCoy, Scottish actor
• August 21
  • Lino Capolicchio, Italian actor, screenwriter and director (died 2022)
  • Hugh Wilson, American director, writer, television showrunner and actor (died 2018)
• August 27 – Tuesday Weld, American actress
• August 28 – David Soul, American-British actor and singer (died 2024)
• August 30 – Miri Fabian, Israeli actress
• September 1 – Don Stroud, American actor and musician
• September 3 – Valerie Perrine, American actress and model
• September 5 – Jack Charles, Australian actor (died 2022)
• September 6 – Roger Waters, English singer-songwriter, musician and political activist
• September 9 – Art LaFleur, American character actor and acting coach (died 2021)
• September 10 – Daniel Truhitte, American actor
• September 19 – Diana Bellamy, American character actress (died 2001)
• September 21 – Jerry Bruckheimer, American producer
• September 23 – Toni Basil, American singer, actress and director
• September 24 – Randall Duk Kim, Korean American stage, film and television actor
• September 28 – J. T. Walsh, American character actor (died 1998)
• September 30 – Ian Ogilvy, English actor, playwright and novelist
• October 4 – John Bindon, English actor and bodyguard (died 1993)
• October 5 – Jennifer Hagan, Australian actress
• October 8 – Chevy Chase, American actor and comedian
• October 9 – Peter Faber, Dutch actor (died 2026)
• October 12 – Lin Shaye, American actress
• October 15 – Penny Marshall, American television actress, film director and producer (died 2018)
• October 16 – Christopher Mitchum, American film actor, screenwriter, and businessman
• October 20 – George Wyner, American actor
• October 22
  • Jan de Bont, Dutch cinematographer, director and producer
  • Catherine Deneuve, French actress
• October 24 – Martin Campbell, New Zealand director
• October 27 – Carmen Argenziano, American actor (died 2019)
• October 29
  • Christopher Cain, American director, screenwriter and producer
  • Margaret Nolan, English actress (died 2020)
  • Don Simpson, American producer, screenwriter and actor (died 1996)
• November 1 – John McEnery, English actor and writer (died 2019)
• November 5 – Sam Shepard, American actor (died 2017)
• November 7 – Michael Byrne, British actor (died 2026)
• November 10 – William Hoyland, English actor (died 2017)
• November 12
  • Valerie Leon, English actress and model
  • Wallace Shawn, American actor
• November 16 – Wai Ching Ho, Hong Kong actress (died 2026)
• November 17 – Olga Damani, Greek actress
• November 20 – Mie Hama, Japanese former actress, television presenter, radio presenter, and author
• November 23 – Tony Bonner, Australian actor and singer
• November 28
  • George T. Miller, Scottish-Australian director and producer (died 2023)
  • Randy Newman, American singer, film composer
• November 30 - Letty Aronson, American producer
• December 2 – Henry Kingi, American stuntman and actor
• December 8 – Mary Woronov, American actress and writer
• December 12
  • Gianni Russo, American actor and singer
  • Phyllis Somerville, American actress (died 2020)
• December 13 – Arturo Ripstein, Mexican director
• December 16 – Patti Deutsch, American voice artist, actress and comedian (died 2017)
• December 19 – Sam Kelly, English actor (died 2014)
• December 21 – Jack Nance, American actor (died 1996)
• December 23 – Harry Shearer, American voice actor
• December 25 – David Darlow, American actor
• December 31
  • Ben Kingsley, English actor
  • Victor Raider-Wexler, American actor

• January 25 – Spencer Charters, 67, American actor, The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine, The Postman Didn't Ring
• February 14 – Dora Gerson, 43, German actress, Caravan of Death, On the Brink of Paradise, murdered in Auschwitz concentration camp
• February 19 – Lynne Overman, 58, American actor, Little Miss Marker, Union Pacific, Dixie
• February 20 – Donald Haines, 23, American child actor, Skippy, A Tale of Two Cities, killed in action on North Africa campaign
• March 10 – Tully Marshall, 78, American actor, Paid in Full, The Big Trail
• April 3 – Conrad Veidt, 50, German actor, Casablanca, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Thief of Baghdad, The Spy in Black, heart attack
• June 1 – Leslie Howard, 50, Academy Award-nominated British actor, Gone with the Wind, Pygmalion, The Petrified Forest, Of Human Bondage, aviation accident
• June 30 – Carlo Wieth, 57, Danish actor, heart attack
• July 16 – Arthur Byron, 71, American actor, 20,000 Years in Sing Sing, Gabriel Over the White House
• November 24 – Frank Sheridan, 74, American actor