1944 in film

• March 16 – MGM's supernatural romantic drama A Guy Named Joe, starring Spencer Tracy and Irene Dunne, opens in Los Angeles.
• May 3 – The musical comedy drama Going My Way, directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald, premieres in New York City. It opens in Los Angeles on August 16. The highest-grossing picture of the year, it goes on to win a total of seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture; Best Director for McCarey; Best Actor for Crosby; Best Supporting Actor for Fitzgerald (who, in an anomaly, was also nominated in lead, prompting a rule change); and Best Original Song for "Swinging on a Star".
• May 13 – Dale Evans appears in her first film with future husband, Roy Rogers – Cowboy and the Senorita.
• July 20 – Home front drama Since You Went Away is released in the United States.
• August 16–September 11 – Nazi propaganda documentary Theresienstadt is filmed in the Theresienstadt Ghetto. Following completion of filming, co-director Kurt Gerron and many of those featured are transported to Auschwitz concentration camp and murdered; although completed in 1945, the film is never released.^[1]
• September 6 – Crime thriller film noir Double Indemnity is released in the United States.
• September – Around 640 motion picture actors, writers and directors are included on the Gottbegnadeten list in Nazi Germany, protecting them from military conscription.
• November 22 – MGM's musical Meet Me in St. Louis, starring Judy Garland and Margaret O'Brien, premieres. Hugely popular with both audiences and critics, the film is nominated for four Academy Awards.

The top ten 1944 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Films produced in the United States unless stated otherwise

• Black Arrow
• Captain America, starring Dick Purcell
• The Desert Hawk, starring Gilbert Roland and Charles Middleton
• The Great Alaskan Mystery
• Haunted Harbor, starring Kane Richmond
• Mystery of the River Boat
• Raiders of Ghost City
• The Tiger Woman, starring Linda Stirling
• Zorro's Black Whip, starring Linda Stirling

• Our Gang (1922-1944)
• 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)
• Porky Pig (1935–1965)
• Daffy Duck (1937–1968)
• Goofy (1939–1955)
• Andy Panda (1939–1949)
• Tom and Jerry (1940–1958)
• Bugs Bunny (1940–1964)
• Woody Woodpecker (1941–1949)
• Swing Symphonies (1941–1945)
• The Fox and the Crow (1941–1950)
• Red Hot Riding Hood (1943–1949)
• Droopy (1943–1958)
• Screwball Squirrel (1944–1946)
• Sylvester the Cat (1944–1966)

• January 5 – Franco Ferrini, Italian screenwriter
• January 9 – Harun Farocki, German filmmaker (died 2014)
• January 10 – William Sanderson, American actor
• January 13 – Mike Edmonds, English actor
• January 20 – Margaret Avery, American actress
• January 22 – Pamela Salem, British actress (died 2024)
• January 23 – Rutger Hauer, Dutch actor (died 2019)^[8]
• January 25 – Zully Montero, Cuban actress
• January 28 – Andrew Jack, British dialect coach and actor (died 2020)
• February 1 – Leo Burmester, American actor (died 2007)
• February 3 – Trisha Noble, Australian singer and actress (died 2021)
• February 8
  • Richard Durden, English actor
  • Roger Lloyd-Pack, English actor (died 2014)
  • Michael P. Moran, American actor (died 2004)
• February 13
  • Yves Afonso, French actor (died 2018)
  • Stockard Channing, American actress
  • Michael Ensign, American actor
• February 14 – Alan Parker, English director, producer and screenwriter (died 2020)
• February 22 – Jonathan Demme, American director, producer and screenwriter (died 2017)
• February 29 – Dennis Farina, American actor (died 2013)
• March 5 – Peter Weibel, Ukrainian-born Austrian experimental filmmaker
• March 6 – Harold Hopkins, Australian actor (died 2011)
• March 10 – Richard Gant, American actor
• March 14 – Steve Daskewisz, American actor and stunt double (died 2018)
• March 19 – Guy Thauvette, Canadian actor
• March 24 – R. Lee Ermey, American film, television and voice actor (died 2018)
• March 26 – Diana Ross, American singer and actress
• March 28 – Ken Howard, American actor (died 2016)
• April 4 – Craig T. Nelson, American actor
• April 5 – Willeke van Ammelrooy, Dutch actress
• April 6 – Anita Pallenberg, Italian-born actress and model (died 2017)
• April 8 – Joey D. Vieira, American actor (died 2025)
• April 13 – Charles Burnett, American director
• April 30 – Jill Clayburgh, American actress (died 2010)
• May 4 – Russi Taylor, American voice actress (died 2019)
• May 5
  • Roger Rees, Welsh actor and director (died 2015)
  • John Rhys-Davies, English actor
• May 8 - Carole Skinner, Australian retired actress
• May 10 – Jim Abrahams, American director, producer and screenwriter (died 2024)
• May 14 – George Lucas, American director, producer and screenwriter
• May 16 – Danny Trejo, American actor and voice actor
• May 19
  • Peter Mayhew, English actor (died 2019)
  • Frank Pellegrino, American actor (died 2017)
• May 25 – Frank Oz, American actor, filmmaker and puppeteer
• May 26
  • Olga Bisera, Yugoslav-born Italian actress and producer
  • Andre Stojka, American voice actor and singer
• May 28
  • Sondra Locke, American actress (died 2018)
  • Clement von Franckenstein, English actor (died 2019)
• May 29 – Helmut Berger, Austrian actor (died 2023)
• June 5 – Colm Wilkinson, Irish singer and actor
• June 11 – Roscoe Orman, American actor
• June 12 – Terence Kelly, Canadian actor
• June 14 – Joe Grifasi, American character actor
• June 20 – Oliver Cotton, English actor, comedian and playwright
• June 21 – Tony Scott, British director and producer (died 2012)
• June 23 – Ingrīda Andriņa, Latvian actress (died 2015)
• June 24 – Julian Holloway, British actor (died 2025)
• June 27 – Paul Koslo, German-Canadian actor (died 2019)
• June 29 – Gary Busey, American actor
• July 1 – Wahid Hamed, Egyptian screenwriter (died 2021)
• July 2 – Viiu Härm, Estonian actress
• July 4 – Emilio Echevarria, Mexican actor (died 2025)
• July 8 – Jeffrey Tambor, American actor
• July 12 – Delia Ephron, American writer and producer
• July 17 – Catherine Schell, Hungarian-born British actress
• July 18 – Sverre Anker Ousdal, Norwegian actor (died 2026)
• July 22
  • Nick Brimble, English actor
  • Peter Jason, American character actor (died 2025)
• July 23 – Pepe Serna, American actor
• July 30
  • Frances de la Tour, English actress
  • Yoon Jeong-hee, South Korean actress
• July 31 – Geraldine Chaplin, American actress
• August 4 – Richard Belzer, American actor and stand-up comedian (died 2023)
• August 7
  • John Glover, American actor
  • David Rasche, American actor
• August 9 – Sam Elliott, American actor
• August 11 – Ian McDiarmid, Scottish actor
• August 13
  • Kevin Tighe, American actor
  • Dan Ziskie, American actor (died 2025)
• August 19 – John Roselius, American actor (died 2018)
• August 21 – Peter Weir, Australian director, producer and screenwriter
• August 25 – Anthony Heald, American character actor
• August 26 – Stephen Greif, English actor (died 2022)
• August 27 – G. W. Bailey, American actor
• August 30 – Wolf Roth, German actor
• September 1 – Beau Starr, American actor
• September 6 – Swoosie Kurtz, American actress
• September 13 – Jacqueline Bisset, English actress
• September 15 – Pik-Sen Lim, Malaysian-British actress (died 2025)
• September 16 – Michael Edwards, American actor
• September 20 – Jeremy Child, British actor (died 2022)
• September 21 – Fannie Flagg, American actress and comedian
• September 22
  • Kathe Green, American actress, model and singer
  • Frazer Hines, English actor
• September 24 – Sven-Ole Thorsen, Danish retired actor, stuntman, bodybuilder and strongman competitor
• September 25 – Michael Douglas, American actor and producer
• September 26 – Helmut Bakaitis, German-born Australian director, actor and screenwriter
• September 28 – Matthew Cowles, American actor (died 2014)
• September 30 – Jarlath Conroy, Irish actor
• October 1 – Jean-Pierre Castaldi, French actor
• October 8 – Dale Dye, American actor, technical advisor, radio personality and writer
• October 10 – Lii Tedre, Estonian actress
• October 14 – Udo Kier, German actor (died 2025)
• October 20 – Robert Swan, American actor (died 2023)
• October 28 – Dennis Franz, American actor
• November 2 – Patrice Chéreau, French filmmaker, actor and producer (died 2013)
• November 4 – Linda Gary, American actress, voice actress (died 1995)
• November 14 – Keith Drinkel, English actor
• November 17
  • Danny DeVito, American actor, comedian, producer and director
  • Gary Goldman, American animator, producer and director
  • Lorne Michaels, Canadian-American producer
• November 18 – Arthur J. Nascarella, American actor
• November 21 – Harold Ramis, American actor, director and screenwriter (died 2014)
• November 22 – Paul Brooke, retired English actor
• November 24 – Peter Maloney, American actor and director
• November 25
  • Paul Copley, English character actor
  • Will McMillan, American actor, producer and director (died 2015)
  • Ben Stein, American actor and comedian
• December 4 – Carol Sutton, American actress (died 2020)
• December 5 – Jeroen Krabbe, Dutch actor and director
• December 8 – Sharmila Tagore, Indian actress
• December 11 – Teri Garr, American actress (died 2024)
• December 12 – Kenneth Cranham, Scottish actor
• December 15 – Morgan Paull, American actor (died 2012)
• December 17 – Bernard Hill, English actor (died 2024)
• December 31 – Taylor Hackford, American director

• January 3 – Aage Hertel, Danish actor (born 1873)
• March 14 – Merta Sterling, American actress (born 1883)
• April 10 – Pat West, American actor (born 1888)
• July 14 – Emil Fjellström, Swedish actor (born 1884)
• July 18 – Alan Dinehart, American actor (born 1889)
• July 20 – Mildred Harris, American actress (born 1901)
• September 24 – Hugo Thimig, Austrian actor (born 1854)
• October 28 – Kurt Gerron, German film director (born 1897)
• November 27 – Jill Furse, British actress (born 1915)^[9]
• December 9 – Laird Cregar, American actor (born 1913)
• December 13 – Lupe Vélez, Mexican actress (born 1908)
• December 15 – Glenn Miller, American bandleader, actor (born 1904)