The year 1944 in film involved some significant events, including the wholesome, award-winning Going My Way plus popular murder mysteries such as Double Indemnity, Gaslight and Laura.

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

• March 10 – MGM's supernatural romantic drama A Guy Named Joe, starring Spencer Tracy and Irene Dunne, is released nationally in the United States.
• 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. The highest-grossing picture of the year, it goes on to win a total of seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for McCary, Best Actor for Crosby 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.^[6]
• 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.

United States unless stated

• 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)
• Scrappy (1931–1941)
• 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 (1940–1962)
• 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 23 – Rutger Hauer, Dutch actor (died 2019)^[8]
• February 3 – Trisha Noble, Australian singer and actress (died 2021)
• February 8 - Roger Lloyd-Pack, English actor (died 2014)
• February 13
  • 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
• April 4 – Craig T. Nelson, American actor
• April 6 – Anita Pallenberg, Italian-born actress and model (died 2017)
• April 8 - Joey D. Vieira, American actor
• 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 10 – Jim Abrahams, American director, producer and screenwriter
• 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)
• May 29 - Helmut Berger, Austrian actor (died 2023)
• 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
• June 29 – Gary Busey, American actor
• July 1 – Wahid Hamed, Egyptian screenwriter (died 2021)
• July 2 – Viiu Härm, Estonian actress
• July 8 – Jeffrey Tambor, American actor
• July 17 – Catherine Schell, Hungarian-born British actress
• July 22 - Peter Jason, American character actor
• 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
• August 9 – Sam Elliott, American actor
• August 11 – Ian McDiarmid, Scottish actor
• 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 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
• 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 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)
• 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
• October 20 - Robert Swan, American actor (died 2023)
• October 28 – Dennis Franz, American actor
• November 4 – Linda Gary, American actress, voice actress (died 1995)
• November 17
  • Danny DeVito, American actor, comedian, producer and director
  • Gary Goldman, American animator, producer and director
  • Lorne Michaels, Canadian-American producer
• November 21 – Harold Ramis, American actor, director and screenwriter (died 2014)
• November 22 - Paul Brooke, retired English actor
• November 25
  • 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 12 – Kenneth Cranham, Scottish actor
• December 15 – Morgan Paull, American actor (died 2012)
• December 17 – Bernard Hill, English actor

• 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)

• Forrest J Ackerman – Hey, Rookie
• Michael Ansara – Action in Arabia
• Lauren Bacall – To Have and Have Not
• Ann Blyth – Chip Off the Old Block
• Steve Brodie – Ladies Courageous
• Red Buttons – Winged Victory
• Rory Calhoun – Something for the Boys
• Petula Clark – Medal for the General
• Peggy Ann Clifford – One Exciting Night
• Margia Dean – Casanova in Burlesque
• Guy Deghy – Mr. Emmanuel
• John Derek – Since You Went Away
• Richard Erdman – Mr. Skeffington
• Mona Freeman – Double Indemnity
• Gloria Grahame – Blonde Fever
• Skip Homeier – Tomorrow, the World!
• Victoria Horne – Phantom Lady
• Trevor Howard – The Way Ahead
• James Robertson Justice – For Those in Peril
• Hardy Krüger – Junge Adler
• Angela Lansbury – Gaslight
• Guy Madison – Since You Went Away
• Kevin McCarthy – Winged Victory
• Lilia Michel – Naná
• Anthony Newley – Henry V
• Jane Nigh – Laura
• Janis Paige – Bathing Beauty
• Gregory Peck – Days of Glory
• Tatyana Pelttser – The Wedding
• Alan Reed – Days of Glory
• Enriqueta Reza – La vida inútil de Pito Pérez
• Zachary Scott – The Mask of Dimitrios
• Jean Simmons – Give Us the Moon