Top Movies of 1940s


The top movies of 1940s list is calculated by community movie ratings and members' "Top Movies List". Lists are updated daily.

91. Saboteur

Year of Release: 1942
Overall Rating: 2.9 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Adventure/Mystery
MPAA Rating: PG
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Actors: Priscilla Lane, Robert Cummings, Otto Kruger, Alan Baxter, Clem Bevans, Norman Lloyd
Plot: A factory worker (Robert Cummings) is blamed for an act of sabotage at an airplane factory. The fugitive then attempts to track down the man who framed him, uncovering a wealthy network of domestic terrorists along the way.

92. On the Town

Year of Release: 1949
Overall Rating: 2.9 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Comedy/Musical
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly
Actors: Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Ann Miller, Betty Garrett, Alice Pearce, Vera-Ellen
Plot: Three sailors on a day of shore leave in New York City look for fun and
romance before their twenty-four hours are up.

93. The Snake Pit

Year of Release: 1948
Overall Rating: 2.9 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Drama/Mystery
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: Anatole Litvak
Actors: Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, Leo Genn, Celeste Holm, Glenn Langan, Helen Craig
Plot: Virginia Cunningham wakes up in state mental asylum with no memory of how
she got there. Through flashbacks, we see her relationship with her
husband, Robert, and early symptoms to her current plight. Dr. Mark Kik
attempts to get the root of the problem while fear and the regimental
attitude keep Virginia in a constant state of misery.

94. Larceny, Inc.

Year of Release: 1942
Overall Rating: 3.2 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Comedy/Crime
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: Lloyd Bacon
Actors: Edward G. Robinson, Jane Wyman, Broderick Crawford, Jack Carson, Anthony Quinn, Harry Davenport
Plot: A gangster buys a luggage store to break into the bank next door but
decides not to after the store starts making a profit

95. Holiday Inn

Year of Release: 1942
Overall Rating: 2.9 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Comedy/Drama
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: Mark Sandrich
Actors: Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds, Virginia Dale, Walter Abel, Louise Beavers
Plot: At a country estate that is open to guests only on the holidays a crooner and a dancer vie for the affections of a new performer.

96. The Lady from Shanghai

Year of Release: 1948
Overall Rating: 2.9 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Mystery/Crime
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Orson Welles
Actors: Orson Welles, Rita Hayworth, Everett Sloane, Ted de Corsia, Glenn Anders, Gus Schilling
Plot: A sailer gets mixed up with a gorgeous woman and a murder plot in which he may or may not be involved in.

97. Ball of Fire

Year of Release: 1941
Overall Rating: 2.9 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Comedy/Romance
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: Howard Hawks
Actors: Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Oskar Homolka, Henry Travers, S.Z. Sakall, Tully Marshall
Plot: What happens when sexy nightclub singer in trouble with the mob meet up with a group of lexicographers looking to build up their slang knowledge?

98. Fort Apache

Year of Release: 1948
Overall Rating: 2.8 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Western
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: John Ford
Actors: John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Shirley Temple, Pedro Armendáriz, Ward Bond, George O'Brien
Plot: Owen Thursday is a man who believes he is destined for great things. Posted at the lonesome, desolate Fort Apache, his arrogance and obsession leads him to forming a plan to destroy the Apache chief Cochise across the Mexican border, against the better judgement of his subordinates.

99. Life with Father

Year of Release: 1947
Overall Rating: 2.9 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Comedy
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: Michael Curtiz
Actors: William Powell, Irene Dunne, Elizabeth Taylor, Edmund Gwenn, Zasu Pitts, Jimmy Lydon
Plot: A man runs his family - consisting of his wife and four sons - with the meticulous nature of a bookkeeper. Yet behind the scenes, his wife really holds the reigns - and he has to deal with fact his sons are growing up. But when it comes to light he has never been baptized, it has everyone up in arms.

100. The Fallen Idol

Year of Release: 1949
Overall Rating: 2.9 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Drama/Thriller
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: Carol Reed
Actors: Ralph Richardson, Michèle Morgan, Sonia Dresdel, Bobby Henrey, Denis O'Dea, Jack Hawkins
Plot: Events of the story are scene through the eyes of an impressionable, young son of a diplomat who, though he wants to protect his friends and his butler, Baines, his actions almost certainly mean Baines will be charged with the murder of his wife.

Are you sure you want to delete this comment?