Best movies of the 1940s
206 movies ranked according to 1,009 lists from 202 publishers
Ranks are positions on the all-time list, not a separate vote among 1940s movies.
908
Whisky Galore!1949
933
Oliver TwistDavid Lean1948
942
The Set-UpRobert Wise1949
946
Crossfire1947
948
The Spiral StaircaseRobert Siodmak1946
1060
High SierraRaoul Walsh1940
1062
The FountainheadKing Vidor1949
1129
The Seventh VictimMark Robson1943
1133
A Canterbury TaleMichael Powell and Emeric Pressburger1944
1142
Les Dames du Bois de BoulogneRobert Bresson1945
1149
Jour de Fete1949
1150
All that Money Can Buy1941
1162
Foreign CorrespondentAlfred Hitchcock1940
1164
Hail the Conquering HeroPreston Sturges1944
1170
Intruder in the Dust1949
1171
It Always Rains on Sunday1947
1172
Murder, My SweetEdward Dmytryk1944
1175
Miracle on 34th StreetGeorge Seaton1947
1186
A Tree Grows in BrooklynElia Kazan1945
1192
The Picture of Dorian GrayAlbert Lewin1945
1194
Woman of the YearGeorge Stevens1942
1196
Sitting Pretty1948
1197
All the King's MenRobert Rossen1949
1199
A Walk in the Sun1945
1205
The LetterWilliam Wyler1940
1208
The Great McGinty1940
1235
Arsenic and Old LaceFrank Capra1944
1237
The Fallen IdolCarol Reed1948
1283
Le CorbeauHenri-Georges Clouzot1943
1325
The More the MerrierGeorge Stevens1943
1333
The Postman Always Rings TwiceTay Garnett1946
1347
The Sea Hawk1940
1399
Kings Row1942
1400
Passport to PimlicoHenry Cornelius1949
1412
The Southerner1945
1417
Heaven Can WaitErnst Lubitsch1943
1420
And Then There Were None1945
1423
The Man Who Came to Dinner1942
1426
Green for Danger1946
1430
Here Comes Mr. Jordan1941
1435
Key LargoJohn Huston1948
1438
The Way to the Stars1945
1439
Pride and Prejudice1940
1440
The Naked CityJules Dassin1948
1443
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House1948
1454
My Universities1940
1458
The Talk of the Town1942
1459
Five Graves to CairoBilly Wilder1943
1460
Jane Eyre1944
1465
Major Barbara1941
1470
Hue and CryCharles Crichton1947
1474
This Gun For Hire1942
1477
Blithe SpiritDavid Lean1945
1478
I Married a Witch1942
1479
State of the Union1948
1480
The Moon and Sixpence1942
1483
The Body Snatcher1945
1484
The Paleface1948
1485
The House on 92nd Street1945
1488
The Fugitive1947
1489
Boomerang!1947
1496
The Mark of Zorro1940
1499
Random HarvestMervyn Leroy1942
1501
For Me and My Gal1942
1504
Saboteur1942
1514
The Black Swan1942
1516
The Woman in the WindowFritz Lang1944
1526
GaslightThorold Dickinson1940
1532
Samson and Delilah1949
1546
Dance, Girl, DanceDorothy Arzner1940
1548
Louisiana StoryRobert Flaherty1948
1552
Twelve O'Clock HighHenry King1949
1553
The Mortal StormFrank Borzage1940
1554
The Long Voyage Home1940
1558
ShoeshineVittorio De Sica1946
1559
Sergeant YorkHoward Hawks1941
1561
SuspicionAlfred Hitchcock1941
1562
The Snake Pit1948
1563
SpellboundAlfred Hitchcock1945
1570
The HeiressWilliam Wyler1949
1586
Brighton RockJohn Boulting1948
1894
The Overlanders1946
1908
Kiss of Death1947
1915
The Major and the Minor1942
1916
The PirateVincente Minnelli1948
1918
Man Hunt1941
1940
A Letter to Three WivesJoseph L. Mankiewicz1949
1948
The Window1949
1952
Les visiteurs du soir1942
1956
Sands of Iwo JimaAllan Dwan1949
1959
The Yearling1946
1961
Story of G.I. JoeWilliam A. Wellman1945
1970
In Which We ServeNoël Coward and David Lean1942
1971
BattlegroundWilliam A. Wellman1949
1980
The Search1948
1982
Scarlet StreetFritz Lang1945
1984
Dark Passage1947
1986
Easter ParadeCharles Walters1948
1997
The Stranger1946
1998
Stars in My CrownJacques Tourneur1949
2001
The Leopard Man1943
2014
Ball of FireHoward Hawks1941
2025
The Battle of San Pietro1945
2030
The Big Clock1948
2031
The Reckless MomentMax Ophuls1949
2038
I Remember Mama1948
2047
For Whom the Bell Tolls1943
2048
A Foreign AffairBilly Wilder1948
2050
Going My WayLeo McCarey1944
2054
HamletLaurence Olivier1948
2112
Nightmare AlleyEdmund Goulding1947
2113
The Lodger1944
2115
Stranger on the Third Floor1940
2117
The Blue Dahlia1946
2118
Body and SoulRobert Rossen1947
2119
I Was a Male War Bride1949
2121
Fires Were StartedHumphrey Jennings1943
2128
Listen to BritainHumphrey Jennings and Stewart McAllister1942