The Best Movies From The 1940s
“What are the best 1940s Movies?” We looked at 192 of the top 1940s films, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!
The top 36 films, all appearing on 3 or more “Best 1940s” movie lists, are ranked below by how many times they appear. The remaining 150+ movies, as well as the sources we used, are in alphabetical order on the bottom of the page.
Happy Scrolling!
Top 36 Best 1940s Movies Ever Made
36 .) Fantasia (1940) directed by Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, James Algar
Lists It Appears On:
- List Challenges
- NWI Times
- Paste Magazine
Walt Disney’s timeless masterpiece is an extravaganza of sight and sound! See the music come to life, hear the pictures burst into song and experience the excitement that is Fantasia over and over again.
35 .) Late Spring (1949) directed by Yasujirō Ozu
Lists It Appears On:
- NWI Times
- Paste Magazine
- White City Cinema
Noriko is perfectly happy living at home with her widowed father, Shukichi, and has no plans to marry – that is, until her aunt Masa convinces Shukichi that unless he marries off his 27-year-old daughter soon, she will likely remain alone for the rest of her life. When Noriko resists Masa’s matchmaking, Shukichi is forced to deceive his daughter and sacrifice his own happiness to do what he believes is right.
34 .) Miracle on 34th Street (1947) directed by George Seaton
Lists It Appears On:
- IMDB
- Paste Magazine
- Stuff Nobody Cares About
Kris Kringle, seemingly the embodiment of Santa Claus, is asked to portray the jolly old fellow at Macy’s following his performance in the Thanksgiving Day parade. His portrayal is so complete that many begin to question if he truly is Santa Claus, while others question his sanity.
33 .) My Darling Clementine (1946) directed by John Ford
Lists It Appears On:
- IMDB 2
- List Challenges
- NWI Times
Wyatt Earp and his brothers Morgan and Virgil ride into Tombstone and leave brother James in charge of their cattle herd. On their return they find their cattle stolen and James dead. Wyatt takes on the job of town marshal, making his brothers deputies, and vows to stay in Tombstone until James’ killers are found. He soon runs into the brooding, coughing, hard-drinking Doc Holliday as well as the sullen and vicious Clanton clan. Wyatt discovers the owner of a trinket stolen from James’ dead body and the stage is set for the Earps’ long-awaited revenge. ×
32 .) Rope (1948) directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Lists It Appears On:
- Flick Chart
- IMDB 2
- Paste Magazine
Two young men strangle their “inferior” classmate, hide his body in their apartment, and invite his friends and family to a dinner party as a means to challenge the “perfection” of their crime.
31 .) The Lost Weekend (1945) directed by Billy Wilder
Lists It Appears On:
- IMDB 2
- NWI Times
- Stuff Nobody Cares About
Don Birnam, a long-time alcoholic, has been sober for ten days and appears to be over the worst… but his craving has just become more insidious. Evading a country weekend planned by his brother and girlfriend, he begins a four-day bender that just might be his last – one way or another.
30 .) The Ox-Bow Incident (1942) directed by William A. Wellman
Lists It Appears On:
- IMDB 2
- List Challenges
- NWI Times
Gil Carter and Art Croft ride into a small Nevada town plagued by cattle thieves. Initially suspected of being the rustlers themselves, Carter and Croft eventually join a posse out to get the criminals, who also may be involved in a recent shooting. When the posse closes in on a group that could be the fugitives, they must decide on a course of action, with numerous lives hanging in the balance.
29 .) To Have and Have Not (1944) directed by Howard Hawks
Lists It Appears On:
- IMDB 2
- NWI Times
- Paste Magazine
A Martinique charter boat skipper gets mixed up with the underground French resistance operatives during WWII.
28 .) Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) directed by Michael Curtiz
Lists It Appears On:
- IMDB 2
- List Challenges
- Stuff Nobody Cares About
A film of the life of the renowned musical composer, playwright, actor, dancer and singer George M. Cohan.
27 .) Key Largo (1948) directed by John Huston
Lists It Appears On:
- IMDB
- IMDB 2
- NWI Times
- Paste Magazine
A hurricane swells outside, but it’s nothing compared to the storm within the hotel at Key Largo. There, sadistic mobster Johnny Rocco holes up – and holds at gunpoint hotel owner James Temple, his widowed daughter-in-law Nora, and ex-GI Frank McCloud.
26 .) Red River (1948) directed by Howard Hawks
Lists It Appears On:
- Compass Classroom
- List Challenges
- NWI Times
- Paste Magazine
Dunson is driving his cattle to Red River when his adopted son, Matthew, turns against him.
25 .) Shadow of a Doubt (1943) directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Lists It Appears On:
- Flick Chart
- IMDB 2
- List Challenges
- NWI Times
A bored teen living in Santa Rosa, California, Charlotte “Charlie” Newton, is frustrated because nothing seems to be happening in her life and that of her family. Then, she receives wonderful news: her uncle (for whom she was named), Charlie Oakley, is arriving for a visit. But Uncle Charlie may not be the man he seems to be.
24 .) The Grapes of Wrath (1940) directed by John Ford
Lists It Appears On:
- IMDB
- List Challenges
- NWI Times
- Paste Magazine
Tom Joad returns to his home after a jail sentence to find his family kicked out of their farm due to foreclosure. He catches up with them on his Uncle’s farm, and joins them the next day as they head for California and a new life… Hopefully.
23 .) The Great Dictator (1940) directed by Charlie Chaplin
Lists It Appears On:
- Flick Chart
- List Challenges
- NWI Times
- Paste Magazine
Dictator Adenoid Hynkel tries to expand his empire while a poor Jewish barber tries to avoid persecution from Hynkel’s regime.
22 .) The Killers (1946) directed by Robert Siodmak
Lists It Appears On:
- IMDB 2
- List Challenges
- NWI Times
- Paste Magazine
Two hit men walk into a diner asking for a man called “the Swede”. When the killers find the Swede, he’s expecting them and doesn’t put up a fight. Since the Swede had a life insurance policy, an investigator, on a hunch, decides to look into the murder. As the Swede’s past is laid bare, it comes to light that he was in love with a beautiful woman who may have lured him into pulling off a bank robbery overseen by another man.
21 .) The Lady Eve (1941) directed by Preston Sturges
Lists It Appears On:
- IMDB
- IMDB 2
- List Challenges
- NWI Times
It’s no accident when wealthy Charles falls for Jean. Jean is a con artist with her sights set on Charles’ fortune. Matters complicate when Jean starts falling for her mark. When Charles suspects Jean is a gold digger, he dumps her. Jean, fixated on revenge and still pining for the millionaire, devises a plan to get back in Charles’ life. With love and payback on her mind, she re-introduces herself to Charles, this time as an aristocrat named Lady Eve Sidwich.
20 .) The Red Shoes (1948) directed by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Lists It Appears On:
- Flick Chart
- List Challenges
- NWI Times
- White City Cinema
In this classic drama, Vicky Page is an aspiring ballerina torn between her dedication to dance and her desire to love. While her imperious instructor, Boris Lermontov, urges to her to forget anything but ballet, Vicky begins to fall for the charming young composer Julian Craster. Eventually Vicky, under great emotional stress, must choose to pursue either her art or her romance, a decision that carries serious consequences.
19 .) His Girl Friday (1940) directed by Howard Hawks
Lists It Appears On:
- Flick Chart
- IMDB 2
- List Challenges
- NWI Times
- Paste Magazine
Hildy, the journalist former wife of newspaper editor Walter Burns, visits his office to inform him that she’s engaged and will be getting remarried the next day. Walter can’t let that happen and frames the fiancé, Bruce Baldwin, for one thing after another, to keep him temporarily held in prison, while trying to steer Hildy into returning to her old job as his employee.
18 .) Rebecca (1940) directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Lists It Appears On:
- Flick Chart
- IMDB 2
- List Challenges
- NWI Times
- Paste Magazine
Story of a young woman who marries a fascinating widower only to find out that she must live in the shadow of his former wife, Rebecca, who died mysteriously several years earlier. The young wife must come to grips with the terrible secret of her handsome, cold husband, Max De Winter. She must also deal with the jealous, obsessed Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper, who will not accept her as the mistress of the house.
17 .) Sullivan’s Travels (1941) directed by Preston Sturges
Lists It Appears On:
- Flick Chart
- IMDB
- List Challenges
- NWI Times
- Paste Magazine
Successful movie director John L. Sullivan, convinced he won’t be able to film his ambitious masterpiece until he has suffered, dons a hobo disguise and sets off on a journey, aiming to “know trouble” first-hand. When all he finds is a train ride back to Hollywood and a beautiful blonde companion, he redoubles his efforts, managing to land himself in more trouble than he bargained for when he loses his memory and ends up a prisoner on a chain gang.
16 .) The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) directed by William Wyler
Lists It Appears On:
- Compass Classroom
- IMDB 2
- List Challenges
- NWI Times
- White City Cinema
It’s the hope that sustains the spirit of every GI: the dream of the day when he will finally return home. For three WWII veterans, the day has arrived. But for each man, the dream is about to become a nightmare. Captain Fred Derry is returning to a loveless marriage; Sergeant Al Stephenson is a stranger to a family that’s grown up without him; and young sailor Homer Parrish is tormented by the loss of his hands. Can these three men find the courage to rebuild their world? Or are the best years of their lives a thing of the past? ×
15 .) The Big Sleep (1946) directed by Howard Hawks
Lists It Appears On:
- Flick Chart
- IMDB 2
- List Challenges
- NWI Times
- Paste Magazine
Private Investigator Philip Marlowe is hired by wealthy General Sternwood regarding a matter involving his youngest daughter Carmen. Before the complex case is over, Marlowe sees murder, blackmail, deception, and what might be love.
14 .) White Heat (1949) directed by Raoul Walsh
Lists It Appears On:
- IMDB
- IMDB 2
- List Challenges
- NWI Times
- Paste Magazine
A psychopathic criminal with a mother complex makes a daring break from prison and then leads his old gang in a chemical plant payroll heist. After the heist, events take a crazy turn.
13 .) Double Indemnity (1944) directed by Billy Wilder
Lists It Appears On:
- Flick Chart
- IMDB
- IMDB 2
- List Challenges
- NWI Times
- Paste Magazine
A rich woman and a calculating insurance agent plot to kill her unsuspecting husband after he signs a double indemnity policy. Against a backdrop of distinctly Californian settings, the partners in crime plan the perfect murder to collect the insurance, which pays double if the death is accidental.
12 .) Laura (1944) directed by Otto Preminger
Lists It Appears On:
- Compass Classroom
- IMDB
- IMDB 2
- List Challenges
- Paste Magazine
- White City Cinema
A police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he’s investigating.
11 .) Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) directed by Vincente Minnelli
Lists It Appears On:
- Compass Classroom
- IMDB
- List Challenges
- NWI Times
- Paste Magazine
- White City Cinema
In the year before the 1904 St Louis World’s Fair, the four Smith daughters learn lessons of life and love, even as they prepare for a reluctant move to New York.
10 .) Out of the Past (1947) directed by Jacques Tourneur
Lists It Appears On:
- Flick Chart
- IMDB
- List Challenges
- NWI Times
- Paste Magazine
- White City Cinema
Jeff Bailey seems to be a mundane gas station owner in remote Bridgeport, CA. He is dating local girl Ann Miller and lives a quiet life. But Jeff has a secret past, and when a mysterious stranger arrives in town, Jeff is forced to return to the dark world he had tried to escape.
9 .) The Bicycle Thief (1949) directed by Vittorio De Sica
Lists It Appears On:
- Compass Classroom
- Flick Chart
- List Challenges
- NWI Times
- Paste Magazine
- White City Cinema
Antonio, an unemployed man in the depressed post-WWII economy of Italy, at last finds a good job hanging up posters, the only requirement for which is that he must have his own bicycle. When Antonio’s bicycle is stolen, he and his son are forced to walk the streets of Rome in search of it, or else face ruin.
8 .) The Maltese Falcon (1941) directed by John Huston
Lists It Appears On:
- Flick Chart
- IMDB
- IMDB 2
- List Challenges
- NWI Times
- Paste Magazine
A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette.
7 .) The Philadelphia Story (1940) directed by George Cukor
Lists It Appears On:
- Compass Classroom
- Flick Chart
- IMDB 2
- List Challenges
- NWI Times
- Paste Magazine
When a rich woman’s ex-husband and a tabloid-type reporter turn up just before her planned remarriage, she begins to learn the truth about herself.
6 .) The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) directed by John Huston
Lists It Appears On:
- Flick Chart
- IMDB
- IMDB 2
- List Challenges
- NWI Times
- Paste Magazine
Fred C. Dobbs and Bob Curtin, both down on their luck in Tampico, Mexico in 1925, meet up with a grizzled prospector named Howard and decide to join with him in search of gold in the wilds of central Mexico. Through enormous difficulties, they eventually succeed in finding gold, but bandits, the elements, and most especially greed threaten to turn their success into disaster.
5 .) It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) directed by Frank Capra
Lists It Appears On:
- Compass Classroom
- Flick Chart
- IMDB
- IMDB 2
- List Challenges
- NWI Times
- Paste Magazine
A holiday favourite for generations… George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. All that prevents rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town is George’s modest building and loan company. But on Christmas Eve the business’s $8,000 is lost and George’s troubles begin.
4 .) The Third Man (1949) directed by Carol Reed
Lists It Appears On:
- Compass Classroom
- Den Of Geek
- Flick Chart
- IMDB 2
- List Challenges
- NWI Times
- Paste Magazine
- White City Cinema
In postwar Vienna, Austria, Holly Martins, a writer of pulp Westerns, arrives penniless as a guest of his childhood chum Harry Lime, only to learn he has died. Martins develops a conspiracy theory after learning of a “third man” present at the time of Harry’s death, running into interference from British officer Major Calloway, and falling head-over-heels for Harry’s grief-stricken lover, Anna.
3 .) Notorious (1946) directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Lists It Appears On:
- Compass Classroom
- Flick Chart
- IMDB
- IMDB 2
- List Challenges
- NWI Times
- Paste Magazine
- White City Cinema
In order to help bring Nazis to justice, U.S. government agent T.R. Devlin recruits Alicia Huberman, the American daughter of a convicted German war criminal, as a spy. As they begin to fall for one another, Alicia is instructed to win the affections of Alexander Sebastian, a Nazi hiding out in Brazil. When Sebastian becomes serious about his relationship with Alicia, the stakes get higher, and Devlin must watch her slip further undercover.
2 .) Citizen Kane (1941) directed by Orson Welles
Lists It Appears On:
- Compass Classroom
- Flick Chart
- IMDB
- IMDB 2
- List Challenges
- NWI Times
- Paste Magazine
- White City Cinema
Newspaper magnate, Charles Foster Kane is taken from his mother as a boy and made the ward of a rich industrialist. As a result, every well-meaning, tyrannical or self-destructive move he makes for the rest of his life appears in some way to be a reaction to that deeply wounding event.
1 .) Casablanca (1942) directed by Michael Curtiz
Lists It Appears On:
- Compass Classroom
- Flick Chart
- IMDB
- IMDB 2
- List Challenges
- NWI Times
- Paste Magazine
- White City Cinema
In Casablanca, Morocco in December 1941, a cynical American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications.
The 150+ Additional Best 1940s Films
| # | Movies | Directors | Lists |
| 37 | A Tree Grows In Brooklyn (1945) | NWI Times | |
| – | – | – | Stuff Nobody Cares About |
| 38 | Adam’s Rib (1949) | List Challenges | |
| – | – | – | Paste Magazine |
| 39 | All the King’s Men (1949) | Robert Rossen | IMDB 2 |
| – | – | – | Paste Magazine |
| 40 | Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) | Frank Capra | IMDB 2 |
| – | – | – | Paste Magazine |
| 41 | Ball of Fire (1941) | Howard Hawks | IMDB |
| – | – | – | IMDB 2 |
| 42 |
Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et Le Bête) (1946)
|
List Challenges | |
| – | – | – | Paste Magazine |
| 43 | Children of Paradise | NWI Times | |
| – | – | – | White City Cinema |
| 44 | Day of Wrath (1943) | Paste Magazine | |
| – | – | – | White City Cinema |
| 45 | Gaslight (1946) | Den Of Geek | |
| – | – | – | Paste Magazine |
| 46 | Gilda (1946) | Charles Vidor | IMDB |
| – | – | – | Paste Magazine |
| 47 | Going My Way (1944) | Leo McCarey | IMDB 2 |
| – | – | – | White City Cinema |
| 48 | How Green Was My Valley (1941) | Compass Classroom | |
| – | – | – | White City Cinema |
| 49 | Kiss of Death (1947) | Henry Hathaway | IMDB 2 |
| – | – | – | Stuff Nobody Cares About |
| 50 |
Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948)
|
Paste Magazine | |
| – | – | – | White City Cinema |
| 51 | Meet John Doe (1941) | Frank Capra | IMDB |
| – | – | – | IMDB 2 |
| 52 | Mildred Pierce (1945) | Michael Curtiz | IMDB 2 |
| – | – | – | Paste Magazine |
| 53 | Odd Man Out (1947) | Den Of Geek | |
| – | – | – | NWI Times |
| 54 | On the Town (1949) | Stanley Donen | IMDB 2 |
| – | – | – | Stuff Nobody Cares About |
| 55 | Rome, Open City (1945) | List Challenges | |
| – | – | – | Paste Magazine |
| 56 | Saboteur (1942) | Alfred Hitchcock | IMDB |
| – | – | – | Stuff Nobody Cares About |
| 57 | Stray Dog | NWI Times | |
| – | – | – | Paste Magazine |
| 58 | The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947) | Irving Reis | IMDB |
| – | – | – | IMDB 2 |
| 59 | The Little Foxes (1941) | NWI Times | |
| – | – | – | Paste Magazine |
| 60 | The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) | List Challenges | |
| – | – | – | Paste Magazine |
| 61 | The Shop Around the Corner (1940) | Compass Classroom | |
| – | – | – | NWI Times |
| 62 | The Wolf Man (1941) | George Waggner | IMDB 2 |
| – | – | – | Paste Magazine |
| 63 | To Be or Not to Be (1942) | List Challenges | |
| – | – | – | NWI Times |
| 64 | 3 Godfathers (1948) | John Ford | IMDB 2 |
| 65 | A Date with Judy (1948) | Richard Thorpe | IMDB 2 |
| 66 | A Letter to Three Wives (1949) | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | IMDB 2 |
| 67 | A Matter of Life and Death | Flick Chart | |
| 68 | Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) | Charles Barton | IMDB 2 |
| 69 | Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff (1949) | Charles Barton | IMDB 2 |
| 70 | All Through the Night (1942) | Vincent Sherman | IMDB 2 |
| 71 | Along Came Jones (1945) | Stuart Heisler | IMDB 2 |
| 72 | Anchors Aweigh (1945) | George Sidney | IMDB 2 |
| 73 | Black Angel (1946) | Roy William Neill | IMDB 2 |
| 74 | Black Narcissus (1947) | Paste Magazine | |
| 75 | Brief Encounter | White City Cinema | |
| 76 | Brighton Rock (1947) | Den Of Geek | |
| 77 | Buck Privates (1941) | Arthur Lubin | IMDB 2 |
| 78 | Call Northside 777 (1948) | Henry Hathaway | IMDB 2 |
| 79 | Cat People (1942) | Paste Magazine | |
| 80 | Colorado Territory | White City Cinema | |
| 81 | Courage of Lassie (1946) | Fred M. Wilcox | IMDB 2 |
| 82 | Criss Cross (1949) | Robert Siodmak | IMDB 2 |
| 83 | Dark Passage (1947) | Delmer Daves | IMDB 2 |
| 84 | Dead Reckoning (1947) | John Cromwell | IMDB 2 |
| 85 | Detour | White City Cinema | |
| 86 | Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | Futurism | |
| 87 | Drunken Angel (1948) | Paste Magazine | |
| 88 | Du Barry Was a Lady (1943) | Roy Del Ruth | IMDB 2 |
| 89 | Duel in the Sun (1946) | King Vidor | IMDB 2 |
| 90 | Fallen Angel (1945) | Otto Preminger | IMDB 2 |
| 91 |
Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe
|
Futurism | |
| 92 | Foreign Correspondent (1940) | Alfred Hitchcock | IMDB |
| 93 | Fort Apache (1948) | John Ford | IMDB 2 |
| 94 | Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) | Roy William Neill | IMDB 2 |
| 95 | Gentleman Jim (1942) | Raoul Walsh | IMDB 2 |
| 96 | Germany Year Zero | White City Cinema | |
| 97 | Great Expectations | NWI Times | |
| 98 | Great Expectations (1946) | List Challenges | |
| 99 | Hail, the Conquering Hero (1944) | Compass Classroom | |
| 100 | Hamlet (1948) | List Challenges | |
| 101 | Heaven Can Wait | White City Cinema | |
| 102 | Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) | Alexander Hall | IMDB 2 |
| 103 | High Sierra (1941) | Raoul Walsh | IMDB 2 |
| 104 | Hit the Ice (1943) | Charles Lamont | IMDB 2 |
| 105 | Hold That Ghost (1941) | Arthur Lubin | IMDB 2 |
| 106 | Holiday Inn | NWI Times | |
| 107 | House of Dracula (1945) | Erle C. Kenton | IMDB 2 |
| 108 | House of Frankenstein (1944) | Erle C. Kenton | IMDB 2 |
| 109 | I Remember Mama | NWI Times | |
| 110 | I See A Dark Stranger (1946) | Den Of Geek | |
| 111 | I Wake Up Screaming (1941) | H. Bruce Humberstone | IMDB 2 |
| 112 | In the Navy (1941) | Arthur Lubin | IMDB 2 |
| 113 | Invisible Agent | Futurism | |
| 114 | Kind Hearts and Coronets | NWI Times | |
| 115 | King of the Rocket Men | Futurism | |
| 116 | Krakatit | Futurism | |
| 117 | Lassie Come Home (1943) | Fred M. Wilcox | IMDB 2 |
| 118 | Le Corbeau (1943) | Paste Magazine | |
| 119 | Leave Her to Heaven (1945) | John M. Stahl | IMDB 2 |
| 120 |
Les Enfants du Paradis (Children of Paradise) (1945)
|
Paste Magazine | |
| 121 | Lifeboat (1944) | Alfred Hitchcock | IMDB 2 |
| 122 | Little Giant (1946) | William A. Seiter | IMDB 2 |
| 123 | Lost in a Harem (1944) | Charles Reisner | IMDB 2 |
| 124 | Lured (1947) | Douglas Sirk | IMDB 2 |
| 125 | Mighty Joe Young (1949) | Ernest B. Schoedsack | IMDB 2 |
| 126 | Mr. Skeffington (1944) | Vincent Sherman | IMDB 2 |
| 127 | My Favorite Wife (1940) | Garson Kanin | IMDB 2 |
| 128 | My Friend Irma (1949) | George Marshall | IMDB 2 |
| 129 | Mysterious Island | Futurism | |
| 130 | Naked City (1948 | Stuff Nobody Cares About | |
| 131 | Night Train to Munich (1940) | Den Of Geek | |
| 132 | Nightmare Alley | NWI Times | |
| 133 | One Million B.C. | Futurism | |
| 134 | Pimpernel Smith (1941) | Den Of Geek | |
| 135 | Pinocchio (1940) | List Challenges | |
| 136 | Portrait Of Jennie (1948 | Stuff Nobody Cares About | |
| 137 | Road to Morocco (1942) | David Butler | IMDB 2 |
| 138 | Road to Singapore (1940) | Victor Schertzinger | IMDB 2 |
| 139 | Road to Zanzibar (1941) | Victor Schertzinger | IMDB 2 |
| 140 | Romance on the High Seas (1948) | Michael Curtiz | IMDB 2 |
| 141 | Sergeant York (1941) | Howard Hawks | IMDB 2 |
| 142 | Shadow of the Thin Man (1941) | W.S. Van Dyke | IMDB 2 |
| 143 | She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) | John Ford | IMDB |
| 144 | Shoeshine | NWI Times | |
| 145 | Side Street (1949 | Stuff Nobody Cares About | |
| 146 | Son of Lassie (1945) | S. Sylvan Simon | IMDB 2 |
| 147 | Sorry, Wrong Number (1948) | Anatole Litvak | IMDB 2 |
| 148 | Spellbound (1945) | Paste Magazine | |
| 149 | Spring in a Small Town | White City Cinema | |
| 150 | Stairway to Heaven | NWI Times | |
| 151 | Strange Holiday | Futurism | |
| 152 | Suspicion (1941) | Alfred Hitchcock | IMDB 2 |
| 153 | The Bank Dick (1940) | List Challenges | |
| 154 | The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945) | Leo McCarey | IMDB 2 |
| 155 | The Boogie Man Will Get You (1942) | Lew Landers | IMDB 2 |
| 156 |
The Case of the Frightened Lady (1940)
|
Den Of Geek | |
| 157 | The Children of Paradise (1945) | List Challenges | |
| 158 | The Clock (1945 | Stuff Nobody Cares About | |
| 159 | The Dark Corner (1946) | Henry Hathaway | IMDB 2 |
| 160 | The Devil and Miss Jones (1941) | Sam Wood | IMDB |
| 161 | The Echo Murders (1945) | Den Of Geek | |
| 162 | The Ghost and Mrs. Muir | NWI Times | |
| 163 | The Heiress | NWI Times | |
| 164 | The House on 92nd Street (1945 | Stuff Nobody Cares About | |
| 165 | The Invisible Man Returns | Futurism | |
| 166 | The Invisible Woman | Futurism | |
| 167 | The Lady from Shanghai (1947) | Orson Welles | IMDB 2 |
| 168 | The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp | NWI Times | |
| 169 | The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942) | William Keighley | IMDB 2 |
| 170 | The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek | White City Cinema | |
| 171 | The More the Merrier (1943) | George Stevens | IMDB |
| 172 | The Mortal Storm | NWI Times | |
| 173 | The Naked City (1948) | Jules Dassin | IMDB 2 |
| 174 | The Naughty Nineties (1945) | Jean Yarbrough | IMDB 2 |
| 175 | The Ornamental Hairpin | White City Cinema | |
| 176 | The Pearl | NWI Times | |
| 177 | The Pride of the Yankees (1942) | Sam Wood | IMDB 2 |
| 178 | The Sea Hawk | NWI Times | |
| 179 | The Search | NWI Times | |
| 180 | The Stranger (1946) | Paste Magazine | |
| 181 | The Stratton Story (1949) | Sam Wood | IMDB 2 |
| 182 | The Thin Man Goes Home (1944) | Richard Thorpe | IMDB 2 |
| 183 | The Three Musketeers (1948) | George Sidney | IMDB 2 |
| 184 | The Time of Their Lives (1946) | Charles Barton | IMDB 2 |
| 185 | The Uninvited (1944) | Paste Magazine | |
| 186 | The Upturned Glass (1947) | Den Of Geek | |
| 187 | The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap (1947) | Charles Barton | IMDB 2 |
| 188 | They Drive by Night (1940) | Raoul Walsh | IMDB 2 |
| 189 | They Were Expendable (1945) | Compass Classroom | |
| 190 | This Gun for Hire (1942) | Frank Tuttle | IMDB 2 |
| 191 | Who Done It? (1942) | Erle C. Kenton | IMDB 2 |
| 192 | Yellow Sky (1948) | William A. Wellman | IMDB 2 |
11 Best 1940s Film Sources/Lists
| Source | Article |
| Compass Classroom | Great Films From The 1940s |
| Den Of Geek | 10 gripping British thrillers of the 1940s |
| Flick Chart | The Best Movies of the 1940s |
| Futurism | Classic 1940s Sci-Fi Movies |
| IMDB | BEST 1940s MOVIES |
| IMDB 2 | Top 100 Films Of The 1940’s |
| List Challenges | 100 Greatest Movies of the 1940s |
| NWI Times | The 53 best movies of the 1940s |
| Paste Magazine | The 50 Best Movies of the 1940s |
| Stuff Nobody Cares About | Ten Great Films From The 1940s |
| White City Cinema | Best Films of the 1940s |
