IMDB - Top 50 - 1940s Movies

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The Top 50 1940s movies as voted by users of the Internet Movie Database.

Updated: October 31, 2009

  1. 1.
    Casablanca
    by Michael Curtiz

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  2. 2.
    It's a Wonderful Life (60th Anniversary Edition)
    by Frank Capra

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  3. 3.
    Citizen Kane
    by Orson Welles

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  4. 4.
    Double Indemnity (Universal Legacy Series)
    by Billy Wilder

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  5. 5.

  6. 7.
    Bicycle Thieves (Criterion Collection)
    by Vittorio De Sica

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  7. 8.
    Rebecca

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  8. 9.
    The Maltese Falcon
    by John Huston

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  9. 11.
    Kind Hearts and Coronets - Criterion Collection
    by Robert Hamer

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  10. 12.
    Notorious - Criterion Collection

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  11. 13.
    The Big Sleep (Snap case)
    by Howard Hawks

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  12. 14.
    Brief Encounter - Criterion Collection
    by David Lean

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  13. 15.
    The Grapes of Wrath
    by John Ford

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  14. 16.
    The Best Years of Our Lives - Special Edition
    by William Wyler

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  15. 17.
    Roma, Città Aperta (Open City) in Original Italian
    by Roberto Rossellini

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  16. 18.
    The Heiress
    by William Wyler

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  17. 19.
    The Ox-Bow Incident
    by William A. Wellman

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  18. 20.
    The Lost Weekend
    by Billy Wilder

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  19. 21.
    The Red Shoes - Criterion Collection
    by Emeric Pressburger

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  20. 22.
    Great Expectations - Criterion Collection
    by David Lean

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  21. 23.
    Shadow of a Doubt

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  22. 25.
    I Remember Mama
    by George Stevens

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  23. 26.
    The Lady Eve - Criterion Collection
    by Preston Sturges

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  24. 27.
    Laura
    by Rouben Mamoulian

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  25. 28.
    His Girl Friday
    by Howard Hawks

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  26. 30.
    Black Narcissus - Criterion Collection
    by Michael Powell

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  27. 31.
    To Have and Have Not (Snap case)
    by Howard Hawks

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  28. 32.
    Rope
    by Alfred Hitchcock

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  29. 33.
    The Philadelphia Story
    by George Cukor

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  30. 34.
    The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp - Criterion Collection
    by Emeric Pressburger

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  31. 35.
    The Little Foxes
    by William Wyler

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  32. 36.
    Out of the Past
    by Jacques Tourneur

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  33. 37.
    Arsenic and Old Lace
    by Frank Capra

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  34. 38.
    White Heat
    by Raoul Walsh

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  35. 39.
    Key Largo (Snap Case)
    by John Huston

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  36. 40.
    The Magnificent Ambersons

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  37. 41.
    The Palm Beach Story
    by Preston Sturges

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  38. 42.
    The More the Merrier
    by George Stevens

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  39. 43.
    Hamlet - Criterion Collection

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  40. 44.
    Miracle on 34th Street
    by George Seaton

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  41. 45.
    Sergeant York
    by Howard Hawks

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  42. 46.
    Good News
    by Charles Walters

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  43. 47.
    Lifeboat (Special Edition)
    by Alfred Hitchcock

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  44. 48.
    To Be or Not to Be
    by Ernst Lubitsch

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  45. 49.
    The Miracle Of Morgan's Creek

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  46. 50.
    A Matter of Life and Death (AKA Stairway to Heaven)
    by Emeric Pressburger

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This is a community list. You can contribute, edit, or help maintain it by adding it to your lists.
Created by saucybetty on Sep 12, 2006.
 

Comments

greenfruit
Augusta

Untitled — 12 weeks ago

No, Gilda came out in 1946.
But I agree, it’s a fantastic film.

I still think this is a pretty great list, though. There’s a lot of movies on it that are brilliant and happen to be personal faves.


allisoncm
Los Angeles

Gilda — 1 year ago

I believe Gilda was ‘39. such a great movie I agree.


saucybetty
Newport Beach

Untitled — 3 years ago

I can’t believe Gilda isn’t on this list. Those users over there at IMDB sure are tards.