The top-ranked films of the 40's
© 2009, William L. Sinclair
This continues our series of top-ranked films by year, based on the Top Ranked 1000 Films on the Net that we compiled.
Total Ranked Films in the 40's: 93
- [ 1940 ] -
1. Grapes of Wrath, The #95 - Ford, John
2. Rebecca #122 - Hitchcock, Alfred
3. His Girl Friday #130 - Hawks, Howard
4. Great Dictator, The #138 - Chaplin, Charles
5. Philadelphia Story, The #148 - Cukor, George
6. Pinocchio #339 - Sharpsteen, Ben & Hamilton Luske
7. Fantasia #359 - Sharpsteen, Ben
8. Thief of Bagdad, The #430 - Powell, Michael/Ludwig Berger/Tim Whelan
9. Shop Around the Corner, The #465 - Lubitsch, Ernst
10. Bank Dick, The #974 - Cline, Edward F.
Best Picture: Rebecca
- [ 1941 ] -
1. Citizen Kane #5 - Welles, Orson
2. Maltese Falcon, The #71 - Huston, John
3. Lady Eve, The #92 - Sturges, Preston
4. Sullivan's Travels #244 - Sturges, Preston
5. How Green Was My Valley #375 - Ford, John
6. Listen to Britain #562 - Jennings, Humphrey
7. Dumbo #692 - Sharpsteen, Ben
8. Hellzapoppin' #782 - Potter, H.C.
Best Picture: How Green Was My Valley
- [ 1942 ] -
1. Casablanca #47 - Curtiz, Michael (photo rt)2. Magnificent Ambersons, The #75 - Welles, Orson
3. Palm Beach Story, The #145 - Sturges, Preston
4. To Be or Not to Be #253 - Lubitsch, Ernst
5. Now, Voyager #448 - Rapper, Irving
6. Cat People #515 - Tourneur, Jacques
7. Bambi #575 - Hand, David
Best Picture: Mrs. Miniver
- [ 1943 ] -
1. Shadow of a Doubt #104 - Hitchcock, Alfred
2. Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, The #330 - Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger
3. Ox-Bow Incident, The #461 - Wellman, William A.
4. Meshes of the Afternoon #474 - Deren, Maya
5. Day of Wrath #485 - Dreyer, Carl
6. I Walked with a Zombie #685 - Tourneur, Jacques
7. Ossessione #695 - Visconti, Luchino
8. Fires Were Started #804 - Jennings, Humphrey
Best Picture: Casablanca (released in 42, Oscar awarded for 43)
- [ 1944 ] -
1. Double Indemnity #56 - Wilder, Billy
2. Laura #168 - Preminger, Otto
3. Meet Me in St. Louis #289 - Minnelli, Vincente
4. Ivan the Terrible, Part One #352 - Eisenstein, Sergei
5. Henry V #403 - Olivier, Laurence
6. To Have and Have Not #404 - Hawks, Howard
7. Arsenic and Old Lace #536 - Capra, Frank
8. Canterbury Tale, A #537 - Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger
9. Miracle of Morgan's Creek, The #656 - Sturges, Preston
10. Woman in the Window, The #776 - Lang, Fritz
Best Picture: Going My Way
- [ 1945 ] -
1. Brief Encounter #127 - Lean, David
2. Enfants du paradis, Les #183 - Carné, Marcel
3. Rome, Open City #385 - Rossellini, Roberto
4. Lost Weekend, The #409 - Wilder, Billy
5. Mildred Pierce #441 - Curtiz, Michael
6. Detour #492 - Ulmer, Edgar G.
7. They Were Expendable #596 - Ford, John
8. I Know Where I'm Going! #608 - Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger
9. Dames du Bois de Boulogne, Les #703 - Bresson, Robert
10. Open City #898 - Rossellini, Roberto
Best Picture: The Lost Weekend
- [ 1946 ] -
1. It's a Wonderful Life #10 - Capra, Frank (photo rt)2. Notorious #42 - Hitchcock, Alfred
3. Best Years of Our Lives, The #102 - Wyler, William
4. Big Sleep, The #123 - Hawks, Howard
5. Paisan #166 - Rossellini, Roberto
6. Great Expectations #179 - Lean, David
7. My Darling Clementine #231 - Ford, John
8. Belle et la bête, La (Beauty/Beast) #240 - Cocteau, Jean
9. Matter of Life and Death, A #276 - Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger
10. Black Narcissus #406 - Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger
11. Ivan the Terrible, Part Two #410 - Eisenstein, Sergei
12. Duel in the Sun #747 - Vidor, King
13. Gilda #788 - Vidor, Charles
Best Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
- [ 1947 ] -
1. Out of the Past #236 - Tourneur, Jacques
2. Monsieur Verdoux #418 - Chaplin, Charles
3. Germany, Year Zero #464 - Rossellini, Roberto
4. Odd Man Out #476 - Reed, Carol
5. Lady from Shanghai, The #615 - Welles, Orson
6. Shoeshine #920 - De Sica, Vittorio
7. Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The #930 - Mankiewicz, Joseph L.
8. Pursued #934 - Walsh, Raoul
Best Picture: Gentlemen's Agreement
- [ 1948 ] -
1. Third Man, The #15 - Reed, Carol (photo top)
2. Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The #62 - Huston, John
3. Red Shoes, The #156 - Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger
4. Red River #250 - Hawks, Howard
5. Letter from an Unknown Woman #332 - Ophüls, Max
6. Rope #504 - Hitchcock, Alfred
7. Terra trema, La #605 - Visconti, Luchino
8. Spring in a Small Town #675 - Fei Mu
9. They Live by Night #787 - Ray, Nicholas
10. Unfaithfully Yours #845 - Sturges, Preston
11. Fallen Idol, The #891 - Reed, Carol
Best Picture: Hamlet
- [ 1949 ] -
1. Bicycle Thief, The #16 - De Sica, Vittorio
2. Kind Hearts and Coronets #117 - Hamer, Robert (photo rt)3. White Heat #323 - Walsh, Raoul
4. Late Spring #432 - Ozu, Yasujiro
5. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon #589 - Ford, John
6. On the Town #663 - Donen, Stanley/Gene Kelly
7. Heiress, The #696 - Wyler, William
8. Reckless Moment, The #958 - Ophüls, Max
Best Picture: All the King's Men
Top Films of the Decade
1. Citizen Kane #5
2. It's a Wonderful Life #10
3. Third Man, The #15
4. Bicycle Thief, The #16
5. Notorious #42
6. Casablanca #47
7. Double Indemnity #56
8. Maltese Falcon, The #71
9. Magnificent Ambersons, The #75
10. Lady Eve, The #92
11. Grapes of Wrath, The #95
It's interesting that many of the decade's best picture winners (Mrs. Miniver, Going My Way, All The King's Men, Gentlemen's Agreement, Hamlet) did not even make the top ranked 1000.
My Favorites
1-The Best Years of Our Lives, 2-Casablanca, 3-Out of the Past, 4-Double Indemnity, 5-Citizen Kane, 6-The Magnificent Ambersons, 7-The Maltese Falcon, 8-His Girl Friday, 9-The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, 10-Philadelphia Story, 11-The Grapes of Wrath, 12-It's a Wonderful Life, 13-Kind Hearts and Coronets, 14-Fantasia, 15-The Lady Eve, 16-Mrs. Miniver, 17-A Matter of Life and Death, 18-The Bicycle Thief, 19-The Red Shoes, 20-Ivan the Terrible, 21-She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, 22-The Big Sleep, 23-My Darling Clementine
