Best Movies/TV Shows of the 1940s

100 titles that travel well across time — a personal watchlist for best movies/tv shows of the 1940s.

#TopMovies#TopTV#BestMovies#BestTV#GreatestFilms#GreatestTV#MostImportantMovies#MostImportantTV#MustWatch#OTTWatch#CantMiss#Watchlist#1940s
#PosterTitle
1 Casablanca(1942)
Movie | Drama, Romance | USA | English, French
2 It's a Wonderful Life(1946)
Movie | Drama, Family | USA | English, French
3 Ladri di bicicletteaka Bicycle Thieves(1948)
Movie | Drama | Italy | Italian, German
4 Citizen Kane(1941)
Movie | Drama, Mystery | USA | English, Italian
5 The Treasure of the Sierra Madre(1948)
Movie | Adventure, Drama | USA | English, Spanish
6 The Great Dictator(1940)
Movie | Comedy, Drama | USA | English, Esperanto
7 Roma citta apertaaka Rome, Open City(1945)
Movie | Drama, Thriller | Italy | Italian, German
8 Double Indemnity(1944)
Movie | Crime, Drama | USA | English
9 The Grapes of Wrath(1940)
Movie | Drama | USA | English
10 Rope(1948)
Movie | Crime, Drama | USA | English
11 Banshunaka Late Spring(1949)
Movie | Comedy, Drama | Japan | Japanese
12 The Third Man(1949)
Movie | Drama, Film-Noir | UK | English, German
13 The Maltese Falcon(1941)
Movie | Crime, Drama | USA | English
14 La Belle et la Beteaka Beauty and the Beast(1946)
Movie | Drama, Fantasy | France | French
15 Notorious(1946)
Movie | Drama, Film-Noir | USA | English, Portuguese
16 Les enfants du paradisaka Children of Paradise(1945)
Movie | Drama, Romance | France | French
17 The Best Years of Our Lives(1946)
Movie | Drama, Romance | USA | English
18 Fantasia(1940)
Movie | Animation, Family | USA | English
19 Rebecca(1940)
Movie | Drama, Mystery | USA | English, French
20 Nora inuaka Stray Dog(1949)
Movie | Crime, Drama | Japan | Japanese, French
21 The Big Sleep(1946)
Movie | Crime, Drama | USA | English
22 Vredens dagaka Day of Wrath(1943)
Movie | Drama, History | Denmark | Danish
23 Pinocchio(1940)
Movie | Animation, Adventure | USA | English
24 Bambi(1942)
Movie | Animation, Adventure | USA | English
25 Germania anno zeroaka Germany Year Zero(1948)
Movie | Drama | Italy, France | German, English
26 The Philadelphia Story(1940)
Movie | Comedy, Romance | USA | English, French
27 Miracle on 34th Street(1947)
Movie | Comedy, Drama | USA | English, Dutch
28 Laura(1944)
Movie | Drama, Film-Noir | USA | English
29 Arsenic and Old Lace(1944)
Movie | Comedy, Crime | USA | English, German
30 Shadow of a Doubt(1943)
Movie | Film-Noir, Thriller | USA | English
31 Sciusciaaka Shoeshine(1946)
Movie | Drama | Italy | Italian, English
32 Dumbo(1941)
Movie | Animation, Adventure | USA | English
33 Brief Encounter(1945)
Movie | Drama, Romance | UK | English, French
34 His Girl Friday(1940)
Movie | Comedy, Drama | USA | English, French
35 Paisaaka Paisan(1946)
Movie | Drama, War | Italy | Italian, English
36 To Be or Not to Be(1942)
Movie | Comedy, Romance | USA | English, German
37 Le corbeau(1943)
Movie | Crime, Drama | France | French
38 The Lost Weekend(1945)
Movie | Drama, Film-Noir | USA | English
39 Ivan Groznyyaka Ivan the Terrible, Part I(1944)
Movie | Biography, Drama | Russia | Russian
40 The Red Shoes(1948)
Movie | Drama, Music | UK | English, French
41 Kind Hearts and Coronets(1949)
Movie | Comedy, Crime | UK | English, Italian
42 Yoidore tenshiaka Drunken Angel(1948)
Movie | Crime, Drama | Japan | Japanese
43 Out of the Past(1947)
Movie | Crime, Drama | USA | English, American Sign
44 The Shop Around the Corner(1940)
Movie | Comedy, Drama | USA | English
45 Red River(1948)
Movie | Drama, Western | USA | English, Spanish
46 White Heat(1949)
Movie | Action, Crime | USA | English
47 Ivan Groznyy. Skaz vtoroy: Boyarskiy zagovoraka Ivan the Terrible, Part II: The Boyars' Plot(1946)
Movie | Biography, Drama | Russia | Russian
48 To Have and Have Not(1944)
Movie | Adventure, Comedy | USA | English, French
49 Key Largo(1948)
Movie | Action, Crime | USA | English, Italian
50 Ossessioneaka Obsession(1943)
Movie | Crime, Drama | Italy | Italian
51 Sullivan's Travels(1941)
Movie | Adventure, Comedy | USA | English
52 Great Expectations(1946)
Movie | Adventure, Drama | UK | English
53 Gaslight(1944)
Movie | Crime, Drama | USA | English, Italian
54 Quai des Orfevresaka Jenny Lamour(1947)
Movie | Crime, Drama | France | French
55 Mildred Pierce(1945)
Movie | Crime, Drama | USA | English, French
56 A Matter of Life and Death(1946)
Movie | Drama, Fantasy | UK | English, French
57 Partie de campagneaka A Day in the Country(1946)
Movie | Short, Comedy | France | French
58 The Search(1948)
Movie | Drama, War | Switzerland, USA | English, German
59 The Ox-Bow Incident(1943)
Movie | Drama, Western | USA | English, Spanish
60 Black Narcissus(1947)
Movie | Drama | UK | English, French
61 Spellbound(1945)
Movie | Drama, Film-Noir | USA | English
62 How Green Was My Valley(1941)
Movie | Drama, Family | USA | English, Welsh
63 Gilda(1946)
Movie | Drama, Film-Noir | USA | English, Spanish
64 Meet Me in St. Louis(1944)
Movie | Comedy, Drama | USA | English
65 My Darling Clementine(1946)
Movie | Drama, Romance | USA | English, Spanish
66 The Heiress(1949)
Movie | Drama, Romance | USA | English, French
67 The Killers(1946)
Movie | Crime, Drama | USA | English
68 La terra tremaaka The Earth Trembles(1948)
Movie | Drama | Italy | Sicilian, Italian
69 Die Feuerzangenbowleaka The Punch Bowl(1944)
Movie | Comedy, Family | Germany | German
70 Jour de feteaka The Big Day(1949)
Movie | Comedy | France | French
71 Le silence de la meraka The Silence of the Sea(1949)
Movie | Drama, Romance | France | French, German
72 The Magnificent Ambersons(1942)
Movie | Drama, Romance | USA | English
73 The Lady Eve(1941)
Movie | Comedy, Romance | USA | English
74 The Ghost and Mrs. Muir(1947)
Movie | Comedy, Drama | USA | English
75 The Stranger(1946)
Movie | Crime, Drama | USA | English, Spanish
76 Suspicion(1941)
Movie | Drama, Film-Noir | USA | English
77 Riso amaroaka Bitter Rice(1949)
Movie | Crime, Drama | Italy | Italian
78 Scarlet Street(1945)
Movie | Crime, Drama | USA | English
79 The Lady from Shanghai(1947)
Movie | Crime, Drama | USA | English, Cantonese
80 Monsieur Verdoux(1947)
Movie | Comedy, Crime | USA | English, French
81 Mrs. Miniver(1942)
Movie | Drama, Romance | USA | English, German
82 Foreign Correspondent(1940)
Movie | Action, Drama | USA | English, Dutch
83 Adam's Rib(1949)
Movie | Comedy, Romance | USA | English
84 Lifeboat(1944)
Movie | Drama, War | USA | English, German
85 Sergeant York(1941)
Movie | Biography, Drama | USA | English, French
86 The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp(1943)
Movie | Drama, Romance | UK | English, French
87 The Postman Always Rings Twice(1946)
Movie | Crime, Drama | USA | English
88 Now, Voyager(1942)
Movie | Drama, Romance | USA | English, Portuguese
89 Meshes of the Afternoon(1943)
Movie | Short, Fantasy | USA
90 The Wolf Man(1941)
Movie | Horror, Mystery | USA | English
91 The Bishop's Wife(1947)
Movie | Comedy, Drama | USA | English, French
92 Yankee Doodle Dandy(1942)
Movie | Biography, Drama | USA | English
93 The Little Foxes(1941)
Movie | Drama, Romance | USA | English
94 Hamlet(1948)
Movie | Drama | UK | English
95 Oliver Twist(1948)
Movie | Drama | UK | English
96 Dark Passage(1947)
Movie | Film-Noir, Thriller | USA | English
97 Twelve O'Clock High(1949)
Movie | Drama, War | USA | English
98 Cat People(1942)
Movie | Fantasy, Horror | USA | English, Czech
99 Ball of Fire(1941)
Movie | Comedy, Romance | USA | English
100 Fort Apache(1948)
Movie | Drama, Western | USA | English, Spanish

Tags

#casablanca#itsawonderfullife#ladridibiciclette#citizenkane#thetreasureofthesierramadre#thegreatdictator#romacittaaperta#doubleindemnity#thegrapesofwrath#rope#banshun#thethirdman#themaltesefalcon#labelleetlabete#notorious#lesenfantsduparadis#thebestyearsofourlives#fantasia#rebecca#norainu#thebigsleep#vredensdag#pinocchio#bambi#germaniaannozero#thephiladelphiastory#miracleon34thstreet#laura#arsenicandoldlace#shadowofadoubt#sciuscia#dumbo#briefencounter#hisgirlfriday#paisa#tobeornottobe#lecorbeau#thelostweekend#ivangroznyy#theredshoes#kindheartsandcoronets#yoidoretenshi#outofthepast#theshoparoundthecorner#redriver#whiteheat#ivangroznyyskazvtoroyboyarskiyzagovor#tohaveandhavenot#keylargo#ossessione
Updated November 29, 2025 · FlickRatings