Top Movies of the 1940's
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- DirectorRoberto RosselliniStarsAnna MagnaniAldo FabriziMarcello PaglieroDuring the Nazi occupation of Rome in 1944, the Resistance leader, Giorgio Manfredi, is chased by the Nazis as he seeks refuge and a way to escape.10/10
- DirectorBoris IngsterStarsPeter LorreJohn McGuireMargaret TallichetAn aspiring reporter is the key witness at the murder trial of a young man accused of cutting a café owner's throat and is soon accused of a similar crime himself.10/10
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsJoan CrawfordFred MacMurrayConrad VeidtOxford Professor Richard Myles and his new bride Frances are off on a European honeymoon. It isn't the typical honeymoon: they are on a spying mission for British Intelligence on the eve of World War II.10/10
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinPaulette GoddardJack OakieDictator Adenoid Hynkel tries to expand his empire while a poor Jewish barber tries to avoid persecution from Hynkel's regime.10/10
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsGeorge RaftHumphrey BogartAnn SheridanWhen one of two truck-driving brothers loses an arm, they both join a transport company where the other is falsely charged as an accessory in the murder of the owner.10/10
- DirectorTed TetzlaffStarsBobby DriscollBarbara HaleArthur KennedyTo avoid the heat of a sweltering summer night a 9-year-old Manhattan boy decides to sleep on the fire escape and witnesses a murder, but no one will believe him.10/10
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsFred MacMurrayBarbara StanwyckEdward G. RobinsonA Los Angeles insurance representative lets an alluring housewife seduce him into a scheme of insurance fraud and murder that arouses the suspicion of his colleague, an insurance investigator.10/10
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJoel McCreaLaraine DayHerbert MarshallOn the eve of World War II, a young American reporter tries to expose enemy agents in London.10/10
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsJames StewartRichard ConteLee J. CobbChicago reporter P.J. McNeal re-opens a decade-old murder case.10/10
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCarole LombardRobert MontgomeryGene RaymondA couple who have been married for three years are shocked to learn that their marriage is not legally valid.10/10
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartMary AstorGladys GeorgeSan Francisco private detective Sam Spade takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar and their quest for a priceless statuette, with the stakes rising after his partner is murdered.10/10
- DirectorRobert HamerStarsDennis PriceAlec GuinnessValerie HobsonA distant poor relative of the Duke D'Ascoyne plots to inherit the title by murdering the eight other heirs who stand ahead of him in the line of succession.10/10
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsBette DavisHerbert MarshallJames StephensonThe wife of a rubber plantation administrator shoots a man to death and claims it was self-defense, but a letter written in her own hand may prove her undoing.10/10
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsTeresa WrightJoseph CottenMacdonald CareyA teenage girl, overjoyed when her favorite uncle comes to visit the family in their quiet California town, slowly begins to suspect that he is in fact the "Merry Widow" killer sought by the authorities.10/10
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsHumphrey BogartLauren BacallJohn RidgelyPrivate detective Philip Marlowe is hired by a wealthy family. Before the complex case is over, he's seen murder, blackmail and what might be love.10/10
- DirectorStanley DonenGene KellyStarsGene KellyFrank SinatraBetty GarrettThree sailors wreak havoc as they search for love during a whirlwind 24-hour leave in New York City.10/10
- DirectorJules DassinNorman Z. McLeodStarsCharles LaughtonRobert YoungMargaret O'BrienThe descendent of a ghost imprisoned for cowardice hopes to free the spirit by displaying courage when under duress.10/10
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsJames StewartDonna ReedLionel BarrymoreAn angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.10/10
- DirectorCurtis BernhardtStarsBette DavisGlenn FordDane ClarkWhen a woman's twin sister is drowned, she assumes her identity in order to be close to the man she feels her sister took from her years before.10/10
- DirectorRoberto RosselliniStarsAnna MagnaniFederico FelliniPeparuoloIn part one, a heartbroken woman talks to her ex-lover on the phone. In part two, a pregnant woman believes she is carrying the child of Saint Joseph.10/10
- DirectorChristy CabanneStarsDick ForanPeggy MoranWallace FordArchaeologists defile the tomb of mummified Kharis, who was buried alive for falling in love with an Egyptian princess.10/10
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartWalter HustonTim HoltTwo down-on-their-luck Americans searching for work in 1920s Mexico convince an old prospector to help them mine for gold in the Sierra Madre Mountains.10/10
- DirectorAnatole LitvakStarsBarbara StanwyckBurt LancasterAnn RichardsWhile on the telephone, an invalid woman overhears what she thinks is a murder plot and attempts to prevent it.10/10
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCary GrantJoan FontaineCedric HardwickeA shy young heiress marries a charming gentleman, and soon begins to suspect he is planning to murder her.10/10
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinMady CorrellAllison RoddanA suave but cynical man supports his family by marrying and murdering rich women for their money, but the job has some occupational hazards.10/10
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCary GrantIngrid BergmanClaude RainsThe daughter of a convicted German spy is asked by American agents to gather information on a ring of German scientists in South America. How far will she have to go to ingratiate herself with them?10/10
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsJennifer JonesJoseph CottenEthel BarrymoreIn Depression-era New York, an impoverished painter has a chance encounter with an enigmatic, old-fashioned little girl in Central Park who inspires him and changes his destiny.10/10
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsCharles BoyerIngrid BergmanJoseph CottenTen years after her aunt was murdered in their London home, a woman returns from Italy in the 1880s to resume residence with her new husband. His obsessive interest in the home rises from a secret that may require driving his wife insane.10/10
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsHumphrey BogartIngrid BergmanPaul HenreidA cynical expatriate American cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco.10/10
- DirectorRoberto RosselliniStarsEdmund MoeschkeErnst PittschauIngetraud HinzeA young German boy faces the problems of the tough life in the immediate post-WWII Berlin.10/10
- DirectorJohn FordStarsHenry FondaJane DarwellJohn CarradineAn Oklahoma family, driven off their farm by the poverty and hopelessness of the Dust Bowl, joins the westward migration to California, suffering the misfortunes of the homeless in the Great Depression.10/10
- DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsBarbara StanwyckVan HeflinLizabeth ScottA man is reunited with his childhood friend and her husband who believes he knows the truth about the death of her rich aunt years earlier.9/10
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsCary GrantPriscilla LaneRaymond MasseyA Brooklyn writer of books on the futility of marriage risks his reputation after he decides to tie the knot. Things get even more complicated when he learns on his wedding day that his beloved maiden aunts are habitual murderers.9/10
- DirectorEdgar G. UlmerStarsJohn CarradineJean ParkerNils AstherIn Paris, an artist hires portrait models, and after he finishes their portraits, he strangles them.9/10
- DirectorAlberto CavalcantiCharles CrichtonBasil DeardenStarsMervyn JohnsMichael RedgraveRoland CulverGuests invited to a weekend in the country share their supernatural stories, beginning with Walter Craig, who senses impending doom as his half-remembered recurring dream turns into reality.9/10
- DirectorCharles LedererStarsLew AyresLaraine DayBasil RathboneAn unemployed actor in Chicago aims to solve the mystery concerning a string of axe murders, apparently committed by a "lunatic".8 or 9/10
- DirectorRoberto RosselliniStarsCarmela SazioGar MooreWilliam TubbsAmerican military personnel interact warily with a variety of Italian locals over a year and a half in the push north during the Italian Campaign of WWII as German forces make their retreat.8 or 9/10
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenAlida ValliPulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend, Harry Lime.8/10
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenDorothy ComingoreFollowing the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: 'Rosebud.'8/10
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsLaurence OlivierJoan FontaineGeorge SandersA self-conscious woman juggles adjusting to her new role as an aristocrat's wife and avoiding being intimidated by his first wife's spectral presence.8/10
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJames StewartJohn DallFarley GrangerTwo men try to convince themselves they've committed the perfect murder by hosting a dinner party after strangling a former classmate to death.7 or 8/10
- DirectorArthur LubinStarsNelson EddySusanna FosterClaude RainsAn acid-scarred composer rises from the Paris sewers to boost his favorite opera understudy's career.7 or 8/10
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsIngrid BergmanGregory PeckMichael ChekhovA psychiatrist protects the identity of an amnesia patient accused of murder while attempting to recover his memory.7/10
- DirectorWalter FordeStarsArthur AskeyRichard MurdochKathleen HarrisonHigh jinks and chills ensue when a group of people become stranded at an isolated station and a legendary phantom train approaches.6 or 7/10
- DirectorFrank BorzageStarsPaul HenreidMaureen O'HaraWalter SlezakAfter being wronged by the Caribbean authorities, a Dutch captain turns pirate to wage war.6/10