Top of the World: 35 Movies of the 40s

Hello readers!

I’m back with a “weekly” top list! This time, I’ll present you my top 35 of the movies of the 40s, one of my very favourite movie decades (actually, the second one after the 50s). Why 35? It’s a lot, I know, but there are so many movies I love from this decade!

At first, I listed all the movies I saw from 1940 to 1949. Then, I deleted those I didn’t like THAT much and then I kept  only those I REALLY loved. And the final number was 35 (on 118, which is not bad). I could have made a top 10, but then I would feel bad to left some movies behind.

Anyway, before you start reading this top list, remember that these are my personal choices. It’s a list of favourites and it’s purely subjective. I don’t say that one film is better than the other, but that I just personally prefer it.

Well, enjoy, and if your favourite ones are not on the list, just tell yourself it could be in a longer top.

Here we go! (PS: look for the links to read some of my movie reviews!)

35. Music in my Heart (Joseph Stanley, 1940)

34. Partie de Campagne (Jean Renoir, 1946)

33. Madness of the Heart (Charles Bennett, 1949)

32. Secret Beyond the Door (Fritz Lang, 1947)

31. Born to Kill (Robert Wise, 1947)

30. Suspicion (Alfred Hitchcock, 1941)

29. Saboteur (Alfred Hitchcock, 1941)

28. Dear Ruth (William D. Russell, 1947)

27. City for Conquest (Anatole Litvak, 1940)

26. The Magnificent Ambersons (Orson Welles, 1942)

25. The Wicked Lady (Leslie Arliss, 1945)

24. The Snake Pit (Anatole Litvak, 1948)

23. The Woman in the Window (Fritz Lang, 1944)

22. The Spiral Staircase (Robert Siodmak, 1946)

21. Woman of the Year (George Stevens, 1942)

20. Notorious (Alfred Hitchcock, 1946)

19. Pinocchio (Hamilton Luske and Ben Sharpsteen)

18. Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942)

17. Scarlet Street (Fritz Lang, 1945 – note: also my favourite Fritz Lang’s film)

16. Gaslight (George Cukor, 1944)

15. Mrs. Miniver (William Wyler, 1942)

14. The Heiress (William Wyler, 1949)

13. To Be or Not to Be (Ernst Lubitsch, 1942)

12. The Great Dictator (Charlie Chaplin, 1940)

11. Portrait of Jennie (William Dieterle, 1948)

1o. White Heat (Raoul Walsh, 1949)

9. Sullivan’s Travels (Preston Sturges, 1941)

8. Spellbound (Alfred Hitchcock, 1945)

7. The Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler, 1946)

6. Rebecca (Alfred Hitchcock, 1940)

5. Give Us the Moon (Val Guest, 1944)

4. Romance on the High Seas (Michael Curtiz, 1949)

3. The Philadelphia Story (George Cukor, 1940)

2. Shadow of a Doubt (Alfred Hitchcock, 1943)

and

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

1. It’s a Wonderful Life! (Frank Capra, 1946)

Well, that’s it! I hope you enjoyed the top!

I know there aren’t many foreign films, except for Partie de Campagne, but the thing is, I just haven’t seen many foreign films from the 40s. But I have to give an honourable mention to Germany Year Zero (Roberto Rossellini, 1948). 🙂

Well, see you next time!