Top Ranked Films by Year: the 40s

Based on our compendium of all film polls
[2011 Edition]
© 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: 77 (down from 93)

- [ 1940 ] -
1. Great Dictator, The (1940) Chaplin, Charles #131
2. Grapes of Wrath, The (1940) Ford, John #144
3. His Girl Friday (1940) Hawks, Howard #147
4. Rebecca (1940) Hitchcock, Alfred #153
5. Pinocchio (1940) Sharpsteen, Ben & Hamilton Luske #335
6. Philadelphia Story, The (1940) Cukor, George #338
7. Fantasia (1940) Sharpsteen, Ben #399
8. Shop Around the Corner, The (1940) Lubitsch, Ernst #559
9. Thief of Bagdad, The (1940) Powell, Michael/Ludwig Berger/Tim Whelan #576
[Gone: The Bank Dick]
Best Picture: Rebecca

- [ 1941 ] -
1. Citizen Kane (1941) Welles, Orson #11
2. Maltese Falcon, The (1941) Huston, John #103
3. Lady Eve, The (1941) Sturges, Preston #149
4. Sullivan's Travels (1941) Sturges, Preston #294
5. How Green Was My Valley (1941) Ford, John #526
6. Dumbo (1941) Sharpsteen, Ben #624
[Gone: Hellzapoppin']
Best Picture: How Green Was My Valley

- [ 1942 ] -
1. Casablanca - Curtiz, Michael #55 (photo rt)
2. Magnificent Ambersons, The (1942) Welles, Orson #132
3. Palm Beach Story, The (1942) Sturges, Preston #241
4. To Be or Not to Be (1942) Lubitsch, Ernst #330
5. Now, Voyager (1942) Rapper, Irving #608
6. Cat People (1942) Tourneur, Jacques #614
7. Bambi (1942) Hand, David #749
Best Picture: Mrs. Miniver

- [ 1943 ] -
1. Shadow of a Doubt (1943) Hitchcock, Alfred #262
2. Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, The (1943) Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger #420
3. Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) Deren, Maya #424
4. Day of Wrath (1943) Dreyer, Carl #545
5. I Walked with a Zombie (1943) Tourneur, Jacques #868
6. Ossessione (1943) Visconti, Luchino #938
[Gone: The Ox-Bow Incident, Fires Were Started]
Best Picture: Casablanca (released in 42, Oscar awarded for 43 - what the heck was that about? Did Hollywood want to award two pro-Allies war films back-to-back Oscars for propaganda reasons?)

- [ 1944 ] -
1. Double Indemnity (1944) Wilder, Billy #71
2. Laura (1944) Preminger, Otto #393
3. Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) Minnelli, Vincente #410
4. Ivan the Terrible, Part One (1944) Eisenstein, Sergei #482
5. To Have and Have Not (1944) Hawks, Howard #503
6. Canterbury Tale, A (1944) Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger #707
7. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) Capra, Frank #723
8. Henry V (1944) Olivier, Laurence #813
9. Miracle of Morgan's Creek, The (1944) Sturges, Preston #867
[Gone: A Canterbury Tale, The Woman in the Window]
Best Picture: Going My Way

- [ 1945 ] -
1. Rome, Open City (1945) Rossellini, Roberto #289
2. Les Enfants du paradis (1945) Carné, Marcel #303
3. Brief Encounter (1945) Lean, David #308
4. Mildred Pierce (1945) Curtiz, Michael #598
5. Detour (1945) Ulmer, Edgar G. #642
6. They Were Expendable (1945) Ford, John #779
7. I Know Where I'm Going! (1945) Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger #797
8. Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne (1945) Bresson, Robert #948
[Gone: The Lost Weekend]
Best Picture: The Lost Weekend

- [ 1946 ] -
1. It's a Wonderful Life (1946) Capra, Frank #17
2. Notorious (1946) Hitchcock, Alfred #54
3. Big Sleep, The (1946) Hawks, Howard #154
4. Best Years of Our Lives, The (1946) Wyler, William #175
5. Belle et la bête, La (Beauty/Beast,1946) Cocteau, Jean #241
6. Paisan (1946) Rossellini, Roberto #278
7. My Darling Clementine (1946) Ford, John #314
8. Matter of Life and Death, A (1946) Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger #348
9. Black Narcissus (1946) Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger #436
10. Great Expectations (1946) Lean, David #479
11. Ivan the Terrible, Part Two (1946) Eisenstein, Sergei #550
[Gone: Duel in the Sun, Gilda]
Best Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives

- [ 1947 ] -
1. Out of the Past (1947) Tourneur, Jacques #293
2. Monsieur Verdoux (1947) Chaplin, Charles #558
3. Germany, Year Zero (1947) Rossellini, Roberto #578
4. Lady from Shanghai, The (1947) Welles, Orson #620
5. Odd Man Out (1947) Reed, Carol #633
6. Quai des Orfèvres (1947) Clouzot, Henri-Georges #786
[Gone: Shoeshine, Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Pursued]
Best Picture: Gentlemen's Agreement

- [ 1948 ] -
1. Third Man, The (1948) Reed, Carol #23
2. Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The (1948) Huston, John #93
3. Red Shoes, The (1948) Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger #251
4. Red River (1948) Hawks, Howard #369
5. Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948) Ophüls, Max #430
6. Rope (1948) Hitchcock, Alfred #455
7. Fallen Idol, The (1948) Reed, Carol #488
8. La Terra trema (1948) Visconti, Luchino #792
9. Spring in a Small Town (1948) Fei Mu #907
[Gone: They Live by Night, Unfaithfully Yours]
Best Picture: Hamlet

- [ 1949 ] -
1. Bicycle Thief, The #21 - De Sica, Vittorio
2. Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) Hamer, Robert #203
3. White Heat (1949) Walsh, Raoul #419
4. Late Spring (1949) Ozu, Yasujiro #451
5. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) Ford, John #761
6. On the Town (1949) Donen, Stanley/Gene Kelly #884
[Gone: The Heiress, The Reckless Moment]
Best Picture: All the King's Men

Top Films of the Decade (all ranked films)
1. Citizen Kane (1941) Welles, Orson #11
2. It's a Wonderful Life (1946) Capra, Frank #17
3. Bicycle Thief, The (1949) De Sica, Vittorio #21
4. Third Man, The (1948) Reed, Carol #23
5. Notorious (1946) Hitchcock, Alfred #54
6. Casablanca (1942) Curtiz, Michael #55
7. Double Indemnity (1944) Wilder, Billy #71
8. Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The (1948) Huston, John #93
9. Maltese Falcon, The (1941) Huston, John #103
10. Great Dictator, The (1940) Chaplin, Charles #131
11. Magnificent Ambersons, The (1942) Welles, Orson #132
12. Grapes of Wrath, The (1940) Ford, John #144
13. His Girl Friday (1940) Hawks, Howard #147
14. Lady Eve, The (1941) Sturges, Preston #149
15. Rebecca (1940) Hitchcock, Alfred #153
16. Big Sleep, The (1946) Hawks, Howard #154
17. Best Years of Our Lives, The (1946) Wyler, William #175
18. Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) Hamer, Robert #203
19. Belle et la bête, La (Beauty/Beast, 1946) Cocteau, Jean #241
20. Palm Beach Story, The (1942) Sturges, Preston #241
21. Red Shoes, The (1948) Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger #251
22. Shadow of a Doubt (1943) Hitchcock, Alfred #262
23. Paisan (1946) Rossellini, Roberto #278
24. Rome, Open City (1945) Rossellini, Roberto #289
25. Out of the Past (1947) Tourneur, Jacques #293
26. Sullivan's Travels (1941) Sturges, Preston #294
27. Les Enfants du paradis (1945) Carné, Marcel #303
28. Brief Encounter (1945) Lean, David #308
29. My Darling Clementine (1946) Ford, John #314
30. To Be or Not to Be (1942) Lubitsch, Ernst #330
31. Pinocchio (1940) Sharpsteen, Ben & Hamilton Luske #335
32. Philadelphia Story, The (1940) Cukor, George #338
33. Matter of Life and Death, A (1946) Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger #348
34. Red River (1948) Hawks, Howard #369
35. Laura (1944) Preminger, Otto #393
36. Fantasia (1940) Sharpsteen, Ben #399
37. Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) Minnelli, Vincente #410
38. White Heat (1949) Walsh, Raoul #419
39. Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, The (1943) Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger #420
40. Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) Deren, Maya #424
41. Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948) Ophüls, Max #430
42. Black Narcissus (1946) Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger #436
43. Late Spring (1949) Ozu, Yasujiro #451
44. Rope (1948) Hitchcock, Alfred #455
45. Great Expectations (1946) Lean, David #479
46. Ivan the Terrible, Part One (1944) Eisenstein, Sergei #482
47. Fallen Idol, The (1948) Reed, Carol #488
48. To Have and Have Not (1944) Hawks, Howard #503
49. How Green Was My Valley (1941) Ford, John #526
50. Day of Wrath (1943) Dreyer, Carl #545
51. Ivan the Terrible, Part Two (1946) Eisenstein, Sergei #550
52. Monsieur Verdoux (1947) Chaplin, Charles #558
53. Shop Around the Corner, The (1940) Lubitsch, Ernst #559
54. Thief of Bagdad, The (1940) Powell, Michael/Ludwig Berger/Tim Whelan #576
55. Germany, Year Zero (1947) Rossellini, Roberto #578
56. Mildred Pierce (1945) Curtiz, Michael #598
57. Now, Voyager (1942) Rapper, Irving #608
58. Cat People (1942) Tourneur, Jacques #614
59. Lady from Shanghai, The (1947) Welles, Orson #620
60. Dumbo (1941) Sharpsteen, Ben #624
61. Odd Man Out (1947) Reed, Carol #633
62. Detour (1945) Ulmer, Edgar G. #642
63. Canterbury Tale, A (1944) Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger #707
64. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) Capra, Frank #723
65. Bambi (1942) Hand, David #749
66. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) Ford, John #761
67. They Were Expendable (1945) Ford, John #779
68. Quai des Orfèvres (1947) Clouzot, Henri-Georges #786
69. La Terra trema (1948) Visconti, Luchino #792
70. I Know Where I'm Going! (1945) Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger #797
71. Henry V (1944) Olivier, Laurence #813
72. Miracle of Morgan's Creek, The (1944) Sturges, Preston #867
73. I Walked with a Zombie (1943) Tourneur, Jacques #868
74. On the Town (1949) Donen, Stanley/Gene Kelly #884
75. Spring in a Small Town (1948) Fei Mu #907
76. Ossessione (1943) Visconti, Luchino #938
77. Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne (1945) Bresson, Robert #948

Unranked best picture winners (6): Mrs. Miniver, Going My Way, All The King's Men, Gentlemen's Agreement, Hamlet, The Lost Weekend

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-The Grapes of Wrath, 9-The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, 10-Philadelphia Story, 11-His Girl Friday, 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