Films of the 1940s

See also: Early Films, Films of the 1920s, 1930s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s.

1940-1948

 * Alfred Hitchcock moved to Hollywood and directs classic thrillers such as
 * Notorious
 * Rebecca
 * Rope
 * Shadow of a Doubt
 * Spellbound

Notable Film Franchises, 1940-1949

 * The first five Lassie films.
 * Lassie Come Home (1943)
 * Son of Lassie (1945)
 * Courage of Lassie (1946)
 * Hills of Home (1948)
 * The Sun Comes Up (1949)
 * Andy Hardy
 * Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (1940)
 * Andy Hardy's Private Secretary (1941)
 * Life Begins for Andy Hardy (1941)
 * The Courtship of Andy Hardy (1942)
 * Andy Hardy's Double Life (1942)
 * Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble (1944)
 * Love Laughs at Andy Hardy (1946)
 * Ellery Queen
 * Ellery Queen, Master Detective (1940)
 * Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery (1941)
 * Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring (1941)
 * Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime (1941)
 * Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen (1942)
 * A Close Call for Ellery Queen (1942)
 * A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen (1942)
 * The last of the Flash Gordon film serials
 * Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940)
 * The first five Road To ... films.
 * Road to Singapore (1940)
 * Road to Zanzibar (1941)
 * Road to Morocco (1942)
 * Road to Utopia (1946)
 * Road to Rio (1947)
 * Jungle Jim
 * Jungle Jim (1948)
 * The Lost Tribe (1949)


 * Universal Horror
 * Crossovers
 * Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)
 * House of Frankenstein (1944)
 * House of Dracula (1945)
 * Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
 * The Dracula Series
 * Son of Dracula (1943)
 * The Frankenstein Series
 * The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)
 * The Mummy series
 * The Mummys Hand (1940)
 * The Mummy's Tomb (1942)
 * The Mummy's Ghost (1944)
 * The Mummy's Curse (1944)
 * The Wolf Man Series
 * The Wolf Man (1941)

1940

 * The Blue Bird
 * Fantasia
 * The Grapes of Wrath - The film of the effects of the Depression
 * The Great Dictator
 * Hired - A short training film for Chevrolet sales managers. Was shown in two parts on Mystery Science Theater 3000 with movies Bride of the Monster and Manos: The Hands of Fate.
 * His Girl Friday
 * The Philadelphia Story
 * Pinocchio
 * Pride and Prejudice - starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier, co-adapted by Aldous Huxley.
 * Rebecca
 * The Sea Hawk
 * The Shop Around the Corner
 * The Thief of Bagdad
 * You Nazty Spy
 * Night Train to Munich

1941

 * Ball of Fire
 * Citizen Kane
 * The Devil and Daniel Webster
 * Dumbo
 * High Sierra
 * How Green Was My Valley
 * Ill Wait for You
 * The Lady Eve 
 * The Maltese Falcon
 * Meet John Doe
 * Mr. Bug Goes to Town
 * Pimpernel Smith
 * The Reluctant Dragon
 * That Hamilton Woman

1942

 * Bambi
 * Casablanca -- Wartime romance, often considered one of the best romantic movies ever made.
 * Cat People
 * Holiday Inn
 * Jungle Book
 * The Man Who Came to Dinner -- Based on the Kaufman/Hart play of the same name
 * Mrs. Miniver -- An Oscar-winning World War II propaganda film.
 * Now Voyager
 * The Palm Beach Story
 * Sullivan's Travels
 * To Be or Not to Be -- A comedy set in Poland during the early days of World War II
 * Yankee Doodle Dandy

1943

 * The Batman -- Batman's film debut.
 * For Whom the Bell Tolls
 * Heaven Can Wait -- Not to be confused with the unrelated 1978 movie of the same name.
 * Jane Eyre - starring Joan Fontaine, co-adapted by Aldous Huxley.
 * The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
 * The Phantom of the Opera -- The Claude Rains version
 * Saludos Amigos
 * Shadow of a Doubt -- Alfred Hitchcock's favorite Alfred Hitchcock film
 * Who Killed Who

1944

 * Arsenic and Old Lace
 * Cobra Woman
 * Double Indemnity
 * Gaslight
 * I Accuse My Parents
 * Ivan the Terrible
 * Laura
 * The Little Rascals (last classic film)
 * Meet Me in St Louis
 * Ministry Of Fear
 * The Miracle of Morgans Creek - the most controversial film by Preston Sturges.
 * Mr. Skeffington
 * Murder My Sweet
 * National Velvet
 * Since You Went Away
 * The Woman in the Window

1945

 * Anchors Aweigh
 * Dead of Night
 * The Lost Weekend
 * Mildred Pierce
 * State Fair
 * The Three Caballeros

1946

 * Beauty and The Beast
 * The Best Years of Our Lives
 * The Big Sleep -- A classic Film Noir.
 * The Blue Dahlia
 * The Brute Man
 * Gilda
 * Great Expectations (David Lean version)
 * Its a Wonderful Life -- Source of Wonderful Life.
 * A Matter of Life and Death -- Called Stairway to Heaven in the US
 * Make Mine Music
 * Notorious
 * The Postman Always Rings Twice 1946
 * She Wolf of London
 * Song of the South -- Walt Disney's own personal Canon Discontinuity
 * Swing Parade of 1946

1947

 * Dead Reckoning
 * Fun and Fancy Free
 * Gentlemans Agreement
 * The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
 * Miracle On Thirty Fourth Street
 * Monsieur Verdoux
 * Nightmare Alley
 * Sinbad the Sailor
 * The Lady From Shanghai

1948

 * Bicycle Thieves
 * Fort Apache -- The first part of John Ford's "Cavalry Trilogy"
 * Germany, Year Zero
 * Hamlet (Laurence Olivier version)
 * Jungle Goddess
 * Key Largo
 * Last of the Wild Horses
 * Melody Time
 * Portrait of Jennie
 * Red River
 * Rope
 * That Lady in Ermine
 * The Treasure of the Sierra Madre -- The quintessential Gold Fever story.
 * Unfaithfully Yours
 * Unknown Island
 * The Red Shoes

1949

 * The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
 * All the Kings Men
 * Batman and Robin -- The sequel to the original Batman film debut.
 * The Fountainhead
 * The Heiress
 * Kind Hearts and Coronets
 * A Letter to Three Wives
 * Mighty Joe Young -- The original film.
 * Passport to Pimlico
 * On the Town
 * The Secret Garden -- Starring Margaret O' Brien.
 * She Wore a Yellow Ribbon -- The second part of John Ford's "Cavalry Trilogy"
 * Stray Dog
 * The Passionate Friends
 * The Third Man
 * Under Capricorn
 * White Heat

Notable 1940s Cartoons and Live Action shorts

 * Casper the Friendly Ghost
 * "There's Good Boos Tonight" (1947)
 * Charlie Chan
 * Classic Disney Shorts
 * "Der Fuehrers Face" (1943)
 * "Education for Death" (1943)
 * The Little Rascals
 * Looney Tunes
 * "The Great Piggy Bank Robbery" (1946)
 * "You Ought to Be In Pictures" (1940)
 * Merrie Melodies
 * "A Corny Concerto" (1943)
 * "Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarfs" (1943)
 * "The Dover Boys At Pimento University or The Rivals of Roquefort Hall" (1942)
 * "A Wild Hare" (1940)
 * Popeye and other classic shorts from Max and Dave Fleischer
 * Tarzan
 * The Three Stooges
 * Tom and Jerry, Happy Harmonies, and other classic shorts from Metro Goldwyn Mayer
 * "Bad Luck Blackie" (1949)
 * "The Cat Concerto" (1947)
 * "Northwest Hounded Police" (1946)
 * "Puss Gets the Boot" (1940)
 * "Red Hot Riding Hood" (1943)
 * Woody Woodpecker and other classic shorts from Universal
 * "The Barber of Seville" (1944)