The Best Films of the 1940s Decade

1. Citizen KaneOrson Welles1941
2. Bicycle ThievesVittorio de Sica1948
3. The Third ManCarol Reed1949
4. CasablancaMichael Curtiz1942
5. The Magnificent AmbersonsOrson Welles1942
6. It’s a Wonderful LifeFrank Capra1946
7. Rome, Open CityRoberto Rossellini1945
8. Children of ParadiseMarcel Carne1945
9. The Red ShoesMichael Powell1948
10. The Big SleepHoward Hawks1946
11. Double IndemnityBilly Wilder1944
12. Black NarcissusMichael Powell1947
13. NotoriousAlfred Hitchcock1946
14. A Matter of Life and DeathMichael Powell1946
15. The Grapes of WrathJohn Ford1940
16. Red RiverHoward Hawks1948
17. LauraOtto Preminger1944
18. The Life and Death of Colonel BlimpMichael Powell1943
19. Germany Year ZeroRoberto Rossellini1948
20. The Treasure of the Sierra MadreJohn Huston1948
21. Late SpringYasujirō Ozu1949
22. White HeatRaoul Walsh1949
23. Out of the PastJacques Tourneur1947
24. The Maltese FalconJohn Huston1941
25. PinocchioBen Sharpsteen, Hamilton Luske1940
26. How Green Was My ValleyJohn Ford1941
27. The KillersRobert Siodmak1946
28. His Girl FridayHoward Hawks1940
29. The Best Years of Our LivesWillam Wyler1946
30. Letter From an Unknown WomanMax Ophüls1948
31. RopeAlfred Hitchcock1948
32. The Lady EvePreston Sturges1941
33. RebeccaAlfred Hitchcock1940
34. Scarlet StreetFritz Lang1945
35. Shadow of a DoubtAlfred Hitchcock1943
36. Sullivan’s TravelsPreston Sturges1941
37. The Palm Beach StoryPreston Sturges1942
38. Meet Me in St LouisVincente Minnelli1944
39. Unfaithfully YoursPreston Sturges1948
40. Fallen AngelOtto Preminger1945
41. The Lady From ShanghaiOrson Welles1947
42. The Shop Around the CornerErnst Lubitsch1940
43. The Philadelphia StoryGeorge Cukor1940
44. To Be or Not To BeErnst Lubitsch1942
45. Yankee Doodle DandyMichael Curtiz1942
46. They Live By NightNicholas Ray1948
47. The Fallen IdolCarol Reed1948
48. Cat PeopleJacques Torneur1942
49. The Lost WeekendBilly Wilder1945
50. The Woman in the WindowFritz Lang1944
51. BambiDavid Hand1942
52. The Ox-Bow IncidentWilliam A. Wellman1943
53. The Miracle of Morgan CreekPreston Sturges1944
54. Gentleman JimRaoul Walsh1942
55. The Postman Always Rings TwiceTay Garnett1946
56. The Thief of BaghdadMichael Powell1940
57. Arsenic and Old LaceFrank Capra1944
58. FantasiaSamuel Armstrong, James Algar, Bill Roberts, Paul Satterfield, Ben Sharpsteen, David D. Hand, Hamilton Luske, Jim Handley, Ford Beebe, T. Hee, Norman Ferguson, Wilfred Jackson1940
59. They Drive By NightRaoul Walsh1940
60. Miracle on 34th StreetGeorge Seaton1947
Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio de Sica, 1948)