Top 10 Favorite Films: 1940-1949

In order of preference:

1940

1. Rebecca (Alfred Hitchcock)
2. The Sea Hawk (Michael Curtiz)
3. Pinocchio (Hamilton Luske, Ben Sharpsteen)
4. Pride and Prejudice (Robert Z. Leonard)
5. The Mark of Zorro (Rouben Mamoulian)
6. The Letter (William Wyler)
7. The Grapes of Wrath (John Ford)
8. Thief of Bagdad (Ludwig Berger, Michael Powell,Tim Whelan)
9. Dance, Girl, Dance (Dorothy Arzner)
10. The Westerner (William Wyler)

1941

1. The Little Foxes (William Wyler)
2. Dumbo (Ben Sharpsteen)
3. The Maltese Falcon (John Huston)
4. Citizen Kane (Orson Wells)
5. Ball of Fire (Howard Hawks)
6. Meet John Doe (Frank Capra)
7. The Wolf Man (George Waggner)
8. Here Comes Mr. Jordan (Alexander Hall)
9. Penny Serenade (George Stevens)
10. The Great Lie (Edmund Goulding)

1942

1. Casablanca (Michael Curtiz)
2. Now, Voyager (Irving Rapper)
3. Bambi (David Hand)
4. The Pride of the Yankees (Sam Wood)
5. Cat People (Jacques Tourneur)
6. Kings Row (Sam Wood)
7. The Palm Beach Story (Preston Sturges)
8. The Major and the Minor (Billy Wilder)
9. To Be or Not to Be (Ernst Lubitsch)
10. Tales of Manhattan (Julien Duvivier)

1943

1. For whom the Bell Tolls (Sam Wood)
2. The Shadow of A Doubt (Alfred Hitchcock)
3. The Leopard Man (Jacques Tourneur)
4. The Ghost Ship (Mark Robson)
5. Lassie Come Home (Fred M. Wilcox)
6. The Ox-Bow Incident (William A. Wellman)
7. This Land is Mine (Jean Renoir)
8. The Song of Bernadette (Henry King)
9. Old Acquaintance (Vincent Sherman)
10. I Walked with a Zombie (Jacques Tourneur)

1944

1. Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder)
2. Hail the Conquering Hero (Preston Sturges)
3. The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (Preston Sturges)
4. National Velvet (Clarence Brown)
5. Laura (Otto Preminger)
6. A Canterbury Tale (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger)
7. Wilson (Henry King)
8. Lifeboat (Alfred Hitchcock)
9. Meet Me in St. Louis (Vincente Minnelli)
10. Mr. Skeffington (Vincent Sherman)

1945

1. The Lost Weekend (Billy Wilder)
2. Leave Her to Heaven (John M. Stahl)
3. Mildred Pierce (Michael Curtiz)
4. The Seventh Veil (Compton Bennett)
5. Scarlet Street (Fitz Lang)
6. Spellbound (Alfred Hitchcock)
7. The Body Snatcher (Robert Wise)
8. The Picture of Dorian Gray (Albert Lewin)
9. The Bells of St. Mary’s (Leo McCarey)
10. Dead of Night (Robert Hamer, Basil Dearden, Charles Crichton, Alberto Cavalcanti)

1946

1. It’s a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra)
2. Notorious (Alfred Hitchcock)
3. The Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler)
4. The Yearling (Clarence Brown)
5. The Razor’s Edge (Edmund Goulding)
6. Great Expectations (David Lean)
7. The Jolson Story (Alfred E. Green)
8. The Big Sleep (Howard Hawks)
9. A Matter of Life and Death (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger)
10. Beauty and Beast (Jean Cocteau, René Clément)

1947

1. Black Narcissus (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger)
2. Miracle on 34th Street (George Seaton)
3. Odd Man Out (Carol Reed)
4. A Double Life (George Cukor)
5. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (Joseph L. Mankiewicz)
6. Born to Kill (Robert Wise)
7. Ride the Pink Horse (Robert Montgomery)
8. They Won’t Believe Me (Irving Pichel)
9. Germany Year Zero (Roberto Rosellini)
10. Gentleman’s Agreement (Elia Kazan)

1948

1. Red River (Howard Hawks)
2. The Red Shoes (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger)
3. The Fallen Idol (Carol Reed)
4. Fort Apache (John Ford)
5. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (Charles Barton)
6. The Pirate (Vincente Minnelli)
7. The Adventures of Don Juan (Vincent Sherman)
8. Hamlet (Laurence Olivier)
9. I Remember Mama (George Stevens)
10. Sitting Pretty (Walter Lang)

1949

1. The Heiress (William Wyler)
2. Samson and Delilah (Cecil B. DeMille)
3. Twelve O’Clock High (Henry King)
4. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (John Ford)
5. I Was a Male War Bride (Howard Hawks)
6. In the Good Old Summertime (Robert Z. Leonard)
7. Thieves’ Highway (Jules Dassin)
8. House of Strangers (Joseph L. Mankiewicz)
9. Kind Hearts and Coronets (Robert Hamer)
10. Stray Dog (Akira Kurosawa)