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 Letter (William Wyler)
6. The Mark of Zorro (Rouben Mamoulian)
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 Shop Around the Corner (Ernst Lubitsch)

1941

1. The Little Foxes (William Wyler)
2. Citizen Kane (Orson Wells)
3. Dumbo (Ben Sharpsteen)
4. The Maltese Falcon (John Huston)
5. Meet John Doe (Frank Capra)
6. Ball of Fire (Howard Hawks)
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. The Palm Beach Story (Preston Sturges)
7. The Major and the Minor (Billy Wilder)
8. To Be or Not to Be (Ernst Lubitsch)
9. Kings Row (Sam Wood)
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. I Walked with a Zombie (Jacques Tourneur)
10. Old Acquaintance (Vincent Sherman)

1944

1. Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder)
2. Hail the Conquering Hero (Preston Sturges)
3. The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (Preston Sturges)
4. Laura (Otto Preminger)
5. National Velvet (Clarence Brown)
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. The Uninvited (Lewis Allen)

1945

1. The Lost Weekend (Billy Wilder)
2. Leave Her to Heaven (John M. Stahl)
3. Scarlet Street (Fritz Lang)
4. Mildred Pierce (Michael Curtiz)
5. The Seventh Veil (Compton Bennett)
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. The Spiral Staircase (Robert Siodmak)

1946

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

1947

1. Black Narcissus (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger)
2. Miracle on 34th Street (George Seaton)
3. A Double Life (George Cukor)
4. Born to Kill (Robert Wise)
5. Odd Man Out (Carol Reed)
6. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (Joseph L. Mankiewicz)
7. Kiss of Death (Henry Hathaway)
8. Crossfire (Edward Dmytryk)
9. They Won’t Believe Me (Irving Pichel)
10. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Norman Z. McLeod)

1948

1. Red River (Howard Hawks)
2. The Red Shoes (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger)
3. The Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica)
4. The Fallen Idol (Carol Reed)
5. Fort Apache (John Ford)
6. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (John Huston)
7. Hamlet (Laurence Olivier)
8. Oliver Twist (David Lean)
9. I Remember Mama (George Stevens)
10. The Pirate (Vincente Minnelli)

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)