1940
by AndreValverde85 | created - 11 Jul 2018 | updated - 28 Feb 2021 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Rebecca (1940)
Approved | 130 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A self-conscious woman juggles adjusting to her new role as an aristocrat's wife and avoiding being intimidated by his first wife's spectral presence.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders, Judith Anderson
Votes: 146,803 | Gross: $4.36M
*Top Rated Movies*|
[*BEST PICTURE*]
*CINEMATOGRAPHY (Black-and-White) -- George Barnes
*OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION -- Selznick International Pictures
2. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
Passed | 129 min | Drama
An Oklahoma family, driven off their farm by the poverty and hopelessness of the Dust Bowl, joins the westward migration to California, suffering the misfortunes of the homeless in the Great Depression.
Director: John Ford | Stars: Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine, Charley Grapewin
Votes: 99,987 | Gross: $0.06M
*Top Rated Movies*|
[BEST PICTURE]
*ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE -- Jane Darwell
*DIRECTING -- John Ford
3. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Not Rated | 112 min | Comedy, Romance
When a rich woman's ex-husband and a tabloid-type reporter turn up just before her planned remarriage, she begins to learn the truth about herself.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart, Ruth Hussey
Votes: 73,875
[BEST PICTURE] *ACTOR -- James Stewart *WRITING (Screenplay) -- Donald Ogden Stewart
4. Kitty Foyle (1940)
Passed | 108 min | Drama, Romance
A hard-working white-collar girl from a middle-class family meets and falls in love with a young socialite, but she soon clashes with his family.
Director: Sam Wood | Stars: Ginger Rogers, Dennis Morgan, James Craig, Eduardo Ciannelli
Votes: 4,055
[BEST PICTURE]
*ACTRESS -- Ginger Rogers
5. The Letter (1940)
Not Rated | 95 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
The wife of a rubber plantation administrator shoots a man to death and claims it was self-defense, but a letter written in her own hand may prove her undoing.
Director: William Wyler | Stars: Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson, Frieda Inescort
Votes: 14,607
[BEST PICTURE] | Nominated for 7 Oscars. |
6. Foreign Correspondent (1940)
Passed | 120 min | Action, Romance, Thriller
On the eve of World War II, a young American reporter tries to expose enemy agents in London.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Joel McCrea, Laraine Day, Herbert Marshall, George Sanders
Votes: 23,726 | Gross: $3.48M
[BEST PICTURE] | Nominated for 6 Oscars. |
7. The Long Voyage Home (1940)
Approved | 105 min | Drama, War
A merchant ship's crew tries to survive the loneliness of the sea and the coming of war.
Director: John Ford | Stars: John Wayne, Thomas Mitchell, Ian Hunter, Ward Bond
Votes: 4,924
[BEST PICTURE] | Nominated for 6 Oscars. |
8. Our Town (1940)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, Family, Romance
Change comes slowly to a small New Hampshire town in the early 20th century.
Director: Sam Wood | Stars: William Holden, Martha Scott, Fay Bainter, Beulah Bondi
Votes: 2,971
[BEST PICTURE] | Nominated for 6 Oscars. |
9. All This, and Heaven Too (1940)
Approved | 141 min | Drama, Romance
A duchess' irrational behavior toward her children's governess triggers tragic events that will change her family's lives forever.
Director: Anatole Litvak | Stars: Bette Davis, Charles Boyer, Jeffrey Lynn, Barbara O'Neil
Votes: 5,388
[BEST PICTURE] | Nominated for 3 Oscars. |
10. The Great Dictator (1940)
G | 125 min | Comedy, Drama, War
Dictator Adenoid Hynkel tries to expand his empire while a poor Jewish barber tries to avoid persecution from Hynkel's regime.
Director: Charles Chaplin | Stars: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Jack Oakie, Reginald Gardiner
Votes: 237,423 | Gross: $0.29M
*Top Rated Movies* [BEST PICTURE] | Nominated for 5 Oscars. |
11. The Thief of Bagdad (1940)
Not Rated | 106 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
After being tricked and cast out of Bagdad by the evil Jaffar, King Ahmad joins forces with a thief named Abu to reclaim his throne, the city, and the Princess he loves.
Directors: Ludwig Berger, Michael Powell, Tim Whelan, Alexander Korda, Zoltan Korda, William Cameron Menzies | Stars: Conrad Veidt, Sabu, June Duprez, John Justin
Votes: 14,504 | Gross: $0.27M
*ART DIRECTION (Color) -- Vincent Korda *CINEMATOGRAPHY (Color) -- Georges Périnal *SPECIAL EFFECTS -- Photographic Effects by Lawrence Butler; Sound Effects by Jack Whitney MUSIC (Original Score) -- Miklos Rozsa
12. North West Mounted Police (1940)
Passed | 126 min | Drama, Romance, Western
In 1885, a Texas Ranger travels to Canada to arrest a trapper who's wanted for murder and who's stirring up the Natives in a rebellion against the Canadian government.
Director: Cecil B. DeMille | Stars: Gary Cooper, Madeleine Carroll, Paulette Goddard, Preston Foster
Votes: 1,830
*FILM EDITING -- Anne Bauchens ART DIRECTION (Color) -- Hans Dreier, Roland Anderson CINEMATOGRAPHY (Color) -- Victor Milner, W. Howard Greene MUSIC (Original Score) -- Victor Young SOUND RECORDING -- Paramount Studio Sound Department, Loren L. Ryder, Sound Director
13. Arise, My Love (1940)
Passed | 110 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A dashing pilot and a vivacious reporter have romantic and dramatic adventures in Europe as World War II begins.
Director: Mitchell Leisen | Stars: Claudette Colbert, Ray Milland, Dennis O'Keefe, Walter Abel
Votes: 1,037
*WRITING (Original Story) -- Benjamin Glazer, John S. Toldy ART DIRECTION (Black-and-White) -- Hans Dreier, Robert Usher CINEMATOGRAPHY (Black-and-White) -- Charles B. Lang, Jr. MUSIC (Scoring) -- Victor Young
14. The Westerner (1940)
Passed | 100 min | Drama, Western
Judge Roy Bean, a self-appointed hanging judge in Vinegarroon, Texas, befriends saddle tramp Cole Harden, who opposes Bean's policy against homesteaders.
Director: William Wyler | Stars: Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Doris Davenport, Fred Stone
Votes: 6,800
*ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE -- Walter Brennan ART DIRECTION (Black-and-White) -- James Basevi WRITING (Original Story) -- Stuart N. Lake
15. Pinocchio (1940)
G | 88 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A living puppet, with the help of a cricket as his conscience, must prove himself worthy to become a real boy.
Directors: Norman Ferguson, T. Hee, Wilfred Jackson, Jack Kinney, Hamilton Luske, Bill Roberts, Ben Sharpsteen | Stars: Dickie Jones, Christian Rub, Mel Blanc, Don Brodie
Votes: 159,918 | Gross: $84.25M
*MUSIC (Original Score) -- Leigh Harline, Paul J. Smith, Ned Washington *MUSIC (Song) -- "When You Wish Upon A Star," Music by Leigh Harline; Lyrics by Ned Washington
16. Strike Up the Band (1940)
Passed | 120 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A high-school boy wants to become a professional musician, and his gal pal wants to become his best girl. They work together staging big-band shows with fellow classmates in the hopes of hitting it big.
Director: Busby Berkeley | Stars: Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Paul Whiteman, June Preisser
Votes: 1,940
*SOUND RECORDING -- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Douglas Shearer, Sound Director MUSIC (Scoring) -- Roger Edens, Georgie Stoll MUSIC (Song) -- "Our Love Affair," Music and Lyrics by Roger Edens and Arthur Freed
17. The Great McGinty (1940)
Passed | 82 min | Comedy
Dan McGinty has great success in his chosen field of crooked politics, but he endangers it all in one crazy moment of honesty.
Director: Preston Sturges | Stars: Brian Donlevy, Muriel Angelus, Akim Tamiroff, Allyn Joslyn
Votes: 4,410
*WRITING (Original Screenplay) -- Preston Sturges
18. Pride and Prejudice (1940)
Approved | 118 min | Drama, Romance
The arrival of wealthy bachelors in town causes an uproar when families with single daughters aggressively seek engagements, including the Bennet family, with five eligible daughters.
Director: Robert Z. Leonard | Stars: Greer Garson, Laurence Olivier, Mary Boland, Edna May Oliver
Votes: 9,224
*ART DIRECTION (Black-and-White) -- Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse
19. Quicker'n a Wink (1940)
Approved | 10 min | Documentary, Short, Comedy
In this Pete Smith Specialty, Dr. Harold E. Edgerton demonstrates stroboscopic photography, which he helped develop. This process allows us to see in slow motion what happens during events ... See full summary »
Director: George Sidney | Stars: Harold E. Edgerton, Clarence Curtis, Tex Harris, Charles Lacey
Votes: 379
*SHORT SUBJECT (One-reel) -- Pete Smith, Producer
20. The Milky Way (1940)
Approved | 8 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
The Three Little Kittens tie helium balloons to a basket and travel up to the Milky Way, which is filled with all the milk they can drink.
Director: Rudolf Ising | Stars: Geneva Hall, Jeanne Dunne, Bernice Hansen, The Rhythmettes
Votes: 853
*SHORT SUBJECT (Cartoon) -- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
21. Tin Pan Alley (1940)
Approved | 94 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
Songwriters Calhoun and Harrigan get Katie and Lily Blane to introduce a new one. Lily goes to England, and Katy joins her after the boys give a new song to Nora Bayes. All are reunited when the boys, now in the army, show up in England.
Director: Walter Lang | Stars: Alice Faye, Betty Grable, Jack Oakie, John Payne
Votes: 564
*MUSIC (Scoring) -- Alfred Newman
22. Teddy the Rough Rider (1940)
Approved | 19 min | Short, Biography, Drama
In a series of short scenes, key periods in Theodore Roosevelt's political life are dramatized beginning in 1895 with his time as New York City police commissioner and later as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Vice President and President.
Director: Ray Enright | Stars: Sidney Blackmer, Pierre Watkin, Theodore von Eltz, Arthur Loft
Votes: 274
*SHORT SUBJECT (Two-reel) -- Warner Bros.
23. Fantasia (1940)
G | 124 min | Animation, Family, Fantasy
A series of eight famous pieces of classical music, conducted by Leopold Stokowski and interpreted in animation by Walt Disney's team of artists.
Directors: James Algar, Samuel Armstrong, Ford Beebe Jr., Norman Ferguson, David Hand, Jim Handley, T. Hee, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, Bill Roberts, Paul Satterfield, Ben Sharpsteen | Stars: Leopold Stokowski, Deems Taylor, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Corey Burton
Votes: 104,011 | Gross: $76.41M
[*HONORARY AWARD*] *SPECIAL AWARD To Leopold Stokowski and his associates for their unique achievement in the creation of a new form of visualized music in Walt Disney's production, Fantasia, thereby widening the scope of the motion picture as entertainment and as an art form. *SPECIAL AWARD To Walt Disney, William Garity, John N. A. Hawkins and the RCA Manufacturing Company for their outstanding contribution to the advancement of the use of sound in motion pictures through the production of Fantasia.
24. The Sea Hawk (1940)
Approved | 127 min | Action, Adventure, History
Geoffrey Thorpe, a buccaneer, is hired by Queen Elizabeth I to nag the Spanish Armada. The Armada is waiting for the attack on England and Thorpe surprises them with attacks on their galleons where he shows his skills on the sword.
Director: Michael Curtiz | Stars: Errol Flynn, Brenda Marshall, Claude Rains, Donald Crisp
Votes: 10,745
| Nominated for 4 Oscars. |
25. My Favorite Wife (1940)
Passed | 88 min | Comedy, Romance
Missing for seven years and presumed dead, a woman returns home on the day of her husband's second marriage.
Director: Garson Kanin | Stars: Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Randolph Scott, Gail Patrick
Votes: 11,516
| Nominated for 3 Oscars. |
26. Down Argentine Way (1940)
Approved | 89 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
An American girl on vacation in Argentina falls for a wealthy racehorse owner.
Director: Irving Cummings | Stars: Don Ameche, Betty Grable, Carmen Miranda, Charlotte Greenwood
Votes: 1,365
| Nominated for 3 Oscars. |
27. Waterloo Bridge (1940)
Passed | 108 min | Drama, Romance, War
Myra and Roy meet and fall in love on Waterloo Bridge during an air raid. Their love will be one of the war's unspoken casualties.
Director: Mervyn LeRoy | Stars: Vivien Leigh, Robert Taylor, Lucile Watson, Virginia Field
Votes: 10,932
| Nominated for 2 Oscars. |
28. Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940)
Approved | 110 min | Biography, Drama, History
Humble Abraham Lincoln gains the respect of his Illinois neighbors, growing in stature and respect until he is elected President in 1860 and departs for Washington.
Director: John Cromwell | Stars: Raymond Massey, Gene Lockhart, Ruth Gordon, Mary Howard
Votes: 2,060
| Nominated for 2 Oscars. |
29. Boom Town (1940)
Passed | 119 min | Drama, Romance, Western
Two buddies who rise from fly-by-night wildcatters to oil tycoons over a ten-year period both love the same woman.
Director: Jack Conway | Stars: Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Claudette Colbert, Hedy Lamarr
Votes: 3,782 | Gross: $9.17M
| Nominated for 2 Oscars. |
30. Dark Command (1940)
Approved | 94 min | Drama, Romance, War
In Kansas during the Civil War, opposing pro-Union and pro-Confederate camps clash and visiting Texan Bob Seton runs afoul of William Cantrell's Raiders.
Director: Raoul Walsh | Stars: Claire Trevor, John Wayne, Walter Pidgeon, Roy Rogers
Votes: 3,037
| Nominated for 2 Oscars. |
31. Arizona (1940)
Passed | 125 min | Drama, Western
In Tucson of the 1860s, a pioneer woman struggles to succeed in the freight and cattle business while at risk at the hands of corrupt and violent local businessmen and rampaging Indians.
Director: Wesley Ruggles | Stars: Jean Arthur, William Holden, Warren William, Porter Hall
Votes: 1,489
| Nominated for 2 Oscars. |
32. Spring Parade (1940)
Approved | 89 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A Hungarian woman whose fortune predicts that she will marry may find it coming true when she meets an army drummer.
Director: Henry Koster | Stars: Deanna Durbin, Robert Cummings, Mischa Auer, Henry Stephenson
Votes: 383
| Nominated for 4 Oscars. |
33. The Boys from Syracuse (1940)
Approved | 73 min | Comedy, Musical
The action takes place in Ephesus in ancient Asia Minor, and the story concerns the efforts of two boys from Syracuse, Anthipholus and his servant Dromio, to find their long-lost twins who,... See full summary »
Director: A. Edward Sutherland | Stars: Allan Jones, Irene Hervey, Martha Raye, Joe Penner
Votes: 159
| Nominated for 2 Oscars. |
34. The Blue Bird (1940)
Approved | 88 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Mytyl and her brother Tyltyl, a woodchopper's children, are led by the Fairy Berylune on a magical trip through the past, present, and future to locate the Blue Bird of Happiness.
Director: Walter Lang | Stars: Shirley Temple, Spring Byington, Nigel Bruce, Gale Sondergaard
Votes: 1,978
| Nominated for 2 Oscars. |
35. The Howards of Virginia (1940)
Approved | 116 min | Drama, History, War
Just prior to the American War of Independence, aristocratic Virginian Jane Peyton marries unsophisticated rustic farmer and surveyor Matt Howard who takes her to his Shenandoah Valley plantation and later goes to war.
Director: Frank Lloyd | Stars: Cary Grant, Martha Scott, Cedric Hardwicke, Alan Marshal
Votes: 1,262
| Nominated for 2 Oscars. |
36. Bitter Sweet (1940)
Passed | 94 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
A woman runs away with her music teacher in order to escape an arranged marriage, but they struggle to make ends meet.
Director: W.S. Van Dyke | Stars: Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, George Sanders, Ian Hunter
Votes: 565
| Nominated for 2 Oscars. |
37. Hit Parade of 1941 (1940)
Approved | 88 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A small radio station is saved of getting bankrupt by a backer, who invests money for a TV equipment, if the owner allows, that his dancing daughter Annabelle can dance and sing on the ... See full summary »
Director: John H. Auer | Stars: Kenny Baker, Frances Langford, Hugh Herbert, Mary Boland
Votes: 96
| Nominated for 2 Oscars. |
38. Second Chorus (1940)
Passed | 84 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
When perennial college students Danny O'Neill and Hank Taylor are forced to make it on their own, the competitive pair get jobs with Artie Shaw's band and reunite with ex-manager Ellen Miller.
Director: H.C. Potter | Stars: Fred Astaire, Paulette Goddard, Artie Shaw, Charles Butterworth
Votes: 1,762
| Nominated for 2 Oscars. |
39. One Million B.C. (1940)
Passed | 80 min | Adventure, Fantasy, Romance
Tale of Prehistoric survival and love between a male and a female belonging to opposing tribes that happened to be at slightly different stages of evolution.
Directors: Hal Roach Jr., Hal Roach | Stars: Victor Mature, Carole Landis, Lon Chaney Jr., Conrad Nagel
Votes: 1,684
| Nominated for 2 Oscars. |
40. A Wild Hare (1940)
Approved | 8 min | Animation, Short, Adventure
While hunting rabbits, Elmer Fudd comes across Bugs Bunny, who tricks and harasses the hunter.
Director: Tex Avery | Stars: Mel Blanc, Arthur Q. Bryan
Votes: 1,874
| Nominated for 1 Oscar. |
41. Puss Gets the Boot (1940)
Approved | 9 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
Tom (Jasper) gets told that if he breaks one more thing he is getting thrown out, so Jerry (Jinx) tries his best to make Jasper "Get the Boot".
Directors: Joseph Barbera, William Hanna | Stars: William Hanna, Harry Lang, Bob Laztny, Lillian Randolph
Votes: 2,402
| Nominated for 1 Oscar. |
42. The Mark of Zorro (1940)
Approved | 94 min | Action, Adventure, Family
A young Spanish aristocrat must masquerade as a fop in order to maintain his secret identity of Zorro as he restores justice to early California.
Director: Rouben Mamoulian | Stars: Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Basil Rathbone, Gale Sondergaard
Votes: 10,981 | Gross: $4.36M
| Nominated for 1 Oscar. |
43. Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940)
Approved | 103 min | Biography, Drama
True story of the doctor who considered it was not immoral to search for a drug that would cure syphillis.
Director: William Dieterle | Stars: Edward G. Robinson, Ruth Gordon, Otto Kruger, Donald Crisp
Votes: 1,827
| Nominated for 1 Oscar. |
44. Night Train to Munich (1940)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
After Germany invades Czechoslovakia, the German and the British intelligence services try to capture Czech scientist Dr. Axel Bomasch (James Harcourt), inventor of a new type of armor-plating.
Director: Carol Reed | Stars: Margaret Lockwood, Rex Harrison, Paul Henreid, Basil Radford
Votes: 5,583
Nominated for 1 Oscar.
45. The House of the Seven Gables (1940)
Approved | 89 min | Drama, Thriller
Based on the novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, this classic film follows a family feud between two brothers and an ancient curse that haunts them.
Director: Joe May | Stars: George Sanders, Margaret Lindsay, Vincent Price, Dick Foran
Votes: 1,516
| Nominated for 1 Oscar. |
46. Edison, the Man (1940)
Passed | 107 min | Biography, Drama
82 year old inventor and entrepreneur Thomas Alva Edison is honored in 1929 and he reflects back on his sixty year career of scientific achievement.
Director: Clarence Brown | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Rita Johnson, Lynne Overman, Charles Coburn
Votes: 1,777
| Nominated for 1 Oscar. |
47. Northwest Passage (1940)
Passed | 126 min | Adventure, Drama, History
Langdon Towne and Hunk Marriner join Major Rogers' Rangers as they wipe out an Indian village. They set out for Fort Wentworth, but when they arrive they find no soldiers and none of the supplies they expected.
Directors: King Vidor, Jack Conway, W.S. Van Dyke | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Robert Young, Walter Brennan, Ruth Hussey
Votes: 3,907
| Nominated for 1 Oscar. |
48. London Can Take It! (1940)
Approved | 9 min | Documentary, War, Short
A tribute to the courage and resiliency of Britons during the darkest days of the London Blitz.
Directors: Humphrey Jennings, Harry Watt | Stars: Quentin Reynolds, King George VI, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
Votes: 710
| Nominated for 1 Oscar. |
49. Primrose Path (1940)
Approved | 93 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A young woman from a family of prostitutes falls in love with a hard-working man, but when he finds out the truth about her background, their romance becomes jeopardized.
Director: Gregory La Cava | Stars: Ginger Rogers, Joel McCrea, Marjorie Rambeau, Henry Travers
Votes: 1,812
| Nominated for 1 Oscar. |
50. Rhythm on the River (1940)
92 min | Comedy, Musical
Popular songwriter Oliver Courtney has been getting by for years using one ghost writer for his music and another for his lyrics. When both writers meet at an inn, they fall in love and ... See full summary »
Director: Victor Schertzinger | Stars: Bing Crosby, Mary Martin, Basil Rathbone, Oscar Levant
Votes: 416
| Nominated for 1 Oscar. |
51. Swiss Family Robinson (1940)
93 min | Adventure, Family
A family of Swiss origin living in London during the onslaught against Europe by Napolean seeks to leave and emigrate to Australia to nurture their values and raise their sons.
Director: Edward Ludwig | Stars: Thomas Mitchell, Edna Best, Freddie Bartholomew, Terry Kilburn
Votes: 832 | Gross: $1.94M
| Nominated for 1 Oscar. |
52. Angels Over Broadway (1940)
Passed | 79 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
A cuckolded embezzler on the verge of suicide is helped by a tout, an alcoholic playwright, and a pick-up girl to reimburse the money with a gambling sting.
Directors: Ben Hecht, Lee Garmes | Stars: Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Rita Hayworth, Thomas Mitchell, John Qualen
Votes: 1,338
| Nominated for 1 Oscar. |
53. Lillian Russell (1940)
Passed | 127 min | Biography, Drama, History
The life story of the musical star from her discovery in 1890 by bandleader Tony Pastor until her retirement in 1912, when she married newspaperman Alexander Moore.
Director: Irving Cummings | Stars: Alice Faye, Don Ameche, Henry Fonda, Edward Arnold
Votes: 580
| Nominated for 1 Oscar. |
54. Siege (1940)
10 min | Documentary, Short, History
A short film which documents the siege of Warsaw at the beginning of World War II.
Director: Julien Bryan | Star: Julien Bryan
Votes: 257
| Nominated for 1 Oscar. |
55. The Invisible Man Returns (1940)
Passed | 81 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
The owner of a coal mining operation, falsely imprisoned for fratricide, takes a drug to make him invisible, despite its side effect: gradual madness.
Director: Joe May | Stars: Cedric Hardwicke, Vincent Price, Nan Grey, John Sutton
Votes: 5,296
| Nominated for 1 Oscar. |
56. Too Many Husbands (1940)
Passed | 81 min | Comedy, Romance
Long-missing Bill Cardew returns to find his wife Vicky remarried...and in no hurry to settle for just one husband.
Director: Wesley Ruggles | Stars: Jean Arthur, Fred MacMurray, Melvyn Douglas, Harry Davenport
Votes: 1,697
| Nominated for 1 Oscar. |
57. Dr. Cyclops (1940)
Passed | 77 min | Adventure, Drama, Horror
A mad scientist working in the South American jungle miniaturizes his colleagues when he feels his megalomania is threatened.
Director: Ernest B. Schoedsack | Stars: Albert Dekker, Thomas Coley, Janice Logan, Charles Halton
Votes: 2,890
| Nominated for 1 Oscar. |
58. Comrade X (1940)
Passed | 104 min | Comedy, Romance
An American reporter smuggling news out of Soviet Moscow is blackmailed into helping a beautiful Communist leave the country.
Director: King Vidor | Stars: Clark Gable, Hedy Lamarr, Oscar Homolka, Felix Bressart
Votes: 1,833
| Nominated for 1 Oscar. |
59. Irene (1940)
Approved | 101 min | Comedy, Musical, Mystery
Sent by her employers on an errand to the home of the wealthy Mrs. Vincent, Irene O'Dare meets Don, a friend of Mrs. Vincent's son Bob. Attracted to Irene, Don decides to invest some money ... See full summary »
Director: Herbert Wilcox | Stars: Anna Neagle, Ray Milland, Roland Young, Alan Marshal
Votes: 784
| Nominated for 1 Oscar. |
60. They Knew What They Wanted (1940)
Approved | 96 min | Drama, Romance
While courting a young woman by mail, a rich farmer sends a photograph of his foreman instead of his own, which leads to complications when she accepts his marriage proposal.
Director: Garson Kanin | Stars: Carole Lombard, Charles Laughton, William Gargan, Harry Carey
Votes: 494
| Nominated for 1 Oscar.
61. My Son, My Son! (1940)
Passed | 116 min | Drama, Romance
A self-made success is determined to give his son the lavish upbringing he himself was denied. Not surprisingly, the son grows up to be spoiled rotten, causing grief and pain to everyone who loves him.
Director: Charles Vidor | Stars: Madeleine Carroll, Brian Aherne, Louis Hayward, Laraine Day
Votes: 267
| Nominated for 1 Oscar. |
62. Music in My Heart (1940)
Approved | 70 min | Musical, Romance
Rita Hayworth co-stars with famed recording artist Tony Martin in this musical comedy featuring the music of Andre Kostelanetz and his orchestra. Following various comic misunderstandings, ... See full summary »
Director: Joseph Santley | Stars: Tony Martin, Rita Hayworth, Edith Fellows, Andre Kostelanetz and His Orchestra
Votes: 621
| Nominated for 1 Oscar. |
63. You'll Find Out (1940)
Approved | 97 min | Comedy, Crime, Horror
The manager of Kay Kyser's band books them for a birthday party bash for an heiress at a spooky mansion, where sinister forces try to kill her.
Director: David Butler | Stars: Kay Kyser, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi
Votes: 1,450
| Nominated for 1 Oscar. |
64. Typhoon (1940)
Approved | 70 min | Adventure, Romance
Having been marooned on an isolated island as a child, Dea grows to adulthood without human contact, her only companion being the chimp "Koko." Years later, on a South Sea island, Skipper ... See full summary »
Director: Louis King | Stars: Dorothy Lamour, Robert Preston, Lynne Overman, J. Carrol Naish
Votes: 145
| Nominated for 1 Oscar. |
65. Eyes of the Navy (1940)
Approved | 20 min | Documentary, Short
Produced in cooperation with the United States Navy, the film follows naval aviators through their basic training in Pensacola, Florida and advanced training at San Diego, California.
Stars: James Conaty, Warren McCollum, Charles Middleton, Russell Wade
Votes: 223
| Nominated for 1 Oscar. |
66. Women in War (1940)
Approved | 71 min | Drama, War
A "good-time girl", raised by her somewhat lax divorced father, finds herself involved in an accidental death, and the only way she's able to get out of it is to volunteer--albeit ... See full summary »
Director: John H. Auer | Stars: Elsie Janis, Wendy Barrie, Patric Knowles, Mae Clarke
Votes: 94
| Nominated for 1 Oscar.
67. Captain Caution (1940)
Passed | 86 min | Action, Adventure, Romance
When her father dies, a young woman helps a young man take command of the ship to fight the British during the war of 1812.
Director: Richard Wallace | Stars: Victor Mature, Louise Platt, Leo Carrillo, Bruce Cabot
Votes: 351
| Nominated for 1 Oscar. |
68. Service with the Colors (1940)
Approved | 21 min | Drama, Short
This drama is "dedicated to the soldiers of the United States Army." Men with diverse backgrounds enlist in the army and are all assigned to the same post. Some adapt easily to army life, while others have trouble making the adjustment.
Director: B. Reeves Eason | Stars: Robert Armstrong, William Lundigan, Henry O'Neill, William T. Orr
Votes: 198
| Nominated for 1 Oscar. |
69. The Fight for Life (1940)
Approved | 69 min | Drama, History
An interne witnesses the death of a young mother in a maternity hospital delivery room. Disturbed that he might have overlooked something that could have prevented the death, he goes to a ... See full summary »
Director: Pare Lorentz | Stars: Myron McCormick, Storrs Haynes, Will Geer, Dudley Digges
Votes: 86
| Nominated for 1 Oscar. |
70. Behind the News (1940)
75 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
It's Jeff Flavin's first day on the job as a cub reporter for the Enquirer. The boss, Archer, places him with lazy reporter Stu Woodrow. Stu detests cubs and treats Jeff badly. Jeff saves a... See full summary »
Director: Joseph Santley | Stars: Lloyd Nolan, Doris Davenport, Frank Albertson, Robert Armstrong
Votes: 92
| Nominated for 1 Oscar. |
71. Christmas Under Fire (1940)
10 min | Documentary, Short, War
How Britain coped with a Christmas during the war.
Directors: Charles Hasse, Harry Watt | Star: Quentin Reynolds
Votes: 143
Nominated for 1 Oscar.
72. Flight Command (1940)
Passed | 116 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
A rookie flyer, Ens. Alan Drake, joins the famous Hellcats Squadron right out of flight school in Pensacola. He doesn't make a great first impression when he is forced to ditch his airplane... See full summary »
Director: Frank Borzage | Stars: Robert Taylor, Ruth Hussey, Walter Pidgeon, Paul Kelly
Votes: 865
Nominated for 1 Oscar.
73. The Invisible Woman (1940)
Approved | 72 min | Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi
An attractive model with an ulterior motive volunteers as guinea pig for an invisibility machine.
Director: A. Edward Sutherland | Stars: Virginia Bruce, John Barrymore, John Howard, Charles Ruggles
Votes: 3,357
Nominated for 1 Oscar.
74. The Son of Monte Cristo (1940)
Approved | 102 min | Drama, Romance
General Gurko Lanen is the dictator of Lichtenburg, a country set in the Balkans. With the help of Napoleon II, the rightful ruler Grand Duchess Zona aims to overthrow the general. She is also helped by the visiting Count of Monte Cristo.
Director: Rowland V. Lee | Stars: Louis Hayward, Joan Bennett, George Sanders, Florence Bates
Votes: 880
Nominated for 1 Oscar.
75. You're Missing the Point (1940)
Not Rated | 112 min | Comedy
The boyfriend (Cantinflas) of the servant of a rich industrial man, gets into the house in order to kill a mad dog. Suddenly this man appears so the servant tells him that Cantinflas is his... See full summary »
Director: Juan Bustillo Oro | Stars: Cantinflas, Joaquín Pardavé, Sara García, Sofía Álvarez
Votes: 1,509
76. Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (1940)
Approved | 88 min | Comedy, Family, Romance
Judge Hardy takes his family to New York City, where Andy quickly falls in love with a socialite. However, he finds the high-society life too expensive and eventually decides that he liked it better back home.
Director: George B. Seitz | Stars: Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden
Votes: 1,016
77. The Bank Dick (1940)
Not Rated | 72 min | Comedy
Henpecked Egbert Sousé has comic adventures as a substitute film director and unlikely bank guard.
Director: Edward F. Cline | Stars: W.C. Fields, Cora Witherspoon, Una Merkel, Evelyn Del Rio
Votes: 7,804
78. June Night (1940)
TV-PG | 88 min | Drama
When Kerstin Norback is shot and gravely wounded by her lover, the trial causes a public scandal, forcing her to move to Stockholm under an assumed name. There she befriends a group of women and attempts to rebuild her life.
Director: Per Lindberg | Stars: Ingrid Bergman, Gunnar Sjöberg, Olof Widgren, Marianne Löfgren
Votes: 675
79. A Plumbing We Will Go (1940)
TV-G | 18 min | Comedy, Short
To escape the police, the Stooges pose as plumbers contracted to fix a mansion's plumbing, which inevitably causes destructive chaos.
Director: Del Lord | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Wilson Benge
Votes: 1,200
80. It All Came True (1940)
Approved | 97 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
After crooked nightclub owner Chips Maguire murders a police informant, he blackmails his piano player to allow him to stay at his eccentric mother's boarding house.
Director: Lewis Seiler | Stars: Ann Sheridan, Humphrey Bogart, Jeffrey Lynn, Zasu Pitts
Votes: 1,468
81. Dance, Girl, Dance (1940)
Approved | 90 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
When a troupe of danseuses becomes unemployed, one of them takes up burlesque dancing while another dreams of performing ballet.
Directors: Dorothy Arzner, Roy Del Ruth | Stars: Maureen O'Hara, Louis Hayward, Lucille Ball, Virginia Field
Votes: 3,081
82. His Girl Friday (1940)
Passed | 92 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A newspaper editor uses every trick in the book to keep his ace reporter ex-wife from remarrying.
Director: Howard Hawks | Stars: Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy, Gene Lockhart
Votes: 63,187 | Gross: $0.30M
83. They Drive by Night (1940)
Approved | 95 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
When one of two truck-driving brothers loses an arm, they both join a transport company where the other is falsely charged as an accessory in the murder of the owner.
Director: Raoul Walsh | Stars: George Raft, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino
Votes: 8,829
84. Go West (1940)
Passed | 80 min | Comedy, Musical, Western
The Marx Brothers come to the rescue in the Wild West when a young man, trying to settle an old family feud so he can marry the girl he loves, runs afoul of crooks.
Director: Edward Buzzell | Stars: Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, John Carroll
Votes: 5,829
85. Remember the Night (1939)
Passed | 94 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Love blooms between a sympathetic attorney and the comely shoplifter he has taken home for the Christmas holiday.
Director: Mitchell Leisen | Stars: Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Beulah Bondi, Elizabeth Patterson
Votes: 7,193 | Gross: $0.17M
86. The Mortal Storm (1940)
Passed | 100 min | Drama
The Roth family leads a quiet life in a small village in the German Alps during the early 1930s. When the Nazis come to power, the family is divided and Martin Breitner, a family friend, is caught up in the turmoil.
Director: Frank Borzage | Stars: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Robert Young, Frank Morgan
Votes: 6,044
87. Gaslight (1940)
Not Rated | 84 min | Mystery, Thriller
Twenty years after the murder of Alice Barlow, her house is finally occupied again. However, the husband from the couple who have moved in has a secret which he will do anything to keep hidden.
Director: Thorold Dickinson | Stars: Anton Walbrook, Diana Wynyard, Frank Pettingell, Cathleen Cordell
Votes: 5,279
88. Stranger on the Third Floor (1940)
Approved | 64 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
An aspiring reporter is the key witness at the murder trial of a young man accused of cutting a café owner's throat and is soon accused of a similar crime himself.
Director: Boris Ingster | Stars: Peter Lorre, John McGuire, Margaret Tallichet, Charles Waldron
Votes: 4,610
89. The Mummy's Hand (1940)
Approved | 67 min | Adventure, Fantasy, Horror
Archaeologists defile the tomb of mummified Kharis, who was buried alive for falling in love with an Egyptian princess.
Director: Christy Cabanne | Stars: Dick Foran, Peggy Moran, Wallace Ford, Eduardo Ciannelli
Votes: 4,707
90. Road to Singapore (1940)
Approved | 85 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Two playboys try to forget previous romances in Singapore - until they meet a beautiful dancer.
Director: Victor Schertzinger | Stars: Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Charles Coburn
Votes: 4,090
91. Der ewige Jude (1940)
62 min | Documentary, History
Under the guise of a brutally honest documentary, this malevolent propaganda film aims to be an "indispensable tool in the hands of the Aryan race", designed to depict the "true" Jew when the masks of western civilisation fall off.
Director: Fritz Hippler | Stars: Curt Bois, Charles Chaplin, Albert Einstein, Adolf Hitler
Votes: 3,931
92. Santa Fe Trail (1940)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama, War, Western
In 1854, Jeb Stuart, George Custer and other graduates from West Point are posted to Kansas to help pacify the territory before railroad construction to Santa Fe can resume.
Director: Michael Curtiz | Stars: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Raymond Massey, Ronald Reagan
Votes: 4,158
93. Christmas in July (1940)
Passed | 67 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
After the co-workers of an ambitious clerk trick him into thinking he has won $25,000 in a slogan contest, he begins to use the money to fulfill his dreams. What will happen when the ruse is discovered?
Director: Preston Sturges | Stars: Dick Powell, Ellen Drew, Raymond Walburn, Alexander Carr
Votes: 4,268
94. The Ghost Breakers (1940)
Passed | 85 min | Comedy
A radio broadcaster, his quaking manservant and an heiress investigate the mystery of a haunted castle in Cuba.
Director: George Marshall | Stars: Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard, Richard Carlson, Paul Lukas
Votes: 4,161
95. I Love You Again (1940)
Passed | 99 min | Comedy, Romance
Boring businessman Larry Wilson recovers from amnesia and discovers he's really a con man...and loves his soon-to-be-ex wife.
Director: W.S. Van Dyke | Stars: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Frank McHugh, Edmund Lowe
Votes: 3,806
96. Jud Süß (1940)
98 min | Drama
Infamous anti-Semitic Nazi propaganda historical drama about Duke Karl Alexander of Württemberg and his treasurer Süß Oppenheimer.
Director: Veit Harlan | Stars: Ferdinand Marian, Kristina Söderbaum, Heinrich George, Werner Krauss
Votes: 3,370
97. The Return of Frank James (1940)
Approved | 92 min | Drama, Western
Frank James continues to avoid arrest in order to take revenge on the Ford brothers for their murder of his brother Jesse.
Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Henry Fonda, Gene Tierney, Jackie Cooper, Henry Hull
Votes: 3,686
98. The Devil Bat (1940)
Approved | 68 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A mad scientist develops an aftershave lotion that causes his gigantic bats to kill anyone who wears it.
Director: Jean Yarbrough | Stars: Bela Lugosi, Suzanne Kaaren, Dave O'Brien, Guy Usher
Votes: 3,450
99. My Little Chickadee (1940)
Passed | 83 min | Comedy, Western
After a scandal runs a gold-digger out of town, she meets a con artist and becomes embroiled in a string of petty deceits.
Director: Edward F. Cline | Stars: Mae West, W.C. Fields, Joseph Calleia, Dick Foran
Votes: 3,061
100. Saps at Sea (1940)
G | 56 min | Comedy
Oliver suffers a nervous breakdown as a result of working in a horn factory, but when he follows doctor's orders about sea air, he finds an ex-con is aboard.
Director: Gordon Douglas | Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson, Ben Turpin
Votes: 3,083
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