Highest-Rated Movies about '1940s'

Stray Dog (1949), Hail the Conquering Hero (1944), The Uninvited (1944), Went the Day Well? (1942), Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949), The Senator Was Indiscreet (1947), Act of Violence (1949), The Sin of Harold Diddlebock (1947) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best 1940s movies.

#17. It's All True (1993)

Storyline: In 1942, fresh off the success of "Citizen Kane," director Orson Welles journeys to Brazil to make a documentary. The unscripted look at bullfighting, the samba and three fisherman making a voyage of protest on the open sea stuns the studio with its daring storytelling and politics. The unfinished film is scuttled, and so is the director's career. The story of the debacle is told through interviews with Welles and others involved in the project, plus rarely viewed scenes from the documentary.

Plot Keywords: documentary, 1940s, film history, hollywood, independent film, biography, filmmaking ...

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#19. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

Storyline: Fred C. Dobbs and Bob Curtin, both down on their luck in Tampico, Mexico in 1925, meet up with a grizzled prospector named Howard and decide to join with him in search of gold in the wilds of central Mexico. Through enormous difficulties, they eventually succeed in finding gold, but bandits, the elements, and most especially greed threaten to turn their success into disaster.

Plot Keywords: adventure, western, drama, greed, gold, gold rush, betrayal ...

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#20. The Red Shoes (1948)

Storyline: Under the authoritarian rule of charismatic ballet impressario Boris Lermontov, his proteges realize the full promise of their talents, but at a price: utter devotion to their art and complete loyalty to Lermontov himself. Under his near-obsessive guidance, young ballerina Victoria Page is poised for superstardom, but earns Lermontov's scorn when she falls in love with Julian Craster, composer of "The Red Shoes," the ballet Lermontov is staging to showcase her talents. Vicky leaves the company and marries Craster, but still finds herself torn between Lermontov's demands and those of her heart.

Plot Keywords: ballet, art, love, obsession, sacrifice, drama, classic ...

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#21. White Heat (1949)

Storyline: Cody Jarrett is the sadistic leader of a ruthless gang of thieves. Afflicted by terrible headaches and fiercely devoted to his 'Ma,' Cody is a volatile, violent, and eccentric leader. Cody's top henchman wants to lead the gang and attempts to have an 'accident' happen to Cody, while he is running the gang from in jail. But Cody is saved by an undercover cop, who thereby befriends him and infiltrates the gang. Finally, the stage is set for Cody's ultimate betrayal and downfall, during a big heist at a chemical plant.

Plot Keywords: crime, film noir, gangster, classic, violence, psychological thriller, prison ...

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#22. The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

Storyline: In Budapest, Hungary, the Matuschek and Company store is owned by Mr. Hugo Matuschek and the bachelor Alfred Kralik is his best and most experienced salesman. When Klara Novak seeks a job position of saleswoman in the store, Matuschek hires her but Kralik and she do not get along. Meanwhile the lonely and dedicated Kralik has an unknown pen pal that he intends to propose very soon; however, he is fired without explanation by Matuschek on the night that he is going to meet his secret love. He goes to the bar where they have scheduled their meeting with his colleague Pirovitch and he surprisingly finds that Klara is his correspondent; however, ashamed After being let go he does not disclose his identity to her. When Matuschek discovers that he had misjudged Kralik and committed a mistake, he hires him again for the position of manager. But Klara is still fascinated with her correspondent and does not pay much attention to Alfred. Alfred works out a plan to reveal himself to Klara's who ...

Plot Keywords: romance, comedy, drama, classic, christmas, workplace, letters ...

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#23. Letter From an Unknown Woman (1948)

Storyline: In Vienna in 1900, Stefan Brand must face a duel the following morning. He has no intention of defending his honor however and plans to flee the city when he notices that he has received a letter from someone in his past. A struggling concert pianist at the time he met Lisa Berndle when she was just a teenager living next door. Brand has had many women in his life however and unaware that Lisa is genuinely in love with him, forgets all about her. They meet again but he only vaguely remembers ever having met her. Unknown to him she bears his child and eventually marries a man who knows of her past but loves her very much. When she runs into Brand many years later her love for him resurfaces and she is prepared to abandon her son and husband for him. Tragedy follows.—garykmcd

Plot Keywords: drama, romance, classic, black and white, 1940s, austria, tragedy ...

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#24. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

Storyline: The story concentrates on the social re-adjustment of three World War II servicemen, each from a different station of society. Al Stephenson returns to an influential banking position, but finds it hard to reconcile his loyalties to ex-servicemen with new commercial realities. Fred Derry is an ordinary working man who finds it difficult to hold down a job or pick up the threads of his marriage. Having had both hands burnt off during the war, Homer Parrish is unsure that his fiancée's feelings are still those of love and not those of pity. Each of the veterans faces a crisis upon his arrival, and each crisis is a microcosm of the experiences of many American warriors who found an alien world awaiting them when they came marching home.—alfiehitchie

Plot Keywords: war, veterans, family, romance, trauma, social issues, america ...

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#25. Shoeshine (1946)

Storyline: At a track near Rome, shoeshine boys are watching horses run. Two of them, the orphan Pasquale and his younger friend Giuseppe, are riding. The pair have been saving to buy their own horse. They meet Attilio, Giuse's much-older brother, and his shady friend at a boat on the Tiber. In return for a commission, the boys agree to deliver black-market goods to a fortuneteller. Once the woman has paid, Attilio's gang suddenly arrives, pretending to be cops, to shake the woman down. With a payoff from Attilio, the boys are able to make the final payment and stable their horse in Trastevere over the river. The fortuneteller identifies Pasqua and Giuse. Held at an overcrowded boys' prison, they are separated. Giuse falls under the influence of an older lad in his cell, Arcangeli. During interrogation, Pasqua is tricked into betraying Giuse's brother to the police. With their trial still in the future, the two friends are driven further apart.—David Carless

Plot Keywords: italian cinema, post-war, poverty, children, friendship, tragedy, social criticism ...

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#29. Random Harvest (1942)

Storyline: A veteran of World War I marries and settles happily into a tidy, humble life until an accident brings back memories of a former life of wealth and privilege while blocking all recollection of his existence since the war. Thus one man disappears, and another man long missing turns up and claims his vast inheritance. What does his devoted wife, whom he no longer recognizes, do?—Paul Emmons <pemmons@wcupa.edu>

Plot Keywords: drama, romance, classic, black and white, war background, amnesia, identity ...

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