List List Bang Bang

October 18, 2009

1940s – Best of Decade Top 100

Filed under: 1940s,Best of Decade — misterjiggy @ 6:00 pm

TOP 100 – FORTIES

Submitted 2010 in response to a RTCD Refugees Best of Decade poll.  Number to the far right of titles in blue reflects the ultimate consensus placement in the poll results. Titles in purple did not make consensus list.  Disclaimer – my submission was subject to certain self imposed quotas on director, genre, etc. 

  1. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES [WILLIAM WYLER] (1946) (# 30)
  2. CITIZEN KANE [ORSON WELLES] (1941) (# 1)
  3. SHADOW OF A DOUBT [ALFRED HITCHCOCK] (1943) (# 14)
  4. A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN [ELIA KAZAN](1945)
  5. CHILDREN OF PARADISE (Les Enfants des paradis) [MARCEL CARNÉ] (1945) (# 49)
  6. MY DARLING CLEMENTINE [JOHN FORD] (1946) (# 20)
  7. MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS [VINCENT MINNELLI] (1944) (# 15)
  8. A CANTERBURY TALE [MICHAEL POWELL & EMERIC PRESSBURGER] (1944) (# 98)
  9. IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE [FRANK CAPRA] (1946) (# 9)
  10. CASABLANCA [MICHAEL CURTIZ] (1942) (# 4)
  11. DOUBLE INDEMNITY [BILLY WILDER] (1944) (# 6)
  12. NOTORIOUS [ALFRED HITCHCOCK] (1946) (# 2)
  13. THE HEIRESS [WILLIAM WYLER] (1949) (# 67)
  14. THE GRAPES OF WRATH [JOHN FORD] (1940) (# 18)
  15. DAISY KENYON [OTTO PREMINGER] (1947) (# 22)
  16. THE BIG SLEEP [HOWARD HAWKS] (1946) (# 3)
  17. THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP [POWELL & PRESSBURGER] (1943) (# 35)
  18. THE LADY EVE [PRESTON STURGES] (1941) (# 21)
  19. THE THIRD MAN [CAROL REED] (1949) (#5)
  20. THE LITTLE FOXES [WILLIAM WYLER] (1941)
  21. REBECCA [ALFRED HITCHCOCK] (1940) (# 36)
  22. LETTER FROM AN UNKNOWN WOMAN [MAX OPHÜLS] (1948) (# 27)
  23. OUT OF THE PAST [JACQUES TOURNEUR] (1947) (# 10)
  24. THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE [JOHN HUSTON] (1948) (# 7)
  25. KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS [ROBERT HAMER] (1949) (# 51)
  26. RED RIVER [HOWARD HAWKS] (1948) (# 19)
  27. WATERLOO BRIDGE [MERVYN LeROY] (1940)
  28. PORTRAIT OF JENNIE [WILLIAM DIETERLE] (1948) (# 97)
  29. LATE SPRING (Banshun) [YASUJIRO OZU] (1949) (# 12)
  30. ODD MAN OUT [CAROL REED] (1947) (# 68)
  31. THEY LIVE BY NIGHT [NICHOLAS RAY] (1948) (# 53)
  32. RAW DEAL [ANTHONY MANN] (1948) (# 89)
  33. GREAT EXPECTATIONS [DAVID LEAN] (1946) (# 47)
  34. ROPE [ALFRED HITCHCOCK] (1948) (# 42)
  35. STRAY DOG (Nora inu) [AKIRA KUROSAWA] (1949) (# 82)
  36. GENTLEMAN JIM [RAOUL WALSH] (1942) (# 55)
  37. A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH [POWELL & PRESSBURGER] (1946) (# 70)
  38. BRIEF ENCOUNTER [DAVID LEAN] (1945) (# 32)
  39. HANGOVER SQUARE [JOHN BRAHM] (1945)
  40. THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER [WILLIAM DIETERLE] (1941) (# 95)
  41. BICYCLE THIEVES (Ladri di biciclette) [VITTORIO DE SICA] (1948) (# 24)
  42. LAURA [OTTO PREMINGER] (1944) (# 33)
  43. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (La Belle et la bête) [JEAN COCTEAU] (1946) (# 44)
  44. I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! [M. POWELL & E. PRESSBURGER](1945) (# 84)
  45. ROME, OPEN CITY (Roma, città aperta) [ROBERTO ROSSELLINI] (1945) (# 29)
  46. TALK OF THE TOWN [GEORGE STEVENS] (1942)
  47. MOONRISE [FRANK BORZAGE] (1948) (# 85)
  48. DAY OF WRATH (Vredens dag) [CARL THEODOR DREYER] (1943) (# 39)
  49. TO BE OR NOT TO BE [ERNST LUBITSCH] (1942) (# 28)
  50. THE SONG OF BERNADETTE [HENRY KING] (1943)
  51. THE OX-BOW INCIDENT [WILLIAM A. WELLMAN] (1943) (# 60)
  52. LE CORBEAU (aka The Raven) [HENRI-GEORGES CLOUZOT] (1943) (# 48)
  53. HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY [JOHN FORD] (1941) (# 72)
  54. THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN’S CREEK [PRESTON STURGES] (1944) (#56)
  55. THE RECKLESS MOMENT [MAX OPHÜLS] (1949) (# 59)
  56. MILDRED PIERCE [MICHAEL CURTIZ] (1945) (# 86)
  57. SCARLET STREET [FRITZ LANG] (1945) (#66)
  58. THE RED SHOES [MICHAEL POWELL & EMERIC PRESSBURGER] (1948) (# 26)
  59. THIEVES’ HIGHWAY [JULES DASSIN] (1949)
  60. A LETTER TO THREE WIVES [JOSEPH L. MANKIEWICZ] (1949)
  61. THE MALTESE FALCON [JOHN HUSTON] (1941) (# 16)
  62. NONE SHALL ESCAPE [ANDRÉ DE TOTH] (1944) (# 34)
  63. FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT [ALFRED HITCHCOCK] (1940) (# 24)
  64. THE MORTAL STORM [FRANK BORZAGE] (1940) (# 65)
  65. THE KILLERS [ROBERT SIODMAK] (1946) (# 92)
  66. THE DEVIL AND MISS JONES [SAM WOOD] (1941)
  67. GASLIGHT [GEORGE CUKOR] (1944)
  68. BITTER RICE (Riso amaro) [GIUSEPPE DE SANTIS] (1949)
  69. HAIL THE CONQUERING HERO [PRESTON STURGES] (1944) (# 90)
  70. SABOTEUR [ALFRED HITCHCOCK] (1942)
  71. BLACK NARCISSUS [M. POWELL & E. PRESSBURGER] (1947) (# 23) 
  72. THE PHILADELPHIA STORY [GEORGE CUKOR] (1940) (# 43)
  73. PURSUED [RAOUL WALSH] (1947)
  74. THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY [ALBERT LEWIN] (1945) (#75)
  75. BODY AND SOUL [ROBERT ROSSEN] (1947)
  76. MRS. MINIVER [WILLIAM WYLER] (1942)
  77. THE STRAWBERRY BLONDE [RAOUL WALSH] (1941)
  78. THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS [ORSON WELLES] (1942) (# 11)
  79. NO REGRETS FOR OUR YOUTH [AKIRA KUROSAWA] (1946)
  80. NIGHTMARE ALLEY [EDMUND GOULDING] (1947)
  81. REMEMBER THE NIGHT [MITCHELL LEISEN] (1940)
  82. THE LODGER [JOHN BRAHM] (1944)
  83. THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR [JOSEPH L. MANKIEWICZ] (1947) (# 100)
  84. THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI [ORSON WELLES] (1947) (# 46)
  85. CRY OF THE CITY [ROBERT SIODMAK] (1948)
  86. BRUTE FORCE [JULES DASSIN] (1947)
  87. TWELVE O’CLOCK HIGH [HENRY KING] (1949)
  88. FALLEN ANGEL [OTTO PREMINGER] (1945) (# 93)
  89. THE FLAME OF NEW ORLEANS [RENE CLAIR] (1941)
  90. ACT OF VIOLENCE [FRED ZINNEMANN] (1948)
  91. THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER [ERNST LUBITSCH] (1940) (# 13)
  92. SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS [PRESTON STURGES] (1941) (# 41)
  93. WHITE HEAT [RAOUL WALSH] (1949) (# 25)
  94. ON APPROVAL [CLIVE BROOK] (1944)
  95. HIS GIRL FRIDAY [HOWARD HAWKS] (1940) (#8)
  96. FORCE OF EVIL [ABRAHAM POLONSKY] (1948) (# 71)
  97. FANTASIA [VARIOUS] (1940) (# 38)
  98. THE SEA WOLF [MICHAEL CURTIZ] (1941)
  99. SPRING IN A SMALL TOWN (Xiao cheng zhi chun) [FEI MU] (1948)
  100. MESHES OF THE AFTERNOON [MAYA DEREN] (s) (1943) (# 31)

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.