Seen Films (1940s)
A list of films I've seen from the 1940s.
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- DirectorJames AlgarSamuel ArmstrongFord Beebe Jr.StarsLeopold StokowskiDeems TaylorThe Philadelphia OrchestraA series of eight famous pieces of classical music, conducted by Leopold Stokowski and interpreted in animation by Walt Disney's team of artists.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinPaulette GoddardJack OakieDictator Adenoid Hynkel tries to expand his empire while a poor Jewish barber tries to avoid persecution from Hynkel's regime.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsCary GrantRosalind RussellRalph BellamyA newspaper editor uses every trick in the book to keep his ace reporter ex-wife from remarrying.
- DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsRonald ColmanGinger RogersJack CarsonTwo strangers share a sweepstakes ticket and then embark on an "imaginary" honeymoon with their "winnings".
- DirectorNorman FergusonT. HeeWilfred JacksonStarsDickie JonesChristian RubMel BlancA living puppet, with the help of a cricket as his conscience, must prove himself worthy to become a real boy.
- DirectorH.C. PotterStarsFred AstairePaulette GoddardArtie ShawWhen 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.
- DirectorSamuel ArmstrongNorman FergusonWilfred JacksonStarsSterling HollowayEdward BrophyHerman BingRidiculed because of his enormous ears, a young circus elephant is assisted by a mouse to achieve his full potential.
- DirectorTex AveryStarsDave BarrySara BernerMel BlancA tour of Ciro's Nightclub packed with caricatures of many top stars, including (in order) Cary Grant, Greta Garbo, Edward G. Robinson and Ann Sheridan, Johnny Weissmuller, James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart and George Raft, Harpo Marx, Clark Gable, Bing Crosby, Leopold Stokowski, James Stewart and Dorothy Lamour, Tyrone Power and Sonja Henie, The Frankenstein Monster, Larry Fine, Moe Howard, Curly Howard, Oliver Hardy, Cesar Romero, Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland and Lewis Stone, Kay Kyser, Peter Lorre, Henry Fonda, J. Edgar Hoover, Ned Sparks, Jerry Colonna, and Groucho Marx; many more just get sight gags, such as Claudette Colbert, Norma Shearer, William Powell, Don Ameche, Wallace Beery, C. Aubrey Smith, Boris Karloff, Arthur Treacher, Buster Keaton and Mischa Auer.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsWalter PidgeonMaureen O'HaraAnna LeeAt the turn of the century in a Welsh mining village, the Morgans, he stern, she gentle, raise coal-mining sons and hope their youngest will find a better life.
- DirectorJames AlgarWilfred JacksonRiley ThomsonStarsThelma BoardmanWalt DisneyMickey wants some of the cake Minnie has just baked, so he offers to clean up her yard. As he's working, a tiny tornado (smaller than him) with a mind of its own comes along and causes trouble. After Mickey finally chases the little twister off, it gets its big brother, which makes a grand mess of the yard. Most of the cartoon, except for the opening and closing, has no dialogue.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsJames StewartPaulette GoddardHorace HeidtJimmy goes to work with his uncle, the owner of a food factory. Before he gets there, he befriends an Irish family who happens to be his uncle's worst enemy because of their love for music and in-house band who constantly practices.
- DirectorPreston SturgesStarsJoel McCreaVeronica LakeRobert WarwickHollywood director John L. Sullivan sets out to experience life as a homeless person in order to gain relevant life experience for his next movie.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCary GrantJoan FontaineCedric HardwickeA shy young heiress marries a charming gentleman, and soon begins to suspect he is planning to murder her.
- DirectorJames AlgarSamuel ArmstrongDavid HandStarsHardie AlbrightStan AlexanderBobette AudreyThe story of a young deer growing up in the forest.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsHumphrey BogartIngrid BergmanPaul HenreidA cynical expatriate American cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco.
- DirectorMark SandrichRobert AllenStarsBing CrosbyFred AstaireMarjorie ReynoldsAt an inn which is open only on holidays, a crooner and a hoofer vie for the affections of a beautiful up-and-coming performer.
- DirectorJack CuttingClyde GeronimiStarsFlorence GillFrank GrahamDorothy LloydA bold and colorful retelling of the classic tale of the not-so-bright little chicken's encounter with an acorn and gravity. Crazy-eyed Chicken and all his panicked friends run away from the sky and right into an eye-catching surprise.
- DirectorRobert StevensonStarsOrson WellesJoan FontaineMargaret O'BrienAfter a harsh childhood, orphan Jane Eyre is hired by Edward Rochester, the brooding lord of a mysterious manor house, to care for his young daughter.
- DirectorOswald MitchellStarsArthur LucanKitty McShaneMorris HarveyMrs. Riley is tricked out of her licence for a pub and joins her daughter in Portugal.
- DirectorMalcolm St. ClairStarsStan LaurelOliver HardyDoris MerrickDuring World War II Stan and Ollie find themselves as improbable bodyguards to an eccentric inventor and his strategically important new bomb.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsFred MacMurrayBarbara StanwyckEdward G. RobinsonA Los Angeles insurance representative lets an alluring housewife seduce him into a scheme of insurance fraud and murder that arouses the suspicion of his colleague, an insurance investigator.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsHumphrey BogartLauren BacallWalter BrennanDuring World War II, American expatriate Harry Morgan helps transport a French Resistance leader and his beautiful wife to Martinique while romancing a sensuous lounge singer.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsJoan CrawfordJack CarsonZachary ScottA hard-working mother inches towards disaster as she divorces her husband and starts a successful restaurant business to support her spoiled daughter.
- DirectorNorman FergusonClyde GeronimiJack KinneyStarsAurora MirandaCarmen MolinaDora LuzDonald receives his birthday gifts, which include traditional gifts and information about Brazil (hosted by Zé Carioca) and Mexico (by Panchito, a Mexican Charro Rooster).
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsJames StewartDonna ReedLionel BarrymoreAn angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.
- DirectorHenry KosterStarsCary GrantLoretta YoungDavid NivenA debonair angel comes to Earth to help an Episcopalian bishop and his wife in their quest to raise money for the new church.
- DirectorHamilton LuskeBill RobertsStarsWalt DisneyClarence NashPinto ColvigA mysterious thief has stolen the prosperous Happy Valley's most prized possession: the musical Singing Harp. Can Mickey, Donald, and Goofy find the answer in the irritable Willie the Giant's magnificent castle up in the blue sky?
- DirectorGeorge SeatonStarsEdmund GwennMaureen O'HaraJohn PayneAfter a divorced New York mother hires a nice old man to play Santa Claus at Macy's, she is startled by his claim to be the genuine article. When his sanity is questioned, a lawyer defends him in court by arguing that he's not mistaken.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinMady CorrellAllison RoddanA suave but cynical man supports his family by marrying and murdering rich women for their money, but the job has some occupational hazards.
- DirectorJoseph LoseyStarsPat O'BrienRobert RyanBarbara HaleThis parable looks at public reaction when the hair of an American war orphan mysteriously turns green.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartEdward G. RobinsonLauren BacallA man visits his war buddy's family hotel and finds a gangster running things. As a hurricane approaches, the two end up confronting each other.
- DirectorCharles NicholsStarsW.F. BanesPinto ColvigJames MacDonaldMickey accidentally takes a seal home, after it sneaks into his picnic basket. When Mickey takes a bath, the seal is discovered and Mickey returns him to the park. Later, Mickey and Pluto discover that the bathroom is filled with seals.
- DirectorH.C. PotterStarsCary GrantMyrna LoyMelvyn DouglasA man and his wife decide they can afford to have a house in the country built to their specifications. It's a lot more trouble than they think.
- DirectorAnatole LitvakStarsBarbara StanwyckBurt LancasterAnn RichardsWhile on the telephone, an invalid woman overhears what she thinks is a murder plot and attempts to prevent it.
- DirectorJack GageStarsRosalind RussellLeo GennClaire TrevorA Broadway star unintentionally kills her impresario but keeps mum about it after the police investigator targets a rival actress.
- DirectorJames AlgarClyde GeronimiJack KinneyStarsBing CrosbyBasil RathboneEric BloreAn animated adaptation of "The Wind in the Willows" followed by an adaptation of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow".
- DirectorJohn HarlowStarsArthur LucanKitty McShaneChili BouchierOld Mother Riley becomes manager of a hotel - stolen diamonds, murder and pie fights follow.
- DirectorIzzy SparberNick TafuriStarsFrank GallopJack MercerPurv PullenDepressed by the antics of the other ghosts, Casper leaves home to make friends. After unintentionally scaring several potential pals, Casper befriends two young children. They take him home, where Casper frightens their mother. Casper is again upset because he believes that he will always scare away his potential buddies. However, Casper scares away a banker who is coming to foreclose on the woman's house, and this wins her heart for Casper.
- DirectorIzzy SparberMyron WaldmanStarsFrank GallopJack MercerSid RaymondCasper makes friends with a fox cub. But the new friendship is threatened when a fox hunter and his two hounds come on the scene.
- DirectorSeymour KneitelMyron WaldmanStarsFrank GallopJack MercerMae QuestelCasper the Friendly Ghost, sad that he can make no friends since everyone he meets is afraid of him, hatches an abandoned egg and becomes the emerging little duck's best friend and protector.
- DirectorClyde GeronimiStarsTeddy BarrPinto ColvigJohn DehnerJealous of Mickey's kitten, Pluto's devil-self argues with his angel-self over whether or not to rescue the kitten when it falls into a well.
- DirectorJack KinneyBen SharpsteenStarsPinto ColvigCharles JudelsBilly BletcherDonald Duck has a nightmare that he lives in Germany slaving under the Nazi regime.
- DirectorJoseph BarberaWilliam HannaStarsWilliam HannaIn honor of the U.S. military during WWII, Tom and Jerry do battle in the basement, using household items as war weapons and vehicles.
- DirectorFriz FrelengStarsMel BlancBea BenaderetThomas the cat finds Tweety in the snow, warming himself by a cigar butt. Thomas's mistress rescues the little yellow bird before her cat can devour him, but Thomas doesn't give up.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartWalter HustonTim HoltTwo down-on-their-luck Americans searching for work in 1920s Mexico convince an old prospector to help them mine for gold in the Sierra Madre Mountains.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsHumphrey BogartLauren BacallJohn RidgelyPrivate detective Philip Marlowe is hired by a wealthy family. Before the complex case is over, he's seen murder, blackmail and what might be love.
- DirectorNoël CowardStarsNoël CowardJohn MillsBernard MilesThis "story of a ship", the British destroyer H.M.S. Torrin, is told in flashbacks by survivors as they cling to a life raft.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsCharles BoyerIngrid BergmanJoseph CottenTen years after her aunt was murdered in their London home, a woman returns from Italy in the 1880s to resume residence with her new husband. His obsessive interest in the home rises from a secret that may require driving his wife insane.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsJune AllysonPeter LawfordMargaret O'BrienThe four daughters of a New England family fight for happiness during and after the Civil War.
- DirectorJack KinneyStarsPinto ColvigJohn McLeishIn his attempt to demonstrate swimming, Goofy first has trouble undressing in the small locker room but then manages to showcase diving and swimming techniques.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsEdward G. RobinsonJoan BennettRaymond MasseyWhen a conservative middle aged professor engages in a relationship with a femme fatale, he's plunged into a nightmarish world of blackmail and murder.
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenDorothy ComingoreFollowing the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: 'Rosebud.'
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsMyrna LoyDana AndrewsFredric MarchThree World War II veterans, two of them traumatized or disabled, return home to the American midwest to discover that they and their families have been irreparably changed.
- DirectorPhilip BrandonStarsVera LynnGeraldoPatricia RocA young dancer trying to make it in London during World War II discovers that people like her singing voice too. Although she's at first reluctant to sing, she finally does and becomes a star. She hooks up with a young musician who composes classical music and turns his nose up at this vulgar "popular" music, but she believes he can be a success at it and sets out to turn him around.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCary GrantIngrid BergmanClaude RainsThe daughter of a convicted German spy is asked by American agents to gather information on a ring of German scientists in South America. How far will she have to go to ingratiate herself with them?
- DirectorKen AnnakinStarsGlynis JohnsGoogie WithersGriffith JonesA young married physician discovers a mermaid, and gives in to her request to be taken to see London. Comedy and romantic entanglements ensue soon after.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsBarbara StanwyckWendell CoreyPaul KellyAssistant district attorney Cleve Marshall falls for the mysterious Thelma Jordon when she seeks help solving robberies of her aunt's estate.
- DirectorCharles WaltersStarsJudy GarlandFred AstairePeter LawfordA nightclub performer hires a naive chorus girl to become his new dance partner to make his former partner jealous and to prove he can make any partner a star.
- DirectorClyde GeronimiStarsPinto ColvigWalt DisneyPluto gets into trouble with a gopher while caddieing for Mickey, and the tunnels they make during the chase wreck the golf course.
- DirectorCharles NicholsStarsPinto ColvigJames MacDonaldPluto tries to bring in the mail, which gets more difficult when a package sprouts legs and tries to go swimming. Between the wandering turtle and the wind blowing the other mail around, Pluto's got quite a task ahead. And it's not made easier when both the letters and the turtle go off a large cliff.
- DirectorAlexander KordaStarsPaulette GoddardMichael WildingDiana WynyardA prominent politician is preparing to expose a financial scandal. But then a woman who has invested heavily in the shady venture threatens to uncover a damaging secret in the politician's past if he exposes the speculation as a fraud. His problem is compounded by his wife's intolerance of the slightest character flaws.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsJudy GarlandMargaret O'BrienMary AstorYoung love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family.
- DirectorJack KinneyHamilton LuskeWilliam MorganStarsEdgar BergenDinah ShoreLuana PattenJiminy Cricket hosts two Disney animated shorts: "Bongo," about a circus bear escaping to the wild, and "Mickey and the Beanstalk," a take on the famous fairy tale.
- DirectorAlfred L. WerkerHamilton LuskeJack CuttingStarsRobert BenchleyFrances GiffordBuddy PepperHumorist Robert Benchley learns about the animation process at Walt Disney Studios while trying to find the great man himself to pitch him the idea of making a cartoon about a shy dragon.
- DirectorWilfred JacksonJack KinneyHamilton LuskeStarsFred ShieldsJosé OliveiraLee BlairDisney animators tour South America and present four animated shorts inspired by their trip.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsJohn MillsValerie HobsonTony WagerA humble orphan boy in 1810s Kent is given the opportunity to go to London and become a gentleman, with the help of an unknown benefactor.
- DirectorJack KingStarsClarence NashSarah SelbyDonald is listening to a radio cooking program while mixing up a batch of waffles. But he's distracted and uses rubber cement instead of baking powder.
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsGene TierneyRex HarrisonGeorge SandersIn 1900, a young widow finds her seaside cottage is haunted and forms a unique relationship with the ghost.
- DirectorThomas BentleyStarsArthur LucanKitty McShaneJohn LongdenMother Riley takes over a circus on the point of closing down, and makes it a success.
- DirectorLance ComfortStarsArthur LucanKitty McShaneIvan BrandtOld Mother Riley does her bit for the war effort by going undercover to foil a gang of black marketeers.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsLaurence OlivierJoan FontaineGeorge SandersA 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.
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsGene TierneyWalter HustonVincent PriceA simple Connecticut farm girl is recruited by a distant relative, an aristocratic patroon, to be governess to his young daughter in his Hudson Valley mansion.
- DirectorMaya DerenAlexander HammidStarsMaya DerenAlexander HammidA woman returning home falls asleep and has vivid dreams that may or may not be happening in reality. Through repetitive images and complete mismatching of the objective view of time and space, her dark inner desires play out on-screen.
- DirectorAnatole LitvakStarsOlivia de HavillandMark StevensLeo GennA detailed chronicle of a woman during her stay in a mental institution.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsBette DavisHerbert MarshallTeresa WrightThe ruthless, moneyed Hubbard clan lives in, and poisons, their part of the Deep South at the turn of the twentieth century.
- DirectorHarve FosterWilfred JacksonStarsRuth WarrickBobby DriscollJames BaskettThe kindly story-teller Uncle Remus tells a young boy stories about trickster Br'er Rabbit, who outwits Br'er Fox and slow-witted Br'er Bear.
- DirectorClyde GeronimiStarsWalt DisneyClarence NashDanny WebbAs Mickey, Donald and Goofy are preparing their tugboat to head out to sea, they receive a distress call from a sinking ship. This program is presented as originally created.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsGary CooperBarbara StanwyckEdward ArnoldA penniless drifter is recruited by an ambitious columnist to impersonate a non-existent person who said he'd be committing suicide as a protest, and a social movement begins.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsOlivia de HavillandMontgomery CliftRalph RichardsonA naive young woman falls for a handsome young man her emotionally abusive father suspects is only a fortune hunter.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsCelia JohnsonTrevor HowardStanley HollowayMeeting a stranger in a railway station, a woman is tempted to cheat on her husband.
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsRita HayworthOrson WellesEverett SloaneFascinated by gorgeous Mrs. Bannister, seaman Michael O'Hara joins a bizarre yachting cruise, and ends up mired in a complex murder plot.
- DirectorPreston SturgesStarsBarbara StanwyckHenry FondaCharles CoburnA trio of classy card sharks targets a socially awkward brewery heir, until one of them falls in love with him.
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsDeborah KerrDavid FarrarFlora RobsonA group of nuns struggle to establish a convent in the Himalayas, while isolation, extreme weather, altitude, and culture clashes all conspire to drive the well-intentioned missionaries mad.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsCary GrantKatharine HepburnJames StewartWhen 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.
- DirectorArchie MayoStarsGroucho MarxHarpo MarxChico MarxThe Marx Brothers are employed at a hotel in postwar Casablanca, where a ring of Nazis is trying to recover a cache of stolen treasure.
- DirectorOtto PremingerRouben MamoulianStarsGene TierneyDana AndrewsClifton WebbA police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he is investigating.
- DirectorEmlyn WilliamsStarsEdith EvansRichard BurtonAnthony JamesRob returns to Dolwyn, a village, from which he was ousted for thievery, to buy the land so that his master can flood the village to build a dam. He faces opposition from an old woman and her son.
- DirectorIrving RapperStarsBette DavisPaul HenreidClaude RainsA frumpy spinster blossoms under therapy and becomes an elegant, independent woman.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsEdward G. RobinsonJoan BennettDan DuryeaA man in mid-life crisis befriends a young woman, though her fiancé persuades her to con him out of the fortune they mistakenly assume he possesses.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsRex HarrisonConstance CummingsKay HammondA man and his second wife are haunted by the ghost of his first wife.
- DirectorLance ComfortStarsMargaret LockwoodIan HunterBarry K. BarnesBedelia, a newly remarried beautiful widow, is on honeymoon in Monte Carlo. A painter approaches her inquiring about her past. When she and her husband go back to England the artist will soon be there. Danger, crime and truth will follow.