Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 100th Anniversary 1940s Movies
by urbanemovies | created - 2 weeks ago | updated - 1 week ago | PublicIn 2024, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) celebrates the 100th anniversary of its founding on April 17, 1924. MGM was formed by combining three existing studios: Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures and Louis B. Mayer Pictures into one major studio. Louis B. Mayer was tapped to lead the newly formed MGM, with 24-year-old wunderkind Irving Thalberg appointed as its head of production. MGM quickly established itself as one of Hollywood's most prestigious studios, known for the quality of their film offerings, their commercial success and for having "more stars than there are in heaven.".
Which of these select Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer produced by and/or presented by films released between 1940 and 1949 is MGM's greatest accomplishment during this period?
Discuss the topic here.
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1. 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: 73,847
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
2. The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Not Rated | 99 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Two employees at a gift shop can barely stand each other, without realizing that they are falling in love through the post as each other's anonymous pen pal.
Director: Ernst Lubitsch | Stars: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan, Joseph Schildkraut
Votes: 38,487 | Gross: $0.20M
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
3. Gaslight (1944)
Passed | 114 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Ten 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.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten, May Whitty
Votes: 33,900
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
4. Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
Passed | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
Young love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family.
Director: Vincente Minnelli | Stars: Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien, Mary Astor, Lucille Bremer
Votes: 27,682 | Gross: $7.57M
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
5. Adam's Rib (1949)
Not Rated | 101 min | Comedy, Romance
Domestic and professional tensions mount when a husband and wife work as opposing lawyers in a case involving a woman who shot her husband.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Judy Holliday, Tom Ewell
Votes: 22,914
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
6. The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
Passed | 113 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A married woman and a drifter fall in love and then plot to murder her husband.
Director: Tay Garnett | Stars: Lana Turner, John Garfield, Cecil Kellaway, Hume Cronyn
Votes: 22,885 | Gross: $8.33M
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
7. Mrs. Miniver (1942)
Approved | 134 min | Drama, Romance, War
A British family struggles to survive the first months of World War II.
Director: William Wyler | Stars: Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Teresa Wright, May Whitty
Votes: 19,468 | Gross: $13.50M
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
8. On the Town (1949)
Passed | 98 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Three sailors wreak havoc as they search for love during a whirlwind 24-hour leave in New York City.
Directors: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly | Stars: Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett, Ann Miller
Votes: 18,784
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
9. The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A corrupt young man somehow keeps his youthful beauty, but a special painting gradually reveals his inner ugliness to all.
Director: Albert Lewin | Stars: George Sanders, Hurd Hatfield, Donna Reed, Angela Lansbury
Votes: 14,449
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
10. Easter Parade (1948)
G | 103 min | Musical, Romance
A 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.
Director: Charles Walters | Stars: Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Peter Lawford, Ann Miller
Votes: 11,088 | Gross: $9.03M
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
11. Woman of the Year (1942)
Passed | 114 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Rival reporters Sam and Tess fall in love and get married, only to find their relationship strained when Sam comes to resent Tess' hectic lifestyle.
Director: George Stevens | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Fay Bainter, Reginald Owen
Votes: 11,005
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
12. 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: 10,926
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
13. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)
Passed | 113 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Dr. Jekyll allows his dark side to run wild when he drinks a potion that turns him into the evil Mr. Hyde.
Director: Victor Fleming | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman, Lana Turner, Donald Crisp
Votes: 9,872 | Gross: $3.92M
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
14. Anchors Aweigh (1945)
Passed | 140 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Musical
A pair of sailors on leave try to help a movie extra become a singing star.
Directors: George Sidney, Joseph Barbera, William Hanna | Stars: Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Gene Kelly, José Iturbi
Votes: 9,434
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
15. They Were Expendable (1945)
Approved | 135 min | Drama, War
A Navy commander fights to prove the battle-worthiness of the PT boat at the start of World War II.
Directors: John Ford, Robert Montgomery | Stars: Robert Montgomery, John Wayne, Donna Reed, Jack Holt
Votes: 9,262
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
16. 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: 9,222
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
17. Random Harvest (1942)
Passed | 126 min | Drama, Romance
An amnesiac World War I veteran falls in love with a music hall star, only to suffer an accident which restores his original memories but erases his post-war life.
Director: Mervyn LeRoy | Stars: Ronald Colman, Greer Garson, Philip Dorn, Susan Peters
Votes: 8,405 | Gross: $10.14M
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
18. Little Women (1949)
Approved | 122 min | Drama, Family, Romance
The four daughters of a New England family fight for happiness during and after the Civil War.
Director: Mervyn LeRoy | Stars: June Allyson, Peter Lawford, Margaret O'Brien, Elizabeth Taylor
Votes: 8,233 | Gross: $7.47M
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
19. National Velvet (1944)
Passed | 123 min | Drama, Family, Sport
A jaded former jockey helps a young girl prepare a wild but gifted horse for England's Grand National Sweepstakes.
Director: Clarence Brown | Stars: Mickey Rooney, Elizabeth Taylor, Donald Crisp, Anne Revere
Votes: 8,004
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
20. Battleground (1949)
Approved | 118 min | Action, Drama, History
True tale about a squad of the 101st Airborne Division coping with being trapped by the Germans in the besieged city of Bastogne, Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge in December of 1944.
Director: William A. Wellman | Stars: Van Johnson, John Hodiak, Ricardo Montalban, George Murphy
Votes: 7,863 | Gross: $10.29M
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
21. The Three Musketeers (1948)
Not Rated | 125 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
D'Artagnan and his Musketeer comrades thwart the plans of Cardinal Richelieu to usurp King Louis XIII's power.
Director: George Sidney | Stars: Lana Turner, Gene Kelly, June Allyson, Van Heflin
Votes: 6,934
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
22. Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)
Passed | 97 min | Drama, Mystery
A jockey has been shot dead at the race track. Famous detective Nick Charles and his wife Nora happen to be on the scene and Lt. Abrahams asks for Nick's expert help.
Director: W.S. Van Dyke | Stars: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Barry Nelson, Donna Reed
Votes: 6,886
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
23. The Yearling (1946)
Approved | 128 min | Drama, Family, Western
A boy persuades his parents to allow him to adopt a young deer, but what will happen if the deer misbehaves?
Director: Clarence Brown | Stars: Gregory Peck, Jane Wyman, Claude Jarman Jr., Chill Wills
Votes: 6,466 | Gross: $5.20M
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
24. Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)
Passed | 138 min | Drama, History, War
In the wake of Pearl Harbor, a young lieutenant leaves his expectant wife to volunteer for a secret bombing mission which will take the war to the Japanese homeland.
Director: Mervyn LeRoy | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Van Johnson, Robert Walker, Tim Murdock
Votes: 6,460
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
25. 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: 6,038
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
26. The Search (1948)
Approved | 104 min | Drama, War
In post-war Berlin, an American private helps a lost Czech boy find his mother.
Director: Fred Zinnemann | Stars: Montgomery Clift, Ivan Jandl, Aline MacMahon, Wendell Corey
Votes: 4,839
Praesens-Film Zurich, produced for: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
27. The Clock (1945)
Passed | 90 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
In 1945, during a 48-hour leave, a soldier accidentally meets a girl at Pennsylvania Station and spends his leave with her, eventually falling in love with the lovely New Yorker.
Directors: Vincente Minnelli, Fred Zinnemann | Stars: Judy Garland, Robert Walker, James Gleason, Keenan Wynn
Votes: 4,045 | Gross: $2.78M
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
28. 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: 3,906
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
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: 3,781 | Gross: $9.17M
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
30. Tension (1949)
Passed | 95 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A meek pharmacist creates an alternate identity under which he plans to murder the bullying liquor salesman who has become his wife's lover.
Director: John Berry | Stars: Richard Basehart, Audrey Totter, Cyd Charisse, Barry Sullivan
Votes: 3,576
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
31. Madame Curie (1943)
Passed | 124 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
Despite himself, accomplished physicist and avowed bachelor Pierre Curie falls for brilliant student Marie, and together they embark on the discovery of radium.
Directors: Mervyn LeRoy, Albert Lewin | Stars: Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Henry Travers, Albert Bassermann
Votes: 3,192
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
32. Love Crazy (1941)
Passed | 99 min | Comedy, Romance
A wife suspecting infidelity starts divorce proceedings, so the husband pretends to be insane in order to delay the divorce and clear up the misunderstanding.
Director: Jack Conway | Stars: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Gail Patrick, Jack Carson
Votes: 3,434
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
33. The Secret Garden (1949)
Approved | 92 min | Drama, Family
A girl is sent to live with her uncle on his estate when her parents die. There she discovers much intrigue, family history and secrets and personal baggage. In particular, a screaming child and...a secret garden.
Director: Fred M. Wilcox | Stars: Margaret O'Brien, Herbert Marshall, Dean Stockwell, Gladys Cooper
Votes: 3,306
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
34. A Guy Named Joe (1943)
Passed | 120 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
A dead World War II bomber pilot, Pete Sandidge becomes the guardian angel of another pilot, Ted Randall. He guides Ted through battle and helping him to romance his old girlfriend, despite her excessive devotion to Sandidge's memory.
Director: Victor Fleming | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Irene Dunne, Van Johnson, Ward Bond
Votes: 2,913
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production
35. Cabin in the Sky (1943)
Passed | 98 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A compulsive gambler dies during a shooting, but he'll receive a second chance to reform himself and to make up with his worried wife.
Directors: Vincente Minnelli, Busby Berkeley | Stars: Ethel Waters, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Lena Horne, Louis Armstrong
Votes: 3,411
Another 1930s Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Production Not Listed
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's (MGM) Cabin in the Sky (as pictured example)
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