Criterion Collection by Decade (1940s), a list by Adam McGready

7.9

/29638/

75

/538/

75

/650/

4.1

/47423/

96

/67/

90

/756/

92

/7/

4.0

The story of a gentle-hearted beast in love with a simple and beautiful girl. She is drawn to the repellent but strangely fascinating Beast, who tests her fidelity by giving her a key, telling her that if she doesn't return it to him by a specific time, he will die of grief. She is unable to return the key on time, but it is revealed that the Beast is the genuinely handsome one. A simple tale of tragic love that turns into a surreal vision of death, desire, and beauty.

84

7.8

/28029/

73

/438/

73

/365/

3.8

/17634/

100

/29/

88

/427/

90

/15/

4.0

age 10+

In this Dickens adaptation, orphan Pip discovers through lawyer Mr. Jaggers that a mysterious benefactor wishes to ensure that he becomes a gentleman. Reunited with his childhood patron, Miss Havisham, and his first love, the beautiful but emotionally cold Estella, he discovers that the elderly spinster has gone mad from having been left at the altar as a young woman, and has made her charge into a warped, unfeeling heartbreaker.

75

72

7.8

/14753/

74

/267/

76

/249/

3.8

/11330/

65

84

/8/

age 12+

When 9-year-old orphan Oliver Twist dares to ask his cruel taskmaster, Mr. Bumble, for a second serving of gruel, he's hired out as an apprentice. Escaping that dismal fate, young Oliver falls in with the street urchin known as the Artful Dodger and his criminal mentor, Fagin. When kindly Mr. Brownlow takes Oliver in, Fagin's evil henchman Bill Sikes plots to kidnap the boy.

74

67

7.0

/7606/

68

/133/

66

/126/

3.5

/6356/

100

/29/

74

/142/

In 1415, in the midst of the Hundred Years' War, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France.

88

8.1

/42811/

80

/958/

79

/720/

4.4

/139190/

98

/65/

91

/825/

4.0

age 10+

A fledgling ballerina falls in love with a brilliant composer, but the jealous head of the ballet company plots to drive them apart.

88

8.1

/193633/

78

/3060/

79

/2026/

4.2

/177978/

99

/97/

93

/3386/

97

/30/

4.0

age 13+

In postwar Vienna, Austria, Holly Martins, a writer of pulp Westerns, arrives penniless as a guest of his childhood chum Harry Lime, only to learn he has died. Martins develops a conspiracy theory after learning of a "third man" present at the time of Harry's death, running into interference from British officer Major Calloway, and falling head-over-heels for Harry's grief-stricken lover, Anna.

85

8.0

/47965/

78

/905/

76

/679/

4.3

/99616/

94

/47/

91

/1079/

92

/16/

age 11+

Returning home from a shopping trip to a nearby town, bored suburban housewife Laura Jesson is thrown by happenstance into an acquaintance with virtuous doctor Alec Harvey. Their casual friendship soon develops during their weekly visits into something more emotionally fulfilling than either expected, and they must wrestle with the potential havoc their deepening relationship would have on their lives and the lives of those they love.

77

7.1

/8148/

66

/165/

65

/125/

3.5

/6210/

96

/25/

74

/144/

4.0

Egbert Sousé becomes an unexpected hero when a bank robber falls over a bench he's occupying. Now considered brave, Egbert is given a job as a bank guard. Soon, he is approached by charlatan J. Frothingham Waterbury about buying shares in a mining company. Egbert persuades teller Og Oggilby to lend him bank money, to be returned when the scheme pays off. Unfortunately, bank inspector Snoopington then makes a surprise appearance.

78

76

7.5

/19636/

71

/302/

74

/276/

3.7

/18353/

96

/48/

80

/357/

82

/10/

age 10+

Winner of four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor, Sir Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet continues to be the most compelling version of Shakespeare’s beloved tragedy. Olivier is at his most inspired—both as director and as the melancholy Dane himself—as he breathes new life into the words of one of the world’s greatest dramatists.

82

75

7.6

/11610/

74

/154/

73

/217/

3.9

/15611/

100

/17/

91

/131/

Set during the early part of his reign, Ivan faces betrayal from the aristocracy and even his closest friends as he seeks to unite the Russian people. Sergei Eisenstein's final film, this is the first part of a three-part biopic of Tsar Ivan IV of Russia, which was never completed due to the producer's dissatisfaction with Eisenstein's attempts to use forbidden experimental filming techniques and excessive cost overruns. The second part was completed but not released for a decade after Eisenstein's death and a change of heart in the USSR government toward his work; the third part was only in its earliest stage of filming when shooting was stopped altogether.

82

7.7

/30818/

74

/641/

75

/529/

4.0

/72278/

100

/39/

87

/565/

86

/16/

A group of Anglican nuns, led by Sister Clodagh, are sent to a mountain in the Himalayas. The climate in the region is hostile and the nuns are housed in an odd old palace. They work to establish a school and a hospital, but slowly their focus shifts. Sister Ruth falls for a government worker, Mr. Dean, and begins to question her vow of celibacy. As Sister Ruth obsesses over Mr. Dean, Sister Clodagh becomes immersed in her own memories of love.

80

75

7.4

/11127/

72

/205/

70

/158/

3.8

/17586/

100

/17/

82

/178/

86

/16/

age 10+

Plucky Englishwoman Joan Webster travels to the remote islands of the Scottish Hebrides in order to marry a wealthy industrialist. Trapped by inclement weather on the Isle of Mull and unable to continue to her destination, Joan finds herself charmed by the straightforward, no-nonsense islanders around her, and becomes increasingly attracted to naval officer Torquil MacNeil, who holds a secret that may change her life forever.

85

7.7

/25172/

75

/494/

72

/377/

4.0

/40060/

99

/106/

87

/499/

96

/17/

4.0

age 11+

It's no accident when wealthy Charles falls for Jean. Jean is a con artist with her sights set on Charles' fortune. Matters complicate when Jean starts falling for her mark. When Charles suspects Jean is a gold digger, he dumps her. Jean, fixated on revenge and still pining for the millionaire, devises a plan to get back in Charles' life. With love and payback on her mind, she re-introduces herself to Charles, this time as an aristocrat named Lady Eve Sidwich.

83

7.9

/30421/

74

/553/

74

/496/

4.0

/37667/

100

/43/

89

/602/

89

/15/

age 12+

Successful movie director John L. Sullivan, convinced he won't be able to film his ambitious masterpiece until he has suffered, dons a hobo disguise and sets off on a journey, aiming to "know trouble" first-hand. When all he finds is a train ride back to Hollywood and a beautiful blonde companion, he redoubles his efforts, managing to land himself in more trouble than he bargained for when he loses his memory and ends up a prisoner on a chain gang.

85

78

8.1

/11890/

77

/182/

79

/241/

4.2

/16238/

100

/26/

91

/111/

In a Danish village in the early 1600s, a young woman named Anne, whose mother was thought to be a witch, develops sympathy toward an old woman, Marte, who is accused of witchcraft. The intervention of Anne's older but kindly husband, Pastor Absalon saved her mother -- but now, urged on by his overbearing mother, he refuses to help Marte. When Absalon's son returns home and is attracted to Anne, it's a matter of time before her family destiny catches up with her.

85

8.1

/161503/

78

/2491/

79

/1912/

4.1

/151087/

98

/105/

92

/2137/

86

/16/

age 14+

Story of a young woman who marries a fascinating widower only to find out that she must live in the shadow of his former wife, Rebecca, who died mysteriously several years earlier. The young wife must come to grips with the terrible secret of her handsome, cold husband, Max De Winter. She must also deal with the jealous, obsessed Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper, who will not accept her as the mistress of the house.

77

7.5

/56019/

73

/997/

74

/944/

3.8

/60798/

86

/43/

82

/798/

78

/16/

When Dr. Anthony Edwardes arrives at a Vermont mental hospital to replace the outgoing hospital director, Dr. Constance Peterson, a psychoanalyst, discovers Edwardes is actually an impostor. The man confesses that the real Dr. Edwardes is dead and fears he may have killed him, but cannot recall anything. Dr. Peterson, however is convinced his impostor is innocent of the man's murder, and joins him on a quest to unravel his amnesia through psychoanalysis.

87

7.9

/113006/

76

/1982/

77

/1696/

4.1

/108549/

96

/53/

91

/1696/

100

/17/

4.0

age 11+

In order to help bring Nazis to justice, U.S. government agent T.R. Devlin recruits Alicia Huberman, the American daughter of a convicted German war criminal, as a spy. As they begin to fall for one another, Alicia is instructed to win the affections of Alexander Sebastian, a Nazi hiding out in Brazil. When Sebastian becomes serious about his relationship with Alicia, the stakes get higher, and Devlin must watch her slip further undercover.

89

8.3

/22309/

79

/345/

80

/442/

4.3

/23283/

98

/42/

95

/480/

96

/20/

4.0

In a chaotic 19th-century Paris teeming with aristocrats, thieves, psychics, and courtesans, theater mime Baptiste is in love with the mysterious actress Garance. But Garance, in turn, is loved by three other men: pretentious actor Frederick, conniving thief Lacenaire, and Count Edouard of Montray.

87

8.0

/17971/

77

/368/

75

/261/

4.2

/24878/

97

/37/

90

/298/

93

/20/

4.0

age 10+

General Candy, who's overseeing an English squad in 1943, is a veteran leader who doesn't have the respect of the men he's training and is considered out-of-touch with what's needed to win the war. But it wasn't always this way. Flashing back to his early career in the Boer War and World War I, we see a dashing young officer whose life has been shaped by three different women, and by a lasting friendship with a German soldier.

80

7.7

/25675/

75

/543/

73

/414/

3.8

/29920/

100

/35/

89

/286/

72

/12/

Two hit men walk into a diner asking for a man called "the Swede". When the killers find the Swede, he's expecting them and doesn't put up a fight. Since the Swede had a life insurance policy, an investigator, on a hunch, decides to look into the murder. As the Swede's past is laid bare, it comes to light that he was in love with a beautiful woman who may have lured him into pulling off a bank robbery overseen by another man.

76

68

7.1

/5131/

69

/83/

69

/115/

3.6

/7772/

100

/16/

79

/59/

A love story that follows the maneuverings of a society lady as she connives to initiate a scandalous affair between her aristocratic ex-lover and a prostitute.

82

75

7.7

/6814/

74

/112/

75

/187/

3.8

/7355/

100

/34/

89

/74/

89

/10/

Paris, France, December 1946. Jenny Lamour, an ambitious cabaret singer, and Maurice, her extremely jealous pianist husband, become involved in the thorough investigation of the murder of a shady businessman, led by Antoine, a peculiar and methodical police inspector.

79

71

7.6

/6417/

70

/120/

70

/92/

3.8

/5917/

100

/23/

83

/111/

Farmer Jabez Stone, about to lose his land, agrees to sell his soul to the devil, known as Mr. Scratch, who gives Jabez seven years to enjoy the fruits of his sale before he collects. Over that time, Jabez pays off his debts and helps many neighboring farmers, then becomes an advocate for the upstanding Sen. Daniel Webster. When Jabez's contract with Mr. Scratch concludes, he desperately turns to Webster to represent him in a trial for his soul.

82

76

7.8

/11764/

74

/206/

75

/304/

3.9

/13991/

97

/32/

90

/146/

Remy Germain is a doctor in a French town who becomes the focus of a vicious smear campaign, as letters accusing him of having an affair and performing unlawful abortions are mailed to village leaders. The mysterious writer, who signs each letter as "Le Corbeau" (The Raven) soon targets the whole town, exposing everyone's dark secrets.

83

81

7.8

/20516/

76

/368/

75

/339/

4.0

/35861/

100

/21/

91

/405/

A bad day gets worse for young detective Murakami when a pickpocket steals his gun on a hot, crowded bus. Desperate to right the wrong, he goes undercover, scavenging Tokyo’s sweltering streets for the stray dog whose desperation has led him to a life of crime. With each step, cop and criminal’s lives become more intertwined and the investigation becomes an examination of Murakami’s own dark side.

79

71

7.5

/7418/

75

/126/

72

/109/

3.8

/6093/

100

/11/

79

/90/

Nick Garcos comes back from his tour of duty in World War II planning to settle down with his girlfriend, Polly Faber. He learns, however, that his father was recently beaten and burglarized by mob-connected trucker Mike Figlia, and Nick resolves to get even. He partners with prostitute Rica, and together they go after Mike, all the while getting pulled further into the local crime underworld.

74

70

7.3

/13258/

70

/226/

68

/236/

3.7

/13893/

89

/18/

75

/179/

Spoiled playboy Henry van Cleve dies and arrives at the entrance to Hell, a final destination he is sure he deserves after living a life of profligacy. The devil, however, isn't so sure Henry meets Hell's standards. Convinced he is where he belongs, Henry recounts his life's deeds, both good and bad, including an act of indiscretion during his 25-year marriage to his wife, Martha, with the hope that "His Excellency" will arrive at the proper judgment.

80

71

7.4

/6256/

72

/113/

71

/122/

3.8

/7291/

100

/17/

84

/118/

Before he left for a brief European visit, symphony conductor Sir Alfred De Carter casually asked his staid brother-in-law August to look out for his young wife, Daphne, during his absence. August has hired a private detective to keep tabs on her. But when the private eye's report suggests Daphne might have been canoodling with his secretary, Sir Alfred begins to imagine how he might take his revenge.

77

63

7.7

/3321/

70

/61/

75

/87/

3.9

/3938/

87

/1285/

In his first collaboration with renowned screenwriter and longtime partner Cesare Zavattini, Vittorio De Sica examines the cataclysmic consequences of adult folly on an innocent child. Heralding the pair’s subsequent work on some of the masterpieces of Italian neorealism, The Children Are Watching Us is a vivid, deeply humane portrait of a family’s disintegration.

86

8.0

/41583/

77

/663/

76

/583/

4.1

/23702/

100

/51/

93

/729/

4.0

age 13+

When his mother eloped with an Italian opera singer, Louis Mazzini was cut off from her aristocratic family. After the family refuses to let her be buried in the family mausoleum, Louis avenges his mother's death by attempting to murder every family member who stands between himself and the family fortune. But when he finds himself torn between his longtime love and the widow of one of his victims, his plans go awry.

89

8.2

/21198/

80

/450/

80

/454/

4.3

/57652/

100

/25/

92

/256/

93

/18/

4.0

Noriko is perfectly happy living at home with her widowed father, Shukichi, and has no plans to marry -- that is, until her aunt Masa convinces Shukichi that unless he marries off his 27-year-old daughter soon, she will likely remain alone for the rest of her life. When Noriko resists Masa's matchmaking, Shukichi is forced to deceive his daughter and sacrifice his own happiness to do what he believes is right.

78

71

7.3

/7148/

70

/125/

69

/121/

3.8

/8123/

93

/14/

80

/120/

85

/9/

age 10+

Three modern-day pilgrims investigate a bizarre crime in a small town while on their way to Canterbury.

81

77

7.6

/10607/

73

/191/

72

/187/

3.8

/8323/

100

/35/

88

/153/

88

/12/

Phillipe, the son of an ambassador in London, hero-worships his father's butler Baines. His perception of the man changes when he accidentally discovers the secret that Baines keeps and witnesses the consequences that adults' lies can cause.

63

16

6.6

/663/

62

/18/

62

/16/

3.4

/583/

57

/6/

In a Welsh coal mining valley, a young man with a beautiful singing voice is called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice when a pit disaster threatens.

89

8.2

/190797/

80

/2662/

82

/2574/

4.3

/249922/

99

/67/

94

/2155/

4.0

age 12+

Unemployed Antonio is elated when he finally finds work hanging posters around war-torn Rome. However on his first day, his bicycle—essential to his work—gets stolen. His job is doomed unless he can find the thief. With the help of his son, Antonio combs the city, becoming desperate for justice.

73

64

7.4

/6159/

69

/102/

66

/96/

3.6

/5138/

73

/15/

83

/120/

In the midst of Nazi air raids, a postman dies on the operating table at a rural hospital. But was the death accidental?

74

68

7.3

/8396/

69

/150/

69

/117/

3.6

/7080/

88

/16/

76

/122/

In the early days of World War II, a German U-boat is sunk in Canada's Hudson Bay. Hoping to evade capture, a small band of German soldiers led by commanding officer Lieutenant Hirth attempts to cross the border into the United States, which has not yet entered the war and is officially neutral. Along the way, the German soldiers encounter brave men such as a French-Canadian fur trapper, Johnnie, a leader of a Hutterite farming community, Peter, an author, Philip and a soldier, Andy Brock.

76

75

7.5

/16741/

72

/386/

72

/274/

3.8

/20264/

86

/28/

79

/299/

74

/10/

After a former model is drowned in her bathtub, Detective James Halloran and Lieutenant Dan Muldoon attempt to piece together her murder.

79

76

7.5

/12586/

72

/236/

73

/198/

3.8

/14124/

95

/20/

87

/151/

80

/14/

Timeworn Joe Collins and his fellow inmates live under the heavy thumb of the sadistic, power-tripping guard Captain Munsey. Only Collins' dreams of escape keep him going, but how can he possibly bust out of Munsey's chains?

81

79

7.6

/14487/

75

/317/

76

/296/

3.9

/28156/

94

/16/

89

/222/

In postwar Tokyo, a blunt, alcohol-soaked doctor diagnoses a swaggering young yakuza with tuberculosis, forging an uneasy bond that’s tested when the gangster’s ruthless former boss returns and drags him back toward the swampy underworld he can’t escape.

82

7.4

/15625/

74

/338/

71

/288/

3.7

/12843/

100

/29/

81

/250/

4.0

age 8+

When Prince Ahmad is blinded and cast out of Bagdad by the nefarious Jaffar, he joins forces with the scrappy thief Abu to win back his royal place, as well as the heart of a beautiful princess.

73

61

7.1

/3663/

67

/64/

66

/73/

3.7

/5584/

92

/12/

72

/29/

As the Germans drop explosive booby-traps on 1943 Britain, the embittered expert who'll have to disarm them fights a private battle with alcohol.

77

69

7.2

/5481/

69

/97/

71

/86/

3.5

/3397/

100

/11/

83

/102/

The story of courtesan and dance-hall girl Emma Hamilton, including her relationships with Sir William Hamilton and Admiral Horatio Nelson and her rise and fall, set during the Napoleonic Wars.

85

8.0

/33595/

79

/619/

80

/953/

4.2

/68716/

100

/46/

92

/278/

During the Nazi occupation of 1944 Rome, Resistance leader Giorgio Manfredi is pursued by the Nazis as he seeks refuge and a means of escape.

81

77

7.6

/10507/

75

/229/

75

/339/

3.9

/20751/

100

/12/

86

/76/

Six stories unfold in various regions, from Sicily to the northern Po Valley as American military personnel interact with a variety of Italian locals over eighteen months in the push north during the Italian Campaign of WWII as German forces retreat.

81

79

7.8

/15062/

75

/306/

77

/409/

4.0

/30254/

96

/24/

86

/117/

In the ruins of post-WWII Berlin, a twelve-year-old boy is left to his own devices in order to help provide for his family.

75

67

7.2

/6142/

73

/136/

73

/84/

3.6

/5176/

89

/18/