Movies 40s Top Rated (RT > 73, IMDB >7.3 and Votes >10K), a list by PilGrimHK

8.6

/549734/

84

/9344/

82

/4735/

4.4

/703880/

94

/97/

95

/14103/

89

/17/

4.0

age 9+

A holiday favourite for generations... George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. All that prevents rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town is George's modest building and loan company. But on Christmas Eve the business's $8,000 is lost and George's troubles begin.

91

8.5

/649733/

82

/9283/

81

/5864/

4.3

/730255/

99

/135/

95

/19580/

100

/18/

4.0

age 10+

In Casablanca, Morocco in December 1941, a cynical American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications.

86

8.4

/257394/

82

/4211/

82

/3585/

4.3

/171374/

92

/52/

95

/1899/

3.5

age 10+

Dictator Adenoid Hynkel tries to expand his empire while a poor Jewish barber tries to avoid persecution from Hynkel's regime.

89

8.3

/179559/

80

/2810/

81

/1959/

4.3

/204690/

97

/110/

95

/2256/

95

/18/

4.0

age 12+

An insurance representative is seduced by a dissatisfied housewife into a scheme of insurance fraud and murder that arouses the suspicion of his colleague, a claims investigator.

89

8.2

/140294/

79

/2008/

79

/1296/

4.3

/82684/

100

/54/

93

/1450/

98

/10/

4.0

age 13+

Two jobless Americans convince a prospector to travel to the mountains of Mexico with them in search of gold. But the hostile wilderness, local bandits, and greed all get in the way of their journey.

89

8.2

/490391/

79

/7470/

79

/5876/

4.2

/593461/

99

/132/

90

/11624/

100

/19/

4.0

age 12+

Newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane is taken from his mother as a boy and made the ward of a rich industrialist. As a result, every well-meaning, tyrannical or self-destructive move he makes for the rest of his life appears in some way to be a reaction to that deeply wounding event.

87

8.1

/76721/

77

/979/

77

/710/

4.2

/45200/

98

/97/

93

/867/

93

/17/

4.0

age 13+

It's the hope that sustains the spirit of every GI: the dream of the day when he will finally return home. For three WWII veterans, the day has arrived. But for each man, the dream is about to become a nightmare.

85

8.1

/49113/

79

/1065/

78

/797/

4.3

/63376/

96

/54/

93

/369/

86

/13/

age 11+

During the Nazi occupation of Poland, an acting troupe becomes embroiled in a Polish soldier's efforts to track down a German spy.

85

8.1

/161531/

78

/2498/

78

/1912/

4.1

/151969/

98

/105/

92

/2138/

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.

84

8.1

/38031/

78

/619/

76

/517/

4.1

/24696/

94

/83/

93

/624/

89

/21/

A psychopathic criminal with a mother complex makes a daring break from prison and then leads his old gang in a chemical plant payroll heist. After the heist, events take a crazy turn.

88

8.1

/42838/

80

/958/

80

/721/

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.

87

8.1

/107533/

76

/1454/

78

/1065/

4.2

/58154/

100

/49/

88

/1136/

96

/16/

4.0

age 12+

Tom Joad returns to his home after a jail sentence to find his family kicked out of their farm due to foreclosure. He catches up with them on his Uncle’s farm, and joins them the next day as they head for California and a new life... Hopefully.

88

8.1

/193712/

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.

86

8.0

/41597/

77

/663/

76

/585/

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.

85

8.0

/47988/

78

/905/

76

/680/

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.

83

82

8.0

/26902/

76

/483/

77

/418/

4.1

/21376/

92

/24/

91

/298/

A posse discovers a trio of men they suspect of murder and cow theft and are split between handing them over to the law or lynching them on the spot.

87

8.0

/17976/

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.

87

8.0

/27509/

79

/602/

77

/452/

4.3

/49993/

97

/38/

93

/635/

4.0

age 10+

A British wartime aviator who cheats death must argue for his life before a celestial court, hoping to prolong his fledgling romance with an American girl.

86

8.0

/43710/

78

/1148/

80

/804/

4.2

/91622/

99

/96/

91

/813/

96

/15/

Two employees at a gift shop can barely stand one another, without realising that they are falling in love through the post as each other's anonymous pen pal.

87

7.9

/113036/

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.

86

7.9

/55257/

77

/1131/

76

/875/

4.0

/69286/

100

/64/

90

/775/

4.0

A police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he's investigating.

85

7.9

/94812/

76

/1648/

76

/1119/

4.0

/84099/

96

/67/

91

/1677/

86

/19/

4.0

age 12+

Private Investigator Philip Marlowe is hired by wealthy General Sternwood regarding a matter involving his youngest daughter Carmen. Before the complex case is over, Marlowe sees murder, blackmail, deception, and what might be love.

81

7.9

/78315/

77

/1393/

76

/1007/

4.0

/58941/

86

/35/

91

/2422/

age 11+

Mortimer Brewster, a newspaper drama critic, playwright, and author known for his diatribes against marriage, suddenly falls in love and gets married; but when he makes a quick trip home to tell his two maiden aunts, he finds out his aunts' hobby - killing lonely old men and burying them in the cellar!

78

7.9

/163636/

78

/3615/

79

/2918/

4.1

/298279/

93

/58/

90

/2496/

73

/10/

2.0

Two young men attempt to prove they committed the perfect murder by hosting a dinner party for the family of a classmate they just strangled to death.

85

7.9

/43843/

77

/805/

76

/628/

4.1

/52687/

93

/41/

92

/641/

85

/19/

4.0

The peaceful life of a gas station owner is disrupted when a man from his past arrives in town and forces him to return to the dark world he had tried to escape.

83

7.9

/30429/

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.

82

7.9

/30917/

77

/624/

76

/432/

4.1

/41329/

88

/50/

90

/611/

88

/16/

A hard-working mother inches towards disaster as she divorces her husband and starts a successful restaurant business to support her spoiled daughter.

83

7.9

/42878/

76

/695/

76

/643/

4.0

/36680/

97

/74/

90

/592/

Longtime alcoholic Don Birnam has been sober for ten days and appears to be over the worst... but his craving has just become more insidious. Evading a country weekend planned by his brother and girlfriend, he begins a four-day bender that just might be his last – one way or another.

82

7.9

/60732/

78

/2151/

73

/815/

3.8

/78270/

96

/52/

87

/1364/

88

/10/

Kris Kringle, seemingly the embodiment of Santa Claus, is asked to portray the jolly old fellow at Macy's following his performance in the Thanksgiving Day parade. His portrayal is so complete that many begin to question if he truly is Santa Claus, while others question his sanity.

87

7.9

/173248/

76

/2898/

77

/1819/

3.9

/135929/

99

/111/

91

/2982/

97

/16/

4.0

age 12+

A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a beautiful liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette.

85

7.8

/77927/

77

/1267/

75

/943/

4.0

/87443/

100

/104/

92

/2645/

96

/13/

age 11+

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.

82

7.8

/67281/

76

/1363/

74

/899/

4.0

/104285/

99

/104/

90

/1515/

age 12+

Walter Burns is an irresistibly conniving newspaper publisher desperate to woo back his paper’s star reporter, who also happens to be his estranged wife. She’s threatening to quit and settle down with a new beau, but, as Walter knows, she has a weakness: she can’t resist a juicy scoop.

83

81

7.8

/14718/

76

/322/

77

/329/

4.1

/22033/

100

/25/

85

/171/

A pianist about to flee from a duel receives a letter from a woman he cannot remember. As she tells the story of her lifelong love for him, he is forced to reinterpret his own past.

79

77

7.9

/20507/

76

/329/

74

/221/

3.9

/20789/

91

/33/

90

/546/

70

/12/

age 12+

A woman suffers a nervous breakdown and an oppressive mother before being freed by the love of a man she meets on a cruise.

82

81

7.8

/20401/

76

/409/

77

/458/

4.0

/19074/

97

/37/

88

/242/

The film is about an unemployed banker, Henri Verdoux, and his sociopathic methods of attaining income. While being both loyal and competent in his work, Verdoux has been laid-off. To make money for his wife and child, he marries wealthy widows and then murders them. His crime spree eventually works against him when two particular widows break his normal routine.

84

7.8

/28037/

73

/438/

73

/364/

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.

82

7.8

/22269/

77

/459/

75

/338/

3.9

/19092/

100

/21/

88

/548/

age 9+

In 1900, young widow Lucy Muir learns that her seaside cottage is haunted and forms a unique relationship with the ghost.

81

7.8

/37221/

76

/876/

75

/541/

4.0

/59523/

90

/39/

90

/594/

78

/13/

age 12+

A newlywed fears she's going mad when strange things start happening at the family mansion.

83

7.8

/40782/

76

/673/

74

/556/

3.9

/40423/

95

/37/

90

/819/

90

/16/

A Martinique charter boat skipper gets mixed up with the underground French resistance operatives during WWII.

86

7.8

/74691/

74

/1371/

75

/1105/

4.0

/75459/

100

/54/

89

/1216/

94

/15/

4.0

In sleepy Santa Rosa, restless young Charlie’s world brightens when her sophisticated Uncle Charlie arrives for a long visit. But as his behavior grows increasingly strange, she begins to suspect that her beloved uncle may be hiding a terrible secret—and that danger has quietly entered her home.

80

7.7

/46626/

75

/707/

74

/567/

3.8

/32997/

97

/36/

88

/599/

74

/11/

A hurricane swells outside, but it's nothing compared to the storm within the hotel at Key Largo. There, sadistic mobster Johnny Rocco holes up - and holds at gunpoint hotel owner James Temple, his widowed daughter-in-law Nora, and ex-GI Frank McCloud.

82

7.7

/30835/

74

/641/

74

/530/

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.

86

7.7

/37416/

76

/670/

73

/570/

4.0

/33887/

100

/32/

87

/474/

96

/15/

4.0

Following the Civil War, headstrong rancher Thomas Dunson decides to lead a perilous cattle drive from Texas to Missouri. During the exhausting journey, his persistence becomes tyrannical in the eyes of Matthew Garth, his adopted son and protégé.

78

76

7.7

/14377/

73

/331/

71

/228/

3.9

/25381/

87

/63/

85

/133/

75

/13/

A roustabout joins a traveling carny and schemes to figure out the mind-reading act of Mademoiselle Zeena and her alcoholic husband.

81

75

7.7

/11570/

75

/178/

72

/167/

3.8

/8766/

100

/20/

86

/170/

A letter is addressed to three wives from their 'best friend', announcing that she's running away with one of their husbands – but she doesn't specify which one.

81

79

7.7

/15642/

76

/304/

73

/232/

4.0

/23801/

100

/29/

89

/226/

78

/12/

A group of academics have spent years shut up in a house working on the definitive encyclopedia. When one of them discovers that his entry on slang is hopelessly outdated, he ventures into the wide world to learn about the evolving language. Here he meets Sugarpuss O’Shea, a nightclub singer, who’s on top of all the slang—and, it just so happens, needs a place to stay.

79

76

7.7

/16662/

74

/285/

71

/154/

3.7

/5353/

96

/25/

86

/223/

age 13+

In the early days of daylight bombing raids over Germany, General Frank Savage must take command of a 'hard luck' bomber group. Much of the story deals with his struggle to whip his group into a disciplined fighting unit in spite of heavy losses, and withering attacks by German fighters over their targets.

77

75

7.7

/21029/

76

/339/

71

/225/

3.6

/9900/

81

/26/