Top Ten Films of 1940: World Premieres
My 1940 Oscar Ballot
| 1. | Pinocchio Dirs. Ben Sharpsteen & Hamilton Luske. Animated. Voice of Dickie Jones A+ |
| 2. | His Girl Friday Dir. Howard Hawks. With Rosalind Russell, Cary Grant, Ralph Bellamy A+ |
| 3. | The Letter Dir. William Wyler. With Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson A |
| 4. | The Philadelphia Story Dir. George Cukor. With Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart A |
| 5. | The Grapes of Wrath Dir. John Ford. With Henry Fonda, John Carradine A– |
| 6. | Rebecca Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. With Joan Fontaine, Laurence Olivier, Judith Anderson A– |
| 7. | Broadway Melody of 1940 Dir. Norman Taurog. With Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell B+ |
| 8. | Waterloo Bridge Dir. Mervyn LeRoy. With Vivien Leigh, Robert Taylor, Virginia Field B+ |
| 9. | The Shop around the Corner Dir. Ernst Lubitsch. With Margaret Sullavan B+ |
| 10. | The Long Voyage Home Dir. John Ford. With Johy Wayne, Thomas Mitchell B+ |
Reviews from 1940
★ = Full-Length Review / © = Capsule-Length Review / ★ = Blog/Favorites Review (New Window)
★ Gaslight Dir. Thorold Dickinson. With Diana Wynyard, Anton Walbrook, Frank Pettingell B
More Grades from 1940
Unreviewed titles I have seen recently enough to grade
All This, and Heaven Too Dir. John Ford. With John Wayne, Thomas Mitchell, Ian Hunter B
Arise, My Love Dir. Mitchell Leisen. With Claudette Colbert, Ray Milland, Walter Abel B
Dance, Girl, Dance Dir. Dorothy Arzner. With Maureen O'Hara, Lucille Ball, Louis Hayward B+
Kitty Foyle Dir. Sam Wood. With Ginger Rogers, Dennis Morgan, James Craig B
My Favorite Wife Dir. Garson Kanin. With Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Randolph Scott C+
Primrose Path Dir. Gregory La Cava. With Ginger Rogers, Joel McCrea, Marjorie Rambeau B
They Knew What They Wanted Dir. Garson Kanin. With Charles Laughton B–
Also from 1940
The memories are fading, but they're somewhere in my brain
Fetching
Foreign Correspondent Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. With Joel McCrea, Laraine Day
Fair
Abe Lincoln in Illinois Dir. John Cromwell. With Raymond Massey, Gene Lockhart
The Great Dictator Dir. Charles Chaplin. With Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard
Still to Come from 1940
Ten Most Enticing Prospects:
The Bank Dick Dir. Edward F. Cline. With W.C. Fields, Cora Witherspoon, Una Merkel
Fantasia Dirs. James Algar, Samuel Armstrong, Ford Beebe, Norman Ferguson, et al.
The Great McGinty Dir. Preston Sturges. With Brian Donlevy, Muriel Angelus
Night Train to Munich Dir. Carol Reed. With Margaret Lockwood, Rex Harrison
Pride and Prejudice Dir. Robert Z. Leonard. With Greer Garson, Laurence Olivier
The Return of Frank James Dir. Fritz Lang. With Henry Fonda, Gene Tierney, Jackie Cooper
Strange Cargo Dir. Frank Borzage. With Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Ian Hunter
Susan and God Dir. George Cukor. With Joan Crawford, Fredric March, Ruth Hussey
They Drive by Night Dir. Raoul Walsh. With George Raft, Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino
The Thief of Bagdad Dirs. Ludwig Berger, Michael Powell, and Tim Whelan. With Sabu
Further Research:
Boom Town Dir. Jack Conway. With Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Claudette Colbert
Christmas in July Dir. Preston Sturges. With Dick Powell, Ellen Drew, Raymond Walburn
Dark Command Dir. Raoul Walsh. With Claire Trevor, John Wayne, Walter Pidgeon
Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet Dir. William Dieterle. With Edward G. Robinson
Go West Dir. Edward Buzzell. With the Marx Brothers, John Carroll, Diana Lewis
I Love You Again Dir. W.S. Van Dyke. With William Powell, Myrna Loy, Frank McHugh
The Invisible Woman Dir. A. Edward Sutherland. With Virginia Bruce, John Barrymore
The Mark of Zorro Dir. Rouben Mamoulian. With Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell
My Little Chickadee Dir. Edward F. Cline. With Mae West, W.C. Fields, Joseph Calleia
Road to Singapore Dir. Victor Schertzinger. With Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour
Santa Fe Trail Dir. Michael Curtiz. With Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland
The Sea Hawk Dir. Michael Curtiz. With Errol Flynn, Brenda Marshall, Claude Rains
The Westerner Dir. William Wyler. With Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Doris Davenport