PUNQ’s – Top-300 – 1940
Welcome to 1940! THE WAR IS ON!!! That's the big difference between 1939 and 1940. Now there is no vague hints who the enemies are. No tip-toeing around the political climate. It's full-on propaganda!!! Most films had references to the enemy, fitting or not to the movie, it was forced in. A gloomier Hollywood starting slowly to detached itself from the jolly pace of the 1930s cinema. Non-English cinema suffered greatly from the war. Perhaps the strongest foreign scene was Germany's own agenda driven machine delivering some strong and repulsive outings unique to it's time. A fascinating year.
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- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsCary GrantRosalind RussellRalph BellamyA newspaper editor uses every trick in the book to keep his ace reporter ex-wife from remarrying.
- 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.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsHenry FondaJane DarwellJohn CarradineAn Oklahoma family, driven off their farm by the poverty and hopelessness of the Dust Bowl, joins the westward migration to California, suffering the misfortunes of the homeless in the Great Depression.
- DirectorLudwig BergerMichael PowellTim WhelanStarsConrad VeidtSabuJune DuprezAfter being tricked and cast out of Bagdad by the evil Jaffar, King Ahmad joins forces with a thief named Abu to reclaim his throne, the city, and the Princess he loves.
- 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.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsMargaret SullavanJames StewartFrank MorganTwo 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.
- DirectorRouben MamoulianStarsTyrone PowerLinda DarnellBasil RathboneA young Spanish aristocrat must masquerade as a fop in order to maintain his secret identity of Zorro as he restores justice to early California.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJoel McCreaLaraine DayHerbert MarshallOn the eve of World War II, a young American reporter tries to expose enemy agents in London.
- DirectorThorold DickinsonStarsAnton WalbrookDiana WynyardFrank PettingellTwenty years after the murder of Alice Barlow, her house is finally occupied again. However, the husband from the couple who have moved in has a secret which he will do anything to keep hidden.
- DirectorJoseph BarberaWilliam HannaStarsWilliam HannaHarry LangBob LaztnyTom (Jasper) gets told that if he breaks one more thing he is getting thrown out, so Jerry (Jinx) tries his best to make Jasper "Get the Boot".
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsGary CooperWalter BrennanDoris DavenportJudge Roy Bean, a self-appointed hanging judge in Vinegarroon, Texas, befriends saddle tramp Cole Harden, who opposes Bean's policy against homesteaders.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsErrol FlynnBrenda MarshallClaude RainsGeoffrey Thorpe, a buccaneer, is hired by Queen Elizabeth I to nag the Spanish Armada. The Armada is waiting for the attack on England and Thorpe surprises them with attacks on their galleons where he shows his skills on the sword.
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsMargaret LockwoodRex HarrisonPaul HenreidAfter Germany invades Czechoslovakia, the German and the British intelligence services try to capture Czech scientist Dr. Axel Bomasch (James Harcourt), inventor of a new type of armor-plating.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsVivien LeighRobert TaylorLucile WatsonMyra 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.
- DirectorAnatole LitvakJean NegulescoStarsJames CagneyAnn SheridanArthur KennedyDanny is a content truck driver, but his girl Peggy shows potential as a dancer and hopes he too can show ambition. Danny acquiesces and pursues boxing to please her, but the two begin to spend more time working than time together.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsBette DavisHerbert MarshallJames StephensonThe wife of a rubber plantation administrator shoots a man to death and claims it was self-defense, but a letter written in her own hand may prove her undoing.
- DirectorBoris IngsterStarsPeter LorreJohn McGuireMargaret TallichetAn aspiring reporter is the key witness at the murder trial of a young man accused of cutting a café owner's throat and is soon accused of a similar crime himself.
- DirectorMitchell LeisenStarsBarbara StanwyckFred MacMurrayBeulah BondiLove blooms between a sympathetic attorney and the comely shoplifter he has taken home for the Christmas holiday.
- DirectorFriz FrelengStarsMel BlancLeon SchlesingerHenry BinderDaffy Duck tries to usurp Porky Pig's job through devious means in this wild blend of live action and animation.
- DirectorJoe MayStarsCedric HardwickeVincent PriceNan GreyThe owner of a coal mining operation, falsely imprisoned for fratricide, takes a drug to make him invisible, despite its side effect: gradual madness.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsErrol FlynnMiriam HopkinsRandolph ScottUnion officer Kerry Bradford escapes from Confederate Prison and is sent to Virginia City, Nevada, where he finds out that the former commander of his prison, Vance Irby, is planning to send $5 million in gold to save the Confederacy.
- DirectorFrank BorzageStarsMargaret SullavanJames StewartRobert YoungThe Roth family leads a quiet life in a small village in the German Alps during the early 1930s. After the Nazis come to power, the family is divided and Martin Breitner, a family friend, is caught up in the turmoil.
- DirectorTex AveryStarsMel BlancArthur Q. BryanWhile hunting rabbits, Elmer Fudd comes across Bugs Bunny, who tricks and harasses the hunter.
- DirectorFrank BorzageStarsClark GableJoan CrawfordIan HunterConvicts escaping from Devil's Island come under the influence of a strange Christ-like figure (Ian Hunter).
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsBob HopePaulette GoddardRichard CarlsonA radio broadcaster, his quaking manservant and an heiress investigate the mystery of a haunted castle in Cuba.
- DirectorGustav UcickyStarsHeinrich GeorgeHilde KrahlSiegfried BreuerA troubled father, working as a postmaster in province, worries about his daughter taken to the capital by a rich officer.
- DirectorMarcel VarnelStarsWill HayMoore MarriottGraham MoffattA hapless fire crew are given the ultimatum: put out a fire successfully or else be sacked. They fail miserably, and their ancient fire engine is stolen by criminals attempting to steal the crown jewels from the Tower of London.
- DirectorRobert Z. LeonardStarsGreer GarsonLaurence OlivierMary BolandThe 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.
- DirectorEdward F. ClineStarsW.C. FieldsCora WitherspoonUna MerkelHenpecked Egbert Sousé has comic adventures as a substitute film director and unlikely bank guard.
- DirectorJack KinneyStarsFlorence GillGeorge JohnsonJohn McLeishGoofy's new sport: flying his glider (without much success).
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsNorma ShearerRobert TaylorConrad VeidtIn 1936, a young man arrives in Hitler's Germany, frantically seeking information about his missing German mother, and finds she is pending execution at a concentration camp.
- DirectorAlfred J. GouldingStarsStan LaurelOliver HardyForrester HarveyAs a reward for capturing a bank robber, Stan and Ollie get scholarships to Oxford, but are met with resentment by other students.
- DirectorSam WoodStarsGinger RogersDennis MorganJames CraigA hard-working white-collar girl from a middle-class family meets and falls in love with a young socialite, but she soon clashes with his family.
- DirectorNorman TaurogStarsFred AstaireEleanor PowellGeorge MurphyJohnny Brett and King Shaw are an unsuccessful dance team in New York. A producer discovers Brett as the new partner for Clare Bennett but Brett, who thinks he is one of the people they lent money to, gives him the name of his partner.
- DirectorJack KingStarsLee MillarClarence NashDonald attempts to entice Pluto to try his automated dog washer, but is unexpectedly caught himself and is scrubbed, and hung on the line to dry.
- DirectorEdward F. ClineStarsMae WestW.C. FieldsJoseph CalleiaAfter a scandal runs a gold-digger out of town, she meets a con artist and becomes embroiled in a string of petty deceits.
- DirectorPreston SturgesStarsDick PowellEllen DrewRaymond WalburnAfter the co-workers of an ambitious clerk trick him into thinking he has won $25,000 in a slogan contest, he begins to use the money to fulfill his dreams. What will happen when the ruse is discovered?
- DirectorWalter LangStarsJohn BarrymoreMary Beth HughesGregory RatoffBarrymore lampoons himself. A famous actor, given to drink, nearly destroys the show, but his leading lady returns to save it. Meanwhile a young girl tries to reform him.
- DirectorMario MattoliStarsErminio MacarioJuan de LandaDora BiniIn Santa Cruz, in the second half of the eighteenth century. The Governor of the island, to ingratiate himself with the Viceroy, contrives to make assaulting the island from a mock pirate ship and, with a mock battle, defeat the aggressors and throw them back into the sea.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsEdward G. RobinsonHumphrey BogartAnn SothernWhen retired racket boss John Sarto tries to reclaim his place and former friends try to kill him, he finds solace in a monastery and reinvents himself as a pious monk.
- DirectorKing VidorJack ConwayW.S. Van DykeStarsSpencer TracyRobert YoungWalter BrennanLangdon 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.
- DirectorJack KingStarsClarence NashDonald and his nephews are the staff of a fire station. Huey, Dewey, and Louie, annoyed by Donald's snoring, ring the fire alarm. Soon, his bumbling sets the fire station itself on fire. They race off at the alarm, not realizing they are already at the destination, and the firefighting efforts go downhill from there.
- DirectorGordon DouglasStarsStan LaurelOliver HardyJames FinlaysonOliver suffers a nervous breakdown as a result of working in a horn factory, but when he follows doctor's orders about sea air, he finds an ex-con is aboard.
- DirectorHiroshi ShimizuStarsShinobu AokiMariko AoyamaMitsuko HigashiyamaA spirited young teacher challenges a conservative school with her liberal thinking and teaching methods.
- DirectorEdward BuzzellStarsGroucho MarxChico MarxHarpo MarxThe Marx Brothers come to the rescue in the Wild West when a young man, trying to settle an old family feud so he can marry the girl he loves, runs afoul of crooks.
- DirectorTay GarnettStarsMarlene DietrichJohn WayneAlbert DekkerBanished from various U.S. protectorates in the Pacific, a saloon entertainer uses her femme-fatale charms to woo politicians, navy personnel, gangsters, riff-raff, judges and a ship's doctor in order to achieve her aims.
- DirectorJack KinneyStarsLee MillarJames MacDonaldClarence NashPluto's dish is empty, so he goes after the bone in the dish of Butch the bulldog, who is sleeping next door. Can he make it home with the bone before Butch wakes up? No. Soon they are chasing each other through a deserted carnival, into a hall of mirrors. Pluto takes advantage of one set of mirrors to scare Butch off.
- DirectorEdward F. ClineStarsHugh HerbertAnita LouiseAlan MowbrayA widow and her daughter are threatened with eviction by an unscrupulous lawyer.
- DirectorVictor SchertzingerStarsBing CrosbyBob HopeDorothy LamourTwo playboys try to forget previous romances in Singapore - until they meet a beautiful dancer.
- DirectorA. Edward SutherlandStarsVirginia BruceJohn BarrymoreJohn HowardAn attractive model with an ulterior motive volunteers as guinea pig for an invisibility machine.
- DirectorMichael PowellStarsConrad VeidtValerie HobsonHay PetrieEarly in World War II, Danish sea captain Andersen, delayed in a British port, tangles with German spies.
- DirectorClyde GeronimiStarsClarence NashDanny WebbDonald and Goofy are putting up advertising posters in a farm. Goofy prepares to post on a windmill, but his tools keep disappearing and reappearing on the windmill blades. Donald puts up his posters, a picture of a soup can, and a goat eats them immediately. Goofy gets stuck to his poster after it comes around on the windmill. Donald, being his calm, even-tempered self, gets into a battle with the goat.
- DirectorJoe MayStarsGeorge SandersMargaret LindsayVincent PriceBased on the novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, this classic film follows a family feud between two brothers and an ancient curse that haunts them.
- DirectorBen HechtLee GarmesStarsDouglas Fairbanks Jr.Rita HayworthThomas MitchellA cuckolded embezzler on the verge of suicide is helped by a tout, an alcoholic playwright, and a pick-up girl to reimburse the money with a gambling sting.
- DirectorJack KingStarsLee MillarClarence NashDonald Duck is a window washer who has problems, from his hat and tail feather being trimmed to waking up Pluto to break the window. And finally tormenting a bee, getting tied up on the platform only to have his rear end stung by a bee.
- DirectorVeit HarlanStarsFerdinand MarianKristina SöderbaumHeinrich GeorgeInfamous anti-Semitic Nazi propaganda historical drama about Duke Karl Alexander of Württemberg and his treasurer Süß Oppenheimer.
- DirectorAnatole LitvakStarsBette DavisCharles BoyerJeffrey LynnA duchess' irrational behavior toward her children's governess triggers tragic events that will change her family's lives forever.
- DirectorDick LundyStarsBilly BletcherClarence NashConstruction foreman Pegleg Pete has just fired his riveter; Donald comes by and takes the job, despite a lack of experience and an initial fear of heights, and makes a mess of things.
- DirectorErnest B. SchoedsackStarsAlbert DekkerThomas ColeyJanice LoganA mad scientist working in the South American jungle miniaturizes his colleagues when he feels his megalomania is threatened.
- DirectorStuart HeislerStarsBilly LeeCordell HickmanRichard LaneTwo little boys have faith in a dog they name Promise, so much faith that they enter him in the championship trials for bird dogs. The favorite is Georgia Boy bred and trained by the boys' fathers. And if Georgia Boy doesn't win, the fathers may both lose their jobs.
- DirectorJohn CromwellStarsRaymond MasseyGene LockhartRuth GordonHumble Abraham Lincoln gains the respect of his Illinois neighbors, growing in stature and respect until he is elected President in 1860 and departs for Washington.
- DirectorJack KingStarsJames MacDonaldClarence NashDonald takes a kayak trip. When he gets to his campsite, he unloads the kayak, fights with his folding chair, and goes to sleep. Meanwhile, the chipmunks of the forest (precursors of Chip 'n Dale), attracted by his squawking, make off with the huge pile of food he carelessly unloaded. They get the attention of a bear, who Donald is soon battling.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsWalter BrennanFay BainterBrenda JoyceA woman tormented by the hunting death of her husband forbids her son to have anything to do with horses. But when he falls for the daughter of his father's trainer, he defies his mother by entering the Maryland Hunt.
- 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.
- DirectorWalter FordeStarsGordon HarkerElizabeth AllanMervyn JohnsAgainst a background of Christmas and the pending arrival of another baby for the landlord, a group of pub locals lead by bookie Joe Harris set out to prove that former customer Eddie Graves is not guilty of the murder for which he is due to be hanged in the morning.
- DirectorDave FleischerWilliam NolanStarsPinto ColvigMargie HinesJack MercerPopeye tries to put his Pappy to bed, but he manages to sneak out to a sleazy bar.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsErrol FlynnOlivia de HavillandRaymond MasseyIn 1854, Jeb Stuart, George Custer and other graduates from West Point are posted to Kansas to help pacify the territory before railroad construction to Santa Fe can resume.
- DirectorRowland V. LeeStarsLouis HaywardJoan BennettGeorge SandersGeneral Gurko Lanen is the dictator of Lichtenburg, a country set in the Balkans. With the help of Napoleon II, the rightful ruler Grand Duchess Zona aims to overthrow the general. She is also helped by the visiting Count of Monte Cristo.
- DirectorTex AveryStarsMargaret Hill-TalbotSara BernerMel BlancA collection of short gags based on classic nursery rhymes and fairy tales. Mary, Mary Quite Contrary, in her best Katharine Hepburn, tells us how her garden is really doing. Humpty Dumpty doesn't completely crack up. Jack and Jill go up the hill and have too much fun to come down. Little Miss Muffet frightens the spider off. The Three Little Pigs give the Big Bad Wolf a bottle of mouth-wash. A parade of wooden soldiers, in perfect formation from the waist up. Starlight, Starbright: A dog gets his wish a tree. Jack be nimble but not quite nimble enough. The old lady in the shoe made the old man very happy. (A gag involving Hiawatha, trimmed from the TV version.) Finally, the night before Christmas, and one stirring mouse tells the other to be quiet.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsClaire TrevorJohn WayneWalter PidgeonIn Kansas during the Civil War, opposing pro-Union and pro-Confederate camps clash and visiting Texan Bob Seton runs afoul of William Cantrell's Raiders.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsCarole LombardAnne ShirleyBrian AherneA nurse loses her job after selflessly taking the blame for a fatal mistake her sister and co-worker made. She is subsequently employed at a poorly-equipped hospital, where she finds romance and tragedy.
- DirectorChuck JonesStarsMargaret Hill-TalbotShepperd StrudwickTom's father mistakenly believes that the little bird who's just rescued his tiny son from drowning in the dishwater is attacking the boy and drives it away. Tom sets off to find the bird and gets lost in a fierce snowstorm.
- DirectorAllan DwanStarsFranchot ToneWarren WilliamBroderick CrawfordA reporter goes undercover to break up an outlaw gang.
- DirectorDave FleischerGrim NatwickStarsPinto ColvigJack MercerOlive sends Popeye a puppy, Eugene the Jeep, for his birthday, but despite Popeye's best efforts to make it sleep outside, it keeps finding its way back into the house. A rare spinach-free Popeye.
- DirectorClyde GeronimiStarsLee MillarLillian RandolphPluto is tied up in the backyard and has been ordered by the maid to stay outside while she prepares a roast. Of course, once Pluto smells the scent of the roast, he makes a beeline for the kitchen. Unfortuantely, staying undiscovered proves difficult for Pluto once he gets inside particularly after he inhales a bucket of soapy water and starts sneezing.
- DirectorDave FleischerArnold GillespieStarsJack MercerPopeye's 99-year-old father won't admit he's too old to help Popeye build a ship. Popeye tells him to build one side while he builds the other; Pappy's side is a mess. He falls asleep helping hoist the mast. While Pappy sleeps, Popeye rebuilds his side and finishes the above-decks, with a little help from spinach, of course.
- DirectorLynn ShoresStarsSidney TolerVictor Sen YungC. Henry GordonAn escaped convicted murderer hides out at a New York wax museum where he hopes to get plastic surgery, which will help him revenge himself on Charlie Chan.
- DirectorDave FleischerWillard BowskyStarsMargie HinesJack MercerWhen Popeye tells Olive Oyl that he will propose to her the next morning, she has a dream that their four boys will run roughshod over their house.
- DirectorJack KingStarsClarence NashDonald's frustration level is stretched to the limit when he attempts to court Daisy without the interference of his nephews.
- DirectorAnthony AsquithStarsRay MillandEllen DrewJanine DarceyThe love affairs of three young Englishmen at a language cramming school in the south of France. Diana, the sister of one of the boys, arrives in town to flirt with all of her brothers' schoolmates.
- DirectorKing VidorStarsClark GableHedy LamarrOscar HomolkaAn American reporter smuggling news out of Soviet Moscow is blackmailed into helping a beautiful Communist leave the country.
- DirectorDave FleischerShamus CulhaneStarsJack MercerSpunky is kidnapped and sold at an auction to a cruel Italian peddler. It's up to Hunky to save him.
- DirectorDave FleischerThomas JohnsonStarsMargie HinesJack MercerTedd PierceOlive has a secret treasure map, but while she's showing it to Popeye, Bluto photographs it and gets there first.
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsWallace BeeryLeo CarrilloMarjorie RambeauIn California's Death Valley, in 1892, borax miners scratch a hard living until a map pinpointing the location of high-grade borax surfaces, sending prospectors and crooks alike into a gold-rush-like frenzy.
- DirectorDave FleischerMyron WaldmanStarsMargie HinesJack MercerLots of gags as the little guy fights the bad guy. The insects are living together peacefully, and everybody is going along with their daily business as the evil ant-eater is attacking the hive. Luckily a little hero is there to save the day.
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsMichael RedgraveMargaret LockwoodEdward RigbyIn a small coal-mining village, Bob Fenwick leads a strike over safety standards at the local colliery. Meanwhile, his son David goes off to university with the hope one day to return to help the miners with their working conditions.
- DirectorLeslie GoodwinsStarsLupe VelezLeon ErrolDonald WoodsNewlyweds Dennis and Carmelita have several obstacles to deal with in their new marriage: Carmelita's fiery Latin temper, a meddling aunt and a conniving ex-fiancee who's determined to break up their marriage.
- DirectorCarl FroelichStarsZarah LeanderWilly BirgelMaria KoppenhöferWhile awaiting her unjust execution at the hands of the treacherous Queen Elizabeth I, the tragic Mary Stuart reflects at the series of cruel political machinations that set up her path to the scaffold.
- DirectorChuck JonesStarsMel BlancArthur Q. BryanElmer takes up wildlife photography, but finds his subject, a rabbit similar to the later Bugs Bunny character, much too wild.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeStarsWilliam PowellMyrna LoyFrank McHughBoring businessman Larry Wilson recovers from amnesia and discovers he's really a con man...and loves his soon-to-be-ex wife.
- DirectorRobert ClampettStarsMel BlancRobert C. BruceThurl RavenscroftThe Pilgrims, led by captain Porky Pig, set sail from Plymouth for America. We get a series of ocean sailing blackout gags, including a running bit between our narrator and the cook, looking for a fish suitable for dinner, a singing trio interrupted by seasickness, flying fish (in airplanes). Then, The Rains Came. A collision with an iceberg is narrowly averted. Land is sighted. The pilgrims are welcomed by Chief Sitting Bull.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsEdward G. RobinsonRuth GordonOtto KrugerTrue story of the doctor who considered it was not immoral to search for a drug that would cure syphillis.
- DirectorChuck JonesStarsMel BlancMargaret Hill-TalbotSniffles the mouse is in the country for a restful vacation, but the woodland creatures keep him awake and eventually frighten him into scurrying back to the city.
- DirectorTex AveryStarsTex AveryBea BenaderetSara BernerThe bears go out for a bicycle ride while their porridge cools. Goldilocks comes along, but stops at grandmother's house instead, where the wolf is waiting. He sends her away, then realized she'd do just fine, so he rushes over to the bears house. Red gets to granny's house, finds a note from the wolf, and calls Goldy.
- DirectorWilliam A. SeiterStarsDeanna DurbinKay FrancisWalter PidgeonAn aspiring actress is offered the lead in a major new play, but discovers that her mother, a more seasoned performer, expects the same part. The situation is further complicated when they both become involved with the same man.
- DirectorRobert ClampettStarsMel BlancPorky decides to go fishing the next day and tells his cat. The cat sleeps fitfully. The next day, while they are fishing, the cat gets into a battle with a flying fish who behaves rather like Daffy Duck.