The 60+ Best Movies of 1944
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- 1Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. RobinsonIn this classic film noir, insurance salesman Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) gets roped into a murderous scheme when he falls for the sensual Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck), who is intent on killing her husband (Tom Powers) and living off the fraudulent accidental death claim. Prompted by the late Mr. Dietrichson's daughter, Lola (Jean Heather), insurance investigator Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson) looks into the case, and gradually begins to uncover the sinister truth.
2Robert Hutton, Joan Leslie, Dane ClarkOn medical leave in Los Angeles to recover from injuries sustained on the Pacific front, Cpl. Slim Green (Robert Hutton) and Sgt. Nolan (Dane Clark) discover the Hollywood Canteen, a USO-inspired club staffed entirely by Hollywood stars. The Canteen's co-founder, the legendary Bette Davis, learns of Corporal Green's crush on actress Joan Leslie and conspires to introduce them. When Green becomes the Canteen's lucky 1 millionth visitor, he's surprised by a date with Leslie and a night of luxury.
3Aurora Miranda, Carmen Molina, Dora LuzComical mixture of animation and live action featuring Donald Duck in four short stories as he travels around South America. En route, Donald meets a flying donkey and Pablo the Penguin, who hates the cold. Disney's first attempt at combining live action with animation was nominated for two Academy Awards.More The Three Caballeros
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4Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien, Leon Ames"Meet Me in St. Louis" is a classic MGM romantic musical comedy that focuses on four sisters (one of whom is the nonpareil Judy Garland) on the cusp of the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. The film spotlights the sisters' education in the ways of the world, which includes, but isn't limited to, learning about life and love, courtesy of the prototypical boy next door. In the end, love -- accompanied by song, dance and period costumes, all in glorious Technicolor -- conquers all.More Meet Me in St. Louis- #85 of 204 onMusical Movies With The Best Songs
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5Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Walter BrennanIn Vichy France, fishing boat captain Harry (Humphrey Bogart) avoids getting involved in politics, refusing to smuggle French Resistance fighters into Martinique. But when a Resistance client is shot before he can pay, Harry agrees to help hotel owner Gerard (Marcel Dalio) smuggle two fighters to the island. Harry is further swayed by Slim (Lauren Bacall), a wandering American girl, and when the police take his friend Eddie (Walter Brennan) hostage, he is forced to fight for the Resistance.More To Have and Have Not- #42 of 91 onThe 90 Best Black And White Movies
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6Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney, J. Carrol NaishAfter escaping from prison, the evil Dr. Niemann (Boris Karloff) and his hunchbacked assistant, Daniel (J. Carrol Naish), plot their revenge against those who imprisoned them. For this, they recruit the powerful Wolf Man (Lon Chaney), Frankenstein's monster (Glenn Strange) and even Dracula himself (John Carradine). Niemann pursues those who wrong him, sending each monster out to do his dirty work. But his control on the monsters is weak at best and may prove to be his downfall.More House of Frankenstein- #51 of 80 onList of 75+ Famous Monster Movies, Ranked
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7Cary Grant, Raymond Massey, Priscilla LaneWriter and notorious marriage detractor Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant) falls for girl-next-door Elaine Harper (Priscilla Lane), and they tie the knot on Halloween. When the newlyweds return to their respective family homes to deliver the news, Brewster finds a corpse hidden in a window seat. With his eccentric aunts (Josephine Hull, Jean Adair), disturbed uncle (John Alexander), and homicidal brother (Raymond Massey), he starts to realize that his family is even crazier than he thought.More Arsenic and Old Lace- #655 of 772 onThe Most Rewatchable Movies
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8Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton WebbIn one of the most celebrated 1940s film noirs, Manhattan detective Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) investigates the murder of Madison Avenue executive Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney) in her fashionable apartment. On the trail of her murderer, McPherson quizzes Laura's arrogant best friend, gossip columnist Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb) and her comparatively mild fiancé, Shelby Carpenter (Vincent Price). As the detective grows obsessed with the case, he finds himself falling in love with the dead woman.More Laura- #198 of 253 onThe 200+ Best Psychological Thrillers Of All Time
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9Mel Blanc, Bea BenaderetBugs Bunny Nips the Nips is a Merrie Melodies animated cartoon directed by Friz Freleng, produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions, and released to theaters on April 22, 1944 by Warner Bros. Pictures and The Vitaphone Corporation. The cartoon was made during World War II, and reflects the United States' attitude towards one of its main enemies at the time, the Empire of Japan. In the cartoon, Bugs Bunny lands on an island in the Pacific and is pitted against a group of highly racially stereotyped Japanese soldiers. Bugs shows no mercy against the Japanese soldiers, greeting them with several racial slurs such as "monkey face" and "slant eyes", making short work of a large sumo wrestler, and bombing most of the Japanese army using various explosives, including grenades hidden in ice cream bars. The cartoon's title is a play on the verb "nip" as in "bite" and "Nips", a then-widely used slur for Japanese people, based on the fact that the Japanese word for "Japan" is "Nippon". It is the final cartoon with bugs on the WB in a Leon Schlesinger cartoon. It is then reintroduced in Hare Trigger only Bugs pulls the next card down.
10Mel BlancDuck Soup to Nuts is a 1944 Warner Brothers Looney Tunes cartoon, directed by Friz Freleng, and starring Daffy Duck and Porky Pig. Porky is a hunter looking to shoot Daffy, but Daffy keeps outwitting Porky. This cartoon is notable for containing some gags that would appear in later cartoons featuring Daffy, such as Boobs in the Woods and Rabbit Fire. The title of the cartoon refers to the old expression "soup to nuts", and coincidentally or otherwise turns out to be an amalgam of the titles of the Marx Brothers classic Duck Soup and the Three Stooges film Soup to Nuts.
11Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph CottenAfter the death of her famous opera-singing aunt, Paula (Ingrid Bergman) is sent to study in Italy to become a great opera singer as well. While there, she falls in love with the charming Gregory Anton (Charles Boyer). The two return to London, and Paula begins to notice strange goings-on: missing pictures, strange footsteps in the night and gaslights that dim without being touched. As she fights to retain her sanity, her new husband's intentions come into question.
12Jane FrazeeCowboy Canteen is a 1944 American film starring Jane Frazee.
13Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears
Mel Blanc, Stan Freberg, Bea BenaderetBugs Bunny and the Three Bears is a Warner Brothers Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoon short released in 1944, directed by Chuck Jones and written by Tedd Pierce. This short marks the first appearance of Jones' dysfunctional version of The Three Bears, and of course is a parody of the old fairy tale, Goldilocks and The Three Bears. Mel Blanc provides the voices of Bugs and Papa Bear. Mama Bear is voiced by Bea Benaderet, while Kent Rogers voiced dim-witted Junior. Stan Freberg is often credited with voicing the character of Junyer Bear in this short, but Junyer was actually voiced by actor Kent Rogers. The cartoon was released four months before Rogers' death in the crash of a training flight at Pensacola, Florida, while he was in the military during World War II.
14Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Connie GilchristNothing But Trouble is a 1944 Laurel and Hardy feature film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed by Sam Taylor
15Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Doris MerrickWhile cleaning a detective agency, night janitors Stan (Stan Laurel) and Ollie (Oliver Hardy) stumble into international intrigue -- just by answering the phone. Wacky inventor Alva P. Hartley (Arthur Space) has built a powerful explosive that he doesn't want to see fall into the wrong hands. Passing themselves off as private eyes, Stan and Ollie accept the job of guarding the device. But, with thieves lurking around every corner, the bumbling pair are bound to get more than they bargained for.
16Carole Landis, Phil Silvers, Carmen MirandaFour Jills in a Jeep is a 1944 film starring Kay Francis, Carole Landis, Martha Raye, and Mitzi Mayfair as themselves, re-enacting their USO tour of Europe and North Africa during World War II.
17Tallulah Bankhead, William Bendix, Walter SlezakIn this tense Alfred Hitchcock thriller, based on a John Steinbeck novella, American and British civilians who have survived the sinking of their ship by a German submarine struggle to reach land in a crowded lifeboat. When a German officer (Walter Slezak) is rescued from the water, the group allows him to board, but his presence only increases the tensions on the boat. Soon treachery ensues, and the population of the vessel gradually decreases as conflicts come to a head.More Lifeboat- #210 of 253 onThe 200+ Best Psychological Thrillers Of All Time
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18Carl Switzer, Maude Eburne, Lloyd CorriganRosie the Riveter is a 1944 American film starring Jane Frazee.
19Spencer Tracy, Van Johnson, Robert WalkerDuring World War II, Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle (Spencer Tracy) leads the U.S. Air Force in a bombing mission over Japan. Doolittle and his men stage a successful attack on Tokyo, but most pilots run out of fuel while returning from the raid. Many are forced to land on Japanese soil, but Capt. Ted Lawson (Van Johnson), who has a pregnant wife at home, crash-lands in the sea off the coast of China. Stranded, Lawson must heroically endure a series of harrowing challenges to make it back home.- #81 of 264 onThe 200+ Best War Movies Of All Time
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20Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald, Rise StevensFather Charles O'Malley (Bing Crosby) is an easy-going, golf-playing young priest whose entry into a tough neighborhood parish in midtown Manhattan is viewed with skepticism from all quarters, especially the aging Father Fitzgibbon (Barry Fitzgerald). While dealing with some unfinished business from his former life in the form of an old flame who now sings at the Metropolitan Opera (Rise Stevens), Father O'Malley inspires the youth of his parish by forming a boys choir.More Going My Way
21Katharine Hepburn, Walter Huston, Aline MacMahonAs the Second Sino-Japanese War erupts in 1937 with the Japanese invasion of northern China, the rural Tan family in southern China go about their daily chores without notice of the impending conflict. Jade (Katharine Hepburn), wife of Lao Er Tan (Turhan Bey), desires books, an unconventional request for a Chinese wife. But when war finally reaches the family, Jade is first to join the resistance, leading pacifist patriarch Ling Tan (Walter Huston) to concern over his family's entry in the war.
22John Wayne, Susan Hayward, Dennis O'KeefeA morale-boosting tribute to the US Navy's Construction Battalions who followed behind the troops invading Pacific islands held by the Japanese to build runways, roads and bridges. Wedge Donovan is the civilian head of a construction company approached by the Navy to train their men as specialists. Instead, the impetuous Donovan wants to prove his crew are up to the job, but they are shot up by the Japanese.
23Mel Blanc, Arthur Q. BryanStage Door Cartoon is a 1944 Warner Bros. cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series, directed by Friz Freleng and featuring Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, and a predecessor to Yosemite Sam. The voices for Bugs and the proto-Sam are provided by Mel Blanc, except for Elmer, who is voiced by Arthur Q. Bryan. The cartoon's title is a parody of the 1943 musical film Stage Door Canteen.
24Anne Baxter, Thomas Mitchell, Selena RoyleIn this dramatization of a true story, five brothers from Iowa (James Cardwell, John Campbell, George Offerman Jr., John Alvin, Edward Ryan) grow up in an inseparable family during the Great Depression. When World War II strikes the country, the brothers feel compelled to serve their nation in its time of need. After joining the Navy, the siblings request to serve on the same ship -- a decision that turns out to be devastating for the family when their vessel is attacked at Guadalcanal.
25Joan Fontaine, Orson Welles, Margaret O'BrienBased on the renowned Charlotte Brontë novel, this drama depicts the trials and tribulations of young English woman Jane Eyre (Joan Fontaine). Orphaned and raised in an abusive home, Jane eventually becomes a governess at Thornfield Hall, where she falls for its older aristocrat owner, Edward Rochester (Orson Welles). However, numerous obstacles stand in the way of Jane and Edward's romance, and their love may not survive a series of dramatic and unfortunate events.
26Bette Davis, Claude Rains, Walter AbelA woman dreams of a picture-perfect life but finds she's close to losing everything. Gorgeous Fanny Trellis (Bette Davis) appears to have her choice of men, and wealthy Job Skeffington (Claude Rains) is her pick. Fanny's marriage plans are to preserve her family's reputation, but her machinations are rendered meaningless when her brother Trippy (Richard Waring) is killed in World War I. For Fanny and Job, the following years will be colored by loss, longing and self-discovery.
27Bela Lugosi, Frieda Inescort, Nina FochIn 1918 London, Hungarian vampire Armand Tesla (Bela Lugosi) uses his servant, werewolf Andreas Obry (Matt Willis), to assist in procuring victims. When a friend of Lady Jane Ainsley (Frieda Inescort) becomes Tesla's next victim, Jane and an acquaintance stalk the vampire and kill him by driving a stake through his heart. But 23 years later, a German bomb disturbs Tesla's grave, and cemetery workers restoring the site pull the stake from his corpse, bringing him back to life to seek revenge.- #21 of 50 onThe 50 Best Horror Movies Of The '40s, Ranked
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28Mickey Rooney, Elizabeth Taylor, Donald CrispWhen Velvet Brown (Elizabeth Taylor), an equine-loving 12-year-old living in rural Sussex, becomes the owner of a rambunctious horse, she decides to train it for England's Grand National race. Aided by former jockey Mi Taylor (Mickey Rooney) and encouraged by her family, the determined Velvet gets her steed, affectionately called "The Pie," ready for the big day. However, a last-minute problem arises with the jockey and an unexpected rider must step in as a replacement.More National Velvet- #147 of 174 onThe 150+ Best Animal Movies
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29Dick Powell, Claire Trevor, Anne ShirleyGumshoe Philip Marlowe (Dick Powell) is hired by the oafish Moose Malloy (Mike Mazurki) to track down his former girlfriend. He's also hired to accompany an effeminate playboy buy back some jewels. When the exchange results in the playboy's murder, Marlowe can't leave the case alone, and soon discovers it's related to Malloy's. As he gets drawn deeper into a complex web of intrigue by a mysterious blonde (Claire Trevor), the detective finds his own life in increasing jeopardy.More Murder, My Sweet- #15 of 36 onThe Greatest Classic Noir Movies, Ranked
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30Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones, Joseph CottenWhen her husband leaves to fight in World War II, housewife Anne Hilton (Claudette Colbert) must struggle on alone to raise their two daughters, Jane (Jennifer Jones) and Bridget (Shirley Temple). With a tight budget, Anne is forced to take in two lodgers, elderly ex-soldier Col. William G. Smollett (Monty Woolley) and handsome Lt. Tony Willet (Joseph Cotten). However, loyal maid Fidelia (Hattie McDaniel) stays on unpaid and the makeshift household pulls together through home front hardships.
