This is a list of notable Hollywood* movies released in the 1940s & 1950s, with GEMs highlighted. Note that the list is sortable by each column. (Multiple levels of sorting are possible by sorting more than one column in succession, from lowest to highest.)
Most of the listed movies can be borrowed from your local public library in DVD form and are also available for streaming. Watching these movies online usually requires a small fee or a subscription to streaming platforms such as YouTube, Amazon Prime, Disney+ or Netflix. The ‘Video at’ column in the list below indicates one preferred streaming option to watch these movies online, though it may also be available on other platforms. A ‘$’ sign indicates a small fee (usually $3.99 or less) for viewing the film. In a few cases, the movie is available for free online viewing, and in these cases the direct link to watch the movie is provided in a separate column. [Note: the availability of movies on various platforms (especially the free ones) is constantly changing: the information is current as of mid-2023, but it is quite possible that the listed streaming option for a particular film could be outdated at a later time.]
Please share any comments or suggestions on this list by filling out this form. You can use the same form to express interest in becoming a contributor to the site.
* Some non-Hollywood movies are also included.
Year
Movie
GEM!
Director
Selected Cast
Video at
Link (free)
Wikipedia
More
1940
Abe Lincoln in Illinois
John Cromwell
Raymond Massey, Gene Lockhart, Ruth Gordon, Mary Howard
YouTube $
1940
Grapes of Wrath, The
John Ford
Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine
Prime Video $
1940
Great Dictator, The
Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Jack Oakie
Prime Video $
1940
His Girl Friday
Howard Hawks
Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy
Tubi (free)
1940
Letter, The
William Wyler
Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson
YouTube $
1940
Philadelphia Story, The
George Cukor
Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart, Ruth Hussey
YouTube $
1940
Pinocchio (animated)
Various (Walt Disney)
Cliff Edwards, Dickie Jones, Christian Rub, Walter Catlett, Charles Judels, Evelyn Venable, Frankie Darro (voices)
Disney+
1940
Pride and Prejudice
Robert Z. Leonard
Laurence Olivier, Greer Garson, Maureen O'Sullivan, Mary Boland, Edna May Oliver
YouTube $
1940
Rebecca
Alfred Hitchcock
Joan Fontaine, Laurence Olivier, Judith Anderson
YouTube (free)
1940
Road to Singapore
Victor Schertzinger
Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour
YouTube $
1940
Shop Around the Corner, The
Ernst Lubitsch
Jimmy Stewart, Margaret Sullavan, Frank Morgan
YouTube $
1941
Citizen Kane
Orson Welles
Orson Welles, Joseph Cotton
YouTube $
1941
Lady Eve, The
Preston Sturges
Henry Fonda, Barbara Stanwyck, Charles Coburn
Prime Video
1941
Little Foxes, The
William Wyler
Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, Teresa Wright, Richard Carlson, Patricia Collinge, Charles Dingle, Carl Benton Reid
YouTube (free)
1941
Maltese Falcon, The
John Huston
Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet
YouTube $
1941
Meet John Doe
Frank Capra
Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck
PlutoTV (free)
1941
Sergeant York
Howard Hawks
Gary Cooper, Joan Leslie, Walter Brennan
YouTube $
1942
Casablanca
Michael Curtiz
Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre
YouTube $
1942
Magnificent Ambersons, The
Orson Welles
Joseph Cotton, Dolores Costello, Anne Baxter, Tim Holt, Agnes Moorehead
YouTube $
1942
Mrs. Miniver
William Wyler
Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Teresa Wright, May Whitty, Richard Ney
YouTube $
1942
Pride of the Yankees, The
Sam Wood
Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, Babe Ruth (as himself), Walter Brennan
Tubi (free)
1943
Jane Eyre
Robert Stevenson
Orson Welles, Joan Fontaine
YouTube $
1943
Madame Curie
Mervyn LeRoy
Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Henry Travers, Albert Bassermann
YouTube $
1943
Ox-Bow Incident, The
William A. Wellman
Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, Anthony Quinn, Harry Morgan, Jane Darwell
YouTube $
1943
Shadow of a Doubt
Alfred Hitchcock
Joseph Cotton, Teresa Wright, Macdonald Carey, Patricia Collinge, Henry Travers
YouTube $
1944
Arsenic and Old Lace
Frank Capra
Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane
YouTube $
1944
Double Indemnity
Billy Wilder
Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson
YouTube $
1944
Gaslight
George Cukor
Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotton, May Whitty, Angela Lansbury
Prime Video
1944
Laura
Otto Preminger
Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb, Vincent Price, Judith Anderson
YouTube $
1944
Lifeboat
Alfred Hitchcock
Tallulah Bankhead, William Bendix, Walter Slezak, Mary Anderson, John Hodiak, Henry Hull
YouTube $
1944
National Velvet
Clarence Brown
Elizabeth Taylor, Mickey Rooney, Anne Revere, Donald Crisp
YouTube $
1944
To Have and Have Not
Howard Hawks
Humphrey Bogart, Walter Brennan, Lauren Bacall, Dolores Moran, Hoagy Carmichael
YouTube $
1945
Lost Weekend, The
Billy Wilder
Ray Milland, Jane Wyman
YouTube $
1945
Mildred Pierce
Michael Curtiz
Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden, Ann Blyth
YouTube $
1945
Spellbound
Alfred Hitchcock
Gregory Peck, Ingrid Bergman
YouTube (free)
1946
Best Years of Our Lives, The
William Wyler
Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo, Harold Russell
PlutoTV (free)
1946
Big Sleep, The
Howard Hawks
Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Martha Vickers
YouTube $
1946
Gilda
Charles Vidor
Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, George Macready
YouTube $
1946
Great Expectations
David Lean
John Mills, Valerie Hobson, Bernard Miles, Francis L. Sullivan, Anthony Wager, Alec Guinness
Tubi (free)
1946
It's a Wonderful Life
Frank Capra
Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Henry Travers
Plex (free)
1946
My Darling Clementine
John Ford
Henry Fonda, Victor Mature, Linda Darnell, Walter Brennan
YouTube $
1946
Notorious
Alfred Hitchcock
Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains
Tubi (free)
1946
Postman Always Rings Twice, The
Tay Garnett
Lana Turner, John Garfield, Cecil Kellaway, Hume Cronyn
YouTube $
1946
The Spiral Staircase
Robert Siodmak
Dorothy McGuire, George Brent, Ethel Barrymore, Kent Smith, Gordon Oliver
Plex (free)
1947
Gentleman's Agreement
Elia Kazan
Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, John Garfield, Celeste Holm, Anne Revere
YouTube $
1947
Miracle on 34th Street
George Seaton
Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Edmund Gwenn, Gene Lockhart, Natalie Wood, Porter Hall
Disney+
1948
Hamlet
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier, Basil Sydney. Eileen Herlie, Jean Simmons, Stanley Holloway
Plex (free)
1948
Oliver Twist
David Lean
John Howard Davies, Alec Guinness, Robert Newton, Kay Walsh
YouTube (free)
1948
Quartet (Maugham stories I)
Various
Cecil Parker, Dirk Bogarde, George Cole, Honor Blackman, Linden Travers, Basil Radford, Naunton Wayne, Jack Watling, Susan Shaw
YouTube (free)
1948
Red River
Howard Hawks
John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, Walter Brennan, Joanne Dru
YouTube (free)
1948
Rope
Alfred Hitchcock
Jimmy Stewart, John Dall, Farley Granger
YouTube $
1948
Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The
John Huston
Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Tim Holt, Bruce Bennett
YouTube $
1949
All the King's Men
Robert Rossen
Broderick Crawford, John Ireland, Joanne Dru
YouTube (free)
1949
Heiress, The
William Wyler
Olivia de Havilland, Montgomery Clift, Ralph Richardson, Miriam Hopkins
1949
Third Man, The
Carol Reed
Joseph Cotton, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, Trevor Howard
Crackle (free)
1950
All About Eve
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders, Celeste Holm
YouTube $
1950
Asphalt Jungle, The
John Huston
Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe, John McIntire
YouTube $
1950
Born Yesterday
George Cukor
Judy Holliday, William Holden, Broderick Crawford
YouTube $
1950
Gunfighter, The
Henry King
Gregory Peck, Helen Westcott, Millard Mitchell, Karl Malden
Tubi (free)
1950
Sunset Boulevard
Billy Wilder
William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim
PlutoTV (free)
1950
Trio (Maugham stories II)
Ken Annakin / Harold French
Nigel Patrick, Jean Simmons, Michael Rennie
YouTube (free)
1951
Day the Earth Stood Still, The
Robert Wise
Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe
YouTube (free)
1951
Encore (Maugham stories III)
Various
Nigel Patrick, Roland Culver, Kay Walsh, Noel Purcell, Glynis Johns
1951
Place in the Sun, A
George Stevens
Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Shelley Winters
PlutoTV (free)
1951
Strangers on a Train
Alfred Hitchcock
Farley Granger, Robert Walker, Ruth Roman
YouTube $
1951
Streetcar Named Desire, A
Elia Kazan
Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh, Kim Hunter, Karl Malden
YouTube $
1952
Bad and the Beautiful, The
Vincente Minnelli
Lana Turner, Kirk Douglas, Walter Pidgeon, Dick Powell, Barry Sullivan, Gloria Grahame
YouTube $
1952
High Noon
Fred Zinnemann
Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly, Lloyd Bridges
YouTube $
1952
Singin' in the Rain
Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen
Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen
YouTube $
1953
Big Heat, The
Fritz Lang
Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Jocelyn Brando, Lee Marvin
YouTube $
1953
From Here to Eternity
Fred Zinnemann
Burt Lancaster, Deborah Karr, Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra, Donna Reed, Ernest Borgnine
YouTube $
1953
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Howard Hawks
Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell, Charles Coburn, Elliott Reid
YouTube $
1953
House of Wax
Andre de Toth
Vincent Price, Frank Lovejoy, Phyllis Kirk, Carolyn Jones, Paul Picerni, Charles Bronson (as Charles Buchinsky)
YouTube $
1953
I Confess
Alfred Hitchcock
Montgomery Clift, Anne Baxter, Karl Malden, Brian Aherne, O. E. Hasse
YouTube $
1953
Robe, The
Henry Koster
Richard Burton, Jean Simmons, Victor Mature, Michael Rennie
YouTube $
1953
Roman Holiday
William Wyler
Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn
Prime Video $
1953
Shane
George Stevens
Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin, Brandon deWilde, Jack Palance
PlutoTV (free)
1953
Stalag 17
Billy Wilder
William Holden, Don Taylor, Otto Preminger, Robert Strauss
Tubi (free)
1954
Caine Mutiny, The
Edward Dmytryk
Humphrey Bogart, José Ferrer, Van Johnson, Fred MacMurray, Robert Francis, May Wynn
YouTube $
1954
Dial M for Murder
Alfred Hitchcock
Ray Milland, Grace Kelly
Tubi (free)
1954
On the Waterfront
Elia Kazan
Marlon Brando, Rod Steiger, Karl Marlden, Eva Marie Saint, Lee J. Cobb
YouTube $
1954
Rear Window
Alfred Hitchcock
Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly, Raymond Burr, Thelma Ritter
YouTube $
1954
Sabrina
Billy Wilder
Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, William Holden
YouTube (free)
1954
Star Is Born, A
George Cukor
Judy Garland, James Mason
YouTube $
1955
Desperate Hours, The
William Wyler
Humphrey Bogart, Fredric March, Martha Scott, Dewey Martin
YouTube $
1955
Marty
Delbert Mann
Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair
YouTube (free)
1955
Mister Roberts
John Ford, Mervyn LeRoy
Henry Fonda, James Cagney, William Powell, Jack Lemmon
YouTube $
1955
Night of the Hunter, The
Charles Laughton
Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish
PlutoTV (free)
1955
To Catch a Thief
Alfred Hitchcock
Cary Grant, Grace Kelly
Prime Video
1955
Trouble With Harry, The
Alfred Hitchcock
Shirley MacLaine, John Forsythe, Edmund Gwenn
YouTube $
1956
Giant
George Stevens
Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean
Prime Video $
1956
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Don Siegel
Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter
Prime Video $
1956
King and I, The
Walter Lang
Yul Brynner, Deborah Kerr, Rita Moreno, Martin Benson
Vudu $
1956
Man Who Knew Too Much, The
Alfred Hitchcock
Jimmy Stewart, Doris Day
YouTube $
1956
Searchers, The
John Ford
John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond, Natalie Wood
YouTube $
1956
Ten Commandments, The
Cecil B. DeMille
Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, Edward G. Robinson
YouTube $
1956
Wrong Man, The
Alfred Hitchcock
Henry Fonda, Vera Miles, Anthony Quayle
YouTube $
1957
12 Angry Men
Sidney Lumet
Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Jack Klugman, Ed Begley, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam
Tubi (free)
1957
Bridge on the River Kwai, The
David Lean
Alec Guinness, William Holden, Jack Hawkins
YouTube $
1957
Incredible Shrinking Man, The
Jack Arnold
Grant Williams, Randy Stuart
YouTube $
1957
Witness for the Prosecution
Billy Wilder
Charles Laughton, Marlene Dietrich, Tyrone Power
PlutoTV (free)
1957
Peyton Place
Mark Robson
Lana Turner, Hope Lange, Lee Philips, Lloyd Nolan, Diane Varsi, Arthur Kennedy, Russ Tamblyn
YouTube $
1958
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Richard Brooks
Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Burl Ives. Judith Anderson
YouTube $
1958
Separate Tables
Delbert Mann
Rita Hayworth, Deborah Kerr, David Niven, Wendy Hiller, Burt Lancaster
Tubi (free)
1958
Vertigo
Alfred Hitchcock
Jimmy Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes, Tom Helmore, Henry Jones
YouTube $
1959
Anatomy of a Murder
Otto Preminger
Jimmy Stewart, Lee Remick, George C. Scott, Ben Gazzara
YouTube $
1959
Ben-Hur
William Wyler
Charlton Heston, Stephen Boyd, Jack Hawkins, Hugh Griffith
YouTube $
1959
Imitation of Life (Version 2)
Douglas Sirk
Lana Turner, Juanita Moore, John Gavin, Sandra Dee, Susan Kohner
YouTube $
1959
Mouse that Roared, The
Jack Arnold
Peter Sellers (triple role), Jean Seberg
Tubi (free)
1959
North by Northwest
Alfred Hitchcock
Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Jessie Royce Landis
YouTube $
1959
Rio Bravo
Howard Hawks
John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Angie Dickinson, Walter Brennan