1940s movies and TV shows

The list contains the best, new and most relevant 1940s movies ordered by relevance. The recommendation service has sorted out realistic, serious, captivating, touching, emotional and period drama films and TV shows about / with world war two, world war, war, wartime life, holocaust, danger, society, wartime, military and nazi plots mostly in Drama, War and History genres shot in USA, UK, Germany and other countries.
1940s
 1894
1940s movies
TOP 10 movies tagged as 1940s: The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979), The Halcyon (2017), Life Is Beautiful (1997), Foyle's War (2002), The End of the Affair (1999), Winter in Wartime (2008), From Time to Time (2009), Black Book (2006), The Promise (2011), Hope and Glory (1987).

List of 1940s movies

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Year:
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The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979)
Genre: Drama
Country: West Germany
Duration: 120 min.
Story: Near the end of World War II, Maria marries Hermann, who is immediately sent off to battle. When the war concludes, Maria believes that Hermann is dead. She starts working at an Allied bar, where she meets American soldier Bill. They start a ...
Style: psychological, emotional, touching, surreal, realistic ...
Plot: marriage, world war two, infidelity, wartime life, lovers reunited, rise to the top, couples, life is a bitch, love and romance, danger, human nature, survival ...
Time: 1940s, year 1979, post world war two, 20th century, 1950s ...
Place: germany, berlin germany, europe, west germany
Is relevant ?
 7.4
 3K
The Halcyon (2017)
Genre: Drama, War
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story: The story of a bustling and glamorous five star hotel at the centre of London society and a world at war.
Style: costume drama, realistic, disturbing, captivating, psychological ...
Plot: hotel, world war two, aristocracy, manager, wartime, society, bellhop, chef, maid, gay lead character, world war one, lgbt ...
Time: 1940s, 20th century
Place: england, london
Is relevant ?
Life Is Beautiful (1997)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance, War
Country: Italy
Duration: 116 min.
Story: A touching story of an Italian book seller of Jewish ancestry who lives in his own little fairy tale. His creative and happy life would come to an abrupt halt when his entire family is deported to a concentration camp during World War II. While ...
Style: touching, inspirational, emotional, sentimental, tragicomedy ...
Audience: chick flick, teens, kids, family friendly, adult
Plot: holocaust, world war two, concentration camp, nazi, human spirit, life & death, life philosophy, self sacrifice, nazism, fascism, war, courage ...
Time: 1940s, year 1997, 20th century, 90s, 1930s ...
Place: italy, europe, tuscany
Is relevant ?
 8.6
 18K
Foyle's War (2002)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, War
Country: UK
Duration: 90 min.
TV show
Story: As WW2 rages around the world, DCS Foyle fights his own war on the home-front as he investigates crimes on the south coast of England. Foyle's War opens in southern England in the year 1940. Later series sees the retired detective working as an ...
Style: clever, serious, captivating, detective, suspenseful ...
Audience: family friendly
Plot: world war two, investigation, police investigation, police detective, war crime, spy, detective inspector, police, espionage, homicide detective, whodunit, murder investigation ...
Time: 1940s, 20th century
Place: england, europe, new mexico, london
Is relevant ?
Related movie lists
40s movies
40s
903
world war movies
1068
nazi movies
1414
The End of the Affair (1999)
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 102 min.
Story: On a rainy London night in 1946, novelist Maurice Bendrix has a chance meeting with Henry Miles, husband of his ex-mistress Sarah, who abruptly ended their affair two years before. Bendrix's obsession with Sarah is rekindled; he succumbs to his ...
Style: romantic, erotic, intellectual, heartbreaking, enigmatic ...
Audience: girls' night
Plot: world war two, obsessive love, obsession, infidelity, jealousy, love affair, private detective, passion, betrayal, sex scene, adultery, extramarital affair ...
Time: 1940s, year 1999, 1930s, 20th century, year 1946
Place: london, england, brighton, europe
Is relevant ?
Winter in Wartime (2008)
Genre: Drama, History, War
Country: Netherlands, Belgium
Duration: 103 min.
Story: During World War II in the freezing Netherlands winter of 1944/1945 the western Netherlands are in the grip of a famine. Many people move east to provide for their families. Fourteen year old Michiel can't wait to join the Dutch resistance, to ...
Style: tense, exciting, realistic, serious, captivating ...
Audience: girls' night
Plot: world war two, coming of age, resistance movement, children in wartime, resistance, nazi, wartime life, winter, execution, occupation, nazism, nazi occupation ...
Time: 1940s, 20th century, year 2008
Place: netherlands, germany, europe, holland
Is relevant ?
From Time to Time (2009)
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: UK
Duration: 92 min.
Story: A haunting ghost story spanning two worlds, two centuries apart. When 13 year old Tolly finds he can mysteriously travel between the two, he begins an adventure that unlocks family secrets laid buried for generations.
Style: serious, exciting, captivating, touching, period piece ...
Audience: kids, teens
Plot: time travel, estate, supernatural, ghost, world war two, ghost story, brother sister relationship, youth, seeing dead people, grandmother grandson relationship, missing person, superhuman powers ...
Time: 1940s, 19th century, 20th century
Place: england, london
Is relevant ?
 7.7
 80K
Black Book (2006)
Genre: Drama, Thriller, War
Country: Netherlands, Germany, UK, Belgium
Duration: 145 min.
Story: In the Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II, a Jewish singer infiltrates the regional Gestapo headquarters for the Dutch resistance.
Style: tense, erotic, psychological, realistic, dramatic ...
Audience: date night
Plot: world war two, holocaust, espionage, spy, nazism, nazi, war, revenge, resistance, occupation, gestapo, ss ...
Time: 1940s, 1950s, year 2006, 20th century, y2k ...
Place: netherlands, holland, germany, israel, amsterdam ...
Is relevant ?
 8.4
 2K
The Promise (2011)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, War
Country: UK
Duration: 356 min.
TV show
Story: A young British girl travels to Israel/Palestine, retracing the steps of her grandfather - a British soldier stationed there in the 1940s.
Style: emotional, disturbing, serious, realistic, historical drama ...
Plot: israeli palestinian conflict, soldier, diary, military, wartime life, military life, youth, society, life is a bitch, occupation, political unrest, loss of family member ...
Time: 1940s, 20th century, 2000s, 21st century
Place: israel, palestine, palestinian authority, middle east
Is relevant ?
 7.3
 15K
Hope and Glory (1987)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 113 min.
Story: British writer/director John Boorman (The Emerald Forest) draws us into an astonishing and exhilarating portrait of his own childhood, set against the terrors of a London torn apart by the onset of WWII. Seven-year-old Billy Rohan (Sebastian Rice ...
Style: touching, realistic, humorous, sentimental, intense ...
Audience: teens
Plot: world war two, wartime, childhood, children in wartime, war, boy, youth, wartime life, coming of age, character study, unlikely friendships, ethnic conflict ...
Time: 1940s, year 1939, year 1987
Place: england, london, europe, britain, big ben london
Is relevant ?
The Counterfeiters (2007)
Genre: Crime, Drama, History, War
Country: Austria, Germany
Duration: 99 min.
Story: The story Jewish counterfeiter, Salomon Sorowitsch, coerced into assisting the Nazi operation of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp during World War II.
Style: tense, bleak, brutal, harsh, serious ...
Plot: holocaust, nazi, concentration camp, world war two, nazi germany, prison, brutality, counterfeit money, war crime, war, racial slur, world war ...
Time: 1940s, 20th century, 1930s, year 2008, year 2007 ...
Place: germany, europe, poland, austria, vienna ...
Is relevant ?
 7.8
 5K
Bomb Girls (2012)
Genre: Drama, War
Country: Canada
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story: Focusing on a group of women working in a munitions plant during World War II, this ensemble drama depicts the dangers and new experiences they face.
Style: captivating, realistic, serious, stylized, historical drama ...
Audience: girls' night
Plot: world war two, wartime life, working woman, factory, life is a bitch, sexism, workplace, society, gender, accident, strong female presence, lesbian love ...
Time: 1940s, 20th century
Place: canada
Is relevant ?
Related movie lists
holocaust movies
804
war movies
war
2395
1930s movies
1498
 8.4
 32K
Generation War (2013)
Genre: Action, Drama, History, War
Country: Germany
Duration: 270 min.
TV show
Story: Berlin, 1941. Five friends eager to become heroes in an adventure that will change the face of Europe - and that will forever change them as well.
Style: tense, captivating, serious, thought provoking, anime ...
Plot: world war two, holocaust, nazism, military, friendship, nazi germany, danger, against humanity, eastern front, atrocity, friends, wehrmacht ...
Time: 1940s, 20th century
Place: germany, berlin germany, east germany, hawaii, soviet union
Is relevant ?
 7.4
 36K
Radio Days (1987)
Genre: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min.
Story: The Narrator (Woody Allen) tells us how the radio influenced his childhood in the days before TV. In the New York City of the late 1930s to the New Year's Eve 1944, this coming-of-age tale mixes the narrator's experiences with contemporary ...
Style: humorous, touching, sentimental, talky, emotional ...
Audience: date night
Plot: radio, working class, dysfunctional family, rescue, lifestyle, love and romance, submarine, family problems, parents and children, nostalgia, world war two, coming of age ...
Time: 1940s, 1930s, 20th century, year 1987
Place: new york, coney island brooklyn new york city, usa, manhattan new york city, brooklyn new york city
Is relevant ?
 7.9
 437K
Jojo Rabbit (2019)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, War
Country: Czech Republic, New Zealand, USA
Duration: 108 min.
Story: A World War II satire that follows a lonely German boy whose world view is turned upside down when he discovers his single mother is hiding a young Jewish girl in their attic. Aided only by his idiotic imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler, Jojo must ...
Style: sad, dark comedy, black comedy, funny, psychological ...
Audience: kids, teens, family friendly, adult
Plot: world war two, nazi, boy, satire, nazi germany, jewish girl, nazism, first love, hitler, violence, coming of age, hitler youth ...
Time: 1940s, year 1945, 2010s, year 2019, year 1944
Place: germany, los angeles, central europe
Is relevant ?
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 142 min.
Story: Framed in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his long stretch in prison, ...
Style: clever, inspirational, touching, sentimental, twist ending ...
Audience: date night, kids, chick flick, teens, family friendly ...
Plot: prison, prison escape, freedom, human spirit, hopes, stephen king, life, friendship between men, friendship, plot twist, life philosophy, adaptation ...
Time: 1940s, 90s, 1950s, 2010s, year 1994 ...
Place: usa, america, iran, persia, pacific ocean ...
Is relevant ?
 8.4
 660K
Oppenheimer (2023)
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 180 min.
Story: The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer’s role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.
Style: epic, dramatic, captivating, exciting, serious ...
Audience: adult
Plot: nuclear, world war two, atomic bomb, scientist, american politics, historical event, mastermind, top secret, physics, moral dilemma, guilt, arizona desert ...
Time: 1940s, year 1945, year 1943, 1950s, year 1954 ...
Place: new mexico, netherlands, germany
Is relevant ?
Paradise Road (1997)
Genre: Drama, History, War
Country: Australia, USA
Duration: 122 min.
Story: Paradise Road is a 1997 film which tells the story of a group of English, American, Dutch and Australian women who are imprisoned in Sumatra during World War II. It was directed by Bruce Beresford and stars Glenn Close as beatific Adrienne Pargiter, ...
Style: touching, harsh, serious, uplifting, emotional ...
Plot: world war two, pow, holocaust, war, prison, island, friendship, justice, war crime, nazi, women, human spirit ...
Time: 1940s, year 1997, 1930s, 20th century
Place: japan, indonesia, asia, singapore
Is relevant ?
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wartime movies
1109
nazis movies
416
military movies
3606
50s movies
50s
1392
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Genre: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 169 min.
Story: As U.S. troops storm the beaches of Normandy, three brothers lie dead on the battlefield, with a fourth trapped behind enemy lines. Ranger captain John Miller and seven men are tasked with penetrating German-held territory and bringing the boy home.
Style: realistic, epic, breathtaking, captivating, tense ...
Audience: manly, chick flick, kids, date night, adult
Plot: war, world war two, military, courage, battles, self sacrifice, sniper, friendship, nazi, army, d day, rescue ...
Time: 1940s, year 1944, year 1998, 90s, 20th century ...
Place: normandy, poland, germany, france, europe ...
Is relevant ?
The Great Escape (1963)
Genre: Adventure, Drama, History, Thriller, War
Country: USA
Duration: 172 min.
Story: The Nazis, exasperated at the number of escapes from their prison camps by a relatively small number of Allied prisoners, relocates them to a high-security 'escape-proof' camp to sit out the remainder of the war. Undaunted, the prisoners ...
Style: epic, suspenseful, suspense, clever, breathtaking ...
Audience: boys' night, family friendly, family outing, manly, kids ...
Plot: world war two, prison, nazi, prison escape, motorcycle, pow, freedom, army, war, military, soldier, chase ...
Time: 1940s, year 1963, 20th century, 1900s
Place: germany, america, europe, switzerland, alps
Is relevant ?
All Things Fair (1995)
Genre: Drama, Romance, War
Country: Denmark, Sweden
Duration: 130 min.
Story: This film is set in 1943 when the whole of Europe was embroiled in WWII. It deals with attraction of a 15 year old boy Stig to his teacher Viola. The whole movie revolves around the sexual encounters between Stig and Viola and how he eventually ...
Style: erotic, sexual, touching, sexy, emotional ...
Audience: teens, adult
Plot: older woman younger man relationship, teacher student sex, older woman younger man sex, forbidden love, cheating wife, love affair, older woman teenage boy relationship, female teacher, coming of age, sex with teenager, teachers and students, defloration ...
Time: 1940s, year 1943, 20th century
Place: eastern europe, scandinavia, europe, stockholm sweden
Is relevant ?
 6.5
 3K
The Edge (2010)
Genre: Adventure, Drama, History, Romance
Country: Russia
Duration: 124 min.
Story: The action takes place shortly after the end of the Second World War in the Siberian hinterland, among Russians and Germans with damaged personal stories and a strange transformation: the victors seem to be crawling into the skins of the defeated, ...
Style: realistic, captivating, bleak, tense, exciting ...
Plot: gulag, soldier, rivalry, prison life, prisoner of war camp, captivity, pow, world war two, wilderness, danger, confined, winter ...
Time: 1940s, 20th century, year 1945, post world war two
Place: russia, soviet union
Is relevant ?
Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005)
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, History, Thriller, War
Country: Germany
Duration: 120 min.
Story: True story of Germany's most famous anti-Nazi heroine brought to thrilling, dramatic life. Sophie Scholl stars Julia Jentsch in a luminous performance as the fearless activist of the underground student resistance group, The White Rose. Armed ...
Style: touching, tense, sincere, suspenseful, emotional ...
Audience: teens
Plot: nazism, politics, world war two, nazi germany, nazi, death sentence, resistance, gestapo, historical character, trial, lawyer, rebellion ...
Time: 1940s, 20th century, year 2005, 2000s, year 1943
Place: germany, munich germany, europe
Is relevant ?
Related movie lists
Fat Man and Little Boy (1989)
Genre: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: USA, Mexico
Duration: 127 min.
Story: This film reenacts the Manhattan Project, the secret wartime project in New Mexico where the first atomic bombs were designed and built.
Style: factual, suspense, intense, serious, realistic ...
Plot: world war two, nuclear bomb, atomic bomb, scientist, military, biopic, idealism, politics, scientific research, nuclear, ego clash, moral dilemma ...
Time: 1940s, year 1945, 20th century
Place: usa, new mexico, bay area
Is relevant ?
Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min.
Story: In late 1940s Los Angeles, Easy Rawlins is an unemployed black World War II veteran with few job prospects. At a bar, Easy meets DeWitt Albright, a mysterious white man looking for someone to investigate the disappearance of a missing white woman ...
Style: neo noir, detective, dark, stylized, clever ...
Plot: private detective, african american, missing person, jazz club, black, gangster, murder, jazz, racism, home invasion, private investigator, cop ...
Time: 1940s, 20th century, year 1948
Place: los angeles, california, usa, malibu california
Is relevant ?
Cry, the Beloved Country (1995)
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: South Africa, USA
Duration: 106 min.
Story: A South-African preacher goes to search for his wayward son who has committed a crime in the big city.
Style: touching, political, thought provoking, captivating, serious ...
Plot: racism, apartheid, interracial relations, politics, self discovery, priest, psychology, social justice, afrikaans, narration, murder, racial tension ...
Time: 1940s, 20th century, year 1946, post world war two
Place: south africa, africa, johannesburg south africa
Is relevant ?
Falling in Love Again (1980)
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min.
Story: Harry and Sue Lewis met in the 40s as teenagers living in the Bronx. He was an aspiring architect, she was the most beautiful girl in school, and both had a fondness for bran muffins. They fell in love, got married, moved to Los Angeles, and had two ...
Style: sweet, romantic, melancholic, intense, light ...
Plot: infidelity, fall in love, love story, unlikely friendships, happy ending, friendship, midlife crisis, couple relations, couples, lifestyle, self discovery, love ...
Time: 1940s, year 1980, 70s
Place: usa, bronx new york city, new york
Is relevant ?
Chicago Joe and the Showgirl (1990)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller, War
Country: UK
Duration: 103 min.
Story: During World War II, an American serviceman in London decides to impress his English girlfriend by acting as an American gangster, which soon turns deadly.
Style: serious, suspenseful, tense, realistic, atmospheric ...
Plot: world war two, gangster, investigation, soldier, heist, crime spree, dishonesty, criminal heroes, frame up, cons and scams, wartime life, serial killer ...
Time: 1940s
Place: england, london, europe
Is relevant ?
Godzilla Minus One (2023)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan
Duration: 124 min.
Story: In postwar Japan, a new terror rises. Will the devastated people be able to survive... let alone fight back?
Style: crying, ambiguous ending
Plot: godzilla, kaiju, monster, giant monster, post war japan, post war, kamikaze, naval battle, duty, heroes, male female relationship, bomb ...
Time: 1940s, year 1945, year 1947, 20th century, post world war two ...
Place: japan
Is relevant ?
 7.0
 9K
Summerland (2020)
Genre: Drama, Romance, War
Country: UK
Duration: 99 min.
Story: A woman during the Second World War opens her heart to an evacuee after initially resolving to be rid of him.
Style: touching, melancholic, sentimental, psychological, sincere ...
Plot: world war two, lesbian romance, love, lesbian, lesbian love, lesbianism, lesbian couple, lesbian relationship, lesbian interest, lgbtq, lgbt, schoolboy ...
Time: 1940s, 1920s, 2020s
Place: london
Is relevant ?
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