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, dramatic, touching, serious, captivating and thought provoking films and TV shows about / with world war two, storytelling, war, culture clash, wartime, runaway, catastrophe, beautiful scenery, mentor and danger plots mostly in Drama, War and History genres shot in USA, UK, Germany and other countries.
1940s
TOP 10 movies tagged as 1940s: The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979), Winter in Wartime (2008), Foyle's War (2002), The Counterfeiters (2007), The End of the Affair (1999), The Halcyon (2017), The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Hope and Glory (1987), Swing Shift (1984), Hacksaw Ridge (2016).
Best films
List of 1940s movies
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, thought provoking, touching, realistic ...
Plot:
marriage, world war two, infidelity, wartime life, love triangle, german woman, lovers reunited, couples, rise to the top, businesswoman, love and romance, human nature ...
Time:
1940s, 1930s, post world war two, 20th century, 50s ...
Place:
berlin germany, germany, canada, europe, west germany
Is relevant ?
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, serious, realistic, captivating ...
Audience:
girls' night
Plot:
world war two, coming of age, resistance movement, wartime life, war, winter, occupation, execution, nazism, nazi, resistance, nazi occupation ...
Time:
1940s, 20th century, post world war two
Place:
germany, netherlands, europe, holland
Is relevant ?
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:
captivating, clever, serious, suspenseful, realistic ...
Plot:
world war two, police detective, investigation, whodunit, spy, war crime, police investigation, undercover, crimes of passion, murder, murder investigation, espionage ...
Time:
1940s, 20th century
Place:
england, europe, new mexico, london
Is relevant ?
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, brutal, bleak, harsh, serious ...
Plot:
holocaust, nazi, concentration camp, jewish, war, world war two, counterfeit money, nazi germany, survival, german, forgery, prison ...
Time:
1940s, 20th century, 1930s, post world war two, year 1945 ...
Place:
germany, europe, poland, berlin germany, hamburg germany ...
Is relevant ?
Related movie lists
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, sexy, intellectual, melancholic ...
Audience:
girls' night
Plot:
world war two, obsession, infidelity, obsessive love, jealousy, love, love affair, private detective, betrayal, sex scene, adultery, extramarital affair ...
Time:
1940s, 19th century, 1930s, 20th century, year 1946
Place:
london, england, europe
Is relevant ?
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:
disturbing, realistic, thought provoking, captivating, psychological ...
Plot:
hotel, world war two, aristocracy, manager, wartime, society, maid, chef, bellhop, world war one, gay lead character, lgbt ...
Time:
1940s
Place:
england, london
Is relevant ?
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, touching, inspirational, sentimental, philosophical ...
Audience:
teens, chick flick, kids
Plot:
prison, prison escape, freedom, existentialism, plot twist, life, friendship between men, life sentence, life philosophy, hopes, adaptation, powerful ending ...
Time:
1940s, year 1963, year 1965, year 1966, year 1954 ...
Place:
usa, maine, pacific ocean, mexico
Is relevant ?
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, sentimental, humorous, intense ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
world war two, wartime, childhood, war, school, children in wartime, youth, wartime life, coming of age, unlikely friendships, ethnic conflict, character study ...
Time:
1940s, year 1939
Place:
england, london, europe, britain, big ben london
Is relevant ?
Genre: Drama, Romance, War
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
In 1941 America Kay and her husband are happy enough until he enlists after Pearl Harbor. Against his wishes, his wife takes a job at the local aircraft plant where she meets Hazel, the singer from across the way the two soon become firm friends and ...
Style:
sentimental, emotional, touching, semi serious, humorous ...
Audience:
girls' night, chick flick
Plot:
world war two, love triangle, friendship, wartime, adultery, courage, unlikely friendships, betrayal, fascism, love and romance, couples, love affair ...
Time:
1940s, 50s, 1930s, year 1941, 20th century ...
Place:
poland, germany, los angeles, hawaii
Is relevant ?
540K
Genre: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: Australia, USA, UK, China
Duration: 139 min.
Story:
WWII American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, who served during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people and becomes the first Conscientious Objector in American history to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Style:
touching, inspirational, sentimental, emotional, brutal ...
Audience:
manly, girls' night
Plot:
world war two, war, soldier, conscientious objector, religion, american soldier, u.s. army, bible, military, father son relationship, pacifism, u.s. military ...
Time:
1940s, middle ages, 20th century, year 1945
Place:
okinawa, okinawa japan, japan, tennessee, usa
Is relevant ?
Genre: Drama, History, War
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 594 min.
TV show
Story:
Drawn from interviews with survivors of Easy Company, as well as their journals and letters, Band of Brothers chronicles the experiences of these men from paratrooper training in Georgia through the end of the war. As an elite rifle company ...
Style:
heroic, captivating, epic, serious, tense ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
world war two, military, war, combat, soldier, battles, american soldier, behind enemy lines, paratrooper, u.s. army, nazi germany, courage ...
Time:
1940s, post world war two, 20th century
Place:
germany, europe, belgium, paris france, netherlands ...
Is relevant ?
Genre: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 143 min.
Story:
Siblings Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter step through a magical wardrobe and find the land of Narnia. There, the they discover a charming, once peaceful kingdom that has been plunged into eternal winter by the evil White Witch, Jadis. Aided by the ...
Style:
fairy tale, atmospheric, exciting, epic, scenic ...
Audience:
kids, family outing, teens, chick flick, girls' night ...
Plot:
fantasy world, witch, magic, good versus evil, legends and myths, talking animals, imaginary kingdom, parallel world, magical, winter, heroes, children ...
Time:
1940s, future, year 1940, 20th century
Place:
london, england
Is relevant ?
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 128 min.
Story:
As America's stock of athletic young men is depleted during World War II, a professional all-female baseball league springs up in the Midwest, funded by publicity-hungry candy maker Walter Harvey (Garry Marshall). Competitive sisters Dottie ...
Style:
feel good, touching, sentimental, humorous, sweet ...
Audience:
family outing, girls' night, kids, teens, chick flick
Plot:
baseball, world war two, sport, female protagonist, sister sister relationship, friendship, female athlete, women, sibling rivalry, female bonding, underdog, happy ending ...
Time:
1940s, year 1943, 20th century
Place:
oregon, chicago illinois, new jersey, usa, colorado ...
Is relevant ?
Genre: Comedy, Family
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
The comic mishaps and adventures of a young boy named Ralph, trying to convince his parents, teachers, and Santa that a Red Ryder B.B. gun really is the perfect Christmas gift for the 1940s.
Style:
funny, sweet, humorous, sentimental, touching ...
Audience:
kids, family outing, teens, pre-teens
Plot:
christmas, bullying, childhood, holiday, boy, school, childhood memory, children, bully, little boy, father son relationship, child's point of view ...
Time:
1940s, 20th century
Place:
indiana, canada, usa
Is relevant ?
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 195 min.
Story:
The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.
Style:
touching, emotional, thought provoking, realistic, heartbreaking ...
Audience:
chick flick, date night
Plot:
holocaust, world war two, jewish, genocide, nazi, war, concentration camp, anti semitism, brutality, against humanity, wartime, racism ...
Time:
1940s, 20th century, 1930s, 90s
Place:
poland, germany, vatican, europe, israel ...
Is relevant ?
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, sentimental, touching, emotional, talky ...
Audience:
date night
Plot:
radio, family relations, working class, dysfunctional family, americana, rescue, jewish, love and romance, lifestyle, submarine, family problems, parents and children ...
Time:
1940s, 1930s, 70s, 20th century, 80s
Place:
new york, coney island brooklyn new york city, new jersey, usa, brooklyn new york city ...
Is relevant ?
22K
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, Switzerland
Duration: 112 min.
Story:
An American, Leopold Kessler, goes to post-war Germany in 1945 to work as a railroad conductor for the Zentropa Rail Line instead of going into the Army because he feels its a more valuable thing to do for the state of the world. He meets Katharina ...
Style:
surreal, gloomy, bleak, psychological, art house ...
Plot:
train, world war two, assassination, idealism, betrayal, terrorism, against humanity, misfit, nazi, suicide, employee, haunted by the past ...
Time:
1940s, post world war two, 20th century
Place:
germany, poland, munich germany, europe, frankfurt germany
Is relevant ?
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:
suspenseful, serious, atmospheric, realistic, tense ...
Plot:
gangsters, world war two, investigation, soldier, heist, crime spree, frame up, wartime life, cons and scams, dishonesty, criminal heroes, serial killer ...
Time:
1940s
Place:
england, london, europe
Is relevant ?
Related movie lists
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:
epic, realistic, breathtaking, captivating, rough ...
Audience:
kids, chick flick
Plot:
war, world war two, military, courage, battles, nazi, sniper, army, self sacrifice, d day, friendship, tank ...
Time:
1940s, year 1944, middle ages, 20th century
Place:
normandy, poland, germany, france, europe ...
Is relevant ?
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, psychological, erotic, realistic, dramatic ...
Audience:
date night
Plot:
world war two, holocaust, jewish, spy, war, espionage, betrayal, revenge, occupation, nazi, nazism, resistance ...
Time:
1940s, post world war two, 50s, year 1944, year 1956 ...
Place:
netherlands, holland, germany, israel, poland ...
Is relevant ?
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
Plot:
world war two, holocaust, concentration camp, jewish, nazi, human spirit, life & death, life philosophy, nazism, survival, fascism, love ...
Time:
1940s, 1930s, 20th century, year 1939
Place:
italy, europe, poland, tuscany
Is relevant ?
673K
Genre: Action, Drama, History, Thriller, War
Country: UK, Netherlands, France, USA
Duration: 106 min.
Story:
The story of the miraculous evacuation of Allied soldiers from Belgium, Britain, Canada and France, who were cut off and surrounded by the German army from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk between May 26th and June 4th 1940 during World War II.
Style:
epic, atmospheric, dramatic, realistic, suspenseful ...
Audience:
teens, adult
Plot:
world war two, military, survival, war, soldier, evacuation, military officer, beach, wartime, air attack, rescue mission, army ...
Time:
1940s, year 1940, middle ages, 20th century
Place:
france, england, english channel, dunkirk, los angeles ...
Is relevant ?
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 ...
Audience:
chick flick, girls' night
Plot:
world war two, pow, holocaust, war, prison, island, friendship, justice, war crime, nazi, human spirit, prison life ...
Time:
1940s, 1930s, 20th century
Place:
japan, indonesia, asia, australia, germany ...
Is relevant ?
Related movie lists
Genre: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: France, Canada, Czech Republic
Duration: 110 min.
Story:
In occupied France, Maurice and Joseph, two young Jewish brothers left to their own devices demonstrate an incredible amount of cleverness, courage, and ingenuity to escape the enemy invasion and to try to reunite their family once again.
Style:
tense, captivating, disturbing, suspenseful, psychological ...
Plot:
world war two, brother brother relationship, holocaust, ss, nazi occupation, nazi, german soldier, german occupation, jewish, military, soldier, fear ...
Time:
1940s, year 1943, year 1944, year 1942
Place:
paris france, nice france, france
Is relevant ?
25K
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, History
Country: USA, China, Hong Kong
Duration: 118 min.
Story:
Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Supreme Court Justice, battles through one of his career-defining cases.
Style:
captivating, tense, exciting, touching, political ...
Plot:
court, racism, lawyer, courtroom, injustice, african american, racial segregation, african american protagonist, racial discrimination, justice, racial issues, doubt ...
Time:
1940s, year 1967, year 1954
Place:
new york, connecticut, grand central station manhattan new york city, mississippi, manhattan new york city ...
Is relevant ?
Genre: Animation, Drama, Family, History, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 129 min.
Story:
Newlywed Suzu Urano moves to her new life in Kure City on the coast of Hiroshima Prefecture, where she perseveres through World War II with pluck and determination.
Style:
anime, thought provoking, touching, captivating, suspenseful ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
world war two, family relations, war, bombing, wedding, military, female protagonist, anniversary, evacuation, couples, society, teenager ...
Time:
1940s, 1930s, 20th century, year 1935, year 1945 ...
Place:
hiroshima japan, japan, asia, east asia
Is relevant ?
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, intense, realistic, serious, thought provoking ...
Plot:
world war two, nuclear bomb, atomic bomb, scientist, military, idealism, suspense, politics, moral dilemma, ego clash, soldier, scientific research ...
Time:
1940s, 70s, 20th century, year 1945
Place:
usa, new mexico, russia, germany
Is relevant ?
1.9M
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 175 min.
Story:
Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael steps in to take care of the ...
Style:
serious, epic, atmospheric, dramatic, captivating ...
Audience:
boys' night, chick flick
Plot:
mafia, organized crime, gangsters, greed, revenge, betrayal, crime family, pride and honor, corruption, murder, wedding, gang war ...
Time:
1940s, 50s, 20th century, post world war two
Place:
italy, new york, bronx new york city, europe, sicily ...
Is relevant ?
Genre: Drama, War
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
When his family moves from their home in Berlin to a strange new house in Poland, young Bruno befriends Shmuel, a boy who lives on the other side of the fence where everyone seems to be wearing striped pajamas. Unaware of Shmuel's fate as a ...
Style:
sad, emotional, touching, heartbreaking, sentimental ...
Audience:
kids, teens, family outing
Plot:
world war two, holocaust, concentration camp, war, jewish, childhood, friendship, nazi, children, military, gas chamber, german ...
Time:
1940s, 20th century, post world war two
Place:
germany, poland, europe, berlin germany, switzerland
Is relevant ?
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:
thought provoking, touching, sexy, stylized, visually appealing ...
Plot:
racism, apartheid, interracial relations, politics, self discovery, nude, social justice, loneliness, family bonds, psychology, eccentricity, slavery ...
Time:
1940s, 19th century, 20th century, year 1946, post world war two
Place:
south africa, africa, johannesburg south africa
Is relevant ?
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