The Best Dance Movies of the 1940s

Ranker Film
Updated October 2, 2019 400 votes 119 voters
Voting Rules
Vote up your favorite dance films that were released in the 1940s.

For those looking for some classic dance films, here's are ranked list of the top dance movies of the 1940s. Among the best 40s dance movies you'll find here are Fantasia, featuring dancing elephants; classic ballet/horror film The Red Shoes; and three Judy Garland classics Meet Me In St. Louis, Me and My Gal, and Easter Parade. Also on this list of 40s dance films you’ll find timeless classics Yankee Doodle Dandy (the musical biography of George M. Cohen), Cover Girl (with Rita Hayworth) and Holiday Inn (featuring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire). 
 

So, which of the movies on this list of good dance movies from the 40s put the moves on you? Vote up the top ‘40s dance movies that you love the most, and feel free to add any films that aren't already on the list.

Photo: Metaweb / CC-BY
Ranked by
  • Easter Parade
    1

    Easter Parade

    Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Peter Lawford
    27 votes
    • Released: 1948
    • Directed by: Charles Walters
    In this lavish musical, Broadway star Don Hewes' (Fred Astaire) dancing partner (Ann Miller) goes solo, and Don declares that he can make a hit performer out of the next dancer he sees. This turns ...more

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  • Meet Me in St. Louis
    2

    Meet Me in St. Louis

    Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien, Leon Ames
    23 votes
    • Released: 1944
    • Directed by: Vincente Minnelli
    "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 ...more

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  • On the Town
    3

    On the Town

    Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Ann Miller
    34 votes
    • Released: 1949
    • Directed by: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly
    Fun-loving sailors Gabey (Gene Kelly), Chip (Frank Sinatra) and Ozzie (Jules Munshin) have 24 hours of shore leave in New York City, and they want to make every second count. While Chip hooks up with ...more

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  • For Me and My Gal
    4

    For Me and My Gal

    Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, George Murphy
    22 votes
    • Released: 1942
    • Directed by: Busby Berkeley
    Jo Hayden (Judy Garland) and Harry Palmer (Gene Kelly) are a struggling vaudeville act with hopes of making it big. When success seems right around the corner, Palmer is drafted into the army at the ...more
  • Holiday Inn
    5

    Holiday Inn

    Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds
    26 votes
    • Released: 1942
    • Directed by: Mark Sandrich
    In this Irving Berlin musical, Jim (Bing Crosby) and Lila are members of a performing trio who plan to quit and run a country hotel. When Lila says she has fallen in love with the dancer in the act, ...more

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  • Anchors Aweigh
    6

    Anchors Aweigh

    Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, Kathryn Grayson
    29 votes
    • Released: 1945
    • Directed by: George Sidney
    Joe (Gene Kelly) and Clarence (Frank Sinatra) are two young Navy sailors on leave in glitzy Los Angeles. The two men at first plan to use their layover as an opportunity to relax, but they soon find ...more

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