film The Best Movies of 1941  

Ranker Film

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Citizen Kane Orson Welles, Alan Ladd, Agnes Moorehead Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film produced by, co-written by, directed by and starring Orson Welles. The picture was Welles's first feature film. The film was nominated for Academy ...more

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The Maltese Falcon Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Mary Astor The Maltese Falcon is a 1941 Warner Bros. film noir based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett. Directed by John Huston, the film stars Humphrey Bogart as private investigator Sam ...more

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Dumbo Sterling Holloway, Cliff Edwards, Verna Felton Dumbo is an American animated film produced by Walt Disney Productions and premiered on October 23, 1941, by RKO Radio Pictures. Sound was recorded conventionally using the RCA System. One voice ...more

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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Ingrid Bergman, Lana Turner, Spencer Tracy Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a 1941 horror film starring Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman and Lana Turner. Rather than being a new film version of the novel, it is a direct remake of the 1931 film of ...more

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Sullivan's Travels Veronica Lake, Preston Sturges, Elsa Lanchester Sullivan's Travels is a 1942 American comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges. It is a satire about a movie director, played by Joel McCrea, who longs to make a socially relevant ...more

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They Died with Their Boots On Olivia de Havilland, Errol Flynn, Anthony Quinn They Died with Their Boots On is a 1941 American western film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. Written by Æneas MacKenzie and Wally Kline, the film ...more

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Sergeant York Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Joan Leslie Sergeant York is a 1941 biographical film about the life of Alvin York, one of the most-decorated American soldiers of World War I. It was directed by Howard Hawks and was the highest-grossing ...more

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How Green Was My Valley Maureen O'Hara, Roddy McDowall, Walter Pidgeon How Green Was My Valley is a 1941 drama film directed by John Ford. The film, based on the 1939 Richard Llewellyn novel, was produced by Darryl F. Zanuck and scripted by Philip Dunne. The film ...more

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The Wolf Man Bela Lugosi, Claude Rains, Lon Chaney The Wolf Man is a 1941 American drama horror film written by Curt Siodmak and produced and directed by George Waggner. The film stars Lon Chaney, Jr. as a werewolf named "The Wolf Man" ...more

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Suspicion Cary Grant, Alfred Hitchcock, Joan Fontaine Suspicion is a romantic psychological thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine as a married couple. It also stars Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Nigel Bruce, Dame ...more

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High Sierra Humphrey Bogart, Joan Leslie, Ida Lupino High Sierra is a 1941 early heist film and film noir written by W.R. Burnett and John Huston from the novel by Burnett. The movie features Ida Lupino and Humphrey Bogart and was directed by ...more

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That Hamilton Woman Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, Sara Allgood That Hamilton Woman, is a 1941 black-and-white historical film drama, produced and directed by Alexander Korda for his American company during his exile in the United States. Set during the ...more

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Mr. & Mrs. Smith Alfred Hitchcock, Carole Lombard, Robert Montgomery Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a 1941 screwball comedy film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, written by Norman Krasna, and starring Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery. It also features Gene Raymond, ...more

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Hold Back the Dawn Olivia de Havilland, Paulette Goddard, Charles Boyer Hold Back the Dawn is a 1941 romantic film in which a Romanian gigolo marries an American woman in Mexico in order to gain entry to the United States, but winds up falling in love with her. It ...more

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Penny Serenade Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, Edgar Buchanan Penny Serenade is a 1941 film melodrama starring Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Beulah Bondi, and Edgar Buchanan. The picture was directed by George Stevens, written by Martha Cheavens and Morrie ...more

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Johnny Eager Lana Turner, Robert Taylor, Edward Arnold Johnny Eager is a 1941 film noir directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Robert Taylor, Lana Turner and Van Heflin. Heflin won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The film was one of many ...more

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The Black Cat Bela Lugosi, Basil Rathbone, Alan Ladd The Black Cat is a 1941 film loosely based on the short story by Edgar Allan Poe. The comedy/horror film was directed by Albert S. Rogell, starring Basil Rathbone and featuring supporting ...more

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The Bad Man Ronald Reagan, Lionel Barrymore, Wallace Beery The Bad Man is a 1941 American Western film starring Wallace Beery, Lionel Barrymore, Laraine Day, and Ronald Reagan. The movie was written by Wells Root from the Porter Emerson Browne play, and ...more

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Shadow of the Thin Man Ava Gardner, Myrna Loy, Donna Reed Shadow of the Thin Man is the fourth of the six The Thin Man films. It was released in 1941 and was directed by W. S. Van Dyke. It stars William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles. ...more

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The Lady Eve Henry Fonda, Barbara Stanwyck, Charles Coburn The Lady Eve is a 1941 American screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges which stars Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda. The film is based on a story by Monckton Hoffe about a ...more

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The Strawberry Blonde Rita Hayworth, Olivia de Havilland, James Cagney Strawberry Blonde is a 1941 Warner Bros. feature film directed by Raoul Walsh, starring James Cagney and Olivia de Havilland, and featuring Rita Hayworth, Alan Hale, Jack Carson and George ...more

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Here Comes Mr. Jordan Claude Rains, Lloyd Bridges, Robert Montgomery Here Comes Mr. Jordan is a romantic comedy-fantasy film in which a boxer, mistakenly taken to Heaven before his time, is given a second chance back on Earth. It stars Robert Montgomery, Claude ...more

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Meet John Doe Barbara Stanwyck, Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan Meet John Doe is a 1941 American comedy drama film directed and produced by Frank Capra, and starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. The film is about a "grassroots" political ...more

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Keep 'Em Flying Lou Costello, Bud Abbott, Martha Raye Keep 'Em Flying is a 1941 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. The film was the third service comedy based on the peacetime draft of 1940. The comedy team appeared in two ...more

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Lady Be Good Doris Day, Red Skelton, Robert Young Lady Be Good is the title of an MGM musical film which was released in 1941. The film starred dancer Eleanor Powell, along with Ann Sothern, Robert Young, Lionel Barrymore, and Red Skelton. It ...more

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Blood and Sand Rita Hayworth, Anthony Quinn, Tyrone Power Blood and Sand is a Technicolor film produced by 20th Century Fox, directed by Rouben Mamoulian and starring Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Rita Hayworth, and Alla Nazimova. It is based on the ...more

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Ball of Fire Barbara Stanwyck, Gary Cooper, Dana Andrews Ball of Fire is a 1941 American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks and starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. This Samuel Goldwyn Productions film concerns a group of professors ...more

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Onna Greta Garbo, Ruth Gordon, Melvyn Douglas Two-Faced Woman is a romantic comedy starring Greta Garbo and produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

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Smilin' Through Smilin' Through is a 1919 play by Jane Cowl and Jane Murfin, written under a pseudonym, Allan Langdon Martin. Cowl also starred in the play in a double role and co-directed it with Priestly ...more

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The Big Store Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Leonard Marx The Big Store is a 1941 film directed by Charles Reisner.

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Among the Living Susan Hayward, Albert Dekker, Harry Carey Among the Living is a 1941 film noir directed by Stuart Heisler, and starring Albert Dekker, Susan Hayward, Harry Carey and Frances Farmer. The film is a mix of social drama, horror film, and ...more

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Riders of Death Valley Lon Chaney, Jr., Charles Bickford Riders of Death Valley is a Universal movie serial. It was a high budget serial with an all-star cast led by Dick Foran and Buck Jones. Ford Beebe and Ray Taylor directed.

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The Devil and Daniel Webster Walter Huston, Thomas Mitchell, Simone Simon The Devil and Daniel Webster is a 1941 fantasy film, adapted by Stephen Vincent Benét and Dan Totheroh from Benét's short story, "The Devil and Daniel Webster". The ...more

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The Bride Came C.O.D. Bette Davis, James Cagney, William Frawley The Bride Came C.O.D. is a 1941 Warner Bros. screwball romantic comedy starring James Cagney as a pilot and Bette Davis as a runaway heiress, and directed by William Keighley. Although the film ...more

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Honky Tonk Clark Gable, Lana Turner, Claire Trevor Honky Tonk is a 1941 black-and-white western film starring Clark Gable and Lana Turner.

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The Little Foxes Bette Davis, Teresa Wright, Dan Duryea The Little Foxes is an American drama film directed by William Wyler. The screenplay by Lillian Hellman is based on her 1939 play of the same name. Hellman's ex-husband Arthur Kober, Dorothy ...more

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49th Parallel Laurence Olivier, Leslie Howard, Raymond Massey 49th Parallel is a 1941 British war drama film; it was the third film made by the British writer-director team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It was released in the United States as ...more

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Ladies in Retirement Ida Lupino, Evelyn Keyes, Louis Hayward Ladies in Retirement is an American 1941 film noir directed by Charles Vidor, and starring Ida Lupino and Louis Hayward. It is based on a 1940 Broadway play of the same title by Reginald Denham ...more

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The Flame of New Orleans Marlene Dietrich, Andy Devine, Anne Revere The Flame of New Orleans is a 1941 comedy film directed by René Clair and starring Marlene Dietrich and Bruce Cabot in his first comedy role. The supporting cast features Roland Young, ...more

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I Wake Up Screaming Betty Grable, Carole Landis, Victor Mature I Wake Up Screaming is a 1941 film noir. It is based on the novel of the same name by Steve Fisher, who co-wrote the screenplay with Dwight Taylor. The film stars Betty Grable, Victor Mature and ...more

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Maisie Was a Lady Maureen O'Sullivan, Ann Sothern, Lew Ayres "Out of work as usual, showgirl Maisie Revier (Ann Sothern) takes a job as the maid for a wealthy family. She wins over the young man of the household (Lew Ayres), but the rest of the ...more

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The Night Before Christmas Clarence Nash It's Christmas Eve. Jerry sees a present wrapped in the shape of cheese.

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Adventures of Captain Marvel Jack Mulhall, Reed Hadley, Kenne Duncan Adventures of Captain Marvel is a 1941 twelve-chapter Republic Pictures film serial directed by John English and William Witney, adapted from the popular Captain Marvel comic book character then ...more

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Hold That Ghost Lou Costello, Bud Abbott, Shemp Howard Hold That Ghost is a 1941 comedy horror film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello and featuring Joan Davis, Evelyn Ankers, and Richard Carlson. On August 1, 1941, Abbott and Costello ...more

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Footsteps in the Dark Errol Flynn, Ralph Bellamy, William Frawley Footsteps in the Dark is a light-hearted 1941 mystery film starring Errol Flynn as an amateur detective investigating a murder.

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Cottage to Let John Mills, Alastair Sim, Michael Wilding Cottage to Let is a 1941 spy film starring Leslie Banks, Alastair Sim and John Mills. Set in World War II Scotland, its plot concerns Nazi spies trying to kidnap an inventor.

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Man Hunt George Sanders, Roddy McDowall, Joan Bennett Man Hunt is a 1941 American thriller film directed by Fritz Lang and starring Walter Pidgeon and Joan Bennett. It is based on the 1939 novel Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household and is set just ...more

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Heimkehr Attila Hörbiger, Carl Raddatz, Otto Wernicke Heimkehr is a 1941 Nazi German anti-Polish propaganda film directed by Gustav Ucicky. It received the rare honor "Film of the Nation" in Nazi Germany, bestowed on films considered to ...more

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Frøken Kirkemus Marguerite Viby Frøken Kirkemus is a 1941 Danish family film directed by Lau Lauritzen, Jr. and Alice O'Fredericks.

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Blossoms in the Dust Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Felix Bressart Blossoms in the Dust is a 1941 American Technicolor film which tells the true story of Edna Gladney who takes it upon herself to help orphaned children to find homes, despite the opposition of ...more