Film The Best Movies of 1942  

Ranker Film

3.7k votes 89 voters 2.3k views 204 items

1

52 10

Casablanca Ingrid Bergman, Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and based on Murray Burnett and Joan Alison's unproduced stage play Everybody Comes to Rick's. The film stars ...more

2

37 6

Cat People Alan Napier, Simone Simon, Tom Conway Cat People is a 1942 horror film produced by Val Lewton and directed by Jacques Tourneur. DeWitt Bodeen wrote the original screenplay which was based on Val Lewton's short story The Bagheeta ...more

3

35 8

The Magnificent Ambersons Orson Welles, Anne Baxter, Agnes Moorehead The Magnificent Ambersons is a 1942 American period drama, the second feature film produced and directed by Orson Welles. Welles adapted Booth Tarkington's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1918 novel, ...more

4

28 6

The Palm Beach Story Claudette Colbert, Mary Astor, Joel McCrea The Palm Beach Story is a 1942 romantic screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, and starring Claudette Colbert, Joel McCrea, Mary Astor and Rudy Vallée. Victor ...more

5

26 10

Saboteur Alfred Hitchcock, Robert Mitchum, Norman Lloyd Saboteur is a 1942 Universal spy thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock with a screenplay written by Peter Viertel, Joan Harrison and Dorothy Parker. The film stars Priscilla Lane, Robert ...more

6

27 11

To Be or Not to Be Carole Lombard, Jack Benny, Robert Stack To Be or Not to Be is a 1942 American comedy directed by Ernst Lubitsch, about a troupe of actors in Nazi-occupied Warsaw who use their abilities at disguise and acting to fool the occupying ...more

7

28 13

Kings Row Ronald Reagan, Claude Rains, Ann Sheridan Kings Row is a 1942 film starring Ann Sheridan, Robert Cummings, and Ronald Reagan that tells a story of young people growing up in a small American town at the turn of the twentieth century, ...more

8

20 7

This Gun for Hire Veronica Lake, Alan Ladd, Robert Preston This Gun for Hire is a 1942 film noir, directed by Frank Tuttle and based on the novel A Gun for Sale by Graham Greene. The film stars Veronica Lake, Robert Preston, Laird Cregar, and Alan

9

19 7

I Married a Witch Veronica Lake, Susan Hayward, Fredric March I Married a Witch is a 1942 fantasy romantic comedy film, directed by René Clair, and starring Veronica Lake as a witch whose plan for revenge goes comically awry, with Fredric March as ...more

10

23 11

The Major and the Minor Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland, Robert Benchley The Major and the Minor is a 1942 American comedy film starring Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland. It was the first American film directed by Billy Wilder, and launched his "incomparable" ...more

11

25 13

Bambi Sterling Holloway, Sam Edwards, Cammie King Bambi is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand, produced by Walt Disney and based on the book Bambi, A Life in the Woods by Austrian author Felix Salten. The film was ...more

12

23 12

Holiday Inn Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Irving Berlin Holiday Inn is a 1942 American musical film directed by Mark Sandrich and starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. With music by Irving Berlin, the film has twelve songs written expressly for the ...more

13

18 8

Road to Morocco Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Anthony Quinn Road to Morocco is a 1942 American comedy film starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour, and featuring Anthony Quinn and Dona Drake. The film, which was written by Frank Butler and Don ...more

14

20 11

Once Upon a Honeymoon Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, Albert Dekker Once Upon a Honeymoon is a 1942 romantic comedy/drama starring Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, and Walter Slezak, directed by Leo McCarey, and released by RKO Radio Pictures. It was nominated for the ...more

15

21 12

Roxie Hart Ginger Rogers, Phil Silvers, Adolphe Menjou Roxie Hart is a 1942 American comedy film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Ginger Rogers, Adolphe Menjou, George Montgomery, Nigel Bruce, Phil Silvers, William Frawley, and Spring ...more

16

14 6

In This Our Life Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Hattie McDaniel In This Our Life is a 1942 American drama film, the second to be directed by John Huston. The screenplay by Howard Koch is based on the 1941 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same title by ...more

17

22 14

Mrs. Miniver Greer Garson, Teresa Wright, Walter Pidgeon Mrs. Miniver is a 1942 American romantic war drama film directed by William Wyler, and starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon. Based on the 1940 novel Mrs. Miniver by Jan Struther, the film ...more

18

12 5

Desperate Journey Ronald Reagan, Errol Flynn, Arthur Kennedy Desperate Journey is a 1942 American World War II action and aviation film starring Errol Flynn and Ronald Reagan, directed by Raoul Walsh. The supporting cast includes Raymond Massey, Alan ...more

19

18 11

The Pride of the Yankees Babe Ruth, Gary Cooper, Bill Dickey The Pride of the Yankees is a 1942 American film directed by Sam Wood and starring Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, and Walter Brennan. It is a tribute to the legendary New York Yankees first baseman ...more

20

15 9

My Favorite Blonde Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Veronica Lake My Favorite Blonde is a 1942 American comedy film directed by Sidney Lanfield and starring Bob Hope and Madeleine Carroll. Based on a story by Melvin Frank and Norman Panama, the film is about a ...more

21

23 18

Now, Voyager Bette Davis, Claude Rains, Paul Henreid Now, Voyager is a 1942 American drama film starring Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, and Claude Rains, and directed by Irving Rapper. The screenplay by Casey Robinson is based on the 1941 novel of the ...more

22

14 9

Went the Day Well? Thora Hird, Elizabeth Allan, Edward Rigby Went the Day Well? is a 1942 British war film adapted from a story by Graham Greene and directed by Alberto Cavalcanti. It was produced by Michael Balcon of Ealing Studios and served as ...more

23

11 6

Across the Pacific Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet Across the Pacific is a 1942 American spy film set on the eve of the entry of the United States into World War II. The film was directed first by John Huston, then by Vincent Sherman after ...more

24

10 5

Captains of the Clouds James Cagney, Gig Young, Reginald Denny Captains of the Clouds is a 1942 Warner Bros. war film in Technicolor, directed by Michael Curtiz and starring James Cagney. It was produced by William Cagney, with Hal B. Wallis as executive ...more

25

24 20

Yankee Doodle Dandy James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston Yankee Doodle Dandy is a 1942 American biographical musical film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and ...more

26

13 9

Arabian Nights Shemp Howard, Billy Gilbert, John Qualen Arabian Nights is a 1942 adventure film starring Sabu, Maria Montez, Jon Hall and Leif Erickson and directed by John Rawlins. The film is derived from The Book of One Thousand and One Nights but ...more

27

12 8

Night Monster Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, Irene Hervey Night Monster is a 1942 American black-and-white horror film featuring Bela Lugosi and produced and distributed by Universal Pictures Company. The movie uses an original story and screenplay by ...more

28

10 6

Ride 'Em Cowboy Ella Fitzgerald, Lou Costello, Bud Abbott Ride 'Em Cowboy is a 1942 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. The supporting cast features Dick Foran, Anne Gwynne, Johnny Mack Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, Samuel S. Hinds, Douglas ...more

29

8 4

Iceland Sonja Henie, Jack Oakie, John Payne Iceland is a 20th Century Fox musical film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone set in Iceland, starring skater Sonja Henie and John Payne as a U.S. Marine posted in Iceland during World War II. The ...more

30

12 9

Who Done It? Lou Costello, Bud Abbott, Mary Wickes Who Done It? is a 1942 comedy-mystery film starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello.

31

12 9

Tales of Manhattan Rita Hayworth, Henry Fonda, Ginger Rogers Tales of Manhattan is a 1942 American anthology film directed by Julien Duvivier. Thirteen writers, including Ben Hecht, Alan Campbell, Ferenc Molnár, Samuel Hoffenstein, and Donald Ogden ...more

32

10 7

The Black Swan Maureen O'Hara, Anthony Quinn, Tyrone Power The Black Swan is a 1942 American swashbuckler Technicolor film by Henry King, based on a novel by Rafael Sabatini, and starring Tyrone Power and Maureen O'Hara. It was nominated for two Academy ...more

33

8 5

A-Haunting We Will Go Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Harry August Jansen A-Haunting We Will Go is a 1942 Laurel and Hardy feature film released by 20th Century Fox and directed by Alfred L. Werker. The story is credited to Lou Breslow and Stanley Rauh. The title is a ...more

34

8 5

Orchestra Wives Cesar Romero, Carole Landis, Harry Morgan Orchestra Wives is a 1942 American musical film by 20th Century Fox starring Ann Rutherford, George Montgomery, and Glenn Miller. The film was the second and last film to feature The Glenn ...more

35

7 4

The Man with Two Lives Edward Keane Man with Two Lives is a 1942 American film directed by Phil Rosen and written by Joseph Hoffman.

36

6 3

Alibi Margaret Lockwood, Raymond Lovell Alibi is a 1942 British mystery film directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Margaret Lockwood, James Mason and Hugh Sinclair. It was based on the novel L'Alibi by Marcel Achard.

37

6 3

Time to Kill Heather Angel, Lloyd Nolan Time to Kill is a 1942 film directed by Herbert I. Leeds.

38

13 11

The Glass Key Veronica Lake, Alan Ladd, William Bendix The Glass Key is a 1942 film noir, directed by Stuart Heisler and based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett. An earlier film version had been released in 1935.

39

12 10

The Glass Key The Glass Key is a novel by Dashiell Hammett, said to be his favorite among his works. It was first published as serial in Black Mask in 1930, then was collected in 1931, and tells the story of ...more

40

11 9

Hatter's Castle Deborah Kerr, Robert Newton, Emlyn Williams Hatter's Castle is a 1942 British film noir based on the 1931 novel Hatter's Castle by A. J. Cronin, which dramatizes the ruin that befalls a Scottish hatter set on recapturing his imagined lost ...more

41

11 9

Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror Basil Rathbone, Reginald Denny, Edgar Barrier Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror is the third film in the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce series of Sherlock Holmes movies. Made in 1942, the film combines elements of the Arthur Conan Doyle ...more

42

11 9

Rings on Her Fingers Henry Fonda, Gene Tierney, Spring Byington Rings on Her Fingers is a 1942 screwball comedy film starring Henry Fonda and Gene Tierney. A poor man gets mistaken for a millionaire and is swindled out of his life savings.

43

9 7

George Washington Slept Here Jack Benny, Hattie McDaniel, Ann Sheridan George Washington Slept Here is a 1942 comedy film starring Jack Benny and Ann Sheridan. It was based on the 1940 play of the same name by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, adapted by Everett ...more

44

13 12

Tarzan's New York Adventure Maureen O'Sullivan, Johnny Weissmuller, Anne Jeffreys Tarzan's New York Adventure is a 1942 film, the sixth Tarzan film to feature actors Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan. This film was the sixth and final film in MGM's Tarzan series and ...more

45

9 8

Joan of Paris Paul Henreid, Thomas Mitchell, Michèle Morgan Joan of Paris is a 1942 war film about five Royal Air Force pilots shot down over Nazi-occupied France during World War II and their attempt to escape to England. It starred Michèle ...more

46

8 7

Star Spangled Rhythm Paulette Goddard, Dorothy Lamour, Woody Strode Star Spangled Rhythm is a 1942 all-star cast musical film made by Paramount Pictures during World War II as a morale booster. Many of the Hollywood studios produced such films during the war, ...more

47

8 7

Street of Chance Burgess Meredith, Claire Trevor, Sheldon Leonard Street of Chance is a 1942 film noir starring Burgess Meredith as a man who finds he's been suffering from amnesia and Claire Trevor as a woman who protects him from the police, who suspect him ...more

48

7 6

The Mummy's Tomb Lon Chaney, Jr., Elyse Knox The Mummy's Tomb is the 1942 horror film sequel to The Mummy's Hand. Lon Chaney, Jr. disliked the role of Kharis the mummy. Make-up artist Jack Pierce spent up to eight hours to wrap Chaney. A ...more

49

7 6

The Three Musketeers Cantinflas, Janet Alcoriza, Angel Garasa Los tres mosqueteros was a 1942 Mexican film.

50

7 6

The Ghost of Frankenstein Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney, Jr. The Ghost of Frankenstein, is an American monster horror film released in 1942. The movie is the fourth in a series of films produced by Universal Studios based upon characters in Mary Shelley's ...more