List of the best movies of 1942, with movie trailers when available. These top movies of 1942 are listed by popularity, so the movies with the most votes are at the top. This list consists of all different movie genres, but each film was released in 1942. You can filter this list of films that came out in 1942 for various bits of information, such as who directed the movie and what genre it is. Think the best 1942 movie isn't as high as it should be? Vote up your favorite so it will rise to the top.
Movies on this list include Casablanca and Bambi.
This list answers the questions, "What are the best movies from 1942?" and "What are the most popular movies of 1942?"
1942 was a great year for movies, since a lot of classic films were released in 1942. This is a crowd sourced list that has been voted on by many people, so these top films of 1942 aren't just one persons opinion.
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CasablancaIngrid 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
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Cat PeopleAlan 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
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The Palm Beach StoryClaudette 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
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To Be or Not to BeCarole 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
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The Magnificent AmbersonsOrson 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
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The Major and the MinorGinger 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
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Once Upon a HoneymoonCary 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
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Roxie HartGinger 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
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Kings RowRonald 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
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This Gun for HireVeronica 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
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I Married a WitchVeronica 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
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BambiSterling 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
Mrs. MiniverGreer 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
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SaboteurAlfred 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
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In This Our LifeBette 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
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Tales of ManhattanRita 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
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Holiday InnBing 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
Road to MoroccoBob 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
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The Black SwanMaureen 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
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Desperate JourneyRonald 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
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The Glass KeyVeronica 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.
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The Pride of the YankeesBabe 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
My Favorite BlondeBob 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
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A-Haunting We Will GoStan 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
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Captains of the CloudsJames 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
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Orchestra WivesCesar 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
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Yankee Doodle DandyJames 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
Now, VoyagerBette 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
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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
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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
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Who Done It?Lou Costello, Bud Abbott, Mary Wickes Who Done It? is a 1942 comedy-mystery film starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello.
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Joan of ParisPaul 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
Ride 'Em CowboyElla 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
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The Ghost of FrankensteinBela 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
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IcelandSonja 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
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The Man with Two LivesEdward Keane Man with Two Lives is a 1942 American film directed by Phil Rosen and written by Joseph Hoffman.
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Time to KillHeather Angel, Lloyd Nolan Time to Kill is a 1942 film directed by Herbert I. Leeds.
AlibiMargaret 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.
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Tarzan's New York AdventureMaureen 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
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Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of TerrorBasil 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
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Arabian NightsShemp 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
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Hatter's CastleDeborah 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
Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin BlakeGene Tierney, Tyrone Power, George Sanders Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake is a 1942 adventure film directed by John Cromwell, starring Tyrone Power and Gene Tierney. The film was adapted from Edison Marshall's 1941 historical ...more
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Wake IslandAlan Hale, Jr., Robert Preston Wake Island is a 1942 American film written by W. R. Burnett and Frank Butler, and directed by John Farrow. The film tells the story of the United States military garrison on Wake Island and the ...more
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Rings on Her FingersHenry 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.
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The Wabbit Who Came to SupperMel Blanc, Jim Henson, Frank Oz The Wabbit Who Came to Supper is a 1942 American Warner Brothers Merrie Melodies cartoon featuring early appearances by Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. The Elmer character is in a transitional state ...more
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Night MonsterBela 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
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Larceny, Inc.Jane Wyman, Anthony Quinn, Edward G. Robinson Larceny, Inc. is an American film. Originally released on May 2, 1942 by Warner Brothers, the film is a cross between the comedy and gangster genres. Directed by Lloyd Bacon, the picture stars ...more
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Street of ChanceBurgess 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
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Winning Your WingsJames Stewart, Peter Graves Winning Your Wings is a 1942 Allied propaganda film of World War II produced by Warner Bros. Studios for the US Army Air Forces, starring Jimmy Stewart. It was aimed at young men who were ...more
