The Best Movies of 1945

Ranker Film
Updated July 15, 2023 3.8K votes 150 voters
Over 100 Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The Best Movies of 1945

List of the best movies of 1945, with movie trailers when available. 1945 was a historic year in film, as Son of Lassie became the first movie to ever be filmed in Technicolor. These top movies of 1945 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 1945. You can filter this list of films that came out in 1945 for various bits of information, such as who directed the movie and what genre it is. Think the best 1945 movie isn't as high as it should be? Vote up your favorite so it will rise to the top.

The list you're viewing is made up of movies like Mildred Pierce and Spellbound.

This list answers the questions, "What are the best movies from 1945?" and "What are the most popular movies of 1945?"

1945 was a great year for movies, since a lot of classic films were released in 1945. This is a crowd sourced list that has been voted on by many people, so these top films of 1945 aren't just one persons opinion.
Most divisive: Scarlet Street
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  • They Were Expendable
    1

    They Were Expendable

    Robert Montgomery, John Wayne, Donna Reed
    36 votes
    • Released: 1945
    • Directed by: John Ford, Robert Montgomery
    After a demonstration of new PT boats, navy brass are still unconvinced of their viability in combat, leaving Lt. "Rusty" Ryan (John Wayne) frustrated. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, however, Ryan and his buddy Lt. Brickley (Robert Montgomery) are told they can finally take their squadron into battle. The PT boats quickly prove their worth, successfully shooting down Japanese planes, relaying messages between islands, and picking off a multitude of enemy ships.

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  • Mildred Pierce
    2

    Mildred Pierce

    Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Ann Blyth
    38 votes
    • Released: 1945
    • Directed by: Michael Curtiz
    When Mildred Pierce's (Joan Crawford) wealthy husband leaves her for another woman, Mildred decides to raise her two daughters on her own. Despite Mildred's financial successes in the restaurant business, her oldest daughter, Veda (Ann Blyth), resents her mother for degrading their social status. In the midst of a police investigation after the death of her second husband (Zachary Scott), Mildred must evaluate her own freedom and her complicated relationship with her daughter.
  • Christmas in Connecticut
    3

    Christmas in Connecticut

    Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet
    17 votes
    • Released: 1945
    • Directed by: Peter Godfrey
    While recovering in a hospital, war hero Jefferson Jones (Dennis Morgan) grows familiar with the "Diary of a Housewife" column written by Elizabeth Lane (Barbara Stanwyck). Jeff's nurse arranges with Elizabeth's publisher, Alexander Yardley (Sydney Greenstreet), for Jeff to spend the holiday at Elizabeth's bucolic Connecticut farm with her husband and child. But the column is a sham, so Yardley hastens to arrange a publicity ploy by setting up single, nondomestic Elizabeth on a country farm.

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  • Spellbound
    4

    Spellbound

    Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, Michael Chekhov
    37 votes
    • Released: 1945
    • Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
    When Dr. Anthony Edwardes (Gregory Peck) arrives at a Vermont mental hospital to replace the outgoing hospital director, Dr. Constance Peterson (Ingrid Bergman), a psychoanalyst, discovers Edwardes is actually an impostor. The man confesses that the real Dr. Edwardes is dead and fears he may have killed him, but cannot recall anything. Dr. Peterson, however is convinced his impostor is innocent of the man's murder, and joins him on a quest to unravel his amnesia through psychoanalysis.
  • The Three Caballeros
    5

    The Three Caballeros

    Aurora Miranda, Carmen Molina, Dora Luz
    27 votes
    • Released: 1945
    • Directed by: Norman Ferguson
    Comical mixture of animation and live action featuring Donald Duck in four short stories as he travels around South America. En route, Donald meets a flying donkey and Pablo the Penguin, who hates the cold. Disney's first attempt at combining live action with animation was nominated for two Academy Awards.

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  • The Lost Weekend
    6

    The Lost Weekend

    Ray Milland, Jane Wyman, Howard Da Silva
    36 votes
    • Released: 1945
    • Directed by: Billy Wilder
    Writer Don Birnam (Ray Milland) is on the wagon. Sober for only a few days, Don is supposed to be spending the weekend with his brother, Wick (Phillip Terry), but, eager for a drink, Don convinces his girlfriend (Jane Wyman) to take Wick to a show. Don, meanwhile, heads to his local bar and misses the train out of town. After recounting to the bartender (Howard da Silva) how he developed a drinking problem, Don goes on a weekend-long bender that just might prove to be his last.

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