A list of American films released in 1940.
Rebecca won Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
| Title |
Director |
Cast |
Genre |
Studio/Notes |
| 20 Mule Team |
Richard Thorpe |
Wallace Beery, Leo Carillo, Marjorie Rambeau, Anne Baxter |
Western |
|
| A Plumbing We Will Go |
Del Lord |
Three Stooges |
Comedy Short |
Columbia |
| Abe Lincoln in Illinois |
John Cromwell |
Raymond Massey, Gene Lockhart, Ruth Gordon |
Bio-pic |
Abraham Lincoln |
| Adventures of Red Ryder |
William Witney, John English |
|
Western |
|
| All This and Heaven Too |
Anatole Litvak |
Bette Davis, Charles Boyer |
Drama |
Warner Bros. |
| The Ape |
William Nigh |
Boris Karloff |
Horror |
Monogram |
| The Bank Dick |
Edward F. Cline |
W.C. Fields |
Comedy |
Universal |
| Beyond Tomorrow |
Edward Sutherland |
Harry Carey |
Comedy |
RKO |
| A Bill of Divorcement |
George Cukor |
John Barrymore, Katharine Hepburn |
Drama |
RKO |
| Black Friday |
Arthur Lubin |
Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi |
Sci-Fi |
Universal |
| The Blue Bird |
Walter Lang |
Shirley Temple |
Fantasy |
Fox |
| Boobs in Arms |
Jules White |
Three Stooges |
Comedy Short |
Columbia |
| Boom Town |
Jack Conway |
Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Claudette Colbert |
Action Adventure |
MGM |
| Boys of the City |
Joseph H. Lewis |
Leo Gorcey |
Thriller |
Monogram |
| Brigham Young |
Henry Hathaway |
Tyrone Power |
Western |
Fox |
| Broadway Melody of 1940 |
Norman Taurog |
Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell, George Murphy |
Musical |
MGM |
| Brother Orchid |
Lloyd Bacon |
Edward G. Robinson |
Crime Comedy |
|
| Busman's Honeymoon |
|
|
|
|
| Title |
Director |
Cast |
Genre |
Notes |
| Fantasia |
|
|
Animated |
Walt Disney |
| The Fatal Hour |
William Nigh |
Boris Karloff |
Thriller |
Monogram Pictures |
| Flame of Barbary Coast |
Joseph Kane |
John Wayne, Ann Dvorak |
Western |
Republic Pictures |
| Foreign Correspondent |
Alfred Hitchcock |
Joel McCrea |
Thriller |
United Artists |
| From Nurse to Worse |
Jules White |
Three Stooges |
Comedy Short |
Columbia Pictures |
| The Ghost Breakers |
George Marshall |
Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard |
Horror Comedy |
Paramount Pictures |
| Go West |
Edward Buzzell |
Marx Brothers |
Comedy |
MGM |
| The Grapes of Wrath |
John Ford |
Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell |
Drama |
20th Century Fox |
| The Great Dictator |
Charles Chaplin |
Charles Chaplin |
Comedy |
Satirical criticization of Adolf Hitler |
| The Great McGinty |
Preston Sturges |
Brian Donlevy, Akim Tamiroff |
Comedy |
Paramount Pictures |
| Green Hell |
James Whale |
Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Joan Bennett |
Adventure |
Universal Pictures |
| The Green Hornet |
Ford Beebe, Ray Taylor |
|
Adventure Serial |
Universal Pictures |
| He Married His Wife |
Roy Del Ruth |
Joel McCrea, Nancy Kelly |
Comedy |
20th Century Fox |
| Hired! |
Henry Jamison Handy |
|
Short |
|
| His Girl Friday |
Howard Hawks |
Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell |
Screwball comedy |
Remake of The Front Page |
| The House Across the Bay |
Archie Mayo |
George Raft, Walter Pidgeon |
Crime Drama |
United Artists |
| How High Is Up? |
Del Lord |
Three Stooges |
Comedy Short |
Columbia Pictures |
| The Howards of Virginia |
Frank Lloyd |
Cary Grant |
Period Drama |
Set in the American Revolution |
| Hullabaloo |
Edwin L. Marin |
Frank Morgan, Virginia Grey |
Musical Comedy |
|
| I Love You Again |
W.S. Van Dyke |
William Powell, Myrna Loy |
Romantic comedy |
MGM |
| I Take This Woman |
W. S. Van Dyke |
Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr, Laraine Day |
Drama |
MGM |
| The Invisible Man Returns |
Joe May |
Cedric Hardwicke, Vincent Price, Nan Grey |
Sci-Fi |
Universal Pictures |
| The Invisible Woman |
A. Edward Sutherland |
John Barrymore |
Sci-fi Comedy |
Universal Pictures |
| Island of Doomed Men |
Charles Barton |
Peter Lorre |
Thriller |
Columbia Pictures |
| Junior G-Men |
Lewis D. Collins, Ray Taylor |
|
Action Adventure Serial |
Universal Pictures |
| King of the Royal Mounted |
William Witney, John English |
|
Action Adventure Serial |
Republic Pictures |
| Knock Knock |
Walter Lantz (producer) |
|
Animated Short |
Universal Studios |
| Kitty Foyle |
Sam Wood |
Ginger Rogers |
Drama |
RKO Pictures |
| Knute Rockne, All American |
Lloyd Bacon |
Pat O'Brien, Ronald Reagan |
Bio-pic |
Story of football coach Knute Rockne |
| Title |
Director |
Cast |
Genre |
Notes |
| The Letter |
William Wyler |
Bette Davis |
Film noir |
Warner Bros. |
| Little Nellie Kelly |
Norman Taurog |
Judy Garland |
Musical Comedy |
MGM |
| The Long Voyage Home |
John Ford |
John Wayne, Barry Fitzgerald |
War Drama |
United Artists |
| The Magic Bullet |
|
Edward G. Robinson |
Bio-pic |
Warner Bros. |
| The Man from Dakota |
Leslie Fenton |
Wallace Beery, Dolores del RÃo |
Historical Drama |
MGM |
| The Mark of Zorro |
Rouben Mamoulian |
Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell |
Adventure |
20th Century Fox |
| Melody Ranch |
Joseph Santley |
Gene Autry |
Western |
Republic Pictures |
| The Milky Way |
Rudolf Ising |
|
Animated Short |
MGM |
| Mexican Spitfire |
Leslie Goodwins |
Lupe Vélez, Leon Errol |
Comedy |
RKO Radio Pictures |
| The Mortal Storm |
Frank Borzage |
James Stewart, Robert Young |
Propaganda |
MGM |
| Mr. Duck Steps Out |
Jack King |
|
Animated Short |
Walt Disney |
| The Mummy's Hand |
Christy Cabanne |
Dick Foran |
Horror |
Universal Pictures |
| My Favorite Wife |
Garson Kanin |
Cary Grant, Irene Dunne |
Screwball comedy |
RKO Pictures |
| My Little Chickadee |
Edward F. Cline |
W.C. Fields |
Comedy |
Universal Pictures |
| Mysterious Doctor Satan |
William Witney, John English |
|
Action Adventure |
Republic Pictures |
| New Moon |
Jack Conway |
Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy |
Musical Drama |
MGM |
| No Census, No Feeling |
Del Lord |
Three Stooges |
Comedy Short |
Columbia Pictures |
| Northwest Passage |
King Vidor |
Spencer Tracy, Robert Young |
Adventure Drama |
MGM |
| Nutty But Nice |
Jules White |
Three Stooges |
Comedy Short |
Columbia Pictures |
| Of Fox and Hounds |
Tex Avery |
Willoughby the Dog |
Animated Short |
|
| One Million B.C. |
D.W. Griffith |
|
Fantasy |
United Artists |
| One Night in the Tropics |
A. Edward Sutherland |
Abbott and Costello |
Comedy |
Universal Pictures |
| Our Town |
Sam Wood |
William Holden |
Drama |
United Artists, Nominated for 6 Academy Awards |
| Patient Porky |
Bob Clampett |
Porky the Pig |
Animated Short |
Looney Tunes Warner Bros. |
| The Philadelphia Story |
George Cukor |
Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant |
Screwball comedy |
MGM |
| Pinocchio |
T. Hee, Wilfred Jackson, Jack Kinney |
|
Animated |
RKO Pictures produced by Walt Disney |
| Pride and Prejudice |
Robert Z. Leonard |
Greer Garson, Laurence Olivier |
Comedy Drama |
MGM |
| Primrose Path |
Gregory La Cava |
Ginger Rogers, Joel McCrea |
Comedy |
|
| Private Affairs |
Albert S. Rogell |
Nancy Kelly |
Comedy |
|
| The Proud Valley |
Pen Tennyson |
Paul Robeson |
Drama |
Ealing Studios |
| Puss Gets the Boot |
Hanna Barbera |
|
Animated Short |
MGMTom and Jerry |
| Rebecca |
Alfred Hitchcock |
Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine |
Psychological thriller |
Academy Award for Best Picture |
| Remember the Night |
Mitchell Leisen |
Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray |
Romantic Drama |
Paramount Pictures |
| The Return of Frank James |
Fritz Lang |
Henry Fonda |
Western |
20th Century Fox |
| Road to Singapore |
Victor Schertzinger |
Bob Hope, Bing Crosby |
Musical comedy |
Paramount Pictures |
| Rockin' Thru the Rockies |
Jules White |
Three Stooges |
Comedy Short |
Columbia Pictures |
| Title |
Director |
Cast |
Genre |
Notes |
| Sailor's Lady |
Allan Dwan |
Nancy Kelly, Jon Hall |
Comedy |
|
| The Saint Takes Over |
Jack Hively |
George Sanders |
Crime |
RKO Pictures |
| The Saint's Double Trouble |
Jack Hively |
George Sanders |
Crime |
RKO Pictures |
| Santa Fe Trail |
Michael Curtiz |
Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland |
Romantic Western |
Warner Bros. |
| Saps at Sea |
Gordon Douglas |
Laurel and Hardy |
Comedy |
United Artists |
| The Sea Hawk |
Michael Curtiz |
Errol Flynn |
Adventure |
Warner Bros. |
| Second Chorus |
H.C. Potter |
Fred Astaire, Paulette Goddard |
Musical Comedy |
Paramount Pictures |
| The Shop Around the Corner |
H.C. Potter |
James Stewart, Carole Lombard |
Romantic comedy |
MGM |
| The Son of Monte Cristo |
Rowland V. Lee |
Joan Bennett, George Sanders |
Adventure |
|
| Stranger on the Third Floor |
Boris Ingster |
Peter Lorre |
Film noir |
RKO Pictures |
| Susan and God |
George Cukor |
Joan Crawford, Fredric March |
Dramatic comedy |
MGM |
| Swiss Family Robinson |
Edward Ludwig |
Thomas Mitchell, Tim Holt |
Adventure |
RKO Pictures |
| Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse (Galloping Gertie) |
Barney Elliott |
|
Newsreel |
Footage preserved in US National Registry |
| That Gang of Mine |
Joseph H. Lewis |
Leo Gorcey |
Comedy |
Monogram Pictures |
| The Fighting 69th |
William Keighley |
James Cagney, Pat O'Brien |
War |
Warner Bros. |
| They Drive by Night |
Raoul Walsh |
George Raft, Humphrey Bogart |
Drama |
Warner Bros. |
| They Knew What They Wanted |
Garson Kanin |
Carole Lombard, Charles Laughton |
Drama |
RKO Pictures |
| Tugboat Annie Sails Again |
Lewis Seiler |
|
Comedy |
|
| Vigil in the Night |
George Stevens |
Carole Lombard, Brian Aherne |
Romantic Drama |
RKO Pictures |
| Virginia City |
Michael Curtiz |
Errol Flynn, Randolph Scott |
Western |
Warner Bros. |
| Waterloo Bridge |
Mervyn LeRoy |
Vivien Leigh, Robert Taylor |
Drama |
MGM |
| The Way of All Flesh |
|
Akim Tamiroff, Gladys George |
|
Remake of 1927 film |
| The Westerner |
William Wyler |
Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan |
Western |
United Artists |
| A Wild Hare |
Fred Avery |
|
Animated Short |
Warner Bros. |
| Winners of the West |
Ford Beebe, Ray Taylor |
Dick Foran, Anne Nagel |
Western Serial |
Universal Pictures |
| Wyoming |
Richard Thorpe |
Wallace Beery |
Western |
|
| You Nazty Spy! |
Jules White |
Three Stooges |
Comedy Short |
Columbia Pictures |
| You Ought to Be in Pictures |
I. Freleng |
Looney Tunes |
Animated Short |
Warner Bros. |
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