Top 47 movies of 1949
by jhonatan_chivo | created - 28 Sep 2020 | updated - 03 May 2021 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Walls of Malapaga (1949)
89 min | Drama, Romance
A French fugitive arrives in Genoa, where he becomes entangled with an Italian woman and her daughter.
Director: René Clément | Stars: Jean Gabin, Isa Miranda, Vera Talchi, Andrea Checchi
Votes: 986
2. I Shot Jesse James (1949)
Passed | 81 min | Western
Bob Ford murders his best friend Jesse James in order to obtain a pardon that will free him to marry his girlfriend but is plagued by guilt and self-disgust.
Director: Samuel Fuller | Stars: Preston Foster, Barbara Britton, John Ireland, Reed Hadley
Votes: 2,493
3. Caught (1949)
Approved | 88 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
An ambitious young LA department store model gets her wish of marrying a millionaire but she eventually discovers that rich life isn't always a happy one.
Director: Max Ophüls | Stars: James Mason, Barbara Bel Geddes, Robert Ryan, Frank Ferguson
Votes: 4,331
4. The Big Steal (1949)
Approved | 71 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Romance
An army lieutenant accused of robbery pursues the real thief on a frantic chase through Mexico aided by the thief's fiancee.
Director: Don Siegel | Stars: Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, William Bendix, Patric Knowles
Votes: 5,375
5. Come to the Stable (1949)
Approved | 94 min | Comedy, Drama
Two nuns arrive unannounced in the small New England town of Bethlehem, where they recruit various townspeople to help them build a children's hospital.
Director: Henry Koster | Stars: Loretta Young, Celeste Holm, Hugh Marlowe, Elsa Lanchester
Votes: 1,601
6. The Fountainhead (1949)
Approved | 114 min | Drama, Romance
An uncompromising, visionary architect struggles to maintain his integrity and individualism despite personal, professional and economic pressures to conform to popular standards.
Director: King Vidor | Stars: Gary Cooper, Patricia Neal, Raymond Massey, Kent Smith
Votes: 10,873
7. The Reckless Moment (1949)
Not Rated | 82 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
After discovering the dead body of her teenage daughter's lover, a housewife takes desperate measures to protect her family from scandal.
Director: Max Ophüls | Stars: James Mason, Joan Bennett, Geraldine Brooks, Henry O'Neill
Votes: 5,625
8. Passport to Pimlico (1949)
Approved | 84 min | Comedy
Residents of a part of London declare independence after they discover an old treaty, which leads to the need for a "Passport to Pimlico".
Director: Henry Cornelius | Stars: Stanley Holloway, Betty Warren, Barbara Murray, Paul Dupuis
Votes: 5,265
9. Holiday Affair (1949)
Approved | 87 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
A young widow is torn between a boring attorney and a romantic ne'er-do-well.
Director: Don Hartman | Stars: Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, Wendell Corey, Gordon Gebert
Votes: 7,034
10. I Was a Male War Bride (1949)
Approved | 105 min | Comedy, Romance, War
After marrying an American lieutenant with whom he was assigned to work in post-war Germany, a French captain attempts to find a way to accompany her back to the States under the terms of the War Bride Act.
Director: Howard Hawks | Stars: Cary Grant, Ann Sheridan, Marion Marshall, Randy Stuart
Votes: 9,186
11. Impact (1949)
Passed | 111 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A unfaithful wife plots with her lover to kill her husband, but the lover is accidentally killed instead. The husband stays in hiding and lets his wife be charged with conspiracy.
Director: Arthur Lubin | Stars: Brian Donlevy, Ella Raines, Charles Coburn, Helen Walker
Votes: 4,689
12. Beyond the Forest (1949)
Approved | 97 min | Drama, Film-Noir, Romance
Resentful of her small-town life, a married woman schemes to run off with a rich businessman.
Director: King Vidor | Stars: Bette Davis, Joseph Cotten, David Brian, Ruth Roman
Votes: 2,760
13. Mighty Joe Young (1949)
Approved | 94 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
A young woman who has raised a giant gorilla from an infant brings him to Hollywood years later seeking her fortune.
Director: Ernest B. Schoedsack | Stars: Terry Moore, Ben Johnson, Robert Armstrong, Mr. Joseph Young
Votes: 5,757
14. Hour of Glory (1949)
Approved | 106 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
As the Germans drop explosive booby-traps on Britain in 1943, the embittered expert who'll have to disarm them fights a private battle with alcohol.
Directors: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger | Stars: David Farrar, Jack Hawkins, Michael Gough, Henry Caine
Votes: 3,087
15. The Window (1949)
Approved | 73 min | Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller
To avoid the heat of a sweltering summer night a 9-year-old Manhattan boy decides to sleep on the fire escape and witnesses a murder, but no one will believe him.
Director: Ted Tetzlaff | Stars: Bobby Driscoll, Barbara Hale, Arthur Kennedy, Paul Stewart
Votes: 4,843
16. House of Strangers (1949)
Approved | 101 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
After years in prison, Max promises revenge on his brothers for their betrayal. His lover Irene and memories of his past yield him a broader perspective.
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz | Stars: Edward G. Robinson, Susan Hayward, Richard Conte, Luther Adler
Votes: 4,142
17. Too Late for Tears (1949)
Not Rated | 99 min | Crime, Film-Noir
Through a fluke circumstance, a ruthless woman stumbles across a suitcase filled with $60,000, and is determined to hold onto it even if it means murder.
Director: Byron Haskin | Stars: Lizabeth Scott, Don DeFore, Dan Duryea, Arthur Kennedy
Votes: 5,651
18. Little Women (1949)
Approved | 122 min | Drama, Family, Romance
The four daughters of a New England family fight for happiness during and after the Civil War.
Director: Mervyn LeRoy | Stars: June Allyson, Peter Lawford, Margaret O'Brien, Elizabeth Taylor
Votes: 8,217 | Gross: $7.47M
19. Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)
Approved | 100 min | Action, Drama, Romance
Haunted by personal demons, Marine Sgt. John Stryker is hated and feared by his men, who see him as a cold-hearted sadist. But when their boots hit the beaches, they begin to understand the reason for Stryker's rigid form of discipline.
Director: Allan Dwan | Stars: John Wayne, John Agar, Adele Mara, Forrest Tucker
Votes: 11,372
20. Intruder in the Dust (1949)
Approved | 87 min | Crime, Drama, Family
In 1940s Mississippi, two teenage boys and an elderly woman combine forces to prevent a miscarriage of justice and clear a black man of a murder charge.
Director: Clarence Brown | Stars: David Brian, Claude Jarman Jr., Juano Hernandez, Porter Hall
Votes: 2,644
21. Little Rural Riding Hood (1949)
Approved | 6 min | Animation, Short, Adventure
The last of Tex Avery's variations on Red Hot Riding Hood (1943), in which the country wolf visits his city cousin, who tries to teach him the rudiments of civilised behaviour when watching... See full summary »
Director: Tex Avery | Stars: Daws Butler, Colleen Collins, Pinto Colvig, Imogene Lynn
Votes: 1,359
22. The Quiet Duel (1949)
95 min | Drama
A surgeon gets syphilis from a patient when he cuts himself during an operation. The doctor's life is destroyed, but unlike the patient, he doesn't destroy others along with him.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Miki Sanjô, Kenjirô Uemura
Votes: 3,870
23. Champion (1949)
Passed | 99 min | Drama, Film-Noir, Sport
Boxer Midge Kelly rises to fame...mainly by stepping on other people.
Director: Mark Robson | Stars: Kirk Douglas, Arthur Kennedy, Marilyn Maxwell, Paul Stewart
Votes: 4,741
24. Act of Violence (1948)
Passed | 82 min | Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller
An embittered, vengeful POW stalks his former commanding officer who betrayed his men's planned escape attempt from a Nazi prison camp.
Director: Fred Zinnemann | Stars: Van Heflin, Robert Ryan, Janet Leigh, Mary Astor
Votes: 5,695
25. Whisky Galore! (1949)
Approved | 82 min | Comedy, Crime
Scottish islanders try to plunder 50,000 cases of whisky from a stranded ship.
Director: Alexander Mackendrick | Stars: Basil Radford, Joan Greenwood, Catherine Lacey, Bruce Seton
Votes: 6,637
26. Bad Luck Blackie (1949)
Approved | 7 min | Family, Animation, Comedy
A cute and very tormented kitten is bullied by an incomparably evil bulldog, who lives to know better after a black cat crosses his path.
Director: Tex Avery | Stars: William Hanna, Harry Lang, Pat McGeehan, Tex Avery
Votes: 1,641
27. Criss Cross (1949)
Not Rated | 84 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
An armored truck driver and his ex-wife conspire with a gang to have his own truck robbed on the route.
Director: Robert Siodmak | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Yvonne De Carlo, Dan Duryea, Stephen McNally
Votes: 9,569
28. Battleground (1949)
Approved | 118 min | Action, Drama, History
True tale about a squad of the 101st Airborne Division coping with being trapped by the Germans in the besieged city of Bastogne, Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge in December of 1944.
Director: William A. Wellman | Stars: Van Johnson, John Hodiak, Ricardo Montalban, George Murphy
Votes: 7,840 | Gross: $10.29M
29. D.O.A. (1949)
Approved | 83 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Frank Bigelow, told he's been poisoned and has only a few days to live, tries to find out who killed him and why.
Director: Rudolph Maté | Stars: Edmond O'Brien, Pamela Britton, Luther Adler, Beverly Garland
Votes: 13,041
30. Thieves' Highway (1949)
Passed | 94 min | Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller
A war veteran turned truck driver attempts to avenge the crippling and robbing of his father at the hands of an amoral produce scofflaw.
Director: Jules Dassin | Stars: Richard Conte, Valentina Cortese, Lee J. Cobb, Barbara Lawrence
Votes: 6,840
31. Jour de Fête (1949)
Not Rated | 70 min | Comedy
A village postman with no sense of humour delivers his mail via bicycle on the day the travelling fair comes to town. He is disrupted by a short film about US speed and efficiency and the playful teasing of the village folk.
Director: Jacques Tati | Stars: Jacques Tati, Guy Decomble, Paul Frankeur, Santa Relli
Votes: 9,023
32. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)
Approved | 68 min | Animation, Comedy, Family
An animated adaptation of "The Wind in the Willows" followed by an adaptation of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow".
Directors: James Algar, Clyde Geronimi, Jack Kinney | Stars: Bing Crosby, Basil Rathbone, Eric Blore, John McLeish
Votes: 17,811
33. On the Town (1949)
Passed | 98 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Three sailors wreak havoc as they search for love during a whirlwind 24-hour leave in New York City.
Directors: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly | Stars: Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett, Ann Miller
Votes: 18,730
34. Twelve O'Clock High (1949)
Not Rated | 132 min | Drama, War
A tough-as-nails general (Gregory Peck as General Savage) takes over a B-17 bomber unit suffering from low morale and whips them into fighting shape.
Director: Henry King | Stars: Gregory Peck, Hugh Marlowe, Gary Merrill, Millard Mitchell
Votes: 15,751
35. Adam's Rib (1949)
Not Rated | 101 min | Comedy, Romance
Domestic and professional tensions mount when a husband and wife work as opposing lawyers in a case involving a woman who shot her husband.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Judy Holliday, Tom Ewell
Votes: 22,856
36. Bitter Rice (1949)
Not Rated | 108 min | Crime, Drama
Two criminals on the run end up working in a rice field and decide to recruit other workers for their next robbery.
Director: Giuseppe De Santis | Stars: Vittorio Gassman, Doris Dowling, Silvana Mangano, Raf Vallone
Votes: 4,841
37. A Letter to Three Wives (1949)
Passed | 103 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A letter is addressed to three wives from their "best friend" Addie Ross, announcing that she is running away with one of their husbands - but she does not say which one.
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz | Stars: Jeanne Crain, Linda Darnell, Ann Sothern, Kirk Douglas
Votes: 10,760
38. All the King's Men (1949)
Approved | 110 min | Drama, Film-Noir
The rise and fall of a corrupt politician, who makes his friends richer and retains power by dint of a populist appeal.
Director: Robert Rossen | Stars: Broderick Crawford, John Ireland, Joanne Dru, John Derek
Votes: 16,519
39. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)
Passed | 104 min | Western
Captain Nathan Brittles, on the eve of retirement, takes out a last patrol to stop an impending massive Indian attack. Encumbered by women who must be evacuated, Brittles finds his mission imperiled.
Director: John Ford | Stars: John Wayne, Joanne Dru, John Agar, Ben Johnson
Votes: 19,262
40. The Set-Up (1949)
Approved | 73 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Sport
Expecting the usual loss, a boxing manager takes bribes from a betting gangster without telling his fighter.
Director: Robert Wise | Stars: Robert Ryan, Audrey Totter, George Tobias, Alan Baxter
Votes: 10,034
41. The Silence of the Sea (1949)
Not Rated | 87 min | Drama, Romance, War
In occupied France, an elderly man and his niece are forced to give shelter to a German army lieutenant who seemingly loves their country and culture.
Director: Jean-Pierre Melville | Stars: Howard Vernon, Nicole Stéphane, Jean-Marie Robain, Ami Aaröe
Votes: 5,625
42. Stray Dog (1949)
Not Rated | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
During a sweltering summer, a rookie homicide detective tries to track down his stolen Colt pistol.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Awaji, Eiko Miyoshi
Votes: 18,849
43. The Heiress (1949)
Not Rated | 115 min | Drama, Romance
A naive young woman falls for a handsome young man her emotionally abusive father suspects is only a fortune hunter.
Director: William Wyler | Stars: Olivia de Havilland, Montgomery Clift, Ralph Richardson, Miriam Hopkins
Votes: 17,290
44. Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
Not Rated | 106 min | Comedy, Crime
A distant poor relative of the Duke D'Ascoyne plots to inherit the title by murdering the eight other heirs who stand ahead of him in the line of succession.
Director: Robert Hamer | Stars: Dennis Price, Alec Guinness, Valerie Hobson, Joan Greenwood
Votes: 39,609
45. White Heat (1949)
Not Rated | 114 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A psychopathic criminal with a mother complex makes a daring break from prison and leads his old gang in a chemical plant payroll heist.
Director: Raoul Walsh | Stars: James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, Edmond O'Brien, Margaret Wycherly
Votes: 35,553
46. Late Spring (1949)
Not Rated | 108 min | Drama
Several people try to talk 27-year-old Noriko into marrying, but all she wants is to keep on caring for her widowed father.
Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Chishû Ryû, Setsuko Hara, Yumeji Tsukioka, Haruko Sugimura
Votes: 19,165
47. The Third Man (1949)
Approved | 93 min | Film-Noir, Mystery, Thriller
Pulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend, Harry Lime.
Director: Carol Reed | Stars: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Trevor Howard
Votes: 181,309 | Gross: $0.45M
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