Horror Movies from the 1940s
A list of every horror film from the 1940s
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- DirectorJosé BohrStarsMiguel ArenasConsuelo FrankRamón Armengod
- DirectorNick GrindeStarsBoris KarloffEvelyn KeyesBruce BennettA physician on death row for a mercy killing is allowed to experiment on a serum using a criminals' blood, but secretly tests it on himself. He gets a pardon, but finds out he's become a Jekyll-&-Hyde.
- DirectorArthur LubinStarsBoris KarloffBela LugosiStanley RidgesDr. Sovac transplants the brain of a gangster into his professor friend's body to save his life, but there is a side effect that causes a dangerous split personality.
- DirectorLynn ShoresStarsSidney TolerVictor Sen YungC. Henry GordonAn escaped convicted murderer hides out at a New York wax museum where he hopes to get plastic surgery, which will help him revenge himself on Charlie Chan.
- DirectorGeorge KingStarsTod SlaughterSylvia MarriottHilary EavesA madman kills a man who has just inherited a large estate, then impersonates his victim to gain entrance to the estate so he can murder his enemies.
- DirectorWilliam NighStarsBoris KarloffMarjorie ReynoldsGrant WithersMr. Wong and a girl reporter investigate a shipping magnate's murder.
- DirectorErnest B. SchoedsackStarsAlbert DekkerThomas ColeyJanice LoganA mad scientist working in the South American jungle miniaturizes his colleagues when he feels his megalomania is threatened.
- DirectorThorold DickinsonStarsAnton WalbrookDiana WynyardFrank PettingellTwenty years after the murder of Alice Barlow, her house is finally occupied again. However, the husband from the couple who have moved in has a secret which he will do anything to keep hidden.
- DirectorJohn EnglishWilliam WitneyStarsEduardo CiannelliRobert WilcoxWilliam NewellA mad scientist plots the domination of America and only the masked hero, The Copperhead, can stop him.
- DirectorHal Roach Jr.Hal RoachStarsVictor MatureCarole LandisLon Chaney Jr.Tale of Prehistoric survival and love between a male and a female belonging to opposing tribes that happened to be at slightly different stages of evolution.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsLaurence OlivierJoan FontaineGeorge SandersA self-conscious woman juggles adjusting to her new role as an aristocrat's wife and avoiding being intimidated by his first wife's spectral presence.
- DirectorRichard C. KahnStarsZack WilliamsLaura BowmanAlfred GrantA newlywed couple is visited by a strange old woman who harbors a secret about the young girl's father.
- DirectorMary Ellen ButeNorman McLarenTed NemethIt's midnight in a graveyard. The principal characters are spooks, ghosts, bats, bells, and, at the end, the sun. As midnight strikes, 12 spooks appear, then two ghosts. They move to the music's rhythm. Against the black night, they are blue and yellow. Bats appear as does a xylophone of bones. Mist rises, spooks swirl. A bell tolls. The sky turns light blue, the ghosts' dance slows. Then black night returns bringing intimations of frenzy. Bones play snare drums; spooks peek out of square graves. Scary faces appear. Frenetic movement takes over. A rooster crows and all return to earth as the sun's light appears.
- DirectorBoris IngsterStarsPeter LorreJohn McGuireMargaret TallichetAn aspiring reporter is the key witness at the murder trial of a young man accused of cutting a café owner's throat and is soon accused of a similar crime himself.
- DirectorWilliam NighStarsBoris KarloffMaris WrixonGene O'DonnellDr. Bernard Adrian is a kindly mad scientist who seeks to cure a young woman's polio. He needs spinal fluid from a human to complete the formula for his experimental serum.
- DirectorJean YarbroughStarsBela LugosiSuzanne KaarenDave O'BrienA mad scientist develops an aftershave lotion that causes his gigantic bats to kill anyone who wears it.
- DirectorNorman LeeStarsLeslie BanksLilli PalmerRomilly LungeA murder is found to be connected to a false heir and a secret underground torture chamber.
- DirectorWilliam NighStarsBoris KarloffMarjorie ReynoldsGrant WithersWhen Captain Street's best friend Dan Grady is murdered, Street receives help from Chinese detective James Lee Wong and local newspaper reporter Bobbie Logan.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsBob HopePaulette GoddardRichard CarlsonA radio broadcaster, his quaking manservant and an heiress investigate the mystery of a haunted castle in Cuba.
- DirectorJoe MayStarsGeorge SandersMargaret LindsayVincent PriceBased on the novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, this classic film follows a family feud between two brothers and an ancient curse that haunts them.
- DirectorJoe MayStarsCedric HardwickeVincent PriceNan GreyThe owner of a coal mining operation, falsely imprisoned for fratricide, takes a drug to make him invisible, despite its side effect: gradual madness.
- DirectorA. Edward SutherlandStarsVirginia BruceJohn BarrymoreJohn HowardAn attractive model with an ulterior motive volunteers as guinea pig for an invisibility machine.
- DirectorNick GrindeStarsBoris KarloffRoger PryorJo Ann SayersA medical researcher visits the deserted home of a pioneer in cryogenic science who disappeared 10 years earlier and finds him frozen in ice but still alive.
- DirectorChristy CabanneStarsDick ForanPeggy MoranWallace FordArchaeologists defile the tomb of mummified Kharis, who was buried alive for falling in love with an Egyptian princess.
- DirectorMannie DavisAn angry snow man chases after furry little South Pole creatures.
- DirectorDavid ButlerStarsKay KyserPeter LorreBoris KarloffThe manager of Kay Kyser's band books them for a birthday party bash for an heiress at a spooky mansion, where sinister forces try to kill her.
- DirectorJohn EnglishWilliam WitneyStarsHenry BrandonWilliam RoyleRobert KellardThe nefarious Dr. Fu Manchu searches for the keys to the tomb of Genghis Khan, in order to fulfill a prophecy that will enable him to conquer the world. His nemesis, Dr. Nayland Smith, and his associates fight to keep the evil doctor from getting his hands on the keys.
- DirectorSodsri PhakdeechitThe oldest Thai ghost film still surviving today. and is an example of the nature of short films used to feature long films in the past. created by company Sri Burapha Movie The filmmaker of the pioneer era, Sodsri Phakdichit, or real name Sodsri Phakdiwichit, tells the story of the ghost of Nang Prai Takhian who has deceived the villagers. The scene where the characters run away from the ghosts scattered in the story is an important model of later Thai ghost films.
- DirectorDavid BradleyStarsDavid BradleyMrs. Herbert HydeReny Kidd
- DirectorA.M. KhanStarsBenjaminShanta KashmiriAmeena
- DirectorChung-Ho HungStarsSan-Siu KwongSuet-Fei LeongYuk-Yee Yung
- DirectorStuart HeislerStarsAlbert DekkerSusan HaywardFrances FarmerA mentally unstable man who has been kept in isolation for years escapes and causes trouble for his identical twin brother.
- DirectorVictor FlemingStarsSpencer TracyIngrid BergmanLana TurnerDr. Jekyll allows his dark side to run wild when he drinks a potion that turns him into the evil Mr. Hyde.
- DirectorArthur LubinStarsBud AbbottLou CostelloRichard CarlsonAfter inheriting a fortune from a gangster, two dim-witted service station attendants find themselves stranded in a haunted house.
- DirectorGeorge WaggnerStarsDick ForanLeo CarrilloPeggy MoranA down-on-his-luck businessman organizes an excursion to Sir Henry Morgan's Island for a treasure hunt only to encounter a mysterious phantom and murder.
- DirectorTex AveryStarsMel BlancWalter TetleyA hungry cat makes his way into a ghost town and finds nothing but a spectral mouse.
- DirectorJean YarbroughStarsDick PurcellJoan WoodburyMantan MorelandOn a spooky island, three stranded travelers find an evil doctor working with foreign spies and in control of zombies.
- DirectorGeorge WaggnerStarsLionel AtwillLon Chaney Jr.Anne NagelA mad scientist turns a man into an electrically-controlled monster to do his bidding.
- DirectorPhil RosenStarsBela LugosiLeo GorceyBobby JordanThe boys are stranded in a small rural town, they hear about a "monster killer" roaming the countryside. At night, they sneak out. Peewee is shot by a grave-digger, and they are forced to seek aid at an old mansion.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCary GrantJoan FontaineCedric HardwickeA shy young heiress marries a charming gentleman, and soon begins to suspect he is planning to murder her.
- DirectorAlbert S. RogellStarsBasil RathboneHugh HerbertBroderick CrawfordElderly Henrietta Winslow lives in an isolated mansion with her housekeeper and beloved cats. As her health fails, her greedy relatives gather in anticipation of her death.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsEdward ArnoldWalter HustonJane DarwellA nineteenth-century New Hampshire farmer makes a pact with Satan for economic success, then enlists famed orator Daniel Webster to extract him from his contract.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsBoris KarloffAnne RevereAmanda DuffScientist becomes obsessed with the idea of communicating with his dead wife.
- DirectorRobert FloreyStarsPeter LorreEvelyn KeyesDon BeddoeA disfigured watch-maker with a grudge against society embarks on a life of crime.
- DirectorWalter FordeStarsArthur AskeyRichard MurdochKathleen HarrisonHigh jinks and chills ensue when a group of people become stranded at an isolated station and a legendary phantom train approaches.
- DirectorJoseph H. LewisStarsBela LugosiPolly Ann YoungJohn McGuireThe town's leading citizen becomes a homicidal maniac after his wife deserts him.
- DirectorStuart HeislerStarsEllen DrewRobert PaigePaul LukasAfter a young woman is coerced into prostitution and her brother framed for murder by an organized crime syndicate, retribution in the form of an ape visits the mobsters.
- DirectorLewis SeilerStarsWayne MorrisBrenda MarshallAlexis SmithAn heiress seems to be cursed as each of her intended grooms meets with a horrible end.
- DirectorJules DassinStarsJoseph SchildkrautRoman BohnenOscar O'SheaIn this classic Edgar Allan Poe story, a man commits a murder, but afterward the victim's beating heart torments the murderer's mind.
- DirectorGeorge WaggnerStarsClaude RainsWarren WilliamLon Chaney Jr.Larry Talbot returns to his father's castle in Wales and meets a beautiful woman. One fateful night, Talbot escorts her to a local carnival where they meet a mysterious gypsy fortune teller.
- DirectorGeorge SidneyStarsEd PaysonPete SmithA man tells his harrowing story of one evening at midnight being alerted by a telephone call from his Aunt Tilly in distress at the old deserted Smith mansion. The man drove the two hours to the isolated mansion to find that it was haunted by various creatures after him. As the movie viewers are wearing metroscopic glasses watching it in 3D, the man, as he relives the story, and thus the viewers by association, are bombarded by weapons coming right at them wielded by these various creatures. The question becomes how the man escapes and saves his aunt... if he does indeed.
- DirectorFu ButStarsYin PakWood-Yau CheungChi-Sing Chow
- DirectorTor VillanoStarsLuningningSerafin GarciaMonang Carvajal
- DirectorJohn BaxterStarsArthur LucanKitty McShaneJohn StuartA charwoman comes upon a plot to steal the invention of a man who lives in a haunted house.
- DirectorWeibang Ma-XuStarsYing TanQiong LiuJingling Hong
- DirectorTan Tjoei HockStarsBissuTan Tjeng BokMisnahatiA group of friends journey to a remote jungle island and find they must do battle with a resurrected god.
- DirectorJohn HarlowStarsDerek FarrVera LindsayHay PetrieA young man's fiancée dies after contracting a terminal illness and, in his efforts to contact her, he gets involved with a group of spiritualists.
- DirectorManuel RomeroStarsNarciso Ibáñez MentaIrma CórdobaJuan Carlos ThorryA nurse begins a new job at an old dark house and finds herself reluctantly working for a mysterious mad doctor preparing a dangerous experiment in order to cure himself of acromegaly.
- DirectorWilliam NighStarsBela LugosiJoan BarclayGeorge PembrokeA cabal of American industrialists, all fifth-columnists intent on sabotaging the war effort, are methodically murdered by the malevolent Monsieur Colomb. It is only until detective Dick Martin is assigned to the case that everyone's true motives and identities are revealed.
- DirectorWallace FoxStarsBela LugosiJohn ArcherWanda McKayKindly soup kitchen operator and professor of criminology Bela Lugosi uses his soup kitchen as a front for a criminal gang who commit a series of daring robberies and murders.
- DirectorHarry LachmanStarsSidney TolerArleen WhelanRichard DerrCharlie Chan investigates apparent poisonings at a mystery mansion in the Mojave Desert.
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsSimone SimonTom ConwayKent SmithAn American man marries a Serbian immigrant who fears that she will turn into the cat person of her homeland's fables if they are intimate together.
- DirectorHarry LachmanStarsJ. Carrol NaishShepperd StrudwickLynne RobertsDr. Larry Forbes visits the château of Dr. Robert Renault, uncle of his fiancée Madelon, who is idolized by Renault's assistant, a strange émigré from Java.
- DirectorCharles LedererStarsLew AyresLaraine DayBasil RathboneAn unemployed actor in Chicago aims to solve the mystery concerning a string of axe murders, apparently committed by a "lunatic".
- DirectorRené ClairStarsFredric MarchVeronica LakeRobert BenchleyA beautiful 17th-century witch returns to life to plague politician Wallace Wooley, descendant of her persecutor.
- DirectorEdwin L. MarinStarsIlona MasseyJon HallPeter LorreThe Invisible Man's grandson uses his secret formula to spy on Nazi Germany.
- DirectorPhil RosenStarsEdward NorrisMarlo DwyerEleanor LawsonA man is brought back from death at the same time a vicious criminal dies in the electric chair. However, the man's soul is now taken over by the electrocuted gangster, who embarks on a vengeful crime wave.
- DirectorPhil RosenStarsPatric KnowlesMaria MontezMaria OuspenskayaA detective tries to unravel the strange circumstances surrounding the death of a young actress.
- DirectorFord BeebeStarsBela LugosiLionel AtwillLeif EricksonKurt Ingston, a rich recluse, invites the doctors who left him a hopeless cripple to his desolate mansion in the swamps as one by one they meet horrible deaths.
- DirectorLew LandersStarsBoris KarloffPeter LorreMaxie RosenbloomA young divorcee tries to convert a historic house into a hotel despite its oddball inhabitants and dead bodies in the cellar.
- DirectorWallace FoxStarsBela LugosiLuana WaltersTristram CoffinA scientist, aided by an old hag and her two sons, kills virginal brides, steals their bodies, and extracts gland fluid to keep his ancient wife alive and young.
- DirectorErle C. KentonStarsCedric HardwickeLon Chaney Jr.Ralph BellamyDr. Frankenstein's plans to replace the brain of his monster are hijacked by his scheming and malevolent assistant Ygor.
- DirectorBenjamin StoloffStarsCraig StevensElisabeth FraserJulie BishopPeter Thorne (Craig Stevens)is a young attorney who works for an eccentric old woman, Lorinda Channing (Cecil Cunningham), who uses her insane brother, John Channing (Milton Parsons), to frighten her other relatives because they are after her money. Further complications arrive when another murderer arrives on the scene and plants the blame on John Channing.
- DirectorWilliam BeaudineStarsJames DunnJoan WoodburyPaul McVeyA retired detective, Nick Trayne, is hired to look for a missing banker. During the investigation, the aforementioned banker returns in a zombie-like state. Trayne must track down the madman responsible for the banker's state.
- DirectorJoseph H. LewisStarsUna MerkelLionel AtwillNat PendletonA mad scientist is forced to leave San Francisco when his experiments become known. He lands on a tropical island, takes control and terrorizes the local populace. The survivor of a shipwreck washes ashore on the island, sees what is happening and determines to free the natives from his rule.
- DirectorSam NewfieldStarsJohnny DownsGeorge ZuccoAnne NagelA mad scientist changes his simple-minded handyman into a werewolf in order to prove his supposedly crazy scientific theories - and exact revenge.
- DirectorHarold YoungStarsLon Chaney Jr.Dick ForanJohn HubbardThe ancient Egypt Mummy, Kharis, is transported from his homeland with the high priest Mehemet to wreak vengeance on the family who has defiled the sacred tomb of his beloved Princess Ananka.
- DirectorLeslie ArlissStarsJames MasonWilfrid LawsonMary ClareA pair of young teachers look into the disappearance of their friend in the Yorkshire Moors. They soon run across the man they suspect is the murderer, and have to sit out a storm with him.
- DirectorWilliam NighStarsPatric KnowlesLionel AtwillAnne GwynneA mysterious vigilante known as "Dr. Rx" strikes again. Assigned to the case is private detective Jerry Church but the crimes are baffling and involve strangulation and a possible attempt to implant a gorilla's brain into a human body.
- DirectorJohn BrahmStarsJames EllisonHeather AngelJohn HowardSurviving members of an aristocratic English family are threatened by a legendary monster when they venture out on chilly, foggy nights.
- DirectorCurtis HarringtonStarsCurtis HarringtonRobert MacleayTHE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER is the original film (made by Curtis Harrington when he was in high school) from which USHER is based.
- StarsTsang Sam-ToChau-Wan ChoPo-Chuen ChuAn atmospheric horror film centres around the appearances of a black-garbed ghost in cool moon-lit nights, striking fear in all who see it. Inside an ancient tomb, instruments of torture are found. They are finally reveled to be the private tools of the a criminal.
- DirectorReginald Le BorgStarsLon Chaney Jr.Patricia MorisonJ. Carrol NaishA doctor is not sure if he murdered his beautiful but wicked wife, and has his attractive nurse try to find the truth by hypnotizing him.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsJohn CarradineEvelyn AnkersMilburn StoneAn insane scientist doing experimentation in glandular research becomes obsessed with transforming a female gorilla into a human...even though it costs human life.
- DirectorMaurice TourneurStarsPierre FresnayJosseline GaëlNoël RoquevertRoland Brissot bought for a nickel a talisman that gives him love, fame, and wealth. The talisman is a cut left hand, and it works perfectly. Of course, there is nothing free in this world, and after one year, the devil comes and asks for his due.
- DirectorCarl Theodor DreyerStarsThorkild RooseLisbeth MovinSigrid NeiiendamThe young wife of an aging priest falls in love with his son amidst the horror of a merciless witch hunt in 17th-century Denmark.
- DirectorSam NewfieldStarsGeorge ZuccoMary CarlisleNedrick YoungThe twin of a kindly small-town physician returns from the grave for vengeance against his brother, who secretly killed him because the twin served Satan.
- DirectorJulien DuvivierStarsEdward G. RobinsonCharles BoyerBarbara StanwyckAn anthology of three loosely connected occult tales, with ironic and romantic twists.
- DirectorRoy William NeillStarsLon Chaney Jr.Ilona MasseyPatric KnowlesThe resurrected Wolf Man, seeking a cure for his malady, enlists the aid of a mad scientist, who claims he will not only rid the Wolf Man of his nocturnal metamorphosis, but also revive the frozen body of Frankenstein's inhuman creation.
- DirectorWilliam BeaudineStarsLeo GorceyHuntz HallBobby JordanThe East Side Kids try to fix up a house for newlyweds, but find the place next door "haunted" by mysterious men.
- DirectorHugh BennettStarsJimmy LydonCharles SmithJohn LitelHenry Aldrich swallows a serum by accident and ends up in a "haunted" house.
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsFrances DeeTom ConwayJames EllisonA nurse is hired to care for the wife of a sugar plantation owner, who has been acting strangely, on a Caribbean island.
- DirectorRobert StevensonStarsOrson WellesJoan FontaineMargaret O'BrienAfter a harsh childhood, orphan Jane Eyre is hired by Edward Rochester, the brooding lord of a mysterious manor house, to care for his young daughter.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsBarbara StanwyckMichael O'SheaJ. Edward BrombergAfter one member of their group is murdered, the performers at a burlesque house must work together to find out who the killer is before he strikes again.
- DirectorArthur LubinStarsNelson EddySusanna FosterClaude RainsAn acid-scarred composer rises from the Paris sewers to boost his favorite opera understudy's career.