Best Movies of 1946

The highest-rated films from 1946 according to MovieMagicScore. Rankings based purely on what viewers actually think.

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It's a Wonderful Life

1946 · 4,907 ratings

George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. All that prevents rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town is George's modest building and loan company. But on Christmas Eve the business's $8,000 is lost and George's troubles begin.

8.3

Notorious

1946 · 1,677 ratings

In order to help bring Nazis to justice, U.S. government agent T.R. Devlin recruits Alicia Huberman, the American daughter of a convicted German war criminal, as a spy. As they begin to fall for one another, Alicia is instructed to win the affections of Alexander Sebastian, a Nazi hiding out in Brazil. When Sebastian becomes serious about his relationship with Alicia, the stakes get higher, and Devlin must watch her slip further undercover.

7.7

The Best Years of Our Lives

1946 · 702 ratings

It's the hope that sustains the spirit of every GI: the dream of the day when he will finally return home. For three WWII veterans, the day has arrived. But for each man, the dream is about to become a nightmare.

7.8

The Big Sleep

1946 · 1,104 ratings

Private Investigator Philip Marlowe is hired by wealthy General Sternwood regarding a matter involving his youngest daughter Carmen. Before the complex case is over, Marlowe sees murder, blackmail, deception, and what might be love.

7.6

A Matter of Life and Death

1946 · 443 ratings

A British wartime aviator who cheats death must argue for his life before a celestial court, hoping to prolong his fledgling romance with an American girl.

7.7

Beauty and the Beast

1946 · 641 ratings

The story of a gentle-hearted beast in love with a simple and beautiful girl. She is drawn to the repellent but strangely fascinating Beast, who tests her fidelity by giving her a key, telling her that if she doesn't return it to him by a specific time, he will die of grief. She is unable to return the key on time, but it is revealed that the Beast is the genuinely handsome one. A simple tale of tragic love that turns into a surreal vision of death, desire, and beauty.

7.5

Gilda

1946 · 617 ratings

A gambler discovers an old flame while in Argentina, but she's married to his new boss.

7.5

Shoeshine

1946 · 262 ratings

Two shoeshine boys in postwar Rome, Italy save up to buy a horse, but their involvement as dupes in a burglary lands them in juvenile prison; the experience take a devastating toll on their friendship.

7.8

Paisan

1946 · 335 ratings

During the Allied invasion of Italy in World War II, six stories unfold in various regions, from Sicily to the northern Po Valley. These tales follow the interactions between American soldiers and Italian civilians as they navigate their way through language barriers and cultural differences.

7.5

#10

My Darling Clementine

1946 · 454 ratings

Three brothers stop off for a night in the town of Tombstone. The next morning they find one of their brothers dead and their cattle stolen. They decide to take revenge on the culprits.

7.4

#11

The Stranger

1946 · 612 ratings

An investigator from the War Crimes Commission travels to Connecticut to find an infamous Nazi, who may be hiding out in a small town in the guise of a distinguished professor engaged to the Supreme Court Justice’s daughter.

7.2

#12

The Killers

1946 · 430 ratings

Two hit men walk into a diner asking for a man called "the Swede". When the killers find the Swede, he's expecting them and doesn't put up a fight. Since the Swede had a life insurance policy, an investigator, on a hunch, decides to look into the murder. As the Swede's past is laid bare, it comes to light that he was in love with a beautiful woman who may have lured him into pulling off a bank robbery overseen by another man.

7.3

#13

Great Expectations

1946 · 364 ratings

In this Dickens adaptation, orphan Pip discovers through lawyer Mr. Jaggers that a mysterious benefactor wishes to ensure that he becomes a gentleman. Reunited with his childhood patron, Miss Havisham, and his first love, the beautiful but emotionally cold Estella, he discovers that the elderly spinster has gone mad from having been left at the altar as a young woman, and has made her charge into a warped, unfeeling heartbreaker.

7.3

#14

A Day in the Country

1946 · 202 ratings

The family of a Parisian shop-owner spends a day in the country. The daughter falls in love with a man at the inn, where they spend the day.

7.3

#15

The Postman Always Rings Twice

1946 · 356 ratings

A married woman and a drifter fall in love, then plot to murder her husband.

7.0

#16

The Spiral Staircase

1946 · 260 ratings

On a stormy night, the mute servant to an ailing matriarch is stalked by a serial killer.

7.0

#17

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers

1946 · 178 ratings

Three childhood friends, Martha, Walter and Sam, share a terrible secret. Over time, the ambitious Martha and the pusillanimous Walter have married. She is a cold businesswoman; he is the district attorney: a perfect combination to dominate the corrupt city of Iverstown at will. But the unexpected return of Sam, after years of absence, deeply disturbs the life of the odd couple.

7.1

#18

A Night in Casablanca

1946 · 153 ratings

The Marx Brothers are employed at a hotel in postwar Casablanca, where a ring of Nazis is trying to recover a cache of stolen treasure.

6.8

#19

The Dark Mirror

1946 · 116 ratings

A sister and her disturbed twin are implicated in a murder and a police detective must figure out which one's the killer.

6.9

#20

Dead Reckoning

1946 · 148 ratings

War heroes Rip Murdock and Johnny Drake are sent to Washington, D.C, to receive top honors for their service. Johnny, seemingly terrified by the publicity that awaits him, jumps off the train and later turns up dead. Suspecting foul play, Rip begins digging into his pal's past. He encounters cover-ups, threats to his own life and deadly femme fatale Coral Chandler.

6.8

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About 1946 Movies

These are the best-rated movies released in 1946 according to MovieMagicScore. Our ranking system aggregates genuine viewer ratings to give you an honest picture of what audiences actually think about these films.

From blockbusters to indie gems, discover what made 1946 memorable in cinema based on the collective opinion of movie lovers worldwide.

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