Best Movies of 1942

The highest-rated films from 1942 according to MovieMagicScore. Rankings based purely on what viewers actually think.

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By genre:action comedy drama horror sci-fi thriller romance animation

To Be or Not to Be

1942 · 783 ratings

During the Nazi occupation of Poland, an acting troupe becomes embroiled in a Polish soldier's efforts to track down a German spy.

7.8

The Magnificent Ambersons

1942 · 452 ratings

The spoiled young heir to the decaying Amberson fortune comes between his widowed mother and the man she has always loved.

7.3

Bambi

1942 · 5,872 ratings

Bambi's tale unfolds from season to season as the young prince of the forest learns about life, love, and friends.

7.0

Now, Voyager

1942 · 219 ratings

A woman suffers a nervous breakdown and an oppressive mother before being freed by the love of a man she meets on a cruise.

7.3

Cat People

1942 · 638 ratings

A Serbian émigré in Manhattan believes that, because of an ancient curse, any physical intimacy with the man she loves will turn her into a feline predator.

6.9

The Pride of the Yankees

1942 · 130 ratings

The story of the life and career of the baseball hall of famer, Lou Gehrig.

7.4

Mrs. Miniver

1942 · 274 ratings

Middle-class housewife Kay Miniver deals with petty problems. She and her husband Clem watch her Oxford-educated son Vin court Carol Beldon, the charming granddaughter of the local nobility as represented by Lady Beldon. Then the war comes and Vin joins the RAF.

7.1

The Murderer Lives at Number 21

1942 · 153 ratings

Paris, France. Commissaire Wens follows the lead of a ruthless murderer to an unexpected place.

7.3

Saboteur

1942 · 521 ratings

Aircraft factory worker Barry Kane flees across the United States after he is wrongly accused of starting the fire that killed his best friend.

6.9

#10

Yankee Doodle Dandy

1942 · 221 ratings

A film of the life of the renowned musical composer, playwright, actor, dancer and singer George M. Cohan.

7.0

#11

The Talk of the Town

1942 · 115 ratings

Hilarity ensues when a falsely accused fugitive from justice hides at the house of his childhood friend, which she has recently rented to a high-principled law teacher.

7.3

#12

Holiday Inn

1942 · 211 ratings

Lovely Linda Mason has crooner Jim Hardy head over heels, but suave stepper Ted Hanover wants her for his new dance partner after fickle Lila Dixon gives him the brush. Jim's supper club, Holiday Inn, is the setting for the chase by Hanover and his manager.

7.0

#13

Random Harvest

1942 · 110 ratings

Wandered away from his asylum, an amnesiac World War I veteran falls in love with a music hall star but his amnesia makes it difficult to last.

7.3

#14

The Palm Beach Story

1942 · 199 ratings

A New York inventor, Tom Jeffers, needs cash to develop his big idea, so his adoring wife, Gerry, decides to raise it by divorcing him and marrying an eccentric Florida millionaire, J. D. Hackensacker III.

7.0

#15

The Major and the Minor

1942 · 140 ratings

Returning to her hometown from New York, Susan Applegate learns that she hasn't enough for the train fare and disguises herself as a twelve-year-old to travel for half the price. She hides from the conductors in the compartment of Major Philip Kirby, a military school instructor, who takes the "child" under his wing.

7.1

#16

This Gun for Hire

1942 · 182 ratings

Sadistic killer-for-hire Philip Raven becomes enraged when his latest job is paid off in marked bills. Vowing to track down his double-crossing boss, nightclub executive Gates, Raven sits beside Gates' lovely new employee, Ellen, on a train out of town. Although Ellen is engaged to marry the police lieutenant who's hunting down Raven, she decides to try and set the misguided hit man straight as he hides from the cops and plots his revenge.

6.9

#17

Woman of the Year

1942 · 158 ratings

Rival reporters Sam Craig and Tess Harding fall in love and get married, only to find their relationship strained when Sam comes to resent Tess' hectic lifestyle.

6.9

#18

I Married a Witch

1942 · 215 ratings

A 17th-century witch returns to wreak havoc in the life of a descendant of the Puritan witch hunter who burned her.

6.8

#19

The Glass Key

1942 · 127 ratings

A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.

6.6

#20

Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon

1942 · 128 ratings

In the midst of World War II, Sherlock Holmes rescues the Swiss inventor of a new bomb-sight from the Gestapo and brings him to England, where he quickly falls into the clutches of the evil Professor Moriarty.

6.3

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About 1942 Movies

These are the best-rated movies released in 1942 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 1942 memorable in cinema based on the collective opinion of movie lovers worldwide.

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