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Best Musical Movies of the 1940s, Ranked by IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and TMDB
40 musical films from the 1940s are in our catalog; the 40 best are ranked below. Top of the list is The Cat Concerto (1947), at 8.2 on IMDb. The average IMDb score across this list is 6.9. Biggest split between audiences and critics: The Three Caballeros, 6.2 on IMDb against 85 on Metacritic.
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| # | Movie | Genre | IMDb | Tomato | Meta | TMDB | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Cat Concerto '1947 | Animation / Comedy / Musical | 8.2 | - | - | 7.6 | Joseph Barbera |
| 2 | Yankee Doodle Dandy '1942 | Drama / Musical | 7.6 | 91% | 89 | 7.0 | Michael Curtiz |
| 3 | It Happened on Fifth Avenue '1947 | Comedy / Romance / Musical | 7.6 | - | 66 | 7.1 | Roy Del Ruth |
| 4 | Der Fuehrer's Face '1943 | Animation / Comedy / Musical | 7.5 | - | - | 7.0 | Jack Kinney |
| 5 | Easter Parade '1948 | Romance / Musical | 7.3 | 91% | - | 7.1 | Charles Walters |
| 6 | Hellzapoppin' '1941 | Musical / Comedy / Romance | 7.4 | - | - | 7.2 | H. C. Potter |
| 7 | The Courtyard of the Ballads '1942 | Musical / Comedy | 7.8 | - | - | 8.7 | Francisco Ribeiro |
| 8 | Begone Dull Care '1949 | Animation / Musical | 7.3 | - | - | 7.0 | Norman McLaren |
| 9 | Book Revue '1946 | Animation / Comedy / Musical | 7.1 | - | - | 6.6 | Robert Clampett |
| 10 | Road to Utopia '1946 | Comedy / Musical | 7.1 | 100% | 72 | 6.8 | Hal Walker |
| 11 | Broadway Melody of 1940 '1940 | Musical / Romance / Drama | 7.3 | 80% | - | 6.9 | Norman Taurog |
| 12 | In the Good Old Summertime '1949 | Comedy / Musical / Romance | 7.1 | 62% | - | 6.8 | Robert Z. Leonard |
| 13 | A Corny Concerto '1943 | Animation / Comedy / Musical | 7.3 | - | - | 6.9 | Robert Clampett |
| 14 | The Harvey Girls '1946 | Musical / Western / Romance / Comedy | 7.0 | 100% | 65 | 6.6 | George Sidney |
| 15 | A Song Is Born '1948 | Comedy / Musical | 6.9 | 50% | - | 6.5 | Howard Hawks |
| 16 | Symphony Hour '1942 | Animation / Comedy / Musical | 7.4 | - | - | 6.8 | Riley Thomson |
| 17 | Cabin in the Sky '1943 | Musical / Fantasy / Comedy | 7.1 | 81% | - | 6.5 | Vincente Minnelli |
| 18 | Wonder Man '1945 | Comedy / Fantasy / Musical | 6.8 | 100% | - | 6.6 | H. Bruce Humberstone |
| 19 | Buck Privates '1941 | Comedy / Musical / War | 7.0 | - | - | 6.8 | Arthur Lubin |
| 20 | Road to Rio '1947 | Comedy / Musical / Romance | 6.9 | 100% | 66 | 6.8 | Norman Z. McLeod |
| 21 | Going My Way '1944 | Drama / Comedy / Musical | 7.0 | 85% | 90 | 6.7 | Leo McCarey |
| 22 | Road to Morocco '1942 | Comedy / Musical / Romance | 7.0 | 79% | 75 | 6.9 | David Butler |
| 23 | The Seventh Veil '1945 | Musical / Drama | 6.7 | - | - | 6.6 | Compton Bennett |
| 24 | Alice in Wonderland '1949 | Musical / Fantasy / Animation | 6.2 | - | - | 5.5 | Dallas Bower |
| 25 | The Pirate '1948 | Musical / Romance / Comedy | 6.8 | 78% | - | 6.5 | Vincente Minnelli |
| 26 | A Study in Choreography for Camera '1945 | Musical | 6.4 | - | - | 5.9 | Maya Deren |
| 27 | Yankee Doodle Daffy '1943 | Animation / Comedy / Musical | 6.8 | - | - | 6.5 | Friz Freleng |
| 28 | You'll Never Get Rich '1941 | Comedy / Musical / Romance | 6.7 | 80% | - | 6.5 | Sidney Lanfield |
| 29 | Cover Girl '1944 | Musical / Comedy / Romance | 6.7 | 94% | - | 6.4 | Charles Vidor |
| 30 | Puce Moment '1949 | Musical | 6.2 | - | - | 5.7 | Kenneth Anger |
| 31 | Road to Singapore '1940 | Comedy / Musical / Romance | 6.6 | 100% | 63 | 6.4 | Victor Schertzinger |
| 32 | Ziegfeld Follies '1945 | Musical / Comedy | 6.4 | 69% | - | 6.0 | Vincente Minnelli |
| 33 | The Big Store '1941 | Comedy / Musical | 6.5 | 70% | - | 6.3 | Charles Reisner |
| 34 | Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs '1943 | Animation / Comedy / Musical | 6.1 | - | - | 5.4 | Robert Clampett |
| 35 | Phantom of the Opera '1943 | Horror / Romance / Musical | 6.4 | 77% | 63 | 6.2 | Arthur Lubin |
| 36 | Make Mine Music '1946 | Animation / Musical | 6.1 | 62% | 60 | 5.8 | Robert Cormack |
| 37 | Love Happy '1949 | Comedy / Musical | 5.8 | - | - | 5.8 | David Miller |
| 38 | Melody Time '1948 | Animation / Musical | 6.1 | 64% | 69 | 6.1 | Clyde Geronimi |
| 39 | The Three Caballeros '1944 | Animation / Musical | 6.2 | 85% | 85 | 6.3 | Norman Ferguson |
| 40 | Saludos Amigos '1942 | Animation / Musical | 6.0 | 82% | 60 | 5.8 | Wilfred Jackson |
Our catalog covers roughly the 8,800 most-rated films on TMDB, so lesser-known titles may be missing. Order uses a confidence-weighted IMDb score so a perfect score from a handful of votes does not beat a well-established classic; the scores shown are the raw ones.
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All movies of the 1940s
Musical in other decades
Other genres in the 1940s
Action of the 1940s Animation of the 1940s Comedy of the 1940s Crime of the 1940s Drama of the 1940s Fantasy of the 1940s Horror of the 1940s Mystery of the 1940s Romance of the 1940s Sci-Fi of the 1940s Thriller of the 1940s War of the 1940s Western of the 1940s
Directors on this list
Joseph Barbera Michael Curtiz Roy Del Ruth Jack Kinney Charles Walters H. C. Potter Robert Clampett Norman Taurog Robert Z. Leonard George Sidney Howard Hawks Vincente Minnelli
Actors on this list
William Hanna James Cagney Clarence Nash Billy Bletcher Judy Garland Fred Astaire Bea Benaderet Sara Berner Bing Crosby Bob Hope Van Johnson Mel Blanc