Best Movies of 1939 by Rank

Rating
Rank
No
Starring
Genre
Country
Language
5 Stars, Top 100
5
1
Jean Renoir
Marcel Dalio, Nora Gregor, Jean Renoir, Julien Carette, Tony Corteggiani
Comedy / Drama
France
French
5 Stars, Top 100
40
2
Victor Fleming, King Vidor, George Cukor, Mervyn LeRoy
Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley
Family / Fantasy / Adventure / Musical / Cult
USA
English
5 Stars, Top 100
41
3
Victor Fleming
Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland, Thomas Mitchell
Drama / War / Romance / Epic
USA
English
5 Stars
122
4
John Ford
Claire Trevor, John Wayne, Andy Devine, John Carradine, Thomas Mitchell
Action / Western / Drama / Romance
USA
English
5 Stars
169
5
Frank Capra
Jean Arthur, James Stewart, Claude Rains, Edward Arnold, Guy Kibbee
Drama / Comedy / Family
USA
English
5 Stars
263
6
Ernst Lubitsch
Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, Ina Claire, Bela Lugosi, Sig Ruman, Felix Bressart
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
5 Stars
275
7
Marcel Carné
Jean Gabin, Jules Berry, Arletty, Mady Berry, René Génin
Drama / Thriller / Crime / Romance
France
French
5 Stars
355
8
William Wyler
Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier
Drama / Romance / Period Film
USA
English
5 Stars
490
9
George Cukor
Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Mary Boland
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
4.5 Stars
568
10
John Ford
Henry Fonda, Alice Brady
Drama / History / Biography
USA
English
Rating
Rank
No
Starring
Genre
Country
Language
4.5 Stars
570
11
George Marshall
Marlene Dietrich, James Stewart
Western / Comedy
USA
English
4.5 Stars
573
12
George Stevens
Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen, Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
Adventure / Comedy / War
USA
English
4.5 Stars
582
13
Howard Hawks
Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Richard Barthelmess, Rita Hayworth, Thomas Mitchell
Drama / Adventure / Romance
USA
English
4.5 Stars
643
14
Sam Wood
Robert Donat, Greer Garson
Drama / Period Film
UK
English
4.5 Stars
710
15
Leo McCarey
Irene Dunne, Charles Boyer, Maria Ouspenskaya
Comedy / Drama / Romance
USA
English
4.5 Stars
757
16
Edmund Goulding
Bette Davis, George Brent, Humphrey Bogart, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Ronald Reagan
Drama / Romance
USA
English
4.5 Stars
891
17
Mitchell Leisen
Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche, John Barrymore, Francis Lederer
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
4.5 Stars
935
18
Lewis Milestone
Burgess Meredith, Lon Chaney Jr.
Drama
USA
English
4 Stars
1036
19
Carol Reed
Michael Redgrave, Margaret Lockwood, Emlyn Williams, Nancy Price
Drama
UK
English
4 Stars
1161
20
Kenji Mizoguchi
Shôtarô Hanayagi, Kôkichi Takada
Drama / Period Film / Romance
Japan
Japanese
4 Stars
1165
21
William Dieterle
Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Hara, Cedric Hardwicke
Drama / Horror / Romance / Period Film / Family
USA
English
4 Stars
1200
22
Raoul Walsh
James Cagney, Priscilla Lane, Humphrey Bogart, Gladys George
Crime / Drama / Thriller / Gangster
USA
English
3.5 Stars
1579
23
Garson Kanin
Ginger Rogers, David Niven, Charles Coburn, Frank Albertson, E.E. Clive
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
3.5 Stars
1588
24
Gregory Ratoff
Leslie Howard, Ingrid Bergman, Edna Best, John Halliday, Cecil Kellaway
Romance / Drama
USA
English
3.5 Stars
1604
25
Zoltan Korda
John Clements, Ralph Richardson, C. Aubrey Smith, June Duprez
Adventure / War
UK
English
3.5 Stars
1704
26
Michael Curtiz
Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Ann Sheridan, Bruce Cabot, Frank McHugh
Western / Romance
USA
English
3.5 Stars
1840
27
Henry King, Otto Brower
Spencer Tracy, Nancy Kelly, Richard Greene, Walter Brennan, Charles Coburn
Adventure / Drama / History / Biography
USA
English
3.5 Stars
1958
28
Rowland V. Lee
Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, Josephine Hutchinson
Sci-Fi / Horror / Drama
USA
English
3.5 Stars
1989
29
Anatole Litvak
Edward G. Robinson, Francis Lederer, George Sanders
Drama / Spy / Action / Mystery / Detective / War
USA
English
3 Stars
2056
30
Cecil B. DeMille
Barbara Stanwyck, Joel McCrea, Akim Tamiroff, Robert Preston
Drama / Western / Epic
USA
English
3 Stars
2066
31
Edmund Goulding
Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins, George Brent, Donald Crisp, Jane Bryan
Drama
USA
English
3 Stars
2133
32
Rouben Mamoulian
Barbara Stanwyck, Adolphe Menjou, William Holden, Lee J. Cobb, Joseph Calleia
Drama / Sports
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2162
33
Busby Berkeley
Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Charles Winninger
Musical / Comedy / Family
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2227
34
Garson Kanin
John Barrymore, Peter Holden, Virginia Weidler, Katharine Alexander
Drama
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2231
35
Alfred L. Werker
Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Ida Lupino, George Zucco, Alan Marshal
Crime / Thriller / Mystery / Detective
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2231
35
John Ford
Claudette Colbert, Henry Fonda, Edna May Oliver, Eddie Collins, John Carradine
Adventure / War / Western
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2293
36
Mark Donskoy
Aleksei Lyarsky, Irina Zarubina, Varvara Massalitinova, Ye. Lilina
Biography / Drama / Period Film
Soviet Union
Russian
2.5 Stars
2320
37
Sidney Lanfield
Richard Greene, Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Lionel Atwill, John Carradine
Crime / Horror / Mystery / Thriller / Detective
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2320
37
Henry King, Irving Cummings
Tyrone Power, Henry Fonda, Nancy Kelly, Randolph Scott, Henry Hull
Western / Biography
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2330
38
Maurice Schwartz
Maurice Schwartz, Miriam Riselle, Rebecca Weintraub
Drama
USA
Yiddish
2.5 Stars
2366
39
Clarence Brown
Myrna Loy, Tyrone Power, George Brent, Brenda Joyce, Nigel Bruce
Adventure / Drama / Romance
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2511
40
William Keighley
James Cagney, George Raft, Jane Bryan, George Bancroft, Stanley Ridges
Thriller / Crime / Drama / Gangster
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2518
41
William Dieterle
Paul Muni, Bette Davis, Brian Aherne, Claude Rains, John Garfield, Donald Crisp
Biography / Drama / Romance / History
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2554
42
Julien Duvivier
Victor Francen, Michel Simon, Louis Jouvet, Madeleine Ozeray
Drama
France
French
2.5 Stars
2572
43
William A. Wellman
Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, Robert Preston, Brian Donlevy
Action / Adventure / Drama / War
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2605
44
Michael Curtiz
Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Donald Crisp, Alan Hale
Biography / Drama / Romance / History / Period Film
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2605
44
George Marshall, Edward F. Cline, Edward Sedgwick
W.C. Fields, Edgar Bergen, Charlie McCarthy, Constance Moore, John Arledge
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2689
45
Pat Jackson, Humphrey Jennings, Harry Watt
Short / Documentary / War
UK
English
2.5 Stars
2689
45
A. Edward Sutherland
Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Jean Parker, Reginald Gardiner, James Finlayson
Comedy
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2689
45
Irving Cummings, Malcolm St. Clair, Buster Keaton
Alice Faye, Don Ameche, J. Edward Bromberg, Alan Curtis, Stuart Erwin, Jed Prouty
Comedy / Drama / History
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2689
45
Otakar Vávra
Rudolf Hrusínský, Vladimír Salac, Jaroslav Prucha, Ladislav Bohác
Drama
Czechoslovakia
Czech
2.5 Stars
2689
45
Aleksandr Dovzhenko, Yuliya Solntseva
Yevgeni Samojlov, Ivan Skuratov, Luka Lyashenko, Nina Nikitina
Drama / War / Biography
Soviet Union
Russian
2.5 Stars
2689
45
Irving Cummings
Don Ameche, Loretta Young, Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn, Gene Lockhart
Biography / Drama / Period Film
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2689
45
Busby Berkeley
John Garfield, The Dead End Kids, Claude Rains, Ann Sheridan, May Robson
Crime / Drama / Mystery / Sports
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2689
45
Ivan Pyryev
Marina Ladynina, Nikolai Kryuchkov, Boris Andreyev, Stepan Kayukov, Pyotr Alejnikov
Drama / Comedy
Soviet Union
Russian
2.5 Stars
2689
45
Lloyd Bacon
George Brent, Olivia de Havilland, John Payne, Frank McHugh, John Litel
Drama / Romance / War
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2691
46
William A. Wellman
Ronald Colman, Walter Huston, Muriel Angelus, Ida Lupino, Dudley Digges
Drama
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2691
46
James Whale
Louis Hayward, Joan Bennett, Warren William, Joseph Schildkraut, Alan Hale
Adventure / Action
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2740
47
Herbert Kline, Hans Burger, Alexander Hammid
Leif Erickson
Documentary / War
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2740
47
Hans Steinhoff
Emil Jannings, Werner Krauss, Viktoria von Ballasko
Drama / Biography
Germany
German
2.5 Stars
2740
47
Michael Powell
Conrad Veidt, Valerie Hobson, Sebastian Shaw, Marius Goring
Action / Adventure / Drama / Romance / Thriller / War / Spy
UK
English
2.5 Stars
2756
48
Ralph Steiner, Willard Van Dyke
Morris Carnovsky
Documentary / Short
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2756
48
Ray Dowidat, Esther Dowidat
'Old Man' Guettler, Hans Guettler, Bill Guettler
Short / Documentary
USA
English (Silent)
2.5 Stars
2756
48
unknown
Marian Anderson
Music / Documentary
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2756
48
Robert R. Snody
Marjorie Lord, Jimmy Lydon, Ruth Lee, Harry Shannon, Adora Andrews, Douglas Stark
Drama / Documentary
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2756
48
Gregory Bateson, Margaret Mead
Margaret Mead
Documentary / Short
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2756
48
Charles Lamont
Fernando Soler, Luana Alcañiz, Juan Torena
Drama / Documentary
USA
Spanish
2.5 Stars
2771
49
Goffredo Alessandrini
Camillo Pilotto, Mario Ferrari, Enrico Glori, Amedeo Trilli
History / War / Drama / Religion
Italy
Italian
2.5 Stars
2788
50
Willi Forst
Willi Forst, Ilse Werner, Lizzi Waldmüller, Olga Tschechowa
Drama / Comedy / Musical
Germany
German
2.5 Stars
2807
51
W.S. Van Dyke
William Powell, Myrna Loy, Virginia Grey, Otto Kruger, C. Aubrey Smith, Ruth Hussey
Comedy / Mystery / Drama / Crime / Romance / Thriller / Detective
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2807
51
Del Lord
Charley Chase, Dorothy Comingore, Lucille Lund, Dick Curtis, Bud Jamison
Comedy / Short
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2807
51
Dave Fleischer
Mae Questel, Margie Hines, Ann Rothschild, Harriet Lee, Bonnie Poe
Family / Comedy / Animation / Comic
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2807
51
George Sherman
Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, June Storey, Barbara Pepper, Buster Crabbe
Western / Musical
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2807
51
Dave Fleischer
Jessica Dragonette, Lanny Ross, Pinto Colvig, Jack Mercer, Sam Parker
Family / Adventure / Animation / Fantasy / Comedy
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2807
51
Lloyd Bacon
George Raft, Jane Bryan, William Holden, Humphrey Bogart, Flora Robson
Crime / Drama / Gangster
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2807
51
George Sherman
Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Noah Beery, Luana Walters, William Farnum
Western / Musical
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2807
51
Hugh Harman
Mel Blanc
Animation / Short / Drama / War
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2807
51
Del Lord
Buster Keaton, Lorna Gray, Gino Corrado, Richard Fiske, Bud Jamison
Comedy / Short / Family
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2807
51
Del Lord
Charley Chase, Ann Doran, John Tyrrell, Ben Taggart, Richard Fiske
Comedy / Short
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2807
51
Henry Hathaway
Gary Cooper, David Niven, Andrea Leeds, Reginald Owen, Broderick Crawford
Action / History / War / Adventure / Drama
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2807
51
Gregory Ratoff
Tyrone Power, Alice Faye, Al Jolson, William Frawley, Joyce Compton
Drama / Musical / Romance
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2807
51
H.C. Potter
Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edna May Oliver, Walter Brennan, Lew Fields
Biography / Musical / Romance / War
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2807
51
Allan Dwan
Don Ameche, The Ritz Brothers, Binnie Barnes, Gloria Stuart, Pauline Moore
Action / Adventure / Comedy / Musical
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2807
51
Richard Wallace
Gloria Jean, Robert Cummings, Nan Grey, C. Aubrey Smith, Beulah Bondi
Musical
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2807
51
John English, William Witney
Reed Hadley, Sheila Darcy, William Corson, Leander De Cordova, Edmund Cobb
Western / Adventure / Action / Cult / Serial / Family
USA
English
NR
-
Edward Buzzell
Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Kenny Baker, Florence Rice
Comedy / Family / Musical
USA
English
Rating
Rank
No
Starring
Genre
Country
Language