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    Home/Browse/1940s Movies/1940s Action Movies

    1940s Action Movies

    The 40 most popular 1940s action movies, ranked. Click any film for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.

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    Spy Smasher
    TMDB3.0

    Spy Smasher

    1942 · 3h 35m · US

    Prior to the United States' involvement in World War II, the masked vigilante Spy Smasher fights Nazi agents operating within the US, led by the treacherous sabotage leader codenamed The Mask.

    Jungle Goddess
    TMDB1.4

    Jungle Goddess

    1948 · 1h 2m · US

    When a plane carrying the daughter of a millionaire crashes in an African jungle, two pilots set out to collect the reward. They discover that she has become the goddess of a primitive tribe. An insurgent witch doctor and fierce wild animals make escape from the jungle difficult for the trio.

    Radio Ranch
    TMDB2.8

    Radio Ranch

    1940 · 1h 10m · US

    Re-edited feature version of serial The Phantom Empire (1935). Singer Gene Autry discovers a race of advanced humans living beneath the earth.

    Stagecoach Outlaws
    TMDB3.5

    Stagecoach Outlaws

    1945 · 58m · US

    Kirby sends his henchmen to break killer Matt Brawley out of jail. But Brawley has already broken out and they return with Fuzzy instead. Realizing they think he's Brawley, Fuzzy plays the part. He and Bill plan to round up the gang but Fuzzy is in trouble when the real Brawley shows up to expose the hoax.

    Jungle Man
    TMDB1.6

    Jungle Man

    1941 · 1h 3m · US

    An expedition sets out to darkest Africa to find the fabled City of the Dead, and must battle thick jungle, hostile natives, wild animals and a deadly epidemic.

    Nazty Nuisance
    TMDB2.0

    Nazty Nuisance

    1943 · 43m · US

    Germany's Adolf Hitler, with his Axis-stooges, Italy's Mussolini and Japan's Suki Yama, although he tried to avoid taking them, is on his way, via submarine, to a tropical country to negotiate a treaty with the High Chief Paj Mab. However, an American P.T-boat crew is already there and have some plans for schickenbit-grubber and his buddies.

    Canal Zone
    TMDB3.0

    Canal Zone

    1942 · 1h 19m · US

    A cocky pilot at a Panama Canal bomber station clashes with his trainer over recklessness and a woman. After causing a fatal crash while hungover, he seeks redemption when his rivals crash in the jungle.

    Guadalcanal Diary
    TMDB2.8

    Guadalcanal Diary

    1943 · 1h 33m · US

    Concentrating on the personal lives of those involved, a war correspondent takes us through the preparations, landing and initial campaign on Guadalcanal during WWII.

    Texas Renegades
    TMDB4.0

    Texas Renegades

    1940 · 59m · US

    Marshal Tim Smith is sent to Rawhide to battle rustlers. When the outlaw gang attempts to kill the new Marshal, they get the wrong man. Tim puts his identification on the dead man and poses as a known outlaw. This gets him into the gang where he is given the job of posing as the new Marshal.

    Mighty Joe Young
    TMDB3.2

    Mighty Joe Young

    1949 · 1h 34m · US

    A young woman, Jill Young, grew up on her father's ranch in Africa, raising a large gorilla named Joe from an infant. Years later, she brings him to Hollywood to become a star.

    Strange Journey
    TMDB4.0

    Strange Journey

    1946 · 1h 5m · US

    Reformed racketeer "Lucky" Leeds flees from the police when he thinks they are about to arrest him for a murder he didn't commit. He and his wife Patti fly to his privately-owned remote island and have to crash land. Also on the island is a group of shipwrecked people, including a German professor, his daughter, an English journalist, a wealthy widow, a sailor and a Nazi Agent.

    Foreign Correspondent
    TMDB3.5

    Foreign Correspondent

    1940 · 2h · US

    American crime reporter John Jones is reassigned to Europe as a foreign correspondent to cover the imminent war. When he walks into the middle of an assassination and stumbles on a spy ring, he seeks help from a beautiful politician’s daughter and an urbane English journalist to uncover the truth.

    Dick Tracy
    TMDB2.6

    Dick Tracy

    1945 · 1h 1m · US

    Dick is faced with a series of brutal murders in which the victims, all from different social and economic backgrounds, are viciously slashed to pieces. Suspects abound but Tracy, getting a clue that there will be 15 murders in all, must find the common thread among the victims before more are killed.

    The Fighting Seabees
    TMDB3.1

    The Fighting Seabees

    1944 · 1h 40m · US

    Construction workers in World War II in the Pacific are needed to build military sites, but the work is dangerous and they doubt the ability of the Navy to protect them. After a series of attacks by the Japanese, something new is tried, Construction Battalions (CBs=Seabees). The new CBs have to both build and be ready to fight.

    Twelve O'Clock High
    TMDB3.6

    Twelve O'Clock High

    1949 · 2h 12m · US

    In the early days of daylight bombing raids over Germany, General Frank Savage must take command of a 'hard luck' bomber group. Much of the story deals with his struggle to whip his group into a disciplined fighting unit in spite of heavy losses, and withering attacks by German fighters over their targets.

    Forbidden Trails
    TMDB2.8

    Forbidden Trails

    1941 · 54m · US

    Two ex-cons plan to kill the range rider marshal who sent them to prison and, when their plan fails, join forces with their former boss, a crooked saloon owner who has the same idea.

    Gang War
    TMDB3.1

    Gang War

    1940 · 1h 3m · US

    Two mobs fight for control of the jukebox racket.

    Tarzan's Desert Mystery
    TMDB3.0

    Tarzan's Desert Mystery

    1943 · 1h 10m · US

    A letter from Jane, who is nursing British troops, asks Tarzan's help in obtaining a malaria serum extractable from jungle plants. Tarzan and Boy set out across the desert looking for the plants. Along the way they befriend a stranded American lady magician.

    Marked Men
    TMDB2.8

    Marked Men

    1940 · 1h 6m · US

    A man accused of planning a prison break turns the tables on escaped cons by leading the group into the desert.

    Battleground
    TMDB3.4

    Battleground

    1949 · 1h 58m · US

    Members of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division are fighting for their country amidst the rugged terrain of Bastogne, Belgium, in December 1944. Holley and his American compatriots have already seen one of their own, Roderigues, perish under enemy fire. The men try to rebuff another series of Nazi attacks, but what they really need is a change in the weather. Without clear skies, they'll never get the air support they need.

    The Adventures of Dusty Bates
    TMDB2.6

    The Adventures of Dusty Bates

    1947 · 1h 55m · UK

    Dusty Bates observes some smuggled jewels hidden in a crate aboard a ship; he is pursued by low-lifes when the crate is put ashore.

    The Story of Dr. Wassell
    TMDB3.1

    The Story of Dr. Wassell

    1944 · 2h 20m · US

    As the Japanese sweep through the East Indies during World War II, Dr. Wassell is determined to escape from Java with some crewmen of the cruiser Marblehead. Based on a true story of how Dr. Wassell saved a dozen or so wounded sailors who were left behind when able bodied men were evacuated to Australia.

    Angel and the Badman
    TMDB3.2

    Angel and the Badman

    1947 · 1h 40m · US

    A wounded outlaw finds unexpected mercy in the care of a rancher's daughter. The hope of love pulls him toward a different life until the law, and his violent past, close in on his new home. Now he must choose the kind of man he'll become.

    Batman
    TMDB3.1

    Batman

    1943 · 4h 20m · US

    Japanese master spy Daka operates a covert espionage-sabotage organization located in Gotham City's now-deserted Little Tokyo, which turns American scientists into pliable zombies. The great crime-fighters Batman and Robin, with the help of their allies, are in pursuit.

    Guerilyera
    TMDB5.0

    Guerilyera

    1946 · PH

    Carmen Rosales plays herself in this dramatization of her time as a guerilla fighter.

    Tarzan's Secret Treasure
    TMDB3.0

    Tarzan's Secret Treasure

    1941 · 1h 21m · US

    A scientific expedition happens to discover that gold exists on Tarzan's escarpment. The villainous Medford and Vandermeer kidnap Jane and Boy to extort from Tarzan the location of the gold.

    Su última pelea
    TMDB3.5

    Su última pelea

    1949 · 1h 45m · AR

    Tuberculosis and a passional crime prevent the final triumph to a boy from the slums who has opened his way in boxing.

    Blonde Savage
    TMDB2.4

    Blonde Savage

    1947 · 1h 1m · US

    An expedition into the deep jungle discovers a native tribe led by a tall Caucasian blonde woman.

    Captain Midnight
    TMDB3.1

    Captain Midnight

    1942 · 4h 30m

    Secret Service Major Steel is one of the few men in America aware of the fact that Captain Albright is also Captain Midnight, daring masked aviator dedicated to fighting gangsters and enemies of America.

    Mystery of the Riverboat
    TMDB3.3

    Mystery of the Riverboat

    1944 · 3h 38m · US

    A movie serial in 13 chapters: Some swampland becomes valuable, and various factions squabble over ownership of it.

    Reap the Wild Wind
    TMDB3.1

    Reap the Wild Wind

    1942 · 1h 59m · US

    The Florida Keys in 1840, where the implacable hurricanes of the Caribbean scream, where the salvagers of Key West, like the intrepid and beautiful Loxi Claiborne and her crew, reap, aboard frail schooners, the harvest of the wild wind, facing the shark teeth of the reefs to rescue the sailors and the cargo from the shipwrecks caused by the scavengers of the sea.

    North West Mounted Police
    TMDB3.2

    North West Mounted Police

    1940 · 2h 6m · US

    Texas Ranger Dusty Rivers ("Isn't that a contradiction in terms?", another character asks him) travels to Canada in the 1880s in search of Jacques Corbeau, who is wanted for murder. He wanders into the midst of the Riel Rebellion, in which Métis (people of French and Native heritage) and Natives want a separate nation. Dusty falls for nurse April Logan, who is also loved by Mountie Jim Brett. April's brother is involved with Courbeau's daughter Louvette, which leads to trouble during the battles between the rebels and the Mounties. Through it all Dusty is determined to bring Corbeau back to Texas (and April, too, if he can manage it.)

    I'm Still Alive
    TMDB3.5

    I'm Still Alive

    1940 · 1h 12m · US

    Married to stuntman Steve Bennett, movie star Laura Money fears for his life and pressures him to quit his job. However, this demand soon puts a strain on their marriage.

    Drums of Fu Manchu
    TMDB3.1

    Drums of Fu Manchu

    1940 · 4h 29m · US

    The 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 nemesi, Dr. Nayland Smith and his associates fight to keep the evil doctor from getting his hands on the keys. In 1943 the serial was edited together into a feature movie also called Drums of Fu Manchu.

    Isle of Forgotten Sins
    TMDB2.5

    Isle of Forgotten Sins

    1943 · 1h 22m · US

    An evil sea captain and the forces of nature threaten two divers' search for a fortune in gold in the South Pacific.

    Submarine Base
    TMDB2.5

    Submarine Base

    1943 · 1h 5m · US

    Ship engineer Jim Taggert is rescued from a torpedoed tramp steamer by Joe Morgan, an American gangster that found New York too hot for him, and has become a fisherman operating from an out-of-the-way island off of the coast of South America. Morgan makes his headquarters at the Halfway House run by the parents of Maria Styx as a bar and dance resort catering to the planters and traders of the island. Taggert finds himself practically a prisoner along with a group of American girls acting as entertainers at the resort. Taggert shadows Morgan in his activities in a remote cove and finds that Morgan is supplying German U-boat commanders with torpedoes, but does not know that Morgan has rigged the torpedoes with clock devices that explode when at sea and sinks the U-boats.

    El casado casa quiere
    TMDB3.0

    El casado casa quiere

    1948 · 1h 23m · MX

    Interfering relatives complicate a couple's attempt to build their dream house.

    Japoteurs
    TMDB3.0

    Japoteurs

    1942 · 9m · US

    Superman vs. Japanese spies hijacking a new super-bomber.

    High Sierra
    TMDB3.5

    High Sierra

    1941 · 1h 40m · US

    Given a pardon from jail, Roy Earle gets back into the swing of things as he robs a swanky resort.

    Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
    TMDB3.1

    Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

    1944 · 1h 27m · US

    Orphaned as a young child and adopted by a band of notorious thieves, now-grown Ali Baba sets out to avenge his father’s murder, reclaim the royal throne, and rescue his beloved Amara from the iron fist of his treacherous enemy.

    About 1940s Action Movies

    The 1940s

    1940s cinema is split by the war: propaganda and home-front melodrama, then the darker, more cynical film noir that followed. Italian neorealism emerged from the rubble at the decade's end.

    Action

    Action cinema runs from the stunt-driven spectacle of Hollywood blockbusters to the choreographed precision of Hong Kong and Korean thrillers. The best of it treats physical performance as storytelling — chases, fights, and set pieces that reveal character rather than pause for it.

    In this list

    Best reviewed
    High Sierra (7.1)
    Often also
    Adventure, Drama, War

    Common questions

    What are the best 1940s action movies?
    By popularity across Flickfolio and TMDB, the top picks right now are Spy Smasher, Jungle Goddess, and Radio Ranch. The full ranked list of 40 sits above — open any movie for ratings, reviews, and streaming availability.
    How is this list ranked?
    1940s action movies are ordered by overall popularity, which blends how often a title is viewed, searched, and logged. It updates as viewing habits shift, so the list reflects what people are actually watching rather than a fixed critical canon.
    Where can I watch these movies?
    Every movie page lists current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region, alongside community ratings and reviews from Flickfolio members.

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