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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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    Arabian Nights
    TMDB3.0

    Arabian Nights

    1942 · 1h 26m

    country: United States

    Two half brothers battle each other for the power of the throne and the love of sensual, gorgeous dancing girl Scheherazade.

    Foreign Correspondent
    TMDB3.5

    Foreign Correspondent

    1940 · 2h

    country: United States

    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.

    Twelve O'Clock High
    TMDB3.6

    Twelve O'Clock High

    1949 · 2h 12m

    country: United States

    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.

    The Mark of Zorro
    TMDB3.6

    The Mark of Zorro

    1940 · 1h 34m

    country: United States

    Returning from Spain, the son of a California nobleman comes home to find his native land under a villainous dictatorship. On one hand, he plays the useless fop, while on the other, he is the masked avenger Zorro.

    Mighty Joe Young
    TMDB3.2

    Mighty Joe Young

    1949 · 1h 34m

    country: United States

    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.

    Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
    TMDB3.1

    Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

    1944 · 1h 27m

    country: United States

    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.

    Gung Ho!
    TMDB2.7

    Gung Ho!

    1943 · 1h 28m

    country: United States

    A true-life epic that revolves around an exclusive bataillon of the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II, "Carlson's Raiders," whose assignment is to take control of a South Pacific island once possessed by the United States but now under Japanese command.

    Captain Kidd
    TMDB3.1

    Captain Kidd

    1945 · 1h 29m

    country: United States

    Cutthroat pirate William Kidd captures Admiral Blayne's treasure ship and hides the bounty in a cave. Three years later, Kidd, posing as a respectable merchant captain, offers his services to the King of England. Seeking a social position, Kidd also negotiates for Blayne's title and lands, provided he can prove Blayne was associated with piracy. Launched upon his royal mission, Kidd is unaware that Blayne's son Adam is among the crew, determined to clear his father's name.

    Battleground
    TMDB3.4

    Battleground

    1949 · 1h 58m

    country: United States

    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.

    Angel and the Badman
    TMDB3.2

    Angel and the Badman

    1947 · 1h 40m

    country: United States

    Notorious shootist and womanizer Quirt Evans' horse collapses as he passes a Quaker family's home. Quirt has been wounded, and the kindly family takes him in to nurse him back to health against the advice of others. The handsome Evans quickly attracts the affections of their beautiful daughter, Penelope. He develops an affection for the family and their faith, but his troubled past follows him.

    Adventures of Don Juan
    TMDB3.4

    Adventures of Don Juan

    1948 · 1h 46m

    country: United States

    Spanish Lothario Don Juan, the legendary lover and adventurer returns to Spain following a scandal and comes to the aid of his queen, who is under threat from sinister forces.

    West of the Pecos
    TMDB2.3

    West of the Pecos

    1945 · 1h 6m

    country: United States

    Heading west for his health, Colonel Lambeth takes his daughter Rill along. Lost on the desert they are saved by Pecos and Chito. The Colonel hires the two and the Lambeths soon find themselves mixed up in Pecos' trouble. Pecos has killed Sawtelle's brother and Sawtelle as head of the vigilantes is after him.

    The Green Hornet Strikes Again!
    TMDB3.4

    The Green Hornet Strikes Again!

    1940 · 4h 53m

    country: United States

    Second serial featuring The Green Hornet and Kato.

    High Sierra
    TMDB3.5

    High Sierra

    1941 · 1h 40m

    country: United States

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

    Reap the Wild Wind
    TMDB3.2

    Reap the Wild Wind

    1942 · 1h 59m

    country: United States

    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.

    Spy Smasher
    TMDB3.0

    Spy Smasher

    1942 · 3h 35m

    country: United States

    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.

    Guadalcanal Diary
    TMDB2.8

    Guadalcanal Diary

    1943 · 1h 33m

    country: United States

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

    One Million B.C.
    TMDB2.9

    One Million B.C.

    1940 · 1h 20m

    country: United States

    One Million B.C. is a 1940 American fantasy film produced by Hal Roach Studios and released by United Artists. It is also known by the titles Cave Man, Man and His Mate, and Tumak. The film stars Victor Mature as protagonist Tumak, a young cave man who strives to unite the uncivilized Rock Tribe and the peaceful Shell Tribe, Carole Landis as Loana, daughter of the Shell Tribe chief and Tumak's love interest, and Lon Chaney, Jr. as Tumak's stern father and leader of the Rock Tribe.

    Dick Tracy
    TMDB2.6

    Dick Tracy

    1945 · 1h 1m

    country: United States

    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.

    Lust for Gold
    TMDB3.0

    Lust for Gold

    1949 · 1h 30m

    country: United States

    A man determined to track down the fabled Arizona gold mine known as The Lost Dutchman has an affair with a married treasure hunter, whose pursuit of the mine has lead her to double-cross her husband.

    Tycoon
    TMDB2.8

    Tycoon

    1947 · 2h 8m

    country: United States

    Engineer Johnny Munroe is enlisted to build a railroad tunnel through a mountain to reach mines. His task is complicated, and his ethics are compromised, when he falls in love with his boss's daughter

    The Bandit of Sherwood Forest
    TMDB2.6

    The Bandit of Sherwood Forest

    1946 · 1h 26m

    country: United States

    Robin Hood's swashbuckling son comes to the rescue when England's boy-king is captured by the evil, power-hungry William of Pembroke.

    Batman
    TMDB3.1

    Batman

    1943 · 4h 20m

    country: United States

    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.

    Tarzan's New York Adventure
    TMDB3.2

    Tarzan's New York Adventure

    1942 · 1h 11m

    country: United States

    Circus owner Buck Rand kidnaps Boy to perform in his show. He forces a pilot to fly him, Boy and his animal trainer out of the jungle. Tarzan and Jane follow them to New York.

    Buck Privates Come Home
    TMDB3.2

    Buck Privates Come Home

    1947 · 1h 17m

    country: United States

    Two ex-soldiers return from overseas--one of them having smuggled into the country a French orphan girl he has become attached to. They wind up running into their old sergeant--who hates them--and getting involved with a race-car builder who's trying to find backers for a new midget racer he's building.

    The Story of Dr. Wassell
    TMDB3.2

    The Story of Dr. Wassell

    1944 · 2h 20m

    country: United States

    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.

    Adventures of Captain Marvel
    TMDB3.2

    Adventures of Captain Marvel

    1941 · 3h 36m

    country: United States

    On a scientific expedition to Siam young Billy Batson is given the ability to change himself into the super-powered Captain Marvel by the wizard Shazam, who tells him his powers will last only as long as the Golden Scorpion idol is threatened. Finding the idol, the scientists realize it could be the most powerful weapon in the world and remove the lenses that energize it, distributing them among themselves so that no one would be able to use the idol by himself. Back in the US, Billy Batson, as Captain Marvel, wages a battle against an evil, hooded figure, the Scorpion, who hopes to accumulate all five lenses, thereby gaining control of the super-powerful weapon

    Flying Tigers
    TMDB3.1

    Flying Tigers

    1942 · 1h 42m

    country: United States

    Jim Gordon commands a unit of the famed Flying Tigers, the American Volunteer Group which fought the Japanese in China before America's entry into World War II. Gordon must send his outnumbered band of fighter pilots out against overwhelming odds while juggling the disparate personalities and problems of his fellow flyers.

    Captain America
    TMDB2.6

    Captain America

    1944 · 4h 4m

    country: United States

    Superhero Captain America battles the evil forces of the archvillain called The Scarab, who poisons his enemies and steals a secret device capable of destroying buildings by sound vibrations.

    Tarzan and the Amazons
    TMDB3.2

    Tarzan and the Amazons

    1945 · 1h 16m

    country: United States

    A group of archaeologists asks Tarzan to help them find an ancient city in a hidden valley of women. He refuses, but Boy is tricked into doing the job. The queen of the women asks Tarzan to help them.

    All Through the Night
    TMDB3.3

    All Through the Night

    1942 · 1h 47m

    country: United States

    Broadway gamblers stumble across a plan by Nazi saboteurs to blow up an American battleship.

    Air Force
    TMDB3.3

    Air Force

    1943 · 2h 4m

    country: United States

    The crew of an Air Force bomber arrives in Pearl Harbor in the aftermath of the Japanese attack and is sent on to Manila to help with the defense of the Philippines.

    Radio Ranch
    TMDB2.8

    Radio Ranch

    1940 · 1h 10m

    country: United States

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

    Return of the Bad Men
    TMDB3.1

    Return of the Bad Men

    1948 · 1h 30m

    country: United States

    US Marshall Vance is assigned to rid the Oklahoma Territory of outlaws.

    Wing and a Prayer
    TMDB3.4

    Wing and a Prayer

    1944 · 1h 37m

    country: United States

    An aircraft carrier is sent on a decoy mission around the Pacific, with orders to avoid combat, thus lulling Japanese alertness before the battle of Midway.

    Blood on the Sun
    TMDB2.9

    Blood on the Sun

    1945 · 1h 34m

    country: United States

    Nick Condon, an American journalist in 20s Tokyo, publishes the Japanese master plan for world domination. Reaction from the understandably upset Japanese provides the action, but this is overshadowed by the propaganda of the time.

    Tarzan and the Leopard Woman
    TMDB2.9

    Tarzan and the Leopard Woman

    1946 · 1h 12m

    country: United States

    A tribe devoted to the leopard cult is dedicated to preventing civilization from moving further into Africa.

    Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome
    TMDB2.7

    Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome

    1947 · 1h 5m

    country: United States

    A gang of criminals, which includes a piano player and an imposing former convict known as 'Gruesome', has found out about a scientist's secret formula for a gas that temporarily paralyzes anyone who breathes it. When Gruesome accidentally inhales some of the gas and passes out, the police think he is dead and take him to the morgue, where he later revives and escapes. This puzzling incident attracts the interest of Dick Tracy, and when the criminals later use the gas to rob a bank, Tracy realizes that he must devote his entire attention to stopping them.

    Crash Dive
    TMDB3.2

    Crash Dive

    1943 · 1h 46m

    country: United States

    A US Navy submarine, the USS Corsair, is operating in the North Atlantic, hunting German merchant raiders that are preying on Allied shipping. Its new executive officer, Lt. Ward Stewart, has been transferred back into submarines after commanding his own PT boat. At the submarine base in New London, Connecticut, he asks his new captain, Lt. Cmdr. Dewey Connors, for a weekend leave to settle his affairs before taking up his new assignment. On a train bound for Washington D.C., Stewart accidentally encounters New London school teacher Jean Hewlett and her students. Despite her initial resistance to his efforts, he charms her and they fall in love.

    Destruction Inc.
    TMDB3.2

    Destruction Inc.

    1942 · 9m

    country: United States

    Superman has to thwart wartime saboteurs tampering with things at the Metropolis Munitions Plant...who have captured Lois Lane and loaded her into a torpedo!

    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
    The Mark of Zorro (7.2)
    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 Arabian Nights, Foreign Correspondent, and Twelve O'Clock High. 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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