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


The Three Caballeros
1944 · 1h 11m
country: United States
For Donald's birthday he receives a box with three gifts inside. The gifts, a movie projector, a pop-up book, and a pinata, each take Donald on wild adventures through Mexico and South America.


Saludos Amigos
1942 · 42m
country: United States
A whimsical blend of live action and animation, "Saludos Amigos" is a colorful kaleidoscope of art, adventure and music set to a toe-tapping samba beat. From high Andes peaks and Argentina's pampas to the sights and sounds of Rio de Janeiro, your international traveling companions are none other than those famous funny friends, Donald Duck and Goofy. They keep things lively as Donald encounters a stubborn llama and "El Gaucho" Goofy tries on the cowboy way of life....South American-style.


The Pirate
1948 · 1h 42m
country: United States
A girl is engaged to the local richman, but meanwhile she has dreams about the legendary pirate Macoco. A traveling singer falls in love with her and to impress her he poses as the pirate.


Argentine Symphony
1942 · 1h 26m
country: Argentina
A group of artists loses a contest, but then they succeed in the theater.


Melody Time
1948 · 1h 15m
country: United States
In the grand tradition of Disney's great musical classics, Melody Time features seven timeless stories, each enhanced with high-spirited music and unforgettable characters. You'll be sure to tap your toes and clap your hands in this witty feast for the eyes and ears.


Cover Girl
1944 · 1h 47m
country: United States
A nightclub dancer makes it big in modeling, leaving her dancer boyfriend behind.


Make Mine Music
1946 · 1h 15m
country: United States
In the tradition of Fantasia, Make Mine Music is a glorious collection of musically charged animated shorts featuring such fun-filled favorites as "Peter and the Wolf", narrated by the beloved voice behind Winnie the Pooh. In addition you'll enjoy such classic cartoon hits as "Casey at the Bat," "The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met" and "Johnnie Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet."


Ziegfeld Girl
1941 · 2h 12m
country: United States
Discovery by Flo Ziegfeld changes a girl's life but not necessarily for the better, as three beautiful women find out when they join the spectacle on Broadway: Susan, the singer who must leave behind her ageing vaudevillian father; vulnerable Sheila, the working girl pursued both by a millionaire and by her loyal boyfriend from Flatbush; and the mysterious European beauty Sandra, whose concert violinist husband cannot endure the thought of their escaping from poverty by promenading her glamor in skimpy costumes.


Going My Way
1944 · 2h 6m
country: United States
Youthful Father Chuck O'Malley led a colorful life of sports, song, and romance before joining the Roman Catholic clergy. After being appointed to a run-down New York parish, O'Malley's worldly knowledge helps him connect with a gang of boys looking for direction, eventually winning over the aging, conventional Parish priest.


Bathing Beauty
1944 · 1h 42m
country: United States
After breaking up with her fiancé, a gym teacher returns to work at a women's college, but a legal loophole allows him to enroll as one of her students.


Easter Parade
1948 · 1h 43m
country: United States
On the day before Easter in 1911, Don Hewes is crushed when his dancing partner (and object of affection) Nadine Hale refuses to start a new contract with him. To prove Nadine's not important to him, Don acquires innocent new protege Hannah Brown, vowing to make her a star in time for next year's Easter parade.


Anchors Aweigh
1945 · 2h 23m
country: United States
Two sailors on shore leave head out for four days of partying – only to become involved in the affairs of an aspiring singer and her precocious nephew.


Buck Privates
1941 · 1h 24m
country: United States
Petty con artists Slicker Smith and Herbie Brown mistakenly join the Army evading the cops. The cop chasing them winds up as their drill instructor. A rich young man and his former working class chauffeur are not only in the same unit, they're vying for a pretty girl who seems attracted to both.


Broadway Melody of 1940
1940 · 1h 42m
country: United States
Johnny Brett and King Shaw are an unsuccessful dance team in New York. A producer discovers Brett as the new partner for Clare Bennett, but Brett, who thinks he is one of the people they lent money to, gives him the name of his partner.


Ziegfeld Follies
1945 · 1h 50m
country: United States
The late, great impresario Florenz Ziegfeld looks down from heaven and ordains a new revue in his grand old style.


Löjtnantshjärtan
1942 · 1h 45m
country: Sweden
"Bleeding Hearts" - Comedy with charming hussar lieutenants, indulgent landlord daughters, wild rides and romantic mansion balls.


Our Gang
1942 · 1h 30m
country: Sweden
A gang of friends lose their club house and collect money for a new one by singing in public.


Till the Clouds Roll By
1946 · 2h 16m
country: United States
Light bio-pic of American Broadway pioneer Jerome Kern, featuring renditions of the famous songs from his musical plays by contemporary stage artists, including a condensed production of his most famous: 'Showboat'.


Two Girls and a Sailor
1944 · 2h 4m
country: United States
A sailor helps two sisters start up a service canteen. The sailor soon becomes taken with gorgeous sister Jean, unaware that her sibling Patsy is also in love with him.


Rio Rita
1942 · 1h 31m
country: United States
Doc and Wishey run into some Nazi-agents, who want to smuggle bombs into the USA from a Mexican border hotel.


Love Happy
1949 · 1h 25m
country: United States
The Marx Brothers help young Broadway hopefuls when they get mixed up with gangsters due to a tin of sardines containing Romanoff diamonds.


Mayalokam
1945
country: India
Mayalokam is a 1945 Telugu-language film produced and directed by Gudavalli Ramabrahmam under the Sarathi Films banner. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and S. Varalakshmi.


The Harvey Girls
1946 · 1h 44m
country: United States
On a train trip out west to become a mail-order bride, Susan Bradley meets a cheery crew of young women traveling out to open a "Harvey House" restaurant at a remote whistle-stop.


In the Good Old Summertime
1949 · 1h 42m
country: United States
Two co-workers in a music shop dislike one another during business hours but unwittingly carry on an anonymous romance through the mail.


The Big Store
1941 · 1h 23m
country: United States
A detective is hired to protect the life of a singer, who has recently inherited a department store, from the store's crooked manager.


Blue Sky
1941 · 1h 20m
country: Brazil
The Companhia de Esquetches Musicados do Teatro 'Brasil' is in crisis. After the debut of a new play failed, impresario Artur Fernandes, despite protests from Nini del Mar—the company's star—decides to hire Vitorino, the only writer who understands the audience's tastes and the company's artistic capabilities, to write the next play.


Yankee Doodle Dandy
1942 · 2h 6m
country: United States
A film of the life of the renowned musical composer, playwright, actor, dancer and singer George M. Cohan.


Copacabana
1947 · 1h 32m
country: United States
A talent agent sells his girlfriend to a nightclub – as two separate acts. The deception and constant costume changes are too much for his girl, and the men who have fallen for the different performers.


The Cat Concerto
1947 · 8m
country: United States
Tom Cat is a concert pianist who plays beautifully until he is interrupted by Jerry Mouse.


The Great Glinka
1946 · 1h 56m
country: Soviet Union
About the life of the Russian composer Mikhail Glinka.


A Date with Judy
1948 · 1h 53m
country: United States
Best friends Judy and Carol compete for the affection of an older man during their high school dance. As Carol tries to rekindle Judy's relationship with Carol's bumbling brother, Oogie, Judy suspects that her father is having an affair with a beautiful dance instructor. The two girls team up to expose Judy's father -- who is only taking innocent dance lessons.


One Touch of Venus
1948 · 1h 22m
country: United States
A window dresser's kiss brings a statue of the Roman goddess of love to life.


Night and Day
1946 · 2h 8m
country: United States
When his first stage show fails, songwriter Cole Porter goes off to fight in WWI until, injured, he lands in a hospital. He impresses nurse Linda Lee with his creativity, but their budding romance must wait as Cole heads home. Back in New York, he mounts a series of popular shows, and when his work brings him back to Europe, he eventually marries Linda. But success doesn't spare him from marital complications or bad news about a beloved relative.


Thrill of a Romance
1945 · 1h 45m
country: United States
A soldier falls in love with a newly-married woman after her husband abandons her for a business meeting on their honeymoon.


Hellzapoppin'
1941 · 1h 24m
country: United States
Olsen and Johnson, a pair of stage comedians, try to turn their play into a movie and bring together a young couple in love, while breaking the fourth wall every step of the way.


A Song Is Born
1948 · 1h 53m
country: United States
The story of seven scholars in search of an expert to teach them about swing music. They seem to have found the perfect candidate in winsome nightclub singer Honey Swanson. But Honey's gangster boyfriend doesn't want to give her up.


Sjösalavår
1949 · 1h 38m
country: Sweden
The Troubadour sits at a rock beside his summerhouse Sjösala in the Stockholm archipelago. He is composing a new ballad, when his son Sven Bertil interrupts him, telling him that an angry man is knocking at their door. It is the creditor Andersson, coming with a new unpaid bill to be put on the top of all the other. The Troubadour is tired of all economical problems. It disturbs the peace he needs to be able to write new songs, and without new songs he cannot earn the money he needs to pay the bills. To get peace and inspiration for his writing, he makes a quick decision to go to Buenos Aires. By phone he persuades his publisher to prepay 7000 kronor for some future book. On the little ferry from the islands in the sea to Stockholm city the Troubadour is carried away by his imagination into the fictitious world of his main character Fritiof Andersson. Colorful scenes from various songs are enacted before his dreaming eyes. In Stockholm he spends the night at the inn Gyldene Freden. ...


One Night in the Tropics
1940 · 1h 22m
country: United States
Jim "Lucky" Moore, an insurance salesman, comes up with a novel policy for his friend, Steve: a 'love insurance policy', that will pay out $1-million if Steve does not marry his fiancée, Cynthia. The upcoming marriage is jeopardized by Steve's ex-girlfriend, Mickey, and Cynthia's disapproving Aunt Kitty. The policy is underwritten by a nightclub owner, Roscoe, who sends two enforcers - Abbott and Costello - to ensure that the wedding occurs as planned.


On Our Merry Way
1948 · 1h 47m
country: United States
Oliver Pease gets a dose of courage from his wife Martha and tricks the editor of the paper (where he writes lost pet notices) into assigning him the day's roving question. Martha suggests, "Has a little child ever changed your life?" Oliver gets answers from two slow-talking musicians, an actress whose roles usually feature a sarong, and an itinerant cardsharp. In each case the "little child" is hardly innocent: in the first, a local auto mechanic's "baby" turns out to be fully developed as a woman and a musician; in the second, a spoiled child star learns kindness; in the third, the family of a lost brat doesn't want him returned. And Oliver, what becomes of him?


You'll Never Get Rich
1941 · 1h 28m
country: United States
A Broadway choreographer gets drafted and coincidentally ends up in the same army base as the boyfriend of his object of affection.
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.
Music films cover concert documentaries, biopics, and musicals — anything where performance drives the picture. The genre lives or dies on whether the filmmaking can match the energy of the sound.