Best Picture Nominees: 1930s-1940s

For years in which I’ve seen every film nominated for Best Picture, they’re ranked from best to worst in its listing. Otherwise, films are listed in alphabetical order. Titles in bold are ones I’ve seen, and the ones in italics are personal favorites. Additionally, titles marked with an asterisk are the films that won Best Picture in their given year.

11th Academy Awards (1938):

  1. The Adventures of Robin Hood
  2. You Can’t Take It with You*
  3. Grand Illusion
  4. Pygmalion
  5. Jezebel
  6. Four Daughters
  7. Boys Town
  8. Test Pilot
  9. Alexander’s Ragtime Band
  10. The Citadel

12th Academy Awards (1939):

  1. Gone with the Wind*
  2. The Wizard of Oz
  3. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
  4. Ninotchka
  5. Wuthering Heights
  6. Love Affair
  7. Stagecoach
  8. Dark Victory
  9. Goodbye, Mr. Chips
  10. Of Mice and Men

13th Academy Awards (1940):

  1. Rebecca*
  2. The Philadelphia Story
  3. The Great Dictator
  4. The Grapes of Wrath
  5. Foreign Correspondent
  6. The Letter
  7. Kitty Foyle
  8. The Long Voyage Home
  9. All This, and Heaven Too
  10. Our Town

14th Academy Awards (1941):

  1. Citizen Kane
  2. The Maltese Falcon
  3. Here Comes Mr. Jordan
  4. The Little Foxes
  5. Suspicion
  6. Hold Back the Dawn
  7. How Green Was My Valley*
  8. Sergeant York
  9. Blossoms in the Dust
  10. One Foot in Heaven

15th Academy Awards (1942):

  1. The Pride of the Yankees
  2. The Magnificent Ambersons
  3. 49th Parallel
  4. Random Harvest
  5. Mrs. Miniver*
  6. The Talk of the Town
  7. Yankee Doodle Dandy
  8. Kings Row
  9. The Pied Piper
  10. Wake Island

16th Academy Awards (1943):

  1. Casablanca*
  2. The Ox-Bow Incident
  3. Heaven Can Wait
  4. The Song of Bernadette
  5. The More the Merrier
  6. In Which We Serve
  7. Madame Curie
  8. Watch on the Rhine
  9. For Whom the Bell Tolls
  10. The Human Comedy

17th Academy Awards (1944):

  1. Double Indemnity
  2. Gaslight
  3. Since You Went Away
  4. Going My Way*
  5. Wilson

18th Academy Awards (1945):

  1. The Lost Weekend*
  2. Mildred Pierce
  3. Spellbound
  4. Anchors Aweigh
  5. The Bells of St. Mary’s

19th Academy Awards (1946):

  1. It’s a Wonderful Life
  2. The Best Years of Our Lives*
  3. The Razor’s Edge
  4. Henry V
  5. The Yearling

20th Academy Awards (1947):

  1. Miracle on 34th Street
  2. Great Expectations
  3. The Bishop’s Wife
  4. Crossfire
  5. Gentleman’s Agreement*