Top 10 Film Directors of the 1940s

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Quiet on the Set!

Alfred Hitchcock has passed on, but his movies will never die. Check out the top 50 directors by decade and see who are the up and coming Steven Spielbergs. Or better yet, take a trip to the past and see which movie-makers had a "direct" influence on the headliners of today.

1	Alfred Hitchcock	3.2728	57	1920s - 10 1930s - 15 1940s - 14 1950s - 11 1960s - 5 1970s - 2	1. Shadow of a Doubt (1943) 2. Rebecca (1940) 3. Notorious (1946) 4. Suspicion (1941) See all Alfred Hitchcock movie rankings
2	Emeric Pressburger	3.1585	16	1940s - 8 1950s - 8	1. Red Shoes, The (1948) 2. Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, The (1943) 3. Black Narcissus (1947) 4. Canterbury Tale, A (1944) See all Emeric Pressburger movie rankings
3	Michael Powell	3.1418	52	1920s - 1 1930s - 27 1940s - 11 1950s - 8 1960s - 3 1970s - 2	1. Red Shoes, The (1948) 2. Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, The (1943) 3. Thief of Bagdad, The (1940) 4. Black Narcissus (1947) See all Michael Powell movie rankings
4	Orson Welles	3.1281	20	1930s - 2 1940s - 5 1950s - 3 1960s - 4 1970s - 4 1980s - 1 1990s - 1	1. Citizen Kane (1941) 2. Magnificent Ambersons, The (1942) 3. Lady from Shanghai, The (1947) 4. Stranger, The (1946) See all Orson Welles movie rankings
5	John Ford	3.0637	77	1910s - 4 1920s - 12 1930s - 24 1940s - 15 1950s - 15 1960s - 5 1970s - 2	1. Grapes of Wrath, The (1940) 2. 3 Godfathers (1948) 3. How Green Was My Valley (1941) 4. They Were Expendable (1945) See all John Ford movie rankings
6	John Lounsbery	2.9844	47	1930s - 4 1940s - 23 1950s - 7 1960s - 7 1970s - 6	1. Dumbo (1941) 2. Pinocchio (1940) 3. Fantasia (1940) 4. Melody Time (1948) See all John Lounsbery movie rankings
7	Howard Hawks	2.9378	40	1920s - 7 1930s - 14 1940s - 10 1950s - 5 1960s - 3 1970s - 1	1. Red River (1948) 2. Big Sleep, The (1946) 3. His Girl Friday (1940) 4. Sergeant York (1941) See all Howard Hawks movie rankings
8	George Stevens	2.9255	51	1930s - 36 1940s - 8 1950s - 5 1960s - 1 1970s - 1	1. Woman of the Year (1942) 2. Penny Serenade (1941) 3. Talk of the Town, The (1942) 4. More the Merrier, The (1943) See all George Stevens movie rankings
9	Ernst Lubitsch	2.9073	69	1910s - 32 1920s - 18 1930s - 12 1940s - 7	1. Shop Around the Corner, The (1940) 2. To Be or Not to Be (1942) 3. Heaven Can Wait (1943) 4. Cluny Brown (1946) See all Ernst Lubitsch movie rankings
10	William Wyler	2.8747	61	1920s - 30 1930s - 13 1940s - 7 1950s - 7 1960s - 3 1970s - 1	1. Best Years of Our Lives, The (1946) 2. Mrs. Miniver (1942) 3. Heiress, The (1949) 4. Westerner, The (1940) See all William Wyler movie rankings

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Top Directors By Decade 1940