Top 10 Film Directors of the 1940s

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Top Director by Decade List

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	3.2575	58	1920s - 11 1930s - 15 1940s - 14 1950s - 11 1960s - 5 1970s - 2	1. Shadow of a Doubt (1943) 2. Rebecca (1940) 3. Notorious (1946) 4. Foreign Correspondent (1940) See all Alfred Hitchcock movie rankings
2	Emeric Pressburger	3.1666	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	Orson Welles	3.1289	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
4	Michael Powell	3.1151	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. Black Narcissus (1947) 4. Thief of Bagdad, The (1940) See all Michael Powell movie rankings
5	John Ford	3.0596	78	1910s - 4 1920s - 12 1930s - 25 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	2.9867	46	1930s - 4 1940s - 23 1950s - 7 1960s - 6 1970s - 6	1. Dumbo (1941) 2. Pinocchio (1940) 3. Fantasia (1940) 4. Melody Time (1948) See all John Lounsbery movie rankings
7	Howard Hawks	2.9353	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	Ernst Lubitsch	2.9035	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
9	William Wyler	2.8777	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
10	Michael Curtiz	2.8694	110	1910s - 4 1920s - 20 1930s - 42 1940s - 21 1950s - 19 1960s - 4	1. Casablanca (1942) 2. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) 3. Mildred Pierce (1945) 4. Sea Hawk, The (1940) See all Michael Curtiz movie rankings

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