A list of thriller films released in the 1940s.
Title Director Cast Country Subgenre/notes 1940Before I HangNick GrindeBoris Karloff, Evelyn Keyes, Bruce BennettUnited StatesForeign CorrespondentAlfred HitchcockJoel McCrea, Laraine DayUnited StatesGaslightThorold DickinsonAnton Walbrook, Diana Wynyard, Frank PettingellNight Train to MunichCarol ReedRex Harrison, Margaret LockwoodUnited KingdomRebeccaAlfred HitchcockLaurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders, Judith AndersonUnited StatesPsychological thrillerStranger on the Third FloorBoris IngsterPeter Lorre, John McGuire, Margaret TallichetUnited StatesPsychological thriller 1941Among the LivingStuart HeislerAlbert Dekker, Susan Hayward, Harry CareyUnited StatesLe Dernier des SixGeorges LacombeMichele Alfa, Pierre Fresnay, Jean TissierFrancePsychological thrillerI Wake Up ScreamingH. Bruce HumberstoneBetty Grable, Victor Mature, Carole LandisUnited StatesMan HuntFritz LangWalter Pidgeon, Joan Bennett, George SandersUnited StatesPolitical thriller Shadow of the Thin ManW.S. Van DykeWilliam Powell, Myrna Loy, Barry Nelson United StatesComedy thrillerSuspicionAlfred HitchcockCary Grant, Joan FontaineUnited StatesPsychological thriller 1942L'Assassin Habite au 21Henri-Georges ClouzotSuzy Delair, Pierre Fresnay, Noël RoquevertFranceComedy thrillerBowery at MidnightWallace W. FoxBela Lugosi, John Archer, Wanda McKayUnited StatesCrime thrillerCat PeopleJacques TourneurSimone Simon, Kent Smith, Tom ConwayUnited StatesSupernatural thrillerEyes in the NightFred ZinnemannEdward Arnold, Ann Harding, Katherine EmeryUnited StatesCrime thrillerThe Glass KeyStuart HeislerBrian Donlevy, Veronica Lake, Alan LaddUnited StatesI Live on DangerSam WhiteChester Morris, Jean Parker, Elizabeth RisdonUnited StatesNightmareTim WhelanDiana Barrymore, Brian Donlevy, Henry DaniellUnited StatesSaboteurAlfred HitchcockPriscilla Lane, Robert Cummings, Norman LloydUnited StatesThis Gun for HireFrank TuttleVeronica Lake, Robert Preston, Laird CregarUnited StatesCrime thriller 1943Above SuspicionRichard ThorpeJoan Crawford, Fred MacMurray, Conrad VeidtUnited StatesPolitical thrillerLe CorbeauHenri-Georges ClouzotPierre Fresnay, Pierre Larquey, Micheline Francey FrancePsychological thriller The Fallen SparrowRichard WallaceJohn Garfield, Maureen O'Hara, Walter SlezakUnited StatesJourney into FearNorman FosterJoseph Cotten, Dolores del Río, Ruth Warrick, Orson WellesUnited StatesThe Leopard ManJacques TourneurDennis O'Keefe, Margo, Jean BrooksUnited StatesShadow of a DoubtAlfred HitchcockJoseph Cotten, Teresa Wright, MacDonald CareyUnited States 1944BluebeardEdgar G. UlmerJohn Carradine, Jean Parker, Nils Asther United StatesThe ClimaxGeorge WaggnerBoris Karloff, Susanna FosterUnited StatesDark WatersAndré De TothMerle Oberon, Franchot Tone, Thomas MitchellUnited StatesDouble IndemnityBilly WilderFred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. RobinsonUnited StatesCrime thrillerGaslightGeorge CukorCharles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman United StatesLauraOtto PremingerGene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton WebbUnited StatesPsychological thrillerThe LodgerJohn BrahmMerle Oberon, George Sanders, Laird CregarUnited StatesThe Mask of DimitriosJean NegulescoSydney Greenstreet, Zachary Scott, Faye EmersonUnited StatesMinistry of FearFritz LangRay Milland, Marjorie Reynolds, Carl EsmondUnited StatesPsychological ThrillerMurder, My SweetEdward DmytrykDick Powell, Claire Trevor, Anne ShirleyUnited StatesPhantom LadyRobert SiodmakFranchot Tone, Ella Raines, Alan CurtisUnited StatesThe Scarlet ClawRoy William NeillBasil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Gerald HamerUnited StatesThe Thin Man Goes HomeRichard ThorpeWilliam Powell, Myrna Loy, Gloria DeHaven United StatesComedy thrillerWhen Strangers MarryWilliam CastleDean Jagger, Kim Hunter, Robert Mitchum United StatesThe Woman in the WindowFritz LangEdward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Raymond MasseyUnited States 1945The Body SnatcherRobert WiseBoris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Henry DaniellUnited StatesConflictCurtis BernhardtHumphrey Bogart, Alexis Smith, Sydney GreenstreetUnited StatesCorneredEdward DmytrykDick Powell, Walter Slezak, Nina ValeUnited StatesDead of NightAlberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden, Robert Hamer Mervyn Johns, Michael Redgrave, Sally Ann Howes, Mary MerrallUnited KingdomPsychological thrillerHangover SquareJohn BrahmLaird Cregar, Linda Darnell, George SandersUnited StatesThe House on 92nd StreetHenry HathawayWilliam Eythe, Lloyd Nolan, Signe Hasso United StatesMy Name Is Julia RossJoseph H. LewisNina Foch, Dame May Whitty, George MacreadyUnited StatesSpellboundAlfred HitchcockIngrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, Jean AckerUnited StatesPsychological thrillerStrange IllusionEdgar G. UlmerCharles Arnt, Jameson Clark, Jimmy ClarkUnited States 1946BedlamMark RobsonBoris Karloff, Anna Lee, Billy HouseUnited StatesThe Brute ManJean YarbroughRondo Hatton, Jane Adams, Tom NealUnited StatesCrack-UpIrving G. ReisPat O'Brien, Claire Trevor, Herbert MarshallUnited StatesPsychological thrillerDeadline at DawnHarold ClurmanSusan Hayward, Paul Lukas, Bill WilliamsUnited StatesDragonwyckJoseph L. MankiewiczGene Tierney, Spring Byington, Walter HustonUnited StatesI See a Dark StrangerFrank LaunderDeborah Kerr, Trevor Howard, Raymond HuntleyUnited KingdomLeave Her to HeavenJohn M. StahlGene Tierney, Cornel WildeUnited StatesPsychological thrillerNotoriousAlfred HitchcockCary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Claude RainsUnited StatesPolitical thriller Shadow of a WomanJoseph SantleyHelmut Dantine, Andrea King, Don McGuireUnited StatesShockAlfred L. WerkerVincent Price, Lynn Bari, Anabel ShawUnited StatesThe Spiral StaircaseRobert SiodmakDorothy McGuire, George Brent, Ethel BarrymoreUnited StatesPsychological thrillerThe StrangerOrson WellesOrson Welles, Edward G. Robinson, Loretta Young United StatesPsychological thriller 1947Kiss of DeathHenry Hathaway Victor Mature, Brian Donlevy, Coleen GrayUnited States Psychological thriller, crime thriller The Lady from ShanghaiOrson WellesRita Hayworth, Orson Welles United States Love from a StrangerRichard WhorfJohn Hodiak, John Howard, Ann RichardsUnited StatesThe Red HouseDelmer DavesEdward G. Robinson, Lon McCallister, Judith AndersonUnited StatesSong of the Thin ManEdward BuzzellWilliam Powell, Myrna LoyUnited StatesComedy thriller 1948The Big ClockJohn FarrowRay Milland, Charles Laughton, Maureen O'SullivanUnited StatesPsychological thrillerCry of the CityRobert SiodmakVictor Mature, Richard Conte, Fred ClarkUnited StatesHe Walked by NightAlfred L. WerkerRichard Basehart, Scott Brady, Roy RobertsUnited StatesKey LargoJohn HustonHumphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Monte BlueUnited StatesCrime thrillerSorry, Wrong NumberAnatole LitvakBarbara Stanwyck, Burt Lancaster, Ann RichardsUnited StatesPsychological thriller 1949The BribeRobert Z. LeonardRobert Taylor, Ava Gardner, Charles Laughton, Vincent PriceUnited StatesCrime thrillerD.O.A.Rudolph Maté Edmond O'Brien, Pamela Britton, Luther Adler United StatesPsychological thrillerFollow Me QuietlyRichard FleischerWilliam Lundigan, Dorothy Patrick, Jeff CoreyUnited StatesGun CrazyJoseph H. LewisPeggy Cummins, John Dall, Berry KroegerUnited StatesCrime thrillerThe Third ManCarol ReedJoseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson WellesUnited KingdomPsychological thrillerStray DogAkira KurosawaToshirō Mifune, Takashi ShimuraJapanWhite HeatRaoul WalshJames CagneyUnited StatesCrime thriller WhirlpoolOtto PremingerGene Tierney, Richard Conte, Jose FerrerUnited StatesPsychological thriller
Notes