1949

Academy winner All the King's Men poster

All the King's Men

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Should have won The Third Man poster

The Third Man

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The Academy's ballot

🏆All the King's Men#1167.71 🎬The Heiress#572.33 🎬Twelve O'Clock High#768.68 🎬A Letter to Three Wives#1067.86 🎬Battleground#1765.45

Your #1 was The Third Man (#1).

The full slate

The Third Man (1949)

⭐ Top-rated🏛️ All-time great

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Dir. Carol Reed · Joseph Cotten · Alida Valli · Trevor Howard · Orson Welles

IMDb 8.1 (195,873 votes) · TMDB 7.898

In postwar Vienna, Austria, Holly Martins, a writer of pulp Westerns, arrives penniless as a guest of his childhood chum Harry Lime, only to learn he has died. Martins develops a conspiracy theory after learning of a "third man" present at the time of Harry's death, running into interference from British officer Major Calloway, and falling head-over-heels for Harry's grief-stricken lover, Anna.

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White Heat (1949)

⭐ Top-rated💰 Box office #7

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Dir. Raoul Walsh · James Cagney · Virginia Mayo · Edmond O'Brien · Margaret Wycherly

IMDb 8.1 (38,576 votes) · TMDB 7.7

A psychopathic criminal with a mother complex makes a daring break from prison and then leads his old gang in a chemical plant payroll heist. After the heist, events take a crazy turn.

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Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)

⭐ Top-rated

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Dir. Robert Hamer · Dennis Price · Alec Guinness · Joan Greenwood · Valerie Hobson

IMDb 8.0 (42,081 votes) · TMDB 7.637

When his mother eloped with an Italian opera singer, Louis Mazzini was cut off from her aristocratic family. After the family refuses to let her be buried in the family mausoleum, Louis avenges his mother's death by attempting to murder every family member who stands between himself and the family fortune. But when he finds himself torn between his longtime love and the widow of one of his victims, his plans go awry.

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Late Spring (1949)

⭐ Top-rated

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Dir. Yasujirō Ozu · Chishū Ryū · Setsuko Hara · Yumeji Tsukioka · Haruko Sugimura

IMDb 8.2 (21,684 votes) · TMDB 8.0

Noriko is perfectly happy living at home with her widowed father, Shukichi, and has no plans to marry -- that is, until her aunt Masa convinces Shukichi that unless he marries off his 27-year-old daughter soon, she will likely remain alone for the rest of her life. When Noriko resists Masa's matchmaking, Shukichi is forced to deceive his daughter and sacrifice his own happiness to do what he believes is right.

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The Heiress (1949)

🎬 Nominee⭐ Top-rated

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Dir. William Wyler · Olivia de Havilland · Montgomery Clift · Ralph Richardson · Miriam Hopkins

IMDb 8.1 (19,045 votes) · TMDB 7.8

In 1840s New York, the uneventful and boring days of the daughter of a wealthy doctor come to an end when she meets a dashing poorer man — who may or may not be after her inheritance.

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Stray Dog (1949)

⭐ Top-rated

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Dir. Akira Kurosawa · Toshirō Mifune · Takashi Shimura · Keiko Awaji · Eiko Miyoshi

IMDb 7.8 (20,923 votes) · TMDB 7.6

A bad day gets worse for young detective Murakami when a pickpocket steals his gun on a hot, crowded bus. Desperate to right the wrong, he goes undercover, scavenging Tokyo’s sweltering streets for the stray dog whose desperation has led him to a life of crime. With each step, cop and criminal’s lives become more intertwined and the investigation becomes an examination of Murakami’s own dark side.

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Twelve O'Clock High (1949)

🎬 Nominee⭐ Top-rated💰 Box office #9

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Dir. Henry King · Gregory Peck · Hugh Marlowe · Gary Merrill · Millard Mitchell

IMDb 7.7 (15,680 votes) · TMDB 7.159

In the early days of daylight bombing raids over Germany, General Frank Savage must take command of a 'hard luck' bomber group. Much of the story deals with his struggle to whip his group into a disciplined fighting unit in spite of heavy losses, and withering attacks by German fighters over their targets.

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Adam's Rib (1949)

⭐ Top-rated💰 Box office #2

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Dir. George Cukor · Spencer Tracy · Katharine Hepburn · Judy Holliday · Tom Ewell

IMDb 7.4 (24,512 votes) · TMDB 7.107

A woman's attempted murder of her uncaring husband results in everyday quarrels in the lives of Adam and Amanda, a pair of happily married lawyers who end up on opposite sides of the case in court.

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The Set-Up (1949)

⭐ Top-rated

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Dir. Robert Wise · Robert Ryan · Audrey Totter · George Tobias · Alan Baxter

IMDb 7.8 (11,287 votes) · TMDB 7.346

Expecting the usual loss, a boxing manager takes bribes from a betting gangster without telling his fighter.

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#10

A Letter to Three Wives (1949)

🎬 Nominee⭐ Top-rated💰 Box office #4

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Dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz · Ann Sothern · Linda Darnell · Jeanne Crain · Kirk Douglas

IMDb 7.6 (11,763 votes) · TMDB 7.199

A letter is addressed to three wives from their 'best friend', announcing that she's running away with one of their husbands – but she doesn't specify which one.

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#11

All the King's Men (1949)

🏆 Winner⭐ Top-rated

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Dir. Robert Rossen · John Ireland · Broderick Crawford · Joanne Dru · John Derek

IMDb 7.4 (18,187 votes) · TMDB 7.0

A man of humble beginnings and honest intentions rises to power by nefarious means. Along for the wild ride are an earnest reporter, a heretofore classy society girl, and a too-clever-for-her-own-good political flack.

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#12

On the Town (1949)

⭐ Top-rated💰 Box office #6

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Dir. Gene Kelly · Gene Kelly · Frank Sinatra · Betty Garrett · Ann Miller

IMDb 7.3 (19,951 votes) · TMDB 7.0

Three sailors wreak havoc as they search for love during a whirlwind 24-hour leave in New York City.

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#13

Little Women (1949)

💰 Box office #3

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Dir. Mervyn LeRoy · June Allyson · Peter Lawford · Margaret O'Brien · Elizabeth Taylor

IMDb 7.2 (8,981 votes) · TMDB 7.4

Four sisters come of age in America in the aftermath of the Civil War.

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#14

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)

⭐ Top-rated💰 Box office #5

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Dir. John Ford · John Wayne · Joanne Dru · John Agar · Ben Johnson

IMDb 7.2 (20,827 votes) · TMDB 6.9

On the eve of retirement, Captain Nathan Brittles takes out a last patrol to stop an impending massive Indian attack. Encumbered by women who must be evacuated, Brittles finds his mission imperiled.

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#15

Criss Cross (1949)

⭐ Top-rated

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Dir. Robert Siodmak · Burt Lancaster · Yvonne De Carlo · Dan Duryea · Stephen McNally

IMDb 7.4 (10,756 votes) · TMDB 7.099

An armored-car guard must join a robbery after being caught with his ex-wife by her gangster husband.

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#16

D.O.A. (1949)

⭐ Top-rated

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Dir. Rudolph Maté · Edmond O'Brien · Pamela Britton · Luther Adler · Beverly Garland

IMDb 7.2 (14,206 votes) · TMDB 6.885

Frank Bigelow is about to die, and he knows it. The accountant has been poisoned and has only 24 hours before the lethal concoction kills him. Determined to find out who his murderer is, Frank, with the help of his assistant and girlfriend, Paula, begins to trace back over his last steps. As he frantically tries to unravel the mystery behind his own impending demise, his sleuthing leads him to a group of crooked businessmen and another murder.

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#17

Battleground (1949)

🎬 Nominee

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Dir. William A. Wellman · Van Johnson · John Hodiak · Ricardo Montalban · George Murphy

IMDb 7.4 (8,555 votes) · TMDB 6.733

Members of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division are fighting for their country amidst the rugged terrain of Bastogne, Belgium, in December 1944. Holley and his American compatriots have already seen one of their own, Roderigues, perish under enemy fire. The men try to rebuff another series of Nazi attacks, but what they really need is a change in the weather. Without clear skies, they'll never get the air support they need.

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#18

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad poster

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)

💰 Box office #8

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Dir. Clyde Geronimi · Bing Crosby · Basil Rathbone · Eric Blore · J. Pat O'Malley

IMDb 6.8 (20,253 votes) · TMDB 6.501

The Wind in the Willows: Concise version of Kenneth Grahame's story of the same name. J. Thaddeus Toad, owner of Toad Hall, is prone to fads, such as the newfangled motor car. This desire for the very latest lands him in much trouble with the wrong crowd, and it is up to his friends, Mole, Rat and Badger to save him from himself. - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: Retelling of Washington Irving's story set in a tiny New England town. Ichabod Crane, the new schoolmaster, falls for the town beauty, Katrina Van Tassel, and the town Bully Brom Bones decides that he is a little too successful and needs "convincing" that Katrina is not for him.

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#19

Champion (1949)

💰 Box office #10

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Dir. Mark Robson · Kirk Douglas · Marilyn Maxwell · Arthur Kennedy · Paul Stewart

IMDb 7.3 (5,366 votes) · TMDB 6.658

An unscrupulous boxer fights his way to the top, but eventually alienates all of the people who helped him on the way up.

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#20

Samson and Delilah (1949)

💰 Box office #1

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Dir. Cecil B. DeMille · Hedy Lamarr · Victor Mature · George Sanders · Angela Lansbury

IMDb 6.8 (9,990 votes) · TMDB 6.6

When strongman Samson rejects the love of the beautiful Philistine woman Delilah, she seeks vengeance that brings horrible consequences they both regret.

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How scoring works: films are ranked by a composite of a weighted (Bayesian) IMDb rating — the same method as the IMDb Top 250, so a high score from few voters can't outrank a strong score from many — blended with TMDB. Box office is a tiebreaker and a badge, never part of the score. Raw IMDb ratings and vote counts are shown on each card.