Oscar Nominated Movies 1940
All Feature Films Nominated at the 1940 Oscar Ceremony
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- DirectorVictor FlemingGeorge CukorSam WoodStarsClark GableVivien LeighThomas MitchellA sheltered and manipulative Southern belle and a roguish profiteer face off in a turbulent romance as the society around them crumbles with the end of slavery and is rebuilt during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods.
- DirectorEdmund GouldingStarsBette DavisGeorge BrentHumphrey BogartA young socialite is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, and must decide whether or not she'll meet her final days with dignity.
- DirectorSam WoodSidney FranklinStarsRobert DonatGreer GarsonTerry KilburnAn aged teacher and former headmaster of a boarding school recalls his career and his personal life over the decades.
- DirectorLeo McCareyStarsIrene DunneCharles BoyerMaria OuspenskayaA French playboy and an American former nightclub singer fall in love aboard a ship.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsJames StewartJean ArthurClaude RainsA naive youth leader is appointed to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate. His idealistic plans promptly collide with corruption at home and subterfuge from his hero in Washington, but he tries to forge ahead despite attacks on his character.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsGreta GarboMelvyn DouglasIna ClaireA stern Soviet woman sent to Paris to supervise the sale of jewels seized from Russian nobles finds herself attracted to a man who represents everything she is supposed to detest.
- DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsLon Chaney Jr.Burgess MeredithBetty FieldA mentally disabled giant and his level headed guardian find work at a sadistic cowboy's ranch in depression era America.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneClaire TrevorAndy DevineA group of people traveling on a stagecoach find their journey complicated by the threat of Geronimo and learn something about each other in the process.
- DirectorVictor FlemingKing VidorStarsJudy GarlandFrank MorganRay BolgerYoung Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto are swept away by a tornado from their Kansas farm to the magical Land of Oz, and embark on a quest with three new friends to see the Wizard, who can return her to her home and fulfill the others' wishes.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsMerle OberonLaurence OlivierDavid NivenA servant in the house of Wuthering Heights tells a traveler the unfortunate tale of lovers Cathy and Heathcliff.
- DirectorBusby BerkeleyStarsMickey RooneyJudy GarlandCharles WinningerA group of vaudevillians struggling to compete with talkies hits the road hoping for a comeback. Frustrated to be left behind, all of their kids put on a show themselves to raise money for the families and to prove they've got talent, too.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsPaul MuniBette DavisBrian AherneLouis Napoleon III (Claude Rains) takes advantage of the American Civil War to circumvent the Monroe Doctrine and expand his power by helping Emperor Maximilian von Habsburg (Brian Aherne) to add Mexico to his empire.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsGary CooperRay MillandRobert PrestonThree adopted English brothers join the French Foreign Legion in North Africa after one of them steals their adoptive family's famous heirloom sapphire.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsClaudette ColbertHenry FondaEdna May OliverNewlyweds Gil and Lana Martin try to establish a farm in the Mohawk Valley but are menaced by Indians and Tories as the Revolutionary War begins.
- DirectorGarson KaninStarsGinger RogersDavid NivenCharles CoburnAn unemployed woman discovers an abandoned baby on the steps of an orphanage, and accepts an offer to take responsibility for the child in return for a job.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsHenry FondaAlice BradyMarjorie WeaverA fictionalized account of the early life of the American president as a young lawyer facing his greatest court case.
- DirectorZoltan KordaStarsJohn ClementsRalph RichardsonC. Aubrey SmithA British Army officer resigns, burning his last-day summons to war in the Sudan. Accusing him of cowardice, his girlfriend and three friends give him white feathers. To gain redemption, he shadows his friends to save their lives.
- DirectorVictor SchertzingerStarsKenny BakerJohn BarclayMartyn GreenThe son of the Mikado of Japan, a wandering minstrel, falls for a girl who is engaged to her guardian.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsBette DavisErrol FlynnOlivia de HavillandA depiction of the love/hate relationship between Queen Elizabeth I and Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex.
- DirectorHenry KosterStarsDeanna DurbinRobert StackEugene PalletteAn orphaned boarding school graduate secretly attends a prestigious ball, where she falls for the boyfriend of her snobbish cousin.
- DirectorAndrew L. StoneStarsAllan JonesMary MartinWalter ConnollyA fictionalized version of famous opera composer Victor Herbert where he witnesses the romance, stardom, parenthood, and troubled experiences of his star singers.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsCary GrantJoan FontaineVictor McLaglenIn 19th century India, three British soldiers and a native waterbearer must stop a secret mass revival of the murderous Thuggee cult before it can rampage across the land.
- DirectorGregory RatoffStarsIngrid BergmanLeslie HowardEdna BestA violinist's piano accompanist retires. He hears his daughter's piano teacher (Ingrid Bergman) play, asks her to play on his next international tour, and they fall in love.
- DirectorJack ConwayLeslie FentonStarsRobert TaylorHedy LamarrJoseph SchildkrautPlayboy Bill Carey woos a half-caste beauty in French Indochina, but her second-class legal status makes a formidable barrier.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsCary GrantJean ArthurRita HayworthAt a remote South American trading port, the manager of an air-freight company is forced to risk his pilots' lives in order to win an important contract as a traveling American showgirl stops in town.
- DirectorClarence BrownStarsMyrna LoyTyrone PowerGeorge BrentIn India, a married British aristocrat is reunited with an old flame, but she truly has her sights set on a handsome surgeon.
- DirectorHal RoachStarsBrian AherneVictor McLaglenPaul LukasAn Irish convict sentenced to hard labor in Australia escapes into the outback, and organizes a band of fellow escapees to fight a corrupt landowner.
- DirectorGeorge Nicholls Jr.StarsRichard DixGail PatrickJoan FontaineThe story of Sam Houston, hero of the Texas revolution, statesman, and first president of the Republic of Texas.
- DirectorJohn M. StahlStarsIrene DunneCharles BoyerBarbara O'NeilA concert pianist unhappily married to a mentally ill woman falls in love with a waitress.
- DirectorReinhold SchünzelStarsNelson EddyIlona MasseyCharles RugglesA Russian prince disguised as a worker and a cafe singer secretly involved in revolutionary activities fall in love.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsCharles LaughtonMaureen O'HaraCedric HardwickeIn 15th-century France, a gypsy girl is framed for murder by the infatuated Chief Justice, and only the deformed bellringer of Notre Dame Cathedral can save her.
- DirectorNorman Z. McLeodStarsConstance BennettRoland YoungBillie BurkeTo gain entry to Heaven, a ghost attempts to reunite a divorcing couple as a good deed.
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsBarbara StanwyckJoel McCreaAkim TamiroffIn 1862, Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads compete westward across the wilderness toward California.
- DirectorDave FleischerWillard BowskyOrestes CalpiniStarsJessica DragonetteLanny RossPinto ColvigA doctor washes ashore on an island inhabited by little people.
- DirectorSidney LanfieldStarsSonja HenieTyrone PowerRudy ValleeA studio publicist discovers a Minnesota skating teacher and takes her to Hollywood. She goes back to Minnesota but he follows her.
- DirectorTay GarnettStarsLoretta YoungDavid NivenHugh HerbertAnita Halstead, swept off her feet by magician Arturo, finds the results less than magical.
- DirectorRouben MamoulianStarsBarbara StanwyckAdolphe MenjouWilliam HoldenA poor young Italian man who is a virtuoso on the violin wishes to become a champion boxer to make a fortune for his family. But what is the road to success and happiness, and what is the price?
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsLouis HaywardJoan BennettWarren WilliamDespotic King Louis XIV discovers he has a twin brother who has grown up under the tutelage of his foster father, the patriotic musketeer D'Artagnan.
- DirectorHerbert WilcoxStarsAnna NeagleEdna May OliverGeorge SandersAn English nurse with a great reputation for her work in Belgian hospitals, becomes outraged at the number of Allied soldiers detained in German prisoner-of-war camps during World War I, and devises a secret plan to help hundreds escape.
- DirectorSidney SalkowCal DaltonBen HardawayStarsPhil ReganJean ParkerJerome CowanAt the New York branch of Mammoth Studios, motion picture animator Linda Fay and her boss, Bob Adams, search for a singing voice for their star cartoon, "Paddy the Pig." Linda holds auditions in her apartment, but a neighbor, disturbed by the noise, calls the police. Officers Jimmy Duffy and Joe Nash answer the call and sell Linda tickets to the policeman's ball after cautioning her to keep the noise down. As Jimmy ushers one of the singers out, he instructs him on how to sing. Linda hears his beautiful voice and eagerly awaits the ball. Linda, Bob, their pianist Sidney and secretary, Mabel Dunne, attend the ball and agree after Jimmy sings that he has the voice they need. The others then convince Linda to hire Jimmy without telling him that he is supplying the voice of a pig, but instead, letting him think that he will be a real actor. Two weeks pass as Jimmy records Paddy's songs, and he and Linda rapidly fall in love. Bob is jealous because he also loves Linda, but he realizes that there is little he can do and therefore signs Jimmy to a contract. Thrilled with the contract, Jimmy informs his family that he is quitting the police force. His parents are dismayed by his proclamation and also by his interest in Linda, whom they are afraid is too upper class for Jimmy, but their son's enthusiasm wins them over. Jimmy and Linda marry on the day of the cartoon's sneak preview, and Linda does not get a chance to tell Jimmy the truth before he sees it. All of Jimmy's family and police friends are there, and their laughter upon hearing his voice coming from the mouth of a pig wounds Jimmy to the core. That night, Joe finds Jimmy after he has gotten drunk and takes him to Linda's apartment. The next day, Jimmy bitterly accuses Linda of marrying him so that he would not break his contract, and soon after, he returns to the force. Determined to win back Jimmy, Linda moves in with his family. Jimmy counters by volunteering to work the night shift, thereby turning their schedules upside down. Bob convinces Linda to work at the studio while Jimmy is patrolling his beat, and as a week goes by, the Duffy family becomes suspicious as Linda is brought home by Bob early each morning. Meanwhile, Jimmy's cartoon is a hit and demand for a sequel grows. One afternoon, Jimmy, Linda and the family attend the policeman's picnic, and Jimmy is pleasantly surprised by the acclaim of young Paddy fans when they discover who Jimmy is. Jimmy promises Linda that they will make a fresh start, but late that night when Bob is rushing Linda home, Jimmy stops Bob's speeding car and sees his wife. Jimmy jumps to conclusions and punches Bob, after which Linda calls off their reconciliation. The next day, Jimmy's sister Trudy attempts to play peacemaker, and she sees a cartoon baby Linda has drawn with the caption "James Duffy, Jr. as I imagine him." Trudy is interviewed by reporters after she leaves Linda's apartment, and she leaks the news that Linda is pregnant. Jimmy sees the story in the newspaper and rushes to the studio, where Linda is previewing a cartoon about Paddy and his children. Jimmy is delighted that Paddy is a father, and he embraces Linda as she confirms that he is to be one too.
- DirectorSidney LanfieldStarsDon AmecheAndrea LeedsAl JolsonMore fictional than factual biography of Stephen Foster. Songwriter from Pittsburgh falls in love with the South, marries a Southern gal (Leeds), then is accused of sympathizing when the Civil War breaks out.
- DirectorArchie MayoStarsJascha HeifetzJoel McCreaAndrea LeedsA boy runs away from home and ends up at a music school for poor children. When the school suffers hard times, he enlists the aid of violinist Heifetz to save the day.
- DirectorLeslie GoodwinsBernard VorhausStarsBobby BreenAlan MowbrayRalph MorganIn the pre-Civil War South, a plantation owner dies and leaves all his possessions, including his slaves, to his young son. While the deceased treated his slaves decently, his corrupt executor abuses them unmercifully, beating them without provocation, and he is planning to sell off the father'e estate--including the slaves--at the earliest opportunity so he and his mistress can steal the money and move to France. The young boy doesn't want to sell his father's estate or break up an of the slave families, and he has to find someone to help him thwart the crooked executor's plans.