1949 Oscars: From the best to the worst nominees
by cafg-0 | created - 2 weeks ago | updated - 2 weeks ago | PublicNominated films I haven't seen: Kenji comes home
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1. The Heiress (1949)
Not Rated | 115 min | Drama, Romance
A naive young woman falls for a handsome young man her emotionally abusive father suspects is only a fortune hunter.
Director: William Wyler | Stars: Olivia de Havilland, Montgomery Clift, Ralph Richardson, Miriam Hopkins
Votes: 17,344
2. Bicycle Thieves (1948)
Not Rated | 89 min | Drama
In post-war Italy, a working-class man's bicycle is stolen, endangering his efforts to find work. He and his son set out to find it.
Director: Vittorio De Sica | Stars: Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell, Elena Altieri
Votes: 175,218 | Gross: $0.33M
3. A Letter to Three Wives (1949)
Passed | 103 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A letter is addressed to three wives from their "best friend" Addie Ross, announcing that she is running away with one of their husbands - but she does not say which one.
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz | Stars: Jeanne Crain, Linda Darnell, Ann Sothern, Kirk Douglas
Votes: 10,804
4. Paisan (1946)
Not Rated | 120 min | Drama, War
American military personnel interact warily with a variety of Italian locals over a year and a half in the push north during the Italian Campaign of WWII as German forces make their retreat.
Director: Roberto Rossellini | Stars: Carmela Sazio, Gar Moore, William Tubbs, Robert Van Loon
Votes: 9,559
5. All the King's Men (1949)
Approved | 110 min | Drama, Film-Noir
The rise and fall of a corrupt politician, who makes his friends richer and retains power by dint of a populist appeal.
Director: Robert Rossen | Stars: Broderick Crawford, John Ireland, Joanne Dru, John Derek
Votes: 16,594
6. The Fallen Idol (1948)
Approved | 95 min | Drama, Film-Noir, Mystery
A butler working in a foreign embassy in London falls under suspicion when his wife accidentally falls to her death, the only witness being an impressionable young boy.
Director: Carol Reed | Stars: Ralph Richardson, Michèle Morgan, Sonia Dresdel, Bobby Henrey
Votes: 9,670 | Gross: $0.34M
7. White Heat (1949)
Not Rated | 114 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A psychopathic criminal with a mother complex makes a daring break from prison and leads his old gang in a chemical plant payroll heist.
Director: Raoul Walsh | Stars: James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, Edmond O'Brien, Margaret Wycherly
Votes: 35,764
8. On the Town (1949)
Passed | 98 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Three sailors wreak havoc as they search for love during a whirlwind 24-hour leave in New York City.
Directors: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly | Stars: Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett, Ann Miller
Votes: 18,789
9. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)
Passed | 104 min | Western
Captain Nathan Brittles, on the eve of retirement, takes out a last patrol to stop an impending massive Indian attack. Encumbered by women who must be evacuated, Brittles finds his mission imperiled.
Director: John Ford | Stars: John Wayne, Joanne Dru, John Agar, Ben Johnson
Votes: 19,329
10. Champion (1949)
Passed | 99 min | Drama, Film-Noir, Sport
Boxer Midge Kelly rises to fame...mainly by stepping on other people.
Director: Mark Robson | Stars: Kirk Douglas, Arthur Kennedy, Marilyn Maxwell, Paul Stewart
Votes: 4,759
11. Madame Bovary (1949)
Passed | 114 min | Drama, Romance
A provincial doctor's wife's romantic illusions about life and social status lead her to betray her naive husband, take on lovers, and run up ruinous debts.
Director: Vincente Minnelli | Stars: Jennifer Jones, James Mason, Van Heflin, Louis Jourdan
Votes: 2,911
12. The Window (1949)
Approved | 73 min | Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller
To avoid the heat of a sweltering summer night a 9-year-old Manhattan boy decides to sleep on the fire escape and witnesses a murder, but no one will believe him.
Director: Ted Tetzlaff | Stars: Bobby Driscoll, Barbara Hale, Arthur Kennedy, Paul Stewart
Votes: 4,857
13. Edward, My Son (1949)
Not Rated | 112 min | Drama, Romance
A businessman's desire to protect his corrupt son's fortune leads to tragedy.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Deborah Kerr, Ian Hunter, James Donald
Votes: 1,411
14. Passport to Pimlico (1949)
Approved | 84 min | Comedy
Residents of a part of London declare independence after they discover an old treaty, which leads to the need for a "Passport to Pimlico".
Director: Henry Cornelius | Stars: Stanley Holloway, Betty Warren, Barbara Murray, Paul Dupuis
Votes: 5,288
15. Twelve O'Clock High (1949)
Not Rated | 132 min | Drama, War
A tough-as-nails general (Gregory Peck as General Savage) takes over a B-17 bomber unit suffering from low morale and whips them into fighting shape.
Director: Henry King | Stars: Gregory Peck, Hugh Marlowe, Gary Merrill, Millard Mitchell
Votes: 15,807
16. Beyond the Forest (1949)
Approved | 97 min | Drama, Film-Noir, Romance
Resentful of her small-town life, a married woman schemes to run off with a rich businessman.
Director: King Vidor | Stars: Bette Davis, Joseph Cotten, David Brian, Ruth Roman
Votes: 2,772
17. Battleground (1949)
Approved | 118 min | Action, Drama, History
True tale about a squad of the 101st Airborne Division coping with being trapped by the Germans in the besieged city of Bastogne, Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge in December of 1944.
Director: William A. Wellman | Stars: Van Johnson, John Hodiak, Ricardo Montalban, George Murphy
Votes: 7,865 | Gross: $10.29M
18. It Happens Every Spring (1949)
Approved | 87 min | Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi
A scientist discovers a formula that makes a baseball which is repelled by wood. He promptly sets out to exploit his discovery.
Director: Lloyd Bacon | Stars: Ray Milland, Jean Peters, Paul Douglas, Ed Begley
Votes: 1,898
19. Pinky (1949)
Approved | 102 min | Drama
A light-skinned black woman falls in love with a white doctor, though he is unaware of her true race.
Directors: Elia Kazan, John Ford | Stars: Jeanne Crain, Ethel Barrymore, Ethel Waters, William Lundigan
Votes: 3,414 | Gross: $4.20M
20. Saraband (1948)
Approved | 96 min | Biography, Drama, History
Young Sophie Dorothea marries Prince George Louis but it's far from a love match. Then she falls for Swedish Count Philip Christoph von Königsmark.
Director: Basil Dearden | Stars: Stewart Granger, Joan Greenwood, Flora Robson, Françoise Rosay
Votes: 624
21. Little Women (1949)
Approved | 122 min | Drama, Family, Romance
The four daughters of a New England family fight for happiness during and after the Civil War.
Director: Mervyn LeRoy | Stars: June Allyson, Peter Lawford, Margaret O'Brien, Elizabeth Taylor
Votes: 8,235 | Gross: $7.47M
22. Come to the Stable (1949)
Approved | 94 min | Comedy, Drama
Two nuns arrive unannounced in the small New England town of Bethlehem, where they recruit various townspeople to help them build a children's hospital.
Director: Henry Koster | Stars: Loretta Young, Celeste Holm, Hugh Marlowe, Elsa Lanchester
Votes: 1,608
23. Prince of Foxes (1949)
Approved | 107 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
An unscrupulous agent for the Borgias suffers a change of heart when asked to betray a noble count and his much younger, very beautiful wife.
Director: Henry King | Stars: Tyrone Power, Orson Welles, Wanda Hendrix, Marina Berti
Votes: 1,978 | Gross: $2.55M
24. Jolson Sings Again (1949)
96 min | Biography, Music
In this sequel to The Jolson Story, we pick up the singer's career just as he has returned to the stage after a premature retirement. But his wife has left him and the appeal of the ... See full summary »
Director: Henry Levin | Stars: Larry Parks, Barbara Hale, William Demarest, Ludwig Donath
Votes: 724
25. The Hasty Heart (1949)
102 min | Drama, War
In the final days of WW2, in a M.A.S.H. unit in Burma, a seriously wounded corporal watches in dismay as fellow soldiers pack-up to return home but a caring nurse and five remaining soldiers bring him solace.
Director: Vincent Sherman | Stars: Ronald Reagan, Patricia Neal, Richard Todd, Anthony Nicholls
Votes: 1,550
26. The Barkleys of Broadway (1949)
Passed | 109 min | Comedy, Musical
A married musical team splits up so the wife can become a serious actress.
Director: Charles Walters | Stars: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Oscar Levant, Billie Burke
Votes: 3,502
27. So Dear to My Heart (1948)
Passed | 79 min | Animation, Drama, Family
This heartwarming classic tells the tale of a country boy who adopts a mischevious black lamb and learns valuable lessons about love and dedication.
Directors: Harold D. Schuster, Hamilton Luske | Stars: Burl Ives, Beulah Bondi, Bobby Driscoll, Luana Patten
Votes: 1,677
28. Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)
Approved | 100 min | Action, Drama, Romance
Haunted by personal demons, Marine Sgt. John Stryker is hated and feared by his men, who see him as a cold-hearted sadist. But when their boots hit the beaches, they begin to understand the reason for Stryker's rigid form of discipline.
Director: Allan Dwan | Stars: John Wayne, John Agar, Adele Mara, Forrest Tucker
Votes: 11,412
29. Once More, My Darling (1949)
92 min | Comedy
An actor is recalled to active duty with the Army's C.I.D. to find the thief who stole historical jewels in occupied Germany and the trail leads to the boyfriend of a young debutante from Bel Air.
Directors: Robert Montgomery, Michael Gordon | Stars: Robert Montgomery, Ann Blyth, Jane Cowl, Charles McGraw
Votes: 235
30. Mighty Joe Young (1949)
Approved | 94 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
A young woman who has raised a giant gorilla from an infant brings him to Hollywood years later seeking her fortune.
Director: Ernest B. Schoedsack | Stars: Terry Moore, Ben Johnson, Robert Armstrong, Mr. Joseph Young
Votes: 5,786
31. Tulsa (1949)
Approved | 90 min | Drama, Western
In Tulsa, after a rancher dies during a feud with a major oil company, his daughter, driven by revenge, starts digging for oil herself.
Director: Stuart Heisler | Stars: Susan Hayward, Robert Preston, Pedro Armendáriz, Lloyd Gough
Votes: 1,359
32. My Foolish Heart (1949)
Approved | 98 min | Drama, Romance
After being visited by an old friend, a woman recalls her true love, the man she met and lost years ago.
Director: Mark Robson | Stars: Dana Andrews, Susan Hayward, Kent Smith, Lois Wheeler
Votes: 1,296
33. It's a Great Feeling (1949)
Passed | 85 min | Comedy, Music
A waitress at the Warner Bros. commissary is anxious to break into pictures. She thinks her big break may have arrived when two actors agree to help her.
Director: David Butler | Stars: Doris Day, Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson, Bill Goodwin
Votes: 1,977
34. Daybreak in Udi (1949)
Approved | 47 min | Documentary
This 47-minute documentary, financed by HRH's government, won an Oscar in the special category, and most of it was later edited into a 1953 two-segment documentary called "Savage World" by ... See full summary »
Director: Terry Bishop | Stars: E.R. Chadwick, Harford Anerobi, Fanny Elumeze, Joseph Amalu
Votes: 93
35. The Stratton Story (1949)
Passed | 106 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
Star major league pitcher Monty Stratton loses a leg in a hunting accident, but becomes determined to leave the game on his own terms.
Director: Sam Wood | Stars: James Stewart, June Allyson, Frank Morgan, Agnes Moorehead
Votes: 3,342
36. Adventures of Don Juan (1948)
Passed | 110 min | Action, Adventure, Romance
The great lover Don Juan comes to the assistance of his queen.
Director: Vincent Sherman | Stars: Errol Flynn, Viveca Lindfors, Robert Douglas, Alan Hale
Votes: 3,540 | Gross: $4.72M
37. Neptune's Daughter (1949)
Not Rated | 95 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A swimsuit fashion designer is determined to protect her scatterbrained sister from a South American heartbreaker, but a case of mistaken identity complicates matters.
Director: Edward Buzzell | Stars: Esther Williams, Red Skelton, Ricardo Montalban, Betty Garrett
Votes: 1,747
38. Look for the Silver Lining (1949)
Approved | 106 min | Biography, Drama, Musical
Marilyn Miller grows up in a showbiz family and hits Broadway before she is sixteen. She falls in love with her dancer-mentor Jack, but he is married. When she marries her stage partner Frank he soon is called to arms in World War I.
Director: David Butler | Stars: June Haver, Ray Bolger, Gordon MacRae, Charles Ruggles
Votes: 432
39. Sand (1949)
Approved | 78 min | Action, Drama, Western
Jeff Keane's expensive showhorse escapes from a train and runs wild in the Colorado wilderness. Keane searches for the horse while the horse learns the ways of the wild.
Director: Louis King | Stars: Mark Stevens, Coleen Gray, Rory Calhoun, Charley Grapewin
Votes: 120
40. Mother Is a Freshman (1949)
81 min | Comedy, Romance
In order to afford her daughter's college tuition, a woman enrolls herself at the same school aided by a rare large bursary but they both fall in love with the same cute English professor.
Director: Lloyd Bacon | Stars: Loretta Young, Van Johnson, Rudy Vallee, Barbara Lawrence
Votes: 457
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