1
Nazi Concentration Camps
1945· 59m· Documentary, History, War· en
7.759
Best Documentary Movies of the 1940s
This collection ranks 938 documentary movies released in the 1940s. The list is ranked using a weighted combination of audience ratings, vote volume and popularity data, so movies with only a handful of votes never outrank widely acclaimed films. The #1 film is Nazi Concentration Camps.
938 qualifying moviesRanked using a weighted combination of ratings, vote volume and popularity data
- 2
Breakdowns of 1944
1944· 6m· Documentary, Comedy· en
6.52 - 3
Why We Fight: Prelude to War
1942· 53m· Documentary, War· en
6.573 - 4
The World at War
1942· 1h 6m· Documentary, War· en
6.82 - 5
People of the Po Valley
1947· 11m· Documentary· it
6.450 - 6
Blood of the Beasts
1949· 23m· Documentary· fr
7.583 - 7
After Mein Kampf
1940· 55m· Documentary, War, Drama· en
—0 - 8
Jammin' the Blues
1944· 10m· Documentary, Music· en
6.930 - 9
The Memphis Belle
1944· 45m· Documentary, War· en
6.745 - 10
Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse
1940· 8m· Documentary· en
6.719 - 11
The Gulls
1944· 18m· Documentary· sv
6.01 - 12
Let There Be Light
1946· 58m· Documentary, War· en
7.342 - 13
Why We Fight: The Battle of Russia
1943· 1h 23m· Documentary, War· en
6.935 - 14
Breakdowns of 1949
1949· 10m· Documentary, Comedy· en
6.01 - 15
Freshwater Assassins
1947· 24m· Documentary· fr
6.315 - 16
Eyes of the Navy
1940· 20m· Documentary· en
7.26 - 17
Quicker'n a Wink
1940· 10m· Documentary· en
6.312 - 18
A Tribute to the Will Rogers Memorial Hospital
1940· 3m· Documentary· en
6.01 - 19
Attack in the Pacific
1944· 52m· Documentary· en
—0 - 20
Prospecting for Petroleum
1946· 22m· Documentary, Animation· en
—0 - 21
War Department Report
1943· 47m· Documentary· en
5.52 - 22
The Atom Strikes!
1945· 31m· Documentary, War· en
5.36 - 23
Know Your Enemy: Japan
1945· 1h 3m· Documentary, War, History· en
5.815 - 24
Historic Maryland
1941· 9m· Documentary· en
—0 - 25
December 7th
1943· 32m· History, War, Action· en
5.826 - 26
One Day of War
1942· 1h 20m· War, Documentary· ru
—0 - 27
Over the Andes
1943· 9m· Documentary· en
—0 - 28
Plan for Destruction
1943· 22m· Documentary, History· en
5.84 - 29
The Old South
1940· 11m· Documentary, History· en
5.86 - 30
Time to Kill
1945· 23m· War, Documentary· en
—0 - 31
Ontario: 'Land of Lakes'
1949· 10m· Documentary· en
—0 - 32
The Private Life of a Cat
1946· 22m· Documentary· xx
7.243 - 33
Diary of a Sergeant
1945· 22m· Documentary· en
6.01 - 34
Northward, Ho!
1940· 10m· Documentary· en
5.01 - 35
The Autobiography of a 'Jeep'
1943· 10m· Documentary· en
5.26 - 36
The Shining Future
1944· 20m· Music, Documentary· en
4.02 - 37
The Dreamed Valley - Soria Moria
1948· 11m· Documentary· sv
5.73 - 38
The Vampire
1945· 9m· Documentary· fr
6.538 - 39
Why We Fight: The Nazis Strike
1943· 42m· War, Documentary· en
6.429 - 40
Electronic Control System of the C-1 Auto Pilot Part 1: Basic Electricity as Applied to Electronic Control System
1943· 19m· War, Documentary, Animation· en
—0 - 41
Why We Fight: The Battle of Britain
1943· 53m· Documentary, War· en
6.821 - 42
Kirjailijoitamme
1943· 14m· Documentary· fi
—0 - 43
Tunisian Victory
1944· 1h 15m· Documentary, War· en
6.417 - 44
Seal Island
1948· 27m· Documentary· en
7.212 - 45
Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today
1948· 1h 18m· Documentary, History· en
5.73 - 46
The True Glory
1945· 1h 27m· Documentary, War· en
6.519 - 47
That Justice Be Done
1945· 10m· Documentary, War· en
5.02 - 48
Why We Fight: Divide and Conquer
1943· 57m· Documentary, War· en
7.018 - 49
South of the Border with Disney
1942· 32m· Documentary, Family· en
8.36 - 50
Men and Dust
1940· 16m· Documentary· en
5.54
Related collections
- Best Movies of the 1940s — Top Rated Films
- Best Documentary Movies of All Time — Top Rated Films
- Best Documentary Movies of the 1930s — Ranked
- Best Documentary Movies of the 1950s — Ranked
- Best Drama Movies of the 1940s — Ranked
- Best Comedy Movies of the 1940s — Ranked
- Best Horror Movies of the 1940s — Ranked
- Best Animation Movies of the 1940s — Ranked
- Best Music Movies of the 1940s — Ranked
- Best Romance Movies of the 1940s — Ranked
- Best Thriller Movies of the 1940s — Ranked
- Best Action Movies of the 1940s — Ranked
Frequently asked questions
How many documentary movies came out in the 1940s?
938 documentary movies from the 1940s carry real rating data.
How are these documentary films ranked?
By a weighted score combining audience ratings, vote volume and popularity. Movies with very few votes are statistically shrunk toward the global average, so they cannot dominate the top of the list.
What is the highest-rated documentary movie of the 1940s?
Nazi Concentration Camps holds the top position in this collection.