List of horror films of the 1940s

A list of horror films released in the 1940s. After the success of Son of Frankenstein (1939), Universal horror caught a second wind and horror films would continue to be produced at a feverish pace into the mid-1940s.^[1] The early 1940s would see the debut of Lon Chaney Jr. and the "The Wolf Man", both of which would go on to become fixtures in the Universal landscape. Meanwhile, Dracula and Frankenstein's monster would appear in numerous sequels, often together in what would colloquially be referred to as "monster rally" films.^[2]

Hoping to present a viable alternative to the Universal juggernaut, RKO decided to embark on a series of its own horror films, starting with Cat People in 1942. Led by producer Val Lewton and director Jacques Tourneur, this critically acclaimed series would focus less on visible horrors and more on the psychological aspects of fear.^[3]

Horror films released in the 1940s

Title	Director	Cast	Country	Notes
1940
The Ape	William Nigh	Boris Karloff, Maris Wrixon		[4]
Before I Hang	Nick Grinde	Boris Karloff, Evelyn Keyes, Bruce Bennett		[5]
Black Friday	Arthur Lubin	Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Stanley Ridges		[6]
The Devil Bat	Jean Yarbrough	Bela Lugosi, Suzanne Kaaren, Dave O'Brien		[7]
The Door with Seven Locks	Norman Lee	Leslie Banks, Lilli Palmer, Romilly Lunge		[8]
Dr. Cyclops	Ernest B. Schoedsack	Albert Dekker, Thomas Coley, Janice Logan		[9]
The Ghost Breakers	George Marshall	Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard, Willie Best, Richard Carlson		[10]
The Invisible Man Returns	Joe May	Cedric Hardwicke, Vincent Price, Nan Grey		[11]
The Mummy's Hand	William Christy Cabanne	Dick Foran, Peggy Moran, Wallace Ford		[12]
Son of Ingagi	Richard Kahn	Zack Williams, Laura Bowman, Spencer Williams		[13]
You'll Find Out	David Butler	Kay Kyser, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi		[14]
1941
The Black Cat	Albert Rogell	Basil Rathbone, Hugh Herbert, Broderick Crawford, Bela Lugosi, Gale Sondergaard		[15]
The Devil Commands	Edward Dmytryk	Boris Karloff, Richard Fiske, Amanda Duff		[16]
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde	Victor Fleming	Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman, Lana Turner		[17]
Horror Island	George Waggner	Dick Foran, Leo Carrillo, Peggy Moran		[18]
Invisible Ghost	Joseph H. Lewis	Bela Lugosi, Polly Ann Young, John McGuire		[19]
King of the Zombies	Jean Yarbrough	Joan Woodbury, Dick Purcell, Mantan Moreland		[20]
The Mad Doctor of Market Street	Joseph H. Lewis	Una Merkel, Lionel Atwill, Nat Pendleton		[21]
Man Made Monster	George Waggner	Lionel Atwill, Lon Chaney, Jr., Anne Nagel		[22]
The Monster and the Girl	Stuart Heisler	Ellen Drew, Robert Paige, Paul Lukas		[23]
Spooks Run Wild	Phil Rosen	Bela Lugosi, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan		[24]
The Wolf Man	George Waggner	Lon Chaney, Jr., Warren William, Claude Rains, Ralph Bellamy, Evelyn Ankers		[25]
1942
The Boogie Man Will Get You	Lew Landers	Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, Jeff Donnell		[26]
Cat People	Jacques Tourneur	Simone Simon, Kent Smith, Tom Conway, Jane Randolph		[27]
The Corpse Vanishes	Wallace W. Fox	Bela Lugosi, Luana Walters, Tristram Coffin		[28]
Bowery at Midnight	Wallace Fox	Bela Lugosi, John Archer
Dr. Renault's Secret	Harry Lachman	J. Carrol Naish, John Shepperd, Lynne Roberts, George Zucco		[29]
The Ghost of Frankenstein	Erle C. Kenton	Lon Chaney, Jr., Cedric Hardwicke, Ralph Bellamy, Lionel Atwill, Bela Lugosi		[30]
The Mad Monster	Sam Newfield	Johnny Downs, George Zucco, Anne Nagel		[31]
The Mummy's Tomb	Harold Young	Lon Chaney, Jr., Dick Foran, Elyse Knox, Turhan Bey		[32]
Night Monster	Ford I. Beebe	Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, Irene Hervey, Ralph Morgan		[33]
The Undying Monster	John Brahm	James Ellison, Heather Angel, John Howard, Bramwell Fletcher		[34]
1943
The Leopard Man	Jacques Tourneur	Dennis O'Keefe, Margo, Jean Brooks
The Ape Man	William Beaudine	Bela Lugosi, Wallace Ford, Louise Currie, Minerva Urecal		[35]
Captive Wild Woman	Edward Dmytryk	Evelyn Ankers, Acquanetta, John Carradine		[36]
Carnival of Sinners	Maurice Tourneur	Antoine Balpêtré, Pierre Fresnay, André Bacque		[37]
Dead Men Walk	Sam Newfield	George Zucco, Mary Carlisle, Ned Young, Dwight Frye		[38]
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man	Roy William Neill	Lon Chaney, Jr., Ilona Massey, Patric Knowles, Lionel Atwill, Bela Lugosi		[39]
I Walked with a Zombie	Jacques Tourneur	Tom Conway, Frances Dee, James Ellison, Edith Barrett		[40]
The Mad Ghoul	James Hogan	David Bruce, Evelyn Ankers, George Zucco, Robert Armstrong		[41]
The Mysterious Doctor	Ben Stoloff	John Loder, Eleanor Parker, Lester Matthews		[42]
Phantom of the Opera	Arthur Lubin	Claude Rains, Susanna Foster, Nelson Eddy
The Return of the Vampire	Lew Landers	Bela Lugosi, Frieda Inescort, Nina Foch, Roland Varno		[43][44]
Revenge of the Zombies	Steve Sekely	John Carradine, Robert Lowery, Gale Storm, Veda Ann Borg		[45]
The Seventh Victim	Mark Robson	Kim Hunter, Tom Conway, Isabel Jewell		[46]
Son of Dracula	Robert Siodmak	Lon Chaney, Jr., Robert Paige, Louise Allbritton, Evelyn Ankers		[47]
1944
The Climax	George Waggner	Boris Karloff, Susanna Foster, Turhan Bey		[48]
Crazy Knights	William Beaudine	Billy Gilbert, Maxie Rosenbloom, Shemp Howard		[49]
Cry of the Werewolf	Henry Levin	Nina Foch, Stephen Crane, Osa Massen		[50]
The Ghost Catchers	Edward F. Cline	Ole Olsen, Chic Johnson, Gloria Jean		[51]
House of Frankenstein	Erle C. Kenton	Boris Karloff, J. Carrol Naish, Lon Chaney, Jr., John Carradine		[52]
Jungle Woman	Reginald Le Borg	Evelyn Ankers, J. Carrol Naish, Samuel S. Hinds		[53]
The Lady and the Monster	George Sherman	Vera Ralston, Richard Arlen, Mary Nash, Sidney Blackmer		[54]
The Man in Half Moon Street	Ralph Murphy	Nils Asther, Helen Walker		[55]
The Monster Maker	Sam Newfield	J. Carrol Naish, Ralph Morgan, Tala Birell		[56]
The Mummy's Curse	Leslie Goodwins	Lon Chaney, Jr., Peter Coe, Virginia Christine		[57]
The Mummy's Ghost	Reginald Le Borg	Lon Chaney, Jr., John Carradine, Ramsay Ames, Robert Lowery		[58]
Return of the Ape Man	Phil Rosen	Bela Lugosi, John Carradine, George Zucco		[59]
The Tower of the Seven Hunchbacks	Edgar Neville	Antonio Casal, Isabel de Pomés		[60]
The Uninvited	Lewis Allen	Ray Milland, Gail Russell, Ruth Hussey		[61]
Voodoo Man	William Beaudine	Bela Lugosi, John Carradine, George Zucco		[62]
Weird Woman	Reginald Le Borg	Lon Chaney, Jr., Anne Gwynne, Evelyn Ankers		[63]
1945
Dead of Night	Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden, Robert Hamer	Mervyn Johns, Michael Redgrave, Sally Ann Howes, Mary Merrall		[64]
Fog Island	Terry O. Morse	George Zucco, Lionel Atwill, Jerome Cowan		[65]
House of Dracula	Erle C. Kenton	Lon Chaney, Jr., John Carradine, Martha O'Driscoll, Lionel Atwill		[66]
Isle of the Dead	Mark Robson	Boris Karloff, Ellen Drew, Marc Cramer, Katherine Emery		[67]
The Jungle Captive	Harold Young	Otto Kruger, Amelita Ward, Phil Brown		[68]
The Picture of Dorian Gray	Albert Lewin	George Sanders, Hurd Hatfield, Donna Reed		Supernatural horror film[69]
The Vampire's Ghost	Lesley Selander	John Abbott, Charles Gordon, Peggy Stewart		[70]
Zombies on Broadway	Gordon M. Douglas	Alan Carney, Bela Lugosi, Wally Brown		[71]
1946
The Beast with Five Fingers	Robert Florey	Robert Alda, Andrea King, Peter Lorre		[72]
The Cat Creeps	Erle C. Kenton	Fred Brady, Lois Collier, Paul Kelly		[73]
The Catman of Paris	Lesley Selander	Carl Esmond, Lenore Aubert, Adele Mara		[74]
The Devil Bat's Daughter	Frank Wisbar	Rosemary La Planche, John James, Michael Hale		[75]
The Face of Marble	William Beaudine	John Carradine, Claudia Drake, Robert Shayne		[76]
The Flying Serpent	Sherman Scott	George Zucco, Ralph Lewis, Hope Kramer		[77]
House of Horrors	Jean Yarbrough	Robert Lowery, Martin Kosleck, Rondo Hatton		[78]
The Mask of Diijon	Lew Landers	Erich Von Stroheim, Jeanne Bates, William Wright		[79]
She-Wolf of London	Jean Yarbrough	Don Porter, June Lockhart, Sara Haden		[80]
The Spider Woman Strikes Back	Arthur Lubin	Brenda Joyce, Gale Sondergaard, Kirby Grant		[81]
Strangler of the Swamp	Frank Wisbar	Rosemary La Planche, Robert Barrat, Blake Edwards		[82]
Valley of the Zombies	Philip Ford	Robert Livingston, Adrian Booth, Ian Keith		[83]
1947
Scared to Death	Christy Cabanne	Bela Lugosi, George Zucco, Nat Pendleton, Molly Lamont
1948
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein	Charles Barton	Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lon Chaney, Jr.		Horror comedy[84]
The Creeper	Jean Yarbrough	Eduardo Ciannelli, Onslow Stevens, June Vincent		[85]
1949
New Version of the Ghost of Yotsuya	Keisuke Kinoshita	Kinuyo Tanaka, Ken Uehara, Hisako Yamane		[86]

References

1. Worland 2007, p. 69.
2. Hardy 1995, p. 74.
3. Worland 2007, p. 73.
4. Binion, Cavett. "The Ape". Allmovie. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
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6. Erickson, Hal. "Black Friday". Allmovie. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
7. Binion, Cavett. "The Devil Bat". Allmovie. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
8. Erickson, Hal. "The Door with Seven Locks". Allmovie. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
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10. Hardy 1995, p. 75.
11. Erickson, Hal. "The Invisible Man Returns". Allmovie. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
12. Erickson, Hal. "The Mummy's Hand". Allmovie. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
13. Brennan, Sandra. "Son of Ingagi". Allmovie. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
14. Erickson, Hal. "You'll Find Out". Allmovie. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
15. Erickson, Hal. "The Black Cat". Allmovie. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
16. Erickson, Hal. "The Devil Commands". Allmovie. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
17. Butler, Craig. "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – Review". Allmovie. Retrieved August 17, 2011.
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27. Erickson, Hal. "Cat People". Allmovie. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
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33. Huey, Steve. "Night Monster". Allmovie. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
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41. Erickson, Hal. "The Mad Ghoul". Allmovie. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
42. Hardy 1995, p. 83.
43. Prince 2004, p. 77.
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46. Erickson, Hal. "The Seventh Victim". Allmovie. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
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51. Hardy 1995, p. 85.
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53. Binion, Cavett. "Jungle Woman". Allmovie. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
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Citations

• Hallenbeck, Bruce G. (2009). Comedy-horror films: a chronological history, 1914–2008. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-3332-9.
• Hardy, Phil, ed. (1995). The Overlook Film Encyclopedia. 3. Overlook Press. ISBN 0-87951-624-0.
• Prince, Stephen (2004). The Horror Film. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0-8135-3363-5.
• Worland, Rick (2007). The Horror Film: A Brief Introduction. Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4051-3902-1.