Oscar-winning films don’t always stand the test of time – some disappear from memory almost instantly while others become rightful classics celebrated for decades to come. But, for sure, they will always be the films that won that particularly coveted award.
Here are the Best Picture Oscar-winning films from 1936 to 1945 and where to stream them currently.
Enjoy!
Oscar-winning films: quick links
Best Picture Oscar-winning films 1936 to 1945
Mutiny on the Bounty – 1936 winner
Film (1935). Frank Lloyd’s hugely successful historical adventure drama tells the story of disgruntled first mate Fletcher Christian, who leads a revolt against his nasty commander, Captain Bligh.
One of MGM’s biggest hits of the 1930s, it’s based (pretty loosely) on the real-life 1789 mutiny, and was nominated for eight Oscars.
Starring Charles Laughton, Clark Gable and Franchot Tone. Watch the trailer.
Available to stream on Apple TV+ (rental)
The Great Ziegfeld – 1937 winner
Film (1936). Robert Z Leonard’s musical drama blends a fictionalised account of the American Broadway impresario Florenz Ziegfeld Jr with a cinematic adaptation of the impresario’s theatrical revue, Ziegfeld Follies, which ran on and off from 1907 to 1931.
For plot, we have the late Ziegfeld Jr. looking down from Heaven and arguing for a revival of the revue.
Starring William Powell, Myrna Loy and Luise Rainer. Watch the trailer.
Available to stream on Apple TV+ (rental).
The Life of Emile Zola – 1938 winner
Film (1937). William Dieterle’s biopic about the author Émile Zola was celebrated at the time as the greatest biographical film ever made.
Set in the mid-to-late 19th century, it covers Zola’s early friendship with the painter Paul Cézanne and his rise to writerly fame. It also explores his involvement in the scandalous Dreyfus affair.
Starring Paul Muni, Gloria Holden and Gale Sondergaard. Watch the trailer.
Currently unavailable for streaming.
You Can’t Take It With You – 1939 winner
Film (1938). Frank Capra’s romantic comedy centres on two lovers from opposite sides of the tracks, kind of: a man from a wealthy (and snobby) family and a woman from a loving but eccentric family.
A critical and commercial winner, and in addition to winning Best Picture, it gave Capra his third Best Director Oscar in five years, following It Happened One Night (1934) and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936).
Starring Jean Arthyr, Lionel Barrymore and James Stewart. Watch the trailer.
Available to stream on Apple TV+ (rental)
Gone With the Wind – 1940 winner
Film (1939). Victor Fleming’s epic historical romance set in the American South during the Civil War focuses on the strong-willed daughter of a plantation owner, Scarlet O’Hara, and – in time – her marriage to Rhett Butler.
The film had a troubled production, beset by delays, including for the casting of O’Hara. It was criticised on release by Black commentators for its depiction of Black people and for sanitising the realities of slavery – a concern that continues to this day.
In 2020, the film was removed from HBO Max in response to renewed concerns. It has since been reinstated on Max, now with an introductory disclaimer that discusses its historical context, particularly its racist depictions of slavery.
Available to stream on Max.
Rebecca – 1941 winner
Film (1940). Alfred Hitchcock’s first American film was a winner: a gothic tale about an aristocratic widower, the young woman who will become his second wife, and his dead but definitely not forgotten first wife, Rebecca.
It was nominated for 11 Oscars, winning two. Hitchcock himself was nominated in the Best Director category five times but didn’t ever win the prize.
Starring Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine and Judith Anderson. Watch the trailer.
Available to stream on Filmzie.
How Green Was My Valley – 1942 winner
Film (1941). This John Ford Drama, adapted from the novel of the same name by Richard Llewellyn, invites us into the lives of a Welsh mining valley, as seen through the eyes of their youngest son, Huw, in the late Victorian years, documenting the end of of an era.
It won five of the ten Oscars it was nominated for, winning Best Picture – amazingly – over the Orson Welles’ classic, and frequently described as the best film ever, Citizen Cane.
Starring Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O’Hara, Donald Crisp and Anna Lee. Watch the trailer.
Available to buy on Apple TV+.
Mrs. Miniver – 1943 winner
Film (1942). Again inspired by a novel of the same name, this time by Jan Struther, William Wyler’s romantic war drama takes a look at how the Second World War affects a British housewife in rural England.
It was the highest-grossing film in the year of its release, won six Oscars, and was the first World War Two film to win Best Picture.
Starring Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Teresa Wright and May Whitty. Watch the trailer.
Available to stream on Apple TV+ (rental)
Casablanca – 1944 winner
Film (1943). Michael Curtiz’s enduring romantic drama, set and filmed during World War Two, centres on an American expat torn between his love for a woman and helping a Czech resistance leader (who just so happens to be her husband) escape from Casablanca.
It was released without great expectations in 1943 but has since steadily grown in reputation and regularly sits atop ‘best ever’ movie lists.
Surely it must be one of the most commonly quoted films too, with lines such as ‘Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine,’ ‘We’ll always have Paris,’ and – of course – ‘Here’s looking at you, kid,’ still doing the rounds more than 80 years later.
Starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid. Watch the trailer.
Currently not available for streaming.
Going My Way – 1945 winner
Film (1944). Leo McCarey’s musical dramedy centres on the changes that take place when a young up-and-coming priest inherits the parish of an ageing veteran. Its huge commercial and critical success paved the way for its star, Bing Crosby, who sings five of the songs, to become the hottest box-office star for years to come.
A sequel, The Bells of St. Mary’s, was released the following year, which – though popular – failed to hit the heights of its predecessor.
Starring Bing Crosby, Ingrid Bergman, Henry Travers and William Gargan. Watch the trailer.
Available to stream on Apple TV+ (rental)
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