FAVORITE FILMS BY YEAR
The 1940s are, I believe, the decade where I've seen the least amount of films. Or at least the amount I remember. Bad me. Top ten lists will eventually follow. 

1940
alphabetically
Fantasia (multiple)
His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks)
The Letter (William Wyler)
Pinnocchio (multiple)
Rebecca (Alfred Hitchcock)
The Shop Around the Corner (Ernst Lubitsch)

Have Also Seen: Kitty Foyle, Waterloo Bridge, 
Queue: My Favorite Wife, The Philadelphia Story, Strange Cargo, The Great Dictator, The Grapes of Wrath, All This and Heaven Too, Gaslight

1941
alphabetically
Ball of Fire (Howard Hawks)
Citizen Kane (Orson Welles)
Dumbo ()
How Green Was My Valley (John Ford)
The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges)
The Little Foxes (William Wyler)
Suspicion (Alfred Hitchcock) 

Have Also Seen: The Maltese Falcon, The Wolf Man, That Hamilton Woman

Queue: Blood and Sand, Here Comes Mr Jordan, Sergeant York, Sullivan's Travels, Meet John Doe, Penny Serenade

1942 The Magnificent Ambersons (Orson Welles)
runner up: Now Voyager (Irving Rapper)

1943 Casablanca (Richard Curtiz)
Runner up: Shadow of a Doubt (Alfred Hitchcock) 

1944 Meet Me In St Louis (Vincent Minnelli)
runners up: Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder) and The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (Preston Sturges)  

1945 Mildred Pierce (Richard Curtiz)
runner up:  Spellbound (Alfred Hitchcock)

1946 The Best Year of Our Lives (William Wyler)
runner up: Notorious (Alfred Hitchcock). For a long while it was my favorite Hitchcock. I haven't seen it in 20 years so memories are super fuzzy.

1947 Black Narcissus (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger)
runner up: Miracle on 34th Street (George Seaton) 

1948 Red River (Howard Hawks)
runner up: The Search (Fred Zinneman) 

1949 The Bicycle Thief (Vittoria deSica)
runner up: The Heiress (William Wyler)