We investigated thin-film growth of doped manganites by sputter deposition on SrTiO3 (1 0 0), MgO (1 0 0) and r-plane Al2O3 (1 0 1¯2) substrates and found an in-plane-oriented growth. The unit cell of the films showed distortions from the simple cubic perovskite structure, represented by a tetragonal unit cell with a? = b? = ?2a; c? = 2a. By scanning electron microscopy we investigated the growth morphology of the films. We determined the magnetotransport properties above and below room temperature. Transport at high temperatures is best described by polaron hopping.