Best of 1950s
by jo-kallinikos | created - 12 Apr 2011 | updated - 09 May 2015 | PublicGreatest movies of 1950s
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1. Umberto D. (1952)
Not Rated | 89 min | Drama
An elderly man and his dog struggle to survive on his government pension in Rome.
Director: Vittorio De Sica | Stars: Carlo Battisti, Maria Pia Casilio, Lina Gennari, Ileana Simova
Votes: 28,117 | Gross: $0.07M
2. The Road (1954)
Not Rated | 108 min | Drama
A care-free girl is sold to a traveling entertainer, consequently enduring physical and emotional pain along the way.
Director: Federico Fellini | Stars: Anthony Quinn, Giulietta Masina, Richard Basehart, Aldo Silvani
Votes: 66,513
3. Touch of Evil (1958)
PG-13 | 95 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A stark, perverse story of murder, kidnapping and police corruption in a Mexican border town.
Director: Orson Welles | Stars: Charlton Heston, Orson Welles, Janet Leigh, Joseph Calleia
Votes: 109,686 | Gross: $2.24M
4. Forbidden Games (1952)
Not Rated | 86 min | Comedy, Drama, War
A young French girl orphaned in a German air attack is befriended by the son of a poor farmer, and together they try to come to terms with the realities of death.
Director: René Clément | Stars: Georges Poujouly, Brigitte Fossey, Amédée, Laurence Badie
Votes: 13,085 | Gross: $0.01M
5. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
Passed | 110 min | Drama, Film-Noir
A screenwriter develops a dangerous relationship with a faded film star determined to make a triumphant return.
Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim, Nancy Olson
Votes: 236,136
6. Diabolique (1955)
Not Rated | 117 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
The wife and mistress of a loathed school principal plan to murder him with what they believe is the perfect alibi.
Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot | Stars: Simone Signoret, Véra Clouzot, Paul Meurisse, Charles Vanel
Votes: 69,302 | Gross: $1.09M
7. Night Train (1959)
99 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Jerzy enters a train set for the Baltic coast. He seems to be on the run from something - as does the strange woman with whom he must share a sleeping compartment.
Director: Jerzy Kawalerowicz | Stars: Lucyna Winnicka, Leon Niemczyk, Teresa Szmigielówna, Zbigniew Cybulski
Votes: 3,618
8. ...And God Created Woman (1956)
Approved | 90 min | Drama, Romance
In sunny St. Tropez, a young woman loves one brother but marries the other.
Director: Roger Vadim | Stars: Brigitte Bardot, Curd Jürgens, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Jane Marken
Votes: 9,360 | Gross: $2.00M
9. Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
Not Rated | 161 min | Drama, Mystery
An upstate Michigan lawyer defends a soldier who claims he killed an innkeeper due to temporary insanity after the victim raped his wife. What is the truth, and will he win his case?
Director: Otto Preminger | Stars: James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, Arthur O'Connell
Votes: 71,242 | Gross: $11.90M
10. Nights of Cabiria (1957)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama
A waifish prostitute wanders the streets of Rome looking for true love but finds only heartbreak.
Director: Federico Fellini | Stars: Giulietta Masina, François Périer, Franca Marzi, Dorian Gray
Votes: 51,869 | Gross: $0.75M
11. Roman Holiday (1953)
Passed | 118 min | Comedy, Romance
A bored and sheltered princess escapes her guardians and falls in love with an American newsman in Rome.
Director: William Wyler | Stars: Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, Eddie Albert, Hartley Power
Votes: 147,487
12. The Wages of Fear (1953)
Not Rated | 131 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
In a decrepit South American village, four men are hired to transport an urgent nitroglycerine shipment without the equipment that would make it safe.
Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot | Stars: Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Peter van Eyck, Folco Lulli
Votes: 66,462
13. Rashomon (1950)
Not Rated | 88 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The rape of a bride and the murder of her samurai husband are recalled from the perspectives of a bandit, the bride, the samurai's ghost and a woodcutter.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Machiko Kyô, Masayuki Mori, Takashi Shimura
Votes: 180,163 | Gross: $0.10M
14. Rififi (1955)
Not Rated | 118 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Four men plan a technically perfect crime, but the human element intervenes...
Director: Jules Dassin | Stars: Jean Servais, Carl Möhner, Robert Manuel, Janine Darcey
Votes: 36,811 | Gross: $0.06M
15. Ashes and Diamonds (1958)
Not Rated | 103 min | Drama, Romance, War
As World War II and the German occupation ends, the Polish resistance and the Soviet forces turn on each other in an attempt to take over leadership in Communist Poland.
Director: Andrzej Wajda | Stars: Zbigniew Cybulski, Ewa Krzyzewska, Waclaw Zastrzezynski, Adam Pawlikowski
Votes: 13,443
16. The Swindle (1955)
Not Rated | 92 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A trio of con-men led by a lonesome swindler must deal with their job and family pressures.
Director: Federico Fellini | Stars: Broderick Crawford, Richard Basehart, Giulietta Masina, Franco Fabrizi
Votes: 6,885
17. Ballad of a Soldier (1959)
Not Rated | 88 min | Drama, Romance, War
Young Russian soldier Alyosha earns a medal, but asks to visit his mother instead. His journey recounts various kinds of love during wartime.
Director: Grigoriy Chukhray | Stars: Vladimir Ivashov, Zhanna Prokhorenko, Antonina Maksimova, Nikolay Kryuchkov
Votes: 11,276
18. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
Approved | 91 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Showgirls Lorelei Lee and Dorothy Shaw travel to Paris, pursued by a private detective hired by the suspicious father of Lorelei's fiancé, as well as a rich, enamored old man and many other doting admirers.
Director: Howard Hawks | Stars: Jane Russell, Marilyn Monroe, Charles Coburn, Elliott Reid
Votes: 42,950 | Gross: $12.00M
19. Pickpocket (1959)
Not Rated | 76 min | Crime, Drama
Michel passes the time by picking pockets, careful to never be caught despite being watched by the police. His friend Jacques may suspect, while both men may have their eyes on Jeanne, the pretty neighbor of Michel's ailing mother.
Director: Robert Bresson | Stars: Martin LaSalle, Marika Green, Jean Pélégri, Dolly Scal
Votes: 25,302
20. The 400 Blows (1959)
Not Rated | 99 min | Crime, Drama
A young boy, left without attention, delves into a life of petty crime.
Director: François Truffaut | Stars: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Albert Rémy, Claire Maurier, Guy Decomble
Votes: 127,941
21. The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
Approved | 78 min | Comedy, Crime
A meek bank clerk who oversees the shipment of bullion joins with an eccentric neighbor to steal gold bars and smuggle them out of the country as miniature Eiffel Towers.
Director: Charles Crichton | Stars: Alec Guinness, Stanley Holloway, Sidney James, Alfie Bass
Votes: 15,516
22. The Bullocks (1953)
Not Rated | 104 min | Comedy, Drama
A character study of five young men at crucial turning points in their lives in a small town in Italy.
Director: Federico Fellini | Stars: Alberto Sordi, Franco Fabrizi, Franco Interlenghi, Leopoldo Trieste
Votes: 19,885 | Gross: $0.10M
23. 12 Angry Men (1957)
Approved | 96 min | Crime, Drama
The jury in a New York City murder trial is frustrated by a single member whose skeptical caution forces them to more carefully consider the evidence before jumping to a hasty verdict.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Martin Balsam, John Fiedler
Votes: 863,325 | Gross: $4.36M
24. Room at the Top (1958)
Not Rated | 115 min | Drama, Romance
An ambitious young accountant plots to wed a wealthy factory owner's daughter despite falling in love with a married older woman.
Director: Jack Clayton | Stars: Laurence Harvey, Simone Signoret, Heather Sears, Donald Wolfit
Votes: 7,299
25. North by Northwest (1959)
Approved | 136 min | Action, Adventure, Mystery
A New York City advertising executive goes on the run after being mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and falls for a woman whose loyalties he begins to doubt.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Jessie Royce Landis
Votes: 345,675 | Gross: $13.28M
26. General Della Rovere (1959)
Not Rated | 129 min | Drama, War
Bardone, a petty con man, is arrested by the Gestapo and coerced into impersonating a partisan leader in order to expose another resistance organizer.
Director: Roberto Rossellini | Stars: Vittorio De Sica, Hannes Messemer, Sandra Milo, Giovanna Ralli
Votes: 3,674
27. The Young and the Damned (1950)
Not Rated | 80 min | Crime, Drama
A group of juvenile delinquents live a violent and crime-filled life in the festering slums of Mexico City, as the morals of young Pedro are gradually corrupted and destroyed by the others.
Director: Luis Buñuel | Stars: Alfonso Mejía, Roberto Cobo, Estela Inda, Miguel Inclán
Votes: 21,973
28. The Cranes Are Flying (1957)
Not Rated | 95 min | Drama, Romance, War
Veronica plans a rendezvous with her lover, Boris, at the bank of river, only for him to be drafted into World War II shortly thereafter.
Director: Mikhail Kalatozov | Stars: Tatyana Samoylova, Aleksey Batalov, Vasiliy Merkurev, Aleksandr Shvorin
Votes: 19,740 | Gross: $0.02M
29. Look Back in Anger (1959)
Approved | 98 min | Drama
A disillusioned, angry university graduate comes to terms with his grudge against middle-class life and values.
Director: Tony Richardson | Stars: Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, Mary Ure, Edith Evans
Votes: 4,361
30. The Killing (1956)
Approved | 84 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Crook Johnny Clay assembles a five-man team to plan and execute a daring racetrack robbery.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Vince Edwards, Jay C. Flippen
Votes: 97,346
31. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
Not Rated | 108 min | Drama
Brick is an alcoholic ex-football player who drinks his days away and resists the affections of his wife. A reunion with his terminal father jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.
Director: Richard Brooks | Stars: Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Burl Ives, Jack Carson
Votes: 53,357 | Gross: $17.57M
32. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
PG | 122 min | Drama
Disturbed Blanche DuBois moves in with her sister in New Orleans and is tormented by her brutish brother-in-law while her reality crumbles around her.
Director: Elia Kazan | Stars: Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter, Karl Malden
Votes: 114,231 | Gross: $8.00M
33. High Noon (1952)
PG | 85 min | Drama, Thriller, Western
A town Marshal, despite the disagreements of his newlywed bride and the townspeople around him, must face a gang of deadly killers alone at "high noon" when the gang leader, an outlaw he "sent up" years ago, arrives on the noon train.
Director: Fred Zinnemann | Stars: Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly, Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Bridges
Votes: 110,060 | Gross: $9.45M
34. Some Like It Hot (1959)
Passed | 121 min | Comedy, Music, Romance
After two male musicians witness a mob hit, they flee the state in an all-female band disguised as women, but further complications set in.
Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft
Votes: 283,195 | Gross: $25.00M
35. Kanal (1957)
Not Rated | 91 min | Drama, War
In 1944, during the Warsaw uprising against the Nazis, Polish Lieutenant Zadra and his resistance fighters use Warsaw's sewer system to escape the German encirclement.
Director: Andrzej Wajda | Stars: Teresa Izewska, Tadeusz Janczar, Wienczyslaw Glinski, Tadeusz Gwiazdowski
Votes: 8,025
36. Man on the Tracks (1957)
89 min | Drama
In 1950, at night, a passenger train kills a man on the tracks. He is Orzechowski, an engineer since 1914. An inquiry immediately follows. Testimony takes the form of flashbacks. Tuszka, ... See full summary »
Director: Andrzej Munk | Stars: Kazimierz Opalinski, Zygmunt Maciejewski, Zygmunt Zintel, Zygmunt Listkiewicz
Votes: 805
37. The Destiny of a Man (1959)
103 min | Drama, War
A Soviet soldier, Andrei Sokolov, has been separated from his family by World War II. Suffering in German captivity, he dreams of meeting his darlings after the victory. But cruel fate turned out otherwise.
Director: Sergey Bondarchuk | Stars: Sergey Bondarchuk, Pavel Boriskin, Zinaida Kirienko, Pavel Volkov
Votes: 3,697
38. Night and the City (1950)
Not Rated | 96 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Mystery
A small-time grifter and nightclub tout takes advantage of some fortuitous circumstances and tries to become a big-time player as a wrestling promoter.
Director: Jules Dassin | Stars: Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney, Googie Withers, Hugh Marlowe
Votes: 15,236 | Gross: $3.60M
39. Hobson's Choice (1954)
Not Rated | 108 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Widower Henry Hobson refuses to let his three daughters get married because he doesn't want to pay settlements, so they'll just have to outsmart him.
Director: David Lean | Stars: Charles Laughton, John Mills, Brenda de Banzie, Daphne Anderson
Votes: 8,779
40. East of Eden (1955)
PG | 118 min | Drama
Two brothers in 1910s California struggle to maintain their strict, Bible-toting father's favor as an old secret about their long-absent mother comes to light.
Director: Elia Kazan | Stars: James Dean, Raymond Massey, Julie Harris, Burl Ives
Votes: 48,763
41. Tokyo Story (1953)
Not Rated | 136 min | Drama
An old couple visit their children and grandchildren in the city, but receive little attention.
Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Chishû Ryû, Chieko Higashiyama, Sô Yamamura, Setsuko Hara
Votes: 68,416
42. On the Waterfront (1954)
Approved | 108 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
An ex-prize fighter turned New Jersey longshoreman struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses, including his older brother, as he starts to connect with the grieving sister of one of the syndicate's victims.
Director: Elia Kazan | Stars: Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger
Votes: 164,636 | Gross: $9.60M
43. Eroica (1958)
87 min | Comedy, Drama
Two sketches covering episodes from the World War II. In the first novel, "Scherzo alla polacca", a shrewd son, trying to preserve his skin, ultimately becomes a hero and finds a reason for... See full summary »
Director: Andrzej Munk | Stars: Edward Dziewonski, Barbara Polomska, Ignacy Machowski, Leon Niemczyk
Votes: 1,307
44. Rear Window (1954)
PG | 112 min | Mystery, Thriller
A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his Greenwich Village courtyard apartment window and, despite the skepticism of his fashion-model girlfriend, becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter
Votes: 521,419 | Gross: $36.76M
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