Top 100 Films of the 1950s
The day I never thought would come: over half-way done with my Decades Project! (These will finish up next month, by the way.) I was excited to get to the 1950s. It’s a decade that I honestly didn’t know much about, one where I didn’t realize how much I’d seen, and one that I realized was a perfect precursor to two of my other favorite decades: The 60s and 70s. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, other than sci-fi and Bergman and Ray, and I didn’t really think about the wide scope of films I was going to be enjoying. I was excited for the 50s because I was expecting to discover something new; I ended up enjoying this list because I didn’t realize just how iconic and classic it truly is.
The decade of variety. It was during the 1950s that the studios had money to spend, and boy did they spend it. Mystery films, big set-piece epics, musicals, sci-fi, and horror were all thriving during this time. As men had returned home from the war, the economy was booming, and the Nuclear Family and suburban developments began to shape America, a firm appreciation for the wholesome and “safe” allowed Disney’s animated features to continue to thrive; and kept the unrelenting Hays Code still very much present. Mystery films, in particular, saw the effects of this as all of the female characters were tools used for a righteous moral ending. Westerns as well, as the concluding scenes almost always were required to show the outlaw punished and the good cowboy successful—even boundary-pushing westerns such as Rio Bravo still conformed to these norms. There was also one looming boogeyman persisting over the industry: Sen. Joseph McCarthy. The second wave of McCarthyism hit in the early 1950s and pushed its way into entertainment—Hollywood was divided by those who would name names and those who would not. The red scare was a common theme amongst sci-fi of the time and resulted in films such as The Invasion of the Body Snatchers. While there were many different types of films coming from Hollywood in the 50s, it’s impossible to overlook this era’s censorship problems. It’s important to remember the moral courage of someone like Dalton Trumbo, as well as the many privileged figures in the industry—from Katharine Hepburn and Lucille Ball to Humphrey Bogart and Kirk Douglas—who stood up for those on The Black List.
However, while America was wrestling with its morals and image projection, global cinema was having a moment. There were many brand new filmmakers popping up from Europe, Japan, India, and Egypt. Agnes Varda made her film debut with La Pointe-Courte and François Truffaunt released his second feature the 400 Blows, effectively beginning the major film movement we know as The French New-Wave (along with Louis Malle’s Elevator to the Gallows). Ingmar Bergman made his presence known with Summer With Monika, Wild Strawberries, and The Seventh Seal all released just four years apart. Satyajit Ray emerged as a major talent from India with The Music Room and the legendary Apu Trilogy. Federico Fellini began his career and gained notoriety with. Though American, it is worth including Stanley Kubrick in this group as he worked outside of the major studio systems and trends, to begin his film career with classics The Killing and Paths of Glory. Legendary Danish filmmaker Carl Theodor Dreyer made the insanely cinematic Ordet. Hitchcock continued to make his English thrillers and released some of his most treasured classics—Vertigo, North By Northwest, and Rear Window. In Japan, Akira Kurosawa continued an already successful career with his peak decade bringing Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, and Ikiru.
The 1950s began during a time of mourning for most of the world. World War II had left many broken people and families behind. Many legendary films from the era, such as Godzilla, were reckoning with the grief and emotions felt at the time. Others, like The Day the Earth Stood Still, were made as a warning against future wars. By the end of the decade, a strong auteur movement had firmly laid the building blocks for the filmmakers of the next 20 years to build upon and create new cinematic freedom. The 1950s are not an easy decade to pin down—the sheer variety of this list speaks for itself.
I didn’t know how this list was going to go. I didn’t realize how many legendary directing names either were born from this decade or peaked during it, and I didn’t have any idea that I actually had seen a ton of 50s movies. According to Letterboxd, it’s actually my highest rated decade. That doesn’t shock me when I consider the gravity of filmmaking from the 1950s. Titles that I didn’t get to mention in the previous paragraphs like Tokyo Story, Cairo Station, Sunset Boulevard, and, of course, Night of the Hunter have staid with generations of cinephiles. In terms of the sheer QUALITY of the films, the 1950s may be the best yet. As you read the list below, and hopefully, you feel the way I do as well. Like I always mention, it is impossible to rank these choices objectively. Some films, such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers or Ben-Hur are only on this list because they carry historical significance. Others, such as The Ogre of Athens, I love so much they are ranked much higher than they probably merit. I wouldn’t look too hard into the rankings outside of the top and bottom 10, as they could change at any given moment. I still believe that all of these films really are worth everyone’s time.
As I do with every list, I created a Letterboxd version with all the beautiful posters to look at; you can find that here.
100. The Wasp Woman
99. Attack of the 50 Foot Woman
98. The King and I
97. Invasion of the Body Snatchers
96. Singing in the Rain
95. The Bad Seed
94. Ben-Hur
93. The Fly
92. An American in Paris
91. Sleeping Beauty
90. The Seven Year Itch
89. Seven Brides For Seven Brothers
88. The War of the Worlds
87. The Barefoot Contessa
86. In a Lonely Place
85. Man on the Tracks
84. Edge of the City
83. Dracula
82. Bigger Than Life
81. Vera Cruz
80. Shadows
79. The Day the Earth Stood Still
78. The Man Who Knew Too Much
77. Pillow Talk
76. Dial M For Murder
75. Creature From the Black Lagoon
74. The Big Heat
73. Roman Holiday
72. Peter Pan
71. Moulin Rouge
70. Hunted
69. The Thing From Another World
68. Storm Center
67. Where the Sidewalk Ends
66. Orpheus
65. Gun Crazy
64. A Star is Born
63. Summer With Monika
62. Europe ‘51
61. Journey to Italy
60. The Wrong Man
59. The Bad and the Beautiful
58. Good Morning
57. Strangers on a Train
56. Elevator to the Gallows
55. On the Waterfront
54. The Man with the Golden Arm
53. Carmen Jones
52. A Streetcar Named Desire
51. All That Heaven Allows
50. High Noon
49. Imitation of Life
48. House of Wax
47. Sudden Rain
46. Sabrina
45. Lady and the Tramp
44. The Wages of Fear
43. The Blazing Sun
42. Touch of Evil
41. The Hitch-Hiker
40. The Music Room
39. Rashomon
38. A Face in the Crowd
37. I Am Waiting
36. Salt of the Earth
35. Ikiru
34. Ordet
33. Sweet Smell of Success
32. Come Back, Africa
31. Alice in Wonderland
30. Sunset Boulevard
29. La Pointe-Courte
28. Godzilla
27. The Seventh Seal
26. The Hidden Fortress
25. Aparajito
24. Nights of the Cabiria
23. The Rose Tattoo
22. The Ogre of Athens
21. Ace in the Hole
20. The Killing
19. All About Eve
18. The 400 Blows
17. Rio Bravo
16. Vertigo
15. Throne of Blood
14. Paths of Glory
13. Pather Panchali
12. Rear Window
11. Wild Strawberries
10. The Earrings of Madame de…
9. North By Northwest
8. 12 Angry Men
7. Seven Samurai
6. Anatomy of a Murder
5. Cairo Station
4. The World of Apu
3. Rififi
2. Tokyo Story
1. The Night of the Hunter
Like I mentioned earlier, the last four posts in this series (1940s, 1930s, 1920s, and the Top 100 Ever) will be finished up by the end of December. In 2021 I’ll be starting Hollywood History, a series to tack onto the back of this one where I cover major moments in Hollywood, and film in general, history. Like the Hays Code and the Hollywood Blacklist that I mentioned cast a dreadful shadow over this decade. Look how I did the full-circle thing!