Best 1950s Movies Ever – UPDATED

Films of the 1950s came in a wide variety. Television was the new mass communication and studios found themselves trying to coax audiences back into the theaters. The 1950s ushered in the use of widescreen, Cinemascope, VistaVision, and Cinerama. Gimmicks like the 3-D film and big production were widely used. There were lots of epic films like The Robe (1953), The Ten Commandments (1956), Ben Hur (1959).

The 1950s were full of Cold War paranoia which hand in hand let to interest in the atomic bomb which led to interest in outer space and science fiction. Some say that the 1950s is the golden age of the sci-fi films with the likes of such films as The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), The Thing from Another World (1951), The War of the Worlds (1953), It Came from Outer Space (1953), Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), Them! (1954), This Island Earth (1955), Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956), and Forbidden Planet (1956).

The decade was just as full of realistic films that could bring the audience back to earth. This time saw the rise of such actors as James Stewart, John Wayne, and Marlon Brando. Movies like The Searchers (1956) helps to revitalize the Western genre. Meanwhile Brando was establishing a new way of acting that would shape actors and their craft for generations. Brando made such classics as A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), The Wild One (1954), Julius Caesar (1953), On the Waterfront (1954), Guys and Dolls (1955), The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956), and Sayonara (1957).

Director Alfred Hitchcock was also a driving force of movies in the 1950s. Hitchcock was at the peak of his craft with films such as Strangers on a Train (1951), Dial M for Murder (1954), Rear Window (1954), To Catch a Thief (1955), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), Vertigo (1958), and North by Northwest (1959) with Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly starring in three each.

The 1950s saw other forces at work in the way of writers and directors. The decade of film would be molded in some wonderful ways. The best way to find out your favorite is to follow my list of the best films of the 1950s.

1. All About Eve (1950)
2. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
3. Harvey (1950)
4. The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
5. Rashomon (1950)
6. The Thing (From Another World) (1951)
7. The African Queen (1951)
8. A Christmas Carol (1951)
9. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
10. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
11. Strangers on a Train (1951)
12. Singing in the Rain (1952)
13. The Quiet Man (1952)
14. High Noon (1952)
15. From Here to Eternity (1953)
16. The War of the Worlds (1953)
17. Stalag 17 (1953)
18. Shane (1953)
19. The Wild One (1954)
20. The Caine Mutiny (1954)
21. Rear Window (1954)
22. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
23. On the Waterfront (1954)
24. Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
25. The Searchers (1956)
26. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
27. Forbidden Planet (1956)
28. Twelve Angry Men (1957)
29. Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
30. Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
31. Touch of Evil (1958)
32. Vertigo (1958)
33. Ben Hur (1959)
34. The 400 Blows (1959)
35. Some Like It Hot (1959)

The following is a list of 1950s Academy Awards:

1950
Best Picture: All About Eve
Best Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz, All About Eve

1951
Best Picture: An American In Paris
Best Director: George Stevens, A Place in the Sun

1952
Best Picture: The Greatest Show On Earth
Best Director: John Ford, The Quiet Man

1953
Best Picture: From Here to Eternity
Best Director: Fred Zinnemann, From Here to Eternity

1954
Best Picture: On the Waterfront
Best Director: Elia Kazan, On the Waterfront

1955
Best Picture: Marty
Best Director: Delbert Mann, Marty

1956
Best Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
Best Director: George Stevens, Giant

1957
Best Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
Best Director: David Lean, The Bridge on the River Kwai

1958
Best Picture: Gigi
Best Director: Vincente Minnelli, Gigi

1959
Best Picture: Ben-Hur
Best Director: William Wyler, Ben-Hur