Best Movies of the 1950s: Top 20 Films Ranked

Ranked

What Are the Best Movies of the 1950s?

Vertigo and 12 Angry Men follow Rear Window. Drama is the most common genre in the top 20 (15 films). Alfred Hitchcock has 3 films on the list; 3 other directors have two or more. Ranked by a blend of Metascore and IMDb/Letterboxd user ratings (Echo Scores start with 2017 releases).

1. Rear Window 100 Metascore (Metascore 100 out of 100)

1954 · Mystery, Thriller · 1h 52m

Dir. Alfred Hitchcock No Echo Score: ranked 96/100 on critics & audiences
2. Vertigo 100 Metascore (Metascore 100 out of 100)

1958 · Mystery, Romance · 2h 8m

Dir. Alfred Hitchcock No Echo Score: ranked 95/100 on critics & audiences
2. 12 Angry Men 97 Metascore (Metascore 97 out of 100 (18 critic reviews))

1957 · Drama, Crime · 1h 36m

Dir. Sidney Lumet No Echo Score: ranked 95/100 on critics & audiences
2. Seven Samurai 98 Metascore (Metascore 98 out of 100)

1956 · Action, Drama · 3h 27m

Dir. Akira Kurosawa No Echo Score: ranked 95/100 on critics & audiences
5. North by Northwest 98 Metascore (Metascore 98 out of 100 (16 critic reviews))

1959 · Action, Adventure · 2h 16m

Dir. Alfred Hitchcock No Echo Score: ranked 93/100 on critics & audiences
5. Rashomon 98 Metascore (Metascore 98 out of 100)

1951 · Drama, Mystery · 1h 28m

Dir. Akira Kurosawa No Echo Score: ranked 93/100 on critics & audiences
7. Some Like It Hot 98 Metascore (Metascore 98 out of 100)

1959 · Comedy, Romance · 2h 1m

Dir. Billy Wilder No Echo Score: ranked 93/100 on critics & audiences
8. A Streetcar Named Desire 97 Metascore (Metascore 97 out of 100 (20 critic reviews))

1951 · Drama · 2h 2m

Dir. Elia Kazan No Echo Score: ranked 92/100 on critics & audiences
8. The Rules of the Game 99 Metascore (Metascore 99 out of 100)

1950 · Drama, Comedy · 1h 50m

Dir. Jean Renoir No Echo Score: ranked 92/100 on critics & audiences
10. Touch of Evil 99 Metascore (Metascore 99 out of 100)

1958 · Drama, Thriller · 1h 35m

No Echo Score: ranked 91/100 on critics & audiences
10. The Night of the Hunter 97 Metascore (Metascore 97 out of 100)

1955 · Drama, Mystery · 1h 32m

Dir. Terry Sanders No Echo Score: ranked 91/100 on critics & audiences
12. Singin' in the Rain 99 Metascore (Metascore 99 out of 100)

1952 · Comedy, Romance · 1h 43m

Dir. Stanley Donen No Echo Score: ranked 90/100 on critics & audiences
13. All About Eve 98 Metascore (Metascore 98 out of 100 (15 critic reviews))

1950 · Drama · 2h 18m

Dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz No Echo Score: ranked 89/100 on critics & audiences
14. Sansho the Bailiff 96 Metascore (Metascore 96 out of 100)

1955 · Drama · 2h 4m

Dir. Kenji Mizoguchi No Echo Score: ranked 89/100 on critics & audiences
15. On the Waterfront 91 Metascore (Metascore 91 out of 100 (15 critic reviews))

1954 · Drama, Romance · 1h 48m

Dir. Elia Kazan No Echo Score: ranked 89/100 on critics & audiences
16. Sunset Boulevard 94 Metascore (Metascore 94 out of 100)

1950 · Drama, Film-Noir · 1h 50m

Dir. Billy Wilder No Echo Score: ranked 88/100 on critics & audiences
17. Paths of Glory 90 Metascore (Metascore 90 out of 100 (18 critic reviews))

1957 · Drama, War · 1h 28m

Dir. Stanley Kubrick No Echo Score: ranked 88/100 on critics & audiences
17. Invasion of the Body Snatchers 92 Metascore (Metascore 92 out of 100 (16 critic reviews))

1956 · Sci-Fi, Drama · 1h 20m

No Echo Score: ranked 88/100 on critics & audiences
19. The Searchers 94 Metascore (Metascore 94 out of 100)

1956 · Adventure, Drama · 1h 59m

Dir. John Ford No Echo Score: ranked 88/100 on critics & audiences
19. Richard III 88 Metascore (Metascore 88 out of 100)

1956 · Biography, Drama · 2h 41m

No Echo Score: ranked 88/100 on critics & audiences

Year by year

The 1950s Year by Year: Releases and Best Picture

1957 has the most releases on the site (750). 10 Best Picture winners of the 1950s are recorded, starting with All About Eve (1950). Box office records of this era are mostly later re-releases, so no grosses are quoted. Each year links to its own ranking.

Every year of the 1950s: releases on the site and the Oscar Best Picture winner released that year
Year	Releases	Best Picture winner
1950	Releases: 637	Best Picture winner All About Eve Oscars 1951
1951	Releases: 621	Best Picture winner An American in Paris Oscars 1952
1952	Releases: 609	Best Picture winner The Greatest Show on Earth Oscars 1953
1953	Releases: 705	Best Picture winner From Here to Eternity Oscars 1954
1954	Releases: 661	Best Picture winner On the Waterfront Oscars 1955
1955	Releases: 734	Best Picture winner Marty Oscars 1956
1956	Releases: 740	Best Picture winner Around the World in 80 Days Oscars 1957
1957	Releases: 750	Best Picture winner The Bridge on the River Kwai Oscars 1958
1958	Releases: 709	Best Picture winner Gigi Oscars 1959
1959	Releases: 718	Best Picture winner Ben-Hur Oscars 1960

#1 of each year

The Best-Rated Movie of Every Year, 1950–1959

The Rules of the Game (1950), Rashomon (1951), Singin' in the Rain (1952) and 7 more years: the best-rated film of each year of the 1950s. Ranked by a blend of Metascore and IMDb/Letterboxd user ratings (Echo Scores start with 2017 releases).

Awards

The Most-Awarded Movies of the 1950s

Ben-Hur (1959) leads the 1950s with 16 wins from 18 nominations, ahead of On the Waterfront and The Bridge on the River Kwai (14 wins). Films of the decade won 212 awards in all.

Ben-Hur 16 / 18
1959 · Adventure, Drama · 16 wins from 18 nominations Won at BAFTA, DGA Awards, Golden Globes, Oscars
On the Waterfront 14 / 20
1954 · Drama, Romance · 14 wins from 20 nominations Won at BAFTA, DGA Awards, Golden Globes, Oscars
The Bridge on the River Kwai 14 / 16
1957 · Adventure, Drama · 14 wins from 16 nominations Won at BAFTA, DGA Awards, Golden Globes, Oscars
Gigi 13 / 17
1958 · Comedy, Romance · 13 wins from 17 nominations Won at DGA Awards, Golden Globes, Oscars
From Here to Eternity 11 / 17
1953 · Drama, Romance · 11 wins from 17 nominations Won at DGA Awards, Golden Globes, Oscars
All About Eve 8 / 21
1950 · Drama · 8 wins from 21 nominations Won at DGA Awards, Golden Globes, Oscars
High Noon 8 / 15
1952 · Action, Drama · 8 wins from 15 nominations Won at Golden Globes, Oscars
A Place in the Sun 8 / 14
1951 · Drama, Romance · 8 wins from 14 nominations Won at DGA Awards, Golden Globes, Oscars

Genres

What Genres Defined the 1950s?

Drama is the biggest genre of the 1950s with 2,900 films (42% of the decade's films), then Comedy (31%) and Romance (15%). A film can have several genres, so the shares add up to more than 100%.

Directors

Who Directed the Most Films of the 1950s?

Michael Curtiz made 16 notable films in the 1950s, the best-rated being Young Man with a Horn; Douglas Sirk follows with 15. Counted over feature films with ratings, box office or awards.

Michael Curtiz 16 films
Best: Young Man with a Horn (1950)
Douglas Sirk 15 films
Best: Imitation of Life (1959)
Richard Thorpe 15 films
Best: Ivanhoe (1953)
Anthony Mann 13 films
Best: Quo Vadis (1951)
Alfred Hitchcock 11 films
Best: Rear Window (1954)
Vincente Minnelli 11 films
Best: The Band Wagon (1953)
Edward Dmytryk 11 films
Best: The Caine Mutiny (1954)
Nicholas Ray 11 films
Best: Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

Every decade

Best Movies by Decade

10 decades ranked, from the 1930s to the 2020s. Each has its year-by-year table and its own top films.

FAQ

Best Movies of the 1950s: Questions & Answers

Quick answers about the 1950s' best-rated films and Best Picture winners, from the lists above.

What is the best movie of the 1950s?

Rear Window (1954) is the best-rated film of the 1950s on What's After the Movie, with a rank value of 96/100 from critics and audiences. Vertigo (1958) is second and 12 Angry Men (1957) third. Ranked by a blend of Metascore and IMDb/Letterboxd user ratings (Echo Scores start with 2017 releases).

About Rear Window

Which 1950s movies won Best Picture?

All About Eve (1950), An American in Paris (1951), The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), From Here to Eternity (1953), On the Waterfront (1954), Marty (1955), Around the World in 80 Days (1956), The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Gigi (1958) and Ben-Hur (1959).

Which 1950s film won the most awards?

Ben-Hur (1959), with 16 wins from 18 nominations recorded on the site.

How many movies from the 1950s are on the site?

6,884 films released from 1950 to 1959, the most in 1957 (750). 162 of them are ranked.

How are the best movies of the 1950s ranked?

Ranked by a blend of Metascore and IMDb/Letterboxd user ratings (Echo Scores start with 2017 releases). Only feature films count (60 minutes or longer, no concert recordings), and a film needs enough ratings, box office or award attention to be ranked.

Best Movies of the 1950s: Top Films Year by Year