Marlon Brando or Jimmy Stewart? Marilyn Monroe or Audrey Hepburn?? Billy Wilder or William Wyler??? There are no wrong answers. The amount of people that are aware of these films, and are passionate about them, lessens with each passing year, so it's important to prop them up for a new generation to enjoy. Here is my list of the 50 greatest films of the '50s.
50(tie). "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes"(1953)
Marilyn Monroe was the best special effect of the 1950s(her non-blonde costar Jane Russell pales in comparison). Her magical screen presence arrested every man alive in 1953, "and made "Blondes" an essential entry in her 29 film catalog.
50(tie). "Viva Zapata!"(1952)
If you can get past the fact that Marlon Brando is playing a Mexican, this was the middle part of his hat trick with director Elia Kazan. Emiliano Zapata and his brother(Best Supporting Actor Anthony Quinn) led a revolution against a dictatorship from 1909-1919, and John McCain's favorite movie is the best place to find out about it.
49. "Ace in the Hole"(1951)
No one should profit from pain. The indestructible Kirk Douglas is an opportunistic NYC newsman more interested in prolonging a sensationalistic story than rescuing a New Mexico man trapped in a cave in this prescient drama from writer-director Billy Wilder.
48. "Suddenly, Last Summer"(1959)
Here's two great ladies, acting up a storm. If you're ignorantly unfamiliar with the legacies of Katharine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor, Joseph Mankiewicz's sordid psychodrama makes for a tantalizing introduction. Did these twin titans cancel each other out in the Best Actress category?
47. "Funny Face"(1957)
There's a reason Audrey Hepburn is so revered. Her luminousness lies in the 1950s and '60s, so get used to her name and face as you scroll downward. Her singing voice is also present in Stanley Donen's musical comedy(unlike in "My Fair Lady") and went quite well with Fred Astaire's footwork. Do yourself a favor and show "Face" to the female in your life.
46. "The Ladykillers"(1955)
An apex Alec Guinness showed off his flair for light comedy as a refined rogue in the last of his five-film stint with Ealing Studios. If you only know this English gent as Obi-Wan, you owe it to yourself to rent a room in Mrs. Wilberforce's London flat. Remade in inferior fashion by the Coen brothers in 2004.
45. "The Big Country"(1958)
Gregory Peck perfected his dignified everyman presentation in William Wyler's winsome Western romance. Conflict was simply unavoidable in 19th Century America. "Country" is a spacious epic with an advantageous supporting cast(Jean Simmons, Charlton Heston, Carroll Baker and Best Supporting Actor winner Burl Ives).
44. "Anatomy of a Murder"(1959)
Otto Preminger's optimal courtroom drama is like a precursor to all those John Grisham adaptations that once enthralled the populace. Jimmy Stewart is in peak form as a loquacious lawyer with a temporary insanity defense strategy- an infamous '52 murder trial inspired the book in which "Anatomy" is based.
43. "Touch of Evil"(1958)
We got more than a touch of Orson Welles in the '40s and '50s. An uninterrupted three-and-a-half minute tracking shot AND the first scene ever filmed inside moving car instantly marked "Evil" as much more than a throwaway B-movie about crimes at the border. Welles should have won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar as a crooked police captain. Oh, Charlton Heston and Janet Leigh are here, too.
42. "The Defiant Ones"(1958)
Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis were celluloid's first interracial buddy team in Stanley Kramer's Southern-set socially-conscious drama. Both men were terrific as escaped convicts that any well-rounded cinephile should enjoy being shackled to. Turn off your cell phone and watch it tonight.
41. "Sleeping Beauty"(1959)
The sixth-highest grossing film of the '50s capped off a cartoon cycle that ensured the long-term health of Walt Disney's empire as much as his amusement parks(more on that later). I've scarcely seen more beauty than in this seventy-five minutes of widescreen animation, while the marvelous Maleficent has taken on a life of her own.
40. "Harvey"(1950)
Jimmy Stewart has an imaginary friend in this irresistibly offbeat comedy that put his onscreen magic on full display. Harvey is a human-sized rabbit that his jittery older sister(Josephine Hull) wants him institutionalized for believing in. Ninety-fifty was a fantastic year for movies.
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| William Holden was a lucky man. |
39. "Sabrina"(1954)
Billy Wilder's love triangle is still a shiny showcase for the titanic trio pictured above. Let's try to forget that Humphrey Bogart was 54 years old. This was a refreshing change of pace for a loosened-up legend about to leave us way too soon, and besides, there's no such thing as being too young/old to fall in love with Audrey Hepburn. Remade(unsuccessfully) with Harrison Ford in 1995.
38. "Gigi"(1958)
Thank heaven for little girls. That phrase might make us cringe a little in the 2010s, but we're talking about 1958's Best Picture, so just go with it. Fetching French beauty Leslie Caron was 26 years old, if you must know. Director Vincente Minnelli's vibrant musical won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
37. "Sayonara"(1957)
Marlon Brando remained the industry's most idolized leading man as a Korean War pilot that falls for a Japanese dancer(Miiko Taka) in this terrific Technicolor drama. Scholars have suggested that the success of "Sayonara" inspired an increase in tolerance and interracial marriage. Red Buttons and Miyoshi Umeki were 1957's Best Supporting Actor/Actress.
36. "Alice in Wonderland"(1951)
The best film version of Lewis Carroll's children's novel furthered Disney's dominance in the marketplace. This psychedelic trip was ahead of it's time, though. Unlike the majority of their hand-drawn classics, it took a robust '70s rerelease(heavily populated by enthusiastic hippies) to give "Alice" it's 'cool' cult classification.
35. "Lady and the Tramp"(1955)
There's a lotta love for hand-drawn Disney animation in this blog, and it's totally justified. It's hard to slurp spaghetti without thinking about the accidental kiss pictured above. Believe it or not, this cute Cocker Spaniel and stray mixed breed were panned by critics in the summer of '55. That most certainly changed three decades later, when "L&T" broke videocassette sales records(before going into moratorium, a shrewd Disney practice).
34. "Lust for Life"(1956)
Kirk Douglas was dynamite as 19th Century Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh in Vincente Minnelli's mournful biopic. Despite an output of over 2,000 paintings, the troubled artist was plagued by poverty and mental illness, ultimately committing suicide at age 37, without ever receiving recognition in his lifetime. Anthony Quinn collected the Best Supporting Actor Oscar as his pal Paul Gauguin.
33. "The Greatest Show on Earth"(1952)
Ignore the revisionist naysayers- Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic is one for the whole family and a worthy Best Picture winner. Fun fact- a five year old Steven Spielberg became obsessed with cinema after witnessing this film's stunning train crash. Charlton Heston was in charge of this traveling troupe, and yes, that's Jimmy Stewart as a sad clown. This is the greatest circus movie ever made.
32. "An American in Paris"(1951)
Vincente Minnelli should be far more famous(he's got three films on the list). With the Italian director at the helm, Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron are capable of carousing even the most musical-averse viewer(that would be me). "Paris" pulled an upset at the Oscars, and sixty-five years later, "La La Land" would borrow heavily from it.
31. "Born Yesterday"(1950)
Judy Holliday could have been one of our most iconic actresses, if not for communism and cancer(she only made 13 movies before her death in '65). But we'll always have Billie Dawn, the ultimate 'dumb' blonde in George Cukor's smashing comedy. William Holden wasn't the only one completely smitten.
30. "Father of the Bride"(1950)
Spencer Tracy reluctantly gives away his beloved daughter(Elizabeth Taylor) in this comic charmer. The universality of "Bride" led to a 1951 sequel("Father's Little Dividend") and a respectable two-part remake with Steve Martin in the '90s. I think that's called a franchise.
29. "The Seven Year Itch"(1955)
Marilyn Monroe and her billowing white dress are burned into all of our brains in this bright, buoyant comedy. Do men really lose interest in monogamy after seven years? If a 28 year old Monroe is living next door, I'd say yes, absolutely. Woody Allen was clearly influenced by writer-director Billy Wilder.
28. "Roman Holiday"(1953)
Director William Wyler gifted not only the film world, but the whole god-damn world with a 23 year old humanitarian princess named Audrey Hepburn in this regal romantic comedy. Ever the gentleman, Gregory Peck insisted he share top billing with the budding female superstar, or risk looking like a giant fool. He must have had a crystal ball(Hepburn won the Best Actress Oscar).
27. "Strangers on a Train"(1951)
"Your wife, my father". Alfred Hitchcock practically constructs the modern thriller and all of it's tropes in this eerie tale of two men and a proposed murder swap. The magnetic Robert Walker would have surely been one of the screen's most memorable villains, if alcohol and mental illness hadn't ended his life at age 32, a mere two months after the summer release of "Train".
26. "The Nun's Story"(1959)
Audrey Hepburn cemented her place in the leading lady hierarchy in Fred Zinnemann's bold Best Picture nominee. This conflicted 1920s nun may be her finest dramatic work in a bygone period where the tenets of religion were rarely(if ever) challenged or disobeyed. She questioned her faith. You should too.
25. "Rashomon"(1950)
Japan gained a major foothold in the cinematic landscape in Akira Kurosawa's crackling psychological thriller- the first foreign film to EVER find an audience in the United States. The rape of a woman and the murder of her samurai husband would have been risky material during the Truman era, if not for Kurosawa's undeniable talent and craftsmanship. Toshiro Mifune, star of sixteen of his films, is mesmerizing as a wily bandit.
24. "Peter Pan"(1953)
The fourteenth Disney animated film was a wondrous adaptation that immortalized J.M. Barrie's 1904 children's novel. Don't let the Michael Jackson connection keep you from Peter, Wendy and the cruel Captain Hook(another one of the great Disney villains). "Pan" is still a perfect pit-stop for children of all ages.
23. "Shane"(1953)
Alan Ladd may not have an instantly recognizable name or face, but his mysterious drifter made his mark in George Stevens' gorgeous Western. Shane's easygoing demeanor belies a quick trigger, as Jack Palance's black hat will soon find out. When Clint Eastwood owes you a debt of gratitude, it's safe to say you did something great. "SHANE. COME BACK!"
22. "The African Queen"(1951)
Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn were an unbeatable combination in John Huston's heavenly 1914-set May/December romance. Bogie rarely had a better showcase for his rough charms, and the cantankerous boatman pictured above sailed away with the Best Actor Oscar(his only win). "Queen" is arguably the Technicolor peak of a six-film alliance with his "The Maltese Falcon" director.
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| Natalie Wood wasn't the only one in love. |
21. "Rebel Without a Cause"(1955)
James Dean may be the greatest 'what-if?' story in the storied annals of cinema. We'll never know if this brooding heartthrob would have lived up to his huge Eisenhower-era promise if not for that horrific '55 car crash, but at least he helped director Nicolas Ray create the teen movie before leaving our mortal coil(and thirty years before "The Breakfast Club"). That's right, "Rebel" is the reason we cater to moody high school kids, and we've been doing it ever since.
20. "From Here to Eternity"(1953)
The attack on Pearl Harbor may be the 20th Century's most fateful day, and the fictional events that preceded it will be entertaining for all eternity. Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, and Frank Sinatra were all at their best as U.S. soldiers stationed in Hawaii in 1941. Romantic entanglements with Deborah Kerr and Donna Reed are the calm before the storm, as life in the barracks unfolds with pleasure and pain. Director Fred Zinnemann's first Best Picture winner, based on the 1951 James Jones novel, is easily one of the era's most satisfying films.
19. "The Searchers"(1956)
The most revered picture of John Wayne and John Ford's fourteen collaborations(wow) may be the most lovingly-restored film of the 1950s. The Duke went on record to call Comanche-hating Confederate soldier Ethan Edwards his favorite role. When his niece Natalie Wood is abducted by murderous Indians, the search is on through the lush landscapes of West Texas in 1868. Don't even think about calling yourself a film buff if you haven't seen this one.
18. "Singin' in the Rain"(1952)
One of the first great musicals(some would say THEE greatest) will brighten any rainy day. Gene Kelly was a cornerstone of the genre, and Stanley Donen's breezy depiction of late '20s Hollywood is also the reason a 20 year old Debbie Reynolds is so warmly remembered. That 100% on RT is no accident.
17. "Seven Samurai"(1957)
The greatest foreign film of all time is about as pleasurable as a three-hour-and-seventeen-minute black-and-white movie with subtitles can possibly be. As someone that approaches non-Hollywood products with mild apprehension, I can safely say that Akira Kurosawa's crowning achievement is mighty impressive. If you can watch twenty Marvel movies, you can get through "Samurai", and you might like it better than a few of them.
16. "A Place in the Sun"(1951)
Liz Taylor was all grown-up and as alluring as ANY screen siren in George Stevens' sterling drama. Montgomery Clift's moody social climber is another snapshot of what might have been for the handsome Nebraskan(the after-effects of a '56 car accident significantly slowed his own climb). "Sun" won six Academy Awards, including Best Director(Stevens).
15. "Cinderella"(1950)
Disney animation was firmly established as a premier entertainment destination in this enchanting instant classic. Fun fact- "Cinderella" saved the Mouse House from financial ruin brought on by the crippling overseas ramifications of WWII. The goofy Gus gets my vote for one of the greatest Disney sidekicks. Cinderella and her glass slipper are sure to be around forever.
14. "North by Northwest"(1959)
It's been said that the James Bond franchise wouldn't exist, if Alfred Hitchcock hadn't sent Cary Grant's suave adman running from shady government types(and a crop-duster) while Bernard Hermann blared in the background. I'll go one better, and say that Indiana Jones wouldn't have run away from that boulder and John McClane wouldn't have jumped from an exploding rooftop either. "Northwest" is a classy and classic tale of mistaken identity and everyman heroics, that was WAY more influential than the average joe realizes.
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| Kirk Douglas championed Kubrick's cause. |
13. "Paths of Glory"(1957)
The first World War was unforgettably recreated in Stanley Kubrick's mission statement. Trench warfare was suicide in 1916, and leave it to Stanley to imprint an antiwar message onto the collective psyche of uncomfortable viewers more used to seeing things in black-and-white. Loosely based on the court martial and subsequent execution of a group of French soldiers, you won't find a better 88 minute film.
12. "Bridge on the River Kwai"(1957)
At two hours and 41 minutes, the outdoor size and scope of David Lean's WWII epic may put it slightly past "Paths of Glory" as 1957's Best Picture, but it's honestly a toss-up. Alec Guinness was an asset as a senior British officer in a Japanese prison camp in 1943 Burma, and William Holden has a formidable filmography, in light of further inspection. "Kwai" is one of those movies that should be on during large family holiday gatherings, for the betterment of everyone in the room.
11. "The Ten Commandments"(1956)
Cecil B. DeMille is the great grandfather of the motion picture industry. Bridging the gap between the silent era and sound, the eponymous pioneer amassed an incredible 70 features in 40 years, saving the best for last. If you've never cheered on Charlton Heston's Moses, you might need to brush up on your knowledge of the moving image. "Commandments" is a hefty time investment at 3 hours and 40 minutes, but you WERE just sitting around all day last Easter, weren't you?
10. "Some Like It Hot"(1959)
Marilyn Monroe's most cherished role has to be her ukulele-playing singer sexpot Sugar "Kane" in Billy Wilder's delightful cross-dressing comedy. The full force of the indelible Monroe persona makes it easy to forget that Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis are desperately trying to evade the mob during Prohibition. "Hot" has been topping 'greatest comedy' lists for so long, that this threesome hardly needs another endorsement. I'll give them one anyway- the public's whole-hearted embrace of this 'risque' drag act was a critical blow to the oppressive Production Code.
9. "Ben-Hur"(1959)
The most financially-successful film of the '50s, closed out the decade in spectacular fashion. Not since 1939's "Gone with the Wind" had we had a more gloriously-expansive experience, and ticket sales reflected the elation of moviegoers. Charlton Heston's heroic Judah Ben-Hur represents the future as much as the past, and his astonishing ten-minute chariot race can still hold it's own against any 21st Century set-piece. William Wyler's 11x Oscar winner was a tremendous feat.
8. "Vertigo"(1958)
Jimmy Stewart goes dark in the most deified of his four outings with Alfred Hitchcock. This movie has the sort of massive reputation that precedes it long before you ACTUALLY get around to sitting down and watching it. Don't let insurmountable expectations keep you from recognizing it's greatness, though. Powered by Bernard Herrmann's busy score, few films contained it's psychological complexity or a protagonist as flawed as former police detective Scottie Ferguson in '58. The general consensus is that this deadly obsession in San Francisco is Hitch's finest two hours this side of "Psycho".
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| Grace Kelly lent her blonde beauty to three Hitchcock productions. |
7. "Rear Window"(1954)
Unless you lean slightly toward this more straightforward crowd-pleaser, the second-biggest moneymaker of the decade. 'The Master of Suspense' worked wonders with a single setting(the Paramount lot), and it certainly helped that he had the most likable leading man in movies incapable of moving. I went out and bought a pair of binoculars because of this wheelchair-bound window-watcher(you just never know what the neighbors are up to). I didn't want to leave Jimmy Stewart's Greenwich Village apartment. You won't either.
6. "Marty"(1955)
The shortest movie to ever win Best Picture at 90 minutes, also happens to be a hugely affecting and deeply moving look at loneliness and last-chance love that everyone on earth should be able to relate to. Ernest Borgnine was born to play bashful Bronx butcher Marty Piletti, whose spent far too many nights eating dinner with his elderly mother(that's what happens when you're done getting your feelings hurt). Let's be glad that Betsy Blair found this "fat, ugly man" before she got blacklisted. Director Delbert Mann made one of the all-time great debuts, and if you've yet to see it, shame on you.
5. "Sunset Boulevard"(1950)
"Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up". If you don't know the line, then you don't know much about movies. Director Billy Wilder deserves mention in the same breath as Hitchcock, Kubrick, Spielberg, Scorsese and anyone else you can think of that mastered the medium. Gloria Swanson channeled her real-life 1920s silent film fame as the reclusive, delusional Norma Desmond, one of the greatest characterizations of this or any other decade. "Boulevard" raised the bar really high in August 1950, and could only be beaten by it's showbiz-skewering sibling "All About Eve".
4. "A Streetcar Named Desire"(1951)
"STELLA!!" Marlon Brando didn't just change acting, he changed the world. Elia Kazan's smoldering adaptation of Tennessee Williams raised the bar for big-screen performances in the mid-20th Century AND cemented Marlon's animalistic swagger as a sweaty precursor to toxic masculinity. Brando and his tight t-shirts have occasionally obscured the vivacious Vivian Leigh as she equals her humongous work as Scarlet O'Hara. Needless to say, her place in history is secure. Stanley Kowalski and Blanche Dubois may have been TOO ahead of their time to take the Academy's top prize, but three of it's four main performers clutched Oscar gold- Karl Malden and Kim Hunter helped comprise one awesome acting quartet.
3. "On the Waterfront"(1954)
He wasn't just a contender, Brando was the heavyweight champion of Hollywood, following 1954's Best Picture winner, his third and final film with friend-and-mentor Kazan. "Streetcar" is a watershed, but "Waterfront" and it's Budd Schullberg screenplay inches it out as the duo's most dynamic collaboration(watch both this week and consider yourself cultured). Mumbling Jersey dockworker Terry Malloy is in the must-see category, while first-timer Eva Marie Saint was a '50s stunner that we should have seen way more in the years that followed. Few films have been afforded as much respect, and for good reason.
2. "All About Eve"(1950)
Joseph L. Mankiewicz's masterpiece is an impeccable film by any definition. Non-stop dialogue and great acting/writing makes 1950's Best Picture an intelligent movie lover's dream. Bette Davis shined brightly as Margot Channing, an aging Broadway star with a young apprentice/rival(Anne Baxter), a situation not dissimilar to her real-life professional plight in a youth-obsessed industry(hello, Marilyn Monroe). "Eve" won't be excluded from any grown-up's 'greatest movies' list. Stop pretending you've seen it and go get the DVD already.
1. "12 Angry Men"(1957)
Honestly, every film in the top ten could have been number one, but if forced to take a stand, I'll do so with Henry Fonda's Juror #8. Theater vet Sidney Lumet's first and best film(he had a fifty-year directing career btw) put his penchant for intimacy and urgency to excellent use in a NY courthouse in a room filled with exemplary character actors- Martin Balsam, John Fiedler, Lee J. Cobb, E.G. Marshall, Jack Klugman, Ed Begley, Edward Binns, and Jack Warden were all quick to convict. "Men" makes a statement about mob mentalities, racial injustice, and our faulty legal system- topics that command our attention now more than ever. Simply put, it's a GREAT movie.
*2,016 films were released in the 1950s. But who's counting?
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