Top 10 Films of the 1950s

I've always thought of The African Queen as a fun, entertaining, adventure film. And nothing more. It's not a masterpiece or anything, but it is a solid addition to Huston's resume that I enjoy watching.

I definitely think that Eastwood is better than Huston. But of course we each have our own opinions. I'm guessing I've seen Huston's top 3 films (Maltese Falcon, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and African Queen) and to me they aren't better than Eastwood's top 3 in my opinion (Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Unforgiven).

Granted, this isn't to knock Huston. His movies just aren't my cup of tea so far. I don't know if these movies would grow on me though either.

I dont watch 50's movies much but here is my list of top 10 films. Interestingly, most top movies were produced/directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

1. 12 Angry Men (1957) very good movie!
2. Vertigo (1958)
3. Rear Window (1954)
4. North by Northwest (1959)
5. On the Waterfront (1954)
6. Ben-Hur (1959)
7. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
8. High Noon (1952)
9. All about Eve (1950)
10. The Searchers (1956)

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Too many good movies from the 1950's to make only one Top Ten list...

...so here's my first top Ten...

Harvey (1950)
All About Eve (1950)
Singin’ in in the Rain (1952)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
Sabrina (1954)
White Christmas (1954)
Marty (1955)
Gigi (1958)
The Big Country (1958)
Some Like It Hot (1959)


...and here's my second Top Ten.

As Young As You Feel (1951)
The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
The Band Wagon (1953)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)
Brigadoon (1954)
The Court Jester (1955)
Giant (1956)
An Affair to Remember (1957)
The Reluctant Debutante (1958)

I just saw On the Waterfront and that was a pretty good movie as well. I'm really digging the 50's movies for some reason.

My Top Ten Favorite Films from the 50's: (as of 6/27/10)

1. Rear Window (1954, Hitchcock)
2. Wild Strawberries (1957, Bergman)
3. Vertigo (1958, Hitchcock)
4. Rio Bravo (1959, Hawks)
5. Diabolique (1955, Cluzot)
6. 12 Angry Men (1957, Lumet)
7. Ikiru (1952, Kurosawa)
8. North by Northwest (1959, Hitchcock)
9. Seven Samurai (1954, Kurosawa)
10. Pickpocket (1959, Bresson)

Updated:

1. Rear Window
2. Some like it Hot
3. North by Northwest
4. Dial M for Murder
5. The Bridge on the River Kwai
6. 12 Angry Men
7. On the Waterfront
8. Vertigo
9. Strangers on a Train
10. Alice in Wonderland

1. Rear Window
2. 12 Angry Men
3. Ikiru
4. Vertigo
5. On The Waterfront
6. Anatomy of a Murder
7. The 400 Blows
8. Touch of Evil
9. Ugetsu Monogatari
10. The Night of the Hunter

I'm sure in a couple minutes I'll be swapping and changing again, but for now these are my picks.

Whoa. Three first place votes for Rear Window in a row.

It's a great film.

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"Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."

Yup. You really gotta love this movie. I don't really hear too many people that don't like it in comparison to other popular films.

Just seen Marty and honestly, think its a pretty damn good film with a solid message to its audience: live life how YOU want to

1 Night of the Hunter
2 Ordet
3 Tokyo Story
4 Sweet Smell of Success
5 Seven Samurai
6 Rio Bravo
7 Vertigo
8 The Searchers
9 The Tales of Hoffmann
10 The Wages of Fear

That reminds me I have to see The Tales of Hoffmann.

Here are my ten:

1. The Ten Comandments
2. Giant
3. Rebel Without A Cause
4. Jailhouse Rock
5. The Hitchiker
6. 12 Angry Men
7. Cat On A Hot Tin Roof
8. On The Waterftont
9. Alice In Wonderland
10. The Blackboard Jungle

Here are the 1950s films I liked best when I first saw them in the theaters back then and still today. They're roughly in order, although the sequence might change on any given day--except for the one at the top of the list!


A Face in the Crowd (1957)
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
From Here to Eternity (1953)
The High and the Mighty (1954)
Mr. Roberts (1955)
The Caine Mutiny (1954)
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
The Man With the Golden Arm (1955)
The Quiet Man (1952)

1. Rear Window
In my top 10, perhaps the most thrilling passive film, with the greatest out of plot stories

2. 12 Angry Men
Greatest screenplay ever, so rich and meaningful

3. Touch of Evil
One of the best directed films I've seen (by; Orson Welles), great camera shots, and hilarious charcters

4. Vertigo
Very thought provoking, and Hitchcocks second best film

5. Diabolique
My favorite French movie so far, extremely intense! Not for the weak hearted

6. North by Northwest
The Most entertaining Hitchcock

7. Wild Strawberries
Very sad Bergman piece, I was near tears (and I don't cry in to many movies)

8. The Virgin Spring
Epic revenge story, also by Bergman

9. The Killing
Im not big on the narrative style, but there was a lot to enjoy and follow in this Kubrick film. It also has an amazing ending

10. Rashomon
Similar themes to that of Virgin Spring, but told much more complexly, and some scenes were to "Japanese style weird" for my taste.

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1) Vertigo
2) Rebel Without a Cause
3) Rear Window
4) Invasion of the Body Snatchers
5) Some Like it Hot
6) 12 Angry Men
7) North by Northwest
8) Wild Strawberries
9) In a Lonely Place
10) Dial M for Murder

The Hitchcock decade. I don't think I'm forgetting about any, but I believe Breathless was released in 1960 (it would've placed 3rd on my list).

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^ya you're right, I don't know why I decided it was 50s, edited in The Killing instead

I actually did add the highest film per year (that I haven't yet seen) of Holdens top 20 of each year of 50s (back on p.1) to the top of Netflix, so I'll be cranking through those soon enough

Here's mine:

1. Sansho The Bailiff (Kenji Mizoguchi)
2. Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks)
3. In A Lonely Place (Nicholas Ray)
4. Touch Of Evil (Orson Welles)
5. Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa)
6. The Night Of The Hunter (Charles Laughton)
7. Wild Strawberries (Ingmar Bergman)
8. Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock)
9. Diabolique (Henri-Georges Clouzot)
10. Hiroshima, Mon Amour (Alain Resnais)