The 1950’s was a fantastic decade for film all around, but especially for those that the Academy nominated as the best of each year. There were a handful of outright duds. I mean, the first few films on the Worst Films list below are about as bad as they get. William Holden, as far as I’m concerned, won the decade when it comes to acting. Brando had the recognition, but in all honesty, he wasn’t at his best in some of those films. And when Brando is off, he’s way off. Holden wasn’t without his duds, but his resume is stellar to say the least. Many directors were at the top of their game in this decade like, Hitchcock, Kazan, Zinneman, etc, but in my opinion, Billy Wilder is the director that stands out as the best of the 50’s. Elizabeth Taylor can’t not stand out, even in a group of women with an arsenal of strong performances. War films are aplenty in this decade. It seems that with five to ten years paste WWII, films were being made not only about the fighting itself, but the aftermath and the impact the war had on different societies. Westerns, of course, were big during this time, but there was also a strong showing of Biblical films as well. All in all, it was a pleasing experience searching for and sitting through these movies from the 1950’s.
Top 10 Movies of the 1950’s
1 Rear Window
2 12 Angry Men
3 The Searchers
4 Seven Samurai
5 Paths of Glory
6 Sweet Smell of Success
7 The Diary of Anne Frank
8 Cat On a Hot Tin Roof
9 The Bridge on the River Kwai
10 The Third Man
11 Vertigo
Top 10 Best Picture Nominees
1 12 Angry Men
2 The Diary of Anne Frank
3 Cat On a Hot Tin Roof
4 The Bridge on the River Kwai
5 High Noon
6 Ben-Hur
7 Witness for the Prosecution
8 On the Waterfront
9 A Place in the Sun
10 All About Eve
10 Worst Best Picture Nominees
1 Sayonara
2 Picnic
3 Three Coins in the Fountain
4 Love is a Man-Splendored Thing
5 The Rose Tattoo
6 Peyton Place
7 Julius Caesar
8 Around the World in 80 Days
9 Moulin Rouge
10 Friendly Persuasion
Top Films Not Nominated for Best Picture
1 Rear Window
2 The Searchers
3 Seven Samurai
4 Paths of Glory
5 Sweet Smell of Success
6 The Third Man
7 Vertigo
8 Singin’ in the Rain
9 Strangers on a Train
10 Rashomon
11 Some Like it Hot
12 A Face in the Crowd
13 Some Like it Hot
14 A Christmas Carol (1951)
15 The Killing
16 Rebel Without A Cause
17 Night of the Hunter
18 Dial M for Murder
19 The African Queen
20 North by Northwest
Best Years
1 1959
2 1950
3 1958
4 1951
5 1953
6 1952
7 1957
8 1954
9 1956
10 1955
Director: Billy Wilder
John Ford
Elia Kazaan
Alfred Hitchcock
George Stevens
Fred Zinneman
Actor: William Holden
Marlon Brando
Montgomery Clift
Tony Curtis
James Dean
Karl Malden
Actress: Elizabeth Taylor
Grace Kelly
Audrey Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Deborah Kerr
Ingrid Bergman
Adapted Screenplay: 12 Angry Men
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
A Streetcar Named Desire
Rear Window
Ben-Hur
Original Screenplay: Sunset Boulevard
High Noon
On the Waterfront
The Defiant Ones
Roman Holiday
Score: Vertigo
The Quiet Man
Singin’ in the Rain
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Anatomy of a Murder
Cinematography: The Searchers
The Searchers
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Sunset Boulevard
Giant
12 Angry Men
Ben-Hur
Film Editing: High Noon
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Singin’ in the Rain
12 Angry Men
The Diary of Anne Frank
Ben-Hur
Sound: The Bridge on the River Kwai
High Noon
Singin’ in the Rain
Ben-Hur
Rear Window
Art Direction: An American in Paris
The King and I
Sunset Boulevard
The Ten Commandments
Ben-Hur
Costume Design: The King and I
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Around the World in 80 Days
An American in Paris
The Ten Commandments
Visual Effects: Ben-Hur
The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Ten Commandments
Around the World in 80 Days
Best Shots (no order)
1) Sunset Boulevard – I’m ready for my closeup
2) High Noon – The shootout
3) Singin’ in the Rain – singin’ in the rain
4) From Here to Eternity – bomb raid
5) The Searchers – doorway silhouette
6) The Bridge on the River Kwai – the ending
7) Vertigo – doppleganger?
8) Ben-Hur – chariot race
9) North by Northwest – plane chase
10) On the Waterfront – I coulda been somebody
Matt S.
1) The Bridge on the River Kwai
2) Singin’ in the Rain
3) A Streetcar Named Desire
4) All About Eve
5) Throne of Blood
Benjamin F.
1) All About Eve
2) Lady & the Tramp
3) Paths of Glory
4) Rear Window
5) 12 Angry Men
Graham F.
1) The 400 Blows
2) The Bridge on the River Kwai
3) Rear Window
4) Funny Face
5) Peter Pan
Ben S.
1) Seven Samurai
2) Rear Window
3) Touch of Evil
4) The Searchers
5) Paths of Glory
Citizen Craig 