Best Crime Movies of the 1950s

1. 1
   Witness for the Prosecution 1957

   Directed by Billy Wilder · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Kanopy, Hoopla
   8.1

   8.2 · 1.8K votes
2. 2
   Some Like It Hot 1959

   Directed by Billy Wilder · Streaming on fuboTV, MGM+, Philo
   8.0

   8.1 · 4K votes
3. 3
   Rashomon 1950

   Directed by Akira Kurosawa · Streaming on HBO Max, Kanopy, YouTube Free
   8.0

   8.0 · 2.6K votes
4. 4
   Dial M for Murder 1954

   Directed by Alfred Hitchcock · Streaming on Kanopy, FlixHouse, TCM
   7.9

   8.0 · 3K votes
5. 5
   Big Deal on Madonna Street 1958

   Directed by Mario Monicelli · Streaming on Criterion Channel
   7.9

   8.1 · 811 votes
6. 6
   The Night of the Hunter 1955

   Directed by Charles Laughton · Streaming on fuboTV, MGM+, Philo
   7.8

   7.9 · 1.9K votes
7. 7
   The Young and the Damned 1950

   Directed by Luis Buñuel
   7.8

   8.1 · 568 votes
8. 8
   On the Waterfront 1954

   Directed by Elia Kazan · Streaming on Tubi TV, Sony Pictures Core
   7.8

   7.8 · 1.9K votes
9. 9
   Anatomy of a Murder 1959

   Directed by Otto Preminger · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, The Roku Channel, Fawesome
   7.7

   7.8 · 1.2K votes
10. 10
    Touch of Evil 1958

    Directed by Orson Welles · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Plex, Plex Channel
    7.7

    7.7 · 1.7K votes
11. 11
    Rififi 1955

    Directed by Jules Dassin
    7.6

    7.8 · 661 votes
12. 12
    Strangers on a Train 1951

    Directed by Alfred Hitchcock · Streaming on Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel
    7.6

    7.7 · 2K votes
13. 13
    The Killing 1956

    Directed by Stanley Kubrick · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, YouTube TV, Fandango at Home Free
    7.5

    7.6 · 1.8K votes
14. 14
    The Big Heat 1953

    Directed by Fritz Lang · Streaming on YouTube TV, Sony Pictures Core
    7.5

    7.7 · 585 votes
15. 15
    Elevator to the Gallows 1958

    Directed by Louis Malle · Streaming on HBO Max
    7.5

    7.6 · 739 votes
16. 16
    The Asphalt Jungle 1950

    Directed by John Huston · Streaming on TCM
    7.3

    7.5 · 557 votes
17. 17
    Night and the City 1950

    Directed by Jules Dassin · Streaming on YouTube TV
    7.2

    7.5 · 299 votes
18. 18
    Gun Crazy 1950

    Directed by Joseph H. Lewis · Streaming on Kanopy, Plex Channel, Tubi TV
    7.1

    7.4 · 319 votes
19. 19
    Pickpocket 1959

    Directed by Robert Bresson
    7.1

    7.3 · 597 votes
20. 20
    The Ladykillers 1955

    Directed by Alexander Mackendrick · Streaming on Kanopy, Lionsgate+
    7.1

    7.3 · 584 votes
21. 21
    Pickup on South Street 1953

    Directed by Samuel Fuller · Streaming on FlixFling, Plex, Plex Channel
    7.1

    7.4 · 338 votes
22. 22
    A Place in the Sun 1951

    Directed by George Stevens · Streaming on Hoopla
    7.1

    7.3 · 434 votes
23. 23
    Bad Day at Black Rock 1955

    Directed by John Sturges
    7.1

    7.3 · 442 votes
24. 24
    The King of the Neighborhood 1950

    Directed by Gilberto Martínez Solares · Streaming on fuboTV
    7.1

    8.4 · 64 votes
25. 25
    Bob le Flambeur 1956

    Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville · Streaming on Kanopy
    7.0

    7.3 · 306 votes
26. 26
    Kiss Me Deadly 1955

    Directed by Robert Aldrich · Streaming on JustWatch TV Free, Mometu
    7.0

    7.2 · 429 votes
27. 27
    The Wrong Man 1956

    Directed by Alfred Hitchcock · Streaming on HBO Max
    7.0

    7.1 · 638 votes
28. 28
    The Swindle 1955

    Directed by Federico Fellini · Streaming on Darkroom
    7.0

    7.3 · 232 votes
29. 29
    Casque d'Or 1952

    Directed by Jacques Becker · Streaming on Criterion Channel
    7.0

    7.3 · 211 votes
30. 30
    I Confess 1953

    Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
    7.0

    7.1 · 504 votes
31. 31
    Touchez Pas au Grisbi 1954

    Directed by Jacques Becker · Streaming on Kanopy
    6.9

    7.2 · 289 votes
32. 32
    The Defiant Ones 1958

    Directed by Stanley Kramer · Streaming on fuboTV, MGM+, Philo
    6.9

    7.2 · 344 votes
33. 33
    The Lavender Hill Mob 1951

    Directed by Charles Crichton · Streaming on Kanopy, Hoopla, FlixFling
    6.9

    7.2 · 301 votes
34. 34
    It Happened in Broad Daylight 1958

    Directed by Ladislao Vajda
    6.9

    7.4 · 157 votes
35. 35
    The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz 1955

    Directed by Luis Buñuel · Streaming on HBO Max, Hoopla, Night Flight Plus
    6.9

    7.3 · 185 votes
36. 36
    Cairo Station 1958

    Directed by Youssef Chahine
    6.9

    7.4 · 155 votes
37. 37
    The Narrow Margin 1952

    Directed by Richard Fleischer · Streaming on YouTube TV
    6.9

    7.3 · 181 votes
38. 38
    Where the Sidewalk Ends 1950

    Directed by Otto Preminger · Streaming on YouTube TV, FlixFling, Plex
    6.9

    7.2 · 214 votes
39. 39
    We're No Angels 1955

    Directed by Michael Curtiz · Streaming on Hoopla, Pluto TV
    6.9

    7.2 · 218 votes
40. 40
    The Man with the Golden Arm 1955

    Directed by Otto Preminger · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, JustWatch TV Free, Brew
    6.9

    7.1 · 266 votes
41. 41
    Sudden Fear 1952

    Directed by David Miller · Streaming on Kanopy, Fawesome, Cohen Media
    6.8

    7.2 · 147 votes
42. 42
    Angel Face 1953

    Directed by Otto Preminger
    6.8

    7.1 · 197 votes
43. 43
    House of Wax 1953

    Directed by André de Toth · Streaming on HBO Max
    6.8

    6.9 · 406 votes
44. 44
    125 rue Montmartre 1959

    Directed by Gilles Grangier
    6.8

    7.5 · 82 votes
45. 45
    The Desperate Hours 1955

    Directed by William Wyler · Streaming on fuboTV, MGM+, Philo
    6.7

    7.1 · 193 votes
46. 46
    Compulsion 1959

    Directed by Richard Fleischer · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Tubi TV, Amazon MX Player
    6.7

    7.1 · 175 votes
47. 47
    Detective Story 1951

    Directed by William Wyler · Streaming on Kanopy
    6.7

    7.1 · 174 votes
48. 48
    The Big Combo 1955

    Directed by Joseph H. Lewis · Streaming on JustWatch TV Free, Philo, The Roku Channel
    6.7

    7.0 · 182 votes
49. 49
    An Inspector Calls 1954

    Directed by Guy Hamilton · Streaming on Kanopy, BFI Player
    6.7

    7.2 · 113 votes
50. 50
    Niagara 1953

    Directed by Henry Hathaway · Streaming on Hoopla, FlixFling, Plex
    6.7

    6.8 · 463 votes

Smart score = (votes × rating + 82 × 6.03) ÷ (votes + 82): the TMDB rating, pulled toward the catalog average as if every film had 82 extra average votes.

1. 1
   Bunco Busters 1955

   Directed by Paul J. Smith
   6.2

   7.8 · 11 votes
2. 2
   Eight Hours of Terror 1957

   Directed by Seijun Suzuki
   6.3

   7.5 · 15 votes
3. 3
   Violent Playground 1958

   Directed by Basil Dearden · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
   6.3

   7.2 · 23 votes
4. 4
   Tread Softly Stranger 1958

   Directed by Gordon Parry · Streaming on FlixFling
   6.2

   7.4 · 15 votes
5. 5
   Bugsy and Mugsy 1957

   Directed by Friz Freleng
   6.3

   7.2 · 20 votes
6. 6
   Emil and the Detectives 1954

   Directed by Robert A. Stemmle
   6.2

   7.4 · 14 votes
7. 7
   This Life of Mine 1950

   Directed by Shi Hui
   6.2

   7.4 · 13 votes
8. 8
   Stakeout 1958

   Directed by Yoshitarō Nomura · Streaming on Criterion Channel
   6.2

   7.1 · 20 votes
9. 9
   The Ship That Died of Shame 1955

   Directed by Basil Dearden · Streaming on FlixFling, Filmtap
   6.2

   7.3 · 12 votes
10. 10
    Victims of Sin 1951

    Directed by Emilio Fernández · Streaming on Vemox Cine
    6.2

    7.0 · 20 votes