Best Drama Movies of the 1950s

1. 1
   12 Angry Men 1957

   Directed by Sidney Lumet · Streaming on fuboTV, MGM+, Philo
   8.6

   8.6 · 11K votes
2. 2
   Seven Samurai 1954

   Directed by Akira Kurosawa · Streaming on HBO Max, Kanopy, Shout! Factory TV
   8.4

   8.5 · 4.4K votes
3. 3
   Rear Window 1954

   Directed by Alfred Hitchcock · Streaming on YouTube TV, TCM
   8.3

   8.3 · 7.4K votes
4. 4
   Sunset Boulevard 1950

   Directed by Billy Wilder · Streaming on fuboTV, MGM+, MGM Plus
   8.2

   8.3 · 3.1K votes
5. 5
   Paths of Glory 1957

   Directed by Stanley Kubrick · Streaming on Kanopy, Hoopla, YouTube TV
   8.2

   8.3 · 3.4K votes
6. 6
   Ikiru 1952

   Directed by Akira Kurosawa · Streaming on HBO Max, Kanopy, Criterion Channel
   8.2

   8.3 · 1.4K votes
7. 7
   Witness for the Prosecution 1957

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

   8.2 · 1.8K votes
8. 8
   The Seventh Seal 1957

   Directed by Ingmar Bergman · Streaming on HBO Max, Kanopy, YouTube Free
   8.1

   8.1 · 3.5K votes
9. 9
   Tokyo Story 1953

   Directed by Yasujirō Ozu · Streaming on HBO Max, Kanopy, Plex
   8.1

   8.2 · 1.3K votes
10. 10
    Wild Strawberries 1957

    Directed by Ingmar Bergman · Streaming on HBO Max, Kanopy, Criterion Channel
    8.0

    8.1 · 1.9K votes
11. 11
    All About Eve 1950

    Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz · Streaming on BroadwayHD, Broadway HD, Artiflix
    8.0

    8.1 · 1.8K votes
12. 12
    Rashomon 1950

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

    8.0 · 2.6K votes
13. 13
    Dial M for Murder 1954

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

    8.0 · 3K votes
14. 14
    The 400 Blows 1959

    Directed by François Truffaut · Streaming on HBO Max, Kanopy, Shout! Factory TV
    7.9

    8.0 · 2.4K votes
15. 15
    The Wages of Fear 1953

    Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot · Streaming on HBO Max, Kanopy, Tubi TV
    7.9

    8.0 · 1.1K votes
16. 16
    Ben-Hur 1959

    Directed by William Wyler · Streaming on Plex Channel, Tubi TV
    7.8

    7.9 · 3.3K votes
17. 17
    Nights of Cabiria 1957

    Directed by Federico Fellini · Streaming on TCM, Darkroom
    7.8

    8.0 · 888 votes
18. 18
    Roman Holiday 1953

    Directed by William Wyler · Streaming on fuboTV, MGM+, Philo
    7.8

    7.9 · 2.4K votes
19. 19
    The Night of the Hunter 1955

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

    7.9 · 1.9K votes
20. 20
    The Young and the Damned 1950

    Directed by Luis Buñuel
    7.8

    8.1 · 568 votes
21. 21
    The Hidden Fortress 1958

    Directed by Akira Kurosawa · Streaming on HBO Max, Shout! Factory TV, YouTube Free
    7.8

    8.0 · 750 votes
22. 22
    Ugetsu 1953

    Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi · Streaming on HBO Max, Kanopy, Plex
    7.8

    8.0 · 676 votes
23. 23
    Throne of Blood 1957

    Directed by Akira Kurosawa · Streaming on HBO Max, Criterion Channel
    7.8

    7.9 · 1K votes
24. 24
    La Strada 1954

    Directed by Federico Fellini · Streaming on HBO Max, Kanopy
    7.8

    7.9 · 1.2K votes
25. 25
    Sansho the Bailiff 1954

    Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi · Streaming on Plex, Plex Channel, Darkroom
    7.8

    8.1 · 444 votes
26. 26
    On the Waterfront 1954

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

    7.8 · 1.9K votes
27. 27
    The Bridge on the River Kwai 1957

    Directed by David Lean · Streaming on YouTube Free, Sony Pictures Core
    7.8

    7.8 · 2.5K votes
28. 28
    The Human Condition I: No Greater Love 1959

    Directed by Masaki Kobayashi · Streaming on Criterion Channel
    7.7

    8.2 · 306 votes
29. 29
    A Man Escaped 1956

    Directed by Robert Bresson · Streaming on Criterion Channel
    7.7

    8.0 · 643 votes
30. 30
    The Great War 1959

    Directed by Mario Monicelli
    7.7

    8.1 · 380 votes
31. 31
    The Ten Commandments 1956

    Directed by Cecil B. DeMille · Streaming on Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+
    7.7

    7.8 · 1.9K votes
32. 32
    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
33. 33
    Umberto D. 1952

    Directed by Vittorio De Sica · Streaming on HBO Max, Kanopy, Criterion Channel
    7.7

    7.9 · 770 votes
34. 34
    Rio Bravo 1959

    Directed by Howard Hawks · Streaming on Fawesome
    7.7

    7.8 · 1.3K votes
35. 35
    Limelight 1952

    Directed by Charlie Chaplin · Streaming on HBO Max, Kanopy, TCM
    7.7

    7.9 · 622 votes
36. 36
    Ace in the Hole 1951

    Directed by Billy Wilder · Streaming on Brew, FlixFling, YouTube Free
    7.7

    7.8 · 785 votes
37. 37
    The World of Apu 1959

    Directed by Satyajit Ray · Streaming on HBO Max, Criterion Channel
    7.7

    8.1 · 298 votes
38. 38
    The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity 1959

    Directed by Masaki Kobayashi · Streaming on Criterion Channel
    7.7

    8.2 · 242 votes
39. 39
    Touch of Evil 1958

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

    7.7 · 1.7K votes
40. 40
    The Cranes Are Flying 1957

    Directed by Mikhail Kalatozov · Streaming on The Roku Channel, Criterion Channel, Darkroom
    7.6

    7.9 · 483 votes
41. 41
    Ordet 1955

    Directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer · Streaming on Criterion Channel, TCM, Darkroom
    7.6

    7.9 · 434 votes
42. 42
    Rififi 1955

    Directed by Jules Dassin
    7.6

    7.8 · 661 votes
43. 43
    Strangers on a Train 1951

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

    7.7 · 2K votes
44. 44
    Pather Panchali 1955

    Directed by Satyajit Ray · Streaming on HBO Max, Kanopy, Criterion Channel
    7.6

    7.8 · 517 votes
45. 45
    A Streetcar Named Desire 1951

    Directed by Elia Kazan · Streaming on HBO Max, YouTube TV, Mometu
    7.5

    7.6 · 1.5K votes
46. 46
    Hiroshima Mon Amour 1959

    Directed by Alain Resnais · Streaming on Darkroom
    7.5

    7.7 · 965 votes
47. 47
    I Vitelloni 1953

    Directed by Federico Fellini · Streaming on HBO Max, Plex, Plex Channel
    7.5

    7.7 · 759 votes
48. 48
    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
49. 49
    Stalag 17 1953

    Directed by Billy Wilder · Streaming on The Roku Channel, Kanopy, YouTube Free
    7.5

    7.7 · 695 votes
50. 50
    Cat on a Hot Tin Roof 1958

    Directed by Richard Brooks
    7.5

    7.6 · 876 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
   ¡Acá las Tortas! 1951

   Directed by Juan Bustillo Oro · Streaming on The Roku Channel, Fawesome, Tubi TV
   6.5

   8.0 · 24 votes
2. 2
   Two Acres of Land 1953

   Directed by Bimal Roy
   6.5

   7.9 · 24 votes
3. 3
   Between Heaven and Earth 1959

   Directed by Salah Abu Seif
   6.4

   8.6 · 12 votes
4. 4
   Beyond Oblivion 1956

   Directed by Hugo del Carril
   6.4

   7.9 · 18 votes
5. 5
   Aventurera 1950

   Directed by Alberto Gout
   6.4

   7.6 · 24 votes
6. 6
   The Flying Classroom 1954

   Directed by Kurt Hoffmann
   6.4

   7.7 · 20 votes
7. 7
   Far from Heaven 1952

   Directed by Rogelio A. González · Streaming on The Roku Channel, Tubi TV
   6.3

   7.7 · 19 votes
8. 8
   Damned City! 1954

   Directed by Ismael Rodríguez
   6.3

   8.2 · 11 votes
9. 9
   Summer Clouds 1958

   Directed by Mikio Naruse
   6.3

   7.7 · 16 votes
10. 10
    Shree 420 1955

    Directed by Raj Kapoor
    6.3

    7.5 · 21 votes